Thursday's papers

One story dominates the front pages as the Independent puts it,Killed by the Enemy within as five British soldiers are shot dead and others critically wounded after a rogue Afghan policeman turns machine gun on his colleagues as they relax in base

The exhausted soldiers - helping to train Afghan police - had made it back to the haven of the nick when the maniac they thought they could trust burst in.
The defenceless heroes had also taken off their body armour and helmets when the merciless renegade - secretly in the Taliban - let rip with an AK47.

says the Sun

Last night a manhunt was under way for the killer, who is suspected of having been planted by the Taliban at Checkpoint Blue in Nad-e-Ali, an insurgent-packed district in Helmand province. says the Mail

The shooting led to questions in the Commons over the West’s plan to train Afghan forces to take over security from Nato troops, and intensified calls for a clear exit strategy for British forces. says the Telegraph

Whilst the Times reports that

The shootings exposed cracks in the military alliance and domestic political unity. Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, the former Liberal Democrat leader, and Lord Powell of Bayswater, Margaret Thatcher’s former foreign policy adviser, warned of the dangers of ebbing public support.

Away from that story the Guardian reports that France's Europe minister says David Cameron's pledge to reclaim EU powers is 'pathetic' and will leave Britain isolated

Speaking to the paper,

Pierre Lellouche described as "pathetic" the Tories' EU plans announced today, warning they would not succeed "for a minute".Lellouche, one of the most Anglophile members of Sarkozy's government, made his remarkable intervention after David Cameron outlined a fresh Tory approach to the EU in the wake of the full ratification of the Lisbon treaty.

The Telegraph says that

David Cameron, has pleaded with his MPs and voters to allow him to concentrate on fixing the fragile British economy if he becomes Prime Minister rather than having “a massive Euro bust up” over the Lisbon Treaty.

Yesterday's other main topic is relegated from the front pages.

Sir Christopher Kelly's long-awaited plans for cleaning up the discredited allowances system demanded radical action to rebuild public confidence in Westminster.

says the Independent

MPs are to be banned from claiming mortgage interest on expenses after an "appropriate" transitional period, under the recommendations of Commons watchdog Sir Christopher Kelly published today.

reports the Guardian adding that

Members of parliament will also be stopped from employing family members by the end of the next parliament or within five years, the long-awaited report stated.

Meanwhile the Mail says that

Grasping MPs demanded a huge pay rise last night after a crackdown on their expenses brought the Westminster gravy train to a halt.
In an astonishing show of contempt for voters, ministers and backbenchers complained that their £65,000-a-year salaries will not be enough to live on.

Away from politics and the Times reports that

A nanotechnology therapy that targets cancer with a “stealth smart bomb” is to begin patient trials next year in the first clinical test of a pioneering approach to medicine

Abroad and the Independent reports that

the official commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the storming by students of the US embassy in Tehran and the start of the 1979 hostage crisis was hijacked by the opposition yesterday – for their biggest show of strength in months.

The Telegraph reports how Republicans are celebrating after winning two state governorship elections against President Barack Obama's Democratic Party.

Victory for Bob McDonnell in Virginia and Chris Christie in New Jersey was seen as a strong warning signal to Mr Obama as he labours to reform the American health care system, enact legislation restricting carbon emissions and build support for foreign policy initiatives that have so far made scant progress.

The Guardian reports that

The British mercenary Simon Mann today vowed to testify in court against Sir Mark Thatcher and the oil tycoon Eli Calil, the two men he alleges were co-conspirators in the failed attempt to take over Equatorial Guinea in 2004.

Speaking as he flew back to Britain from the west African state, Mann made clear he had no intention of drawing a line under the episode, and would welcome a fresh inquiry that could lead to him giving evidence against his two old friends.

The Mail reports that a university lecturer flew to the Channel Islands to have sex with a 13-year-old girl he met online,

A court was told yesterday that

Dr Trevor Jackson, a leading academic, groomed the girl on a social networking site.
The 46-year-old, who resigned from Newcastle University last month, travelled to Jersey five times in five months to see the girl and often met her in hotels.

The Sun reports that a gang of students battled with cops when they were told not to board a packed bus.

Riot police were called as yobs fought officers in front of horrified shoppers.

adds the paper

Finally it's bonfire night and the Independent reports that

some devotees of this home-grown festival of fire, marking the day that Protestant Britain rejoiced in its defeat of the Catholic gunpowder plot to bring down James I, fear that our long-held love affair with the death of Guy Fawkes might be in danger of fizzling out.

And the Mail has an example from Devon where there won't be any waiting around for the flames to take hold.

The blaze will be raging just as soon as the organisers press the on-button on their giant television.Thousands will celebrate November 5 crowded around a screen showing film footage of fire after organisers gave up wrestling with health and safety rules to hold the real thing.
The event - dubbed 'non-fire night' - will leave families holding sparklers and staring up at a 16ft by 12ft screen showing images of a roaring blaze.