Papers ask where is Saddam?

It has been ten weeks of frustration and setbacks, says the Sunday Telegraph, but there are hopes in the United States the net is now closing in on Saddam Hussein and his family.

The paper describes the capture on Tuesday of one of his closest aides, Abid Hamoud Mahmud, as the most significant breakthrough in the search.

But the Observer casts doubt on whether the former Iraqi leader is alive.

It claims American specialists are carrying out DNA tests on human remains believed to be those of Saddam Hussein and one of his sons.

The remains are said to have been retrieved from a convoy of vehicles struck by US forces on Wednesday.

The Pentagon has refused to comment on the report.

Peacekeeping proves difficult

In Iraq, the coalition is facing many problems restoring order.

The scale of the task is acknowledged by the commander of the British forces there in an interview with the Sunday Times.

Major General Peter Wall admits keeping the peace is proving harder than winning the war.

The Independent on Sunday focuses on the lack of electricity in Baghdad.

The inability to restore power, it argues, has become a symbol of the failure of the American occupation.

Prison security attacked

The News of the World highlights what it condemns as the security shambles at Woodhill High Security prison, where Ian Huntley, the man accused of the Soham murders, is being held.

It says it has seen two documents which show governors knew security was suspect but kept quiet about it for two years.

One former senior prison officer is quoted, describing how staff would disable the perimeter fence alarm system so the night shift could get some sleep.

Potter mania preoccupies papers

There is much coverage of how as the People puts it Potter mania swept the world.

As for the book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the reviewers both young and old have been giving their verdict.

The Independent's Literary Editor thinks it sags, but an 11-year-old Potter fan says it was well worth all the fuss.

For the Observer it is a real-page turner, while the Mail on Sunday concludes JK Rowling is a rare beast among contemporary writers - a compulsively readable storyteller.