Malta and international press

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

The Times leads with the contact made with the Maltese oil worker kidnapped in Nigeria. It also reports that in the wake of the controversial endorsement by Martin Schulz, chairman of the Party of European Socialists, Labour leadership election candidate Joseph Muscat has cancelled endorsements by other MEPs.

l-orizzont carries complaints by fishermen after the World Wildlife Fund called for fishing for tuna to be halted in order to preserve stocks. The Maltese fishermen said they have barely started fishing. The newspaper also reports the death of Edmond Mallia, former GWU president.

In-Nazzjon leads with Michael Falzon’s reaction to the MLP election defeat report, saying in TV interviews and a press conference that the report was aimed at mudslinging and lacked credibility.

The Malta Independent says a survey has shown that George Abela has the best chance of leading the MLP to election victory. It also reports that the government is to invest in an education campaign on energy saving.

MaltaToday says Michael Falzon is on the warpath following the publication of the MLP election defeat report. In another story it points out that 15 percent of boarded out workers are Gozitans.

The Press in Britain...

Fuel price protests continue to dominate much of the day's front pages. But as The Independent points out, not all are opposed to the high taxes placed on oil: environmentalists are said to be urging the PM to stand firm.

The Express claims the government's windfall from the spiralling cost of oil has smashed through the £1bn mark.

The Scotsman notes that for some, it is a matter of life and death as the cost of food and heating slips out of reach. For others, it is the rising cost of going to work.

The Herald says the spectre of fuel blockades across Britain was raised last night as Gordon Brown came under pressure to ease motorists' pain.

The Daily Telegraph reports that planned car taxes may be sidelined to appease voters. It is also running a campaign for a fair deal for drivers.

Metro has a picture of Tuesday's protest by lorry drivers, but leads with the news that conservative councillors in Plymouth are asking householders to nominate a 'bin guardian' who would be prosecuted if they threw away too much.

The Daily Mail reports that under plans to stamp out abuse of expenses, MPs are demanding pay rises of 60 per cent or £15,000 each, bring their salaries near to £100,000 a year.

The Guardian says the government is preparing to scrap Britain’s entire arsenal of controversial cluster bombs.

The Financial Times reports a rift is developing among large US investment banks over whether access to a Federal Reserve borrowing facility is worth the expected trade-off.

The Sun exclusively reports that leather sofas have left 1,000 people with burns - including some young victims.

The Star claims to have the first pictures of Michael Jackson's children.

And elsewhere...

Le Journal des Finances leads with President Sarkozy’s call for a Europe-wide cut in VAT to reduce fuel prices, claiming the move would help offset high prices at the pump.

Tribune de Genève quotes the international Red Cross saying soaring food prices are exacerbating pressures on people living in war zones and disaster areas.

The People’s Daily says two new aftershocks have destroyed more than 420,000 houses in the Chinese region hit by an earthquake two weeks ago. Many of the homes appear to have been empty.

Asian Tribune reports that international aid workers have finally begun entering Burma's devastated delta after being blocked for more than three weeks by the country's military junta. But the UN stressed an estimated 1.5 million people in the area are still in dire need of assistance.

Meanwhile, Myanmar Times says Burma's military regime has extended the detention of 62-year-old opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi by one year. She has spent 12 of the last 18 years under some form of detention.

Jerusalem Post reports a Jewish-American businessman, the key witness in a corruption case which threatens to topple Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, has testified before a Jerusalem court. Morris Talansky said he handed the Israeli leader around 150,000 dollars in cash over a period of 15 years. Prime Minister Olmert denies any wrongdoing, but has said he would step down if indicted.

El Pais says a pair of Spanish twins separated at birth 35 years ago through a hospital mix-up, and re-united by chance in 2001, are suing the authorities.

Espresso says a police reconstruction with Kate and Gerry McCann of the night Madeleine vanished will not go ahead after their friends were unwilling to take part.

According to Le Parisien, a towering 71-storey skyscraper to rival the Eiffel Tower is to be built on the edge of Paris. The Signal Tower is expected to be completed in 2015 and will be 987.5 feet tall – 75 feet shorter than the Eiffel Tower. It will be divided into four levels to house shops, a luxury hotel, offices and apartments on the top – crowned with green from the atrium.

Asahi Shimbun quotes a Japanese education reform panel saying children are becoming addicted to internet-linked mobile phones and has warned parents and schools to limit their use. They are worried about youngsters becoming sucked into cyberspace crimes, spending long hours exchanging mobile e-mails and suffering other bad effects from over-using the phones.