Press digest

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

The Times says that €3 million were netted from tampered electricity meters this year. It also reports that there has been a drop in crime reports in the past four years, but it could be that petty crimes are going unreported.

The Malta Independent quotes the Prime Minister saying this will be a tough Budget, but the outlook is optimistic. It also reports Joseph Muscat saying that the increases in the utility tariffs would nullify the economic stimulus.

In-Nazzjon features the Remembrance Sunday events. It quotes the Finance Minister saying that economic growth and jobs are the priorities of this evening's Budget.

l-orizzont under the heading Deadly Medicines, says several people were resorting to the Internet to buy their medicines at cheaper prices, but such medicines are sometimes fakes. It also reports the political leaders' comments on today's Budget.

The Press in Britain...

The Independent quotes Home Secretary Alan Johnson saying there needs to be a "rational" debate on immigration to challenge the views of the far right British National Party.

The Guardian says a government-commissioned report will advise on how to tackle widening wealth gaps.

The Times reports on a senior prosecutor's call for tougher action than police cautions when dealing with violent criminals.

The Daily Mail leads with the story of a mother who was branded an abuser and followed home by a police car for telling her children off in a supermarket.

According to Metro, the number of children who claim to have been sexually abused by women has more than doubled in the last five years. The UK has been stunned by a number of high profile sex abuse cases involving women in recent months.

The Daily Telegraph reports the spread of hospital bugs due to the overuse of antibiotics for coughs and colds could see their prescriptions halted.

The mourning wife of bomb disposal expert Olaf Schmid fronts the Daily Star's coverage of Remembrance Sunday.

The Sun attacks the Prime Minister for allegedly disrespecting Britain's war dead by failing to bow at the Cenotaph. The Daily Express says Britain's 31 million credit card users will lose £100 in charges each year.

The Daily Mirror leads with the revelation British boxing star David Haye promised his mum he would be champion of the world.

And elsewhere...

The Jerusalem Post quotes Israel's President Shimon Peres calling on Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas to rescind his decision to stand down, invoking the memory of Yitzhak Rabin at a public commemoration for the assassinated Israeli premier. He recalled that along with Mr Rabin, he and Mr Abbas were among signatories to the 1993 Oslo peace accord and he appealed to Mr Abbas not to quit.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post says Isreali Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Washington to address Jews, will meet President Barack Obama this evening. US-Israeli relations have been strained since Netanyahu rejected Obama's demand that the Israeli government stop building or expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

El Mundo reports Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez urging his military leaders to prepare "for war" and to ready citizens to "defend the homeland" as tensions mount over fractious ties with neighbouring Colombia.

Dawn reports a suicide bomber blew himself up in a market in Pakistan's northwest killing 12 people, including a mayor who once supported but had turned against the Taliban. Al Ayyam says the Iraqi parliament has passed a long-delayed law in a crucial step to setting up nationwide elections planned for January.

La Prensa reports the death toll from floods and mudslides in El Salvador has risen to 91, as a strengthening Hurricane Ida heads to the Gulf of Mexico. More than 60 are still missing.

Jakarta Post says a strong quake with a magnitude of 6.7 and a relatively shallow depth hit the Indonesian island of Sumbawa. Two people were killed and 38 injured when buildings collapsed.

Il Matino says Italy's paramilitary police have arrested Luigi Esposito who had been on the list of the country's top 30 fugitives. On the run since 2003, Esposito was using a wig and false name when captured. He is described as an expert money-launderer. The Washington Post says the US House of Representatives has passed historic health care legislation to provide medical coverage to millions more Americans. The vote was 220 votes for and 215 against. A Senate debate on the legislation, which places tough new restrictions on the insurance industry, is expected to begin in several days.

Texas Globe quotes US Army officials say Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the man who shot 13 people dead and 29 wounded during a shooting spree at Fort Hood, has been taken off a ventilator but still remains in intensive care.

The International Herald Tribune reports relatives of eight victims of an Air France flight that crashed en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris in May have filed lawsuits in the US and UK seeking damages from Airbus and a number of companies that make airplane instruments. Flight 447 crashed shortly after takeoff over the Atlantic, killing all 228 people on board.

The Lancet publishes a study by Swedish and UK scientists which concludes that working conditions must be improved for older people if governments and companies are to persuade them to continue contributing to economic growth into their old age. Researchers found that they felt increasingly less well in the years leading up to retirement, but dramatically better after they stopped work - suggesting they saw work as harmful to their health.