Malta and international press digest

The following are the leading stories in Maltese and foreign newspapers.

The Times, like all the other newspapers, gives front page treatment to the news that the European Court has taken Malta to court over spring hunting. It reports how the government declared it would argue its case but respect the court’s decision. It also gives a preview of Carnival, which opens today. Ivan Camilleri alo reports that Maltese MEPs prefer Brussels and will not contest the general elections in Malta.

In-Nazzjon gives prominence to the €43 million investment by Nylon Knitting, announced yesterday. It also reports that Opposition Leader Alfred Sant has again argued that the Malta lira should have been devalued, saying it should have been 15 percent lower.

l-orizzont leads with the hunting issue and also reports that an agreement has been reached between Malta Industrial Parks and Marsalite which will enable the firm to pay overdue rents. Workers will keep their jobs. Yesterday MIP and police officers moved into the factory and evicted everyone. The situation has now been restored. The newspaper also reports a press conference by Dr Sant who criticised PBS, saying it is a PN instrument.

The Malta Independent leads with the Nylon Knitting investment and spring hunting.

The press in Britain…

The Daily Mirror reports on fallen star Britney Spears and her deteriorating mental health. She is now being considered as ‘a danger to herself’.

The Sun says that Britney had what it calls “60 crazy hours and is now under hospital supervision. However, the paper’s lead story is that David Beckham pulled out of a charity event after he was dropped by newly-appointed coach Fabio Capello.

The Daily Star also leads with Beckham’s failure to get his 100th England cap and claims Capello took his decision after seeing TV footage of the star playing football on a Brazilian beach.

The Express calls Capello’s decision “cruel” but leads with the prediction that Britain's soaring immigrant population will double in the next two decades to almost 10 million.

According to the Daily Mail, muggers and burglars will be let off with community work in a move that could spell the end of short jail sentences.

The Guardian quotes Labour modernisers urging party bosses to come up with a radical reform agenda if they do not want the Tories to win the next general election.

The Times reports that plans to make all taxpayers file their tax returns online within four years were thrown into disarray as a computer system crashed.

The Independent claims Afghanistan's President Karzai is inundated with appeals to save a death-row student accused of downloading an internet report on the rights of women.

The Herald reports on the rescue of14 passengers and crew from a listing ferry in the Irish Sea after being hit by high winds and heavy seas.

Cumbria News and Star reports that winds of more than 80mph claimed the life of a 45-year-old lorry driver in Cumbria when his truck was blown off the road. Nine other vehicles overturned on the same motorway. Wind speeds are expected to ease later but heavy snow is set to follow in Scotland, N. Ireland, northern England and Wales.

And elsewhere…

The International Herald Tribune quotes the New York-based Human Rights Watch chastising Europe and the US for tolerating unjust elections last year in places such as Russia, Jordan and Nigeria. It said human rights were in danger because established democracies were accepting unfair elections in other countries. China, Turkey and the US were also reprimanded by the group.

Pakistan Times says security officials have confirmed a report by an Islamist website that a senior al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan, Abu Laith al-Libi, has been killed. Some Western officials consider him to be as high as number three in the al-Qaeda hierarchy, operating mostly inside Afghanistan, fighting with the resurgent Taliban.

According to Sueddeutsche Zeitung US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates has written a strongly-worded letter to his German counterpart Franz Josef Jung urging Berlin to send an additional 3,200 troops to Afghanistan. Gates warned that the NATO-led force could lose credibility without reinforcement. The extra troops are needed to join the fight against Taliban militants in the south.

East African Standard reports another opposition MP Kenya in has been killed – the second within one week. Police in the western city of Eldoret said the MP was killed by a traffic policeman in what was described as ‚a crime of passion’. But Opposition leader Raila Odinga said the killing was part of a plot to reduce the number of opposition lawmakers in parliament.

Chumhuriyet says at least 20 people were killed and more than 100 injured when an explosion ripped through an Istanbul building that housed an illegal fireworks factory. A fire broke out on the fourth floor of the five storey building and there was a large blast a few minutes later. Several of those killed were bystanders in the street watching the blaze, who were hit by falling debris.