The Times' Mary Ann Sieghart says Labour ministers are desperate for Tony Blair to show "some independence of view" in his press conference with George Bush tonight. They want the PM to come up with a deal to secure a ceasefire in the Middle East.
The Independent rams home the message with a front page full of signatures from celebrities, ex-diplomats, ex-politicians and academics (including, somewhat strangely, an orthopaedic surgeon) calling on the PM to break away from the US position. The paper doubts that Mr Blair enjoys any influence over Mr Bush. But if he does, it says, he should use it.
There is also growing disquiet over the use of Prestwick airport in Scotland as a stopover for US flights carrying arms to Israel. America has supplied Israel with £9bn worth of "high-tech weapons", according to the Telegraph.
Mr Blair, according to the Guardian's splash, is mindful of the pressure. The paper says he will press Mr Bush to back a UN security council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon. It would assure Israel of a "small multinational force" on the Lebanese border in exchange for an end to the bombing.
"It is unclear whether Mr Blair will urge Mr Bush to do something the administration has decided to do anyway," adds the paper.
The Herald Tribune's lead suggests that Israel is not contemplating a ground invasion of Lebanon, despite its decision to call up 30,000 reservists. Instead, the Telegraph says, it plans to evacuate southern Lebanon in an effort to avoid civilian casualties and pound the country from above. The Times's editorial supports that approach.
* Blair to bush: we need ceasefire
* Independent: PM urged: Stand up to Bush
* Times: Mary Ann Sieghart
* Times: Britain approves US arms flights to Israel
* Telegraph: You're all targets, Israel tells southern Lebanon
* IHT: Israel decides against wider offensive
A LOT OF HOT AIR: FROM GAS PRICE RISES TO JOHN TRAVOLTA
The summer holidays are under way, the heatwave has broken, columnists are leaving for their holidays and - inevitably - a general disgruntlement has leached into the papers.
Much of the grumbling has been prompted by the large rise in energy bills announced yesterday by British Gas. "GAS PRICES SHOOT UP BY OVER 91%," splashes the Express. Ninety-one percent since 2003, admittedly, but that does not diminish the paper's fury.
The Telegraph formally warns readers to "buckle their seatbelts" as the effects of higher utility prices kick in. It says the retail price index gives a misleading impression of the true level of inflation, since many of the products it includes - TVs, airline tickets - are discretionary. "For every pound we earn, we are now compelled to spend 71p on the mundane business of surviving," complains the paper. What? All of us? Everyone, from the care-home worker to the Barclay brothers? Where did that figure come from?
The paper also warns the Bank of England not to make matters worse by raising interest rates.
Richard Littlejohn, now at the Daily Mail, tells readers that they are perfectly justified in wishing they could spend all year in Spain. "You don't have to be a card-carrying BNP neanderthal to worry about the consequences of this sea-change in our society ..." Can you guess what it is yet? "Neighbourhoods have been transformed almost overnight. Long-standing residents ... feel threatened. They become strangers in the place they grew up." Let's hope the Spanish don't feel the same way, Richard.
The Sun follows up its sting operation yesterday - which revealed that an Immigration and Nationality Directorate official was allegedly soliciting bribes from immigrants in order to expedite their asylum applications - with a further revelation. "You really couldn't make it up," says the Sun, triumphantly. "Yep, you guessed it ... Home Office crook was an asylum seeker too." Joseph Dzumbira arrived from Zimbabwe in 2000.
Depressed Mail readers are treated to a picture of a slightly paunchy John Travolta. Travolta looks happy. "My wife loves the extra meat on me," he says. "I love my food." Perhaps it is, in a way, progress to see flabby male celebrities on page three of the Mail. Perhaps the ladies ought to be grateful for a day off from the mindless scrutiny of the paparazzi. But the Wrap wishes they'd leave John alone.
* Millions face another big rise in energy bills
* Telegraph: Britons are poorer
* Sun: Surprise, surprise
CHEAPER IVF FOR EGG DONORS
Women who agree to donate their eggs for cloning research will be entitled to cheaper IVF treatment, according to the Times's splash. Stem-cell research into diseases like Parkinson's has been hampered by a shortage of eggs. However, there is a chance that the licence could be revoked if a public consultation on egg donation - due to start in September - condemns the practice.
* Times: Cheaper IVF for women who give eggs to research
WAS 'MIRACLE OF MORZINE' BASED ON TOT OF TESTOSTERONE?
"This is no longer a viable sport," writes Simon Barnes in the Times. "I don't think we can duck this conclusion .... The Tour de France increasingly looks like an event that is impossible without drugs."
Floyd Landis denies he used testosterone, and has hired a Spanish doctor who has helped other riders who have tested positive for the drug. His B sample has yet to be tested. But as far as most of the papers are concerned he has already forfeited his Tour de France title. Several point out that it was just after his "remarkable" recovery during the 16th stage - the so-called "Miracle of Morzine", when he leaped from 11th to 3rd position - that he tested positive.
* Tour title put on hold as Landis fails drug test
* Times: Simon Barnes
FRENCH EGOS FIND ONLINE OUTLET
Why do the French love blogging so much? The Herald Tribune says 60% of French internet users visited a blog in May, compared with a third of networked Americans. Furthermore: "French blogs stand out in other measurable ways. They are noticeably longer, more critical, more negative, more egocentric and more provocative than their US counterparts," an (American) expert on the subject tells the paper.
The French blogger Loic Le Meur offers an explanation: "It is clear that in France we have very large egos and love to speak about ourselves. If you look at Germans or Scandinavians - offline and on the internet - they really don't talk about themselves."
Le Meur even speculates that the bloggeurs might eventually spend less time protesting in the streets and more time with their keyboards. Sous le clavier, la plage? Surement pas!
* IHT: France's mysterious embrace of blogs
COMING UP ON GUARDIAN UNLIMITED TODAY
>>> Tony Blair and George Bush are holding talks over the crisis in the Middle East.
>>> Thousands of homes and businesses in central London could face more power cuts.
