Press digest

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

The Times reports that the Prime Minister yesterday steered clear of the Roma row between the European Commission and France during the EU summit. It also reports, like the other newspapers, that former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff is receiving hospital treatment.

The Malta Independent says the Budget will be presented next month, according to comments made yesterday by the prime minister. It also reports that the Mepa board yesterday approved a new proposal for the Barrakka lift.

In-Nazzjon quotes the prime minister saying Malta can look to its economic future with optimism. It also says that Independence celebrations started yesterday on the Granaries.

l-orizzont says Malta is a primary destination for the trafficking of women and children for sex purposes, according to an overseas report.

The overseas press

Most British nationals carry pictures of Pope Benedict's first leg of his four-day visit to the UK. The Scotsman says that speaking at an open-air Mass in Glasgow, the Pontiff urged Britain to stay faithful to its Christian roots, even in this age of religious disbelief. He launched a fierce assault on his secular critics, attacking "aggressive atheism" and calling on Catholics to reject "the glittering but superficial existence" offered by modern society.

The head of the Jesuits in Germany has told Sueddeutsche Zeitung the order planned to pay a "symbolic compensation" of at least €5,000 to the 200 victims of sexual abuse in its schools. Rev. Stefan Kiechle told the German newspaper that the statute of limitations for those cases has passed, but the order wanted to apologise with a symbolic compensation to acknowledge their suffering. The compensation for all victims was likely to be a fixed amount in the range of €5,000 to €25,000.

The BBC reports French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have clashed in the continuing row over France's dismantling illegal immigrant settlements and deporting Roma gypsies. At a news conferene after an EU summit in Brussels, he said Mrs Merkel had told him she intended to dismantle Roma camps in Germany in the coming weeks. But as soon as she landed in Berlin, a spokesman for the German Chancellor strongly denied any such conversation had taken place.

Le Soir reports that at the EU summit, Mr Sarkozy angrily vowed to carry on dismantling illegal immigrant settlements and deporting Roma gypsies, regardless of who lived in them. He maintained the controversial policy did not discriminate against Roma, adding that "Europe cannot close its eyes to illegal camps."

Meanwhile, EU Observer says the EU leaders have agreed to sign free trade pacts with South Korea and to grant Pakistan trade concessions after the devastating floods in the country.

USA Today quotes the American envoy to Pakistan warning that the world would only be able to fund around 25 percent of the "tens of billions" of dollars needed to rebuild Pakistan after the floods, meaning its government will have to make up the shortfall. Richard Holbrooke warned the US Congress might not be generous if it felt that Pakistan was not taxing its own citizens enough. Pakistan has one of the lowest tax-collection rates in the world.

The New York Times says the new UN envoy for Somalia says the international peace-keeping force there may need to be trebled to cope with the increased threat from Islamist insurgents.

The Daily Telegraph quotes the head of MI5 warning it was "only a matter of time" before UK residents trained in Somalia staged an attack on British soil and the risk of terrorism was unlikely to diminish in the near future. Speaking behind closed doors to the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals, Jonathan Evans also admitted underestimating the ability of offshoots from the IRA to regenerate and said cyber security was now a priority for the government.

Manila Times reports a Filipino woman who allegedly gave birth on a flight from the Middle East to Manila and then dumped the baby boy in a rubbish bin in an aircraft toilet said she was raped by her employer while working as a maid in Qatar. When she became pregnant, her boss's wife made her return home. She managed to hide her pregnancy and board the Gulf Air flight from Bahrain. But when she gave birth, she abandoned the child because she was afraid of what her family would say.

Metro says former Commonwealth Games cyclist Manny Helmot, 39, has won a record £14 million compensation payout after his career was ended by a car crash. He had suffered severe trauma and brain injuries when he was hit during a training ride in 1998, permanently losing the use of his right arm, has double vision and needs 24-hour care.