Press digest

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

The Times features comments by British Foreign Secretary William Hague who urged firms in Malta to prepare for exciting opportunities in Libya.

The Malta Independent reports the Prime Minister saying Labour should clarify its policy on the EU.

In-Nazzjon leads with the visit to Malta by William Hague and says the UK has again praised Malta for its humanitarian aid to Libya.

l-orizzont gives prominence to the funeral held yesterday of the victim of the Qormi cesspit tragedy. It also features comments by Joseph Muscat that the government should recover up to €500,000 paid to the consultants who mapped the bus routes that are now being dumped.

The overseas press

Francois Hollande has been elected the French Socialist Party's candidate for the 2012 presidential vote when he is expected to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy seven months from now. France 24 says opinion polls suggest he could beat President Sarkozy, who has not formally declared his own bid. It is the first time voters have taken part in a US-style primary race. Some 2.7 million voters took part in run-off.

The Washington Times reports President Barack Obama has attended a dedication ceremony in Washington for a new memorial to the assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King. He said Americans were right to celebrate Dr King’s vision of unity and likened the battle for racial equality to his political struggles in a divided Washington.

Il Tempo quotes Rome's mayor Gianni Alemanno saying it could cost at least one million euros to recover from the havoc wreaked by rioters.  They rioters infiltrated the march on Saturday by tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators and smashed windows, tore up pavements and set fire to vehicles and buildings.

USA Today says protesters in at least four US cities who were part of a growing anti-Wall Street sentiment were arrested after refusing to obey police orders to leave public areas, including 175 people in Chicago, where the arrests brought about a new phase of civil disobedience. The arrests came after a day of protests in cities around the world.

Bangkok Post reports that the death toll from the worst floods in half a century to hit Thailand has risen to 297. More than 8.5 million people in 61 provinces have been affected by the rising waters.

Meanwhile, El Mundo says floods and landslides caused by a week of intense rain across Central America have killed at least 60 people. Worst hit has been Guatemala and El Saldavor where a state of emergency has been declared.

Abrar reports that Iran's supreme leader has warned the United States that any measures taken against Tehran over an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington would elicit a "resolute" response. Two men have been charged in New York federal court with conspiring to kill the Saudi diplomat.

Al Ahram says Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo have  asked the government and opposition in Syria to take part in a national dialogue to find ways to end the violence in the country. However, they decided not to suspend Syria from the organisation.

According to The Jerusalem Post, Israel has released the names of the first 477 Palestinian prisoners it would exchange tomorrow for Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier seized by Hamas militants in a cross-border raid more than five years ago. In two months’ time, a further 550 prisoners would be released.

Al Jazeera reports bulldozers have begun demolishing the fortress-like Bab al-Aziziya compound of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the Tripoli. Interim leaders said it was time "to tear down the symbol of tyranny". Senior army officer Ahmad Ghargory said the Bab al-Aziziya area would be turned into a public park.

TV Azteca says the Mexican army has rescued 61 men held prisoner by a drugs gang near the border with the US. Troops found the captives during a security sweep in which six tons of marijuana were also discovered. They men had been abducted from various parts of Mexico and forced to work for organised crime.

Three men were facing charges of kidnapping and assault after four mentally handicapped people were found chained up in a secret room in the basement of a Philadelphia apartment building. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the four victims were a 29-year-old woman and three men aged 31, 35, and 41. All four were said to have the mental capacity of a 10-year-old. The victims were suffering from malnourishment but in stable condition at a local hospital where they were being fed and evaluated. It is believed the victims were part of an interstate conspiracy to obtain the government support checks of mentally disabled people.