Press digest

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

The Times says that a Spanish tourist who was given a free holiday after claiming to have been treated badly by a bus driver, has failed to testify in court. The driver was acquitted.

The Malta Independent quotes the pro-life group Gift of Life saying that proposed embryo freezing would be ‘offensive'. The newspaper also quotes employer organizations insisting that the state should carry at least part of the burden of paying maternity leave.

In-Nazzjon focuses on the delivery yesterday of the first plane to be serviced in Malta by SR Technics. It also reports on investigations into alleged financial irregularities by Luqa council.

l-orizzont carries an appeal by the General Secretary of the GWU for action against exploitation of workers and precarious work.

The overseas press:

The New York Times says the United Nations has criticised Isreal over reports that it was allowing hundreds more housing units to be build in the occupied West Bank. UN envoy Robert Serry called the AP settlement report "alarming." He said settlement construction was "illegal under international law" and would "only further undermine trust".

Meanwhile, AP reports from Jerusalem that, in a major departure from the past, world Jewish leaders have demanded an active role in deciding the Israel-Palestinian peace issue, singling out the fate of the holy city of Jerusalem . The executive vice-president of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Malcolm Hoenlein, said he wanted the Jewish people to be involved in the discussion on the future of Jerusalem "because it is our future as well".

France 24 says French unions have called for fresh strikes in a bid to prevent the government from imposing the pension reform. Pesident Sarkozy insisted that he will not back down and was determined to push through the controversial law as quickly as possible. He has asked the Senate to pass the Bill today.

EU Observer reports the European Parliament has awarded its prestigious Sakharov prize to Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas, describing him as a "symbol of the fight for freedom of speech" and democracy. Earlier this year, Farinas had gone on a hunger strike to press for the release of imprisoned opposition figures.

Jeune Afrique says the African Union has called for an air and naval blockade to be imposed on Somalia to counter piracy and the Islamist insurgency. A senior AU envoy told the UN Security Council such a blockade would prevent arms deliveries and the movement of fighters.

Le Matin reports that a suspected outbreak of cholera has killed at least 135 people in central Haiti. The victims suffered diarrhoea, acute fever and vomiting. More than 1,000 people were infected.

Le Soir says the woman who sabotaged her love rival's parachute in 2006, causing her to plunge to her death, has been jailed for 30 years. The sentencing came a day after Els Clottemans, 26, was found guilty of sabotaging the parachute of a friend with whom she shared a lover. The jury found that Clottemans was motivated by jealousy.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that a US news analyst has been fired by National Public Radio after saying that he gets nervous when he sees people in Islamic clothes on a plane. Juan Williams, 56, who has written extensively on race and civil rights, made the remarks on the Fox News Channel.

Kathemerini says the Greek Supreme Court posthumously acquitted six top politicians and soldiers executed nearly 90 years ago for a crushing military defeat that indelibly marked modern Greece. The decision followed a fight by the grandson of one of the defendants. The six - who included three former prime ministers and a former general-in-chief - were convicted of high treason in 1922, after Greece lost a war against Turkey and hopes of regional dominance were shattered.

Straits Times reports a former Florida State University football player could face being caned in Singapore after he overstayed his visa. According to his lawyer, Kamari Charlton was in Singapore to accompany his wife who was receiving medical care for pregnancy complications.

The Daily Express says the wife of British millionaire Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming has been charged with burgling the home of his mistress and stealing a kitten. Christine Hemming allegedly broke into the home of Emily Cox, with whom the 50-year-old MP fathered a child. Mrs Hemming, who married the MP in 1982, was remanded until a committal hearing in December.

The Sun leads with what it called a "mob" which stormed Wayne Rooney's house, an incident that led Manchester United to send a security team to patrol the striker's property through the night. The protest came barely hours after the club urged fans to be patient as they thrashed out the future of the want-away striker. Fans had expected some form of resolution after discussions between manager Sir Alex Ferguson, chief executive David Gill and Rooney's agent.