Press digest

The following are the top stories in the local and international press today.

The Times Islam should be religion of Europe, Gaddafi says during a visit to Italy. Scicluna says that study concluded. In another story the Vatican promoter of Justice says it was now the Maltese Curia’s responsibility to now conclude investigations into alleged abuse at a Church orphanage

The Malta Independent says that the deputy Sliema mayor had questioned the fairy lights tender. It says that CABS would be appointing Maltese security guards for its Malta camp.

l-Orizzont says that a Qormi girl has been persecuted for more than 2.5 years by a Sicilian she went out with for seven months. It says that, nearly 9,000 homes do not own a water heater.

in-Nazzjon says that the Chief Justice would be taking his oath of office at European Court in three weeks.

The overseas press:

ABC News confirms that two men taken off a Chicago-to-Amsterdam United Airlines flight in the Netherlands have been charged by Dutch police with "preparation of a terrorist attack”. A US official said the men appeared to be travelling what he termed “mock bombs” in their luggage. Sources told Fox News that the men posed no immediate danger to the flight, but US officials were looking into whether the men were "testing the system".

TheTimes reports Britain and France were preparing to share the use of their aircraft carriers in a step to maintain military power in an era of cost-cutting. The move would make it easier for Britain to scrap or downgrade one of the two replacement carriers which were already under construction at a cost of £5.2 billion (€6.35 billion). The arrangement, expected to come into force soon after a November summit, would ensure that one of three ships – one French, two British – was always on patrol duty.

The Wasington Times says the US has introduced financial sanctions against North Korea in response to the sinking in March of a South Korean warship, in which 46 sailors died. The sanctions would hit eight North Korean "entities" and four individuals, targeting the trade in arms, luxury goods and narcotics. North Korea has denied responsibility for the sinking but an international investigation blamed Pyongyang for the sinking.

The Wall Street Journal reports computer giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) has agreed to pay $55 million (€43.4 million) to settle claims it paid kickbacks in relation to US government contracts. HP was accused of paying other companies so they would recommend HP products to government buyers. The claims were first made in a lawsuit by two whistleblowers in 2004.

El Universal quotes Mexican Police Commissioner Facundo Rosas saying almost 10 per cent of the federal police force had been this year in an effort to combat corruption. He said 3,200 officers had been fired and more than 1,000 others were facing disciplinary action. They could also lose their jobs.

Meanwhile, Tiempo reports that in a separate development, a shoot-out between troops in Veracruz state and a suspected drugs gang has left six gunmen and one soldier dead. The firefight, in the town of Panuco, started when the soldiers went to investigate a house used by the alleged drug traffickers.

Deutsche Welle says the German government has condemned an official with the country's central bank on the publication of his book on immigration issues. Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin's book, “Germany Abolishes Itself”, states that Muslim immigrants refuse to integrate. In a newspaper interview about the book, he said that "all Jews share a particular gene". The Bundesbank has distanced itself from Mr Sarrazin.

Novy Cas reports a gunman opened fire in Slovakia's capital, killing seven people and injuring 14 others before shooting himself dead after being surrounded by police. No motive has as yet been established.

The Irish Times says pharmacists in Ireland have renewed calls for the 'morning-after pill' to be available over the counter. At present, women who wish to take emergency hormonal contraception required a prescription from a doctor. The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) said its members had the skills to dispense such drugs and provide appropriate advice and counselling to patients.

The Iranian state-run newspaper Kayhan has called France's first lady Carla Bruni a "prostitute" after she attacked Iran's plan to stone a 43-year-old mother of two, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, accused of cheating on her husband and then helping to kill him. State television has also joined in, saying Ms Bruni was trying justify her own "immorality".

La Sicilia reports that Italian Health Minister Ferruccio Fazio has apologised to a woman for a fight between two doctors in the delivery room of a Messina hospital as she was about to give birth. The authorities were investigating whether the woman suffered complications as a result of the row. Laura Salpietro, 30, had her uterus removed and her baby boy suffered heart problems and possible brain damage at birth on Thursday. Prosecutors have placed five doctors under investigation.