The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports that the Prime Minister was disgusted by Italy’s failure to rescue migrants just off Lampedusa. It also reports a statement by the birdwatchers’ group CABS saying that fewer birds had been shot this Spring.
The Malta Independent says €3.5m have been spent on pandemic flu preparedness in Malta.
MaltaToday says the government has approved a plan of action on migrants. It also carries a special feature on wind farms.
l-orizzont says the jurors in a murder trial are to resume their deliberations today. It also reports that Zeppi l-Hafi got off Scot free in three cases thanks to a presidential pardon.
In-Nazzjon gives prominence to the introduction of degree courses by MCAST. It also reports comments by PN Secretary-General Paul Borg Olivier that the party disagrees with the broadcasting schedule for the EP electoral campaign prepared by the Broadcasting Authority.
The Press in Britain
The Daily Star accuses the government of wasting £7m on the swine flu prevention campaign.
Under plans to cope with further school closures forced by swine flu, The Times claims thousands of students could be awarded GCSE and A-Level grades without sitting exams.
The Guardian says the grades may be based purely on course work if the outbreak prevents students from attending exams.
The Daily Telegraph claims people in Britain will be expected to work until they are 70 years old in order to bring public debt under control.
The Sun claims the grandchildren of Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson have been injured in a car crash.
The Daily Mirror has the same story, reporting that the accident happened just hours before Manchester United produced an awesome attacking display to destroy Arsenal and land a place in the Champion League’s Final in Rome in three weeks’ time.
And elsewhere…
Texas Globe reports that a woman from Cameron County has become the first American swine flu patient to die. The paper quotes health officials saying the woman had chronic underlying health conditions and died earlier this week.
Tribune de Geneve says the World Health Organisation began to ship 2.4 million treatments of anti-flu drugs to 72 needy countries as its flu chief said the swine flu epidemic was still spreading
Resonansi reports that Georgia has accused Russia of conspiring to cause a wider rebellion in the country after government troops staged a failed mutiny at a military base near Tblisi. Around 30 tanks and armoured personnel carriers entered Mukhrovani tank base after news broke of a military uprising. Defence minister David Sikharulidze said the rebellion was aimed at disrupting month-long NATO exercises beginning tomorrow at the former Russian air force base. Russia has denied the accusations.
Hurriyet says eight gunmen suspected of fatally shooting 45 people at an engagement ceremony in south-east Turkey have been arrested. The dead included the engaged couple.
Merkur says a Munich married couple – a dentist and a lawyer – have been legally banned from having a three-barrelled surname. Germany’s highest court ruled that Ms Thalheim and Mr Kunz-Hallstein cannot become Mr & Mrs Thalheim-Kunz-Hallstein because a 1993 law says people can have a maximum of only two last names.
Metro reports the European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly for a total ban on the trade in seal products across Europe.
Asia Observer quotes a Laotian government official saying 20-year-old Samantha Orobator, the British woman held in a Laos prison on drug smuggling charges, will not face the death penalty if convicted because the country's law bans executing pregnant prisoners.
Ettelat says Iran’s judiciary has confirmed an appeals court will hear the case of an American journalist convicted of spying next week. Roxana Saberi was convicted last month of passing intelligence to the US and sentenced to eight years in prison after a one-day trial behind closed doors.
Zim Daily reports Jestina Mukoko and 15 other Zimbabwean rights activists have been sent back to jail after they were formally charged in a terrorism case widely denounced as a sham. The charges stem from an alleged plot to overthrow President Robert Mugabe.
Los Angeles Times says Nadya Suleman, the American woman who gave birth to octuplets last January, is being sued by a celebrity lawyer who claims the mother is "exploiting" them. Lawyer Gloria Allred has filed a petition in court in California, saying a guardian should be appointed to protect the earnings and assets of the children as their mother was to commercially exploiting them.
Florida Courier reports that a four-month-old baby boy has died after he was allegedly kidnapped and thrown from a car in Tampa, Florida. Police have arrested the boy’s mother’s former boyfriend who claimed he had assaulted her and her baby and drove off with the child in a blue Chevrolet.