Malta and international press digest

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

The Times like all the other newspapers leads with the fatal shooting of a man in Qormi.

The Malta Independent also reports comments by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech that the government expects revenue to be lower than projected in the Budget.

MaltaToday says the MLP intends to rename its mobile phone service Redtouch fone after its original name was rejected by a court because of trademark issues.

In-Nazzjon says substantial interest has been shown in the call for expressions of interest in Malta Shipyards.

l-orizzont says Joe Sammut has been elected secretary of the GWU manufacturing and SMEs section.

The Press in Britain…

The Daily Telegraph leads with a turbulent day for Britain’s biggest mortgage lender Bank of Scotland (HBOS), which saw its share price fall by almost a quarter at the close of market trading.

The Guardian reports that the City's financial watchdog is trying to shore up confidence in HBOS.

The Independent says British banks are gripped by fear.

Metro quotes new research predicting more than 110,000 jobs could be lost in the banking and finance industry next year.

The Daily Express warns that millions of British families are facing the destruction of their pensions because of the City's high-rollers.

The Financial Times reports on the decision by the US Federal Reserve to keep its interest rate on hold despite of the turbulent financial markets.

And elsewhere…

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US Federal Reserve has injected $50 billion of liquidity to help the financial markets, a day after Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.

The Washington Times, meanwhile, quotes Republican presidential candidate John McCain calling for a top-level inquiry into the economic crisis, claiming that a corrupt and excessive Wall Street had betrayed American workers.

Ukraine Observer leads with the official dissolution of the Ukraine’s governing coalition. The alliance, composed of parties loyal to President Viktor Yushchenko and his 2004 Orange Revolution partner Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, fell apart after infighting between the two leaders.

El Pais reports that the Spanish airliner that crashed at Madrid airport last month killing 154 people did not have its wing flaps set for take off.

Il Mattino says a drunken Italian woman bit a policeman after driving away from a car crash. Sonia Spalvieri, 59, was driving the wrong way down an Abruzzo road when she hit another car full-on, leaving two people hurt. She drove away but a police car stopped her and she bit an officer who was trying to test her for alcohol. She was eventually found to be five times over the limit.

Detroit Free Press reports that a prison escapee accused of shooting a man, dousing him with petrol and setting him on fire in London has been captured near Detroit. Raymond Walworth Wilson was arrested in Waterford while working at a fast-food restaurant, and his identity was confirmed through fingerprints. Wilson was in prison for gun and drug crimes when he failed to return after a community visit in April 2006.