Press digest

The following are the top stories in the local and overseas press today.

The Times quotes the Prime Minister saying the Budget would not raise taxes and the government would seek to narrow the deficit by reducing its spending. The newspaper also reports that there is a movement to bring about tougher sentencing when accidents have more than one victim.

The Malta Independent says 700 grams of cannabis and 240 grams of heroin were seized over the past few days. It also says that Malta and Slovakia are strengthening their political and economic relations.

l-orizzont marks the 66^th anniversary of the setting up of the GWU, saying it had always put the workers first. It also quotes PL leader Joseph Muscat saying the power station extension contract was a very serious scandal.

In-Nazzjon says there was fighting at the PL club in Valletta yesterday, while Joseph Muscat, in Rabat, appealed for unity. It also gives prominence to Dr Gonzi's announcement that the budget would not impose new taxes.

The Press in Britain...

The Scotsman reports Conservative leader David Cameron is struggling to keep a lid on an explosive rift in his party over the Lisbon Treaty.

The Financial Times says Cameron faced down calls from Conservative eurosceptics to guarantee a referendum on the treaty, amid signs that events in Europe could soon rupture party unity on the issue.

The Guardian, Cameron has ruled out any possibility of a referendum on the treaty if the measure is ratified by all 27 members of the EU before next year's British general election.

The Daily Mail tells how the Tory leader's bid to depict his party as a united government-in-waiting was threatened by a new row over Europe.

According to The Times, Iran has the know-how to produce a nuclear bomb and may already have tested a detonation system small enough to fit into the warhead of a medium-range missile.

The Daily Record has a story about a courageous Scots Army captain who defused 14 bombs on her first day at work in Afghanistan.

Metro quotes a new poll which shows more than half of voters back the reintroduction of the death penalty... and many even believe it should be extended beyond murderers to rapists and drug traffickers.

The Daily Express says thousands of women suffering from breast cancer could benefit from new treatments to tackle recurring tumours after a major breakthrough.

The Independent says all research involving the controversial creation of animal-human hybrid embryos has been refused funding in Britain.

And elsewhere...

Ettelat says the head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency has set October 25 as the date for the inspection of Iran's newly-revealed uranium processing facility at Qom.

Kathemerini reports the Greek opposition Socialists headed by George Papandreou have won the general elections with 43.59 per cent of the vote.

La Sicilia says Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has promised a €900 million aid package for the victims of the mudslides in Sicily which killed at least 24 people. 35 are still missing.

Avvenire quotes Pope Benedict telling 200 bishops from 53 African states that a form of colonialism continues to blight Africa. Opening a three-week synod, he said the developed world continued to export "toxic spiritual rubbish" to the continent.

Asahi Shimbun reports former Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa, who was forced to resign over his apparently drunken behaviour at a meeting of world powers, has been found dead at his home. He was 56.

Manila Times says a 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the Philippines yesterday. At 630 kilometres below the seabed, it was considered extremely deep and no destructive tsunami was expected.

Times of India reports two pilots Air India pilots have been grounded after they allegedly left their cockpit mid-flight to trade punches with crew members in front of stunned passengers. An air hostess had accused the men of sexual harassment.