Graphic scenes of Israel bomb attack

The bomb blast at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem dominates many of Thursday's newspapers, which carry pictures of the devastation.

"Murder on the campus" is the headline in the Independent.

Below it, the paper prints an aerial photograph of emergency service workers gathered around a victim covered by black plastic bags.

The newspaper's reporter in Jerusalem gives a graphic account of the scene in the students' cafeteria after the explosion - which killed seven people.

Community symbol

He says he arrived to find a search for body parts under way.

He describes the bombing as a "devastating attack on the heart of civil society in Israel".

The Times emphasises the multi-cultural nature of the Hebrew University, and notes that until yesterday it was one of the country's "few symbols of cross-community life".

The Daily Telegraph points out this is the first time that Palestinians have targeted a university during almost two years of violence.

Failing forces

Most of the papers pick up on the implications of the new report by the parliamentary watchdog, the National Audit Office, which exposes the limitations of British army equipment used in a military exercise in Oman.

The headline "Dud's Army" is shared by the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express, summing up the negative reaction in many of them to the report.

The Guardian observes that many of the weapons used by troops are designed for battle in northern Europe, rather than "the heat and dust of the desert".

The Daily Mirror poses the question "Invade Iraq?" - then answers itself, by remarking "our tanks don't work in sand and our boots melt in heat".

The Times features a cartoon in which two army officers in military fatigues are looking under the bonnet of a tank in the desert and asking "How long do you reckon the RAC will take to get here?"

In an editorial, the Sun insists that "men who risk their lives to fight a war need the best equipment that money can buy", but it remarks: "British troops are saddled with some ageing and unworkable gear that puts us to shame".

In what it claims is an exclusive report, the Sun tells of another failing in the armed forces.

The paper claims the Navy is planning to blow up two of its own ships worth £400m - because it is unable to sell them.

Carry on 'booze cruising'

It says the frigates - HMS Boxer and HMS Brave - will be used for target practice, blown apart by missiles and torpedoes.

The Sun quotes a Navy insider who says the ships are being pensioned off half-way through their lives because of defence cuts.

The broadsheets and tabloids alike give a warm welcome to Wednesday's High Court ruling that customs officers have no right to make random stops and searches of returning cross-channel travellers for alcohol and cigarettes.

The Daily Telegraph declares that "Many a bottle of (legally) imported champagne will have been cracked open to celebrate" and the Times suggests "Glasses will be raised" to the judge, Lord Justice Brooke, "on Calais quayside today".

The Daily Star insists it's "party time" and urges its readers to "carry on booze cruising".

According to the Financial Times, the European Union's auditors believe accounting controls on the EU's budget are "insecure and unreliable".

Diana 'puddle'

The paper leads with quotes from what it says is a leaked report, which maintains the Commission has been warned about the problem but has so far not taken any remedial action.

Finally, the winning design for a fountain to commemorate the life of Diana, Princess of Wales is widely considered.

The Daily Mail dismisses the plan as a "memorial puddle" and an "oval ditch" - but it is praised by the Daily Telegraph's architecture critic.

The Independent describes the proposed water feature as "restrained" and "moat-like" but given the controversy, it cannot resist a playful comment, asking in its editorial "why not just an ordinary fountain with a nice lion or an open-mouthed fish?"