Malta and international press digest

The general election campaign activities continue to dominate the front pages of the seven local papers.

The Sunday Times leads with the PN electoral manifesto, approved yesterday during the party’s general council meeting, pledging more sweeping tax cuts as well as proposals to increase transparency and accountability in the public sector.

The Malta Independent on Sunday also focuses on the PN’s 353 proposals for Vision 2015, quoting Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi writing that his administration “was not perfect, but we worked as hard as we could and got the results it worked for”.

il-mument also highlights the proposals put forward in the PN electoral manifesto, saying the underlying theme was to continue changing the country together.

Maltatoday claims that both Labour leader Alfred Sant and Environment Minister George Pullicino washed their hands over spring hunting: the former was non committal and the latter saying he had passed the ball back to the Ornis Committee to give him a clear recommendation.

Illum claims that while Azzjoni Nazjonali leader Josie Muscat is critical of single mothers, 32 such women gave birth at his clinics last year.

it-torca leads with the publication by of the MEPA report on the Sant’Antnin recycling plant by Alternattiva candidate Carmel Cacopardo which implies direct political intervention by the Envirnoment Minister.

KullHadd says that in a declaration on You Tube, Rev. Professor Peter Serracino Inglott claimed that it was him who chose George Pullicino to form part of the Nationalist Cabinet, even if last November he had denied that he was part of the PN’s strategy team saying he was only an adviser to the prime minister.

The Press in Britain...

The Sunday Telegraph says the UK's armed forces are to send as many as 1,000 troops to the Balkans in a move that will see the military’s last remaining reserve unit deployed on operations. The departure to Kosovo has been ordered in response to fears the state could slide into ethnic cleansing.

The Sunday Times quotes a senior defence official’s warning that the armed forces are heading for a 'train crash' because the government is starving them of funds for vital equipment.

The Mail On Sunday reports a new sharia law controversy erupted over Government plans to issue special ‘Islamic bonds’ to pay for the UK government’s public-spending programme by raising money from the Middle East.

The Observer says hospitals are accused of keeping thousands of patients in ambulance 'holding patterns' outside emergency units to meet a government pledge to treat patients within four hours of admission.

The Sunday Express carries the picture of a a Leeds teenager with four kidneys who wants to donate two of them to patients who need transplants but leads with the revelation that British Gas is making £1,200-a-minute in profits after landing customers with crippling bill rises.

The Sunday Mirror says the father who killed his six-year-old son by hurling him from a hotel balcony could "soon" be declared fit enough by Greek doctors to be set free after being making "remarkable progress" at a psychiatric hospital in Athens since a Crete court cleared him of murder… and will be free to go home in just three months.

The Sunday People says Wayne Rooney and Coleen McLoughlin have struck a £2.5m deal for world rights to their wedding.

Independent on Sunday prints a rare interview with Pervez Musharraf gave Jemima Khan as Pakistan votes on Monday in its postponed elections.

Scotland on Sunday claims that 10 per cent of Scottish teenagers over the age of 16 is now taking cocaine, as the cost of the illegal drug falls.

And elsewhere…

With the Serbian province of Kosovo just hours away from declaring independence, Ilaria Post leads with the celebrations by ethnic Albanians in the capital, Pristina, shortly after Prime Minister Hashim Thaci confirmed that the long-awaited declaration would come this Sunday. Belgrade, and its close ally, Russia, are both vehemently opposed to the move. Meanwhile, the European Union has approved a 1,800-strong civilian mission to the breakaway province to help build police, justice and customs systems free from political interference.

Pakistan Times reports at least 37 people have been killed and almost 100 others wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in north-western town of Parachinar, near the Pakistan-Afghan border. The bombing occurred as supporters of a candidate backed by the party of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto were gathering near his campaign office. The attack came on the last day of campaigning for elections that are meant to complete the country's transition from military to civilian rule.

The Arusha Times leads with President Bush’s arrival in the Tanzanian capital, the second stop of a five-nation, six-day tour to highlight US aid to build schools, battle malaria and AIDS and efforts to resolve regional violence. Bush arrived in Dar Es-Salam from Benin and will also visit Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia – the only country willing to host the headquarters of Africom, the US military command for Africa, which was created late last year.

Fasl Al-Maqal says French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has called on Israel to live up to its commitment to stop building settlements. Following a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Kouchner said the ongoing construction was preventing progress in the peace talks that were re-launched in November. At the same time, Kouchner said the Palestinian leadership must rein in militants who regularly launch rocket attacks on Israeli towns. Kouchner is to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other Israeli leaders in Jerusalem on Sunday.

The German news magazine Der Spiegel reports that German investigators paid €5 million to an informant in early 2006 for secret bank data from Liechtenstein that has formed the basis of a major tax fraud investigation. Süddeutsche Zeitung reports around 700 suspects, including a number of celebrities, are implicated in the tax fraud probe which involves a total of more than €3 billion.

The News Dispatch claims the majority of Michigan's Republican presidential delegates will back John McCain now that primary winner Mitt Romney is out of the race. Mr Romney's 23 delegates will go to the national convention as uncommitted, but 18 now say they will back McCain. Senator McCain already has 10 Michigan delegates that he won in the state's primary. Mike Huckabee will get two delegates based on the primary results.

Svenska Dagsbladet says a Swedish school has banned children from wearing striped and spotted clothing because the patterns give one of its teachers severe migraines. The preschool in Gallivare imposed the ban three years ago but recent complaints from a parent have seen it hit the headlines. The school insists the ban does not violate Swedish law and research has proved the link with migraines.

The Dominion Post reports that New Zealand's oldest immigrant, a sprightly 102-year-old Briton, has arrived to a celebrity welcome. Eric King-Turner disembarked from a cruise ship in Wellington after a five-week trip and said he hoped for a quiet life fishing in his new home. "My wife lived with me for 13 years in Britain so I thought she might be getting homesick," he said, referring to New Zealander wife Doris, 89.