Malta and international press digest

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

The Times says Russia has pledged to pull out troops from Georgia today. It also says that Joseph Muscat is proposing a lowering of voting age to 16, starting with local council elections.

The Malta Independent also leads with the Russian pull-out. It also says the police arrested 11 during a party and the AFM held 12, all for drug possession yesterday night.

In-Nazzjon says there has been strong response to the rent law consultation process.I t says an auction for the right to carry the statue of Sta Marija in Mgarr has been won by with a bid of €10,000.

l-orizzont says the EU has criticised Malta because animal remains are not being incinerated.

The Press in Britain…

The Daily Mail hails the British athletes who won eight gold medals during the weekend.

“Britannia rules the games” says The Sun as it highlights double gold medal-winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington.

“Britain’s new golden vision” is The Daily Express’ heading as the newspaper reports that the UK Olympic heroes sent a warning to the rest of the world after their record-breaking weekend: Just wait for London 2012.

The Daily Star says that the gold medals were Britain’s “best haul for 100 years”.

The Guardian reports that European leaders have warned Russia to withdraw its forces rapidly from Georgia or face unspecified consequences.

The Financial Times adds that Western leaders have formed a united front as they increased pressure on Russia to live up to its pledge to withdraw from Georgian territory in accordance with a ceasefire signed at the weekend.

The Daily Telegraph says the government is to press ahead with plans for a national road-pricing scheme, raising the prospect of further costs for motorists.

The Daily Mirror reports horrified children saw two planes collide in mid-air - killing all five people on board.

The Independent says that stretches of Britain’s coastline are doomed and plans will soon have to be drawn up to evacuate people from the most threatened areas.

The Times reports on a leading business group that claims up to 300,000 workers will lose their jobs by 2011, pushing the number of people out of work close to 2 million.

The Daily Record leads with the news that a gangster ordered a hit on a financial adviser - to silence her over his crooked dealings.

And elsewhere…

Le Figaro leads with the pledge given by President Medvedev to President Sarkozy that Russian regular forces would begin withdrawing from Georgia later today. However, it quotes Georgian officials saying Russia plans to deploy a so-called peacekeeping force of unspecified size that could turn into an open-ended occupation.

Die Welt quotes German Chancellor Angela Merkel assuring Georgia that it will join NATO.

Teheran’s Abrar says Iran has sent its first dummy satellite into space using a domestically built rocket.

Jerusalem Post reports that the Israeli Cabinet has approved the release of about 200 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture of goodwill.

Daily Afghanistan says some 7,000 police officers are in the capital Kabul ahead of today's Independence Day celebrations.

Al Sumaria reports that a suicide bomber on a motorcycle has struck a checkpoint in a Sunni neighbourhood of Baghdad, killing 15 people and injuring 29 others.

USA Today says some 25,000 people have been evacuated from the Florida Keys area as tropical storm Fay nears the island of Cuba.

The Washington Post reports that US presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain differed on abortion yesterday, with Mr McCain saying a baby’s human rights begin “at conception,” while Mr Obama restating his support for legal abortion.

El Pais says that two small bombs blamed on Basque separatist group ETA exploded at tourist resorts in southern Spain. A third was found on the A7 motorway near Málaga after a telephone warning. No injuries were reported.