Malta and international press digest

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

The Times and most of the other newspapers lead with the court decision awarding compensation to former prison warder Anthony Mifsud who was beaten in a police cell in 1982 after being wrongly blamed for the escape of two dangerous prisoners.

It also highlights a talking point by Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt where he defends the new power tariffs and explains in detail their impact on large companies.

The Malta Independent says the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has warned of tougher industrial action unless the government heeds its call to tackle a manpower shortage.

l-orizzont gives top treatment to the plight of a toddler, Nicole, who was illegally taken away by her mother from Malta to Moldova and is thought to be in the hands of criminals. It also reports that a Swiss court has given access to documents belonging to companies allegedly shipping weapons illegally through Malta and Cyprus.

In-Nazzjon leads with the new government scheme to help first-time property buyers. It also reports that an MLP supporter who interrupted a speech by MLP Deputy Leader Toni Abela last Sunday has been dismissed by the party.

The Press in Britain…

Once again, most papers lead with Jonathan Ross’ 12-week suspension from the BBC over obscene phone calls to 78-year-old Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs. The Independent says the BBC has ordered a fundamental review of taste and decency standards across the network following the prank call stunt. The Times also looks at how the incident will affect the future of the BBC, with a new regime to keep "high risk presenters" within the boundaries of taste.

Other stories:

The Sun: Gordon Brown has warned bank board members they face the sack if they fail to get lending.

Financial Times: Barclays is close to securing a capital injection worth more than £6.5bn from Middle Eastern governments, including Qatar and Libya.

The Daily Telegraph: The Conservatives' poll lead over Labour has fallen from 24 points to single figures in just five months.

The Scotsman: None of the members on the proposed board of directors for the Lloyds TSB/HBOS merger are from the Bank of Scotland.

Daily Star: Chancellor Alistair Darling is accused of a "cover-up" over the Icelandic banks crisis.

The Daily Mail: Darling has hinted the government might borrow more money for surprise tax cuts as Britain faces a deep recession.

Daily Record: Barack Obama's family tell of their fears for his life as he moves closer to the White House.

And elsewhere…

The International Herald Tribune says Germany and Britain have called for the International Monetary Fund to play a greater role in supporting countries hurt by the financial crisis.

Edinburgh Post predicts Lockerbie bomber Mohmed Al Megrahi, who is serving a life sentence with a 27-year minimum term, could be freed on bail within a week. Fifty-six-year-old Al Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence agent, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Berliner Morgenpost reports that two international relief organizations have criticized industrialized nations for cutting aid to the world's poorer nations from €81.3billion in 2006 to €80.8 billion in 2007.

EU Observer says the European Union is to provide €4 million to help tens of thousands of refugees who have fled fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Aid agencies have described the situation as catastrophic.

Il Tempo leads with the demonstration through the streets of Rome of some one million teachers, students and school workers to protest planned government changes to Italy's school system. Italy's senate recently approved plans to cut education spending by €9 billion, threatening the livelihood of 130,000 primary school teachers and sharply affect Italy's universities.

La Tribune reports a Paris judge has filed preliminary charges against a trader suspected of losing more than €600m in complex derivative trades at French mutual bank Caisse d’Epargne. The move gives the judge time to investigate before ordering a trial or dropping “breach of trust” charges aganst Boris Picano-Nacci. The terms of the judicial supervision order ban the trader from leaving France or having any contact with employees of Caisse d’Epargne.

Times of India says at least 61 people have been killed and more than 330 injured in a series of bomb blasts in the north-eastern state of Assam. Police said 12 explosions went off within one hour in four districts, suggesting they were synchronized.

ABC reports a car bomb ripped through a campus parking lot at the university of Navarra in northern Spain injuring 17 people. Nearby buildings were badly damaged and several cars caught on fire.

Miami Herald says the son of former Liberian president Charles Taylor has been convicted of torture and ordering summary executions in the West African nation. Thirty-one-year old Charles “Chuckie” Taylor Jr, a US national, headed Liberia's anti-terrorist services during his father's rule from 1997 to 2003. He is to be sentenced in January.

Croatia Post reports the government has announced a series of measures to tackle organised crime, including special courts, witness protection programmes and police reforms. The EU has made confronting organised crime a key condition for joining the bloc. The move came as eight Croatian and two Serbian nationals were arrested on suspicion of being involved in last week's mafia-style murder of a high-profile Croatian journalist.

L’Osservatore Romano announces new Vatican psychological screening guidelines for future priests– the latest effort by the Catholic Church to be more selective about who it recruits following a series of sex scandals. The new guidelines are aimed at helping church leaders weed out candidates with “psychopathic disturbances”.

The Irish Times says emergency legislation was rushed through both houses of the Irish Parliament – the Dáil and Seanad – to plug a potential loophole in existing laws that could have seen more than 200 mentally ill patients walk free from psychiatric wards.