Malta and international press digest

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

The Times and the other papers give prominence to the spread of the A (H1N1) virus. The Times says cases in Gharb were the first involving local transmission. It also reports that Sicilian fishermen are demanding a bigger fishing zone.

The Malta Independent also leads with the new A (H1N1) cases. In other stories, it says the US Ambassador-designate was denied communion in the US for backing Obama despite the candidate being pro-abortion.

l-orizzont said three people in Gharb were infested with A (H1N1) during the Gharb feast. It also says there is a lack of syringes for diabetics.

In-Nazzjon says five new A (H1N1) cases have been confirmed, including three in Gharb. It also reports that France is to take more migrants from Malta, and the US and Russia have agrees to reduce their nuclear arsenals.

The Press in Britain...

The Financial Times reports the EU is planning a new push to reform the banks, to ensure they have better capital cushions.

Under the heading "End of the Cold War", The Independent says US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev have signed an agreement on reducing nuclear weapons... and that could prove historic.

The Times has a picture of Presidents Obama and Medvedev shaking hands on the arms reduction pact but leads with reports that top police officers are being given secret pay deals and perks well above their agreed salaries.

The Guardian claims MI5 are accused of bribing a man to drop his case after they apparently colluded in his torture.

According to The Daily Telegraph, British Airways employees are threatening strike action, disrupting holiday flights.

The Daily Express reports almost 1,000 convicted criminals, including murderers and rapists, are on the loose after breaching terms of early release from jail.

The story is also the lead in the Daily Mail, which reports that due to data protection, the police are reluctant to release the criminals' details.

Metro claims new figures show more than 11,000 children in England were treated last year for addiction to drink or drugs.

The Sun reports Britain's Got Talent schoolboy Shaheen Jafargholi is set to sing at Michael Jackson's memorial service.

The Daily Mirror says the world is to bid a huge farewell to Jackson.

The Daily Star predicts up to a billion people worldwide are set to watch the memorial service on TV.

And elsewhere...

EU Observer quotes European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso saying he would push China, India and Brazil at the G8 summit talks to do their fair share in cutting carbon dioxide emissions.

The People's Daily reports that some 156 people were killed when Muslim Uighurs rioted in the country's northwest

The Jerusalem Post says American engineers who serve as consultants for the Egyptian military have informed Israel that Hamas has succeeded in digging 60-meter deep smuggling tunnels to avoid detection and destruction by the Israeli army.

The New York Times says the Security Council has condemned North Korea's recent firing of seven ballistic missiles last week - the country's biggest display of firepower in three years.

Los Angeles Times reports that city officials, burdened with a budget gap of half a billion dollars, estimate the city could face a $2.5 million bill in police and other expenses for controlling the big crowd expected at the Michael Jackson memorial.

Melbourne's The Age reports that Prince William has let slip that he plans to visit Australia next year. Horrified palace officials hurriedly insisted there were no such plans for the prince. Protocol dictates that such visits must be simultaneously announced by both the royal household and the host nation.

The Washington Post reports the death of Robert McNamara, the US secretary of defence who was one of the main architects of the US war in Vietnam. He was 93.

The Japan Times says that the Japanese authorities have been ordered to pay about ¥77 million to the family of a deceased man who developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos while working at the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka.

Actor Rupert Grint, who as Ron Weasley facing monsters and wickedness in Harry Potter films, has told Variety he was more scared of dying from swine flu. Grint described contracting the A(H1N1) virus as "quite scary" but he recovered after spending a few days in bed.

Kabul Times says Afghanistan's only known pig has trotted out of quarantine after two months to bask again in the mud at Kabul Zoo. The pig, a curiosity in Muslim Afghanistan, where pork and pig products are illegal because they are considered irreligious, was quarantined because visitors to the zoo were worried it could spread the swine flu.