Malta and international press digest

The following are the top stories in Malta and abroad.

The Times reports on the drafting of regulations to ban drinks on Paceville roads. It says on the backpage that there is an August deadline for the conclusion of repairs on the St Paul's Bay bypass.

The Malta Independent says Malta remains the EU's top state aid donor, although state aid has declined. It also says that climate change could lead to lower local crop yields in 20 years.

l-orizzont leads with fears of a tragedy in the Mediterranean. A third corpse was recovered from the sea yesterday. It also reports that Malta will send a number of tents to China to help earthquake victims.

In-Nazzjon says the government's targets will be achieved with the participation of civil society. It also says that the former Mayor of Mtarfa was paid €2,300 for petrol expenses without council approval.

The Malta Business Weekly reports that pharmaceutical companies are owed ‘big money' by the government.

The Press in Britain...

According to The Daily Mail, Khyra Ishaq, a seven-year-old girl who died of starvation after allegedly being neglected by her parents, was so hungry she stole food left for the birds. She was found "seriously emaciated" and social workers have been accused of "huge neglect".

The Daily Express has launched a "crusade" against petrol prices, calling on the government to cut taxes on fuel.

The Daily Telegraph warns that motorists should expect record petrol prices for up to eight more years.

The Financial Times reveals detailed growth forecasts from the Bank of England showing that the economy is heading for its most protacted slowdown since the early 1990s.

The Guardian says that headteachers will be advised to gather proof against children they suspect of being in gangs. The Champions League final is also featured on the front page, after Manchester United beat Chelsea 6-5 in a penalty shootout.

Metro reports the Bank of England has warned there could be a sharp rise in unemployment because of the credit crunch.

According to The Times, Manchester United won the "game of the century". The paper has learned that, under new Government proposals, witnesses who give evidence against gangs will be guaranteed anonymity as soon as they come forward.

And elsewhere...

Dernières Nouvelles quotes EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn warning membership hopeful Turkey not to slip back in its reform process because it could not afford 'another wasted year'. Turkey started EU accession talks in 2005.

Svobodnaya Gruzia says an exit poll from Georgia's parliamentary election indicates that the party of pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili has won, taking about 63 percent of the vote. The main opposition coalition, which got around 15 percent, has accused the president of rigging the election.

Mail and Guardian reports that the wave of anti-foreigner violence that has spread from Johannesburg to the port city of Durban, has displaced 13,000 people. Angry mobs have killed at least 42 people and injured many others in attacks over the past week.

Gulf Times leads with the signing of the deal reached by Lebanon's pro-Western government and pro-Syrian opposition that is meant to put an end to an 18-month-long political crisis. The agreement came after six days of talks mediated by the Arab League. The deal provides for the election of a new president.

The People's Daily reports that another survivor has been pulled from the rubble caused by the major earthquake that hit the southwestern province of Sichuan nine days ago. The woman, who was found trapped under a tunnel at a hydro-electric plant, was the only survivor rescued on Wednesday. The main focus of emergency workers is now on providing food aid, shelter, and medical care to the survivors

Chumhuriet says Israel and Syria have confirmed they are holding indirect peace negotiations, with Turkey acting as a go-between. Delegations of both countries, officially at war since Israel's creation 60 years ago. Israeli prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Ha'aretz that the this was a historic breakthrough.

Palestinian Times reports hundreds of business and political leaders are in Bethlehem for the first ever Palestine Investment Conference, aimed at boosting the occupied West Bank's struggling economy through private investment. More than 100 projects costing about a total of $2 billion and the possible creation of 50,000 jobs will be presented.

Le Parisien says the French government is to speed up financial aid for fishermen - many of whom have led angry protests over high fuel prices. Farms and Fishing Minister Michel Barnier said the government will give fishermen €110m by the end of the year and pay a total of €310m in aid over two years.

New York Times says eight countries have won a place on the UN Human Rights Council. Candidates are chosen by regional groups by secret ballot. For two seats in the group of Western states, France received 123 votes and Britain 120 votes - just one vote more than Spain which got 119 votes. The other six seats went to Slovakia, the Ukraine, Japan, Bahrain, South Korea and Pakistan.

Kurier quotes the director of a psychiatric clinic treating the family of dungeon master Josef Fritzl saying teachers have started tutoring the children he fathered with his daughter. Berthold Kepplinger stressed that the family needs privacy to recuperate and urged the paparazzi to stop trying to take photos of the victims.

East African Standard reports that a mob burned to death 11 people - mostly between 70 and 90 years old - suspected of being witches and wizards in western Kenya. Tthe mob hunted down the eight women and three men in two villages in the district of Kisii Central. One victim was aged 40.

Astronomy magazine says that for the first time, astronomers have witnessed the end of a star's life as it exploded into a supernova. Using a satellite to spy on a star already in its death throes, they stumbled across another star which had started to explode and filmed it. The outburst was 100 billion times brighter than Earth's Sun. Scientists said getting the footage was "like winning the astronomic lottery".