The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times says that travel plans have been unaffected by violence in Britain. It also reports that the outlook for the world economy has worsened.
The Malta Independent features comments by David Cameron who said the UK won’t let a culture of fear take over. It also reports a seminar held yesterday where is was found that integration by migrants is not happening.
l-orizzont reports how the GWU has been recognised by Arriva. It also says that there were reports of sexual abuse on volunteers in St Joseph Home.
In-Nazzjon carries an interview with the head of St Joseph Home, where he says the main focus is to give a good future to the young residents.
The overseas press
The Times says the British cabinet meets later today to outline measures to help businesses and communities affected by the looting, arson and vandalism. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street following an emergency security meeting, Prime Minister David Cameron said said law and order would be restored by whatever means necessary.
Meanwhile, the BBC reports police were out in force in London and other British cities to try to avoid a repeat of the violence and looting of the last four nights. London's streets remained calm during the night, partly because of the police deployment and also because of heavy rain in the northwest of England, which saw some of the worst disturbances on Tuesday.
Manchester Evening News reports that two people charged with taking part in disorders in northern England have been jailed for 10 and 16 weeks respectively. They were spotted by officers outside Sainsburys supermarket which had been vandalised. Greater Manchester police described the sentences as “the first of many”. More than 1,100 have been arrested, including children as young as nine years old. The Daily Express says a mother dragged her 11-year-old son to a London court to face charges.
Rioting has also struck Nottingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Gloucester and Birmingham, where tensions were particularly high after three men, aged 21 to 31, were killed in a hit and run while trying to protect stores from being looted. The Guardian pictures the three men and says there was growing pressure to scrap police cuts.
Asia Observer reports that shares fell as Asian markets opened early this morning, after declines in the US and Europe, amid fears that the financial crisis was spreading to bigger economies. Japan's Nikkei 225 index, South Korea's Kospi and Australia's ASX all fell more than one per cent.
The Wall Street Journal says European bank stocks suffered yet another steep selloff, amid new concerns over Greece, and talk of danger for France's credit rating with a major French bank, Societé Generale, at one point plunging more than 20 per cent. The French Finance Ministry has vigorously denied its AAA rating is about to be downgraded. Stocks have fallen in Ireland, England, Italy, Germany, Spain and France and also on all Street. The Dow Jones index in New York ended the day four per cent down.
Al Arabiya quotes opposition activists in Syria saying more than 20 people have been killed by security forces – many of them in the city of Homs. They said troops had launched a huge operation, arresting people and firing on anyone trying to escape. The Syrian government also appeared to be in full control of the city of Hama after last week’s brutal crackdown on protesters. To the east, troops seized control of another flashpoint city, Deir el-Zour, after four days of intense shelling and gunfire.
The Washington Times says the Taliban insurgents, responsible for shooting down a US helicopter killing 38 US and Afghan forces over the weekend, have been killed. Marine Corps General John Allen said forces had learned where the insurgents had fled to and killed them in an early-morning air strike. The strike killed Taliban leader Mullah Mohibullah and the insurgent who fired the rocket-propelled grenade that downed the Chinook helicopter, the US army said.
USA Today says a jury in the US has recommended the death penalty for a man found guilty of killing 11 women. Prosecutors accused Anthony Soul of luring drug-addicted women into his home with alcohol or narcotics. In court, victims’ relatives stood and applauded as the jurors, after deliberating for less than a day, recommended that Soul be executed by lethal injection.
New research suggests that women smokers face a greater risk of heart attacks than male smokers. Science Daily reports the findings of a worldwide study, based on more than two million people, which indicated that women were 25 per cent more likely to have a heart attack from tobacco inhalation.