Press digest

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

The Times says a referendum on divorce is expected to be held in the summer. It also reports that a prisoner died in his cell early yesterday. The newspaper, like all the others, also features the incident involving Angelik Caruana at the Vatican.

The Malta Independent also reports on the death of the prison inmate.

In-Nazzjon says that some Labour MPs have belied Joseph Muscat on knowledge of MPs honoraria.

l-orizzont leads with the battle being waged between Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Austin Gatt about divorce.

The overseas press

The debt crisis in the eurozone is far from over and could tear the continent apart, the World Economic Forum heard yesterday. Bloomberg quotes billionaire investor George Soros saying Europe could split in two as powerful economies such as Germany and France leave the weaker periphery behind. He said the euro was “flawed from inception because it only had a common central bank but no common treasury”.

Al Ahram reports that a protester and a policeman have been killed in a second day of anti-government protests in Cairo – bringing to six the lives claimed in demonstrations in several Egyptian cities against the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak. At least five separate demonstrations were held in Cairo despite a government ban on protests. In London, The Times claims 900 people have been detained since the demonstrations began.

Assabah says that police in Tunis fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters as Tunisia issued an international arrest warrant for the exiled President Ben Ali and his wife Leila, who fled to Saudi Arabia earlier this month amid violent protests. Charges include taking money out of the country illegally.

Deutsche Welle reports the European Commission has ruled a German tax break for companies deep in debt or short on cash was unfair and illegal. The EU executive has demanded the practice be stopped and money owed be returned to the government.

The Irish Examiner quotes newly crowned Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin saying sorry for the party’s past mistakes – but insisted they did not get everything wrong. Although the former Foreign Affairs Minister admitted Fianna Fáil’s role in the country’s economic crisis, he claimed other political parties in the Dáil were just as culpable.

According to Börzen Zeitung, Germany has suspended its annual payment of more than €200 million to the Global Fund against Aids, TB and malaria, following corruption claims. Germany is the third-biggest donor to the UN-backed fund – the biggest single source of money to tackle the three big killer diseases.

L’Union says Gabon’s opposition leader Andre Mba Obame and 20 supporters have taken refuge at the UN compound in the capital Libreville. Mba, who had earlier declared himself the country’s legitimate president, requested UN protection. He had always claimed that he and not President Ali Bongo won elections held in 2009.

Metro says the hunt is on in the UK for the expectant girlfriend of a British soldier who called from the front line to propose – but dialed a wrong number and left a message with the wrong woman. In the emotional answerphone message, the soldier –thought to be calling from Afghanistan – told his girlfriend how much he loved her and their unborn hild, before finally proposing marriage.

The Sun reports that A British man who weighs 20 stone intends to put on an extra stone because he is not overweight enough to qualify for weight-loss surgery. Darin McCloud, 45, said would be eating three-quarters of a loaf of bread, four packets of crisps and bacon rolls each day to put on the weight.

Ansa reports an Italian woman has asked for a separation after her husband took his mother with them on honeymoon. The 36-year-old woman claimed she "politely" tried to object but her husband said he "couldn't leave his sick mother alone". After the three-way honeymoon the mother-in-law also spent the Christmas holidays with the newly-weds, prompting an exasperated Marianna to drive back home to her own parents in her native Naples. Stefano's "excessive ties" to Mamma "made it impossible to establish a healthy conjugal relationship," the petition said.