What the papers say

Journalist Grania McFadden takes a look at what is making the headlines in Wednesday's morning papers.

"It's Groundhog Day all over again", says the Guardian.

It believes - as do several papers - that dramatic events yesterday showed that something obviously went very wrong with whatever had been agreed in talks over the summer.

Yet the day had started with a degree of hope.

The Irish Times says events on Tuesday proceeded with the stately grace of ballroom dancing.

Tony Blair led the couples onto the floor with the announcement of elections. He and Bertie Ahern had already booked the last waltz.

But when David Trimble glided on to perform his two-step with General de Chastelain, the unionist leader fled the dance floor.

Several papers express incredulity that Mr Trimble seemed surprised at the general's report.

The Irish Independent says Mr Trimble must have known in advance exactly what had been planned.

'Predictable'

The Guardian notes that every one of the previous glitches in the process has been about unionist reluctance to accept IRA assurances about decommissioning, it says.

"It was utterly predictable that this would again be the crux this time."

What were all those talks over the past few weeks about, if now how to over come this very problem?

Writing in the Irish News , Brian Feeney says the reason why Mr Trimble didn't accuse the IRA of welshing on the agreement about how decommissioning would happen, was because he obviously never went into detail with republicans of how it would happen.

As a result, he says, the Ulster Unionist leader has left himself open to ridicule.

His opponents will accuse him of being conned, and will point to the fact that he didn't copper fasten the one part of the deal most crucial to its acceptance by his doubters.

And so it proves. The News Letter quotes Jeffrey Donaldson who claims Mr Trimble had been hung out to dry by the IRA, while Ian Paisley accuses him of the most inept form of negotiation imaginable.

The Independent warns that if things can't be fixed quickly, the election campaign could deteriorate into a shambles.

'Ballot box hopes'

But the News Letter and Irish News remain upbeat about the future.

The News Letter says things can still be put right, and that our best hope lies in the ballot box.

The Irish News says the question to be asked is whether or not we are travelling in the right direction.

The answer, it believes, should be an unequivocal "yes".

Meanwhile, the Irish Times reports that the British and Irish governments are pushing for publication of the exact quantities of IRA arms put beyond use yesterday, in an effort to overcome this latest crisis.

Elsewhere, the Mail reports that all pregnant women are to be offered NHS tests for Down's Syndrome.

The Guardian reveals that Dwain Chambers, the UK's top sprinter, has tested positive for anabolic steroid and could face a life ban.

As the Mirror continues to serialise a book by Princess Diana's former butler, the Guardian reports that the government has ruled out a public inquiry into her death.

And the Times claims the Duke of Edinburgh is considering legal action to stop the publication of his private correspondence to the princess.

And finally, back to Northern Ireland. The Sun's page three girls have taken on a more serious tone of late.

And the paper informs us that Jo, aged 24 from London, thinks peace in Northern Ireland is long overdue, and that talking provides a far better solution than mindless violence.

The series is called News in Briefs.