McCain to meet PM today

US senator John McCain arrived in Malta for a two-day visit yesterday evening.

He flew in from Afghanistan together with Senators Joe Lieberman, the independent Democrat who backed him for President in last month's election, and Lindsey Graham. They are all members of the US Senate Armed Services Committee.

The party drove directly to St Julians where they had dinner at the Barracuda restaurant. Mr McCain, who was defeated by Barack Obama in last month's US presidential election, will today meet Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and senior government officials.

His plane landed at around 7.15 p.m. The time of arrival had changed throughout the day as it had done several times this week for security reasons.

He is stopping over in Malta after a trip to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh where he discussed national security issues, the war on terrorism and American strategic ties with South Asia.

The senators yesterday had talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and have been asked to brief President-elect Barack Obama on their return to the United States later this week.

During his stay here, the influential US senator, who is considered to be a foreign affairs expert, is expected to discuss US-Maltese relations and international issues such as the situation in the Mediterranean region and the Middle East and the war on terrorism.