Malta and international press digest

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

The Times leads with the hold-up on George Vella, a lotto receiver from Zabbar, who was robbed and shot in one of his feet. The newspaper also reports the MEPA decision to issue a Conservation Order to stop developments which would have been higher than two storeys in Transfiguration Avenue, Lija, near the belvedere.

The Malta Independent gives prominence to a PN business breakfast on education, when some of those present argued that the current examinations system is harming the education system.

In-Nazzjon reports how a Greek TV journalist has received the heart of Maltese-Australian Doujon Zammit, who was killed in August following an attack by bouncers. It also reports the PN business breakfast, where the Prime Minister stressed that education is the government’s priority.

l-orizzont says some €3,000 were stolen in the violent Zabbar hold-up. The bag taken from a lotto receiver also contained some 1,000 tickets.

The Press in Britain…

The Guardian says there’s growing evidence that consumers are making deep cuts in spending, amid fears that Britain is facing the worst economic conditions in decades.

The Daily Express advises people to be prepared to keep working as long as they can and expect less support from the state in future.

Metro says energy companies have handed shareholders a 20 per cent rise in payouts, as they hit customers with record-breaking rises in their bills.

The Daily Mail reports on how regulators have been urged to review aircraft safety after a report found a BA jet's crash landing was probably caused by ice in its fuel system.

The Telegraph says it was likely that ice crystals built up inside the aircraft's fuel tanks as it flew at high altitude and then blocked fuel flow to its engines.

The Independent says planes now face strict new safety checks to prevent a repetition of the Heathrow crash-landing.

The Sun carries a ‘world exclusive’ with a picture showing a police sniffer dog yelping in the Portuguese flat where Madeleine McCann went missing.

And elsewhere…

The New York Times says a UN report highlights that rich nations haven't delivered on promises to help the world's poorest nations and must increase aid by €13 billion a year

Meanwhile, Accra Daily Mail quotes World Bank President Robert Zoellick saying bureaucracy that hampers the delivery of aid must be removed to tackle the current food and pricing crisis gripping many poorer countries.

CNN reports Republican presidential hopeful John McCain has delivered his nomination acceptance speech at his party's convention laying out his vision on issues crucial to voters this year, especially energy and the economy. McCain also makes reference to the years he spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, saying that was when he "fell in love with" his country.

According to Le Matin, tropical storm Hanna has left Haiti’s northern city of Gonaives inundated by deep floodwaters, affecting a quarter of a million people. United Nations peacekeepers are trying to distribute food in boats.

Meanwhile, Asian Observer reports rescue workers are still struggling to evacuate an estimated 350,000 starving villagers left stranded in flood-ravaged northern India.

Eurasia Net says US Vice President Dick Cheney has used a visit to Georgia to assure Tblisi of US support following its recent military conflict with Russia.

Az-Zaman claims the Iraqi government is planning to open a museum inside the notorious Abu Ghraib prison to document crimes committed there during Saddam Hussein’s regime. The museum’s exhibits will include torture chambers and execution materials.