Malta and international press digest

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

The Times leads with the decision by Medicins Sans Frontiers to pulll out from detention centres in Malta, where it has been providing medical services.

The Malta Independent leads with the same story, saying MSF had condemned conditions in the detention centres. It also reports ‘confusion’ at the Roads Ministry after minister Austin Gatt said the road network is to be transferred to the private sector.

In-Nazzjon says Frank Portelli and Marthese Portelli have been added to the list of PN election candidates for the European Parliament elections. It also reports MEPA approval of a €60m Metropolis highrise mixed development project in Gzira. In another story it says that had Malta not been allowed to waive VAT on food and medicines, the outlay for each Maltese family would have risen by an average of €230 from 2011.

l-orizzont focuses on the plight of children who cannot describe anywhere as home because they do not enjoy a family environment.The topic was tackled by the Commissioner for Children in a conference yesterday. It also highlights the MSF decision to withdraw from Malta detention centres.

The Press in Britain

The Daily Mail reports on what it calls two acts of "recession madness" - the creation of centres in France to help migrants, and the EU's call for a rise in maternity pay rights.

The Daily Telegraph says that the world’s leading scientists have issued a desperate plea to politicians to act on climate change, amid warnings the world faces decades of social unrest and war.

The Times quotes an American air safety watchdog saying dozens of planes using Heathrow have a potentially fatal engine flaw meaning a "high probability" of another failure which caused a crash-landing.

The Express has a picture of a British troops' homecoming parade in Lincoln - which was well-supported, after a parade earlier this week was marred by protests by what it calls “the preachers of hate”.

The Independent leads with Bernard Madoff's guilty plea to all 11 fraud charges and reports that he is expected to spend the rest of his life behind barsfor one of the biggest financial swindles in world history. The Financial Times says Madoff told the court he was "so deeply sorry and ashamed" as he pleaded guilty to cheating Jewish charities, celebrities and individual investors some $50 billion.

The Guardian leads with the allegation that the Royal Bank of Scotland ied up at least £25bn in tax-avoidance schemes during its boom years, costing the British and US treasuries £500m.

The Herald reports that calls for a new inquiry into the Iraq war intensified after opposition parties claimed emails reveal attempts to embellish the UK's dossier.

The Daily Star says Jade Goody has left a photograph of herself dressed as Marilyn Monroe for her two sons to remember her by.

The Daily Mirror reports a football supporter claims Inter boss Jose Mourinho punched him in the face after the Champions League defeat at Manchester United.

The Sun also leads with the Mourinho allegation, saying police have launched a common assault probe. Inter are insisting the allegation is false.

The Daily Record says a pub landlady gave her regulars sunburn after fitting UV sunbed lamps in her bar by mistake.

And elsewhere…

Die Welt reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy have stated that they both favour tighter regulation of the financial markets as a means to fight the global recession.

De Telegraf reports that Dutch police have arrested seven people of Moroccan descent on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack in Amsterdam. A tip from Belgium about a possible attack with explosives led to the arrests.

Al-Sudan al-Jadid says a Canadian nurse, an Italian doctor and a French administrator are still being held hostage in Darfur after five employees of the Belgian branch of Doctors Without Borders were kidnapped at gunpoint on Wednesday night. The kidnappers have demanded a ransom for their release.

Toronto Sun says a Canadian Muslim of Pakistini descent, convicted of involvement in a foiled fertiliser bomb plot in Britain, has been sentenced to 10-ad-a-half years in jail. Software developer Momin Khawaja was found guilty of financing and facilitating terrorismlast October by a judge in Ontario. He was tried without a jury.

Pakistan Times reports that a suspected US missile strike has destroyed a Taliban training camp in northwest Pakistan, killing 15 Afghan Talibans and Al-Qaeda operatives.

Az-Zaman says that an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former US President Bush has been sentenced to three years in prison for assaulting a foreign leader. Muntazer al-Zaidi said his actions were a protest against the 2003 invasion of Iraq by US forces.

Space & Aviation News reports that the crew of the International Space Station entered an evacuation capsule fearing a collision with a debris cloud. NASA said they moving the crew to the Soyuz was a precaution. The astronauts later returned to the space station.

Seattle Times reports a US motorist pulled up for speeding at 110mph told police he was racing home to catch the end of an eBay auction. Police say the man didn't say what he was bidding on but his car was full of Star Wars action figures.