The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press today:
The Times says Drs Gonzi and Muscat pledged politics of ideas when they met at PN headquarters yesterday afternoon. It also says ST Microelectronics has no plans for more factory closures.
In-Nazzjon leads with a picture of Prime Minister Gonzi and MLP leader Joseph Muscat chatting at PN headquarters. It also quotes George Abela and Michael Falzon saying they would not work with Jason Micallef within the Labour Party.
l-orizzont says Joseph Muscat has started holding meetings with former leadership candidates. He has met ML Coleiro Preca, Michael Falzon and Evarist Bartolo and will meet George Abela in the coming days. Like the other newspapers is also carries a front page meeting of the Gonzi-Muscat meeting.
The Malta Independent reports George Abela saying no fair play trophy would be won for the MLP leadership election.
The Press in Britain...
The Telegraph reports that the housing market has collapsed with sales dropping to an all time low.
The Guardian says there are fears of recession and the City expects three rises in interest rates within months to curb inflation.
The Scotman's front page is dominated with a picture of Donald Trump arriving in Scotland ahead of a public inquiry into his plan for a golf complex in Aberdeenshire.
The Financial Times leads with a story that ministers have activated emergency procedures with the oil industry ahead of a threatened four-day strike by tanker drivers.
The Daily Express says scientists have found a cure for cancer and heart disease in Chinese food. Apparently an extract of red yeast rice, which gives Peking duck its distinctive colour, may cut cancer deaths by two-thirds and heart disease by a third.
The Daily Mail devotes the whole of its front page to the three British soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan, saying that “they joined together as boys and died together as men”.
The Mirror reports troops killed in action will be honoured with a new heroes’ award: relatives will be given an emblem – possibly a silver cross – and a scroll.
The Independent claims a 14-year-old Afghan boy, who was caught on a suicide mission, was groomed to kill British troops.
The Times reports the results of a poll which shows Gordon Brown’s leadership standing has now fallen below that of Iain Duncan Smith during his short-lived and unhappy period as the Conservative party leader.
London Evening Standard reports betting millionaire Stuart Wheeler is challenging the Government's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
And elsewhere...
Delo reports President Bush’s arrival in Slovenia on what is expected to be his last tour of Europe with economic concerns a key issue. He will attend the annual US-European Union summit, where he is expected to push for a strong US dollar, action on high fuel prices and seek support for tougher financial sanctions on Iran. Mr Bush's week-long trip also takes him to Germany, Italy, France, the Vatican and the UK.
Ahead of Bush's visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for further cuts in transatlantic trade barriers. In a guest column for Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Merkel wrote that in light of stiff competition from China, India and Brazil, the United States and the European Union needed to optimise trade conditions to spur economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic.
El Pais reports 90,000 Spanish lorry drivers have begun an indefinite strike against the soaring price of diesel. The drivers' strike follows the lead of Spanish fishermen. The government says it is preparing a package of measures to assist the transport sector.
Kyiv Post says emergency teams have reportedly rescued a further 21 miners trapped hundreds of metres underground after a gas explosion at a Ukrainian coal mine.
Berliner Zeitung says a German citizen of Lebanese descent has taken the German justice ministry to court in a bid to force the government to pursue the extradition of 13 CIA agents who allegedly kidnapped him in Macedonia in 2003. He was flown to a US detention centre in Kabul in a practice known as "extraordinary rendition" and tortured. Masri was released in 2004.
De Standaard reports the EU social affairs commissioner has criticised European employers over the low level of wages paid to women. According to Commissioner Vladimir Spidla, women across the bloc still earn 15 percent less than men in the same jobs. The proportion of women in the workplace is on the rise, but many hold part-time positions.
Washington Post says veteran politician senator Edward Kennedy has left hospital, a week after undergoing surgery for a brain tumour. His son Patrick said his father was making “an excellent recovery” and was looking forward to working with Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on universal health care legislation. Meanwhile, Mr Obama has claimed Republican opponent John McCain would more than double the country’s debt by continuing George Bush's economic policies.
According to The New York Times, scientists at an American government weapons laboratory have built the world’s fastest computer capable of 1,000 trillion operations per second. Announcing the breakthrough, the Energy Department and IBM said the computer, named Roadrunner, will be used to help maintain the US nuclear weapons stockpile solve global energy problems.