Malta and international press digest

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

The Times leads with a dispute between the nurses’ union and the medical authorities on the administration of life-saving medicine in ambulances.

In-Nazzjon highlights a speech by the Prime Minister yesterday where he said Malta currently faceS three main challenges: the environment, illegal immigration and the dockyard.

l-orizzont gives prominence to a call by Joseph Muscat for Malta to be united over the dockyard issue.

The Malta Independent also highlights Dr Gonzi’s speech, saying the country will not accept inappropriate offers for the shipyard.

The Press in Britain…

The Times reports on the growing chaos in the Labour Party after more MPs joined the mutiny against Gordon Brown’s leadership.

The Mail says thousands of holidaymakers left stranded by the collapse of tour operator XL are still waiting to find out how they will get home.

The Scotsman says Barack Obama raised a record-breaking $66m for his presidential campaign in August, which puts the United States on track for its billion-dollar election.

The Guardian has learned that the police are to expand a car surveillance operation that will allow them to record and store details of millions of daily journeys for up to five years.

The Daily Express reports the war on drivers is moving up a gear with a high-tech speed camera that tracks cars for up to six miles.

The Mirror says Newcastle United has been put up for sale by club owner Mike Ashley after he revealed his fears for his family’s safety at matches.

Metro says the grieving mother of promising young footballer Oliver Kingonzila, who was stabbed to death outside a nightclub in south London, has forgiven his killer.

And elsewhere…

ll Sole 24 Ore says talks will continue in Rome later today on a rescue package for the Italian airline Alitalia, which is operating under a bankruptcy commissioner. Some progress has been reported in talks between the Italian government and trade union leaders which continued into the early hours of this morning. The airline's workers have been resisting the several thousand job losses and salary cuts which could be required for a rescue solution.If no deal is reached, Alitalia, could go into liquidation next week.

Le Monde quotes Pope Benedict telling French bishops in Lourdes that the Church could not recognise "irregular unions" of Catholics who divorce and remarry outside the Church. The Church does not recognise divorce and considers the first marriage still valid. In other remarks, the pope ordered bishops to make space for traditionalists who use the Latin Mass.

The Herald reports Zimbabwe's opposition will get more Cabinet seats than Robert Mugabe in the long-awaited power sharing deal to be announced today. It says the joint government will have 31 members, 16 from the Movement for Democratic Change along with the smaller opposition grouping of Arthur Mutambara while Mugabe's ZANU-PF party will have just 15.

Wall Street Journal reports that the possible collapse of Lehman Brothers, one of world's biggest investment banks, could be "catastrophic" and lead to the "implosion" of the banking sector. Both Barclays and a consortium led by the Bank of America have pulled out of the bidding. If no deal is made, Lehman -- whose shares have slid 90 percent this year -- would most likely be put in liquidation.

USA Today says nearly 2,000 Texans have been rescued by air, land and water after refusing to evacuate as Hurricane Ike flooded hundreds of miles of US coastline. Authorities in Houston have ordered a week-long nighttime curfew. Heavy damage to power grids has left 4.5 million people without electricity. It could take up to a month to restore power there, and roads are still flooded.

Pravda quotes investigators into the Aeroflot Boeing crash which killed 88 passengers and crew on Sunday saying an engine may have failed, bringing it down on the outskirts of the Russian city of Perm. Witnesses say the plane burst into flames while still in the air.

Anis Daily says a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan's Ghazni province has killed six children as they were playing on a bridge. Elsewhere in the same region, a Taliban ambush has left seven policemen dead. Earlier, two Afghan doctors working for the United Nations and their driver were killed in a car bomb attack.

Dawn reports the Pakistani military has killed at least 30 Islamist militants in the troubled north-western region bordering Afghanistan. Security forces backed by helicopter gunships, artillery and fighter jets targeted mountain insurgent hideouts in the Bajaur tribal district.

Times of India says police say they have detained several suspects in raids across New Delhi, after 21 people were killed in five bomb explosions at a park and in shopping areas. The blasts wounded nearly 100 other people.

Morning Post quotes the Nigerian rebel group declaring an "oil war" against the government. In an e-mail to media organisations, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has said its heavily armed fighters were travelling in ships to launch massive and lethal attacks on the country's oil industry.