Press digest

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

The Times reports that the Lockerbie bomber has continued to attack the Maltese shopkeeper who gave evidence against him in the trial. It also says the results of the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty will be known today.

The Malta Independent also features the Irish vote in the front page. It also reports that Insulin pens are still not available to everyone.

In-Nazzjon says the AFM has ordered its first brand new fixed wing aircraft. The twin-engined turbo-prop will be delivered in 2010.

l-orizzont leads with the revamp of the GWU corporate image, launched yesterday. It too gives prominence to the Lockerbie bomber's new 'evidence' against a Maltese shopkeeper.

The Press in Britain...

The Times says the Tories have pledged to block Tony Blair's proposed presidency of the EU if the Lisbon Treaty is finally ratified.

The Independent reports the vast majority of Tory members oppose the party's position on the Lisbon Treaty.

The Guardian reveals two prominent east European allies of the Tories, at the centre of a bitter row over their far-right links, will be attending the Conservatives' annual conference in Manchester next week.

The Daily Mail quotes the Tories saying they will prevent the elderly ever having to sell their homes to pay for long-term residential care.

The FT Weekend says a sharp jump in the number of Americans losing their jobs last month has knocked investor hopes of a swift economic recovery.

The Daily Express says house prices saw their biggest quarterly rise for five years this summer as the property market emerged strongly from recession.

But The Scotsman reports hopes of a recovery in the housing market were dealt a blow after experts warned a lack of mortgages could severely threaten any recovery.

According to The Daily Telegraph, police spend just six hours a week on the street because they are swamped with paperwork and rushing between incidents.

The Sun reports the police are hunting a possible fourth member of a paedophile gang who met on Facebook.

The Daily Mirror reports on a 13-year-old schoolboy who has become of Britain's youngest fathers. He is apparently "chuffed to bits" about the news.

Once again the Daily Star gives its front page to Katie Price, aka Jordan, who fears lover Alex Reid is obsessed with her, as he asks her to wed him 50 times a day.

And elsewhere...

Europe is holding its breath after polls closed in Ireland's controversial Lisbon Treaty referendum re-run. The Irish Times says turnout across the country was around 50 per cent. The final result is expected late afternoon.

La Gazzetta del Sud reports at least 20 people have died after rivers of mud unleashed by heavy rains flooded parts of the Sicilian city of Messina, sweeping away cars and collapsing buildings. Rescuers are searching for missing people.

Jakarta Post quotes Indonesia's Health Ministry saying nearly 3,000 people may still be trapped under rubble after a powerful earthquake two days ago. Some 715 people have been confirmed dead and 2,400 are in hospitals. More than 20,000 buildings and houses have been seriously damaged or destroyed.

Meanwhile, The Samoan says at least 150 people died after four huge tsunami waves, triggered by an earlier quake, hit the South Pacific Ocean islands of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga. As the battered nations battled to save thousands of trapped people, another 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck near Tonga.

Dnevnik reports Slovenia has made peace with Zagreb over a border dispute and lifted its veto on Croatia's access to the EU. The row over a small piece of land and some territorial waters dates back to 1991, when the two proclaimed independence from the former Yugoslavia.

Die Welt says German authorities have arrested a German-Turkish national suspected of recruiting for al Qaeda and obtaining bomb-making materials. The arrest comes after al Qaeda released several threats directed at Germany.

Irrawady reveals that a court in military-ruled Burma threw out opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal against her house arrest sentence. Ms Suu Kyi was convicted in August for breaking terms of her last period of house arrest by sheltering an uninvited American at her home for two days in May.

Ha'aretz says in the first glimpse since his capture more than three years ago, a thin but healthy-looking Israeli soldier says in a video that he is being treated well by his Palestinian captors and. In exchange for the two-minute video handed over by Hamas militants, Israel released 19 Palestinian women prisoners.

USA Today reports that a woman abducted at 14 from her bedroom seven years ago told a Utah court that her captor raped her three or four times a day, kept her tied up with a cable and threatened to kill her if she tried to escape. Self-styled prophet Brian Mitchell is accused of holding Elizabeth Smart captive for nine months. The court has to decide whether Mitchell, now 55, is mentally competent to stand trial.

The New York Times says US chatshow host David Letterman revealed to millions of viewers today he was the victim of a $2 million-blackmail plot after having affairs with female employees. Robert Halderman, a producer for the CBS true-crime show 48 Hours, has been charged with trying to blackmail Letterman.

According to Variety, Apple and the music publisher for Eminem have settled a lawsuit over the digital downloading rights to many of the Detroit rapper's songs. Eight Mile Style LLC alleged copyright violations on 93 songs, including Eminem's biggest hit Lose Yourself. O Globo reports that some 50,000 people erupted in celebration on Copacabana beach when IOC president Jacques Rogge announced in Copenhagen that Rio de Janeiro has won the race to host the 2016 Olympics, beating Madrid in the final round of voting. The two other contestants were Chicago and Tokyo. It will be the first time the Games will be held in South America.