Press digest

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

The Times reports that VRT stations want to charge more. It also reports that a court has ruled that late minister Lorry Sant violated the human rights of an architect, who has since also passed away.

The Malta Independent says the Budget speech has been pencilled in for 25 October. It also says that a debate in the Public Accounts Committee on the power station extension project has been put off to await a ruling by the Speaker.

In-Nazzjon says investigations are continuing into the financial business of Luqa local council. It says that a cheque was found in the account of a former executive secretary.

l-orizzont quotes Joseph Muscat saying that the government, according to the pre-budget document, wanted to bring down salaries, prices and consumption and boost production.

The overseas press:

Al Jazeera says Palestinian officials have rejected an offer by the Israeli government to halt settlement construction if they recognise Israel as a "Jewish state". They said they had already recognised the state of Israel, and that the real issue threatening peace talks was illegal settlement activity.

Avvenire says Pope Benedict has lashed out against violence "in God's name". The pontiff also told 246 Middle East bishops and other religious leaders, in Rome for a two-week synod, to guard against the spread of "terrorist ideology" in the modern world.

The Iran Human Rights association has told ANSA that the son of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtianin, the Iranian woman condemned to death for adultery, his lawyer and two German reporters have been arrested by Teheran officials. Last week, Sakineh's son, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, told the Italian news agency that he, his sister and their lawyer feared they would be arrested "from one moment to the other".

Asia Observer says China has blocked European diplomats from meeting the wife of the jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner and cut off her phone in anger over the award. A scheduled meeting between visiting Norwegian Fisheries Minister Lisbeth Berg-Hansen and her Chinese counterpart was abruptly cancelled. As China retaliated, UN human rights experts called on Beijing to free imprisoned democracy campaigner Liu Xiaobo, who was permitted a brief, tearful meeting with his wife yesterday. After the reunion she was put under house arrest.

Kathmerini reports a Greek policeman has been jailed for life after a being convicted of murdering a teenager whose death in 2008 in central Athens sparked the worst nationwide civil unrest Greece had seen in decades. In a 4-3 verdict a panel of judges and jurors found the policeman guilty of intentionally shooting the 15-year-old. A second officer was convicted of complicity and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Chilevision says final preparations were being made in Chile for the rescue of 33 trapped miners after two months underground. The first miner is expected to be brought to the surface at around 5 a.m. tomorrow, Malta time.

The Washington Times says President Obama has offered his condolences for the death of Linda Norgrove, the British aid worker seized by the Taliban in Afghanistan, after it emerged she might have been killed by a grenade thrown by her rescuers. The US commander in Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, has order an investigation into her death.

Le Parisien reports that French unions and Nicolas Sarkozy go head to head again today in the continuing row over his plans to raise the retirement age. Train drivers have launched an open-ended strike and would be joined by workers from every section of the economy. Street protests were also being planned, a repeat of last month's action which brought a million people onto the streets.

USA Today says doctors have begun the first official clinical trials of using human embryonic stem cells in patients to treat people with spinal injuries. The cells have the potential to become many of the different cell types found in the body, including nerve cells. The trials at a hospital in Atlanta will check if the treatment is safe.

Tribune de Genéve announces the death of Joan Sutherland, one of the most celebrated opera singers of all time. She died in Geneva after a long illness, aged 83. Acclaimed "La Stupenda" during a career spanning more than four decades, Sutherland was known in the opera world as the soprano whose warm vibrant sound and subtle colouring helped revitalize the school of early 19th-century Italian opera known as bel canto.

Nuova Sardegna says the airport in Cagliari was closed yesterday after illegal immigrants held in a nearby detention centre staged a revolt, seizing control of the centre and dozens escaping onto the airport runway. The centre was reported to have been badly damaged in the standoff. The revolt was the third this month at Elmas, where some hundred immigrants are held.