Journalist Mike Philpott takes a look at what is making the headlines in Thursday's morning newspapers.
There's very little common ground on Northern Ireland's front pages.
The Irish News reports on the increasing number of thefts involving heating oil.
The paper says there have been 800 such thefts in the past year as oil prices continue to rise. The police are advising people to check their tanks regularly so they know if a theft occurs.
The News Letter looks at a highly critical report by the assembly's Public Accounts Committee which, it says, denounces the former head of the Northern Ireland Events Company for "treating taxpayers' money in a cavalier fashion".
The paper says the company, which brought major artists like Elton John and the Eagles to Northern Ireland, is being wound up after running up huge debts.
The Belfast Telegraph devotes its main headline to a court case involving a local man who caused havoc at two London airports after making a hoax bomb warning on the day of the 7 July terror attacks.
It says the man, who made the call for a bet, was jailed for four months.
The Dublin papers both have stories on the opening of the Cannes film festival.
'Half-baked legislation'
The Irish Independent goes for a front page picture of the actress Eva Longoria arriving at the gala opening of the festival and the premiere of the film Blindness.
The Irish Times looks at another premiere - this time of the film, Hunger, which was shot in Belfast and looks at the last days in the life of Bobby Sands.
The Times in London says the lead actor, Michael Fassbender, lived for two months on just 500 calories a day to lose the necessary weight for the role.
The Guardian identifies the director, Steve McQueen, as one of a bright new wave of British film makers.
Gordon Brown was hoping to win over both press and public with his draft Queen's Speech. So, did he succeed?
Not quite, is the answer. The Daily Express calls it "a tidal wave of half-baked legislation".
The Times says the measures "have the feel of a laundry list" and are unlikely to impress either the voters or depressed Labour MPs.
As usual, of course, Mr Brown could not be in control of wider events, and his big drive to recapture the political agenda came on the same day as the governor of the Bank of England decided to warn that Britain was heading for recession.
The Guardian says the alert has dealt a blow to the prime minister's plans. The paper thinks the government is pinning its hopes on an economic recovery next year, but the bank is predicting difficult times for perhaps another two years.
The Daily Mail says Mervyn King's warning "cast a pall" over Mr Brown's belief that he can steer the economy to safer waters.
Quite a few of the papers have pictures of the bizarre image of a white robot called Asimo taking up the baton to lead the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in a performance of The Impossible Dream.
The Times says the robot was programmed using a video recording of the real conductor in action. But the paper adds that a Beethoven symphony is out of the question, because Asimo's battery runs out after 20 minutes.
The Express doesn't even call the robot by its official name. It goes for the much more amusing Android Previn.
^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~36~RS~)