The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says the migrant tragedy in the Mediterranean has turned into a political tangle between Malta and Italy. It also says the former Libyan energy minister, now in Malta, feels Nato is not doing enough to help the rebels.
The Malta Independent reports how the AFM insisted yesterday that a migrants’ boat capsized after it was intercepted by Italian units.
In-Nazzjon quotes a former Chief Electoral Commissioner saying a dangerous precedent would be set if the Electoral Commission was to delay publication of the President’s writ for the holding of elections or referenda.
l-orizzont reports the passing away of former minister Freddie Micallef. It also says that a man accused of selling heroin to a woman who died of an overdose claimed he was framed.
The overseas press
O Globo reports that a former pupil of a school in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janiero has killed 12 children after entering the building with two revolvers on the pretext that he was giving them a talk. About 20 people were wounded. The gunman shot himself when he was confronted by the police. President Dilma Rousseff cried as she told reporters she was "shocked and disturbed" by the attack – an unprecedented tragedy in Brazil.
Ansa says hopes of finding any more survivors of the North Africans who were on a boat which capsized and sank in rough seas near Lampedusa have been described as “faint”. Searches for around 150 missing people continued on Thursday as parliament was told 25,867 migrants had arrived in Italy from North Africa so far this year. Some 21,000 of them were from Tunisia.
Il Tempo reports that Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni has accused France of being “hostile'” as the French government said it would keep blocking North African migrants at its border even if Italy issued them with residence permits. French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said it was within France's rights to send them back to Italy despite the Schengen Agreement that abolished border controls in much of mainland Europe.
Al Jazeera says groups of Libyan rebels and civilians have fled from the eastern town of Ajdabiya after a rebel armoured unit was hit by apparent Nato air strikes, allowing government troops to advance. The head of the Libyan opposition forces, General Abdul Fatah Younis, has told a news conference in Benghazi that Nato had apologised for the air strike.
Meanwhile, the BBC announced a UN relief ship carrying emergency supplies has arrived at the western Libyan city of Misrata, which is being besieged by government forces. The vessel is delivering hundreds of tons of energy biscuits, flour, water purification tables as well as a month’s supply of medicine for 30,000 people.
According to The Scotsman, Scottish police investigating the PanAm airliner bombing have interviewed the former Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Kousa, following his defection to Britain last week. Mr Kousa was believed to have been a senior intelligence officer when a bomb was detonated over Lockerbie, killing 270 people. Libyan Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was jailed for mass murder in 2001 but was returned to Tripoli in 2009 on compassionate grounds.
Al Ayyam reports from Gaza that the Islamic militant group which controls the territory, Hamas, has announced a ceasefire in a bid to halt the recent outbreak of violence with Israel. The move comes after militants in Gaza fired mortars at an Israeli school bus, injuring two people.
Ashati TV says the tsunami warning in Japan has been lifted, 90 minutes after the latest tremor. The US Geological Survey has also downgraded the magnitude to 7.1. It struck off the eastern coast 60 miles from Sendai and 90 miles from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant. It was about 215 miles from Tokyo.
Le Jour reports that as the military and political deadlock in Ivory Coast continues, supporters of the internationally-recognised President Alassane Ouattara have made it clear that they intend to capture his rival Laurent Gbagbo and bring him to justice.
The Washington Times says crisis talks over bitterly-disputed spending cuts in Washington have broken up without agreement, although President Obama says he expected a deal to be reached later today. The congressional leaders say they have narrowed their difference with the president over a new budget.
A report in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) suggests that drinking more than two alcoholic drinks a day could significantly increase the risk of some cancers. Health authorities’ guidelines are that men should drink no more than three to four units a day, while women should not go over the two- to three-units limit a day. But research found cancer risks at even lower levels.