Papers catch smallpox fever

The government's order of millions of doses of smallpox vaccine attracts widespread attention.

The Guardian and the Financial Times pick up on the controversy over the contract, which has gone to a company headed by a Labour donor.

The FT reports the order could be worth £10m in profits to PowderJect, which will make the vaccine at its factory on Merseyside.

The Guardian contrasts the secrecy surrounding the deal with what it says is the greater openness of the United States.

The Bush administration has announced the details of its contract to buy smallpox vaccine from one of Powderject's British rivals.

Sick killers

Elsewhere, the threat posed by the disease itself is highlighted.

While careful to point out the possibility is remote, The Daily Telegraph talks about a nightmare crisis of suicide terrorists infecting themselves and spreading the disease around Britain.

The Sun names Saddam Hussein as the main threat, saying the Iraqi leader may already have supplies of the virus, which he could use to wipe out millions of people.

Suicide alert

There are more alarms on the Daily Mail's front page.

It contends Britain is on alert for suicide bombers, in the event the conflict in the Middle East spreads.

Anti-terrorism officials have, it says, made contingency plans to head off potential attacks.

'Powerless' Powell

The latest suicide bombing in Jerusalem is widely reported as an attempt to wreck the American peace mission.

The Mirror has US Secretary of State Colin Powell, under the front-page headline: "Impotent".

America has proved it is powerless to stop the bloodshed, it says.

The Mirror urges the Americans to cut off financial and military aid to the Israelis if they continue to ignore calls to halt military operations in the West Bank.

But The Sun places the onus on the Palestinian leadership.

It says terrorists must be the first to halt the violence, not the democratically elected government of a nation under threat.

The Guardian reports that Britain has imposed a de facto arms embargo on Israel for the first time in 20 years.

The paper says military exports that would have been cleared before the offensive against the Palestinians are now being blocked.

Cornish Camilla

The main picture on the Daily Express is of Camilla Parker Bowles, with a headline suggesting she is to be given a royal title - the Duchess of Cornwall.

The Times carries two related stories.

One claims the Church of England is preparing to change its rules to allow the marriage of Mrs Parker Bowles to the Prince of Wales.

The other says the couple could move into the Queen Mother's former residence in London, Clarence House.

Bonnie Pininski

The Guardian has more royal revelations.

It says the long-lost heir to Bonnie Prince Charlie has been found, working as a banker in Warsaw, Poland.

Peter Pininski, 55, sets out his claim in a new book, which traces his lineage back to one of Charles' grand-daughters previously thought to have died childless.

Mr Pininski is adamant he is no charlatan and does not want the throne.

He says he simply wants to publish what he calls an undisclosed footnote to history.