Malta and international press digest

These are the main headlines in the local and international newspapers.

In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times, Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano says the public should be told why Presidential pardons have been granted. Between 2003 and July 2008, 339 such pardons were granted – more than one a week.

The Malta Independent on Sunday reports that Sikka l-Bajda, a reef located about two kilometers off Aħrax Point in Mellieħa, has been identified as a possible site for the development of a near-shore wind farm.

A Malta Today survey finds that, for the first time ever, a Labour leader overtakes his Nationalist counterpart on the issue of trust: Joseph Muscat obtained 43.7 per cent of respondents while Lawrence Gonzi trails by 30.8 per cent.

Il-Mument refers to an article by Dr Toni Abela, MLP deputy leader for party affairs in last Monday’s l-orizzont and claims that he made an unexpected attack on President Fenech Adami’s visit to Libya at a time when negotiations for an important agreement between the two countries are a delicate stage.

Illum says that the power of incumbency during the last elections have cost the tax-payer an extra €70 million, as evidence by NSO statistics for expenditure for the first seven months of the year. The paper reports that increase was already evident by the end of March.

it-torċa carries a first-hand accpount by former Labour leader Alfred Sant on his fight against cancer.

KullĦadd says a Gozitan couple had their house in Msida expropriated for public purposes and would receive the meagre sum of €9,280. Three years ago, technical experts had valued the house at €30,000.

The Press in Britain…

The Observer quotes the chair of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change who has called for people to have a meat-free day at least once a week to help tackle global warming.

The Sunday Express reports that politicians across party lines are calling for new limits on the numbers of immigrants arriving in Britain.

David Cameron tells The Sunday Telegraph he wants to change the tax system to reward "those who put their backs" into the British economy with tax cuts.

Dominating the front of the News of the World are comments by Heather Mills' closest PR aide who says that Paul McCartney's former wife is on a "dirty campaign" to destroy him.

The Mail on Sunday reports that Health Minister Ivan Lewis’ career is hanging in the balance after he admitted bombarding a young female aide with suggestive phone messages.

The Sunday People says about 25,000 elderly are at risk of dying from cold this winter.

The Sunday Mirror reports that ex-England forward Gary Lineker is to marry girlfriend Danielle Bux - who is 18 years his junior.

And elsewhere…

Al-Ahram reports that least 22 people were killed and 36 injured when dozens of homes in a northern Cairo shantytown were crushed by a massive rockslide.

Iravunk says Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarksyan pledged to work on reconciling their two countries before watching a football World Cup qualifier together in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

Asia Times says supporters of Pakistan's new president Asif Ali Zardari – widower of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto – celebrated into the night, after lawmakers in Islamabad handed him a decisive victory in presidential elections.

Le Journal du Dimanche leads with the European Union’s decision to send an independent team to Georgia to monitor Russia's withdrawal from the territory.

Vienna’s Die Presse reports that India has won the right to buy atomic energy equipment after the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Groups, which regulates the global atomic materials and equipment market, approved a US proposal to lift a ban on nuclear trade with the South Asian nation.

German media websites of Der Spiegel and the Berliner Zeitung have reported that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will be the Social Democratic Party candidate to run against Chancellor Angela Merkel in next year's federal elections.

Carribean Daylight reports Cuba has issued a hurricane watch for its eastern provinces ahead of Hurricane Ike, with winds of up to 185 kilometres per hour.

Paris Match rekindled emotions with its spread of photos of Taliban fighters displaying French army guns, uniforms, helmets, a walkie-talkie and a wristwatch they said were taken from dead soldiers during the August 18 ambush.

Gazzettino di Venzia reports that US movie director Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" has won the Golden Lion for best film at the 65th Venice Film Festival.

The People’s Daily leads with the opening ceremony of the 2008 Paralympic Games during a stunning ceremony at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing.