Press digest

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

The Times reports that Labour failed to force a vote on the divorce referendum in parliament. It also reports that a row over the liberalization of airport fueling services has landed Malta in the European Court.

The Malta Independent says the government resisted a push for a speedy debate on the referendum question. It also says that MEPs Simon Busuttil and David Casa have called for solidarity by the EU on immigration.

l-orizzont says MPs will refund their overpayments in instalments over two years. It also says that the prime minister yesterday lost his majority over the divorce issue.

In-Nazzjon says the Speaker rejected an Opposition demand for immediate debate on the divorce referendum. It also reports on the protests in Benghazi.

The overseas press

Al-Jazeera reports that at least two people have been killed and some 40 others injured, in clashes between Libyan security forces and demonstrators in the town of Bayda, east of Benghazi. About 200 protesters were showing support for human rights activist and lawyer Fathi Terbil, who had been detained earlier. In the southern city of Zentan, 120km south of the capital Tripoli, hundreds of people marched through the streets and set fire to security headquarters and a police station, then set up tents in the heart of the town, as a wave of unrest spread south and westwards across the country. The protests came as activists plan major anti-government protests throughout the country later today. State TV showed demonstrations in several cities said to be in support of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who has been in power for the last 41 years.

Al-Sharq al-Awsat quotes the main opposition group in Bahrain saying at least two people wee killed when the police stormed a square occupied by anti-government protesters. The group, Al Wefaq, said riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets to drive out thousands of demonstrators from Pearl Square in the center of the capital Manama.

Al-Hayat says hundreds of police officers flooded the Yemeni capital of Sanaa in an attempt to end days of protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. They fired in the air and blocked thousands of students at Sanaa University from joining thousands of other protesters who were holding a sixth straight day of unrest. Demonstrations are also taking place in the port city of Aden and in Taaz. The protesters’ central complaints are poverty, unemployment and corruption.

Al Ahrar reports that five days after the popular uprising, Egyptians defied the third warning in three days from the ruling Armed Forces Supreme Council to halt all labour unrest at a time when the economy is staggering. They continued their protests and strikes over a host of grievances from paltry wages to toxic waste dumping. Meanwhile, Health Minister Sameh Farid said at least 365 people were killed and more than 5,500 were injured in the demonstrations.

The New York Times quotes the Palestinian UN observer saying the UN Security Council would vote tomorrow on a resolution to condemn Israeli settlements, rejecting a compromise proposal by the United States as “too little, too late”. Riyad Mansour made the announcement after a closed-door meeting of the 22-member Arab Group, which endorsed the decision.

The Jerusalem Post says Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has claimed that Iran was about to send two warships through the Suez Canal for the first time in years, calling it a "provocation". The Egyptian authority that runs the canal denied it.

Deutsche Welle reports that the European Parliament has approved a directive aimed at curbing the sale and distribution of counterfeit drugs over the internet. Barcodes, serial numbers and holograms are being discussed as ways to ensure a drug cannot be tampered with and that it can be traced back to suppliers and drug makers. According to the World Health Organizatio, more than half of medicines purchased over the websites of illegal pharmacies are fake.

Fox News says Serbia has called on the UN Security Council to authorize an international investigation into allegations that Kosovo rebels, led by Hashim Thaci, the man who is now prime minister, trafficked in human organs before, during and after the country's 1999 war for secession. A December report by the Council of Europe alleged that civilians, mostly Serbs, were kidnapped and killed, and their kidneys sold on the black market. Thaci has dismissed the allegations as "ill-intentioned propaganda". Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but Serbia has refused to recognize its sovereignty.

USA Today announces that Aretha Franklin, who said she's back at "150 percent", was planning to return to the stage in May for her first post-surgery performance. The Grammy Award-winning singer would also release an album that month. Aretha, 68, underwent surgery for an undisclosed ailment in December.