Malta and international press digest

The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.

The Times reports that an AFM lieutenant is expected to face charges over the death of Gunner Matthew Psaila during a training exercise in February.

The Malta Independent quotes Foreign Minister Tonio Borg saying the Italian press was misinformed about the Malta-Italy impasse on illegal migrants rescued off Lampedusa.. The newspaper also reports a man convited of possession of Khat saying that Sage should be banned if Khat is not OK.

In-Nazzjon also leads with the charges which issued against an army lieutenant. It also says the Maltese government was correct in the way it last week refused entry to the Turkish freighter Pinar which rescued 140 migrants close to Lampedusa.

l-orizzont claims that according to declassified British documents, former Maltese diplomat Ives Debarro used to give information to British officials in Libya in 1971.

The Press in Britain

The Daily Express reports that France wants Britain to sign a deal which would make it easier for thousands of migrants to flood into the UK.

The Guardian quotes a respected Government thinktank as saying ministers will be forced to make the most savage spending cuts since the 1970s to fill the structural deficit in the nation's finances.

The Daily Telegraph says the unprecedented burden of public debt built up by Gordon Brown will not be brought under control for nearly a quarter of a century.

The Financial Times reports Chancellor Alistair Darling has been warned his new 50p top tax rate will drive talent from the City and discourage entrepreneurs.

The Times says the full impact of Labour's attack on the rich has become apparent after details emerged of a fresh raid on pensions.

The Independent claims Gordon Brown's reform plan for MP expenses was in crisis after it was denounced by Labour backbenchers and the parliamentary sleaze watchdog.

As many as 40,000 people are dying every year because the Government is failing to deal with Britain's alcohol problem, claims the Daily Mail.

The Daily Mirror reports on the story of a man whose body parts were found scattered across two counties, and the arrest of two people suspected of murdering him.

The Daily Record claims police probing the Uefa Cup riots swooped on the wrong Rangers fan in a terrifying dawn raid.

And elsewhere…

The Washington Post quotes US Defence Secretary Robert Gates warning Pakistan that relations with the US will be threatened unless Islamabad combats the rise of the Taleban

Choson Sinbo reports that two US journalists arrested by North Korea near its border with China are to face trial. Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, who work for Current TV, were detained on 17 March. They would be accused of espionage and face up to five years in prison if convicted.

Corriere della Sera says Italy's cabinet has backed plans by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to move this summer's G8 summit to the earthquake-struck town of L'Aquila. Italy had previously planned to hold the July summit in Sardinia.

Globe & Mail carries pictures of Jacob Zuma's supporters dancing and singing in the streets in celebration as partial results from South Africa's parliamentary elections showed him in line to become the country's next president

Times of India says the second phase of parliamentary elections in India ended relatively peacefully in all but the rebel-affected state of Jharkhand. For most seats across the13 states, the ruling Congress Party is fighting with main opposition Bhartiya Janta Party.

Az-Zaman reports that one of the most wanted leaders of the al Qaida-linked Sunni insurgency has been captured. The arrest of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who leads the Islamic State of Iraq, was announced as two separate suicide bombings killed at least 78 people.

East African Standard says 18 Somali men – 11 seized by French commandos and seven turned in by German forces – have appeared in a Kenyan court to face piracy charges.

USA Today reports that seven people have been diagnosed with a strange and unusual new kind of swine flu in California and Texas.

Khaleej Times says the Dubai authorities have promised to review the custody case of a British woman jailed for adultery in the Emirates. Marnie Pearce, 40, lost her two sons after a Dubai court found she had cheated on her Egyptian ex-husband and sentenced her to three months in prison. She protests her innocence.

Dominion Post reports that a crop-duster pilot who crashed into trees and died was distracted by texting and making calls on his mobile phone.

Florida Post says a Florida pharmacy has revealed that the dosage of the medication it prepared for 21 polo ponies that died earlier this week was "incorrect". The horses, from a Venezuelan-owned team, collapsed and died at the weekend ahead of the US Open Polo Championship at Wellington in Palm Beach County.

Anchorage Daily News reports Sarah Palin's hopes of running for the White House in 2012 are being overshadowed by a custody feud with Levi Johnston, father of her teenage daughter's baby.