The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times carries a large picture of the Pope, who will resign today. It also reports on the arraignment of seven doctors who misdiagnosed meningitis.
The Malta Independent quotes the prime minister saying that Joseph Muscat’s claim that a minister called the police to release somebody from the lock-up was Muscat’s own invention. It also says doctors have been indicted for misdiagnosing meningitis case.
MaltaToday says hunters have hit out at Gonzi for suggesting a referendum on hunting.
In-Nazzjon quotes the prime minister saying investment in education is investment in young people.
l-orizzont says Paul Pace has been disqualified as a practice nurse despite 20 years of service. Its main story, however, is that Green MT, a GRTU company, never submitted audited accounts. The newspaper also reports evidence against GRTU director-general Vince Farrugia in the Sandro Chetcuti case.
The overseas press
Avvenire reports Pope Benedict bid an emotional farewell on the eve of his retirement, recalling moments of "joy and light" during his papacy, but also times of difficulty when "it seemed like the Lord was sleeping". Some 150,000 people, many waving banners proclaiming Grazie!, were in St Peter's Square, eager to bear witness to the final hours of a papacy that will go down in history as the first in 600 years to end in resignation rather than death. The 85-year-old pontiff told the crowd he had “great faith” in the Church and would keep them in his prayers. He also urged God to guide cardinals electing his successor. Since he became pontiff in 2005, the Catholic Church has been beset by scandals over sexual abuse by priests and leaked confidential documents revealing corruption and infighting in the Vatican, as well more recent allegations of an influential gay lobby.
Italy is headed for a broad coalition government as bondholders pressure Pier Luigi Bersani and Silvio Berlusconi to set aside their rivalries and form a partnership. Finance Undersecretary Gianfranco Polillo told Bloomberg a joint government between Bersani’s Democratic Party and the forces led by Berlusconi was “the only possible way”. Bersani’s options were curtailed yesterday when Beppe Grillo, whose anti-austerity Movimento Cinque Stelle will have the third-biggest parliamentary representation, spurned his offer to make an alliance. Grillo told the BBC he expected Italy would hold new elections in a year because the Bersani-Berlusconi partnership would not last.
Slovenia's parliament has ousted Prime Minister Janez Jansa in a vote of no confidence. Dnevnik says Opposition Leader Alenka Bratusek, a financial expert from the centre-left, has been named as his replacement to lift the troubled economy out of crisis. She looks set to become the ex-Yugoslav republic's first female premier. Slovenia has been in the midst of weeks of political turmoil since three of Jansa's coalition parties left the Cabinet in January. Their resignation came after the state's anti-graft watchdog accused Jansa of corruption for failing to declare €210,000 of his personal assets.
ABC reports Australian Federal Police and Customs officers have made what they say is the largest seizure of the drug ice in Australia's history – 585 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in a shipment from southern China with an estimated street value of $438 million (€336 million). Three men – a 32-year-old from Singapore, a 51-year-old from Hong Kong and a 21-year-old from Sydney – had been arrested and charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of drugs. The maximum sentence is life in prison.
The BBC says EU officials have struck a provisional deal on new financial rules, including capping bank bonuses. Under the agreement, bonuses will be capped at a year's salary, but can rise to two year's pay if there is explicit approval from shareholders. EU ministers must approve the deal, reached late on Wednesday, although this is considered a formality.
Le Soir announces that after marathon talks, EU agricultural ministers have reached the “historic decision” to ban the controversial practice of fish dumping. Starting from January 2014 fishing vessels will be forced to reduce the amount they throw overboard. The decision ends the policy whereby almost a quarter of fish caught get thrown overboard as they are too small, damaged or simply over quota leading to depleted stocks.
Euronews says the European Union has pledged €144 million of fresh funding for research on rare diseases that currently affect some 30 million Europeans, the majority of them children. The funding will go to 26 research projects in 29 countries "in Europe and beyond" to better diagnose and treat cardiovascular, metabolic and immunological disorders.
CNN reports America’s most powerful politicians have honoured Rosa Parks by unveiling her statue in a permanent place in the US Capitol. Parks became an icon in 1955 after her arrest for refusing to give up her bus seat in Alabama to a white man. President Obama called her an enduring reminder of what true leadership requires.
Huffington Post says the substance found in Oscar Pistorius' bedroom after the shooting death of his girlfriend has been identified as Testis compositum – a herbal remedy used for “muscle recovery”. Used also as a sexual enhancer, the product contains the testicles, heart and embryo of pigs, among other ingredients. Some online retailers also say it can be used to treat fatigue.