Malta and international press digest

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

The Times and two of the other newspapers lead with the visit to Malta by US Sen John McCain who yesterday toured some of Malta’s sites and called on the Prime Minister. It also reports from Brussels that the European Commission had backed 2005 proposals for the Ghadira road but there is no information about the new plans for the area.

The Malta Independent also reports on Sen McCain’s visit and also highlights a directive issued by Roads Minister Austin Gatt telling Enemalta and the WSC not to carry out trenching works without approval by the Network Infrastructure Department.

l-orizzont says Christmas sales have slumped despite early discounts as consumers await the utility bills. It also says that the Prime Minister gave the trade unions mistaken figures on how many families would benefit from reduced utility tariffs as the figures were based on accounts, rather than actual households.

In-Nazzjon says Dr Gonzi’s meeting with Sen John McCain yesterday served to further strengthen Malta-US relations.

The Press in Britain…

The Daily Expess says millions of motorists are now saving about £18 on every full tank of fuel thanks to plummeting prices since the summer. Hundreds of British forecourts are now charging just 87.9p for a litre of unleaded and 99.9p for diesel.

The Daily Telegraph says that professionals who lose their jobs in the recession could get government grants to study for a masters degree or business qualification while they are out of work.

The Daily Mail reports that the government is tightening the rules making it even harder to buy a new house.

The Independent says that credit card companies are facing an investigation by competition watchdogs after defying Government warnings to improve their lending practices.

The Financial Times leads on fears that corporate pension funds are facing a mounting shortfall.

According to The Times, Labour supporters seem to be returning to the fold, with a new poll saying more people trust Labour on the economy.

The Guardian says Nato countries are scrambling for routes as far afield as Belarus to supply their forces in Afghanistan.

The Daily Star says five people have been charged with aggravated trespass at Stansted Airport following a day of disruption for passengers. Ryanair chiefs have called for a thorough investigation into the mass security breach after environmental protesters broke through a perimeter fence.

The Herald reports that the wife of the Libyan man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing is making an appeal to ministers for compassion because he is suffering from prostate cancer which will soon kill him.

And elsewhere…

EU Observer says EU foreign ministers have agreed to step up sanctions against Zimbabwe, but failed to agree on sending combat troops to Congo.

Meanwhile, The International Herald Tribune reports that the EU has launched its first-ever naval peacekeeping mission. Six warships and three reconnaissance aircraft will patrol waters off the Horn of Africa and replace a NATO flotilla that has been protecting cargo ships against pirates.

Dawn leads with the arrest, in a raid on a militant camp in Pakistani Kashmir, of a suspected mastermind behind the Mumbai massacre. Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was among at least 12 people taken in the raid on the camp run by the banned group Laskhar-e-Taiba.

Le Parisien quotes President Sarkozy saying vandals who desecrated at least 500 tombs of Muslim soldiers in France yesterday were guilty of “repugnant racism”. Some of the damaged tombs had swastikas scrawled on them, others had lettering whose meaning was unclear.

Kathemerini says clashes between Greek students and police have continued for a third day with thousands of protesters setting fire to government buildings, police stations and businesses in central Athens.

The Washington Post reports that five men charged with plotting the 9/11 attacks in the US have told a military judge at Guantanamo Bay they wish to confess, but have postponed guilty pleas. They face the death penalty if convicted of the attacks seven years ago, which killed almost 3,000 people.

The Washington Times says five guards from the US private security firm Blackwater have been charged with the fatal shooting of more than 14 civilian Iraqis last year. The killings occurred while Blackwater guards were escorting a heavily armed convoy of US diplomats through Baghdad and have become a high profile issue in Iraq's relationship with the US.

The Irish Times reports that Irish pork has been removed from sale in Europe and Asia while authorities investigate a pig feed company that's believed to have supplied contaminated feed to farms in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The recall is expected to cost Irish pork producers up to €100 million.

USA Today says an F-18 military jet has crashed in a populated neighbourhood in San Diego, California, leaving two people dead. The pilot ejected before the crash, which left a house and two cars on fire.

The Cuban government-run newspaper, Grandma, reports that gas prices are being cut by as much as 27 per cent due to falling crude prices worldwide. They were raised by more than 100 per cent in September.