Press digest

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

The Times says the crew of a merchant ship may end up homeless in Malta after the new owner told them they were no longer needed.

The Malta Independent quotes Joseph Muscat accusing the governemnt of arrogance in parliament while the Prime Minister said the Opposition was childish.

l-orizzont leads with PL proposals to curb corruption.

In-Nazzjon says that Joseph Muscat yesterday tried to make the people forget the disgraceful behaviour of the Labour MPs in parliament.

The overseas press:

The Guardian warns of cuts to child benefits as part of new plans to tackle the deficit in the UK. On the brighter side, The Daily Telegraph predicts there will be tax cuts for basic rate earners in Chancellor George Osborne's emergency Budget.

Expresso reports the salaries of Portuguese politicians and public company bosses would be cut by five per cent and income tax and VAT would be raised. Prime Minister Jose Socrates said the moves were needed to allay market fears about Portugal's high level of debt.

Ethnos says Greece has set up a crisis committee for tourism after nearly 20,000 hotel bookings were cancelled in Athens alone. The government fears the protests following the austerity measures are keeping tourists away.

The Irish Times quotes Prime Minister Brian Cowen assuring the country the European Commission would not be given powers to touch Ireland's low corporation tax rate.

Avvenire reports that during an outdoor Mass at the Portuguese shrine of Fatima, the Pope has urged the infirm to take heart, saying it would overcome the feeling of the uselessness of suffering which makes a person feel a burden to those around him. The mass was the centrepiece of the pope's four-day visit to Portugal. Meanwhile, Italian weekly Panorama claims two Moroccan terrorist suspects deported from Italy last month were allegedly plotting to kill the Pope.

Pravda says Russian security forces have shot dead three people suspected of helping organise the Moscow metro suicide bombings that killed 40 people in March. The agency's chief said the three had to be "destroyed" after a "fierce armed resistance".

The New York Times reports police have arrested two men in connection with the attempted bombing of Times Square. They are being held on what's called "administrative charges". A Pakistan-born American man, Faisal Shahzad, has already been charged with attempting to blow up a car in New York earlier this month.

Brabants Dagblad says that the Dutch boy, who was the sole survivor of a Libyan plane crash that killed 103 people, greeted his relatives with a smile after they rushed from Holland to his hospital room in Libya. Doctors said the nine-year-old was out of danger after successful surgery on his shattered legs.

China Today reports that the Chinese man who spent 11 years in jail after being tortured into confessing to the murder of a man who later turned up alive has been given 650,000 Yuan (€75,584) in government compensation. Zhao Zuohai, 57, was released from prison after the man he was convicted of killing more than a decade ago reappeared in their home village last month.

Gulf News reports Abu Dhabi's top hotel has upped the stakes in the contest to have the most glitz in the Gulf by installing an ATM that dispenses gold bars. The machine at the Emirates Palace monitors the daily price of gold and offers small bars that weight up to 10 grams or coins with customised designs. The "Gold to Go" machine was launched on the day gold hit a record high of more than US$1,245 an ounce.

La Repubblica says that five executives of a vacuum cleaner dealer near Florence have been arrested for allegedly mistreating employees by whipping them and banning toilet breaks. The arrests come after a three-year investigation into the company, whose executives are also accused of tax fraud.