The following are the top stories in the Maltese and foreign press today:
The Times says tourism growth in Malta has beaten the world average, according to the World Tourism Organisation. It also reports that the American embassy in Belgrade was attacked and set on fire during a protest against the independence of Kosovo. The newspaper also reports that Malta is to hold three more MTV concerts.
In-Nazzjon says Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday inaugurated the Gozo ferry terminal describing it as a leap of quality.l-orizzont reports Alfed Sant saying families’ quality of life has deteriorated. It also reports a statement by the GWU Council urging workers to back those who respected them at the general election.
The Malta Independent says Dr Gonzi has insisted that Labour must not fiddle with the children’s future, as, he said, it is doing with its half-baked reception class proposal. It also reports Alfred Sant saying the development of the Grand Harbour area will be in the hands of a specific authority.
The press in Britain
Two stories feature on the front pages of the British newspapers this morning: the conviction for the murder of five prostitutes of serial killer Steve Wright, who is expected to be given five mandatory life sentences, and the sectioning, under the Mental Health Act, of former England football hero Paul Gascoigne after he was said to be acting as a "potential menace" at a luxury hotel.
The Daily Mail leads with the conviction of Wright, branded as the Suffolk Strangler, saying his ex-wife revealed “chilling links” to the disappearance, 22 years ago, of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, who could have been his first victim. It claims police have told Miss Lamplugh's parents they plan to review the case, which has remained unsolved.
The Daily Telegraph says Miss Lamplugh worked with the 49-year-old former merechant seaman on the QE2 and kept in touch with him before she vanished in July 1986.
The Daily Mirror carries an interview with Wright's ex-wife in which she tells of her "years of hell with the man she branded a monster".T
he Times reports Wright's guilty verdict has reignited the debate on the rapid expansion of the DNA national database, which holds the profiles of at least four million people in Britain.
The Scotsman and The Herald in Scotland ask if Wright has murdered more people and says police are to open unsolved cases after his conviction. Metro in London ecapsules the whole chilling episode with the headline: "An Evil Beyond Belief".
The Guardian quotes the landlord of the pub where Wright was a regular saying nobody ever suspected him. It also reports Justice Secretary Jack Straw has appealed to magistrates to send fewer people to jail as the prison population in England and Wales soared past 82,000 to an all-time high.The Sun says Wright’s own father has called for the re-instatement of the death penalty but leads with a report that former England footballer Paul Gascoigne is on suicide watch in a psychiatric hospital.The Daily Star asks whether Wright killed another 17 girls but its lead focuses on Paul Gascoigne being put in a mental unit, saying that he answered the hotel door stark naked, tried to throttlew the night porter, oredered plates of raw liver and kept three swearing parrots as company.
The Record says the ex-footballer is “tormented” after a drink and drugs bender.
The Daily Express also asks whether Wright killed Suzy Lamplugh but then refers to claims that rising oil prices mean the cost of petrol ine the UK is set to reach £1.50 a litre.
"Power to the people" is the Independent's headline as regulators launch an inquiry into claims that gas and electricity companies are ripping off customers. It’s a follow-up story on yesterday’s revealation that British Gas announced annual profits of £580 million, a rise of 500 per cent, after putting up prices by 15 per cent.
The Financial Times reports that Internet service providers will face legal action from next year unless they move to curb illegal downloads.
London Evening Standrad quotes British Foreign Secretary David Miliband admitting that US planes made use of its territory while secretly transporting abducted terrorism suspects in the so-called "extraordinary rendition” operations by the CIA. The Council of Europe in a report two years ago accused 14 European nations of tolerating the use by the CIA of foreign airfields and airspace to transfer suspects to third countries or US-run detention centres.
And elsewhere…
EU Observer reports that the European Commission has sharply cut its 2008 growth estimate for the 15 countries sharing the euro, including Malta, from 2.2 to 1.8 percent, blaming financial market turmoil, a weak US economy and record oil prices. The forecast for eurozone inflation this year was also raised from 2.1 to 2.6 percent because of soaring food and energy prices.
Washington Post says the United States has condemned an attack on its embassy in Belgrade by Serbian demonstrators protesting against the independence of Kosovo. They stormed and set fire to the building. The charred body of a demonstrator was found in the compound and and 97 were injured when Serbian police fired tear gas. Attacks were also reported to have taken place against the embassies of Britain, Germany, Turkey, Croatia and Bosnia, but none was entered.
New York Times reports that Britain and France have introduced a draft resolution to the UN Security Council which calls for a third round of sanctions against Iran. The motion is aimed at punishing Tehran for continuing to enrich uranium. The International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to give the council an update report later today on Iran's nuclear programme.
USA Today says the Pentagon has dismissed claims by China and Russia that a US missile strike which destroyed a rogue US spy satellite was an attempt to militarise space and test an anti-satellite weapon. It said the satellite's destruction had removed the risk of toxic fuel pollution if the craft had re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. The paper points out that China itself caused a similar outcry early last year when it shot down one of its own weather satellites in what was widely seen as an anti-satellite test.
Pakistan Times reports that the two parties that won the most votes in Pakistan's election have vowed to form a coalition government, raising the prospect that President Pervez Musharraf could be impeached. Musharraf outraged many Pakistanis late last year when he declared emergency rule.
The Nation leads with the Kenya government’s agreement in principle to the creation of a prime minister's post, meeting a key demand by the opposition. Raila Odinga's opposition has demanded the post and a 50-50 split in cabinet positions. It has threatened new street protests if a political solution is not found within a week -- raising new fears of more violence.
Beijing Evening Post reports that a 47-year-old Chinese woman, who complained of back pain, turned out to have 10 small springs in her body. The woman told the baffled doctors that the springs may have been planted into he body when she was nine years old to treat epilepsy. Yanji City’s chief surgeon said some of the springs had grown together with the muscles, and rusted.