Malta and international press digest

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

The Times and all the other local papers lead with the news that a mediator has stepped into the shipyards privatisation issue. The Times also carries a story on the resignation of Pakistani President Musarraf.

In-Nazzjon says 32,000 people crossed over to Gozo for Sta Marija weekend.

The Malta Independent says the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association is concerned over the international situation, particularly the weak Sterling.

l-orizzont says the Health Division would like to restrict or control the sale of Red Bull drinks, following a European Court decision upholding such a measure in France.

The Press in Britain…

The Daily Mail says a record numbers of drunk and aggressive British holidaymakers are putting air passengers' lives at risk.

The Daily Express says mortgage lenders are cutting rates amid further signs that competition is returning to the home-loan market.

The Daily Telegraph quotes a government minister suggesting motorists should face higher charges to park in town centres to force them to walk and reduce traffic congestion.

The Guardian says the latest poll shows that voters would overwhelmingly prefer David Cameron as Prime Minister, even if Labour replaced Gordon Brown with David Miliband.

The Independent announces that Britain's special forces are to play a key role in a newly planned "surge" against Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

The Herald says Scotland has disproportionately high levels of the UK's human trafficking victims yet no-one has been prosecuted north of the border.

According to The Scotsman, men accused of assaulting their partners face being banned from drinking alcohol, under a radical plan to tackle domestic abuse.

The Times says Britain's Olympic heroes will return to a political wrangle over a £100m shortfall in funding that is threatening London 2012 preparations.

The Mirror announces the British Olympic heroes will be feted with a hero's parade.

The Star says David Beckham has told how a friend was left paralysed in a horrifying knife attack.

And elsewhere…

Most of the world media leads with the resignation of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf in the face of looming impeachment charges, ending a turbulent nine years in power.

Georgia’s Tribuna suggests that Russian troops are not withdrawing into the break-away region of South Ossetia. The White House has urged Russia to withdraw its troops without delay.

The International Herald Tribune reports that NATO foreign ministers are converging on the headquarters of the Western military alliance in Brussels to discuss how to respond to the crisis in Georgia and future relations with Moscow.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe has failed to reach an agreement on sending more military observers to Georgia. Die Presse quotes an OSCE representative telling reporters following a meeting in Vienna that discussions on the issue would continue.

Pravda announces that President Medvedev has awarded medals to 30 Russian servicemen involved in the conflict in Georgia. He called the action a peacemaking operation that will be remembered as one of the "glorious deeds" of the Russian military.

Chumhuriyet says Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has arrived in Istanbul to attend a three-day economic cooperation summit of African leaders. It is Bashir's first trip abroad since an international court moved to indict him on genocide charges.

The Manila Times reports that at least 26 people have been killed in a series of attacks launched by Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines.

Rajdhani leads with the swearing-in of Prachanda, the leader of Nepal's former Maoist rebels, as prime minister – the first republican prime minister since the abolition of Nepal's 240-year-old monarchy last May.

Hurdling champion Liu Xiang's early exit from the Olympics has cast a shadow over China's celebrations. The People’s Daily leads with the hastily-arranged news conference during which his tearful trainer explained that a recurrent right-heel injury flared up at the start of the 110-metre hurdles on Monday.

Antigua Sun reports that a man and a teenager have appeared in court charged with the murders of British couple Ben and Catherine Mullany, from South Wales. The couple were shot on the last day of their honeymoon.

The Jerusalem Post reports that a premature baby girl, declared stillborn, was found to be alive after six hours in a hospital morgue refrigerator. Her parents began noticing some movement when they took her to be buried. Doctors at Western Galilee hospital in northern Israel were forced to abort her mother's pregnancy because of internal bleeding. The 26-year-old mother was 23 weeks into her pregnancy. Doctors are not sure whether the 60-gram baby will survive.