Malta and international press digest

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

The Times says Finance Minister Tonio Fenech could not give an assurance that Malta's deficit could be trimmed to below 3% by the end of next year, as requested by the European Commission yesterday. The current deficit is 4.7%.

The Malta Independent says a Somali woman who had threatened to sleep outdoors will be leaving Malta for France after having been evicted from an open centre for injuring another Somali.

In-Nazzjon says the Renzo Piano plans for Valletta will be displayed for a month at the National Museum of Archaeology as from this Sunday.

l-orizzont leads with the jailing of a drug trafficker for 18 years after a trial by jury. It also says criticism on fundamental rights in Malta has continued abroad. The latest criticism was made by a Vienna-based agency.

The Press in Britain

The Financial Times reports that Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King has hit out at the lack of consultation by the Treasury over regulatory reform.

The Guardian reveals that should they win the general election the Tories are planning a two day summit meeting to decide large-scale spending cuts.

According to the Daily Express, Prime Minister Gordon Brown was shamed into a retreat over plans to squeeze more cash out of taxpayers to fund MP pensions.

The Times says the BBC is poised to ignite a fresh row over expenses by refusing to disclose how much its executives spend on entertainment for their stars.

The BBC also features in The Daily Telegraph's lead story, saying it is to tone down the amount of sex and swearing screened because viewers were dismayed by the moral decline in programme standards.

The Independent quotes a warning by the man behind the global ban on trading illegal 'blood' diamonds from Africa that the scheme is on the verge of collapse.

The Sun reports pop star Robbie Williams has been interviewed by police in the Bahamas investigating an armed robbery.

The Daily Mirror says that Simon Cowell is set to quit X Factor and launch a global and TV entertainment empire with his friend, Topshop tycoon Sir Philip Green.

The Daily Star reports glamour model Katie Price, known as Jordan, has returned home to the UK after her Ibiza holiday and gone for a horse-riding session.

And elsewhere...

Deutsche-Welle quotes EU Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering saying he was prepared to lead a delegation of European deputies to Iran to study allegations of fraud in the recent election.

Agence France-Presse quotes witnesses saying that riot police blocked protesters from gathering in Tehran as Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned he will not back down in the face of unrest following the disputed presidential vote.

Al Ahram says Arab foreign ministers are ready to support US President Barack Obama's Middle East peace efforts and the creation of a sovereign, independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Le Monde says President Sarkozy has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to impose a "total freeze" on Jewish settlements in the West Bank. A meeting with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell in Paris was called off amid reports, denied by Israeli officials, of a clash over its refusal to stop building more settlements.

The Chinese People's Daily reports that dissident Liu Xiaobo, a leading force behind a petition calling for democratic reforms, has been formally arrested for subversive activities.

Manila Times says a tropical storm has raged across the central Philippines leaving at least six people dead. The storm, packing winds of 75km/h, destroyed houses and left some 10,000 people stranded aboard hundreds of ferries and motorboats.

USA Today reports South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has admitted conducting a months-long affair with an Argentine woman. Gov. Sanford refused to say whether he would give up his post as governor.

Environmental Daily announces the death of 57-year-old Dr Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald, famous for diagnosing and treating her own cancer while stationed in Antarctica in 1999. A welder at the base helped her with the chemotherapy treatment and she was airlifted out three months later as soon as the weather permitted.

Meanwhile, Dagbladet announces that Norwegian whalers have suspended their hunt mid-season this year with less than half the quota of 885 whales killed because demand is saturated.

Neue Ruhr Zeitung reports that German customs authorities have smashed a ring selling millions of counterfeit Viagra male potency tablets online from India and other Asian countries after raids in five cities. The operation - involving 60 customs officers, seven prosecutors and 25 tax investigators - turned up a stockpile of 46,000 pills destined for mail-order distribution. Seven people were arrested.