Press digest

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

All Maltese newspapers report yesterday’s Sliema council meeting during which former mayor Nikki Dimech was ousted from his position with a vote of no confidence.

The Times has a report about the nine-yea-old boy who was injured after falling from a height. It reports on the proposed project for the regeneration of Cottonera.

The Malta Indepedendent also reports on this project saying that Cottonera residents have been encouraged to remove illegal structures for the regeneration of the area.

In-Nazzjon gives prominence to this project. It says that the Hotel Phoenicia in Floriana is to invest €12 million in an upgrading project. In another story, it says that ST has described its Malta plant as success story.

l-Orizzont reports about a GWU conference on social dialogue in tourism and quotes general secretary Tony Zarb saying there has been an increase in undeclared employment in the sector.

The overseas press:

The Washington Post reports Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to meet again every two weeks during initial Middle East peace talks that have been described as "productive". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been holding the first direct negotiations between the two parties in nearly two years in Washington. US Middle East envoy Senator George Mitchell called the initial discussions "long and productive".

Meanwhile, Associated Press reported from Gaza that Hamas militants were bent on destroying the talks, claiming that 13 factions have joined forces to launch attacks on Israel. It quotes senior Hamas official Ahmed Yousef saying the recent three attacks in the West Bank – which have left four Iseali dead and three injured - were meant to tell President Abbas he was not the one who would decide the fate of the Palestinians. Yousef added the the Islamic militant group, that controls one of the two Palestinian territories and rejects negotiations,deserved a place in national decision-making because it won parliamentary elections in 2006.

USA Today reports that a mile-long oil slick was leaking from an oil rig which exploded in flames in the heavily polluted Gulf of Mexico. One worker was injured but all 13 crew aboard the platform have been accounted for after they jumped into the water in survival suits. The platform was producing 222,000 litres of oil and 25,500 cubic metres of gas a day and can store 15,900 litres of oil. The rig is about 320km west of BP’s blown-out Macondo well.

Meanwhile, National News says a tanker carrying nine million litres of diesel fuel has run aground in the Northwest Passage in Canada. It was carrying diesel to resupply remote communities in the region but no diesel was believed to have been spilled.

El Mercurio reports that the Pope has sent blessed rosaries to the Chilean miners stuck in a tunnel 700 metres below ground for nearly a month. Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz visited the mine head yesterday to say mass and then sent down rosaries blessed by Pope Benedict down to them. He said the miners were facing “this enormous challenge” with strength, discipline and faith. The miners, who are thought to have lost an estimated 10 kg each during the 17 days before they were found alive, were reported to be in remarkably good health. Rescuers were sending food, medicine and letters from relatives to the men in narrow plastic tubes. The miners have been sending back replies – and a dirty "joke of the day".

Deutsche Welle reports Bayern Munich chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge wants FIFA and UEFA to provide insurance against injuries sustained by players while representing their countries. The call was made after Bayern’s Dutch superstar, Arjen Robben, sustained a serious injury playing for the Netherlands before the World Cup, and then apparently exacerbated his problems by taking part in the tournament in South Africa. Robben, who is paid four million euros a year, is unlikely to play any real part in the first half of this year's league campaign.

Sky News reports Scotland Yard will today interview the three Pakistan players accused and charged with "various offences" after allegedly taking money to bowl no-balls against England. The three men implicated in the betting scam – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – have been "provisionally suspended" by the International Cricket Council. Pakistan High Commissioner in London, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, believes they were "set up".

The Independent says Vivienne Westwood handbags, worth between €250 and €1,000 each, have been stolen in a smash-and-grab raid on a London store. A gang of four raiders crashed two mopeds through the locked entrance to the designer's West End shop and the two passengers stormed inside. They snatched newly-released bags, which were part of this year's autumn/winter line, and rode off.

Metro reports a man who met a woman on a dating website and then raped her 14-year-old daughter has been jailed for 16 years and told he would not be released until he was deemed to no longer pose a risk. After meeting the woman online, computer engineer Phillip Brown, 37, moved into her home. He pleaded guilty to two counts of raping the girl and making indecent images of the daughter and other children. The police have urged people to take great care when meeting people through the internet.