These are the main headlines of the local and international newspapers.
The Times says that Marsaxlokk fishermen yesterday leased an aircraft which joined the Armed Forces in the search for 11-year-old Theo Bugeja, still unaccounted for since his father’s fishing vessel sank two weeks ago. The Times also reports the first meeting of a Parliamentary Select Committee which is discussing matters affecting democracy.
Both The Malta Independent and l-orizzont lead on HSCB’s mid-year profit of €46.6 million, which bank CEO Alan Richards described as “disappointing”.
In-Nazzjon reports wide interest in the privatisation of three Polish dockyards.
Catholic Church weekly Il-Ġens Illum focuses on the problems and implications of the “father unknown” phenomena of single mothers when registering their offspring.
The Press in Britain…
Most British dailies echo the effects of the humiliation British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suffered after the catastrophic by-election defeat of Glasgow East to the SNP.
The Scotsman quotes Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond claiming there was no safe Labour seat left in Scotland.
The Herald says union leader Paul Kenny interpreted the dramatic loss as “an unmitigated disaster”, insisting Brown should face a challenge for the Labour leadership this autumn.
The Independent reports cabinet ministers are urging Gordon Brown to quit in September before the Labour conference.
The Times and The Guardian claim the embattled Prime Minister has been told it is time to go.
The Daily Mail says a three-day strike by passport officials has left a backlog of 150,000 applications, stranding would-be-holidaymakers.
The Daily Express leads with the story of the Australian Qantas jet that plunged 20,000ft after a mid-air explosion left a gaping three-metre hole as it headed for Australia.
The Financial Times says four past and present British Airways executives are to be charged with price-fixing in a landmark criminal prosecution.
And elsewhere…
Il Tempo quotes the Italian government saying it is extending its state of emergency over illegal immigration to cover the whole country. More than 10,600 illegal immigrants have arrived by boat so far this year. The EU has criticised as discriminatory the new legal powers. Meanwhile Corriere della Sera quotes an Italian Home Ministry report saying on 10 per cent of the irregular migrants arrive in Italy by sea; 63 per cent arrive by air and the rest by land.
The Irish Times says the European Commission has welcomed the judgment of the European Court of Justice, in a case instituted against Ireland, which clarified the rights of free movement of European Union citizens and their family members throughout the EU. The court ruled that a non-EU spouse of a citizen of the EU can reside with that citizen in the European Union without having previously been resident in another member-state.
More than 50 Roman Catholic groups have urged the Pope to lift the “catastrophic” ban by the Church on contraception. The Vatican dismissed their open letter in Corriere della Sera as “paid propaganda”.
US presidential hopeful Barack Obama is in London, the final leg of his journey, where he is scheduled to meet British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and former prime minister Tony Blair. Le Parisien reports that during his talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris they addressed issues including global warming, the Middle East peace process, Afghanistan and Iran's nuclear programme. The Democratic senator emphasised that Iran had to be stopped from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Al Quds Al Arabi says a car bomb has exploded on a coastal road in Gaza City killing at least five Palestinians and injuring about 20 others
The International Herald Tribune says France, Italy and Cyprus are sending firefighting aircraft to help tackle fires sweeping across Rhodes.
Bangalore Globe reports that the Indian high-tech hub city became the latest victim of a series of bombings by suspected Islamic militants.
El Pais says Madrid Police have arrested 28 people accused of lottery scams.
El Peruano says that a dancer who posed naked on a horse, using the Peruvian flag as a saddle, has been charged with offending patriotic symbols.
Salzburger Nachrichten reports that 70 years after fleeing the Nazis, Maria von Trapp, whose family was depicted in “The Sound of Music”, returned to visit her ex-Salzburg home before it opened as a new hotel. The now 94-year-old second-eldest daughter of Baron von Trapp said staying in the house had been “a deeply moving experience”.
Variety reports that the Rolling Stones and Universal Music Group have signed an exclusive, long-term, worldwide recording deal. The veteran rockers had been stalwarts of record label EMI, which has already seen the departures of Radiohead and Sir Paul McCartney.