(Entry for In-Nazzjon amended)
The following are the top stories in the Maltese press:
The Times leads with comments by EU Commissioner Gunther Verheugen that migrants’ burden-sharing is failing. It also highlights NSO statistics showing the deficit at around €200 million.
The Malta Independent also leads with Verheugen’s comments about burden-sharing. It also reports that since 1970, 70 persons have been reported missing and not been traced. In another story is says that a 'heroin breakfast' mum has been jailed.
In-Nazzjon says Mr Verheugen confirmed that Malta received €260 million more from the EU than it contributed. The newspaper also covers the opening of the PN general council yesterday, quoting PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier as saying the party needs to look ahead to achieve its aims.
l-orizzont warns that problems could get worse in Cottonera because of low education standards. It also reports that the GWU will resist layoffs at GO.
The Press in Britain
The Daily Mail leads with the damning verdict about Britain's streets from the parents of murdered schoolboy Jimmy Mizen: “this country of anger and fear”.
The Independent reports 200 schoolchildren in Britain have been identified as potential terrorists.
The Daily Telegraph claims an inquiry has revealed 15 new cases of possible mistreatment of terrorist suspects by British officers.
The Daily Express warns interest rates are set to soar as the Bank Of England battles to keep inflation under control.
The Times says an influential investor is set to warn that Britain may have to go to the IMF for a financial bail-out.
Shares in Barclays surged after an extreme stress test of its financial strength by City regulators found the bank did not need to raise fresh capital, says the Financial Times.
The Guardian reports the equality watchdog is in crisis as four officials in a week threaten to quit the body run by Trevor Phillips.
The Sun claims England striker John Terry's mother and mother-in-law were allegedly caught shoplifting outside a supermarket.
The Daily Star claims British actress Michelle Ryan is set to play Jade Goody in a movie.
The Daily Record says a boy has won £5.25m after being left brain damaged by a hospital blunder.
The Herald reports that the modern language department at one of Scotland's top universities is to lose two of its three professors under a cull of up to 25 per cent of staff.
The Scotsman says a student at St Andrews University has died from a head injury in a tragedy that echoes the recent death of actress Natasha Richardson.
And elsewhere…
Prague Observer reports that the EU has welcomed new US plans to secure Afghanistan. EU foreign ministers meeting in the Czech Republic have pledged to do more to help train local security forces, but shied away from further troop commitments. According to The Washington Post the US president pledged a "stronger, smarter and comprehensive" strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan and said he would be sending a further 4,000 military personnel to help train Afghan forces, adding to a previously announced surge of 17,000.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Times reports that a suicide bomber killed around 50 people and wounded 250 others in a crowded mosque in north-western Pakistan.
Jakarta Post says that torrential rain caused an earthen dam to burst, killing at least 58 people.
EU Observer reports the EU has rescheduled a summit with China to Prague on May 20. The meeting was called off last December when China pulled out in retaliation for French President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama. China regards the Dalai Lama as a dangerous Tibetan separatist.
Pravda quotes Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Moscow is ready to consider loosening restrictions in Chechnya. He said improved security meant Russia could review its measures there, which include curfews, roadblocks, searches and lax detention laws.
Dnevnik says Croatia's path to NATO membership stands clear after Slovenia formally ratified the country's bid to join the western military alliance.
Kyiv Post reports anti-government protestors, critical of the government's handling of the economic crisis, have demanded the resignation of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and his Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Wiener Zeitung says the International Atomic Energy Agency has failed to select a successor to outgoing chief Mohammed ElBaradei, who has announced he does not wish to stand for a fourth term.
Cyprus Mail quotes Interpol revealing that one of an international gang of jewel thieves, dubbed the "Pink Panthers" by police, has been arrested in Cyprus. The Pink Panthers, believed to be mainly from countries in the Balkans, are the prime suspects in a series of jewel heists in worth over £100 million over the past decade in Europe, Asia and the Persian Gulf.