Local and international press digest

These are the main headlines of the local and international newspapers.

The Sunday Times refers to a letter by Labour MP Leo Brincat, published in today’s edition, in which he is openly urging party delegates not to vote for general secretary Jason Micallef in next week’s election of party executives. He says the MLP must avoid making “such risky and counterproductive choices”.

The Malta Independent on Sunday quotes the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative as saying that the Freedom of Information Act in its current draft form is in danger of falling short in that the “cautious and narrow approach to providing access to information… may undermine the effectiveness of the law in practice”.

Malta Today publishes a half-page picture of a “horse, still alive, inside the government-run abattoir last Thursday being carried uncovered in its last minutes of life, in the blistering heat in the scorching sun, tied and bound to the metal truck which is clearly used to carry concrete supplies”.

According to Il-Mument, the international call for interest in the dockyard privatisation is to be issued on August 11.

Illum says MUT president John Bencini is concerned about the record number of teachers who are tendering in their resignation, amounting to between 40 and 50 a year.

it-torċa refers to an interview with Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said who is quoted as saying that consultations with the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development over the 95 per cent energy surcharge would not have changed anything.

KullĦadd says there seems to be a ray of hope for Clayton Micallef, the youth who for the last three months has been at St Vincent de Paule Hospital after suffering spinal injuries in a traffic accident four years ago. The paper says Parliamentary Secretary Mario Galea visited him assured him he will return home.

The Press in Britain…

The Sunday Times reports Cabinet ministers who see themselves as potential successors to Gordon Brown are secretly plotting against him despite public protestations of loyalty.

The Sunday Telegraph says Brown has suffered a fresh blow to his political authority with an opinion poll showing the Conservatives enjoying a 24-point lead among voters in key marginal constituencies.

The Observer claims Gordon Brown has been accused of desperately attempting to buy off a deadly Cabinet revolt, after it emerged that Labour's chief whip, a key player in any attempt to oust him, is being lined up for a plum job in Europe.

The News of the World says Gordon Brown is planning a multi-billion pound tax cut in a desperate bid to save his career.

The Independent on Sunday has a picture of Brown and US presidential candidate Barack Obama and says Cabinet vultures are circling the stricken PM.

The Sunday Express has a picture of Tory leader David Cameron and Obama. It describes them as the young, charismatic contenders who polls suggest will soon be wielding power in their respective countries..

The Mail on Sunday reports that a Harrods executive is being investigated by Scotland Yard after a 15-year-old schoolgirl claimed she was sexually assaulted there.

The Daily Star Sunday has an apparent exclusive about Prince William setting the date with girlfriend Kate Middleton.

And elsewhere…

The International Herald Tribune reports that US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is on his way home to the United States after wrapping up his eight-nation foreign tour of the Middle East and Europe. He defended his decision to take the trip despite mixed signals about its impact on his popularity at home. Obama had earlier received criticism for the tour from his Republican rival, John McCain, who accused him of speaking to the people of the world, and not Americans.

Left-leaning Indian newspaper The Hindu says 40 people were killed and over 100 injured when serial blasts struck different parts of Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s major commercial nerve centre, yesterday evening.

Politika reports Radovan Karadzic’s lawyer has filed a last-minute appeal against his extradition to the UN war crimes court in the Netherlands.

Le Temps says trade ministers from 35 nations, attending the World Trade Organization meeting in Geneva, have been battling to finalise a new global free trade pact as yesterday's talks moved to services, an important area for developed nations. European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said he was "moderately encouraged" by the progress made.

El Mundo quotes Spanish police as saying they have arrested a 57-year-old woman who they claim is the leader of the Spanish cell of Colombian Marxist rebel group FARC.

China Daily says parents whose children died or were disabled in China's devastating earthquake will be allowed to have more children after lawmakers in the hardest-hit province waived strict family-planning controls that are commonly referred to as the one-child policy.

Manila Times reports that Australian investigators have began examining a stricken Qantas jumbo jet that made an emergency landing in the Philippines with a giant hole in its fuselage. An official of the US Transportation Security Administration said initial reports indicated no link to terrorism while a spokesman for Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority said speculation that rust contributed to the accident could be discounted.

Al-Quds says Hamas security forces have arrested dozens of supporters of the rival Fatah group in the Gaza Strip, which Hamas rules. The move follows a mysterious beachside blast on Friday that killed five Hamas members and a 6-year-old girl in Gaza City.

The Irish Times reports on the latest poll which shows that the electorate would vote 'No' by an even bigger margin if made to have a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

L’Equipe quotes Formula One boss Max Mosley saying he intends to take legal action against media organisations in France, Germany and Italy for allegedly publishing images without his consent. He has also vowed to sue the News of the World for libel after he won a record £60,000 in privacy damages against the paper.