Press digest

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

The Times leads with details on the Environment Report, issued yesterday.

The Malta Independent says a third of tenements are vacant, according to the Environment Report. It also reports on the EU summit, which focused on Greece and on the economic recovery.

In-Nazzjon quotes the prime minister saying in Brussels that Malta is determined to achieve its targets. It also reports that elections will be held today in seven hamlets.

l-orizzont says an EU survey found that most Maltese feel that poverty in Malta has increased.

The overseas press

European Voice says EU leaders have agreed to a set of key areas to focus on as the economic bloc moves from recovery to sustained growth. They laid out a plan to improve economic policy coordination and bring more jobs and growth to the entire union.

The International Herald Tribune says the US and Russia have sealed an agreement on a landmark treaty which would see the number of deployed nuclear weapons cut by around 30 per cent. President Barack Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev plan to sign the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty on April 8 in Prague.

In the Netherlands, Trouw says Bishop Adrianus van Luyn, head of the Dutch bishops conference, admitted he knew three decades ago about abuse cases that were revealed last month. More than 1,100 people have since reported claims to an abuse hotline. And in Rome, Avvenire reports that an influential order of priests, whose late founder Marcial Maciel was found to be a molester who had fathered at least one child, apologised to abuse victims and disowned him.

Al Jazeera reports former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has edged out Nouri al-Maliki and now gets the first attempt at forming a new Iraqi government. Final results of the parliamentary elections showed 91 seats for Ayad Allawi's coalition to 89 for al-Maliki's alliance. Within minutes of the results being released, al-Maliki announced he would challenge the results through legal process and again called for a manual recount of all votes cast.

Meanwhile, Al Quds says 20 people have been killed and 55 wounded in twin blasts in front of a cafe and a restaurant in central Khales north of Baghdad. Among the wounded were women and children.

Haaretz reports Israeli tanks have entered the Gaza Strip after two Israeli soldiers died in a Palestinian ambush. Five tanks and two armoured bulldozers entered Gaza shelling targets near the town of Khan Younis, in the centre of the narrow coastal enclave.

The Korea Times says South Korea is playing down suggestions that one of its ships was sunk in an attack by North Korea. A presidential spokeswoman said it was premature to say what caused the incident near a contested sea border r. Local reports said there were some deaths but at least 58 people were rescued from the sinking ship.

Helsinki Sanomat reports that a Finnish court has sentenced lawyer Juha Turunen to nine years in prison for kidnapping an heiress and holding her captive for two weeks until her family paid a multimillion euro ransom.

USA Today says 11 people were killed in Kentucky when a truck crashed head-on into a church van carrying a family on their way to a wedding and burst into flames. Kentucky police said it was one of the deadliest accidents in about 20 years.

Fairfield Citizen reports police in Connecticut had ample warning of a bank robbery after the two suspects called beforehand and told an employee to get a bag ready. Police arrested 27-year-old Albert Bailey and an unidentified 16-year-old boy on robbery and threatening charges at a People's United Bank branch in Fairfield. Police said the pair showed up about 10 minutes after making the call and were arrested in the car park.

The Herald Sun reports that Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was briefly arrested for 'spinning the wheels' of his sports car in Melbourne where he is due to take part in the Australian Grand Prix. The English McLaren driver also had his 2010 silver Mercedes impounded for two days. In 2007, Hamilton was banned from driving in France after being clocked driving at around 200km/h. He was given an on-the-spot fine and his sports car was impounded by French police.

The Advertiser says the Australian Electoral Commission has called an inquiry into claims a family fraudulently voted 159 times in last Saturday's South Australian election. It says claims in an anonymous letter, obtained by the newspaper, that the family stole the identities of other voters, are feasible.