The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says Malta is bracing to receive evacuees from Libya. It also says anti-Gaddafi protesters may hold a demo in Valletta on Saturday.
The Malta Independent says the Libyan defecting pilots are now ‘guests’ of the AFM.
l-orizzont reports that Malta is in the middle of the Libyan crisis. It also carries a call by GWU General Secretary Tony Zarb calling on Enemalta to stop ‘discrimination’ against union members.
In-Nazzjon quotes the prime minister saying the government’s priority is the welfare of Maltese workers in Libya.
The overseas press
Al Jazeera quotes reports saying Muammar Gaddafi has lost control of more cities as anti-government protests continued to sweep Libya despite his threat of a brutal crackdown. In the east, now all but broken away, the opposition vowed to "liberate" Tripoli, where the Libyan leader is holed up with a force of militiamen roaming the streets and tanks guarding the outskirts. In a further sign of Gaddafi's faltering hold, two air force pilots – one from the leader's own tribe – parachuted out of their warplane and let it crash into the eastern Libyan desert rather than follow orders to bomb an opposition-held city.
The Washington Times reports that the Obama administration sharpened its condemnation of the bloody crackdown on Libyan opposition demonstrators. Amid the tumult rocking the region, President Obama condemned the violence in Libya in the sharpest terms Washington has yet used and directed his administration to prepare a full range of options, including possible sanctions that could freeze the assets and ban travel to the US by Libyan officials. He said he was sending Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Geneva for international talks aimed at stopping the bloodshed and formulating a unified global message to Gaddafi.
The Swedish newspaper Expressen says Libya’s former Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil told their correspondent in Libya that Gaddafi personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people in 1988. He said he had proof that “Gaddafi gave the order about Lockerbie”. Abdel-Jalil stepped down as justice minister in protest the violence against anti-government demonstrations.
The Wall Street Journal reports the price of oil has hit $100 a barrel for the first time since October 2008, before settling up 2.8 per cent at $98.10 a barrel.$111 a barrel, as worries persisted about the unrest in Libya. Markets are concerned the trouble could worsen in key oil producing countries, affecting supplies and hitting growth.
Kathemerini reports that a Greek policeman was set on fire during anti-austerity protests in Athens involving some 30,000 people. Five people were injured when the demonstration against government cuts turned violent. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters. The rally ital was part of a general strike that crippled services and public transport around the country.
The Dominion Post quotes police in Christchurch saying up to 120 bodies might still be inside one of the buildings hardest hit by New Zealand's devastating earthquake. That number is not included in the official death toll of 76, which was based on the bodies recovered and brought to a temporary morgue in the stricken city of Christchurch.
Maariv reports a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip has hit a house in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. No casualties were reported. Israel responded by carrying out an air strike on eastern Gaza City which reportedly injured three militants. The attack came hours after an Israeli tank fired on Palestinians in Gaza, killing one person.
The Washington Post says President Obama has denounced the Cuban government for harassing the mother of a political prisoner who died after a long hunger strike. He said her treatment and the detention of other dissidents stood as evidence of the island's poor human rights record.
The New York Post reports that a consultant for the Vatican's high court says he believes New York Governor Andrew Cuomo shouldn't receive Holy Communion because he was not married to his live-in girlfriend, Sandra Lee. Edward Peters, who's also a conservative Catholic blogger and seminary professor in Detroit, called the living arrangement "public concubinage" and said that Cuomo taking Communion would be sacrilegious.
Florida Times-Union says an ice cream man was driving his van while drunk when he almost hit a child. The police reported that 49-year-old Ronald Clifford Purdy was pulled over after someone called 911 to report his driving. He staggered out of the ice cream van and gave his birthday when he was asked for his address. Purdy’s blood alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit.
The Lawrence Journal-World says a US baby could be well equipped to face the ups and downs of life after being born in a hospital lift. Alyssa Lynn Leming arrived as her parents rushed through the Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Lawrence, some 50 miles west of Kansas City. Crystal Leming said it took just an hour from the onset of severe contractions to the birth of the 5lb 11oz girl whom they have nicknamed Ellee for her unusual arrival.