Malta and international press digest

The following are the leading stories in the Maltese and international press today:

The Times shows a front page picture of Dom Mintoff on his way to the Electoral Office yesterday. He however did not submit a nomination to contest the general election. The newspaper also reports that EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said Malta was ideal to house a branch of the Frontex border agency in the Mediterranean.

In-Nazzjon reports on the PN’s presentation of its election candidates yesterday. It also reports that Rene Rossignaud has resigned from Alternattiva Demokratika because it had become an instrument to be used to hit the Prime Minister.

L-orizzont quotes Labour leader Alfred Sant saying the government had considered imposing charges for health services. The newspaper says a billboard by Azzjoni Nazzjonali saying the open centre at Balzan would be closed had caused dismay.

The Malta Independent also leads with Dr Sant’s comments on the health service. It also reports on a day on the life of the prime minister.

The Press in Britain

London Evening Standard quotes Justice Secretary Jack Straw insisting no deal has been done with Libya over the transfer of the Lockerbie bomber Mohmed Al Megrahi, currently serving a life sentence in a Scottish prison after being convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988. Straw added it would be for Scottish ministers to decide if the Libyan is returned to his home country.

The Times says dozens of anti-terrorist investigations and prosecutions are in jeopardy after senior judges quashed the convictions of five young Muslims for downloading extremist propaganda. The prosecution alleged they were planning to go to Pakistan for training before going to fight jihad. But the judges questioned whether they should ever have been prosecuted for merely possessing the material.

The Daily Mirror carries an interview with a teenager who says he was attacked at a nightclub where Prince William was. Dan O'Callaghan said he had just spotted the royal at a nearby table when the victim had a row with two men and was later hit in the face by a bottle.

The Daily Mail also carries a picture of Prince William in connection with the same story but leads with a report that a man has been beaten senseless after confronting a gang and asked the thugs to stop urinating in his garden. The victim suffered a broken jaw and cheekbone and deep cuts after being punched and kicked by at least two men and a woman.

London's Metro leads with a Government report which says children are arming themselves with knives and bottles to ward off bullies. They are apparently so scared that they feel they have no choice but to carry weapons to defend themselves.

The Daily Express carries the headline "Glorious" and says summer has come early as Britain soaked up record-breaking temperatures. Millions of people flocked to beaches, parks and the countryside to make the most of the sunshine. It predicts more record-breaking temperatures for the UK next week.In a picture exclusive,

The Sun reports on Cheryl Cole's "agony" following revelations that her footballer husband Ashley Cole cheated on her.

The Guardian leads on new research which shows teenagers from poorer families are turning their backs on a university education because they fear they will be saddled with thousands of pounds of debt. The Daily Telegraph says families have been warned to expect a decline in their standard of living as rising food and fuel prices put household finances under severe strain.

The Independent carries a letter by the world's Nobel laureates to the Chinese president to act on Darfur. It comes after Hollywood director Steven Spielberg quit as an artistic adviser to the Beijing Olympics over China's refusal to intervene in the troubled Sudanese region. However, British Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell has said any call for a boycott of this summer's games in China over the Darfur crisis would not serve any purpose.

And elsewhere…

De Standaard reports European Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini has unveiled plans for stricter border controls along the EU’s 24-nation border-free area to fight terrorism, organised crime and illegal migration. He said the electronic register, which includes plans to collect fingerprints and photographs from foreigners entering the EU, is expected go into effect by 2015.

Kurier quotes the head of the UN's Vienna Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, calling on countries to draw up a roadmap to fight human slavery. The UN estimates the number of victims of human trafficking to be more than two-and-a-half million, most of them being children and women. Activists said that human traffickers were making nearly €22 billion dollars profit per year.

Pakistan Tribune quotes police saying they have achieved a major breakthrough in the investigion of the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto after arresting two Islamist militants who confessed to giving Bhutto's attacker a pistol and suicide vest. Their account matched that of the Pakistani authorities, who were accused of a cover-up by Bhutto's party following her death at an election rally in Rawalpindi on 27 December.

Syria Times says Interior Minister Bassam Abdel-Majid has promised an inquiry into the assassination of one of the world's most sought after terror fugitives, Imad Mughniyah, a top Lebanese Hezbollah commander. Hezbollah and Iran blame Israel for his assassination, an accusation Israel has denied. The US welcomed the death of Mughniyah who was alleged to be responsible for kidnappings and bombings on Western facilities in Lebanon in the 1980's.

India Times says the country is in the grip of a smoking epidemic that is likely to kill nearly a million people a year by 2010. According to a new international study by doctors from India, Canada and Britain, one in five of all male deaths and one in 20 of all female deaths will be caused by smoking.

Corriere della Sera says flowers are still Italy's most popular way to say ''I love you'' on Valentine's Day. Italian farmers’ association CIA said some 6.5 million Italians will buy flowers for their loved one today - far, far more than are purchasing clothing, sweets and particularly chocolate. Italians are set to spend €100 million on 22 million flowers by tonight. Although lilies and orchids are popular, roses account for 60 per cent of all flowers sold during this period. According to another farming organization, Coldiretti, red roses are the ''classic” flower to give to your loved one.