The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says the appointment of the environment director at Mepa was ‘not in line with the law’ according to the Mepa audit officer.
The Malta Independent says the Church has denied ordering anti-divorce messages on Our Lady of Sorrows.
MaltaToday says Malta is among the countries which reported most miracles with the intercession of Pope John Paul II.
l-orizzont says Malta continues to have the highest rate of early school leavers in the EU.
In-Nazzjon quotes the prime minister saying that jobs and competitiveness remain the government’s priorities.
The overseas press
Libya has reacted angrily to Britain’s announcement that it would send up to 20 military advisers to help "sharpen up" the Libyan rebel movement in Benghazi to break the military stalemate with Gaddafi's army. The Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul Ati al-Obeidi told the BBC that the move would harm any peace initiatives and prolong hostilities. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the move complied with the UN resolution to protect civilians in Libya, which forbids foreign occupation forces. Britain has already sent the rebels non-lethal support, including 1,000 sets of body armour and 100 satellite phones.
The Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said the British officers would become a target. He told The Associated Press Britain's attempt to help the rebels was futile, emphasizing that the move was “not in the interest of the UK”. French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has said his country would also "intesify" its military efforts to prevent Libyan government forces from pursuing their attacks on civilian populations. Still, France remained opposition to sending its troops onto Libyan soil. Russia has criticised the efforts to aid the Libyan rebel forces.
EU Times quotes European Union officials saying they were ready, in principle, to provide armed escorts to secure UN aid convoys in Libya, but UN officials said they did not need such guards for the time being. The proposal drew a warning from Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim that sending armed escorts would be tantamount to a military operation.
Libyan state television Al-Libiya TV, reports that NATO warplanes had launched airstrikes on Tripoli and Sirte in its ongoing bid to protect civilians. The airstrikes came shortly before Libyan rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil met with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini in Rome where, according to Il Tempo, Frattini announced a summit would take place next month in order for Western and Middle Eastern states making up the so-called Libyan "Contact Group" to discuss facilitating the international sale of oil from rebel-held eastern Libya.
Ansa reports Mr Frattini told a House committee that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi might be to blame for the arrival on a fishing boat of some 760 African refugees on Lampedusa on Tuesday. He said he suspected Gaddafi might have decided to use people trafficking to hit back at international support for rebels trying to end his 40-year rule in Libya. Frattini said the boat, which included 17 children and 62 women, several of whom were pregnant, left from the western port of Zuwarah.
The New York Times says members of the UN Security Council have called for restraint and political dialogue between protesters and the authorities in Yemen. But the council’s first talks on the Yemeni crisis ended without an agreed public statement.
The security forces in Gaza have raided a house seeking three militants suspected of involvement in the death of the kidnapped Italian pro-Palestinian activist Vittorio Arrigoni. Corriere della Sera quotes a Hamas statement saying one of the suspects killed another with a grenade and then shot himself. A third suspect was arrested.
Granma reports the former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has made his first public appearance with his brother Raoul since handing over power to him five years ago. The two received a prolonged ovation at the end of Cuba’s Communist Party conference,
The Wall Street Journal claims German finance officials are warming to the idea of Italian Mario Draghi as president of the European Central Bank. Meanwhile, The Financial Times claims British Prime Minister David Cameron has scotched Gordon Brown’s chances of becoming the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund by indicating that his predecessor was not up to the job.
The San Francisco Chronicle says a 16-year-old girl has survived a 200-feet fall from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. She was in the water for 20 minutes before being pulled to safety conscious and responsive, and taken to hospital. It is not known if she jumped or fell. About 25 people a year die in jumps from the bridge. In March, a 17-year-old boy survived after leaping from the bridge.
China Daily reports a Chinese farmer has appealed against the death sentence he was given for raping 116 women. Dai Qingcheng, 46, was handed the death penalty in December for raping the women between 1993 and 2009 in Anhui province in eastern China. Dai usually preyed on the wives of migrant workers who had gone to bigger cities for work. His victims ranged from young girls to women in their 50s and included a woman who was six months pregnant. Police said Dai evaded capture for so long because some of his victims were too ashamed to go to the police.