Press digest

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

The Times reports how the Prime Minister yesterday launched a consultation document on the National Environment Policy. It also says that lawyer MP Franco Debono was slammed in court. 

The Malta Independent says rebels in Libya had arrived in the Gaddafi stronghold of Ben Walid. It also says that the government  has committed  itself to go beyond EU environment targets.

In-Nazzjon says the environment policy places emphasis on improving air quality and better use of resources.   

l-orizzont says the GWU has warned Arriva it would not accept more than one split shift in bus drivers’ roster. It also reports how a yacht and a speedboat were destroyed by fire yesterday.

The overseas press

Asia Business Daily reports that Asian stocks extended their losses after European markets fell on Monday amid renewed fears about the European debt crisis. Shares in South Korea, Japan and Singapore fell after a European sell-off that saw the region's main markets slide about four per cent. Analysts expect market volatility to continue as policymakers try find a solution to the debt problem.

Börzen Zeitung reports that European stock markets have seen sharp falls with banks taking the brunt of the losses. Shares in Frankfurt, London and Paris indices were dragged down by banking stocks, a dismal US jobs report and ongoing concerns over the handling of the eurozone debt crisis. Wall Street and US markets were closed on Monday for a public holiday.

The Wall Street Journal says President Obama has appealed to the opposition Republican Party to back his plans to boost the US economy. Speaking at a Labour Day rally in Detroit, Obama said in a major speech to congress on Thursday he would announce measures to get American “back to work”, including a major rebuilding programme for roads and bridges.

Tripoli Post reports that the opposition in Libya has extended by several days a deadline for the pro-Gaddafi forces controlling the town of Bani Walid to surrender. Hundreds of fighters with heavy weapons were gathered ready to attack the desert town. The head of the country's interim authorities, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, has told the BBC that two Gaddafi sons – Saif al-Islam and Mutassim – were holed up in the town of Bani Walid until Saturday, blocking the town's surrender, but have now left.

Al Jazeera says Gaddafi is reportedly still in Libya. It quotes his spokesman Moussa Ibrahim saying that he was in a place that would not be reached by those “fractious groups” and he was in Libya. He said Gaddafi was in good health and in good spirits, Ibrahim said in remarks broadcast on Monday, adding that Saif al-Islam was also in Libya, moving around from one place to another.

Hours later, French and Niger military sources told Reuters that a large convoy of Libyan armoured vehicles escorted by the Nigerien military arrived in the northern Niger desert town of Agadez late on Monday. The convoy contained between 200 and 250 Libyan military vehicles and included officers from Libya's southern army battalions, and likely crossed from Libya into Algeria before entering Niger. The French military source said he had been told Muammar Gaddafi and his son Saif al-Islam might be considering joining the convoy en route to Burkina Faso, a landlocked West African state which has offered Gaddafi and his family asylum and has a border with Niger.

The British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he hoped that an independent inquiry would get to the bottom of allegations bout close ties between the British and Libyan intelligence services. The i newspaper quotes Cameron telling the House of Commons it was important that the inquiry should reveal any malpractices and remove any stain on Britain’s reputation.

Meanwhile, The Daily Mail reports that Abdel Hakim Belhad – now working with Nato to hunt down Gaddafi – has vowed to sue Britain for helping to snatch him in 2004. The paper says secret documents reveal that as well as “selling” him to the Libyans, the UK allowed his “extraordinary rendition” via British territory Diego Garcia. Belhadj claims he was forced to take truth drugs and that at some point he was questioned by a British agent.

USA Today says fire-fighters in Texas are struggling to contain a huge wide fire that has already destroyed 300 homes. Aircraft are dropping water on the 25km-wide fire as state governor Rick Perry interrupted his presidential lection campaign and returned to Texas.

Andkronos announces the death of Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra from head injuries he suffered nine days ago in an accident while riding his scooter in his Sicily. Lictra, 43, drew international attention in 1998 when he inaugurated the Arena di Verona. The following year Riccardo Muti took him to La Scala for a new production of La Forza del Destino. In May 2002 Licitra had his international break through when he stepped in on short notice for Luciano Pavarotti at the Metropolitan Opera in Puccini's Tosca. Many considered him the heir to Pavarotti, who died one day short of four years ago.