Malta and international press digest

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

The Times and all the other newspapers lead with parliamentary approval of the appointment of George Abela as President and of a motion to thank outgoing President Eddie Fenech Adami. The Times also highlights protests made in connection with the G20 meeting in London.

The Malta Independent also leads with the parliamentary debate on the presidency. It also says Malta is most vulnerable to climate change threats.

In-Nazzjon says the approval of the two motions was a historic moment for the country. It also reports comments by Resources Minister George Pullicino that more on-land sites were being identified for wind farms.

l-orizzont carries a large picture of George Abela with the words 'President-elect'. It also says that the leadership of the Malta Dockers Union is in a panic over a ballot of port workers to gauge union recognition.

The Press in Britain

The Financial Times says the world’s most powerful economies struggled to bridge divisions over the G20 summit’s priorities amid violent anti-capitalist demonstrations.

The Guardian reports that comments made by Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy – that European countries want more oversight and less public spending – jarred with Gordon Brown's optimistic claim that the G20 leaders were coming together to agree plans to tackle the financial crisis.

The Daily Express says a huge police operation thwarted actions by "anarchists determined to bring chaos to London".

The Daily Mail looks at the different worlds inside and outside the global summit.

The Sun also draws a contrast between the global relations forged by the G20 summit - and the anger it has unleashed.

The Daily Star reports that Russell Brand joined 4,000 protesters on the streets of the City, where demonstrations turned violent.

A picture of the President Obama and his wife Michelle meeting the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh dominates the front page of The Daily Telegraph, which also reports on the plans for the day's G20 summit.

The Times features an "historic handshake" between Russia's President Medvedev and US President Obama, which came as the leaders agreed to renew nuclear arms reduction talks. They said the “era when our countries viewed each other as enemies is long over.”

And elsewhere…

The Jerusalem Post quotes Israel's new ultra-nationalist foreign minister saying it is not bound by a US-sponsored 2007 agreement to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians. Speaking at a handover ceremony at the foreign ministry, Avigdor Lieberman said, "The Annapolis conference, it has no validity".

Meanwhile, Al-Quds al-Arabi says Palestinian officials described Mr Lieberman as an "obstacle to peace" whose policies would rebound negatively on Israel.

Amman’s Ad Dustour reports that Arab doctors will meet in Jordan to probe rumours that poison had killed Palestinian President Yasser Arafat five years ago.

The Wall Steet Journal says US authorities have seized disgraced financier Bernard Madoff’s antique yacht, worth €1.66 million and a smaller boat from two Florida marinas as part of a bid to recoup assets to pay back his swindled investors.

The Scotsman reports that eight bodies have been recovered and another eight people are missing after a helicopter crashed in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. The Bond aircraft was returning from a BP-operated oil platform just before 2pm when it went down off the Aberdeenshire coast.

Clarin announces the death of Raul Alfonsin, whose presidency of Argentina came to symbolise the return of democracy across Latin America from an era of military dictatorships.

The International Herald Tribune quotes WHO director-general Margaret Chan warning that emerging, hard-to-treat strains of tuberculosis could spiral out of control and urged countries to help fight the growing threat.