Malta and international press digest

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

The Times and the other newspapers feature the arraignment yesterday of a 47-year-old man accused of the fatal stabbing of his wife. It also reports that the first migrants arrived in Malta yesterday after almost two months.

The Malta Independent says the government will announce its vision for the Dock 1 area in the autumn.

MaltaToday says people foiled a hold-up at an HSBC bank in Birkirkara few days ago.

l-orizzont says a man accused of killing his wife had awaited her arrival in Tarxien for two hours on Monday.

In-Nazzjon reports that a Pole, formerly active in the Solidarity trade union, has been elected president of the European Parliament.

The Press in Britain

The Guardian quotes the head of the World Health Organisation warning that a vaccine to protect millions from swine flu will not be available for several months. Se said clinical trial data will not be available for another two to three months.

The Daily Express claims swine flu panic is sweeping the UK.

The Independent leads with the cortege of hearses carrying the eight British soldiers who lost their lives in a 24-hour period in Afghanistan last week.

The Sun says the hearses "passed slowly through a human corridor in a heartbreaking homecoming" in Wootton Bassett.

The Daily Star reports on what it calls the "emotional public salute" seen in the Wiltshire town of Wootton Bassett.

The Daily Mail shows Sasha Buckley - the girlfriend of Rifleman Daniel Hume, one of the eight soldiers whose bodies were flown home from Afghanistan.

The Times says the deaths of renowned conductor Sir Edward Downes and his wife Joan have raised fears that more couples will be encouraged to die together through assisted suicide.

The Daily Telegraph claims every adult could be forced to pay £20,000 on retirement to cover the cost of their health care.

The Financial Times reports staff at investment bank Goldman Sachs are in line for payouts even bigger than those enjoyed before the financial crisis.

Metro says Goldman Sachs has been slapped down by the Chancellor Alistair Darling after it paid out £4.1bn in bonuses in the past three months.

The Daily Mirror has an interview with one of Michael Jackson's brothers, Tito, who reveals how he stormed into Neverland to confront Michael over his drug use and cried uncontrollably when sister Janet broke the news that their brother had died.

And elsewhere…

EU Observer leads with the European Parliament’s election of former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek as its new president, making him the first politician from the former communist bloc to hold one of the European Union's top posts.

Il Mattino says in a series of dawn raids near Naples on the Casalesi clan police seized real estate, bank accounts, businesses and cars to the tune of €50 million.

Press TV reports that Iran has hanged 13 members of a Sunni Muslim rebel group which took credit for a suicide bombing of a Shiite mosque in May that killed 25 people.

USA Today reports that a South Carolina appeals court has ordered the closure of a funeral home where a worker cut the legs off a body so it would fit in a coffin. casket to close. The owner had admitted that his funeral home cut the legs off a man who measured 6 feet and 7 inches tall five years ago and did not tell his family. A fired funeral home worker notified the family about a year ago.