Malta and international press digest

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

The Times leads with the arraignment of two persons yesterday after illegal fireworks were found in Xaghra, Gozo and Mellieha. Both were fined. The newspaper also carries a picture of the lighting of the Olympic torch, which was disrupted by pro-Tibet protesters. Also on the front page is Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando's reaction to the claims of pressure made by an MTA consultant. The inside pages include comments by Joe Theuma, an official of the firework makers' association calling for harsher penalties to deter amateurs who are giving firework makers a bad name.

l-orizzont leads with the statement by Joseph Muscat launching his bid for the Labour leadership, saying he was doing so without pre-conditions.

The Malta Independent also leads with the leadership bid and the statements by George Micallef and Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando on the Mistra case.

In-Nazzjon carries a front page picture of the Easter Monday parade held yesterday in Qawra. It also reports good business by Maltese tour operators who have reported a surge in bookings after the general elections. Other stories include a focus on the record number of Maltese who stayed over in Gozo during the long Easter weekend.

The Press in Britain...

In an exclusive interview with The Financial Times, incoming Russian President Dimitry Medvedev has warned that granting NATO membership to the former Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia could threaten European security. Observers said his comments will step up pressure on the alliance not to allow the two states to join the alliance's "membership action plan" at a summit in Bucharest next week.

Under the heading "The torch of protest is lit", Metro dedicates the whole of its front page to the disruption by anti-China campaigners of the Olympics flame lighting ceremony.

The Daily Telegraph also carries a picture of the Tibet protest which greeted the kindling of the Olympic flame heralding the Beijing games.

The Daily Mirror says Sir Paul McCartney is in mourning for his childhood friend and mentor Neil Aspinall, who died of cancer aged 66. Known in the music industry as the ‘Fifth Beatle" Aspinall is credited with developing the Beatles brand and overseeing the recent publications of re-packaged Beatles music, film and memorabilia.

The Guardian also pays tribute to Neil Aspinall but its lead story quotes the Government's top environment scientist asking ministers to rethink a move to force motorists to use biofuels amid fears it could cause even more harmful emissions.

The Daily Mail says that officially inflation is low, but asks whether this is the true increase in the cost of living when the family bill has increased by £1,440 a year.

The Daily Express claims a teachers' union proposal for state schools to teach Koran in schools has provoked fury among parents.

The Times quotes a senior police chief saying the fight against gun crime is being undermined by judges who do not impose the mandatory five-year minimum sentence for possession of a firearm.

London Evening News says the invasion of Iraq will come under the microscope yet again during an Opposition day debate as the Liberal Democrats demand an apology from every MP who backed the decision. The intervention comes as the Tories seek to increase the pressure on Gordon Brown for an inquiry into the conflict.

The Sun reports exiled hate preacher Omar Bakri has sparked outrage by branding boxing hero Amir Khan an "ignorant deviant".

And elsewhere...

China's state media report that a policeman has been killed and several others injured in riots in a region of the western province of Sichuan where Tibetans make up the majority of the population. The official Xinhua News Agency provided no other details regarding the riot. Xinhua also quoted local authorities as saying that 381people involved in earlier protests in another county in the province had surrendered to police.

The Himalayan Times leads with police action in Khatmandu to break up a protest by 200 Tibetan refugees and monks by beating them with bamboo sticks and arresting 40 of them. The protest is the latest by Tibetan monks and refugees demanding the UN investigate the recent crackdown in Tibet. Nepalese authorities have said they will not allow protests against any "friendly nation", including China.

Pakistan Times says that newly-elected prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has freed judges detained by President Pervez Musharraf, a move seen as a symbol of Mr Musharraf's slipping authority since murdered Benazir Bhutto's party won parliamentary elections last month. Gilani, a loyalist of Benazir Bhutto, will form a new government dominated by Mr Musharraf's opponents. He was endorsed as prime minister with 264 of the 342 parliamentary votes cast.

New York Times says UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has called for increased international action to stop the global tuberculosis epidemic that is killing 4,000 people every day. In a message to mark World TB Day, Mr Ban said fight that can be won only with the collective commitment of millions of individuals - donors and researchers, doctors and healthcare workers, patients and family members. In a report last week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the fight to control TB has slowed to a crawl.

La Estrella de Iqueque reports a powerful earthquake has struck a sparsely populated region of northern Chile. The 6.2 strong quake centered near the Bolivian border, 155 kilometres east of the Chilean city of Iquique. There were no immediate reports of deaths or major damage.

Chicago's Daily Herald says higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could reduce the ability of crops, such as soybean, to protect themselves from being eaten by insects. University of Illinois researchers said leaves grown under high CO₂ levels could not produce a hormone that helps the plants ward off attack. The scientists said this allows the bugs to feast and live longer, and have more offspring.