What the papers say

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

The Irish Times has a front page picture of people running in terror, moments after the suicide bombing that killed 26 people in the Iraqi city of Nasariya.

Another picture, featuring on many of the news pages, shows an Italian soldier with his hand on his head in bewilderment at the murder of his colleagues.

An Italian general tells the Independent: "We come to bring peace, and this is how they repay us."

The Times points out that one of the victims was a 12-year-old boy employed by the Italian military as a street sweeper.

He had been in the job for only a day.

'Escalating war'

The Guardian says the White House has accelerated its plans to hand over power in Iraq after a report by the CIA warned that the guerrilla war was in danger of escalating out of US control.

The paper says the insurgents now number among the tens of thousands, indicating that the revolt is on a much greater scale than previously believed.

Closer to home, the Mirror has a grim five-page special report on crime against older people, reporting that 2,500 of them became victims last year.

The paper says the police have advised people to lock their doors.

But it wonders what kind of society solves a problem by locking the victims in their own homes.

The Irish News reports under an exclusive tag that two members of the Human Right Commission have called for the resignation of the chief commissioner, Brice Dickson.

The paper says it comes after a long-running dispute over the Holy Cross school protest.

It describes it as "the most serious crisis to affect the organisation since it was established".

In a leader, it examines the recent spate of fires involving domestic oil tanks, and comments that it's time for action on the construction and positioning of these tanks.

Election issues

It wonders if plastic tanks are sturdy enough, and argues that they should be kept a certain distance from people's homes.

The News Letter features election issues on its front and inside pages, although it takes a quirky angle by looking at the transport used by some of the candidates on the campaign trail.

One used a helicopter, another a Morris Minor, and one is doing the rounds on a bike.

In a leader, it argues that the voters are immune to stunts, election broadcasts, glossy brochures and handouts.

From now until polling day, it says, people will be judging who's most likely to restore stable devolution - and quickly.

The national tabloids all concentrate on the Soham murder trial, and the accounts of the mothers of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Actor 'shocked'

The Sun's main headline says simply "The Panic" - a reference to their feelings when the girls failed to return home.

The big showbiz story for several papers is the news that the actor Christopher Lee is not happy with the ups and downs of the modern movie business.

He's reported by the Daily Telegraph to be "very shocked" that he's been left out of the new Lord of the Rings film.

All the scenes featuring his character, the evil wizard Saruman, have ended up on the cutting room floor.

Finally, the Sun reports on two wills which have just been published. One is that of Sir Paul Getty, who left £208m.

Everyone who worked for him will get £1,000.

At the other end of the scale is a man in South Wales, who left a collection of 146 vacuum cleaners.