Press digest

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

The Times and the other newspapers lead with the meetings held in Malta yesterday by officials of BWSC, the Danish company selected to supply equipment for the power station extension. The Times also reports that the A H1N1 vaccine is expected in Malta early next year and all the population will be vaccinated

The Malta Independent gives prominence to the selection of Malta as the host of the EU Asylum Office.

In-Nazzjon says the Asylum Office is an important step in the fight against illegal immigration. The newspaper also reports that work on SmartCity is going ahead as planned, and BWSC officials in their meetings yesterday denied bribery claims made by the Opposition.

l-orizzont says the BWSC meetings left many questions unanswered. It also reports that a 50-year-old patient at Mt Carmel Hospital escaped from the hospital with medical tubes attached but was taken back by the police.

The Press in Britain...

The Financial Times leads with the news that the Dubai government has refused to cover the huge debts of its commercial state-owned holding company despite a record fall on its stock market.

The Times quotes an international study which has concluded sea levels will rise by twice as much as previously predicted as a result of global warming.

The Guardian says former Prime Minster Tony Blair was committed throughout the Iraq crisis to achieving an international solution through the United Nations.

The Sun pictures four of the five sailors - four Britons and an Irishman - who have been detained by Iran for breaching its territorial waters.

The Daily Mail reports Tory leader David Cameron has accused Labour of a "pathological" opposition to supporting marriage.

The Independent says a new poll shows Britain is on course for a hung parliament after the general election amid growing optimism about the economy.

According to The Daily Telegraph, more than nine out of 10 NHS trusts in England are failing to provide a good standard of cancer care compared with other countries.

The Daily Express warns of a salmonella scare, caused by eggs shipped in from Spain.

The Daily Mirror leads with claims of a mafia plot to kidnap the wife and baby of Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov.

Metro says Bono has teamed up with some of the world's top footballers as he aimed to "turn up the heat" on politicians over the HIV and Aids crisis in South Africa.

The Daily Star says Kate Price has had friendly phone chats about the kids with Peter Andre.

According to The Daily Record, Rangers officials with spycams on their heads will travel with fans to the club's Champions League match in Seville next week.

The Herald says Alex Salmond has launched the Scottish government's White Paper for a vote on constitutional reform.

The Scotsman reports the SNP has offered concessions over the timing and wording of an independence referendum in an effort to gain support for a vote.

And elsewhere...

EU Observer reports that EU ministers have agreed a controversial deal to allow the United States to use data about European citizens' bank payments in anti-terror investigations.

The Washington Times says President Barack Obama is set to announce a major troop surge in Afghanistan, after UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the British military commitment will top 10,000. Up to 35,000 more American forces are expected to be deployed in a bid to get the upper hand against the Taliban.

Seattle Times reports a widening hunt for a released convict accused of killing four police officers is taking place in the US after a home surrounded by marksmen was found to be empty. Authorities had believed that Maurice Clemmons, 37, was hiding out inside the property in Seattle following the fatal shootings inside a coffee shop.

Munchen Merkur leads with the trial of suspected death camp guard John Demjanjuk on charges of being an accessory to the murder of 27,900 Jews. The 89-year-old retired US car worker arrived at the opening of the Munich trial in a wheelchair to face the final chapter of some 30 years of efforts to prosecute him. His lawyer immediately accused the court of bias.

The New York Times quotes the US ambassador to the United Nations calling Iran's plans to build an additional 10 uranium enrichment plants "unacceptable," warning they could bring increased international pressure on Tehran.

USA Today reports that the Florida Highway Patrol have distanced themselves from reports that they are seeking search warrants for medical records relating to Tiger Woods' facial injuries from last week's car crash.

The International Herald Tribune announces Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former US president Bill Clinton and US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, is to marry investment banker Marc Mezvinsky, her longtime boyfriend next summer. The couple announced their plans in a mass e-mail message to friends.