The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times follows up the disappearance of a 16-year-old Russian boy Maxim Vorobyev, resident in Valletta and features an interview with his adoptive parents. He was last seen on Wednesday. It also reports how a report by the National Commission for Higher Education says Malta needs to create 77,000 more jobs in 10 years. In another report it says that since it joined the EU, Malta made a net gain of €209 million.
l-orizzont also picks up the story on the missing Russian boy and features an appeal from his grandmother in Russia. In other story, it says port workers have returned to the GWU. In a report from Parliament, it quotes Labour leader Joseph Muscat hitting out at Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt for having, in Parliament, attacked a Central Bank employee of leaking information, when that had not been the case.
The Malta Independent says shopkeepers have found a way around the eco-tax on plastic bags by handing out bags without handles.
In-Nazzjon quotes the Prime Minister saying Parliament will continue to work in the interests of the people and the country. Parliament yesterday approved a procedural motion which amends the times of its sittings and voting days. The newspaper also reports that 9,400 jobs have been created since Lawrence Gonzi took over five years ago today.
The Press in Britain
A number of papers feature pictures of Gail Trimble, who led Oxford University's Corpus Christi College, which has been stripped of the BBC’s University Challenge title after it emerged that team member Sam Kay broke eligibility rules as he was no longer a student.
The Times says Gordon Brown wants to reinvent the "special relationship" between Britain and America as one of economic co-operation rather than the military alliance of the Bush-Blair era. The Independent reports the Science Museum has been accused of promoting Israeli universities whose research was used in the country's military campaign in Gaza. The Guardian reports that three rival Pakistani Taliban groups have agreed to form a united front against international forces in Afghanistan. The Daily Telegraph quotes Chancellor Alistair Darling saying ministers must have the "humility" to admit that mistakes have been made in the lead up to the financial crisis. The Financial Times reports that share prices tumbled amid mounting fears over the financial health of banks.
The Daily Express says yesterday’s stock market plunge will have a devastating impact on pension funds.
The Scotsman claims retired HBOS chief executive Sir James Crosby bought a luxury penthouse at a bargain price from the bank a month before being appointed to a new role at the Financial Services Authority.
According to the Daily Mail, social workers failed to tell a foster couple that a homeless teenager had a history of alleged sex attacks on youngsters and he went on to rape their two-year-old son and molested their daughter, aged nine.
The Daily Star says Jade Goody has undergone an operation so that she can spend "precious extra time" with her two sons.
The Daily Mirror says Jade's latest surgery is an attempt to remove a blockage in her bowel which left her "weeping and trembling with agony".
The Sun adds that doctors have told Jade her cancer is now travelling freely in her bloodstream.
Metro reports a bisexual man has been jailed for 18 years for murdering his wife to cover his double life.
The Herald says the Scottish government plans to introduce a minimum price for alcohol and ban cut-price offers that will penalise retailers who are already struggling.
And elsewhere…
Al-Ahram reports that the EU, the US and Arab states have pledged close to €3.6 billion to help rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip over the next two years and reform the Palestinian Authority. But as donors met in Egypt yesterday, they emphasized that financial aid must not fall into the hands of Hamas, the Islamist group which rules Gaza. The donors also called for an immediate lifting of Israel's blockade which is preventing vital aid from reaching Gaza’s estimated 1.4 million inhabitants.
USA Today quotes US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telling the conference that Israel cannot "just sit and take rockets" from Gaza and called for urgent action to forge a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. She stressed the Obama administration's commitment to finding a peaceful existence for Israelis and Palestinians.
Meanwhile, The Jerusalem Post says Senator Clinton, now in Israel on the second leg of her Middle East tour, is expected to meet with Israeli leaders to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza and a cease-fire agreement with Hamas.
Az-Zaman reports that an Iraqi judge has handed down death sentences to three former Saddam Hussein officials accused of crimes against humanity. The defendants included Ali Hassan al-Majid, who is also known as “Chemical Ali” for ordering poison gas attacks in the 1980s. This was his third death sentence. Former Foreign Minster Tariq Aziz was acquitted but remains in custody on other charges.
Gramma announces that Cuban leader Raul Castro has carried out a major cabinet reshuffle that includes the removal of two of the country's most prominent politicians – Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Cabinet Secretary Carlos Lage. State television said It said the move was in line with the president's plan to improve efficiency.
The International Herald Tribune reports that a massive late winter snowstorm has brought chaos to America's east coast, snapping power lines, closing schools and leaving commuters in chaos. Hundreds of flights were cancelled amid three feet of snow. Worst hit were New York, Washington and Boston.
Die Presse says German state premier Dieter Althaus, has been charged with manslaughter by negligence of a 41-year old woman with whom he collided on a ski slope in Austria on New Year's day. She later died of head injuries. Althaus is still recovering from the incident. He faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison.
Belgium’s Der Standaard quotes experts conducting trials revealing that a revolutionary stem cell treatment for heart failure could be available in three years.