The following are the top stories in the Maltese overseas press:
The Times says a boy’s cancer care was at risk because of the air traffic disruptions. He is due to fly to London today. It also says that the government has refused to make publish the contract between Enemalta and BWSC on the power station extension in the wake of the Auditor-General’s report.
The Malta Independent say Greenpeace has protested against John Dalli’s ‘genetically modified recipe for disaster’. It also says it is too early to gauge the losses caused by the ash cloud.
Malta Today says the damning power station report has been dismissed by Tonio Fenech, for whom it is business as usual. It also says that stranded passengers have complained over the way they were treated by airlines.
l-orizzont says an inquiry is being held over sales of contraband cigarettes at Mt. Carmel Hospital.
In-Nazzjon features stranded passengers at MIA and says Air Malta has so far cancelled 160 flights.
The overseas press
The International Herald Tribune says travel chaos has continued to grip Europe, despite the easing of travel restrictions as the Icelandic volcano eruption appeared to wane. Flights have landed at a number of UK airports for the first time in six days, while some flights have left Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. However, airspace in Germany and Ireland remained restricted. Scientists say southern Iceland's volcano was producing more lava, and the ash plume was shrinking, although it remains changeable.
The national newspapers are dominated by the news that all UK airports have reopened. The Guardian says the ban was lifted after intense airline pressure and, according to The Wall Street Journal, airlines have increased calls for government help to offset financial losses following the ash crisis. The Financial Times reports on the impact of the flight ban, saying carmakers had been planning to temporarily halt production because of delays getting parts.
The Washington Times says President Obama has reiterated his commitment to keeping the "unbreakable bonds" between Israel and the United States. In a statement on the 62nd anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel, the US president pledged to continue working with Israel toward the goal of Middle East peace and said the two countries would work together "to counter the forces that threaten Israel, the United States, and the world".
Pravda reports that in a keynote speech to Russia's lower house of parliament, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the recession was over but the economic crisis was not. He called for a responsible economic policy and said a tax rise would go towards healthcare reforms. In his annual address to parliament, Putin expressed confidence that Russia would exceed the official growth forecast of 3.1 percent in 2010.
The Wall Street Journal reveals Britain has launched a probe into United States bank Goldman Sachs linked to US fraud charges that the Wall Street giant misled investors. The bank, which employs about 5,500 staff in London, undertook to cooperate but has again dismissed as "unfounded".
The Australian reports federal opposition leader Tony Abbott has proposed banning the dole payments for people under 30 to take the pressure off the welfare system and reduce the need to bring in large numbers of skilled migrants to staff mining projects in Western Australia and Queensland. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd lambasted Abbott's idea as "policy making on the run".
Belorusskaya Gazeta quotes President Alexander Lukashenko telling parliament he had given refuge to ousted Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Bakiyev was deposed after an uprising on April 7 that left at least 85 people dead. Meanwhile, the Kyrgyz interim government sent in troops to quell fresh riots during which five people were killed.
Clarin reports Argentina's former military ruler Reynaldo Bignone has been sent to prison for 25 years’ for his involvement in 56 cases of murder, torture, kidnappings and other human rights abuses committed almost three decades ago. Six officials from the same era were also handed jail terms.
China Today says a national day of mourning for victims of the powerful earthquake in Qinghai province is being observed today. Flags are flying at half mast across the country and public entertainment curtailed as a mark of respect, one week after the quake hit. The official death toll has now reached 2,039 with tens of thousands of people homeless.
USA Today reports that a former Chinese graduate student, whom prosecutors said decapitated a classmate in a US campus cafe because she rejected his romantic advances, has been sentenced to life without parole. Haiyang Zhu pleaded guilty last December to first-degree murder in the death of fellow Chinese student Xin Yang. He admitted decapitating the 22-year-old Yang as the pair had coffee at a VirginiaTech campus eatery in January 2009.
The New York Post says Michael Douglas’ son, 31-year-old Cameron, has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for dealing drugs. With the actor father present in the crowded Manhattan courtroom, the judge said Cameron would also have to pay a $25,000 fine, serve 450 hours of community service once he is released and undergo weekly counseling sessions, including with members of his family.