Malta and international press digest

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

The Times says the government is drafting a Bill which will include harsher penalties for violation of firework regulations. It also reports that a young couple was arrested after the man, who is undergoing court proceedings, appeared to receive a substance, believed to be drugs, from the woman in the courtroom itself. The newspaper also reports that the MLP will publish a report on its election defeat, drawn up by a special commission.

l-orizzont says Air Malta had admitted violated a collective agreement on promotions and the union will order industrial action. It also says that up to 12 illegal immigrants may have died in the Mediterranean. Two bodies and 10 life jackets were found. It also says there was crowd trouble yesterday after Birkirkara defeated Valletta in the FA trophy semi-final.

MaltaToday says Azzopardi Fisheries has been caught up in EU investigations on the registration of two trawlers which appear to have been listed under another jurisdiction. It also reports that Evarist Bartolo had followed a meeting by George Abela but insisted he was still in the leadership race.

In-Nazzjon carries a statement by Evarist Bartolo who said the MLP leadership contest had been ‘poisoned’ following the leakage of information about the delegates. It says a Spanish consortium is showing an interest in the development of Dock 1.

The Malta Independent says a Council of Europe committee has blasted Malta’s handling of migrants. It carries a front page picture of a London double decker bus with crashed into a low tree branch, severely damaging its upper deck. A woman died in the incident.

The Press in Britain...

The Daily Telegraph reports on the key Commons vote taking away the need for fathers when women have fertility treatment. It says a child will legally be able to have two mothers and no father under new laws approved by MPs as families with two mothers have now won legal status.

The Times reports that women have won the right to children without fathers, reporting that MPs rejected the cross-party move for doctors to consider the need for a father in offering IVF by a majority of 75.

Focusing on the same story, The Daily Mail says fathers in modern Britain have been declared an irrelevance.

The Daily Express says immigration has soared to a record high and immigrants are being handed British passports at a rate of one every three minutes. It claims two million Britons have moved abroad.

The Financial Times says that the structure and scale of bankers' bonuses are to be taken into account by regulators when they assess banks' exposure to financial risk.

According to The Independent, the British government's own green watchdog is calling for a halt to airport expansion programmes as the evidence supporting it is inadequate.

The Sun says that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has blocked police demands for the right to strike.

London Evening Standard reports on a young woman killed when branches ripped from a tree by a bus landed on her. The 23-year-old victim died at the scene of the crash close to Tower Bridge.

And elsewhere...

European Voice says European Voice says the European Union has announced its vision for an association of the EU and other states bordering the Mediterranean. The project is open to all EU members states as well as countries from North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans and includes the Palestinian Authority.

Kentucky Enquirer reports that Hillary Clinton has won the Kentucky primary, but it may be of scant political value. The Democratic presidential race is moving inexorably in Barack Obama's direction.

The People’s Daily says the death toll from last week's devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan province has risen above 40,000.

Asian Tribune quotes UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warning that the situation in Burma has reached a critical moment. Only a quarter of the victims of cyclone Nargis were receiving humanitarian aid. Over 134,000 people are reported dead or missing and some 2.5 million are believed to be in urgent need of food, shelter and medicine.

Boston Globe leads with the story that 76-year-old Senator Edward Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour.

Berliner Morgenpost reports that the world-famous Berlin philharmonic orchestra was damaged by fire.