Malta and international press digest

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

The Times says 6,300 voting documents still have to be collected from the offices of the Electoral Commission. The deadline is midnight today.

In-Nazzjon quotes Dr Gonzi saying the people have a choice for the country to move forward. It also says that Microsoft is expected to be among the first companies to operate at SmartCity.

l-orizzont reproduces a message from Alfred Sant and also reports that the GWU has written to the Prime Minister expressing concern over the dockyard’s future.

MaltaToday leads with the election eve arrest warrant issued against AD leader Harry Vassallo in connection with unpaid fines for the non-submission of VAT returns by a company he used to represent. The newspaper also says that the PN is leading in an opinion survey but the MLP is gaining ground.

The Malta Independent says the parties are in the final stretch for the Saturday showdown. Both will hold mass meetings and the party leaders will meet in a televised debate this evening.

The Press in Britain

The Daily Mail says that despite referendum pledges on the controversial Lisbon EU Treaty, British MPs have finally denied voters a say “on the treaty that will change Britain for ever”. After a heated six-hour debate in the Commons, the Government saw off a Conservative amendment for the public to have their say by 311 to 248. The paper calls the vote a "shaming day for democracy".

The Scotsman reports that the Commons decision left Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg in turmoil after three of his front-bench team, including the party’s spokesman for Scotland, quit as they and 12 others defied his orders to abstain. He said he regrets the losses, but added his team "cannot operate effectively" without the principle of collective responsibility.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Gordon Brown is to face challenges from Catholic ministers over a Government plan for a bill on embryo research.

The increase in household bills is the lead story covered by The Times, which claims Britain's six largest energy companies are charging their poorest customers up to £330 more each year.

The Financial Times predicts that the UK's reliance on nuclear power will increase "significantly" over the next two decades.

The Daily Express says Britain is heading for a drought crisis this year and that millions of people will be affected by water rationing.Metro reports that children und

The Guardian says that new legislation will be introduced by the end of the year to ensure drugs companies pass on results of clinical trials as soon as the alarm is raised about one of their medicines. The government says GlaxoSmithKline delayed informing the authorities that a controversial drug increased the likelihood of suicide among teenagers.

The Sun leads with the news that Prince Harry has been reunited with his girlfriend Chelsy Davy upon his return from service in Afghanistan. The pair were seen partying with friends in Chelsea, west London.

The Independent says that a gay teenager who sought sanctuary in Britain when his boyfriend was executed by the Iranian authorities now faces the same fate.

The Daily Star reports that Dirty Dancing actor Patrick Swayze is suffering from pancreatic cancer. But his physician dismissed reports he has only months to live, saying the 55-year-old star has a very limited amount of disease and appears to be responding well to treatment.

The Record says that a school for troubled girls is being probed over claims a "punishment room" was used to abuse pupils.

The Herald claims that cheating in Scots exams is on the rise, with figures showing a 21 per cent rise in incidents from 2006 to 2007, despite a crackdown by the exam body.

Asharq Al-Awsat says peace talks are due to resume between Israel and the Palestinians after they were abandoned over violence in Gaza. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the two sides have agreed to return to the table, ending her peace mission to the area on a positive note. Meanwhile a report by a coalition of human rights groups shows that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is worse now than at any time since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967. Poverty and unemployment is rising, hospitals are suffering power cuts and the water and sewage systems in Gaza are close to collapse.

Sydney Morning Herald gives prominence to the incident in which a Chinese hijacker was shot dead after taking 10 Australian tourists hostage. The man boarded their bus saying he had a bomb and was ready to blow up the centre of Xian city – home to the famous Terracotta Army collection. After tense hours of negotiations the man released the tourists and was then shot dead by a police sniper. China is normally a safe destination for tourists, but more problems have arisen recently, especially robberies of foreigners.

Die Welt says talks over an eight percent pay rise for around two million federal and municipal workers resume today after Germany’s air traffic suffered major disruptions yesterday when thousands of airport workers walked off the job in a day of warning strikes meant to back up their wage demands. Lufthansa cancelled at least 300 flights and the backlog created further delays over the course of the day. The stoppages also targeted local transit systems and other public services in the west of the country. Management has offered five percent in return for longer working hours.

L’Osservatore Romano has announced that the Pope will host a ground-breaking "summit" of Catholic and Muslim leaders next November. The "Catholic-Muslim Forum" is to bring together 24 leaders and scholars from the two religions. Relations between the two faiths were strained in 2006 after the pope delivered a lecture in Germany that implied Islam was violent and irrational. In response, nearly 140 Muslim representatives called on the German-born pontiff and other Christian leaders for a dialogue.

Moscow Times reports that the row between Ukraine and Russia which threatened to cut gas supplies in western Europe has been settled. Russia's state gas monopoly Gazprom says it is resuming normal supplies after a week in which it enforced cuts on Ukraine in a row over unpaid bills. Ukraine had said it would have to reduce the amount of gas it transports to Europe amid the cuts.

Washington Post notes that Hillary Clinton has hinted she might have Barack Obama as her vice-president running mate - but her focus remains on winning the Democratic nomination. Mrs Clinton - boosted by primary wins in Texas and Ohio - conceded that having both herself and Mr Obama on the ticket "may be where this is headed". But she said her focus is on making sure her name is at the top of that ticket as the candidate for president. Meanwhile President Bush has endorsed John McCain as the Republican party's candidate for the US presidential race.