Malta and international press digest

The following are the leading stories in the Maltese press on Thursday:

The Times reports that Brooks Lia, 35 of San Gwann, was jailed for 13 years after being convicted of the attempted murder of a woman who was abandoned after taking a drug overdose. It also carries comments by Social Policy Minister John Dalli who said in Parliament yesterday that long hospital waiting lists were a scandal. He said decisions needed to be taken for improved discipline and management efficiency.

l-orizzont says the organization Medicines sans frontieres has complained that clinics it set up in migrant centres in Malta are not functioning. It also reports, like the other papers, that Brooks Lia, 35 of San Gwann, was jailed for 13 years after being convicted of the attempted murder of a woman who was abandoned after taking a drug overdose.

In-Nazzjon reports Transport Minister Austin Gatt saying yacht marinas administered by the Malta Maritime Authority will be privatised by year’s end.

The Malta Independent leads with a visit to UHM headquarters by George Abela under the heading “Workers need independent unions”.

The Press in Britain...

The Mirror leads with the story of a man's "final betrayal": Fadi Nasri, 34, the cheating husband of 29-year-old special constable Nisha Patel-Nasri is facing a life sentence after being convicted of organising her murder in north London. He had his wife stabbed to pay for a luxury lifestyle with his glamorous eastern European mistress using a £350,000 life insurance policy.

The Sun claims to have a world exclusive with the news that a British couple aged 59 and 72 who had IVF treatment in India left their newborn twins in the hospital because they were girls - and they wanted boys.

The Daily Star boasts that it has insider information on the new series of Big Brother. It claims ex-housemates will return and a starve-to-win task will drive contestants to the edge.

The Daily Express invites readers to join its 'crusade' to convince the PM to slash fuel tax. And it says Brits have flocked to see the new Sex and the City film.

In an unusual move, The Financial Times pictures Sharon Stone, who the paper reports is fighting a backlash from China after apparently claiming the earthquake was linked to bad karma for the country's policy over Tibet.

The Telegraph quotes a Church of England figure says the decline of Christian values is destroying Britishness.

The Times says that a move by a high street bank to introduce an £8 flat fee per transaction for unauthorised overdrafts may see efforts by other banks to fight back.

The Guardian reports the government is preparing to publish for the first time the death rates of patients undergoing major surgery at NHS hospitals in England.

The Independent reports on how a monkey trained to operate a robotic arm using only its thoughts could provide fresh hope for paralysis victims.

Metro leads on a new campaign featuring grisly images of knife wounds being used to try to discourage people from carrying blades.

And elsewhere...

The International Herald Tribune quotes Amnesty International saying world leaders were failing to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The human rights watchdog said people were being tortured or ill-treated in at least 81 countries.

The Irish Independent leads with the agreement reached in Dublin to ban cluster bombs. The proposed wide-ranging pact would completely end the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions by its signatories. It also provides for the welfare of victims and clearing affected areas. The USA, Russia and China did not participate in the conference.

EU Observer says the EU has warned France that it was not doing enough to reduce its budget deficit in line with EU agreements. All 15 eurozone countries committed last year to balancing their books by 2010. Observers said the first-of-its-kind economic policy recommendation to a member state is seen in Brussels as a rebuke to Paris, which is set to take over the rotating presidency of the EU on July 1.

Jerusalem Post leads with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak’s call for the country's embattled prime minister to step down to confront corruption allegations. Barak has threatened to take the Labour Party out of the coalition if Olmert did not step down.

Kathmandu Post says Nepal's newly elected constituent assembly has voted overwhelmingly in favour of abolishing the Himalayan nation's 240-year-old monarchy and declaring a republic. Unpopular King Gyanendra has been given a fortnight to leave the palace.

Berliner Morgenpost quotes German dairy farmers saying they were confident of expanding a milk boycott to other European countries. German farmers have stopped supplying milk to dairy factories, demanding higher prices for their produce. They are angry over European Union plans to lower the price of milk. Unsold milk is being fed to calves or dumped in farm-waste tanks.

France 24 reports that a French court has sentenced serial killer Michel Fourniret to life in prison. The 66-year-old machine operator had confessed to the kidnap, rape and murder of seven girls and young women. His wife Monique Olivier also received a life sentence for helping Fourniret trap his victims, who were aged between 12 and 22.

Stuttgarter Nachrichten says a woman in southwestern Germany was arrested on suspicion of killing her newborn baby by putting it in a freezer. The police said the 20-year-old woman from Horb-am-Neckar, near Stuttgart, said the child had died.

Washington Post reports a lavatory pump will be delivered to the International Space Station after its zero-gravity lavatory stopped working properly. The crew of the Nasa space shuttle Discovery will carry out other repairs to the station on Monday.

Algeria’s Le Matin reports that the city of Oran was deserted after two days of riots following the local football team’s relegation. Thousands of young fans reacted angrily, ransacking buildings, vandalising cinemas and looting shops.