The government's handling of the health service is still under the microscope, with papers wondering just how health authorities and trusts will be able to give the nurses and doctors their above-inflation pay rises.

The Guardian warns there is "not much left to play with in the health kitty" and says the calculators were out on Monday night as finance managers tried to work out what would be left over for improving services.

The answer in most cases, the paper says, is not much.

The Financial Times says Prime Minister Tony Blair is under pressure from Cabinet colleagues to introduce a special health tax - while The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail highlight a call from Conservative leader William Hague for more tax breaks for private health insurance schemes.

Grounds for judicial review

As speculation continues over the release on health grounds of the former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet, The Independent says the Crown Prosecution Service is considering taking Home Secretary Jack Straw to court.

The paper says lawyers for the CPS, which represents Spain in the extradition case, believe there are grounds for seeking a judicial review of Mr Straw's decision that General Pinochet is not fit to stand trial on charges of human rights abuses.

The Mail suggests the general could be on his way home to Chile on Tuesday night - but says he could still be flying into possible legal action in his own country.

However, writing in The Guardian, QC Geoffrey Robertson says that if General Pinochet is deemed unfit to stand trial in Britain, he is not fit enough to be tried in Chile.

Protection against flu

He adds that the former dictator is as likely to go on trial in Chile as he is to go to heaven.

With the flu outbreak continuing, The Daily Mail suggests that aircraft passengers might think about buying a surgical mask to protect them against bacteria and viruses that float around the cabin.

The paper says experts are concerned at the incidence of airborne bugs because they say stale air is being re-circulated more often because operators want to save on costs.

The paper says the masks not only help guard against flu bugs - they may also help stop someone with a cold from passing it on.

Damning picture

It seems that the days of long lunches and incompetence in Brussels are set for the out-tray.

The Independent says the European Commission's vice president, Neil Kinnock, is launching the most far-reaching attack yet against mid-ranking officials, who - the paper says - have become notorious for short working hours.

The paper says Mr Kinnock's White Paper presents a damning picture of an "ossified administration".

However, it warns that a shake-up will meet with stiff resistance from powerful staff unions.

Icy mystery

Scientists in Spain are apparently baffled by great balls of ice that have been bombarding the south of the country.

According to The Guardian, 11 balls the size of melons have landed so far, one narrowly missing a man before it smashed into his car.

Are they pieces of a comet, frozen toilet waste from a plane - or maybe an elaborate hoax?, the paper asks.

The comet option is the most plausible explanation, says the paper, but, the possibility of a hoax has not been ruled out.

The scientists just want to know why it is only Spain they are landing on.