Malta and international press digest

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

The Times reports about the 51-year-old woman who died from an electric shock yesterday and speaks to the victim of Thursday’s Gudia hold-up.

Prominence to the woman’s death is also given by In-Nazzjon. This paper also reports on efforts to increase trade between Malta and Egypt and says that the airline Egyptair will be increasing trips between the two countries.

l-Orizzont says that a Serb was found dead in his apartment in Sliema. In another story it describes Qawra as Malta’s sewage pit. It also reports on a court application filed by one of the tenderers for a sewage treatment plant in the south.

The Malta Independent says that a zebra crossing in Zejtun was not serving its purpose and it was planned to be transformed into a pelican crossing. It says that the deficit is going up.

Il-Gens Illum leads with Projett Impenn’s reply to the study about the introduction of divorce by the Today Public Policy Institute. It queries whether there have been any changes to the syringes giving programme.

The Press in Britain…

The Sun reports on a 'kidnap that has shocked the world' – that of 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was held captive in California for 18 years, and reportedly emerged still looking like a young girl.

The Daily Mirror sums up the developments in the dramatic 'return from the dead' of kidnapped Dugard.

The Daily Mail looks at how police failed to act on a tip-off in 2006 that the girl's alleged abductor Philip Garrido had children living in tents in his garden.

The Daily Star reports that Jaycee Lee apparently feels guilty over bonding with the man who held her hostage and raped her.

Metro says the couple accused of kidnapping the girl have pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges as police searched their home for evidence related to murders of prostitutes in the 1990s.

The Times carries the news that Britain was accused of going back on a promise to the United States that the Lockerbie bomber would serve out his sentence in Scotland.

The lead story in The Guardian is about Labour's plans to cut spending on its flagship academy programme.

The Financial Times says the number of homes sold for more than £1 million in London rose in August.

House price rises also feature on the front page of the Daily Express, which reports that prices were up 1.7 per cent last month – the biggest increase for five years.

The Daily Telegraph quotes a senior policewoman warning that the relaxation of assisted suicide laws could be seen by families caring for elderly relatives as 'a way of getting rid of a burden'.

And elsewhere…

China Daily reports that a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 has struck northwest China, sending tremors through a mining area.

Tribune de Genève says the World Health Organisation has raised concerns for about 1.5 million displaced Pakistani refugees returning to their homes in north-western Pakistan following clashes between state forces and militants.

Al Babs reports that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the leaders of the opposition to be prosecuted over Iran's post-election turmoil, stepping up pressure against the pro-reform movement that says he won the election by fraud.

Frettabladid reports that Iceland's parliament has pledged billions of euros to the Dutch and British governments to compensate them for their own repayment to their citzens, who lost their savings when the online bank Icesave collapsed.

Al-Ayyam says a landslide killed 11 members of a single family when a large rock destroyed their three-storey home west of the Yemeni capital.

The Herald reports South African president Jacob Zuma has met president Robert Mugabe and other leaders in a bid to end feuding between Zimbabwe's coalition partners.

Los Angeles Times reports that Michael Jackson’s family have said they look forward to justice being served following a ruling of homicide in the singer's death.

De Telegraaf reports that a 13-year-old girl’s attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo around the globe was blocked on Friday by a court which placed her under state supervision for two months.

The Weekend Australian reports that Hambali, the terrorist believed to be behind the Bali bombings, is set to escape justice for his role in the 2002 attacks that killed 202 people, 88 of them Australians.

Saudi Times says a top Saudi security official has survived a suicide attack in his office in the Red Sea port of Jeddah.

Aviation News reports that some 40 air traffic controllers had to resort to mobile phones to relay messages to planes under their guidance during a communications failure at the Oakland Centre in Fremont – a major control centre in California.