Local and international press digest

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

The Times leads with the hospitalisation of Labour MP Karl Chircop, who is in critical condition. It also carries an interview with Simshar survivor Simon Bugeja under the heading “The gates of hell”.

l-orizzont leads with the GWU meeting at Malta Shipyards yesterday, saying the union will not accept any dismissals.

The Malta Independent says the GWU has turned on the pressure in the shipyards privatisation issue. It also says that a mishap on a Gozo ferry delayed vote counting at the MLP elections yesterday.

In-Nazzjon also reports how the results were delayed. It also reports how a Maltese-Australian killed in Greece is to be posthumously honoured after his family decided to donate his organs.

The Press in Britain…

The Guardian leads with the death of 16 Chinese policemen at a border checkpoint, just days before the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. Olympic organisers moved to reassure the public and athletes that the games would be safe.

The Daily Star reports on the secrets of the Portuguese probe into Madeleine McCann's disappearance which have been laid bare with the release of thousands of pages of evidence.

The Daily Mail says the Portuguese police tried to force a confession from Gerry McCann by confronting him with false DNA "evidence".

The Sun leads with the first images released of the bedroom of Madeleine McCann on the night she disappeared. The police files from the 14-month inquiry have been made public after the case was shelved two weeks ago.

The Times has an exclusive, claiming that a secret deal between Britain and the al-Mahdi militia prevented troops from going to the aid of their US and Iraqi allies for nearly a week during the battle for Basra.

The Independent says an attempt by John Prescott to rally support for Gordon Brown has backfired after he compared the Prime Minister to the captain of the Titanic.

The Daily Mirror reports that the parents of murdered honeymooner Ben Mullany have asked for his organs to be used for lifesaving transplants.

According to The Daily Telegraph, researchers report that children face a battery of new tests because teachers have lost faith in official exams.

The Financial Times says crude oil prices fell below $120 a barrel for the first time in three months amid mounting worries about slowing economic growth.

The Scotsman leads with a story about a judge who spared a pensioner who killed his wife a prison sentence – instead banning him from going to the pub.

And elsewhere…

Italians and tourists had mixed reactions to the arrival of the first troops on city streets as the government's scheme to use 3,000 soldiers to help police fight crime got under way. Il Tempo reports that the troops are patrolling suburban metro stations, embassies and government buildings.

The People’s Daily says Chinese police have stepped up security around Olympic venues after one of the most deadly terror attacks in China in recent years left 16 policemen dead and 16 more injured. The attack occurred four days ahead of the opening of the games, occured in a region 2,000 miles west of Beijing where local Muslims have waged a low-intensity rebellion against Chinese rule for decades.

In an interview with the Bild, Germany’s intelligence chief Ernst Uhrlau said Osama bin Laden is no longer personally planning attacks, but remains significant as a “Che Guevara of al-Qaida” who helps hold together the terror network. He said Bin Laden is still believed to be hiding along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

Diario de Mexico quotes the executive director of the UN programme to counter AIDS saying the end of the disease is nowhere in sight.

Le Figaro says that a freak tornado struck towns in northern France, killing four people and injuring nine as it wrecked houses and hurled cars through the air. A 76-year-old man also committed suicide after his house was wrecked by the storm.

The Irish Independent quotes worldwide aid agency Concern Worldwide warning that millions of people in Africa are facing starvation after the February harvest failed.

The Irish Times says the amount of litter found in Dublin has plummeted. Figures show that two-thirds of the city as having a high level of cleanliness.

Variety reports that actor Jackson Morgan Freeman suffered a broken arm in a car accident near Charleston, in the Mississippi Delta, where he lives. Freeman, 71, was airlifted to a hospital in Tennessee and joked with rescue workers.

Bangkok’s Daily News claims a Thai video game distributor has halted sales of Grand Theft Auto after a teenager admitted robbing and murdering a taxi driver while trying to recreate a scene from the game.

Paris Match reports that Paris Herpes is killing young oysters because they have spent their energy developing their sexual organs instead of their natural defences, according to an oyster crisis team. Oyster herpes virus type 1 has ravaged all but one of France’s breeding areas.