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

The Times of Malta reports how Prime Minister Muscat yesterday warned the EU on irregular immigration.

The Malta Independent quotes Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia saying prisoners and staff are to be tested for drugs.

In-Nazzjon highlights a judicial protest by a nurse over a transfer from Mater Dei Hospital. 

l-orizzont gives prominence to comments by GWU General Secretary Tony Zarb that the country is on the right road against precarious work.

The overseas press

Al-Ahram reports investigations will begin next week into deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and nine leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The 10 face charges of insulting the judiciary. In a defiant speech on Tuesday before his removal, Morsi questioned tehe integrity of Egypt's judges, pointing to the recent acquittals of several leading Mubarak-era officials. Morsi, along with the other suspects, has also been hit with a travel ban. Following his removal, Morsi, along with other group members, was detained by security forces and transferred overnight to the defence minstry. Hundreds more Muslim Brotherhood members are being sought. The top judge of Egypt's Constitutional Court, Adly Mahmud Mansour, has been sworn in as interim leader. Mansour said fresh elections were the only way forward, but gave no indication of when they would be held.

Fearing the loss of nearly $1.5 billion in aid from the United States, Cairo reassured Washington that Wednesday's events did not constitute a military coup. The Egyptian Gazette says outgoing Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr made the statement to US Secretary of State John Kerry, confirming that human rights and the will of the Egyptian people would be respected. If the US decides that the actions on Wednesday which deposed the now ex-president Mohamed Morsi were a coup by the military forces, the law would oblige them to cut off any form of aid.

The liberals of the National Forces Alliance (NFA) lead by ex-premier Mahmoud Jibril have announced they would no longer participate in the activities of the General National Congress. Libya Herald says the decision was taken to protest against the lack of progress in the writing of Libya's new constitution. The group is the most important political force in the government with 36 deputies of the 80 belonging to parties. The constitution must be drafted by a commission of 60 members elected by the Libyan people, but the election date has not yet been scheduled.

AGI quote papal secretary Alfred Xuereb saying Pope Francis is visiting migrants in Lampedusa to “weep for the dead”. Mgr Xuereb told journalists at the Vatican, “His visit signals that while there are wealthy, wasteful people in the North, there are people who come to us in search of a better life but instead are often greeted with death.” The pontiff will visit Lampedusa on Monday to visit and pray for the migrants there, and to lay a wreath in the sea for the many hundreds who have died trying to reach Europe.

There are conflicting reports about the state of health of former South African President Nelson Mandela. Mail & Guardian quotes a note by the Presidential palace, doctors treating the 94-year-old in a Pretoria had denied reports that said he was in a “permanent vegetative state”. Earlier AFP announced his doctors had advised that the machines keeping him alive should be switched off. AFP said it had obtained court documents containing the claim by Mandela’s family.

La Republica reports President Evo Morales of Colombia has warned he could close the US Embassy in Bolivia, as South America's leftist leaders rallied to support him after his presidential plane was rerouted amid suspicions that NSA leaker Edward Snowden was on board. Morales again blamed Washington for pressuring European countries to refuse to allow his plane to fly through their airspace on Tuesday, forcing it to land in Vienna, in what he called a violation of international law. He had been returning from a summit in Russia during which he had suggested he would be willing to consider a request from Snowden for asylum.

A leading French newspaper says France’s intelligence services have put in place a giant electronic surveillance-gathering network. Le Monde says France’s foreign intelligence agency, systematically collects information about all electronic data sent by computers and telephones in France, as well as communications between France and abroad.

Avvenire announces the Vatican posted a budget surplus of €2.2 million for the 2012 fiscal year, although its charitable offerings fell. A panel of cardinals who approved the balance sheet said the profit was largely due to good financial management. But the Vatican noted a 12 percent drop in donations from ordinary faithful and more than a five percent drop in contributions from religious orders. It said its main items of expenditure were its 2,823 employees, its radio station and the €5 million it paid for the first time to the Italian state in property taxes.

The Statue of Liberty reopened on the Fourth of July, eight months after superstorm Sandy shuttered the national symbol of freedom. USA Today says the re-opening came as Americans around the country celebrated with fireworks and parades and President Obama urged citizens to live up to the words of the Declaration of Independence. Hundreds lined up Thursday to be among the first to board boats destined for Lady Liberty.

London’s Daily Star says British police say they have launched a full investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, and want to trace 38 “persons of interest” in the case. Detectives say it's possible that Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese holiday resort six years ago, is still alive. None of the 38 people identified are known to the McCanns. Madeleine, then aged three, went missing from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal’s Algarve on May 3 2007, as her parents Kate and Gerry dined at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends. The Portuguese investigation is officially closed but authorities there are backing the Scotland Yard inquiry and officers from both countries will work together in pursuing new leads.

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