Papers ponder A-level difficulty

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Many of the papers ask the age-old question - are A-levels getting easier?

The Times attempts to answer by getting four of its experts to sit papers in their subjects. They are all awarded grade As.

"A-levels remain demanding", argues the Independent, but are "not trusted". "It beggars belief" to say standards have risen again, says the Daily Telegraph.

The paper also asks, with so many A grades, how universities are to decide who is bright and who mediocre.

Downturn

All the papers ponder the current state of the economy.

The Daily Mirror fears that a downturn will be "a tragedy for working people" and it looks to Gordon Brown for a "bold package" of help.

The Financial Times worries that the Bank of England might not have the right approach. It argues that it is time for higher interest rates.

The Sun looks for a "silver lining" and can only come up with the fact that the Premier League starts on Saturday.

Great Olympian

The papers are in no doubt who has made waves in Beijing - the American swimmer, Michael Phelps.

His mother tells the Daily Star he was a hyperactive child, with attention deficit disorder, and he took up the sport to burn off his endless energy.

The Daily Mirror is one of many to marvel at his physique - an arm-span of 6ft 7ins, for example, and his diet.

He eats three egg sandwiches, toast, an omelette, porridge and three pancakes for breakfast, says the Daily Mail.

'Terrified refugees'

The conflict between Russia and Georgia continues to fill the pages.

The Independent tells of stories of "terrified refugees", tales of "bullet-riddled bodies", burnings and lootings.

The Times talks of South Ossetian irregulars embarking on acts of revenge and bands of ethnic Chechens, feared throughout the region.

The Guardian too has gathered "claims of Russian atrocities", "an orgy of murdering and rape", but says it cannot verify them.