What the papers say

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

The three Belfast papers all have front page pictures of 10-month-old Anna Lee Clelland Harkin who died in that house fire in Antrim at the weekend.

The News Letter writes of the town being stunned. The Irish News says the estate where the fire happened had been having a family fun day just hours earlier.

Pictures in the Belfast Telegraph show neighbours placing flowers outside the house. A note on one bouquet says: "God bless Anna Lee. A young soul went to heaven."

The main story in the Telegraph carries the headline: "Your energy bill could be wrong."

This warning comes from the Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey who discovered he was being overcharged for gas.

He praises the gas company for resolving the matter ,but he's worried that thousands of householders could be paying bills that are substantially higher than they should be.

Financial woes loom large in the Dublin papers.

The Irish Independent writes of a bloodbath Budget next month with a massive 1.5 billion euro cut in public spending. But, it says, the public will be spared income tax increases.

The Irish Times focuses on the bail-out package in the United States, while the Guardian says "another day, another bail-out", a reference this time to Bradford and Bingley.

And a touch of irony in the front page picture, used in the Daily Telegraph as well, of the model in the bowler hat and the bank's slogan: "Fixed. Done. Sorted."

The Mail calls Bradford and Bingley the "super-bank of bad debt".

It says the government had little choice but to carry out the rescue plan but it wants Bradford and Bingley and Northern Rock returned to the private sector as soon as possible.

The Sun reports that, as millions of people struggle in the grip of the credit crunch, dozens of wealthy Barclays bankers have been enjoying a "lavish jaunt to the French Riviera".

According to the paper, they soaked up the sun during a 48-hour conference at a hotel near Nice where suites cost up to £1,800 a night.

But a Barclays spokesman insists it was a low key conference and all staff behaved responsibly "as we would expect at this time of money concerns".

Royal party

Then there's the Mail which reports that Prince Charles is having two birthday parties to celebrate his 60th in November.

"What credit crunch?" the headline asks.

Apparently there's going to be a state banquet at Buckingham Palace and then a couple of days later a party at his own place for 75 friends and family.

The Mail does point out that all this is happening despite his request that an enormous fuss shouldn't be made.

There are plenty of tributes and reminiscence about the late, great Paul Newman.

In the Irish Times he's hailed by President Mary McAleese as a "true friend of Ireland" for his work to establish a children's camp in County Kildare.

The Times says he showed that it was possible to be a celebrity without losing dignity.

A comment in the Express says "no young talent today will inspire the same affection".

It says "today's stars are just like the rest of us, if a bit more boring."

The Independent reports on the new James Bond film which is being released soon.

Apparently, it will have more paid-for corporate product placements than all the other Bond movies.

The biggest sponsorship deal is from a private jet company which loaned the film company five of its jets, valued at £100m.

And several of the papers pick up on the news that MI6 is looking for recruits. Gone are the days of the discreet tap on the shoulder. Now they're advertising on Facebook.

The Guardian says they're hoping to attract applicants from a variety of backgrounds - no doubt along with pictures of their cat and their 10 best friends.