The following are the top stories in the Maltese and international press today.
The Times says hospital staff are to be given an allowance to buy their own food. That replaces the staff meals service after an incident on Monday when a nurse eating in the canteen found part of the head of a mouse in her vegetables. The newspaper also reports that five people were injured, one seriously, in four traffic accidents early yesterday.
The Malta Independent says the door-to-door collection of separated material for recycling has so far totalled 1.3m kg of waste. It also reports an appeal by the Malta Employers’ Association for wage increases to be linked to productivity.
l-orizzont highlights the arrival of 83 illegal immigrants and their claim that another five are missing. In another story, it says that the organisers of the 2006 Aero GB are being sued following the mid-air collision which claimed the life of a pilot. The court action is being taken by the company which owns the aircraft of the surviving pilot.
In-Nazzjon says €41 million in EU funds are being allocated to the education sector. It also reports comments by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech that economic growth as maintained at 3% in the second quarter despite the international financial turmoil.
The Press in Britain…
The Times suggests the most powerful cop in the country, Sir Ian Blair, will be replaced "by the end of the year" as the Met attempts to rebuild morale.
Meanwhile, The Guardian quotes one of the country's leading police officers, who criticises the Government's rulings on law and order, which he believes have hindered modern policing.
The Sun reports that Tony Blair's close protection officer has been sacked after she left a loaded gun in a coffee shop branch in London's Edgware Road.
The Independent quotes a study that suggests women's recent progress in the workplace has stopped.
The Daily Mail bemoans that the drop in the cost of oil hasn't led to cheaper prices at the pump.
The Daily Express fears Britain will be battered by gales of up to 50mph as storms from the Atlantic travel across the country.
The Daily Telegraph says the report criticises the "concrete ceiling" of discrimination reached by women, represented by a drop in the number of female MPs, police chiefs and senior judges over past 12 months.
The Daily Mirror reports Reality TV star Jade Goody could have less than 10 years to live as she begins her fight against cancer.
And elsewhere…
European Voice says the European Parliament has called for an EU-wide ban on meat and dairy products from cloned animals.
Fidel Castro is likening Hurricane Gustav’s destruction in Cuba to a nuclear explosion and suggests the storm will cost the government “30 or 40 times” more than €61m in losses. In an article published in Granma, the 82-year-old former president wrote that the devastation reminded him of “he desolation he saw when he visited Hiroshima. Cuba says 100,000 homes across the island were damaged, thousands beyond repair.
Times Picayune says some of the two million residents who fled New Orleans and Louisiana to escape Hurricane Gustav were returning to their homes. Many homes were without electricity or working toilets after Gustav swept through Louisiana after making landfall as a Category 2 storm on Monday.
EU Observer quotes European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso saying Serbia could be granted the status of a candidate for EU membership as soon as next year.
Ekstra Bladet reports that Denmark and Germany have signed a formal agreement to build a 12.4-mile bridge across the Baltic Sea between the two countries.
Al Thawra says French President Nicolas Sarkozy is in Damascus for talks with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad. Later today thy will be joined by regional mediators from Turkey and Qatar to discuss a potential peace deal between Syria and Israel.
According to The Washington Times, the United States has pledged one billion dollars to support Georgia's reconstruction effort following its conflict with Russia. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice unveiled the package which does not include any military aid.
Pakistan Times says the Taliban have claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. He was not in his vehicle when two bullets fired by a long-range gun hit the car's front side window near Islamabad airport. The bullets failed to penetrate the vehicle's armour and no injuries were reported.
Two alligators have been seized in a crackdown on drug gangs. O Globo says the animals were used by traffickers to get rid of dead bodies and torture captured members of rival gangs in a Rio de Janeiro shanty town in Brazil. The alligators were found today in a home belonging to the mother-in-law of a known drug dealer. The woman was unaware the animals were in her home and was not arrested.