Newspaper review: A clown wedding and an apology

A clown wedding, an apology and an ancient fort are just some of the stories which feature in Friday's papers.

The decision by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) not to prosecute a man arrested last year in relation to the Kingsmills massacre is carried by all the papers.

The PPS says it took the decision because a criminal case would have little real chance of a conviction due to "insufficient evidence".

Speaking on behalf of some of the families, victims campaigner Willie Fraser told the Belfast Telegraph that "this was just the beginning rather than the end".

The paper reports that the families now intend to pursue the man arrested through the civil courts.

The only survivor the massacre, Alan Black, told the Irish News that while disappointed by the decision, he hopes he can get answers when the inquest resumes.

Ten workmen were killed in the 1976 atrocity

The Daily Mirror reports that Michael Agnew from the PPS says "we are mindful of the disappointment this decision will bring to the surviving victim and families of those who were killed".

Ulster Unionist MLA Danny Kennedy, who has worked closely with the families said it was "scarcely credible" that the case against the suspect had not been able to move forward.

"I will be seeking clarification on whether or not all the available evidence has been completely and exhaustively explored in relation to the palm print," he told the News Letter.

The Irish News leads with a decision by police not to investigate a loyalist bonfire which destroyed homes in west Belfast last July.

Several terraced houses were gutted after embers from a nearby bonfire on the lower Shankill area set their roofs alight.

'Common sense'

Defending the police's action, Supt David Moore told the paper that no complaints were made to police about the matter and that "a building, or indeed anything else, catching fire is not necessarily a crime".

Elsewhere and the paper reports some good news on the tourist front with plans under way to develop Grianan of Aileach, an ancient ring fort near the Derry/Donegal border.

A conservation plan is also to be drawn up for the site which is considered one of the main royal sites of Gaelic Ireland.

News that a march by military veterans planned for Londonderry next month has been cancelled is given coverage in all the papers.

John Kelly's brother, Michael, was killed on Bloody Sunday

The organiser of the parade, Anto Wickman, a former soldier from Craigavon, told the Daily Mirror that it had been postponed "to avoid others exploiting the situation to create community tensions or engage in violence".

John Kelly, whose brother was killed on Bloody Sunday, told the Irish News he was "delighted that common sense has prevailed".

The News Letter quotes a veterans spokesperson: "Republicans talk much about respect but it is clear that some at least cannot show any respect for veterans."

The anguish of a family waiting to recover the body of their loved features in the Belfast Telegraph.

Disbelief

The paper has spoken to the parents of Jack Glenn who went missing after entering the River Foyle in Derry a week ago.

Colin and Hester Glenn along with their daughter Katie have spent much of that time along the river's embankments in a desperate bid to find his remains.

"I am standing here below the Foyle Bridge, beside the river and my son, my Jack, is in there, But I can't get that into my brain at times," his mother said.

The News Letter's front page carries an apology from Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to relatives of three soldiers murdered by the IRA in Belfast.

Her apology followed comments by her party colleague, John Mason, described the republican terror group as "Irish freedom fighters".

David McCaughey, a cousin of one of the soldiers, told the paper a "face to face" meeting with Ms Sturgeon would be "really good"

And it what might possibly be a first in Northern Ireland, a clown wedding fills the papers with lots of colour and silliness.

Silly Tilly aka Noeleen Breen from Strangford tied the knot with Jarl from Denmark.

The bride opted for a balloon bouquet

The pair first met at an international clown festival and love ballooned.

A friend of the couple told the Mirror their recipe for marital harmony.

"Tilly reckons it's because she speaks only English and Jarl speaks only Danish," the pal told the paper.

Health and happiness to the newly weds!