Press digest

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

The Times reports that the board of SmartCity has reported that the project is on track and it is prepared to face all hurdles. It also reports from Brussels that Malta needs to improve internet privacy.

The Malta Independent quotes Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi saying he is proud of the PN parliamentary group. It also reports Joseph Muscat saying the people wanted a change of direction.

In-Nazzjon says the Budget will promote investment and job-creation. It also reports that work at SmartCity is set to pick up pace.

l-orizzont says the PL will hold a public manifestation on October 25.

The Press in Britain...

The Independent leads on Gordon Brown's expected announcement of a £16-billion-sale of government assets in an effort to reduce the deficit.

The Times reports that MPs are preparing to reject the findings of an independent review into their expenses.

The Telegraph also looks at the possibility of MPs defying the orders of the independent expenses inquiry.

The Guardian leads on the same story about expenses, saying up to 200 MPs may refuse to pay.

The Daily Express carries a report which says that interest rates may stay low for years to come.

According to the Financial Times, Barclays is planning to spin off a £4-billion-portfolio of complex credit assets as the bank presses ahead with a process to clean up its balance sheet.

Metro says at least 40 environmental campaigners climbed onto the roof of the Houses of Parliament to call for action on climate change.

And elsewhere...

Cesky Noviny says the Czech Cabinet meets in emergency session today to consider how to persuade President Vaclav Klaus to sign the Lisbon treaty - under intense pressure from Paris and Berlin to complete the ratification as soon as possible. With the president demanding a last-minute amendment as the price of his signature, the government is locked in a trial of strength with its head of state and on the brink of a constitutional crisis.

Al Jazeera reports that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has defended the decision to delay the endorsement of a report on Gaza war crimes at the UN Human Rights Council, saying it was intended to garner adequate votes for its adoption.

The Irish Times says US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has thrown her weight behind calls for the Northern Ireland Assembly to take responsibility for running the region's justice system. Mrs Clinton arrived in Dublin ahead of talks with political leaders in Belfast today on the economy and on the devolution of the further powers from Westminster. Earlier, she had talks in London with Foreign Secretary David Milliband on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Il Tempo reports Pope Benedict has canonized five new saints including Father Damien, a 19th century priest who worked with leprosy patients on an isolated Hawaiian island. The pontiff praised them as models of perfection for sacrificing themselves for others.

Manila Times says an 80-year-old Irish priest in the Philippines since 1976, has been kidnapped by an armed gang as he walked in his garden outside his home on the island of Mindanao. Muslim guerrillas have been fighting for an independent state in the southern Philippines region for decades and have been known to target and kidnap foreigners, including priests.

Indonesia Post reports that some 260 Sri Lankan migrants have been detained in the Sunda Strait while attempting to make their way in a wooden boat to Australia.

El Pais says police investigating the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately said there were "no signs of suspicious circumstances". The 33-year-old Irish pop star and actor was on holiday with his long-term partner in Majorca when he tragically died. The News of the World reported he died after a night out. A family spokesman denied drugs could have been a factor in Gately's sudden death.

Le Parisien reports that a French physicist arrested last week while working at the world's largest atom smasher has acknowledged to investigators that he corresponded over the internet with a contact in North Africa's al-Qaida branch.

Az-Zaman says a series of bombings killed at least 19 people and wounded 60 in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi.

Times of Central Asia says a Canadian space tourist, circus tycoon Guy Laliberte, has successfully returned to Earth. He and two fellow astronauts landed safely in the steppes of Kazakhstan, "feeling excellent". Laliberte wore his trademark red clown nose as he was carried out of the Soyuz,

Abrar reports that an Iranian man has been hanged by the parents of his victim he murdered when he was a minor. Behnoud Shojaie had been convicted of stabbing to death 17-year-old Ehsan Nasrollahi during a fight in August 2005 when he himself was aged 17. The case drew international attention and several domestic human rights groups also strongly called for halting the execution.

The Washington Times says tens of thousands of gay activists have marched on Washington to demand civil rights, a day after President Barack Obama vowed to repeal a ban on gays serving openly in the US military.

Musical Express reports American entertainer Barbra Streisand has achieved the feat of topping the US and British album charts simultaneously as her record Love Is The Answer went to number one. The 67-year-old topped the album charts on Sunday in Britain for the first time since 2002. She is also the first artist to top the US chart in five consecutive decades.