Malta and international press digest

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

The Times says an investigation has been launched into an incident during police training at the former White Rocks complex last week.

The Malta Independent quotes the Prime Minister saying Malta will not give up its search and rescue zone. Opposition leader Joseph Muscat said Malta needed to be firm on immigration and not bow to pressure.

In-Nazzjon quotes Dr Gonzi insisting that the government was committed to protecting all places of work even if the deficit had to rise. It also reports the arraignment of a 48-year-old man on drug trafficking charges.

l-orizzont quotes part of a homily by the Bishop of Gozo, Mgr Mario Grech, who said that unemployment was a crisis for the family. It also reports Dr Muscat insisting on the need to crack down on price abuse.

The press in Britain:

According to a Migration-watch report in the Daily Express, allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the UK would cost £1m for each newcomer.

The Daily Telegraph claims should backbenchers attempt to force Gordon Brown from office, Labour's deputy leader would fight for the premiership,

The Times has reports the British government will deny former Iraqi interpreters access to the UK.

The Independent quotes teachers warning they will not make preparations for the national curriculum exams.

On the second anniversary since Maddy McCann disappeared from a holiday apartment in Portugal, a friend of the family tells the Daily Mirror Kate and Gerry will spend their lives looking for their missing daughter Madeleine. The Daily Mail reports the man responsible for the death of Baby P is to appeal against his conviction of raping a two-year-old girl because his lawyers say her evidence breached human rights.

The Guardian reveals a foreign doctor providing out of hours cover for British GPs provided a patient with a lethal overdose of pain-killers on his first shift.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne, fresh from forging a partnership with US giant Chrysler, revealed his plans in an interview for a European car giant that would include GM's Germany-based unit Opel.

And elsewhere…

Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot reports Israel's foreign minister is in Europe for a five-day tour aimed at reassuring Europeans over the stalled peace process with the Palestinians. Avigdor Lieberman will visit Italy, France, Germany and the Czech Republic.

The International Herald Tribune says the swine flu epidemic spread deeper into Europe, the United States, Canada and Latin America as Mexico's health minister hinted it may soon be time to reopen businesses and schools in the nation where the outbreak likely began. »

The Egyptian Gazette reports that 12 demonstrators and seven policemen were injured as police armoured cars charged into a crowd of a 1,000 irate Egyptian pig farmers resisting government efforts to slaughter the nation's pigs to guard against swine flu. Fourteen of the protestors, armed with stones and bottles, have been arrested.

The New York Times quotes UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon saying the number of attacks on journalists around the world remains "shockingly high."

Meanwhile, Le Monde reports that according to the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, 60 journalists were killed and 929 were physically attacked or threatened in 2008.

Der Kurier Police in Vienna arrested a man suspected of slipping drugs into drinks at a crowded bar Sunday, causing five people to collapse. Authorities said all five victims were hospitalized in life-threatening condition.says police in Vienna arrested a man suspected of slipping drugs into drinks at a crowded bar Sunday, causing five people to collapse.

Asia Observer reports that a pregnant Briton who faces death by firing squad if she is convicted of drug smuggling has been told she will go on trial in Laos today.

La Stampa says Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi's second wife Veronica Lario is seeking a divorce after 19 years of marriage, citing his reported flirtations with younger women.