Malta and foreign press digest

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

The Sunday Times leads with a story saying that Labour deputy leader Michael Falzon has launched a scathing attack on general secretary Jason Micallef following comments made by the latter. It also shows a picture of Dr Muscat extending his hand of friendship to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at the Sette Giugno ceremony yesterday.

it-torca quotes new Labour leader Joseph Muscat’s appeal to those who had left the party “to come back... because this is your home”. In a related story inside, the paper reveals that veteran MP Joe Debono Grech has resigned from the party while keeping his seat in the House. It says sources close to the MP confirmed he had handed in his letter of resignation to party secretary Jason Micallef yesterday. Mr Debono Grech could not be contacted.

il-Mument also pictures Dr Muscat and Dr Gonzi greeting each other at the Palace Square but leads with Labour MP Marlene Pullicino saying that Dr Muscat knows his leadership post to the party machine.

Kulhadd quotes Dr Muscat saying that with his appointment, the MLP has given a clear message of the beginning of a new political season.

The Independent on Sunday speaks of Dr Muscat’s “new way of doing politics”.

Under the heading “Labour Pains” Malta today reveals that “bitterness reigns supreme among Muscat’s rivals” while, in another front-page story, it says Dr Gonzi “finds himself snubbed by 9.2 percent of those who voted for his party last March”.

A survey by illum reveals the disconcerting news that 39 percent of respondents say that they cannot make ends meet while 90 percent say they cannot save anything.

The Press in Britain...

The Independent on Sunday says David Cameron's problems deepened as party chairman Caroline Spelman admitted she paid her children’s nanny through parliamentary expenses. However, Mrs Spelman insisted she had not breached parliamentary rules.

The Observer reports that hundreds of poor performing schools in England will be given an ultimatum by the government this week: improve or face being shut down.

The Sunday Times leads with a report that the medical establishment is in revolt against Labour's policy of denying NHS treatment to patients who pay privately for cancer medicines.

The Sunday Express quotes SAS hero Andy McNab saying that British soldiers are better equipped and in better shape than at any time in the history of modern warfare.

The Sunday Telegraph reports that an opinion poll has found that support for Labour has slumped to a record low.

The Mail On Sunday says the government's equality chief, who is responsible for making businesses and public bodies obey anti-discrimination laws, was paid by Channel 4 for giving advice following the Big Brother racism scandal.

The News Of The World leads with new pictures of the world's first 'pregnant man' - sex-change father Thomas Beatie - four weeks from the birth of his baby daughter.

Scotland on Sunday quotes what it calls “a hard-hitting report toi the UN” which claims that Scottish children are being denied the right to play by a society which increasingly treats them with fear and suspicion.

And elsewhere...

Most newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic report that Hillary Clinton has ended her historic quest for the presidency and endorsed Democratic rival Barack Obama. The former first lady urged her backers to “take all energy and passion and do everything to help elect Senator Obama as the next president” next November.

The Irish Times says Prime Minister Brian Cowen is to intensify his campaigning efforts in the final days before the Lisbon Treaty referendum in an effort to reverse the dramatic shift in public opinion to the “No” side revealed in the latest opinion poll.

Wall Street Journal reports the United States and Asia's four largest economic powers – Japan, China, and South Korea – have voiced concern about the surging price of oil. US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman told reporters in the Japanese town of Aomori that the record oil prices were an economic shock. He warned oil producing countries that it would do them no good if the US took a major hit, because it remained a significant engine in the global economy.

Pravda quotes Russian President Dmitry Medvedev saying he wants Moscow to play a greater role in the world economy. Speaking at an international economics forum in St Petersburg, Medvedev said his government would seek to turn Moscow into a key financial centre and make the rouble a leading regional currency. He also criticised the United States, saying that it had not lived up to its responsibility as the world's top economic power during the current financial crisis.

The Sunday Mail reports a court in Zimbabwe has overturned a government ban on opposition campaign rallies and ordered the police to allow the planned rallies to proceed. The police had claimed they had based their decision on reports from the MDC that its members had been threatened with assassination.

Pakistan Times reports that said today that the government had asked the United Nations to investigate the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Ms Bhutto died in a gun-and-suicide bomb attack on December 27 as she left an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi. Meanwhile, President Pervez Musharraf has denied rumours he will resign and go into exile.

Corriere della Sera says Oscar-nominated director Dino Risi, whose comedies combined a light touch with a merciless look at flaws of his compatriots, has died aged 91.

The sports pages of the major European newspapers are dominated by the opening of the 2008 European soccer championship in Switerland and Austria. At the opening match in Basel, the Czech Republic beat co-hosts Switzerland 1-0. In the second encounter of the evening, Portugal defeated Turkey 2-0 in Geneva. The other co-hosts, Austria play their first match against Croatia today. Germany also begin their campaign when they take on Poland in Klagenfurt. Meanwhile, drunk German fans have been arrested in connection with hooliganism.