Once again the economy makes the front pages this morning

Families in a fix as the crunch gets worse says the Times

The credit crunch tightened its grip on families last night as two big mortgage lenders raised their rates or withdrew deals, the price of oil hit another record and figures showed that new housebuilding projects are about to fall to their lowest level since the Second World War

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Inflation fears force Bank into a corner says the Guardian

The government is on inflation alert amid fears that dearer petrol and food will herald the start of a year of bad news on the cost of living and limit the Bank of England's ability to cut interest rates.
With the latest official inflation data due out this morning, the City is braced for an annual increase of more than 3% - a figure that would prompt only the second exchange of letters between Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England and the chancellor, Alistair Darling.

The Telegraph says Oil hits record high as shortages grow

As the oil price reached almost $140 a barrel, motorists across Britain faced growing fuel shortages caused by the weekend's fuel-tanker drivers' strike.

The Mirror finds the most expensive petrol in the country on its front page

A garage owner who hiked the price of his unleaded petrol and diesel to £1.99 a litre yesterday insisted: "I'm not profiteering."
Ron James claimed the huge rise - advertised as £1.99.9 - is only temporary to deter motorists from panic buying during the tanker drivers' dispute

Many of the papers have the pictures of the children gassed in a car on their front pages,the Sun says

A DERANGED dad who gassed himself and his two kids on Father’s Day sent a last chilling message to his estranged wife, saying: "I’ve left you a present."
Brian Philcox killed himself and his two kids after taking them on a fun trip to a steam train railway.

Angels killed by Dad says the Express

Amy, 7, and Owen, 3, were found huddled together in Brian Philcox’s fume-filled Land Rover on Father’s Day at a remote beauty spot.
He died next to them after sparking a bomb alert when he called their mother with the chilling message: “I have left you a present at the house.”

With pictures of the coffins of the five soldiers killed over the past week in Afghnaistan,the papers reflect on George Bush's visit and the announcement of the increase in troops to that country

Gordon Brown pledges more troops for Afghanistan says the Times

Hundreds more British troops will be sent to Afghanistan during the coming year to help to improve protection for British Forces, Gordon Brown announced yesterday after talks with President Bush.
Despite warnings of “overstretch” in the Army, the Prime Minister said that levels of British Forces would reach their highest point.

President pours praise on Brown says the Guardian

Bush said he appreciated the prime minister being "tough on terror", saying that Brown understood that the spread of freedom was transformative, and it was wrong to think that "only white guy Methodists" wanted self-government. He branded such thinking as the ultimate form of political elitism.

Sad homecoming reports the Mail

This was the homecoming that nobody wanted. Five young men had gone to fight for their country and five coffins came back.
A town stood in silence as the latest casualties of the war in Afghanistan were quietly returned to Britain yesterday.
Hundreds lined the streets of Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, to honour the men from the 2nd Battalion of the Paras who fell victim to the Taliban last week - the regiment's worst wave of casualties since the Falklands.

The Independent reports that Bush threatens Iran with military action

the US President's remarks on the last leg of his "farewell tour" of Europe raised fears at Westminster that Mr Bush is determined to take action against Iran before he leaves office in January if the sanctions fail to force Tehran to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.

Many of the papers report on the opening of Simon Mann's trial in Equatorial Guinea

The President of Equatorial Guinea has accused Western powers of being complicit in a plot to overthrow his government, just hours before Simon Mann appears in court charged with leading the attempted coup

says the Telegraph

coup plotter, gets his day in court says the Guardian

At the ornate palace of the former Spanish colonial governor, the president of Equatorial Guinea yesterday sat in dark suit and gold and diamond watch and outlined his thoughts on the international conspiracy he believes lay behind a plot to overthrow him four years ago.
Less than a mile away, in shackles at Black Beach prison, the Briton who has confessed to his part in the failed coup awaited his day in court.

The Independent's front page claims

Lecturers 'pressed to boost degree results'

Degree standards in many British universities are in danger of collapsing because lecturers are under pressure to "mark positively" and turn a blind eye to plagiarism, the man who was in charge of safeguarding standards at Britain's largest university will say today. Professor Geoffrey Alderman, former chairman of the academic council at the University of London, warns that "league table culture" has led to an explosion in the number of firsts awarded.

The Telegraph says that

Traditional school science experiments are being ditched as teachers rely on textbooks to make sure pupils pass tests, according to Ofsted.

The same paper reports that

Military families and veterans will be given preferential treatment on the NHS, under plans drawn up by the Conservative Party. The children of members of the armed forces will receive extra funding at school under recommendations to try to encourage soldiers, sailors and airmen not to leave the services early

The Mail leads with the latest in the bin wars Chip and Bin farce says its front page as it reports

The first trial of microchips in bins was a disaster and has been scrapped, it was revealed yesterday.
In a devastating blow to Whitehall plans for pay-as-you-throw taxes, the scheme was sunk by computer failings, residents' anger at increased surveillance and a 250 per cent jump in fly-tipping.
The trial covered 52,000 households and put £25,000 of scanning technology on each of 12 refuse lorries.

Boost for women keen to put a family on ice says the Times

Women who want to postpone motherhood to establish a career or find the right partner have been given new hope by research that shows the safety of an advanced egg-freezing technique.
The most exhaustive study yet of children born after the freezing procedure found that they appeared to be as healthy as those conceived normally or by IVF, paving the way for its widespread use

The Express reports that

SICK newborn babies are at risk from an NHS care crisis and a shortage of specialist nurses, a report warned yesterday.
Every one of England’s 178 neonatal units closed its doors to new patients at least once a week last year because there were no spare cots.
A third admitted they had to squeeze in more babies than was recommended, increasing the risk of infection

EU leaders firm on ratification despite Ireland's rejection says the Independent

EU foreign ministers, meeting in Luxembourg yesterday, admitted there could be "no quick fix" as they tried to calm Ireland's fears that the EU will either go ahead with the treaty without Ireland or ignore last week's referendum by pressurising the country to vote a second time on an amended treaty.

Quick fix over treaty could backfire reports the Guardian

France and Germany were warned yesterday that their attempts to build a head of steam behind the treaty designed to reshape the EU, despite its rejection by Irish voters, could backfire and kill it off. The warning came from the Czech Republic where the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, met four central European leaders to shore up support for the Lisbon treaty.

The Sun follows up its story from yesterday

AN 88-year-old man told last night how he was tortured on the orders of sadist Milivoj Asner.
Dusan Janosevic said he was beaten with a rope until he bled every day for six months in Asner’s jail.
And he said other prisoners including Jews and priests were executed in a nearby forest every night.
The father of two – then a tailor’s apprentice – said he was crammed with up to 30 others in a tiny cell

The Mail reports that

An RAF pilot was in hospital this evening after he was forced to eject from his blazing Harrier jump jet seconds before it plunged into a field 600 feet from a village.
As an investigation began into the loss of the latest Harrier, witnesses said it appeared the pilot had stayed with the plane until the final moments to ensure it avoided homes.
He landed by parachute near the scene at Ashwell, Rutland, and is being treated at Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre for spinal injuries which are not said to be life threatening.

Finally the Independent reports that Octogenarians first gays to wed in California

The bride wore a pastel-coloured pant-suit – and so did the other bride. At 5.01pm yesterday, Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin walked up the steps of San Francisco's City Hall and the two women became the first gay couple to take advantage of California's decision to legalise same-sex marriage.
After half a century together, the couple, who are both in their eighties, were married in front of 50 guests by the city's mayor, Gavin Newsom. They were hand-picked to usher in a "summer of love" in recognition of their status as pioneers of the gay rights movement.