Press digest

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

The Times says Pitkali prices are to be posted online to discourage increases. It also reports Mepa audit officer Joe Falzon saying Mistra issues were ironed out with a steam roller but several legal points need reflection.

The Malta Independent says the jobless totalled 7,521 in September. It also says landscaping at Xatt ir-Rizq was put off because of disagreement on parking.

In-Nazzjon says a court can order the Security Service to order the production of warrants to authorize phone tapping. It also says that a Ryanair flight to Malta from Pisa made an emergency landing in Rome. It is thought to have been hit by lightning.

l-orizzont says planned investment of €100 million in Malta Freeport is in danger because of financial difficulties being faced by the management company CMA. It also reports that Charlene Farrugia, 25, has been missing for a year. Her car has also not been found.

The Press in Britain...

The Guardian reports that the UN has asked Iran to explain evidence which suggests Tehran has been experimenting with an advanced nuclear warhead design.

The Independent claims UK government officials feel there is no hope of a climate change treaty being signed in Copenhagen next month.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Gordon Brown will make a speech to try to boost support for the mission in Afghanistan, whilst acknowledging that the mission may fail.

The Daily Mail dedicates its front page to Christina Schmid, the widow of a British soldier killed in Afghanistan, whose courage "was not broken by grief".

The Daily Mirror also pictures Mrs Schmid. It describes how she wore her husband's medals during his repatriation and said she had lost her "best friend".

The Sun reveals that the wife of Darrent Chant, one of the five British soldiers shot dead by an Afghan police officer, is six months pregnant.

The Times says faith groups are furious with Schools Secretary Ed Balls for confirming that sex education will be compulsory for all 15-year-olds.

The Financial Times reports the Bank of England is set to inject a further £25 billion into the economy in a "last heave" to propel growth.

Metro says a fresh wave of postal strikes has been dramatically called off just hours before the latest walkouts were due to start.

And elsewhere...

Texas Globe reports a US Army major firing two handguns killed 12 people and wounded 31 others in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood base in Texas, a prime point of deployment for US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, The Washington Times quotes President Barack Obama describing the mass shooting as a "horrific outburst of violence", promising the government would get "answers to every single question".

Al Quds Al Arabi reports Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas saying he does not want to run for re-election next January, citing the stalemate in peace negotiations with Israel as the main reason.

Berliner Zeitung says thousands of Opel workers in Germany have downed tools and staged a protest over GM's decision to abandon a Russian-backed rescue plan. GM, the parent company of Opel, has reversed its decision to sell its subsidiary to Magna, a move that had earlier raised hopes that many jobs would be saved. Around half of Opel's 50,000 staff are in Germany.

Pravda says that Russia has voiced its contempt for the GM reversal. In September, GM agreed to sell a majority stake in its Opel/Vauxhall division to the Canadian auto supplier Magna and Russia's Sberbank.

Asharq Al Awsat reports that Saudi jets pounded Shi'ite rebel camps inside Yemen. The assault was launched after a small group of Zaidi militants entered Saudi territory and occupied two small frontier villages before being driven out by Saudi troops.

Afghan news agency Pajhwok reports artillery and mortar shelling by the NATO-led international troops killed nine civilians including three children in southern Afghanistan. Afghan and NATO officials have claimed that only militants planting roadside bombs had been killed.

Afghan News says the UN is temporarily relocating more than half its international staff in Afghanistan after last week's deadly Taliban attack on UN workers.

Courant reports the war crimes trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has been adjourned until March next year. Judges at The Hague have ordered the appointment of legal counsel to represent Karadzic who has been boycotting the tribunal, complaining that he has not had enough time to examine the evidence against him.

China Daily reports 19 people were killed and 13 other injured when a truck ploughed into a crowd in a village in northern China's Hebei province.

According to Il Tempo, Rome prosecutors are investigating whether disgraced local governor Piero Marrazzo used public funds to pay for his encounters with transsexual prostitutes. The paper said they were also looking into whether funds were used to pay four Italian police officers who were allegedly blackmailing him to keep secret a video they shot of him during one of the alleged encounters.