What the papers say

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

Concerns over the proposed Northern Ireland Bill of Rights are the top story in the Irish News, with the claim that the legislation could keep teenage murderers out of jail.

The final draft of the bill recommends that criminals under the age of 18 should only go to prison as "a last resort".

And the paper claims that judges would have to prove they had explored every other means of punishment before sending anyone under 18 to jail.

Columnist Newton Emerson is scathing about the proposed bill.

Describing it as "a litany of provincial special pleading", he insists that there is no hope of the bill ever making it into law, let alone practice.

But it's the so-called "snub" to X Factor darling Eoghan Quigg's headmistress that has really got the Irish News going.

Anne Sands, who the paper describes as one of young Quigg's "most prominent backers", is reportedly seething after she didn't get an invitation to the X Factor final.

But it turns out that she's not the only one left ticketless.

A spokeswoman for the show said they had to turn Bob Geldof down, and that tickets for the final were like gold dust.

SOS

Over at the News Letter, it's Gordon Brown's "unexpected u-turn" concerning IRA victims seeking compensation from Libya that makes the lead.

Following discussions with a victims delegation, led by DUP MP Nigel Dodds and Labour MP Andrew McKinlay, the prime minister indicated that he would, after all, lend diplomatic assistance to the victims' cause.

And the Belfast Telegraph reports on what it calls a "desperate SOS for organ donors" that went out on Wednesday, after it emerged that more than 300 people across Northern Ireland urgently need a transplant.

Apparently the UK has one of the lowest donation rates in Europe, and here in Northern Ireland only 23% of people are on the donor register, making it the third lowest region in the UK.

The Lisbon Treaty raises its troublesome head again in the Irish Times, with the prospect of a second referendum to be held before 31st October 2009.

Draft conclusions, expected to be signed off by EU leaders on Thursday, would allow each member state to retain their commissioner.

The paper says they would also give Ireland legal guarantees on taxation policy; family, social and ethical issues; and security and defence policy.

TV chef Nigella Lawson has fallen foul of animal rights activists, after suggesting she would kill a bear and wear its skin as a trophy, reports the Daily Express.

Nigella's publicist has stepped quickly into the row, clarifying that she was talking about a situation where if it was the bear or Nigella, she would kill the bear - but not if she was unprovoked.

And finally, if you're a lonely single man looking to impress a potential partner, the Guardian has just the thing - it's got the top 10 reads likely to wow the ladies.

The survey, commissioned by the National Year of Reading, found that top of the list is Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom.

Shakespeare's also a winner, and be sure to drop in that you love reading poetry and cookery books. It turns out, though, that almost half of the people surveyed were teenagers.

So now we know that top of the list to impress a teenage girl are internet social sites Facebook and MySpace, followed by text messages, song lyrics and Harry Potter.

Jane Austen does squeeze in at number seven though.