Malta and international press digest

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

The Times leads with the announcement of studies on three sites identified by the government for wind farms.

The wind farms are also the subject of the lead story in The Malta Independent. It also reports that Dock 1 is to become a temporary yacht marina this summer, and that Lisa Gatt, injured in Cambodia, has returned to Malta.

MaltaToday says Miss Gatt told reporters that she could not take out travel insurance because she had intended to be away for some two years. The newspaper also carries a long feature on Malta-Libya relations.

In-Nazzjon features the announcement of the PN logo and motto for the European Parliament elections and the government's decision to launch the wind farms study.

l-orizzont says GWU General Secretary Tony Zarb criticised the government for not raising the number of health and safety inspectors, as it had promised. The comments were made at a seminar to mark World Occupational Health and Safety Day. It also says it is a 'sacrilege' that remains continue to be dumped outside Addolorata Cemetery.

The Press in Britain

The Daily Express claims fears are growing that Britain is ill-prepared to deal with a swine flu pandemic after the government raced to order 32 million protective face masks.

The Sun adds the NHS "frantically" tried to buy the masks as the global outbreak was deemed out of control.

The Independent asks whether the reason why swine flu spread so quickly is because Maria Adela Gutierrez, the first person to die from the virus in Mexico, came into contact with at least 300 people when it was at its most infectious.

Swine flu also dominates Metro's front page, with a warning from experts that four in 10 Britons could catch the virus if it becomes a full-blown pandemic.

The Daily Telegraph says a promising medical student has died after taking GBL, a "party drug" the Home Office failed to ban despite announcing eight months ago it would be made illegal.

The Guardian reports senior security officials admitted no-one is likely to be brought to justice for the July 7 bombs shortly after the only three men to be charged in connection with the attacks were acquitted.

According to former head of counter terrorism Andy Hayman, writing in The Times, the trial was "the last throw of the dice" for the July 7 investigation.

The Daily Mail reports scientists have identified specific genetic links to autism in a study being hailed as a "monumental achievement".

Some of England's leading universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, have told the Financial Times their status as first-class global institutions is under threat because of a £7,000 shortfall per student.

And elsewhere…

The Swine flu outbreaks in Europe are likely to get worse in the next few days, the European Commission has warned - but the public has been advised not to panic. The International Herald Tribune quotes EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vasiliou saying there were still only three confirmed cases in the EU –one in Spain and two in the UK – along with suspected cases in Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Greece and the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, EU health ministers will be holding emergency talks in Luxembourg tomorrow.

El Sol says restaurants and cafes in Mexico City have been banned from serving all food except takeaways in a bid to help prevent the spread of the deadly swine flu virus, which is believed to have killed 152 people. The number of cases globally is rising, though no-one outside Mexico has died.

USA Today quotes Israeli Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman saying the outbreak of swine flu should be renamed "Mexican" influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork reference to pigs. Both Judaism and Islam consider pigs unclean and forbid the eating of pork products.

Il Tempo leads with the Pope’s visit to Italy's earthquake-ravaged region offering words of comfort to the survivors and calling for the rebirth of the area. The April 6 6.3-magnitude quake killed 296 people and destroyed or heavily damaged thousands of buildings when it hit 26 towns and villages in the Abruzzo region.

Die Welt reports that police, assisted by British military police, have raided several British military installations in Germany after reports that military personnel have been accepting kick-backs from contractors for work done on the bases, costing the British government millions of euros. The British authorities were cooperating fully with German investigators.

The Washington Times quotes President Barack Obama describing as a "mistake" a photo opportunity staged by the White House in which a low-flying plane skimmed New York's skyline and provoked memories of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Mr Obama, who was unaware of the stunt until the chaos was reported, vowed it would not happen again.

Jakarta Post says a terrorist who admitted to meeting Osama bin Laden many times has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for killing an Indonesian teacher and plotting an attack on a bar frequented by non-Muslims. Mohammad Hasan bin Saynudin, a 36-year-old Singaporean, said he was proud of his actions.

Asia Observer reports suspected Muslim insurgents have killed 10 civilians in a flurry of attacks in southern Thailand. The incidents came on the fifth anniversary of a bloody assault on the Krue Se mosque by Thai security forces, in which 32 insurgents were killed in a hail of rocket-propelled grenade and assault-rifle fire.

The New York Times says the UN has barred Fijian soldiers from future peacekeeping missions in the latest sanction against the South Pacific nation's military rulers. The UN decision was announced as Fiji authorities detained a nationalist political party leader and five others for distributing pamphlets.

The New Indian Express reports a newlywed doctor who suspected his wife of having an affair with her cousin has been accused of chopping off their hands. The doctor and two other men, who have been arrested, are believed to have dumped the limbs in a rubbish bin. Police recovered the limbs from the bin but doctors were unable to sew them back on.