Malta and international press digest

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

The Times leads with Finance Minister Tonio Fenech’s presentation of the pre-budget document and his statement that no unilateral action would be taken on the cost of living adjustment. It also gives prominence to a story claiming that half the Maltese are internet illiterate and another on the two US journalists who have been freed by North Korea. They had been arrested in March for illegally crossing into North Korea from China.

The Independent says that the Cola was to be further discussed with the social partners and that discussions were underway on the possibility of a Ryanair base in Malta. A picture story focuses on the visit of Education Minister Dolores Cristina to Skola Sajf.

l-Orizzont leads with a GWU statement that the Cola should be given in full to everyone. It says that according to Finance Ministry calculations this should be €5 to €6 a week. It also gives prominence to another story on the Delimara contract.

In-Nazzjon also leads with a story on the presentation of the pre-budget document but also focuses on a court story about an immigrant who was imprisoned for his participation in riots at the detention centre. This newspaper reports that the Nationalist Party has filed a complaint against the Labour Party because its journalists were not being invited to Labour Party activities and carries a picture story of the two US journalists saved from North Korea.

The Press in Britain...

The Guardian and The Times report that new figures on house prices, manufacturing and the services sector give the clearest indication yet that Britain is beginning to pull out of recession.

The Daily Express reports on house prices showing their most significant rise since the housing bubble burst almost two years ago.

According to the Daily Mail, millions of middle-class pensioners could lose their free bus passes after local government leaders said too many people who could afford tickets were taking advantage of the system.

The Sun carries a picture of an apparently blood-stained blouse hanging in Michael Jackson's wardrobe days after he died.

Metro reports three soldiers and a Royal Marine were banned from a bar because they were wearing their military uniforms.

The Independent says Sir Michael Bichard, whose inquiry led to new vetting procedures for adults working with children, has called on the government to rethink parts of its anti-paedophile register.

The Daily Telegraph reports on claims that workers using swine flu as an excuse to take time off work are causing more disruption to businesses than the virus itself.

The Financial Times leads on Lloyds, saying the banking group boosted investors' hopes by signalling that its bad debts had peaked, despite reporting losses of £4 billion.

The Daily Mirror reports on a loan shark who made a woman pay £88,000 in interest for a loan of £500.

And elsewhere...

USA Today reports that the two American journalists released by North Korea have tearfully rejoined their families on arrival in California.

De Standaard says NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is in Afghanistan, on just his third working day in his new job to assess first-hand the fight against an escalating Taliban-led insurgency.

Al Jezeera reports that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been sworn in as president of Iran, vowing his country will resist "oppressive powers".

According to La Tribune de Genève, the global death toll in the swine flu pandemic has passed the 1000 mark.

Kurier says a 14-year-old Austrian youth died after being shot by police, while his 16-year-old accomplice was seriously injured after they broke into a supermarket in the city of Krems in the northeast of the country.

Sydney Morning Herald reports that the hunt for Maddy McCann, now six years old, has switched to Australia after fresh information about an Australian they believe could be linked to her disappearance and is believed to hold vital clues to the British girls' abduction in May 2007.

Times of India reports that at least nine people were killed and 13 others seriously injured in lightning strikes in eastern India.

Le Parisien says some 10 passengers were injured evacuating an airliner down emergency slides after it caught fire at Orly airport in Paris.

The Herald reports that Zimbabwe's vice president Joseph Msika, a loyal ally of President Robert Mugabe, has died after suffering a stroke.

Pennsylvania Post says a man who shot and killed three women in a health club, then himself, apparently blogged his rage-filled preparations – with the final chilling entry announcing the "big day" of the massacre.

Iran News reports that 24 convicted drug traffickers were hanged in a prison last week in one of the country's biggest mass executions.

The Australian reports that a stripper was cleared today of raping the best man at a stag party with a sex toy.