Press digest

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

The Sunday Times reports that the suspects in the Paceville murder of yesterday-week have surrendered to the police and are being questioned. It also interviews former Air Malta chairman Albert Mizzi, who says politicians were the main cause of the airline’s problems.   

The Malta Independent says the MUMN has suspended industrial action in operating theatres. It also highlights the protest against racism held in Valletta yesterday.

MaltaToday says the chairman of Malta Enterprise, Alan Camilleri, will not have his contract renewed.   

It-Torca reports that the prime minister is hoping for agreement with Franco Debono during the Easter break.

Il-Mument says the PL is showing no real regret for the way the Labour council ran Mosta.

KullHadd says government Budget estimates for the first two months of the year were wide off the mark. It also says that Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando has agreed with Franco Debono that there are cliques within the PN.   

Illum features the story the story of a man from Fgura who said he is not prepared to welcome the prime minister to his house.   

The overseas press

President Obama has arrived in South Korea at the start of a three-day visit likely to be dominated by nuclear tensions with North Korea. The People’s Daily said that in Seoul, Obama would attend a summit on nuclear security and hold bilateral meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.The visit is being held after North Korea said it was planning to put a satellite in space.

Thousands of faithful have gathered at the Parque del Bicentenario in Leon to guarantee themselves a spot at the Pope Benedict's mass, 24 hours before it begins. Azteca TV says the pope will celebrate mass for which all of Mexico's bishops and representatives from bishoprics throughout Latin America will be present. In the meantime the entire population of Leon filled the city's streets to witness the passing of the popemobile as Benedict XVI visited President Felipe Calderon. On Saturday, Pope Benedict reached out to the future of the church in Mexico, telling them to be “messengers of peace” in their often-violent country. The weeklong trip to Mexico and Cuba is Benedict's first to both countries, and only his second to Latin America. He visited Brazil in 2007.

The BBC reports that Peter Cruddas, the top fundraiser of the Conservative Party which leads Britain’s governing coalition, has resigned after The Sunday Times claimed he was prepared to arrange access to the prime minister and chancellor for £250,000. The newspaper has footage of him making the offer to undercover reporters posing as potential donors. He was appointed Tory co-treasurer in June 2011. The Conservative Party said no such donations were ever accepted and it would urgently investigate the claims.

CBS News says Rick Santorum has comfortably won the Republican presidential primary in Louisiana, garnering close to twice as many votes as his next closest competitor. The win marks the eleventh victory for Santorum, who has done well in the Deep South, including victories earlier this month in Alabama and Mississippi. The station says Santorum's victory is fresh evidence of the weakness of front-runner Mitt Romney, who is nonetheless increasingly likely to be the Republican who takes on President Obama in November.

ABC says that as the Labour Party in Queensland struggled to comes to terms with the worst electoral defeat in its history, speculation is turning to who would lead the party in opposition. The LNP swept into power last night on a wave of public support, and was predicted to hold 78 seats in the 89-seat Parliament. Labour was likely to be left with just seven MPs, including former premier Anna Bligh, who took responsibility for the loss, including her government's failure to convince voters that the sale of state assets was the right way to go.

The former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has resigned from the party he led for three general election victories after he was criticised by an inquiry into political corruption. He was accused of not telling the truth in findings of a tribunal which examined his past finances.
Writing in The Sunday Independent, Ahern said leaving Fianna Fáil was a “political decision” and insisted it should not be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing.

The Egyptian Gazette says several liberal and secular parties in Egypt have pulled out of a process to elect a panel to draft a new constitution. Liberal MPs withdrew as the Islamist-dominated parliament voted to select the 100-member panel. They said Islamists were trying to dominate the process.

Reuters reports Turkish security forces have killed 15 female Kurdish militants in an operation in the south-east province of Bitlis, close to the border with Iraq. While the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) does recruit women, an encounter with such a large group of female fighters is unusual.  The latest casualties brought the number of Kurdish rebels killed in the past two days to 25 in operations in Bitlis, Cudi and Siirt, according to security officials. Six police officers were killed and 10 security officials were wounded.

Associated Press says President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is heading back to Cuba to begin radio therapy treatment for cancer. He had surgery in Cuba last month to remove a tumour in his pelvic area after a recurrence of cancer first treated last year. He will be in Cuba at the same time as Pope Benedict XVI, who arrives on the communist-governed island on Monday after a visit to Mexico.

The New York Times reports the former American vice-president Dick Cheney is recovering in hospital following a heart transplant. His office said the surgery had been carried out on Saturday in the state of Virginia.

A Japanese fishing boat swept away by last year’s earthquake and tsunami has been spotted adrift off the west coast of Canada. The National Post says no one is believed to be on board the ship, which is still intact but badly rusted.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports the police have pulled over a car being driven by an 11-year-old girl in Sydney's north-west. They alleged the girl was driving while her 62-year-old father sat drunk in the passenger's seat. The man is expected to face court in May for permitting an unlicensed driver to drive.

A 13-year-old boy has been shot dead after Egyptian security forces clashed with fans protesting against a ban on Al-Masry football club over a deadly stadium riot. Al-Ahram reports the boy was shot in the back and that 16 other fans were hurt, most of them suffering from tear gas inhalation, during the violence on Friday night in Port Said. The protest was held after the Egyptian FA decided to ban Al-Masry from playing for two years and cancel matches at Port Said stadium for three years over a riot inside the stadium that killed more than 70 fans at the end of a match between Al-Masry and Cairo rivals Al-Ahly last February.