Malta and international press digest

The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press. All the local newspapers lead with the verdict by the European Court of Justice on spring hunting.

The Times says the government is looking into whether very limited spring hunting is possible. It also reports that a mother has sued a company, alleging her premature baby died as a result of workplace exposure to Melamine.

The Malta Independent says Malta has lost its spring hunting case before the ECJ.

In-Nazzjon says the government is examining its choices after the ECJ decision. It also reports how a Maltese gardener and four foreigners were taken to court yesterday after a 469 kilo haul of cannabis on Wednesday.

l-orizzont asks if the ECJ decision is the end or a new beginning. It also voices concerns over pollution from the power station at Delimara.

The Press in Britain...

As Gordon Brown distances himself from the decision to mount the assault to rescue of a British journalist in Afghanistan, The Independent says the father of the translator killed in the operation is demanding answers.

According to The Guardian, Al Qaida has come under increasing pressure in the eight years since the 9/11 attacks and is finding it difficult to attract recruits.

Britain's most senior judge tells The Daily Telegraph he feels 'enormous sympathy' for terminally ill patients who end their lives in assisted suicides.

The Times voices concerns for UK jobs after General Motors' announced the sale of Vauxhall to Canadian car parts maker Magna.

Metro says the British consul murdered in Jamaica was the victim of a 'gay-hate' attack.

The Daily Mail reports parents who regularly drive children to sports clubs or Scouts meetings will have to undergo criminal records checks.

The Herald says the Scottish Government has been given the green light to ban drinks promotions in supermarkets and off-licenses.

The Daily Express claims thousands of criminals are being let off with cautions, reprimands and warnings.

The Daily Mirror says Fabio Cappello has decreed that England's footballers will be off to the World Cup without their wives and girlfriends.

And elsewhere...

Euronews reports the EU is planning to contribute €15 billion a year as part of a global response to help developing countries fight global warming.

Meanwhile, Le Parisien says that President Nicolas Sarkozy has launched plans for a carbon tax to encourage industry and households to cut energy consumption. The levy, initially set at €17 per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions, will translate into a rise in the price of fuel for cars, domestic heating and factories.

The Washington Post quotes a White House statement saying President Barack Obama has voiced his disappointment directly to British Pime Minister Gordon Brown over the release of the Lockerbie bomber. However, the British government insists the decision to release Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was taken by the Scottish government and it did not intervene at all.

Standard Times Press reports more than 200 people, including many schoolchildren, are still missing after a wooden boat capsized at sea off the coast of Sierra Leone.

Tribune de Genève quotes a WHO study which reveals that road accidents, pregnancy and childbirth complications, suicide, violence, the AIDS virus and tuberculosis are the biggest killers of young people across the world.

Afghan Times says the country's vote monitoring body has ordered that ballots be scrapped from 83 polling stations, finding "clear and convincing evidence of fraud" in last month's presidential election.

Pravda reports President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has recognised the pro-Russian rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states.

The Jerusalem Post quotes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assuring his right-wing Likud party supporters that the Israelis would compromise for peace but were "not ready to be suckers." He said that before talks with a US envoy seeking a freeze in Jewish settlement activity, he would insist that settlers be permitted to "live normal lives".

Corriere della Sera quotes Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi denying he ever paid for sex because that would remove the "joy". At a press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero after an Italian-Spanish summit on Sardinia, he brushed off questions about any possible resignation and insisted that he has been Italy's best premier. He said he was considering suing the woman at the centre of the affair.

Cumhuriyet says Turkish military police have raided an Istanbul villa and rescued nine women, held captive for two months. They were tricked into thinking they were contestants on a reality TV show, but instead, their captors sold their images on the internet.

Germany's woman's football team has cemented its reputation as the "unbeatable squad" by winning the European Championships for the fifth time in a row. Deutsche Welle says Germany dealt England a resounding 6-2 defeat in the final of the Women's European Championships in Helsinki.