Local and international press digest

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

The Sunday Times refers to the case of four Gozitans charged in court in connection with the rape of a 15-year-old girl and claims that two individuals tried to buy the girl’s and her family’s silence. The newspaper has passed the information, “which is potentially incriminating”, to the police.

The Malta Independent on Sunday quotes the results of an opinion poll which show that “there is quite a big, and possibly increasing, gap between what the country at large feels are its main preoccupations and what the government is doing”.

According to Malta Today, MCAST examiners have been caught falsifying assignment grades in the course for laboratory technicians; yet no action has been taken by the education authorities.

Il-Mument claims that Labour leader Joe Muscat’s administrative consultant has resigned all Labour posts and connections.

Illum says that an absolute monopoly still exists in the funeral business in Gozo and,two months after the market’s liberalization, funeral hearses from Malta were not allowed on Gozo Channel vessels.

it-torċa alleges that what it calls an American “Nationalist Party spy” was following the footsteps of Labour leader Joseph Muscat and his delegation in Brussels last week.

KullĦadd announces that a prominent Maltese football referee and a former Albanian Second Division team coach are expeced to be charged in court on corruption.

The Press in Britain…

The Independent On Sunday leads with the death of Hollywood superstar Paul Newman. The star of “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid”, who dedicated much of his life to philanthropy, was 83.

The Sunday Telegraph also carries the news of Newman’s death on its front page but leads with plans, that will cost the taxpayer "billions", to rescue mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley.

According to The Observer, Spanish banking giant Santander is in talks with the Government over a last-minute rescue deal to take over Bradford and Bingley.

The Mail On Sunday leads on the suicide of a Kirk Stephenson, millionaire City financier, suggesting his death may be linked to the pressures of dealing with the credit crunch.

In an exclusive story, the Sunday Express claims the Conservatives are pledging to get tough on Muslim extremists.

The Sunday Times says the Conservatives plan to create 5,000 new private schools at the taxpayers' expense in an effort to improve educational standards in Britain.

News Of The World pictures cheating Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood having dinner with his lover and suggests he could be facing a massive divorce settlement that would cost him £50m.

The Sunday Mail says hundreds of prisoners are being freed early from Scottish jails because there is not enough room for them.

The Sunday Herald says the Royal Bank of Scotland is to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the planned $700bn bail-out if the US Congress backs it.

And elsewhere…

German Economics Minister Michael Glos has told Bild Zeitung the country will likely have to cut its economic growth forecast for 2009 significantly.

The Washington Post reports that the US House of Representatives has passed a civilian nuclear pact with India, ending a three-decade ban on nuclear trade with the Asian country.

The New York Times says the UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution reaffirming previous sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment programme. T

Al Baath reports 17 people have been killed and 14 others injured in a car bomb in Syria's capital, Damascus. Syrian Interior Minister General Bassam Abdel Majid called the incident a terrorist attack, and said authorities were trying to determine who was responsible.

Dehli Globe says in India's capital, a bomb has struck a crowded marketplace killing a boy and injuring at least 18 others. The attack comes two weeks after a series of bomb explosions killed 24 people in the city.

Harare’s Sunday Mail quotes Zimbabwe's designated prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, calling for a new power-sharing government to be formed within days, to avert a humanitarian disaster. Tsangirai said farming and industry were at a standstill, and that a government was urgently needed to tackle the economic crisis.

The People’s Daily leads with the news that a Chinese astronaut has completed his country's first ever spacewalk. Mission commander Zhai Zhigang’s 15-minute spacewalk makes China the third nation to complete such a mission independently, after the United States and former Soviet Union.

Somali Press reports pirates are demanding $35 million for the release of a Ukrainian ship carrying military supplies for Kenya, seized on Thursday off the Somali coast. Meanwhile, pirates have also seized a Greek chemical tanker, carrying refined petroleum from Europe to the Middle East.

California Globe reveals Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to invite lawmakers from around the globe to California to address solutions to climate change.

Morocco Today reports that the authorities have ordered the closure of dozens of schools run by a Muslim religious leader who argued that girls as young as nine could marry.

Variety reveals Britney Spears is selling her $7m (€5m) Hollywood house because it reminds her of her drug problems and mental breakdown. The house is described as an “exquisite gated Italian Renaissance-inspired villa”.

Folha says police in Brazil have finally caught up with a serial speeder who owed $1.9m (€1.3m) in traffic fines. Armando Clemente da Silva had clocked up nearly 1,000 violations and accumulated the fines for speeding and running red lights over a seven-year period. O Globo quotes the 36-year-old driver saying he had not received any penalty tickets because he had been too busy to register his car.