Malta and international press digest

The following are the leading stories in the Maltese and international press today:

The Times says the Prime Minister yesterday said nothing about his expected election announcement today. It also reports that a man from Zurrieq has been arrested after another man was assaulted and robbed at City Gate.

l-orizzont quotes Alfred Sant as saying the momentum for change has gathered pace. It also reports pro-life activities held in Mosta yesterday.

In-Nazzjon reports a speech by Prime Mnister Lawrence Gonzi in Senglea where he said PN policies were based on confidence in all sections of society. It also reports on continued investment in ICT and on school-building projects at Cospicua and Victoria.

The Malta Independent says the Prime Minister will call the general election today. It says Dr Gonzi has confirmed he will contest the ninth district. It also reports speeches by Dr Gonzi and Dr Sant yesterday.

The Press in Britain…

The Mail says the UK Labour government is mired in another scandal after the revelation that a senior Muslim Labour MP was bugged by anti-terrorist police.

The Times reports plans to meet up to a third of Britain’s energy needs from offshore wind farms are in jeopardy because the Ministry of Defence says that the turbines interfere with its radar.

Meanwhile, The Financial Times says the large subsidies paid by electricity users to fund the drive towards wind power is generating profits for existing wind farm owners – without producing many turbines.

The Daily Telegraph claims figures show almost 7,000 infantrymen are unfit to fight, leaving front-line troops “dangerously exposed”.

The Guardian reports on a new counter-terrorism phrasebook that has been drawn up within Whitehall to advise civil servants on how to talk to Muslim communities about the nature of the terror threat without implying they are specifically to blame.

The Daily Express says families already struggling to make ends meet are being hit by soaring food prices.The Daily Mirror says divers have been trawling a remote reservoir for the body of missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann.

The Independent says Gordon Ramsay has plans for a series of £30-a-head restaurants devoted to classic British food.

The Daily Star claims football "love rat" Ashley Cole has been given one last chance by his pop star wife Cheryl, after claims he had unprotected sex with a 22-year-old hairdresser. Last week, Cheryl announced she was pregnant.

The Sun reports racists taunted F1's Lewis Hamilton as he tested his new car in Spain. Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, issued a warning and may even consider stripping the circuit of its Grand Prix.

And elsewhere…

Le Courrier des Balkans leads with the narrow margin victory of pro-Western Serbian leader Boris Tadic over ultra-nationalist Tomislav Nikolic in the country's presidential elections. Nikolic conceded defeat after Tadic won about 51% of the votes. Tadic's supporters, waving Serbian, EU and Democratic Party flags, celebrated his victory on the streets of Belgrade.

Chumhuriyet reports the Turkish military have killed 10 Kurdish rebels in clashes in the east of the country. The army said its troops suffered no casualties as fighting continued in Bingol province against members of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party. New York Times quotes UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon who said he was "profoundly alarmed" by the violent situation in Chad. He was speaking as the Security Council held emergency consultations to stop the fighting in the capital N'Djamena by rebels hoping to oust President Idriss Deby. Witnesses said the streets of the city are littered with bodies.

East African Standard reports two earthquakes struck hours apart in Rwanda and neighbouring Congo, killing at least 39 and injuring 400. Damage was also caused to residential and business properties. Liberation says the parents of Henri Paul, the man at the wheel of the car in which Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed, are to speak about the tragedy in public. Jean and Giselle Paul, who will give evidence to the UK inquest by video link from Paris, are expected to be asked about their son's drinking habits, private life and any medication he was on.

Los Angeles Times reports Britney Spears' stay in a psychiatric ward has been extended, with doctors deciding to keep her in the UCLA Medical Centre's psychiatric hospital for an extra 14 days. UCLA quoted a section in the state legal code allowing patients to be retained if they are found to be gravely disabled or a danger to themselves.

Alice Spring’s Echo-News Journal announces the resignation of the mayor of the small town in Texas after she secretly kept her neighbour's Shih Tzu while pretending it had died. Neighbours had asked Alice Mayor Grace Saenz-Lopez to look after the dog, Puddles, during a holiday. She called them to say it was dead. But the dog, which Ms Saenz-Lopez had renamed Panchito, was later seen at a dog groomer's and at her sister's home. A custody hearing later today is expected to decide who keeps the pet.