What the papers say

Journalist Mike Philpott takes a look at what is making the headlines in Thursday's morning papers.

Paramilitary threats continue to be the main talking point in the Belfast newspapers.

The News Letter leads with a death threat against Policing Board vice chairman Denis Bradley, and quotes him as saying that Sinn Fein must speak out against the intimidation by the Real IRA.

He also tells the paper that nationalists may have to take to the streets in protest against the targeting of Catholic members of the district policing partnerships.

In its Morning View column, the paper condemns the recent spate of bomb alerts involving schools.

It says public representatives, church leaders and the police must "do their utmost to stamp out this appalling behaviour".

The Irish News carries a letter from Father Dan Whyte, the Catholic priest who was threatened by loyalists for conducting a cemetery service in Carnmoney.

He thanks everyone - from both sections of the community - who sent messages of support.

The paper comments that if good people raise their voices, the result is much more powerful than "the sinister whispers of a tiny minority of extremists".

Criminal

The Irish News leads with what it sees as a worrying new development in the criminal targeting of business owners.

It says an increasing number are being held in their own homes by people demanding money.

The story quotes Jim Rodgers, chairman of Belfast's District Policing Partnership, who said it might be necessary to establish a new police unit to deal with this kind of crime.

While the Hutton Inquiry once again claims most of the space in the cross-channel papers, it doesn't claim any of the biggest headlines.

The Independent goes for a related story - a claim by the former chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, that Iraq probably destroyed its weapons of mass destruction more than a decade ago.

The Guardian reports that Saudi Arabia may be about to acquire nuclear weapons, describing it as "a worrying development".

The Daily Telegraph opts instead for postal staff's rejection of strike action, and concludes that it's a major blow to the union.

The Express leads with a report that mortgage rates could rocket, after the Bank of England warned that interest rates were likely to rise before Christmas.

The paper comments that those who were encouraged by low interest rates to take out bigger loans may find that their optimism was badly misplaced.

Wildlife

The Telegraph is one of several papers to report that lions are close to extinction.

The paper reports that nearly 250,000 roamed across Africa 20 years ago but the figure today is only about 23,000, thanks to hunting, feline AIDS and TB.

The Times has a lighter story from the world of wildlife, reporting that monkeys have been discovered to have a well-developed sense of fair play, throwing tantrums or sulking if they think they're getting a raw deal.

The paper reports that American researchers taught them to buy food using tokens.

When some were given cucumbers while others received grapes, the cucumber group displayed behaviour that would be familiar to the parents of any two-year-old.

Finally, the Star reports on a bilingual road sign in south Wales that lost something in translation - English speakers would have turned right, while Welsh speakers would have turned left.

Luckily, the mistake was spotted just in time.