Press digest

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

The Times quotes the prime minister saying the opposition strategies for the country were grossly mistaken and would cause the deficit to soar. It also says that Chris Said’s reinstatement is likely after no appeal was filed by yesterday’s deadline in the court proceedings against him.

The Malta Independent says the prime minister apologized yesterday for a comment linking Labour to disease.

In-Nazzjon says Dr Gonzi explained yesterday how the government is building the country’s future on sound financial basis.

l-orizzont reports that 19,500 patients are on the waiting list for operations. It also says that 15 Enemalta workers have been left for months without work and without even a telephone line, while others work overtime.

The overseas press

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Federal Reserve has announced it would inject $600 million to stimulate the economy by the middle of next year. The move comes a day after President Obama suffered the most serious setback of his presidency – the loss of his majority in the House of Representatives to the opposition Republican Party.

The Washington Times quotes President Obama saying he would take responsibility for the Democrats' drubbing the US mid-term elections and blamed "deep frustrations" over the economy. The president said he and the Democrats had spent the last two years securing the economic recovery but many people were yet to feel the benefits.

Le Monde reports Iran has insisted no final decision had been made on the fate of a Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has assured his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner a final verdict in Ms Ashtiani’s case had not been made yet. The announcement came after fears rose in the West that her execution was imminent. Iran has temporarily suspended the stoning verdict and suggested Ms Ashtiani might be hanged instead.

Il Sole 24 Ore says Italy's largest labour union has elected Susanna Camusso to be its first female leader. As the general secretary of CGIL's almost six million members she was expected to joust with companies that aim to slim payrolls amid a sluggish recovery from the worst recession in more than six decades. She was elected with almost 80 percent of the vote.

USA Today reports that as they seized more than 18 tonnes of marijuana, US border police have found an elaborate drug smugglers’ tunnel linking California with Mexico. The tunnel, which is more than half a kilometre long id equipped with a rail system, ventilation and lighting.

Al-Raayam says a new battle between Sudanese governent forces and the rebel group in roubled regon of Darfur has caused casualities on both sides, with each claiming a crushing victory. Rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement clashed with Sudanese forces in the south of the region, a long distance away from their stronghold.

Abidjan Post announces there is to be a second round of voting in the long-awaited presidenctial election in the Ivory coast. With almost all ballots counted from Sunday's first round, it was clear incumbent Laurent Gbagbo won’t reach the 50 per cent of the votes needed to win outright. He has won 38 per cent and would face former prime minister Alassane Ouattara, who polled 32 per cent, in the run-off on November 28.

Bild says Paul the Octopus, Germany's late World Cup oracle, has been replaced by Paul the Second. He has been moved into the mystical mollusc's tank, but the owners say that they do not know if he has also been blessed with the gift of prophecy. The original Paul became a global sensation for correctly predicting the outcome of eight matches.

Metro reports a new 28-year-old mother who died moments after giving birth was suffering a condition so rare none of her doctors had encountered it before. An inquest heard on Wednesday how Julie Welsh had only enough time to kiss her newborn son before she fell unconscious after fluid surrounding her son in the womb entered her blood stream, causing an allergic reaction that affects only 18 in every million women. In up to 80 per cent of cases, the condition is fatal.

El Pais says a Romanian girl of 10 who became one of the world’s youngest mothers has already split from the child’s 13-year-old father. Elena gave birth to baby girl Nicoletta weighing 2.9kg in Spain last week. Her mother claimed the family were ‘ecstatic’ about the birth. “These things are normal in our country. Girls get married at 10, so we don’t understand why people are so surprised,” she said. The world’s youngest mother gave birth aged five in Peru in 1939.