The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times says that Malta is to battle a proposed further cut in the tuna quota. It also says that an Air Malta funding bill has been moved in Parliament.
The Malta Independent says MP Jesmond Mugliett voted with the government on Arms Ltd yesterday despite havng previously criticised the government on the subject.
l-orizzont says that €61,000 were spent to celebrate the launch of the Piano project. It also quotes GWU General Secretary Tony Zarb saying jobs were a priority at Air Malta.
In-Nazzjon says the Budget has been approved through all stages. It also says that the former Contracts Manager at Sliema Council told a court that former Mayor Nikki Dimech asked him to drop the court case.
The overseas press
The Wall Steet Journal quotes the Greek finance ministry saying it has narrowly missed its January-October target to reduce its budget deficit. It reported the deficit narrowed 30 per cent in the first 10 months of this year compared with a targeted narrowing of 32 per cent. Greece's 2010 budget gap was expected to reach 9.3 per cent of GDP, forcing the government to make more spending cuts.
The Financial Times reports the European Union stood ready to step in and help Ireland with its financial situation as investors grew increasingly worried about the challenges facing the region's weaker countries and drove the euro down to a one-month low. The shared currency fell almost 0.9 per cent against the US dollar to $1.3659 late in New York on Thursday. Ireland's struggle to rescue its banking system has driven its budget deficit to 32 per ent of GDP, more than 10 times the euro zone's deficit ceiling.
Berliner Zeitung says German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has reiterated his demand for a full withdrawal of all nuclear weapons stored in Germany. During a parliamentary debate on Thursday in Berlin, Westerwelle said disarmament was going to be a "key issue" for Germany at the Lisbon meeting. Government leaders and heads of state of the 28 NATO member countries meet in the Portuguese capital next week to discuss a major strategic overhaul of the military alliance.
Avvenire reports Pope Benedict has called on Islamic countries to reciprocate the religious freedom Muslims usually enjoy in predominantly Christian countries. The pontiff stressed that the Catholic Church has ''esteem'' for Muslims, and inter-faith dialogue would be fruitless unless it was based on ''the ability of all to freely practise their religion in private and in public''. Several Islamic states in the Middle East have laws limiting or prohibiting Christian minorities from openly practising their faith.
Meanwhile, Dawn reports a Pakistani court has sentenced a 45-year-old Christian mother of five to death for blasphemy – the first such conviction of a woman. Last year, Asia Bibi was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields. But a group of Muslim women labourers objected, saying that as a non-Muslim, she should not touch the water bowl. A few days later the women went to a local cleric and alleged that Asia made made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed.
London’s Independent says hopes were high Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi might be freed from house arrest this weekend. Burma’s highest profile political prisoner lost a final appeal against her detention but her current order expires tomorrow anyway. The 65-year-old has spent 15 of the past 21 years in detention. She was never charged with any crime until last year, when an American swam uninvited to her home.
Ansa rfeports Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has rejected a call from House Speaker Gianfranco Fini for him to stand down, saying Fini would have to "come out into the open and vote me out in parliament" if he wanted him to go. The Speaker, who holds the balance of power in the House after being thrown out of the PdL in July and forming his own party, insisted Berlusconi should resign with a view to broadening the coalition, possibly under a different leader, and revamping its programme.
Australia’s Daily Telegraph says Sydney has become the brothel capital of the South Pacific. A confidential document by the NSW Government reveals that in Sydney alone there are 244 legal brothels, and a further 90 "suspected" illegal brothels. NSW has 271 legal brothels, Victoria just over 90, and Queensland 24. Several industry figures estimate that there are at least 10,000 sex workers in NSW – putting the state on a par with Amsterdam.
The Daily Mirror reports a private detective agency is using spy cameras to catch dog walkers who don't bother cleaning up after their pets. Investigator Mark Halstead uses all-weather infra-red cameras hidden in trees and hollowed-out stones. He offers his services for free around Milton Keynes, saying dog fouling is filthy and dangerous to children”. He has film of 30 offenders which he is set to pass on to the council which could fine owners £1,000.