Malta and international press digest

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

The Times says a number of Nationalist MPs, including Jesmond Mugliett and Ninu Zammit have joined Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando in expressing reservations over proposals for the underground extension of the museum of St John’s Co-Cathedral, which will be discussed in Parliament on February 11. It also reports that the regulator has issued a report on the impact of the utility tariffs on domestic users.

l-orizzont says 102 workers will be dismissed from Trelleborg because of the international economic crisis. In other stories, it says that 70 migrants have agreed to return home voluntarily after following a training programme.

The Malta Independent says ST Microelectronics will dismiss a total of 1,300 workers from Malta and Morocco. It also says that the EU has warned Malta over industrial pollution permits.

In-Nazzjon also reports on the dismissals from Trelleborg, as the international drop in orders deepens. It also carries a court report where a police inspector said the police had indentified the man who sold drugs to a woman who died of an overdoes last week.

l-orizzont and The Malta Independent on their front pages also salute Charles Clews, who passed away yesterday.

The Press in Britain

The Guardian says Iceland will be put on a fast-track to joining the European Union as attempts are made to rescue the small Arctic nation from financial collapse.

The Times reports Gordon Brown has ordered the building of thousands of new council houses in a building programme which he hopes will kick-start the construction industry in Britain.

Motorists are facing hikes in fuel duty according to the Daily Express, which calls for the 'petrol rip-off' to stop.

The Daily Mirror leads with the sentences given to three gang members who helped the killer of schoolboy Rhys Jones.

The Daily Mail quotes a new government report saying that the number of violent crimes committed by women is rocketing.

The Daily Telegraph warns that the nation's brightest children are being failed by state schools

Stem cells transplants can reverse multiple sclerosis according to new research reported in the Metro.

The Independent says supermarkets have been told to stop using a loophole that enables them to label cheap foreign meat as 'Produced in the UK'.

An exclusive dominates the front of The Sun, as they reveal hospital managers have called in an exorcist after shaken workers say they keep seeing a cloaked ghost.

And elsewhere…

The Washington Times reports that President Obama has branded Wall Street fat cats who collected billions in bonuses while taxpayers bailed out their crippled industry as "shameful".

Le Parisien leads with the nationwide strike in France called by eight labour unions to protest against what they considered insufficient measures by the government to tackle the economic crisis. Unions said that with unemployment mounting, French workers should not have to foot the bill for a crisis that has led to expensive government bailouts for banks, carmakers and other sectors.

The New York Times says the UN has launched an emergency appeal for $613 million to help Palestinians recover from Israel's attack on Gaza.

USA Today reports that a military judge at Guantanamo has rejected President Barack Obama's request to suspend the trial of a suspected terrorist charged with plotting an attack that killed 17 sailors in 2000. The judge argued that the sole authority to delay cases and postponing proceedings lay with the tribunal.

Illinois Globe reports that lawmakers have voted to impeach the state's governor over claims he tried to sell President Barack Obama's former US Senate seat. The state Senate voted unanimously that Democrat Rod Blagojevich abused his power and should be removed from office.

Asian Tribune says the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed alarm at the fate of up to a quarter of a million people trapped in a warzone in Sri Lanka.

Melbourne’s Herald Sun reports that a 35-year-old man, believed to be involved in a custody battle, has been charged with murder after allegedly throwing his young daughter from a 200ft bridge into a river. The couple reportedly reached an agreement in court on Wednesday appointing joint custody.

Zimbabwean state media say President Robert Mugabe's party has endorsed plans, drawn up by the Southern African Development Community at a summit in Pretoria, for a unity government to be installed by mid-February.

Hamburger Abdenblatt reports that a German tanker has been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. The ship was on its way to Asia with a cargo of liquefied petroleum gas

Az-Zaman says gunmen have killed three Iraqi election candidates and two campaign workers just two days before local leaders are chosen in 14 provinces. All three candidates came from different parties. They were killed in separate incidents in Mosul, Baghdad and Mandili.

Al-Quds al-Arabi reports that a sculpture of an enormous bronze-coloured shoe has been erected in Iraq to honour the journalist who threw his shoes at former President Bush. The sofa-sized artwork was formally unveiled in Tikrit, hometown of late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein. Artist Laith al-Amari insisted it was not a political work, but a "source of pride for all Iraqis".