Press digest

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

The Times says a Gozo ferry captain has been suspended on full pay pending an inquiry into his allegations on safety shortcomings. It also highlights the report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers into the dockyard's losses from the Fairmount contracts.

The Malta Independent reports a PL statement asking who would be held responsible for the Fairmount losses. It also reports how a court expert said yesterday that a car was being driven at 114kph when it hit and killed cyclist Cliff Micallef.

In-Nazzjon leads with the opening of an eighth branch by Banif Bank, It also highlights the resumpting of arraignments over alleged VAT fraud, saying 10 had wanted to plead guilty but preferred to await the outcome of an appeal into other cases,

l-orizzont quotes a PL statement asking who would be held to account politically for the Fairmount losses scandal.

The Press in Britain...

The Guardian leads with the story of Iran's secret nuclear plant at Qom, reporting that the US, UK and France are set to threaten Tehran with new tougher sanctions.

The Independent points out Iran had previously insisted its plant at Natanz was the only one involved in nuclear enrichment. The Daily Express says three top police officers who investigated Princess Diana's death could face legal action after it emerged that they withheld a note from the authorities detailing how she feared for her life.

The Daily Mail quotes a senior officer from Leicestershire Police saying local councils, rather than the police, are now in charge of dealing with anti-social behaviour and 'low-level' hooliganism.

The Financial Times says that Lloyds Banking Group faces the loss of large chunks of its business and a sixth of its market share in Britain as part of a state aid ruling being drawn up by Brussels.

The Daily Telegraph has an interview with a soldier who worked in the office where MPs' expenses were censored and was "disappointed and disgusted" by the extravagant claims made by some politicians.

According to the Daily Mirror, a dead soldier's father has paid tribute to his son's comrade. Despite severe injuries sustained in Afghanistan, he turned up at Shaun Bush's funeral, who died fighting alongside him five weeks ago, The Times reports ITV is involved in a battle over power and money after losing both its chairman and prospective chief executive. The Daily Star claims that a 'Jordan hate mob' wrecked hundreds of pounds worth of Katie Price books, perfume and calendars in support of her ex-husband Peter Andre. Witnesses quoted by The Sun reveal a "booze-crazed" Paul Gascoigne drank six pints of beer in the space of 20 minutes and sobbed that "he wanted to die".

And elsewhere...

Pittsburg Post-Gazette reports President Obama saying the G20 group of leading and emerging nations has agreed to keep a trillion dollar economic stimulus package going until sustainable recovery is assured and jobs return.

Al Jezeera says Osama bin Laden has warned that al-Qaida could retaliate against Europe for its alliance with the US over the war in Afghanistan. In a new audiotape posted on Islamic websites, he said Europe should pull out of the coalition with the US, warning that it shares blame for Nato air strikes in Afghanistan which have killed civilians.

As western leaders demand UN nuclear inspectors be given access to a previously secret Iranian plant, The Washington Times quotes President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisting his country had not violated any International Atomic Energy Agency requirement.

La Tribune de Genève quotes WHO saying close to 4,000 people have died from swine flu infections since the A(H1N1) virus was uncovered in April. The Americas region continued to post the highest number of fatal cases - 2,948 - while Europe recorded at least 154 fatalities.

Haaretz reports Ehud Olmert has vigorously proclaimed his innocence at a Jerusalem court hearing that marked the first time a current or past Israeli prime minister has stood trial.

Al Jezeera says three Palestinians have been killed and another three seriously wounded in an Israeli air strike north of Gaza City. All six had been in a vehicle that was targeted by two Israeli helicopters.

The Jerusalem Post publishes the result of a new opinion poll among Palestinians which shows 55 per cent want a state of their own would like to achieve it through a peace deal with Israel. However, there is still substantial support for the Islamist Hamas group which favours resistance.

Asia Observer says the mayors of Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world's only cities to have been hit with atom bombs, hailed a UN resolution vowing to rid the planet of all nuclear weapons.

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya told Radio Globo he has met with an interim government official and begun dialogue aimed at ending the country's protracted political crisis. Mr Zelaya was forced out of Honduras at gunpoint on June 28,.

Los Angeles Times says Susan Atkins, a member of Charles Manson's "family" who was later convicted of murdering seven people in their horrific 1969 killing spree, has died in a California prison aged 61. The former Manson disciple was one of the most notorious members of the cult and admitted stabbing to death actress Sharon Tate, eight months pregnant with husband Roman Polanski's child. She used the actress's blood to write "PIG" on the home's front door. Atkins had been terminally ill with brain cancer.