South Ossetia continues to dominate this morning.

The latest developments are reported in the Guardian which says

Russia brushes aside ceasefire calls after Georgia withdraws

Russian forces were moving to take total control of South Ossetia last night as Georgia withdrew troops amid intense diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire to end the three-day conflict in which 2,000 people have reportedly been killed and up to 22,000 displaced. Seizing the opening offered by President Mikheil Saakashvili's doomed military incursion last week, Moscow also insisted the Georgian leader should resign, according to senior US diplomats.

Georgia bows to might of Russia says the Independent

Georgia's appeal for a ceasefire seemed to have fallen on deaf ears last night as Russian jets expanded their bombardment, targeting the capital, Tbilisi, for the first time. As the world's diplomats hurried to contain the violence and prevent the conflict engulfing the wider Caucasus region, Russia made clear it no longer considered Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili a partner, prompting accusations from his main ally, the United States, that Moscow was resisting peace and wanted regime change.

The Sun reports that

South Ossetia capital Tskhinvali was said to be razed to the ground. And in a dramatic escalation, a Russian naval squadron SANK a Georgian missile boat in the Black Sea while its warplanes BOMBED the oil port of Poti and TARGETED Georgia’s international airport in capital Tbilisi.

According to the Telegraph

A full-scale evacuation of the Georgian city of Gori has started as fears rose that Russia would soon advance its troops across the border from the breakaway republic of South Ossetia into the main body of Georgia itself.Any such incursion would be a dangerous escalation of a conflict that has already reportedly claimed thousands of lives and displaced thousands more. Russia, which said it moved into South Ossetia last week to protect pro-Russians there from "genocide" commited by Georgians, has now been accused of "ethnic cleansing" itself. Russia regained total control of Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, and Georgia offered a unilateral ceasefire as it withdrew all its troops.

We helped in Iraq - now help us, beg Georgians says the Times

As a Russian jet bombed fields around his village, Djimali Avago, a Georgian farmer, asked me: “Why won’t America and Nato help us? If they won’t help us now, why did we help them in Iraq?”
A similar sense of betrayal coursed through the conversations of many Georgians here yesterday as their troops retreated under shellfire and the Russian Army pressed forward to take full control of South Ossetia.

From other parts of the world and the Independent reports

President George Bush attended a Christian service in Beijing yesterday to call for greater religious freedom in China but, in an indication of how religious persecution persists in the fiercely secular country, a leading local underground church activist was detained en route to the same ceremony.
Hua Huiqi was cycling to the Kuanjie church when he was stopped by security officers working with the religious affairs bureau. He and his brother were taken away and their bibles were seized.

The Telegraph reports that

Parts of the spectacular Beijing Olympics opening ceremony on Friday were faked because of fears over live filming, it has emerged.

adding that

As the ceremony got under way with a dramatic, drummed countdown, viewers watching at home and on giant screens inside the Bird's Nest National Stadium watched as a series of giant footprints outlined in fireworks processed gloriously above the city from Tiananmen Square.
What they did not realise was that what they were watching was in fact computer graphics, meticulously created over a period of months and inserted into the coverage electronically at exactly the right moment.

Power-sharing talks between Mugabe and Tsvangirai reach critical stage says the Guardian

Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai were locked in make-or-break talks last night over how power will be distributed in a coalition government aimed at ending Zimbabwe's deepening political and economic crisis.
The two sides have reached broad agreement that Mugabe will remain president and Tsvangirai will be prime minister at the head of a large cabinet divided evenly between their two parties, but with a smaller opposition faction holding the balance of posts.

Bullied by the Nhs drug czars says the front page of the Mail

The drugs-rationing body for the NHS has been accused of bullying, ignoring and patronising patients.
The unprecedented attack follows the highly-controversial decision to ban drugs that can extend the life of kidney cancer victims.
Experts asked to advise the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence have lodged complaints, describing the consultation as a sham.

Cancer care in chaos says the Express

UP to 1,300 cancer patients have been condemned to an early grave after they were denied treatment, shocking figures reveal.
While patients living in one health trust are being given every new drug, those in another area – often just a few miles away – are refused treatment.
The damning report is the first clear picture of how a “bizarre and demeaning” postcode lottery is operating in England under Labour. And as the health service celebrates its 60th birthday, the new evidence suggests it is far from its promise of providing “universal, tax-funded and free care at the point of need”.

The Sun claims it has a video of Maddy,under the headline is it her the paper

A LITTLE girl who cops suspect could be Madeleine McCann asked a woman she was seen walking with, “Can we go back now?” it emerged last night.
The poignant plea in English was overheard by a bank security guard in Brussels, Belgium — and he is convinced the kiddie was missing Maddie

.

The Mail meanwhile reports that

Police failed to investigate a previous suspected abduction attempt from Kate and Gerry McCann's holiday apartment, it was disclosed yesterday.
A babysitter spotted a man lurking in the shadows outside apartment 5A while she was looking after a young girl inside.
But Portuguese police searching for missing Madeleine McCann dismissed her account as 'irrelevant' and refused to investigate.

British banks claw back global losses says the Telegraph

British banks have been accused of taking advantage of customers by making £500 million extra in the past year from the UK despite the worldwide credit crisis.
While banks have suffered billions of pounds of losses in their global businesses, they have been able to claw back money by charging British customers more on financial products, such as credit cards and mortgages.

The Express reports that

GORDON Brown’s bid to buy his way out of trouble hit new problems yesterday after it emerged he plans to give millions of families a cash handout to help meet soaring fuel bills.
The proposal was unwittingly revealed by a top civil servant chatting on a train.

Recyclers are cashing in on the fortune in your bin reports the Times

The price of recyclable plastic, newspaper and cardboard has doubled in 18 months, giving councils a source of “green gold” that could be spent on improving local services. Many are locked into 20 to 30-year contracts with recycling companies and are unable to cash in on the higher cost of plastic and copper

Investigation to test integrity of exam standards reports the Independent

A major investigation into the reliability of England's examination and testing regime is to be launched in the autumn by the Government's new independent exams watchdog.
The review will cover the setting, marking and long term standards of A-levels, GCSEs, SATs and other school examinations. It is expected to report its findings to Parliament with any recommendations on how the system can be improved. In an interview with The Independent, Kathleen Tattersall, chair of Ofqual, which is being established as a regulatory body for exams independent of the Government, said there was a need for "a public debate" about marking and assessment.

The Guardian reports that

Two Chinese students found dead in flat

Police have launched a double murder inquiry after the bodies of two Chinese students were found in a flat in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Northumbria police have not yet named the victims, but said that a man was found lying on a bed in the back bedroom of the ground floor flat and a woman in the front bedroom.
Their head injuries were so severe that detectives have not yet worked out the nature of the murder weapon.

Many of the papers have pictures of Britain's first gold medallist of the games,the Mirror leads with the story under the headline Gold Pedallist

Yesterday, amid heavy rain, 97 per cent humidity and gruelling hill climbs in the shadow of the Great Wall of China, all Nicole's dreams came true.
Back in her Welsh home village of Wick, she was cheered on by dad Tony, Denise and brother Craig as she triumphed in a dramatic finish in the women's 78-mile road race at Badalin.
Trailing as she went into the last hill climb to the line, Nicole held her nerve to win by a length from silver medallist Emma Johansson of Sweden and Italy's Tatiano Guderzo, who won bronze.
She said: "I hope everyone else can share in this dream and this amazing feeling. There are so many people who have helped me through the years and who've given so much to get me here and I hope they can enjoy this moment.
"It is just joy, such a fantastic feeling - it has not sunk in yet."

The Telegraph reports that

Defying the torrential rain and swirling winds that swept across Beijing and made the course around the Great Wall treacherous, Cooke, 25, gave Britain's Olympians the perfect start in their push to hit the 35-medal target set by the Lottery providers, UK Sport.
It was the 200th gold medal won by a Briton in the 112-year history of the summer Olympics, the first won in this event and the first Olympic cycling title ever won by a British woman

Finally staying on the sporting theme the Sun reveals that

GORDON Brown was facing holiday embarrassment yesterday — amid claims his personal trainer had three-in-a-bed sessions with another girl and a Hollywood actor.
Millie Dobie, 42, has been keeping the PM trim during his summer break in Suffolk.
But an ex-lover has told how she took part in lesbian romps with the blonde £50-an-hour fitness instructor.
And they were joined by the middle-aged British-born actor, with many of their encounters being filmed