Malta and international press digest

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

The Times highlights Alfred Sant’s speech in Parliament yesterday where he argued that Malta faced a new threat to democracy through a powerful network which control decision-taking without being on the political front line.

The Malta Independent carries a picture of the devastation caused by an earthquake It also reports that a Frontex plan for patrols in the Mediterranean has been finalised. It also reports that school products are under scrutiny in an inquiry by the Office of Fair Trading.

In-Nazzjon says Dr Sant showed no regrets when he spoke in Parliament yesterday, blaming the PN and a network of interests for the way Labour lost the elections.

L-orizzont says Alfred Sant warned that divisions were widening in the country.

The Press in Britain...

The Guardian leads with an impressive full-page picture of a desperate rescue mission following a huge earthquake that struck densely populated regions of central China.

The Scotsman adds that 900 schoolchildren were among the thousands trapped under the debris of destroyed schools, factories, hospitals and homes. The quake was felt as far away as Hong Kong and Taipei.

The Times also has a picture of a survivor trying to free herself from the rubble piled upon her but leads with the news that an elite squad set up to take on the barons of organised crime has gone back to the drawing board after failing to prosecute any of the 130 figures it aimed to.

The Daily Telegraph leads story claims MPs think tests taken by more than one million pupils every year should be scrapped because they “distort” their education.

The Independent predicts figures will reveal confidence in the UK’s housing market has sunk to its lowest level for more than 30 years.

The Daily Express claims families are facing another crippling rise in energy prices with bills set to soar by 46 percent - £415 a household.

The Daily Mail goes on to reveal that Gordon Brown has also proposed an “ageing tax” to provide care for the elderly.

The Sun says new sentencing guidelines on knife crime – urging fines or community service – have sparked outrage.

Metro claims the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached its highest level in human history, as it nudges ever closer to the point of no return.

Scotland’s The Herald reveals that the cost of the UK’s two new aircraft carriers has risen by £300m to £4.2bn before the first steel for the ships' hulls has even been cut.

And elsewhere...

China's The People's Daily reports that nearly 10,000 people have been killed by the earthquake that has hit the southwest of the country, the worst in over three decades. The epicentre of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake was in Sichuan province, where 8,533 people have died. More than 200 others were killed in three other provinces and the city of Chongqing. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has said the situation is worse than originally believed. A number of countries - including France, Germany and Japan - have offered relief assistance.

The New York Times quotes UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticism of Burma's military junta for its "unacceptably slow response" in helping cyclone victims. He said Burma's leaders had not returned his repeated calls and letters to them seeking greater co-operation with international relief efforts.

Meanwhile, Thailand's Asian Tribune reports that three French and US planes landed in Rangoon with more than 100 tons of medical and other aid yesterday. Two more US cargo aircraft are to fly in more supplies for survivors of the storm that ravaged Burma 10 days ago. Burmese state television reports that the death toll has risen to 32,000. International relief agencies fear that at least 100,000 people are already dead. Almost 30,000 others are still missing.

International Herald Tribune says strong winds have fuelled wildfires on Florida's central Atlantic coast, destroying more than a dozen homes. Meanwhile, tornado survivors have got down to the business of cleaning up their communities after storms hit Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia, killing 22.

eurobserver says the EU has welcomed the outcome Sunday's parliamentary elections in Serbia. Slovenia, which currently chairs the EU presidency, hailed the victory of President Boris Tadic's pro-European alliance after Belgrade's electoral commission confirmed the poll's results. Tadic said the result confirmed a clear European path.

Arutz Sheva reports that Israeli police have raided Jerusalem's city hall and confiscated documents as part of a corruption probe that could force out Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He is suspected of having received funds illegally from a US businessman before he became prime minister in 2006. Olmert has admitted that he took cash but he has denied any wrongdoing. He said he would resign if indicted.

Pakistan Times quotes former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif saying ministers from his party would resign from their posts today, just three months after landmark general elections, Sharif said his party was quitting over differences regarding the reinstatement of judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf. He said his party would however not join the opposition.

Addiction Research and Theory claims illegal ketamine use is increasing among young people worldwide – particularly within the electronic dance music scene. A special issue of the journal cites studies at two British universities in Bath and Lancaster which saw the findings as evidence of a “continued desire for altered states of intoxication". Their research is the focus of on ketamine use in the UK, Europe and the US. Ketamine was originally developed in the 1960s as an anaesthetic and is still used by the veterinary and medical professions.