Malta and international press digest

The following are the main stories in the Maltese and overseas press:

The Times leads with the jailing for life of a man who fatally stabbed his former girlfriend. It reports that after sentence was handed down, he told the victim’s family – ‘I am still alive’. The newspaper also reports the traffic accident which left a traffic policeman fighting for his life yesterday.

The Malta Independent also leads with the verdict at the end of the murder trial. In other stories, it reports that a German company, ProMinent, is to invest more in Malta. It also asks if a rise in bread prices is on the cards.

l-orizzont also leads with the ‘I am alive’ quote from murder David Schembri. In other stories, it reports how Malta has been allocated EU funds for the integration of migrants.

In-Nazzjon says David Schembri has been jailed for life and placed under isolation orders for the murder of his former girlfriend. It also reports that Banif Bank is to expand its Malta operation and employ more people.

The Press in Britain

The Guardian quotes Tory leader David Cameron warning that the UK was running the risk of having to borrow billions of pounds from the IMF to keep the economy afloat.

The Financial Times reports Tim Geithner, President Barack Obama's choice for Treasury Secretary, has accused China of "manipulating" its currency.

The Daily Mail reveals soldiers at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan are being treated in the same hospital wards as their enemy the Taliban.

The Times tells the treasury it should level with taxpayers about how much schemes to save the banking system will cost.

The Daily Express says there has been 92 percent rise in home repossessions as evictions are happening every seven minutes.

The Scotsman reports house builders are slashing hundreds of thousands of pounds off the cost of new properties and launching a range of incentives, as sales tumble.

The Daily Telegraph warns middle class drinkers are risking their health by enjoying evenings at home with a bottle of wine.

Metro leads with a mother who was unconcerned when her three-year-old son lit a cigarette and smoked it in front of her.

The Sun says the British film “Slumdog Millionaire” clinched 10 Oscar nominations.

Daily Star claims local councils were slammed for hiring pen-pushers on salaries of £50,000.

And elsewhere…

The Washington Times says Mr Obama made foreign policy decisions the key focus of his second day in office. He signed orders to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp within a year, stop using torture, and eliminate secret CIA detention facilities. He also named two veteran diplomats as his envoys for two of America's toughest foreign policy challenges. Richard Holbrooke, the architect of the Dayton Accords which ended the Bosnian war, is envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, while George Mitchell, a former senator credited with helping broker a peace deal in Northern Ireland, was named envoy to the Middle East.

Ailing ex-Cuban leader Fidel Castro has broken a five-week silence with an essay in which he calls President Barack Obama “honest” in his ideas.

Al-Quds al-Arabi says the United Nations has urged Israel to open border crossings for urgently needed relief aid to Gaza.

Les Echos says rebels in the West African country of Mali have kidnapped a group of Europeans at Menaka, near the border with Niger. It's the worst incident since an Islamic rebel group kidnapped 32 European tourists in the Sahara in 2003, holding some of them for six months.

Cumhuriyet reports Turkish police have made a number of arrests linked with an alleged plot to bring down the Islamic-rooted government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The arrests were made following raids on the headquarters of a trade union and an opposition television station.

The People’s Daily says two men have been sentenced to death for their role in a contaminated milk scandal in which at least six children died and 300,000 others became ill.

The Washington Post announces software giant Microsoft is cutting up to 5,000 jobs as it is hit by the global economic crisis. This is the first time the company has axed jobs.

Asia Times quotes reports from Japan saying car giant Toyota is considering cutting more than 1,000 full-time jobs in the UK and North America amid faltering global demand for cars.

Börzen-Zeitung reports Deutsche Post's former chairman Klaus Zumwinkel has pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion on the first day of his trial in the German city of Bochum. The 65-year-old admitted to concealing nearly €1 million in trust funds managed by the LTG Bank in Liechtenstein.

Le Journal du Mardi says pressure is mounting on the European Commission to ditch plans to make weekend anglers a part of the Common Fisheries Policy.