Malta and international press digest

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

The Times says two infants were airlifted to hospital after a migrants’ boat capsized. A woman thought to be their mother died during rescue. It also reports that Labour is to move a Private Members’ Bill on climate change.

The Malta Independent quotes the Prime Minister saying environment policy has to be ambitious, but everything comes at a price.

Malta Today leads with an experiment due to be held today in vast underground caverns near Zurich to re-enact the "Big Bang" on a small scale to explain the origins of the universe and how it came to harbour life. It also says that the police have been given new powers to seize personal data from communications firms during the investigation of serious criminal offences.

l-orizzont also focuses on the dramatic rescue of the two migrant infants yesterday.

In-Nazzjon quotes the Prime Minister saying the pendulum has to swing in favour of the environment. It also refers to the experiment being held in Switzerland today. One of the scientists involved in a Maltese, Dr Nicholas Sammut.

The Press in Britain…

According to The Independent, the British Government is in talks with security firms and airports to lift the hand luggage ban on liquids.

The Guardian says ministers and a leading electricity firm are set to finalise a £1bn plan to improve energy efficiency and help cut soaring fuel bills.

The Sun reports that Austria’s dungeon sex slave Elisabeth Fritzl has told of her 24 years of hell at the hands of her rapist father Josef.

Daily Mirror claims Victoria Beckham has turned heads - with a daring new hairstyle.

Daily Express says asthma and hay-fever sufferers were offered hope by a development that could revolutionize treatment.

Daily Mail claims the health rationing watchdog was attacked for spending more money on spin than on evaluating drugs.

The Times reports Cambridge is condemning moves to force elite universities to recruit more pupils from state schools and disadvantaged backgrounds.

According to The Daily Telegraph, scientists are throwing the switch on the biggest and most complex experiment ever devised to lay bare the secrets of nature.

Financial Times discloses that shares in Lehman Brothers fell 45 per cent amid growing worries that the bank would be unable to raise fresh capital to bolster its balance sheet.

The Herald says Whitehall sources moved swiftly to deny that Gordon Brown was ditching New Labour after the PM said it was "time to adapt and rethink" policy.

And elsewhere…

Le Figaro reports the European Union has offered closer ties to Ukraine, but stopped short of any guarantees of eventual membership. At an EU-Ukraine summit in Paris, President Sarkozy said an association agreement could be reached by next year.

Novine says Serbia's parliament has voted 140 to 28 in favour of a pact which sets the country on the path to joining the European Union. All 27 EU states still have to ratify the accord, which requires Serbia's full cooperation with the international war crimes court in The Hague.

According to Pravda, Russian forces have begun withdrawing from positions inside Georgia's heartland.

Wall Street Journal reports that for the first time in five months, Brent crude oil has slipped below 100 dollars a barrel.

Washington Post quotes new estimates by the US Congressional Budget Office saying the country’s budget deficit is to reach $407 billion this year, from $161 billion in 2007

Christian Science Monitor quotes US intelligence officials suggesting North Korea’s President Kim Jong Il may be gravely ill.

The People’s Daily says the death toll after a torrent of sludge, mud and mining waste ploughed into buildings in northern China has risen to at least 34 people, with hundreds more feared trapped in the rubble.

Dawn quotes Pakistan's newly-elected President Asif Ali Zardari vowing to pursue joint efforts against terrorism with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai.

Zimbabwe Today says President Mugabe and main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have made progress towards a power-sharing deal. Talks in Harare continue today.

Sydney Morning Herald says a large shark entangled itself in a surfer’s leg rope and began towing him and his board out to sea. John Morgan, a 51-year-old surf shop owner from the east coast tourist town of Byron Bay, compared his terrifying 170-foot ride off a local beach to being towed by a jet ski.