Malta and international press digest

The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:

The Times says the government is to appoint a team of experts to plan cuts in emissions, in line with EU emission targets. It also reports that Parliament will meet on May 10.

In-Nazzjon leads with the EU grant of €680,000 to Malta to help workers dismissed from textile factories. It also reports how parliament will open on May 10.

l-orizzont says the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association is looking into reports in the British media about Malta becoming too expensive because of the exchange rate. An MHRA official expressed concern that the Sterling rate could destroy tourism. The newspaper also reports that casual elections will be held on Thursday week.

The Malta Independent carries a front page picture on pro-Tibet protests in France. It also carries a story on people seen as being in the running to be appointed Speaker. It is a long list headed by Louis Galea and including former ministers Michael Frendo and Censu Galea, MEP Simon Busuttil, and former MP Helen D'Amato.

The Press in Britain...

Most British nationals lead with the verdict of the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and her lover Dodi Fayed, which concluded that the couple died because of gross negligence by drink-driver Henri Paul and the pursuing photographers. After more than 10 years and inquiries likely to cost taxpayers £12m, the jury concluded the "People's Princess" was unlawfully killed .

The Daily Telegraph says her sons, Princes William and Harry, are hoping that years of speculation over her death will now end. The Princes say they are "optimistic" that the verdict will draw a line under the countless conspiracy theories about the accident in Paris in 1997. They thanked the members of the jury for the "thorough" way in which they considered the evidence and praised the coroner for his courtesy. They also paid tribute to "all those who fought to save our mother's life on that tragic night".

The Times pictures some of the paparazzi who were detained following the fatal crash. It says the inquest jury blamed what the paper calls "the usual suspects".

The Guardian says the jury returned their verdict by a majority of 9-2. The inquest heard 278 witnesses and is thought to have cost the taxpayer more than £6.5m.

The Metro says Dodi's father, Mohamed al Fayed, insists the couple were murdered and has raised the possibility of a legal challenge to the verdict. He said he was shocked that French police, senior officials, paparazzi and pathologists refused to give evidence.

The Daily Express calls the inquest verdict "sensational" as jurors found Diana and Dodi's deaths were the equivalent of manslaughter. The paper claims Mr Al Fayed is having talks with his legal advisers and French authorities have ruled out a fresh investigation.

The Independent leads with the anti-China protests during the Olympic flame relay in Paris. The Independent asks whether China's hopes of Olympic unity can survive the outpouring of anger over human rights.

The Daily Mirror announces Naomi Campbell has been banned from any British Airways flights after she spat in a policeman's face.

Meanwhile, the Daily Star claims that plots have called BA a "laughing stock" over the Terminal 5 fiasco.

The Daily Mail says the mother of Shannon Matthews knew where her daughter was all along while The Daily Record reports she confessed she knew where her missing daughter was "from day one".

The Financial Times says first-time property buyers with no cash savings were shut out of the market after Abbey became the last mainstream lender to stop offering 100 percent mortgages.

And elsewhere...

International Herald Tribune leads with the protests in Paris and San Francisco which have overshadowed the world relay of the Olympic torch for the Beijing Games this summer. In the French capital, protesters forced police to extinguish the flame three times as the relay finished by bus at the Stade Charlety. In the US, three pro-Tibet activists scaled the cables of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and hung banners to protest the games in Beijing before Wednesday's scheduled relay in the Californian city.

The New York Times reports that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged Zimbabwe's electoral commission to make public the results of the election held nine days ago. Ban said that according to the country's constitution, the results should have already been made public. In the meantime, Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been in South Africa where he met South African ruling party leader Jacob Zuma, after appealing for help from outside powers to end the 28-year rule of President Robert Mugabe. President Mbeki did not meet Tsvangirai, saying there is no need for outside intervention in Zimbabwe.

Ilaria Post says the leaders of Kosovo have signed the country's new constitution in a ceremony held in the capital, Pristina. Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said the document, which guarantees that the rights of Kosovo's Serb minority will be protected, would give Kosovo's break with Serbia added legitimacy. More than 30 countries, including the United States and most European Union countries have recognised Kosovo, since the leaders of its ethnic-Albanian majority declared independence on February 17. The move came against the will of Serbia and its closest ally, Russia.

Die Welt quotes a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel telling reporters that the German government denied having been involved in the training of police in Libya by a private German security firm between 2005 and 2007. Neither the government nor any federal agency was involved in organising or carrying out the training sessions.

Al-Mustaqil says nine Islamic extremists convicted for the Casablanca bombings that killed more than 40 people in 2003 have escaped from a Moroccan prison. Authorities from the Kenitra prison near the capital, Rabat, said the men, including one facing the death sentence, tunnelled their way out early on Monday. The Casablanca bombings were Morocco's deadliest ever, killing 45 including 12 suicide bombers, and injuring scores more.

Wall Street Journal reports that Internet giant Yahoo! said it was willing to talk to Microsoft about a potential takeover deal, but wants the software firm to up its US$41bn (€26.1bn) proposal. Microsoft issued Yahoo! with a three-week deadline at the weekend, warning that if a deal is not reached by April 26 it will launch a hostile takeover at a lower price.

Haiti en Marche reports that protesters, angered by high food prices, have flooded the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The demonstrators forced businesses and schools to close as unrest spread.