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

The Times reports how a lawyer and mother-of-two was found dead in a car yesterday. It says the police have said there does not appear to be foul play, although an autopsy will be held.

The Malta Independent  reports how mobile homes have replaced tents at a migrants' centre in Hal Far. It also carries comments by the PL  saying a mistake in the charge sheet against a former priest could have been corrected.

In-Nazzjon features comments about how hard work created jobs jobs and record tourist arrivals last year. It also reports how a mother-of-two was found dead in a car yesterday afternoon.

l-orizzont also leads with the discovery of the dead woman yesterday.

The overseas press

Syria and the United Nations have signed an agreement on the ground rules for observers monitoring the ceasefire negotiated by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan. al-Bawaba quotes Syria's foreign ministry saying the agreement would facilitate the UN observer mission, while at the same time respecting Syria's sovereignty. Monitors say more than 11,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime erupted in March last year, with 127 dying since the truce came into force.

Meanwhile, CNN says UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon told a briefing to the United Nations in New York the situation in Syria remained "highly precarious" despite the ceasefire plan, which began on April 12. In his first progress report since the initial team of UN observers arrived in Syria last Sunday, Ban said the Syrian government had not complied with the terms of the peace deal, but there remained "opportunity for progress". He called for tougher sanctions against Damascus and for the small UN observer team already on the ground to be increased,

France 24 reports that French foreign minister Alain Juppe has warned Syria was on the road to civil war – or even regional war – if it did not comply with the peace plan. At a meeting of the Friends of Syria Coalition in Paris, he called for tough sanctions against Damascus and for the small UN observer team already on the ground to be boosted to 300 or 400. President Sarkozy accused the Syrian regime of trying to wipe out Homs altogether. Ban's assessment also prompted the US secretary of state Hilary Clinton to call for tougher sanctions against the Syrian government.

Deccan Herald says India on Thursday joined the elite club of six nations including US, UK, China, France and Russia having intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities. The nuclear-capable Agni-V, with 5,000-km range, can reach destinations all over China and most parts of Asia, East Europe, East Africa and Australia coast. Through state-owned media, China criticised the West for ignoring India's disregard for nuclear treaties. The launch has attracted none of the criticism from the West faced by North Korea for its failed bid to send up a similar rocket last week.

The Wall Street Journal quotes IMF head Christine Lagarde saying she expected a large rise in funding from donor nations to help contain the European debt crisis. She announced she had now raised $320 billion of the $400 billion extra resources she wanted to bolster the Fund. Opening a meeting of the IMF and World Bank, Lagarde said the global economic situation remained fragile. In an interview with Sky News, she also issued a personal appeal to Britain to provide extra funds for the IMF. Warning that there were "dark clouds on the horizon" for the world economy, she said it was in its own interest that Britain provided extra bail-out cash.

Ariana TV says Afghanistan's Taliban has vowed to take revenge over photographs of US soldiers posing with the remains of militants The photos were taken two years ago but were published by the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. The militant group, which has waged a brutal insurgency since being ousted from power in later 2001, said they would avenge the dead militants.

Dagbladett reports that Anders Behring Breivik, the gunman behind Norway's massacres, has told a court he meant to kill more than 500 people on Utoya island and said he used meditation, video shooting games and steroids to prepare for the slaughter. He killed a total of 77 people in a shooting and bombing rampage last July – 69 of them when he attacked a youth camp on Utoya island.  At the start of the day, the defendant refrained from making his habitual far-right salute - touching his chest and extending his clenched right fist in front of him - after objections from survivors and families. Breivik entered a plea of not guilty at the start of his trial, saying his actions were "cruel but necessary".

A study of mobile phone calls suggests women call their spouse more than any other person. That changes as their daughters become old enough to have children, after which they become the most important people in their lives. The Oxford University study, published in the Scientific Reports journal, also shows that men call their spouse most often for the first seven years of a relationship. They then shift their focus to other friends. The results come from an analysis of nearly two billion phone calls and text messages made by 3.2 million people over seven months.

The head of the Social Democratic Party of Germany has announced he is taking leave over the summer to care for his newborn daughter. Sigmar Gabriel told Bild he was taking three months out to allow his partner to go back to work. German parents can, between them, take up to 14 months’ leave after the birth of a child at close to full pay. A couple can share this time but both must take a minimum of two months. In reply to Bild's question as to how the first few days are going, the 53-year-old replied: "Sleep is overrated."

ABC reports that an Australian federal government employee who injured herself while having sex on a work trip has won a compensation case. She was injured in 2007 when a glass light fitting came away from the wall above a bed as she was having sex with a man in a motel room in New South Wales. The woman said the light hit her in the face, injuring her nose, mouth and a tooth and also causing a psychiatric adjustment disorder. Declaring that the injuries were suffered by her in the course of her employment, the judge said if the woman had been injured playing cards in her motel room she would get compensation, and that the incident was no different.




 

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