Papers consider MP salary request

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The issue of MPs' pay is considered in a number of Wednesday's papers.

The Daily Express says MPs are calling for a 21% rise, pushing salaries up to £75,000, which it calls "shocking" as the cost of living rises for the average worker.

The Sun says a report on politicians' pay recommended they receive a 16% rise which they will vote on next month.

But the Financial Times and Daily Mail say Gordon Brown has told ministers to set an example of austerity by refusing a pay rise in the coming year.

Regional trends

The Times carries a report which says people living in the north of England are 20% more likely to die of cancer than those living in the south.

It says the incidence of many forms of the disease is actually higher in the south, but there it is picked up earlier by tests or by wary patients.

But breast cancer is more common in the south of England, the Mail says.

The paper says this could be due to wealthier women opting to delay having children, which is a risk factor.

Intimidation tactics

The Guardian leads with an account of the build-up of violence in Zimbabwe, as the country prepares for the run-off presidential election next week.

It says the occurrence of one town were rounded up in a sports field by soldiers who said they faced a bullet if they did not vote for Robert Mugabe.

Its reporter describes a population menaced by armed militiamen who travel around hunting opposition supporters.

Members of the Movement for Democratic Change have been killed and beaten.

Luxury burger

The Daily Telegraph says the Italian poet Dante is to have his criminal record expunged - after 700 years.

The city council of Florence approved the decision by 19 votes.

Dante faced execution if he re-entered the city, after missing a court appearance and then failing to pay a fine of 5,000 florins, in 1302.

And the Daily Star reports that a £95 burger, which it says is thought to be the most expensive in the world, will go on sale at Burger King later.