Malta and international press digest

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

The Times says Maltese scientist Nicholas Sammut was upbeat after the start of the ‘big bang’ experiment by CERN in Switzerland. It also describes as ‘crucial’ talks to be held with the EU today on the dockyard privatisation process. The newspaper also reports that Britney Spears has a trace of Maltese blood, since her great-grandfather was Maltese.

The Malta Independent also leads with the CERN experiment. It also carries comments by the Prime Minister that education should cater more for the needs of the economy.

In-Nazzjon says more dockyard workers are taking up the early retirement schemes, their number now reaching 414.

l-orizzont says the first company which was meant to operate from SmartCity is to move elsewhere.

The Press in Britain…

The Independent leads with a court ruling that campaigners were justified in damaging a coal-fired power station because the threat from global warming is so grave.

Metro leads with the story of cancer sufferer Colin Ross, who has won his court battle for a life-prolonging drug. He has only two months to live.

The Times says barristers are snubbing major trials in a row over their fees.

A Guardian survey reveals that the global economic slowdown has hit the boom in executive pay except for the elite few bosses.

Daily Express splashes on the news that three lenders have reduced the cost of their home loans.

Financial Times reports Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers has sold most of its asset management unit following a share price collapse.

The Daily Mail says racially-based disputes are causing friction at Scotland Yard.

The Scotsman says there is a 'crisis' at the country's National Trust.

The Sun and Daily Mirror hail Theo Walcott who justified England coach Fabio Capello’s decision to keep faith in him – and jettison David Beckham – on a memorable night in Zagreb. Walcott scored a hat-trick in England’s 4-1 win over Croatia in their first major test under the Italian coach.

And elsewhere…

Asian Observer reports that a strong earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, has rocked Japan within minutes of a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Al Arabiya says some 200 villages were demolished in another strong earthquake that rattled southern Iran and sent tremors across the Persian Gulf, shaking the skyscrapers of Dubai. Iranian state television reported that at least six people were killed and 46 injured.

And another magnitude-6.0 earthquake was reported in northern Chile. El Diario quotes the Seismological Institute of the University of Chile saying its epicenter was near the town of Pica, 1,120 miles north of Santiago. There were no reports of dead or damage.

EU Observer reports a new disagreement has arisen over the European Union’s 200-strong observer mission to Georgia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has emphasised that EU observers would not be allowed into Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. But EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said that access to the rebel territories was clearly in the "spirit" of the agreements reached between Russia and the EU.

Meanwhile, Gazeta Polska says that hours ahead of his first visit to Warsaw since the outbreak of the war in Georgia, Lavrov warned Poland it was making a mistake and was playing a "very dangerous game" by hosting a US missile shield. He accused Poland of taking revenge on the Russians for defending the Ossetians.

arlier in the day, General Nikolai Solovtsov, the head of Russian strategic missile forces, said if the US set up installations in Central Europe, the Kremlin would ensure that Russia's vast nuclear arsenal remained effective.

The Irish Times quotes Ireland’s Foreign Minister Micheal Martin saying his government was not trying to delay any decisions on the Lisbon Treaty to avoid a backlash at the local and European Elections.

Toronto Star quotes Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper vowing to pull troops out of Afghanistan in 2011. Canada, which has 2,500 soldiers in Kandahar province, has lost 97 soldiers and one diplomat in Afghanistan.