Debt and mortgage woes in papers

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The Daily Telegraph's front page headline is "mortgage misery as rates hit seven-year peak".

It says the cost of a typical home loan is now 20% higher than it was a couple of years ago.

The Times says the Church of England is to offer practical and spiritual help to anyone facing money problems.

It raises the prospect of clergy giving advice about debt from the pulpit, with special prayers for those at the mercy of loan sharks.

Energy rises

Many of the papers report that Chancellor Alistair Darling has called in the energy regulator's boss for a meeting because of rising energy costs.

"Angry Darling to set 'dog' on energy firms" reads the Daily Mirror's headline.

The Financial Times says Mr Darling is worried energy companies "could undermine his anti-inflation strategy and hit the poor."

But the Times has a different take on the story. It suggests the intervention is nothing but "hot air".

US campaigning

US senator Hillary Clinton is on the Guardian's front page, as she continues her Democratic presidential bid.

Despite millions spent on image, she returned to old-fashioned campaigning by mounting a soapbox to deliver a speech to supporters, the paper says.

And the man she is seeking to replace is on the front of the Independent.

Under "Remember him?", the paper says that in an effort to salvage his legacy George W Bush is to embark on an ambitious tour of the Middle East.

Health plan

PM Gordon Brown's plan to introduce a more rigorous system of health checks under the NHS receives a welcome in the Sun and the Daily Mirror.

The Sun argues that the "MoT test for patients" is long overdue, stressing the hope that the proposal will help free up hospital beds.

The Mirror agrees that "prevention is better than cure".

It says the "NHS medicals will help fulfil the government's promise to provide first-class care".