Beijing's opening bang wows papers

Spectacular multi-coloured photographs of the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics are on many front pages.

The interior of the brilliantly-lit "bird's nest" stadium takes up the entire front cover of the Independent.

The Sun calls it the "most spectacular show in history", while the Daily Mirror says it was "jaw-dropping".

The organisers of the 2012 Games, it warns, must now pull out all the stops to ensure London's offering does not look like a damp squib.

'War and peace'

The contrast between the celebrations surrounding the launch of the Beijing Games and the fighting in Ossetia are shown on the front of the Daily Mail.

"As the world looks away", says the headline, Russian tanks and missiles blitzed a rebel state.

Similarly, the Guardian shows a stunning picture of fireworks over the Chinese capital, above the image of a tank burning in South Ossetia.

"08.08.08", says the headline, "a day of war and peace".

Belgium 'sighting'

For some, neither the Olympic spectacle nor the prospect of war between Russia and Georgia pushed the disappearance of Madeleine McCann off the front page.

The Daily Mirror tells how Portuguese police tried to gain permission to bug Kate and Gerry McCann's car and flat.

The Daily Express and the Sun report a possible sighting.

Police are investigating claims by a bank worker in Brussels that a girl looking like Madeleine was spotted on CCTV footage on Monday.

Grant furore

Photographs are published in most papers of Martin Dinnegan, the 14-year-old stabbed to death in London by a teenager jailed for life on Friday.

The Independent reports that one of the UK's most successful anti-gun crime projects is under threat, because the Home Office refused funding.

According to the paper, the Brixton-based Don't Trigger project's bid to renew its grant has been turned down.

Labour's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, has asked for a full explanation.