The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports that a referendum would be held if the draft divorce law is approved. It also reports that Go wants to reduce its workforce.
The Malta Independent says that the Russian mother of a murder victim had given conflicting and bizarre versions of events.
In-Nazzjon reports how Muammar Gaddafi is planning to come to Malta in June for the 5+5 talks. It also reports on the PN motion against the introduction of divorce.
l-orizzont says former port workers are seeking a meeting with the prime minister on the pension fund. It also gives prominence to the GO plans to dismiss workers.
The overseas press
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit has hit back at what he called US attempts to “impose” the American will on his country, which he described as “a loyal Middle East ally”. Gheit told US broadcaster PBS, he said he was "amazed" by American Vice-President Joe Biden, who had urged an immediate end to the emergency law which has been in place in Egypt for the past 30 years. He said rapid reforms would be too risky.
Al Ahram says that protesters calling for Mubarak's resignation, who have been spreading since Tuesday outside of Cairo's Tahrir Square, yesterday also gathered at parliament, the Cabinet and the Health Ministry buildings, all a few blocks from the square. They also blocked Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq from his office.
In London, The Guardian reports that the Egyptian army has secretly detained and tortured hundreds, possibly thousands, of protesters since mass anti-government demonstrations began. And according to The Times, Saudi Arabia has threatened to prop up Egypt's President Mubarak if the White House tries to force a swift change of regime.
Kathemerini says that striking doctors fought battles with police outside Greece's parliament as anti-cuts protests spread beyond unions to professional groups. More than 1,000 doctors, some in white coats, staged the central Athens protest against plans to impose tougher monitoring rules for spending in the National Health Service. The Greek Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen and Merchants said one in four of its small business members, or 225,000 enterprises, face the threat of closure in 2011.
Ansa reports that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reacted angrily to the news that Milan prosecutors had filed a request for him to stand trial for allegedly using an underage prostitute called Ruby and allegedly abusing his power to get her out of police custody. He said the move was “disgusting”, a “farce”, a “disgrace” and “subversive”, repeating his view that the Milan prosecutors were not competent in the case. The premier also said he would sue the Italian State to make the prosecutors "pay" for their “absolutely groundless” accusations.
The European edition of The Wall Street Journal says that after 219 years as the citadel of American capitalism, the New York Stock Exchange was near an agreement to be acquired by Deutsche Börse in a deal that would create the world's largest financial exchange. Meanwhile, it announces that German Bundesbank President Axel Weber was no longer seeking the presidency of the European Central Bank. According to eurozone officials, his decision has thrown the race for Europe's top monetary position into disarray.
USA Today reports American congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was able to speak and had asked for toast at breakfast one recent morning. Her ability to say even just a word, a month after being shot in the head, pleased her family, friends and doctors. It may also provide valuable clues about the condition of her injured brain.
Nearly 1.3 million Europeans will succumb to some form of cancer in 2011, according to research conducted by Swiss and Italian researchers and published Wednesday in the journal Annals of Oncology. The figure represents an overall decrease in cancer rates of 7 percent for men and 6 percent for women over the last four years. Stomach, colon, breast, womb, prostate and male lung cancers should continue declining, the researchers wrote.
The Los Angeles Times reports that strokes were rising dramatically among young and middle-aged Americans while dropping in older people – a sign that the obesity epidemic might be starting to shift the age burden of the disease. The numbers, reported at an American Stroke Association conference, come from the first large nationwide study of stroke hospitalizations by age.
South Carolina Star says a woman accused of giving birth in an arena toilet during the circus and leaving the baby told her family afterward she was bleeding heavily, but didn't know why. As 24-year-old Jessica Blackham checked herself into a hospital six miles away, a cleaning crew found the six-pound boy, his skin purple and hardly breathing. The custodians desperately followed a 911 operator's directions, one of them even using his finger to sweep some mucus from the boy's mouth. The baby is in good condition at a hospital.
Philadelphia Inquirer says a woman who had a cosmetic injection in her buttocks at a hotel near the airport died, prompting a police investigation. The 20-year-old woman who had the buttocks injection later complained of chest pains and had trouble breathing. Paramedics were called, and she was taken to Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital where she died. Police were seeking two people involved in the cosmetic procedures. They said they believe the procedures were arranged over the internet.