Press digest

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

The Times, along with The Malta Independent and In-Nazzjon, give prominence to the Standard and Poor’s report confirming  Malta’s rating at AA1. The Times and l-orizzont also report that Bank of Valletta’s profit slipped by 35%.

The Malta Independent also reports that the social partners presented their budget proposals at a meeting of the MCESD yesterday.

In-Nazzjon and l-orizzont both report that the bus fleet is to be increased by 36 buses. 

The overseas press

Reuters reports that the International Criminal Court in The Hague has said it has had indirect contact with Saif al Islam Gaddafi about his possible surrender. The ICC’s chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said that if he handed himself in, Saif al Islam could defend himself on charges of crimes against humanity for the bombing and shooting of civilian protesters in February.

According to the BBC, the ICC later denied that any kind of deal was being arranged with Saif al-Islam, stressing that the goal of the talks was to ensure an arrest warrant was carried out. The ICC was also exploring the possibility to intercept any plane within the air space of a state party in order to make an arrest.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reports that officials in Libya's National Transitional Council were "not happy" about the contact between Gaddafi's most prominent son and the ICC. The NTC wanted him to face trial in Tripoli, not at the ICC. They insisted Saif al-Islam be tried by Libyans without the intermediation of a third party. An NTC source said Saif wanted an aircraft, possibly arranged by a neighbouring country, to take him out of Libya's southern desert and into ICC custody.

Der Spiegel says Germany's foreign intelligence service, the BND, was facing “uncomfortable” questions about its possible involvement in the Libya conflict after reports surfaced in the media that it allegedly knew the whereabouts of ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi long before his capture and that BND agents passed the information on to NATO. According to a report in the magazine, the BND knew that Gaddafi was hiding in Sirte for weeks. However, the agency has denied that it was involved in Libya.  A BND spokesman told Deutsche Welle they didn't know Gaddafi was still in Sirte at the time of his capture. The BND also rejected claims it had passed on any information that led to the air strike on his convoy.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Whitehall officials were urgently reviewing every aspect of Britain’s membership of the European Union to support Prime Minister David Cameron’s promises to bring back powers from Brussels. The review, involving every major government department, emerged as Cameron accused France and Germany of orchestrating “constant attacks” on the City of London through new EU red tape on the financial sector. His attack was the latest escalation in the tension over Europe since this week’s record rebellion by Conservative MPs demanding a referendum on the EU.

Sudkurier says Germany's highest court has issued a temporary injunction banning the work of a new panel of lawmakers set up by the German parliament to reach quick decisions on the release of funds from the euro bailout mechanism, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). The decision could lead to further delays in German decision-making in efforts to rescue the beleaguered common currency.

Al Ahram reports that Arab League foreign ministers have sent an urgent message to President Assad of Syria denouncing the continued killing of civilians taking part in protests against his rule. Human rights groups said at least 37 civilians were killed on Friday.

The Irish Independent says 70-year-old human rights activist and poet Michael D. Higgins will be the Republic of Ireland’s next president. He topped the poll in Thursday’s presidential election. He did not obtain enough votes to win outright in the first ballot but all the other candidates have admitted defeat.

Le Matin reports that a Moroccan judge has sentenced to death a man found guilty of carrying out a bomb attack on a tourist café in Marrakech last April. Eight other men were imprisoned. Seventeen people died in the attack.

CNN says the alleged ring leader of a group of US soldiers accused of killing civilians in Afghanistan and keeping body parts as trophies has gone on trial in an American military court. Staff sergeant Celvin Gibbs pleaded not guilty to all charges, including three counts of murder and cutting fingers from the dead.

Darik radio reports that a stuntman has died and another has been seriously injured on the set of Sylvester Stallone's film sequel “The Expendables 2” in Bulgaria. The stuntman died while performing a stunt which involved an explosion. The second injured man was reported to have undergone surgery and was in a critical condition in hospital.