Malta and international press digest

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

The Times leads with the steep interest rate cut announced by the European Central Bank and also says that former US Presidential candidate John McCain is to visit Malta on Sunday. He will be here for two days on his way back home from a trip to South Asia and is expected to meet the Prime Minister. The senator is a member of the US armed forces committee.

The Malta Independent says the LP has backed the Prime Minister’s nomination of Data Protection Commissioner. It also carries comments by Bank of Valletta chairman Roderick Chalmers that careful investment can stimulate the economy.

In-Nazzjon says the government’s decision to engage Renzo Piano for the City Gate project has been praised by, among others, the Chamber of Architects.

l-orizzont’s focus is on the ‘spying’ controversy. It carries a report of yesterday’s press conference by Labour leader Joseph Muscat under a picture of PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier.

The Press in Britain…

Two stores dominate the British nationals: the latest interest rate cuts and the fact that a mother has been found guilty of kidnapping her own daughter.

Many papers report that savers are the big losers of the interest rate cuts, which according to the Daily Express, could fall to zero soon.

The Times says the recession is deepening

The Daily Telegraph says the biggest banks are failing to pass on the lowest interest rates for more than 50 years.

The Scotsman says Halifax, Britain's biggest mortgage lender, defied the Prime Minister by refusing to pass on in full the latest rate cut.

The Independent argues that “the pound still slumped, house prices are falling and job losses are soaring” and wonders whether the authorities are running out of ammunition in their fight to avert the worst downturn since the Second World War.

The Daily Mail calls Karen Matthews, found guilty of kidnapping and abusing her own daughter Shannon, the “mother of all liars”.

The Sun calls Mrs Matthews 'Evil' while the Daily Mirror says her plot was inspired by the hunt for Madeleine McCann.

And elsewhere…

The latest European Central Bank interest rate cuts also feature prominently on the front pages of European financial broadsheets. The Europan edition of the Wall Street Journal reports that the cut, a record three quarters of a percentage point, brought the ECB's benchmark rate in the Eurozone to 2.5 percent. Many analysts welcomed the moves but market reaction indicated that even more dramatic steps may be needed to stave off a global recession.

The International Herald Tribune says the Dalai Lama has addressed the European Parliament saying Tibetians were seeking genuine autonomy within China.

Zimbabwe’s The Herald reports that the authorities have declared a national emergency and appealed for international aid to tackle a cholera epidemic.

The Dawn quotes Pakistan's President Zardari promising US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that his government will take "strong action" against any Pakistanis who were involved in last week's Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Meanwhile, The Times of India says that airports in New Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai were on high alert following warnings of an airborne attack.

Bangkok Post leads with the cancellation by Thailand's caretaker government of a special parliamentary session to choose a successor to Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat. He was banned from politics for election fraud earlier this week.

The Jerusalem Post says Israeli security forces have forcibly evicted Jewish settlers from a disputed house in the West Bank city of Hebron. Angry Jewish settlers responded by setting fire to Palestinian cars and property near the building.

Space News leads with NASA’s delay of a landmark mission to Mars by 26 months due to unresolved technical problems.

Dallas Morning News announces that George Bush and his wife Laura have bought a home in an affluent area of North Dallas, where they will live after the US President leaves office in January.

The Dominion Post reports that rescuers in New Zealand have plucked a Japanese climber and a mountain guide alive from the country’s highest mountain, but another climber was found dead.

Springfield News Sun says a US woman is in a critical condition after her estranged husband told police he shot her accidentally while they were having sex. Timothy Havens, 38, told police he was reaching for something on the bedside table when the pistol went off, hitting his estranged 42-year-old wife Carolyn in the chest. Havens was arrested after it emerged his wife had a civil protection order against him. He had previously spent 60 days in jail for assaulting her.