Press digest

The following are the top news in the local and international press today.

The Times says that Labour leader Joseph Muscat was unlikely to accept Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s proposal for a more general divorce question. The newspaper reports on the continued protests in Libya and says that access to Facebook has now been blocked.

The Malta Independent also reports on the continued protests for democracy and says they have now also moved to Djibouti. It reports on the murder of a Polish Salesian in a Maltese missionary school in Tunisia. In another story, the newspaper says that Labour is to officially reply to the Prime Minister’s letter on divorce in due time and says that Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando is against a Yes or No referendum question on the matter. A photo shows a Gozo Channel photo combating yesterday’s winds.

l-Orizzont leads with a story about the weather and the damage caused, including to the canopy covering Hagar Qim temple. It says that GWU and Enemalta are to discuss the industrial issue at the corporation. The newspaper reports PC99 Mario Portelli in Court saying that he was informed that Mario Bone was trying to kill him by the Police Commissioner.

In-Nazzjon reports on a programme launched to help young people who lack basic skills. It says that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority has approved a project for rehabilitation of Salini and another block at Smart City.

The foreign press

Violent repression of protests continued in the Middle East on a day that saw troops fire on pro-democracy protesters in Libya and Bahrain and intense confrontations pitting protesters against security forces and government loyalists in Yemen, Djibouti and Jordan.

Al-Arab reports that about 50 people have been killed by Libyan security forces in Benghazi over the past two days. Anti-government demonstrators stayed on the streets well into the night and earlier there were reports some buildings were set on fire. A major demonstration has taken place in the northern city of Tobruk and, by late Friday night, the protests against the rule of Muammar Gaddafi had spread to the capital Tripoli where three people were reportedly killed in an attempted jail break. Libya's state news agency, Jana, has made no mention of any violence. However, it has reported that "popular rallies" have taken place in "various Libyan cities to express support for the leader".

Meanwhile, The Times says that as a result of the unrest, a review of UK arms export licences to the Middle East and North Africa has been carried out and eight individual licences for Libya have been revoked. The Foreign Office has revised has advised Britons against all but essential travel to seven Libyan cities, including Benghazi, and also to areas bordering Sudan, Chad, Niger and Algeria.

Akhbar al-Khaleej repors that the King of Bahrain, Sheik Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa has told the Crown Prince to start a national dialogue with all parties to try to resolve deepening political crisis. The chaos continued in the capital Manama and, as the night fell, gunfire could still be heard as anti-government protesters clashed with security forces.

Yemen Post says at least four people have been killed and dozens injured in protests in a "Day Of Rage" in the southern city of Aden. At least 10,000 people also took to the streets of Taiz but state television put the number at one million. Two activists have been killed and others have been injured following the explosion of a hand grenade thrown from a car. Yemeni security forces and pro-government supporters clashed with protesters demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule.

Jordan Times reports government supporters clashed with young protesters in Amman, leaving eight people injured, in the first such violence since protests began in Jordan. Demonstrators calling for more freedom and lower food prices, told AFP that they were dispersing when government supporters started to chase and hit them with batons.

Al Hayat says thousands of Iranian government supporters gathered for a Friday prayer sermon rally in Teheran and heard Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of a powerful clerical council, urging tough measures against opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, but he stopped short of seeking their arrest or execution. The two reformist politicians, now under virtual house arrest, have called on supporters to head to the streets again Sunday.

La Nation reports that thousands of demonstrators gathered in the tiny East African nation of Djibouti on Friday to demand that President Ismael Omar Guelleh steps down after two terms, the latest in a series of rallies modeled after political demonstrations across Africa and the Middle East. Clashes between police and protesters have been reported.

The New York Times says the United States vetoed a UN resolution that would have condemned Israeli settlements as "illegal" and called for an immediate halt to all settlement building. The other 14 Security Council members voted in favour of the resolution. It was the first US veto since President Obama came to power.

La Tribune says President Sarkozy urged G20 nations, meeting in Paris to discuss the world financial crisis and high food prices, to put efforts to steady the world economy ahead of national self interest. The appeal came as disagreement appeared to be arising over which indicators would be used to tackle future instability in the global economy.

El Universal reports four men with their hands and feet tied and heads covered in duct tape were thrown over 180 metres to their death from a bridge as Mexico's increasingly bloody drug battles reached a new level of cruelty and intimidation – from beheadings to skinning their victims. Guerrero state authorities said earlier eight people, including four teenagers, were slain before dawn in a string of attacks throughout Acapulco. And in Mexico's north, soldiers killed eight suspected drug cartel members in two clashes near the industrial city of Monterrey.

USA Today says that Karen Cunagin Sypher, the woman convicted of threatening to reveal a sexual tryst with basketball coach Rick Pitino unless he paid her millions in cash, luxury cars and a house, has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison. She cried intermittently when the judge sentenced her to 87 months in prison and two years of supervised release after she serves her prison term.