What the papers say

Journalist Fionola Meredith takes a look at what is making the headlines in Tuesday's morning papers.

A troupe of Irish dancers from Chicago, replete with matching blonde curly wigs and colourful costumes, stroll across the front page of the Irish News.

The picture was taken at the World Irish Dance Championships, which have got under way in Belfast.

The paper claims an exclusive with its main story - the claim that changes to lucrative pension payments will see more teachers forced to work on well into their 60s.

The image is designed to show what Elmer Kyle Crawford, who disappeared following the murders in Melbourne, might look like today, aged 78 Belfast Telegraph

That has serious consequences for younger teachers too.

Unions fear that more newly-qualified teachers than ever will be "thrown on the scrap-heap" without the chance to establish themselves, the paper says, since older staff are reluctantly staying on in their jobs.

A computer-generated image of a murder suspect appears on the front page of the Belfast Telegraph.

Police in Australia have launched a fresh hunt for the Northern Ireland man suspected of murdering his wife and children almost four decades ago.

The image is designed to show what Elmer Kyle Crawford, who disappeared following the murders in Melbourne, might look like today, aged 78.

Over at the News Letter, the Irish government, and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in particular, is accused of "betrayal" by the Omagh bomb families, over the perceived lack of co-operation with their court case against the people they believe carried out the atrocity.

In an RTE programme to be screened later, the families claim that vital evidence is being held back by the Garda - with "no-one giving them straight answers as to why that might be".

The paper's editorial says that Dublin's words of support for the families "will ring hollow indeed if it does not co-operate soon".

Meanwhile, back with the Belfast Telegraph, model Shantala Parker poses with a ferret called Darcy on her shoulder.

We are told that Shantala is enjoying Darcy's company, and it's true that she's laughing, but there is more than a hint of fear in her eyes.

Possibly that's because Darcy appears to be licking his lips.

'Non-negotiable demands'

The focus is on primary education in the Dublin papers, with questions over the role of the Catholic Church very much to the fore.

Catholic bishops have welcomed the new model of multi-denominational primary schools, saying that "it's no longer realistic for the church to be almost the sole provider of primary education in Ireland".

However, according to the Irish Independent, the church has drawn up a list of "non-negotiable demands" in return for its involvement in the new schools.

Employees are forced to plug into amps and blast out a few riffs on borrowed guitars The Guardian

These include visiting rights for parish clergy and a veto over the appointment of teachers who provide religious instruction to Catholic pupils.

Turning to the London papers, Gordon Brown is stoutly defending the Union in the Daily Telegraph.

He says that the Union is "a multiplier for good" that has "been taken for granted for too long".

He says that it's possible to reconcile English, Scottish and Welsh pride with the progress of the Union. No mention of Northern Ireland though.

Finally, the Guardian reports on the latest team-building trend to hit the workplace: harnessing the power of rock'n'roll to "teach suits to think outside the box".

Employees are forced to plug into amps and blast out a few riffs on borrowed guitars. As the Guardian points out, "inside every middle manager there is often a rock god struggling to get out".