Malta and international press digest

The following are the top stories in the local and overseas press.

The death of a three-year-old boy when a light truck overturned on the road to Mgarr features in all the newspapers.

In other items, The Times says that a breakthrough in oil exploration talks is being hoped for during an official visit to Libya by President Eddie Fenech Adami, starting today. Talks have been deadlocked on exploration in waters which both countries claim as their own, but there is a possibility that they can agree on joint exploration. Dr Fenech Adami will be meeting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

l-orizzont features a statement by the GWU on the Malta Shipyards privatisation, where it claims the government wants to impose, rather than discuss.

In-Nazzjon features a consultation meeting on MEPA reform which the Prime Minister had with a GRTU delegation.

The Malta Independent says Medicins sans frontiers will provide personnel to help Malta deal with illegal immigrants.

MaltaToday raises questions on how tuna exports are well above what should be Malta’s fish farms capacity.

The Press in Britain…

The Guardian says David Miliband is to intervene in the debate about Labour's future, telling the party 'the times demand a radical new phase' from the government if it is to beat the electoral odds and win a fourth term.

The Times says the move is seen as the launch of Miliband's leadership bid, and effectively 'dares' Gordon Brown to sack his Foreign Secretary.

The Daily Star claims Britons say they will not vote Labour even if MPs kick out Brown.

The Daily Express says petrol could be slashed by 25p a litre as oil companies rake in 'colossal windfalls' on the back of soaring oil prices.

The Daily Mail reports on a new drug that scientists say halts the devastating process of Alzheimer's disease.

The Daily Telegraph also leads with that story, saying the new generation of drugs can reverse the symptoms of the disease.

The Scotsman says the new drug has been hailed as a "hugely exciting" development.

The Independent reports a generation of young Britons is being criminalised for life by the 'relentless expansion' of the national DNA database.

Metro says a million innocent people should have their records wiped from the national DNA database, according to a 'citizen's inquiry'.

The Herald quotes a Government-backed inquiry which recommends that
Britain's DNA database needs to be held independently and operated under much tighter safeguards.

The Financial Times says British Airways and Spain's Iberia are in talks about a merger that would create Europe's third biggest airline and give the UK flag carrier the scale to play a leading role in eventual global airline consolidation.

And elsewhere…

The Irish Times lead with what it calls “a damning report on Europe’s joint defence efforts”. It says the landmark European peacekeeping mission’s wasteful, piecemeal and sometimes chaotic joint defence tactics threaten the smooth-running of Europe’s plans under the Lisbon Treaty to step up combined defence initiatives and boost the EU’s international role.

Nations and organisations around the globe have expressed regret over the failure of World Trade Talks in Geneva. The Wall Street Journal says the talks ended with China and India being blamed for refusing to open up their agriculture markets to US imports.

Dnevnik reports that the former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is reportedly on his way to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Serbian officials said the secret service had taken him to Belgrade airport to board a plane for the Netherlands. The announcement comes after a night of violent clashes in Belgrade involving about 15,000 pro-Karadzic ultra-nationalists.

Los Angeles Times confirms that a 5.4 magnitude earthquake that hit Southern California on Tuesday has caused little damage and no injuries. The quake was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego.

Washington Post reports President Bush has approved the execution of a former army cook convicted of multiple rapes and murders He is now 42 and has been on death row for more than 20 years.

The New York Times quotes Geneva-based UNAIDS saying that global AIDS deaths numbered about 2 million last year, 100,000 less than in 2006.

The People’s Daily reports China’s angry defence of its human rights record, after Amnesty International accused it of stepping up repression ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

Meanwhile, L’Equipe announces that the IOC has reversed its suspension of Iraqi athletes for the Beijing Games after Iraqi officials pledged to ensure the independence of Iraq's National Olympic Committee.