Press digest

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

The Times leads with the appointment of Lydia Abela as secretary to the PL executive. It also reports that spontaneous music and song are to be allowed at Nadur festival. In another story is previews the expected Cabinet reshuffle and says there are unlikely to be new faces around the Cabinet table.

The Malta Independent says the Carnival float-builders will mark Carnival ‘under protest' because they have not been given new premises to use as workshops.

In-Nazzjon says the European Parliament is expected to vote in the new European Commission this afternoon. It also says that 12 bids have been submitted for the breakwater bridge.

l-orizzont also leads with the appointment of Lydia Abela by the PL. It also says gas prices are set to rise by €2.50 per cylinder shortly.

The overseas press

EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso's new team is set to get the green light from the European parliament later today. France 24 says problems in ratifying the EU's Lisbon Treaty, followed by the parliament's rejection of Bulgaria's choice for EU humanitarian aid commissioner, kept the outgoing team on in a caretaker capacity. The EU parliament was now ready to approve the 26-member policy team in its entirety, allowing 'Barroso II' to begin working next week.

Abrar quotes Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying Teheran is set to deliver a "punch" that will stun world powers during next Thursday's 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. The country's top cleric, who is also Iran's commander-in-chief, was marking the occasion when Iran's air force gave its support to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a key event which led to the toppling of the US-backed shah in 1979.

Kyiv Post confirms Victor Yanukovych is set to become the new President of Ukraine after winning Sunday's election in a bitter contest ahead of his rival Yulia Tymoshenko, who has so far not reacted to the result and has not admitted defeat. Yanukovych achieved 48.76 per cent of the vote, Tymoshenko managed to get 45.66 per cent. Turnout was 69 per cent. The Organization for Security and Cooperation and Development called the election fair and honest.

El Sol reports Mexico's southern Oaxaca state was rattled by a moderate earthquake, causing evacuations but with no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The US Geological Survey put the quake at 5.7-magnitude and located its epicentre 103km southeast of Oaxaca city and at a depth of 35km.

Asian Tribune says Sri Lanka's former army chief and presidential candidate, Sarath Fonseka, was hauled away by military police from his office after weeks of complaining of government harassment. It was unclear exactly what Fonseka was being charged with. The officers only said he was being detained under "the army act".

Asahi Shimbun reports that Japanese authorities are trying to identify a body found inside one of the landing gear compartments on a Delta Airlines plane flight that arrived in Tokyo from New York. The body of the apparent stowaway was clad only in a long-sleeved, plaid shirt and jeans.

Times of India reports a massive avalanche hit an Indian army training centre at a ski resort town in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing at least 11 soldiers and trapping nearly 50 others. Fifteen soldiers, all in need of emergency medical care, were found during the search and rescue operation.

Los Angeles Times reports Michael Jackson's doctor Dr Conrad Murray, who was with Jackson when he died, pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He could face up to four years in prison if convicted.

Metro says the UK death toll in Afghanistan has topped that of the Falklands war following the death of the 256th British soldier. The latest casualty, a soldier from 36 Engineer Regiment, part of the counter-IED Task Force, was killed on Monday by an explosion in Nad-e-Ali.

"A Criminal in Uniform" is the front page headline in the Daily Mail, describing disgraced police commander Ali Dizaei, 47, who has been jailed for four years. The top Scotland Yard officer had been found guilty of threatening and falsely arresting a man in a petty row over money. He was convicted of misconduct and perverting the course of justice at London's Southwark Crown Court.

Correio Popular de Rondonia reports an alligator that killed an 11-year-old girl was shot dead by searchers with the girl still in its jaws. The five-metre-long, 350kg animal grabbed the girl in a creek near the northern Brazilian town of Guajara Mirim. She had been swimming with several other people when she was attacked. Her 16-year-old brother watched helplessly as she was dragged underwater. Rescuers spotted and shot the alligator after a seven-hour search.