What the papers say

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

For anyone who gets wound up about bank charges, there is food for thought in the News Letter and the Mirror.

Headlines in both papers suggest we are being ripped off.

The comment comes after a study by the Nationwide Building Society which indicates that banks in Northern Ireland are charging their customers far more than those in the rest of the UK.

In particular the News Letter highlights the difference between the Ulster Bank and its opposite number the Nat West.

The paper sets out a sample three-month scenario with a customer opening an account in each bank.

According to the survey, at the end of that period you would have paid 93p to the Nat West but £78.32 to the Ulster.

The News Letter, the Mirror and the Irish News all carry front page stories on Wednesday night's shooting in Newtownards.

The Irish News talks to a local SDLP representative who calls the killing disgraceful and despicable.

Priest's death

There's no justification and no support in the community for violence and bloodshed, he says.

The main headline in the Irish News goes to the death of a young priest after an unsuccessful heart transplant.

The paper says that Father Brian Tumelty had used the internet to make an impassioned plea for organ donation for others.

He told people: "What could be a tragedy can be counter-balanced by becoming a gift of life."

William Graham of the Irish News and Dan Keenan of the Irish Times have been exploring what the future holds for the IRA.

They have been talking to someone whom Graham describes as "a senior Sinn Fein source".

Dan Keenan says the man concerned is well-known but is refusing to allow his name to be used.

His message appears to be clear enough. He tells the two journalists that the IRA will cease to exist if there's an irreversible political process in Northern Ireland.

The slow weaning of Libya from the lunacies of extremism is undoubtedly an advance The Mail

The Irish Independent is exercised by the activities of the Real IRA after a bomb incident in Cork on Wednesday.

It talks of a web of crime and says they are engaged in fire-bombing and extortion rackets with a network that covers much of the country.

The Irish Times reports that the organisation is recruiting at a rapid rate.

It says many of the members are young. They are not attracted by any ideology but by the money they can make from the Real IRA's activities.

In the cross-channel papers, Tony Blair's Libyan trip comes in for a lot of comment.

The Mail describes his meeting with Colonel Gaddafi as a handshake with a man of blood.

But even though it feels the prospect is stomach-churning, it does come down in support of the visit.

"The slow weaning of Libya from the lunacies of extremism is undoubtedly an advance," the paper says.

The Express agrees. "Where a regime has changed for the better," it says, "then there's nothing to be gained by leaving it out in the cold."

The Mirror reckons that if calling Gaddafi a dear friend prevents terrorist atrocities, then it's a price worth paying.

Other papers are not so convinced. The Independent says the visit is less about peace and more about justifying the war in Iraq.

Terrible towns guide

And the Guardian sees the visit as paving the way for British firms to cash in on Libya's defence and oil industries.

It says both Shell and BAe are close to making deals.

Finally, there's a reminder that the best-seller Eats, Shoots and Leaves wasn't the only successful stocking-filler book last Christmas.

There was another one called Crap Towns.

It did so well that now there's going to be a Crap Towns Two: The Nation Decides, based on nominations by members of the public.

And guess what? Belfast is going to be in there this time and set to be near the top of the list, according to the book's author who is interviewed in the Mirror.

Bangor and Portadown get a dishonourable mention too.

Apparently one comment about Bangor read: "Didn't we have a lovely time the day we went to Bangor? Answer - No."