Malta and international press digest

The following are the top stories in the Malta and international press today:

The Times says that the Zejtun victims of Wednesday’s fatal accident were visiting caterers for their wedding. It reports that than €200,000 were stolen in a hold-up.

The hold-up is also reported in The Malta Independent, which also says that more immigrants have arrived in Malta.

l-Orizzont says that Zejtun is mourning the three victims who lost their life in Wednesday’s fatal accident. It continues with its series on the Delimara power station.

In-Nazzjon says that seven agreements have been signed between Malta and Qatar. It reports that the Data Protection Commissioner did not find breach of data in the case of the Siggiewi PL club and that the police can continue with their crackdown on gaming arcades.

The Press in Britain…

The Sun features photographs of every British soldier killed in Afghanistan, claiming the government "doesn't want to face up to being in a bloody conflict".

The Times reveals Gordon Brown is facing a Labour revolt over plans to cut the benefits of the poorest families by up to £15 a week.

According to the Daily Express, one in four babies born in Britain last year was to an immigrant mother – and in London it’s 55 per cent.

The Daily Telegraph leads with the same story, reporting that immigration helped push Britain’s population to 61 million and that younger mothers and benefits were behind the rise.

The Daily Mail claims plans to impose fresh taxes on every financial transaction in the City sent shockwaves through the sector.

The Independent says boys recorded better results than girls in GCSE maths for the first time in 12 years.

Metro reports that unions are threatening to bring Britain's rail network to a standstill by striking over plans to make up to 1,800 maintenance staff redundant.

The Guardian reports that a Tory council is using the business model of budget airlines, such as easyJet and Ryanair, to reform public services, which many see as a blueprint for a Conservative government.

The Financial Times reports on new fears over the recovery of the economy after new data revealed businesses had slashed investment spending by the highest amount since the 1960s in the year to the end of the second quarter.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Kerry Katona's accountant, David McHugh, says she "threw scalding hot tea" over him and left him "black and blue" during an attack which she was arrested for.

The Daily Star leads with Jordan revealing she is having "the best sex of her life" with her new boyfriend Alex Reid.

And elsewhere…

San Francisco Chronicle reports that a woman who had been missing since she was kidnapped in California 18 years ago at age 11 was kept as a sex slave.

Berliner Zeitung quotes German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated calls from the Palestinians and US President Barack Obama for Israel to halt the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Asia Observer says China has denounced Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou's decision to allow the Dalai Lama to visit the self-ruled island.

Al Jazeera reports that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said claims that opposition leaders had links to Western powers had not been proven.

Boston Globe says large crowds have bid a silent, fond farewell to Edward Kennedy as his funeral procession slipped down the narrow roads of Hannyis Port in Massachusetts at the start of his journey to Boston where he would lay in repose.

Newsweek magazine says US Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke and his wife Anne were among hundreds of victims of an identity fraud ring that stole over $US2.1 million (€1.5 million) from individuals and financial institutions.

USA Today says feelings of hopelessness in women can lad to a stroke risk.

Corriere della Sera reports that a 49-year-old cook has been arrested for pretending to be a member of a special Carabinieri police branch in order to manage having affairs with two different women.

A man has been arrested in Mumbai for marrying 14 women, each unaware of his other wives, over two and a half years. Times of India says the 40-year-old, who has since been sacked from his job with Air India, earned £946 per month and reportedly took care of all his 14 wives.