Press digest

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

The Times says a gang of youths is prowling the streets of Gzira assaulting people without reason. Two are to be arraigned by the police.

The Malta Independent features the vandalism on the Foresta 2000 site.

In-Nazzjon leads with the Foresta 2000 vandalism. It also reports from parliament about a new law to facilitate the registration of aircraft in Malta.

l-orizzont's front page raises concerns by low income people about medical care.

The overseas press:

According to Corriere della Sera, Cabinet Secretary Gianni Letta says Italy would officially file its long-awaited appeal over a European court ruling against crucifixes in Italian classrooms on June 30. The government had asked an expert in ecclesiastical law, Carlo Cardia of Rome University, to marshal arguments in support Italy's appeal. The Strasbourg court, which represents the 47-nation Council of Europe, ruled on November 3 in favour of a petition filed nine years ago by a Finnish-born mother of two who argued crucifixes in classrooms restricted pupils' religious freedom.

The Jerusalem Post quotes Jerusalem's municipal officials saying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has effectively frozen new Jewish construction in east Jerusalem, reflecting the need to mend a serious rift with the US and get Mideast peace talks back on track.

Meanwhile, The Washington Times says President Obama has offered assurances of Washington's unshakable commitment to Israel's security and determination to achieve a comprehensive Middle East peace. He made the remarks during an impromptu meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak at the White House.

Börzen Zeitung reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stressed the need for a stable European currency, urging debt-ridden Greece to implement tougher measures to get its finances in order.

The Wall Street Journal says that President Obama was "deeply disappointed" that Senate Republicans have blocked moves to start a debate on sweeping reform of financial regulations - the biggest shake-up for 60 years. The Democrats failed to get the 60 votes needed to begin debate on the bill, which supporters say would help prevent another global financial meltdown. The Republicans says the bill does not go far enough in its reforms.

Avvenire reports the Vatican has confirmed the Pope's visit to Britain would not be affected by the disclosure of a Foreign Office document mocking the Catholic Church. UK newspaper reports have quoted Vatican sources as saying the September visit could now be in doubt. But Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said: "For us the case is closed."

The Warsaw Voice says that the twin brother of Poland's late president has announced he will run for the country's top post in the June 20 election called after Lech Kaczynski died in a plane crash earlier this month. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the elder twin by 45 minutes, heads the opposition right-wing Law and Justice party and served as prime minister from 2006 to 2007.

De Standaard reports Belgium's King Albert has accepted the government's resignation after the coalition of Prime minister Yves Leterme broke down last week after it failed to resolve a long-simmering dispute between Dutch- and French-speaking politicians over a bilingual voting district. Elections are likely to be called in early June.

The Washington Post says the United States has extradited former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega to France after he spent more than 20 years in a prison. A court in France convicted Noriega in his absence in 1999 for laundering money through French banks, though it says he will be granted a new trial.

Bangkok Post reports leaders of Thailand's Red Shirt protesters have their followers to lose their signature crimson clothing so they can go undercover in case of a possible government crackdown. The government said it could not continue to allow protests that have paralysed a key part of Bangkok to go on indefinitely.

Gazeta Ankara says Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers believe they might have found Noah's Ark - 4,000 metres up a mountain in Turkey. The team said they recovered wooden specimens from a structure on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey that carbon dating proved was 4,800 years old, around the same time the ark is said to have been afloat. The structure had several compartments which were believed to house animals.

Le Parisien reports that a French Muslim man, accused by the government of practicing polygamy, has insisted he had only one wife and several mistresses, and was not breaking French law. Lies Hebbadj, an Algerian-born 35 year-old butcher, responded to suggestions he should lose his French passport because he was believed to have four wives who had given him 12 children and who were all receiving welfare benefits. Hebbadj's case received political and media attention after his wife was stopped and fined by police in Nantes for driving while wearing the "niqab", the full-face veil. She was fined €22 because police said the veil restricted her view and compromised her ability to drive safely. She has so far refused to pay the fine.