Malta and international press digest

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

The Sunday Times follows up yesterday's announcement that the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have referred the elections spending issue to the Parliamentary select committee on democratic change.

The Malta Independent says the PN government is going through its worst moment in 22 years according to party officials. It also says that the International Monetary Fund has urged the government to scrap automatic cost of living increases.

MaltaToday quotes Jesmond Mugliett as saying he never asked to be made a minister, but asked for attacks against him to stop.

It-Torca highlights a PL national conference on the cost of living where it was said that prices in Malta are on average 77% higher than in in the eurozone when compared to the average wage.

Il-Mument reports that some Labour MPs are feeling uncomfortable over a lack of direction under Muscat's leadership. It also says tourist arrivals are nearing 2007 levels.

KullHadd says Labour leader Joseph Muscat yesterday made 23 proposals to control the cost of living. It also says that important Mepa documents on the permit granted to Victor Scerri in Bahrija gave disappeared.

The Press in Britain

The Observer says that in an effort to limit the spread of swine flu, expectant mothers will be urged to avoid unnecessary journeys and crowds.

The Sunday Telegraph announces parents will be advised to keep babies away from crowds, while pregnant women will also be encouraged to limit the movements of their other children, so they do not bring the virus home.

The Independent predicts the world is on the verge of manned space exploration.

According to the Sunday Express, 1,000 homes a month are facing a "stealth" tax rise because of home improvements.

The News of the World claims the uncle of Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton organises drugs and prostitutes at his villa where the pair stayed.

The Mail on Sunday says victims of violent crime could have compensation cut if they have previously committed minor offences like speeding.

The Sunday Mirror has Michael Jackson's doctor claiming custody of Jackson's children because he claims he is their father.

The Daily Star Sunday reports police in the US wish to question British suspects over Michael Jackson's death.

Metro leads with the tributes that have been paid to Henry Allingham, the world's oldest man and the oldest surviving British serviceman from the First World War, who has died at the age of 113.

In a world exclusive, The People reports that six Premier League soccer stars have had tests for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, after a girl told them she had found out she was infected. She has no idea whether she contracted the disease before or after she slept with them all.

The Herald says that American relatives of the victims of Pan Am 103 are expected to push for a judicial review that could keep Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, in jail.

And elsewhere...

Jakarta Post says Indonesian authorities suspect that the blasts in Jakarta on Friday were masterminded by Noordin Top, a Malaysian who heads a breakaway faction of the south-east Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiyah.

China Today reports that more than 50 Britons are in quarantine after four schoolchildren were diagnosed with swine flu during a trip to China.

The Washington Times says President Barack Obama has defended his broad health care overhaul, calling it fiscally sound and urging Congress not to squander its moment to pass reform.

The Irish Independent reports that the Green Party has voted to campaign for a 'Yes' in the Lisbon Treaty referendum.

Berliner Zeitung says international NGO's, including Amnesty International, Reporters without Borders, International PEN, have set aside July 25 as a day for people all over the world to come together and show their solidarity with the Iranian protest movement.

According to the Mail & Guardian, Nelson Mandela's admirers have celebrated the anti-apartheid icon's 91st birthday by emulating him with good deeds. People took part in projects reading to the blind, distributing blankets to the homeless or refurbishing homes for Aids orphans.

Valley Planet reports that a suspect is in custody for the killings of six people, five in southern Tennessee and another about 20 miles away in Huntsville, Alabama. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) said that the bodies were found in two different houses in Fayetteville. Some of the victims are related.

USA Today says several people were injured after two light-rail trains collided in San Francisco. The crash occurred just before 3 pm on Saturday when one train rear-ended another train near a boarding platform.

Sonntags Nachrichten reports that at least three people were feared buried in their house after it was swallowed by a mudslide along a lake shore in central Germany. Authorities said a 48-year-old woman and two men aged 50 and 51 were missing. They lived in the collapsed building and were probably asleep at the time of the accident.