Press digest

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

The Times reports that Mepa wants charges to be pressed against contractor Polidano over illegal construction and dumping. One of the partners, Paul Polidano was briefly arrested during Mepa enforcement action yesterday.

The Malta Independent says the third successive record in tourism is expected.

In-Nazzjon quotes the prime minister saying the government has changed the way children are taught.

l-orizzont says the government was warned that unless it acts on Enemalta’s debts, the island would end up like Greece. It also says the police are investigating massive tax evasion by a supermarket chain.

The overseas press

Bloomberg reports President Barack Obama has promised to do whatever is necessary to protect Americans abroad.  Resuming campaigning for re-election as his administration grappled with the aftermath of attacks on US embassies in the Arab world, he said he was urging foreign governments to meet their responsibilities to ensure security. Angry demonstrations against a film seen as insulting to Moslems spread to US diplomatic missions across the Middle East and North Africa and further protests are expected today after Friday prayers.

Innocence of Muslims, the film that mocked Prophet Muhammad, was allegedly produced in the US by a filmmaker with ties to Coptic Christian groups. Excerpts were put on YouTube with dubbing in Arabic.  The Washington Post quotes the US prosecutor-general saying four people were being questioned after Tuesday's events. Nine Coptic Egyptian-Americans were also put on an airport watch list. They are believed to have contributed to the production of the film. Meanwhile, YouTube, the video website owned by Google Inc, has said it would not remove the film clip, but it has blocked access to it in those countries.

The man behind the protests in Cairo told Al Jazeera he just wanted to combat insults against Islam through legal and peaceful means. Wesam Abdel Wareth said his group was not happy that young people who joined their protest brought down the US flag. He also said there was no co-ordination with protesters in Libya, and he condemned the violence there.

AFP reports Saudi Arabia has condemned the virulently Islamophobic film that has provoked rage throughout the Arab world and denounced the violent anti-American protests that caused the death of the US ambassador to Libya and three other embassy officials. The statement followed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's condemnation of the film on Thursday, stressing that the US government had nothing to do with it.

Libyan authorities have made several arrests in connection with the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi. New Libyan Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Shaqur, who told the BBC the investigation was making progress, blamed the attack on "criminals" and said anger against the film could not justify it.

al-bawaba reports clashes between police and demonstrators near the US embassy in Yemen on Thursday killed four people and injured another 34. The protesters removed the embassy's sign on the outer wall in Sanaa and brought down the US flag and burned it. A number of diplomatic vehicles were set on fire as security forces used water cannons and warning shots in a bid to drive them out.

Al Ahram says Egyptians clashed with police outside US embassy in Cairo for the third day in protest against the film. In yesterday’s clashes, 30 people were injured, including more than 10 riot police, as some demonstrators demanded the expulsion of the ambassador. At least 12 people have been arrested. There have also been calls for a million-man march in Cairofrom the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafist al-Nour party and non-religious groups including the "Ultra" fans of Zamalek football club. They said they had invited Muslims, Coptic Christians and all Egyptian citizens to join them.

Global Post says that in Tehran, up to 500 Iranians protested over the issue chanting "Death to America!" and death to the movie's director. The rally, near the Swiss embassy that handles US interests in the absence of US-Iran diplomatic ties, ended peacefully two hours later. American flags were also burned outside the US embassy in the Tunisian capital, Tunis. A small crowd also burned an American flag in Gaza City where Hamas, the elected government there, has condemned the film.

In other news...

The Wall Street Journal reports the United States Federal Reserve was to resume pumping million of dollars into the American economy to try to stimulate growth and bring down unemployment. Shares in New York closed at a five-year-high.

The former UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, has called on the international community to get its act together in resolving the conflict there, describing the failure to do so as “a shameful episode”.  In an interview with CNN, he said those supporting either side – President Assad and the rebels– must exact pressure for a political solution. Meanwhile, Lakhdar Brahimi, who replaced Annan, has said in Damascus, where he arrived for talks with President Assad and members of the opposition, the conflict was worsening.

Guatemala is evacuating about 30,000 people after the Fuego volcano started spewing ash and lava. Canal 3 said powerful eruptions were catapulting burning rocks as high as 1,000 metres above the crater and lava was flowing down its slopes.

USA Today says a health warning about a killer virus has been sent to nearly a quarter of a million people who stayed at the Yosemite national park in California since June. The mouse-borne hantavirus is now known to have infected nine people – three of whom have died. There is no known cure.

Haaretz reports the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has overwhelmingly approved a resolution rebuking Iran over its nuclear programme. The resolution, proposed the United States, China, Russia, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, expressed serious concern about Iran’s enrichment activities. Meanwhile, in an interview with Globes, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has stressed that the crisis between Israel and US over Iran was “exaggerated” and denied reports of growing distance between him and Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu.

Workers who suffer job strain are 23-percent more likely to have a heart attack than stress-free counterparts. However, a large study published in The Lancet says the risk is far smaller than smoking or a sedentary lifestyle.