Press digest

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

The Times says Frontex patrols have been stopped as Malta withdrew from the operation. Malta has said it sees no need for these patrols.

The Malta Independent reports that the new Speaker is expected to be sworn in tomorrow. It also focuses on how the decision to close Europe's airspace was taken two weeks ago, and how it was withdrawn

MaltaToday said the Auditor feels he is under attack but cannot react. However Joe Mizzi, the local representative of BWSC may be summoned before the Public Accounts Committee while competing bidder Bateman is considering legal action against Malta.

In-Nazzjon features Archbishop Paul Cremona, who yesterday visited PN headquarters and its media offices on a Workers' Day visit. The Archbishop is also due to visit PL headquarters today. In other stories it says that a new childcare centre will be opened shortly in Siggiewi.

l-orizzont carries a declaration by the Health Minister that there are no payments for medical services at Mater Dei Hospital.

The overseas press

The Jerusalem Post quotes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "intends" to renew stalled peace negotiations, suggesting a breakthrough was possible after months of deadlock. In a speech to his right-wing Likud faction in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said talks with the Palestinians, which the United States has sought to convene, may resume as soon as next week. Netanyahu also said he would visit Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel, for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday.

The Washington Times says US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has warned that Hezbollah now had more rockets and missiles than most governments. He accused Syria and Iran of supplying weapons of "ever-increasing capability" to the military wing of the Lebanese Shia Islamist movement.

EU Observer reports the European Commission has signalled approval of state aid for airlines in the wake of the volcanic ash crisis - as long as it does not amount to "unfair assistance" undermining competition. Airlines claim to have lost billions due to the closure of European air space and the loss of thousands of flights. They have also been obliged under EU rules to pay for accommodation and meals for their passengers stranded around the world.

The Wall Street Journal says Greece was pushed to the brink of a financial abyss and started dragging another eurozone country - Portugal - down with, fueling fears of a continent-wide debt meltdown. Stocks around the world fell when ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Greek bonds to junk status and downgraded Portugese bonds two notches, showing investors that Greece's financial contagion is spreading.

The Financial Times leads with the denial by Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs' chief executive, that his bank contributed to the US financial crisis by betting some of its own investment products would fail. Blankfein and other executives at the Wall Street giant were accused by a US Senate panel of acting unethically, while Americans lost jobs and homes.

Kyiv Post says Ukrainian lawmakers got rough, threw eggs and smoke bombs, but still voted in favor of deal with Russia ensuring cheaper natural gas for Ukraine in exchange for the lease of a key naval base to Moscow. The deal was the first concrete sign of the more friendly approach to Russia under newly-elected President Viktor Yanukovych.

Pravda reports Moscow and Oslo have struck a deal that equally divides the long-contested Barents Sea between them. The agreement ends decades of negotiation over the inhospitable area believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits.

USA Today says the coast guard officer leading the response to the Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster has warned it would develop into one of the worst spills in US history if the well was not sealed. A huge oil slick with a 965km circumference has moved within 34km of the ecologically fragile Louisiana coast despite favourable winds.

El Universal reports Chile's Catholic Church has been shaken by a series of dramatic televised interviews of men alleging they were abused by a respected former priest, followed hours later by a bombing that damaged a church's facade. They said the alleged abuse by Father Fernando Karadima began about 20 years ago.

Le Parisien estimates that more than 10,000 farmers and 1,200 tractors descended on Paris as farmers protested over falling grain incomes and demanded government help. They blame commodities markets, the government and the EU for falling grain prices, rising social charges and stifling environmental regulations and paperwork. One of the vehicles had a sign directed at first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy saying: "Carla, help us, we can't live on love and water."

The New York Times says that the only man ever to admit involvement in the assassination of Malcolm X - 69-year-old Thomas Hagan - has been freed on parole, 45 years after he helped gun down the civil rights leader. One of the groups dedicated to the civil rights era's most compelling figures has condemned Hagan's parole.

ANSA reports residents of an Italian village were surprised to find an elephant relaxing in their garden on Tuesday after she escaped from a travelling circus. The elephant took a walk from her cage shortly after the Armando Orfei circus arrived in the village of Bassano, around 100 kilometres north of Rome.

Meanwhile, Gazeta 24 says Ukraine prosecutors are probing the suspected poisoning of a 40-year-old Asian elephant called Boy who dropped dead at Kiev zoo.

Bali Post reports that Indonesian authorities have detained 28 "beach gigolos" accused of selling sex to female tourists on Bali. The round-up began as tourism officials fretted over the impact of a film, released at a film festival in South Korea last week, on the holiday island's image as a family destination.