Malta and international press digest

The following are the top items in the Maltese and overseas press today:

The Times reports that the funeral of Gaetano Romano, the man found dead in an industrial furnace, is to go ahead after forensic experts completed their work. The newspaper reports a €6 million boost to the road works budget and also says that the first runner up in the EP elections will have observer status in the European Parliament until the Lisbon Treaty is ratified.

The Malta Independent reports disappointment at the Malta Tourism Authority after Sheffield United lost a play-off for promotion to the English premier league. The MTA is a sponsor of the team. The newspaper also reports that claims for sick leave rose to 126,000 last year.

l-orizzont says that bus owners have said they were deceived by the government. It also says that the Prime Minister was surprised yesterday when Joseph Muscat produced a report by government consultants showing consideration of the introduction of charges for some health services.

In-Nazzjon leads with the increase in the roads budget and says a man received a suspended jail term and was fined €50,000 for money laundering.

The Press in Britain

In an article he has written for The Guardian, Tory leader David Cameron promises to deliver a redistribution of power in the wake of the expenses row.

The Daily Telegraph continues its investigation into MPs' expenses, saying the husband of Labour MP Meg Munn was paid more than £5,000 to provide personal tax advice to at least five ministers.

The Sun's front page carries details of its own expenses exposé, reporting that MEPs can claim £363,000 a year each and become millionaires in a five-year parliamentary term.

The Times says a global drive to improve energy efficiency will be the centrepiece of President Obama's strategy for fighting climate change.

The Daily Mail leads on a Home Office report which shows nearly a quarter of all violent assaults in England and Wales are now carried out by women.

Plans for a "bin tax" of up to £120 a year per property are being considered for environmentally friendly eco-towns, says the Daily Express.

The Independent leads on a US court case in which Shell is accused of being involved in the execution of a Nigerian environmental activist in 1995.

The Daily Mirror says the McCanns' private detective have urged paedophile Ray Hewlett to talk to them and prove he has nothing to hide.

The Financial Times reports that new nuclear power stations will not be built in Britain unless the government provides financial support for the industry.

The Daily herald says the Church of Scotland has banned the ordination of gay clergy for the next two years, along with any public discussion on the issue.

And elsewhere...

The New York Times leads with the UN Security Council's unanimous condemnation of North Korea's latest nuclear test.

Al Quds al-Arabi quotes Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejecting a Western proposal to "freeze" its nuclear work in return for no new sanctions and ruling out any talks with major powers on the issue.

Arutz Sheva reports Israel's far-right Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has called for new laws to force Israeli Arabs to swear loyalty to the Jewish state.

Le Monde says that a study carried out across the EU on behalf of the French Political Innovation Foundation shows that 18 percent of those surveyed said they were ' not at all interested' in the upcoming European parliamentary elections next month, while 35 percent said they were 'rather not interested'.

EU Observer announces that the European Union has approved a new 'blue card' worker visa programme as a way to attract highly skilled labour to fill growing job gaps across the 27-nation bloc.

Italy's Premier Silvio Berlusconi has promised to further explain his relationship with an 18-year-old girl at the heart of a political and personal scandal. In an interview with CNN, Berlusconi denied that he lied about his relationship with Noemi Letizia and said he merely tried to protect her and her family's privacy.

The Irish Independent says religious orders responsible for decades of shocking child abuse have rejected calls to reopen talks on a capped victims' compensation scheme, saying there were other ways to help victims.

La Croix reports that the French branch of the Church of Scientology has gone on trial on charges of organised fraud, in a case that could lead to the group being dissolved in France. The group said religious freedom was threatened.

Bild reports that six German states have ordered retailers to stop selling Red Bull Cola energy drinks after a test found a trace amount of cocaine. Red Bull said similar coca leaf extracts are used worldwide as flavouring, and a test it commissioned itself found no cocaine traces.