Malta and international press digest

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

The Times leads with the death of a police officer in a head-on collision. It also reports that Italy yesterday rescued 140 migrants from two boats after a delay.

The Malta Independent also leads with the police fatality. In its second story, it says energy tariffs have been reduced by an average of 22%.

In-Nazzjon leads with the introduction, by the PN, of 130 candidates for the local council elections. Half of the candidates are new. It also reports that Italy has assumed responsibility for migrants found near Lampedusa

l-orizzont says a major clean-up has started in the environs of the Addolorata cemetery, where it ran a series of stories on the dumping of remains. It also reports Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici saying the controversy on immigrants was not a chess game.

The Press in Britain

The Daily Mirror shows a drawing of a man (picture) who detectives working for the McCanns believe may have snatched their missing daughter Madeleine two years ago.

The Sun has the same story, reporting the suspect was seen outside the holiday flats from where the four-year-old was kidnapped.

The Daily Mail reports Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman wants to see more women in charge of the country's nationalised banks.

The Daily Telegraph claims DNA profiles of innocent people will be stored on the national database for up to 12 years.

The Guardian has the same story, accusing the government of flouting a court ruling on the detention of data.

The Metro reports Britain has almost twice as many new HIV cases diagnosed in a year than any other west European country.

The Daily Express reports a race hate preacher who praised the July 7 London suicide bombers has been freed from prison.

The death of Formula One boss Max Mosley's son is the Daily Star's top story.

The Times has the proposals on English football made by the Culture Secretary, which say Premier League teams should have quotas for the amount of British players.

And elsewhere...

Prague Post says the Czech senate has endorsed the EU's Lisbon Treaty designed to streamline EU decision-making.

Juedi reports that the MEPs have changed their rules to prevent French far-right politician Jean Marie Le Pen, as the oldest MEP, from presiding over the first session of the newly-elected European Parliament on July 14 in Strasbourg. Under new rules, it would now be the outgoing president of parliament that will perform the opening ceremony.

The Irish Times quotes opposition Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny saying the Irish Prime Minister must immediately call a general election if the government parties get a drubbing at the local and European elections on June 5.

The New York Times says a UN investigation into attacks by Israeli forces on UN installations during the Gaza war four months ago has strongly criticized Israel for gross negligence and recklessness. Israel has rejected the report as one-sided and biased.

Cape Times leads with the formal election of Jacob Zuma as South Africa's new president. The 67-year-old former underground leader has survived prison under the country's apartheid government, a rape allegation and corruption scandals on his way to the top job. He will be inaugurated on Saturday.

The Washington Times quotes US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying the Obama administration deeply regreted the death of civilians killed by an air strike in Afghanistan.

The Washington Post says President Obama has described talks with President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan and President Hamid Karzai Afghanistan as "extraordinarily productive".

Meanwhile, Dawn quotes the Pakistan army saying more than 60 Taliban were killed in clashes around the hotly contested Swat valley.

Times of India says Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving Mumbai massacre gunman, has pleaded not guilty to all charges including waging war against India and murder.

Az-Zaman reports that a car bomb has exploded at the entrance to a fruit and vegetable market in south Baghdad. Fifty people were killed and another 40 wounded.

The Boston Globe says a white man accused of killing two people and raping a third during a January crime spree against non-whites has appeared in a Massachusetts court with a recently carved swastika on his forehead.

USA Today reports that a smuggler has been caught trying to take valuable songbirds into the US hidden in an elaborate, custom-tailored pair of trousers on a flight from Vietnam to Los Angeles. He had around a dozen songbirds which cost some €22 in Vietnam but sell to collectors in the US for up to €300.

The New York Post quotes Michelle Obama saying that appearing on 'Sesame Street' was the highlight of her first months in the White House. The first lady made the revelation at the US Mission to the United Nations in New York. On the show she talked about nutrition and healthy eating.