The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says service standards are to be introduced at Mater Dei to govern waiting time, particularly at the Emergency Department. It also reports that a policeman has been arraigned in court for allegedly trying to kill his wife. He has allowed bail but cannot leave Mt Carmel Hospital.
The Malta Independent quotes sources saying the government will do its best tor each agreement with the Opposition on pairing in Parliament. It also says the MLP will decide shortly whether members who are not delegates can contest the elections for the party administration.
Malta Today Midweek says the Cabinet has distanced itself from the “cleansing” of the word condom from a policy document on sex education. It also points out that while a year ago the government was boasting of a new hospital open for all, it is now stressing that the Emergency Department is open only for serious cases.
In-Nazzjon says Labour leader Joseph Muscat was wrong when he argued that the government should cap revenue from duty on fuel even if prices continued to rise. It explained that duty is charged by volume and is not linked to price.
l-orizzont highlights the case of a migrant owed €1,100 by Floriana council for refuse collection.
The Press in Britain
The Guardian reports that G8 talks on climate change ran into trouble within hours.
The Independent reports consumer confidence in the UK has plunged to an all-time low, UK shares have slumped and the housing crisis worsened… but Prime Minister Gordon Brown has insisted he is determined to lead Britain through the current economic downturn.
The Daily Express says burglars could escape prison sentences under new proposals made by advisers to the Lord Chief Justice.
The Daily Mirror claims Amy Winehouse hit an innocent pub drinker in an unprovoked attack.
The Sun says a British girl is facing six years in an Arab prison after a drunken romp on a beach in Dubai.
The Daily Mail says six of Britain's biggest banks have agreed to buy £400m worth of shares in troubled bank Bradford & Bingley to avert another financial crisis.
And elsewhere…
According to a statement on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website, Moscow has threatened military action if a US anti-missile shield is set up near its borders. The International Herald Tribune says the announcement came just hours after the Czech Republic signed an agreement to host the radar for a US missile shield in Europe, despite fierce Russian opposition. The US is struggling to clinch an agreement with Poland, where it hopes to base interceptor missiles.
De Telegraf reports the Netherlands’ upper house has voted overwhelmingly to ratify the European Union's reform treaty.
The Japan Times leads with the G8 leaders’ condemnation of Zimbabwe's recent presidential election and the imposition of fresh measures against President Robert Mugabe's regime. Earlier, they released a communiqué which backed halving greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the century, without providing any numerical targets. The European Union welcomed the statement.
Meanwhie, Belgium’s De Standaard reports the European Parliament has voted to include airlines in emissions trading despite concerns from the US over the rising cost of air travel. The system will apply to all airlines flying into and out of the 27-nation bloc, including non-European carriers.
Zimbabwe Independent says the opposition has denied state media reports that it will hold talks with Robert Mugabe’s ruling party saying he had failed to end attacks on its supporters.
Der Kurier announced Austrian parties have agreed to hold an early parliamentary election on September 28. The governing coalition of Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer collapsed after 18 months marked of feuding over health, pension and tax reform.
Tages Anzeiger reports that a referendum will be held in Switzerland on a ban on the construction of minarets, the towers used by Muslims to issue calls to prayer, after a petition backed by nationalist parties was signed by more than 100,000 supporters.
Rome’s L’Avvenire says the Vatican has condemned the Church of England's governing body for deciding to allow women to become bishops. It described the decision as a historic break from Christian doctrine that will drive Anglicans and Catholics further apart.
Le Monde says France looks set to get backing from EU counterparts to put in place a Europe-wide early warning alert system to report missing children.
Le Figaro reports Paris's historically low-rise skyline could get a new look after the city council agreed to look at easing building height restrictions.
Ethnos says the Greek authorities have appealed for people to cut the use of their air conditioning units as the country is hit by the first heatwave of the summer.
Sanyo Shimbun quotes Japan’s meteorological agency as saying a magnitude 6.0 earthquake had hit Okinawa.
Die Presse claims the questioning of an Austrian incest victim held in a cellar for 24 years is set to start this month, allowing a trial to start before the end of 2008.
Romania’s Kurentul says a European watchdog has asked the president to veto legislation that would require the media to ensure half of their coverage dealt with good news.
Ekstra Bladet of Denmark quotes a study which has found that human embryos are better when frozen and thawed before use in IVF.
Le Soir says EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has asked German farmers to stop sending her milk in protest at higher quotas that may lower prices. She has received more than 2,000 gallons. Much of it had gone off.