Papers welcome Brown's wedding

Summer's slow news agenda produces a wide range of stories as papers hunt out what they can.

The closest they come to common ground is in reporting that the Chancellor Gordon Brown is getting married.

The Sun describes it as an event that will "stun the nation."

The paper sets aside political differences and says the entire country will be wishing him and his bride "all the very best".

The Daily Mail limits the extent of amazement to "the world of politics" and wonders whether recent newspaper reports suggesting his relationship with Sarah Macaulay had "gone off the boil" were not "a deliberate smokescreen".

The Times says Mr Brown's wedding plans were more carefully guarded than anything that has emerged from his budget box.

And the Guardian says he managed to keep them secret from the entire Cabinet.

A "close friend" tells The Scotsman he was "hell bent " on keeping it as a family occasion.

'Doomed' Dome

The Sun may have called a truce on Mr Brown but the paper finds itself less able to set aside its antipathy for the Greenwich Dome.

The paper reports that senior managers are determined to keep it open - but their own projections suggest it is "doomed" to close in October.

The Mail says twenty million half price tickets will be offered in a bid to boost visitor numbers.

But The Sun does not think that will work.

The paper damns the attraction as a waste of money and condemns it as a monument to the vanity of politicians.

Paedophile campaign

Papers see different things in Wednesday's talks between child protection agencies and the News of the World.

The Independent and The Daily Telegraph both expect to see the Sunday paper continue its campaign of naming and shaming paedophiles.

But the Daily Express thinks it may call off, or at least modify, its identification of child sex offenders.

The Mirror tries to put the victims back at the centre of the debate and prints a long interview with the parents of Sarah Payne, the eight-year-old murdered in Sussex.

Summer holiday

Another "celebrity couple" in the spotlight are pop singers Robbie Williams and Geri Halliwell, on holiday together, as pages of poolside pictures testify.

But, as The Mirror asks, "Is it love... or just another stunt?"

The Mail reminds readers that Halliwell's new love coincides with her new book.

But The Sun calls her "besotted" and thinks the photos show she cannot hide her love.

Hurley burley

Couples out of love are just as valid targets for the summer papers.

The Express, The Mirror, the Daily Star and Telegraph cannot resist carrying supposed revelations by model Liz Hurley that her sex life with her former boyfriend, Hugh Grant, was "less than adequate."

Unfortunately for them all, Liz Hurley has rung The Sun to say it is all rubbish.

The paper hopes to develop a closer relationship with hard-done-by celebrities and prints the bold invitation:

"Are you a famous star who wants to talk about your sex life? Ring our Dominic!"