The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says the Home Affairs Minister has admitted that not a lot of pledges had been made by European countries to resettle migrants from Malta.
The Malta Independent gives prominence to the Archbishop’s comment that the church is not waging a crusade over divorce. It also reports how a 14 year old girl was assaulted and stabbed by her peers.
In-Nazzjon reports how the Archbishop said yesterday that the Church has a duty to convey its message of marriage and the family.
l-orizzont reports that BWSC have already been paid €150 million for the power station, just €16 million less than the total amount due.
The overseas press
EU Observer reports interior ministers meeting in Brussels have agreed there was a need to amend laws governing the visa-free Schengen Area, to take into account large surges in migration. Consensus could pave the way for temporary internal border controls. Under current rules, Schengen countries can reintroduce border controls for up to 30 days in case of threats to public order. The European Commission plans to draft new migration proposals based on the ministers' input for an EU summit in June.
CNN says the head of Libya’s National Transitional Council Mahmoud Jebril will meet senior White House officials later today, seeking both cash and diplomatic legitimacy in their war to topple Muammar Gaddafi. The Washington meeting comes a day after the Jalil met British Prime Minister David Cameron in London, securing a promise of more aid. Jebril made a plea for Washington to free up some $180 million (€128 million) in frozen Gaddafi funds, saying they needed funds urgently to pay salaries and run the areas under their control. Rebels fighting Gaddafi for almost three months control Benghazi and the east of the country, while Gaddafi's forces are entrenched in the capital Tripoli and nearly all of the west.
Al Jazeera reports that NATO airstrikes struck Gaddafi’s compound in Tripoli on Thursday. It quotes Libyan officials, three people were killed and 25 others wounded. A NATO official said the target it hit contained a command and control bunker. However, a Libyan government spokesman denied that the complex contained military facilities.
The BBC says Amnesty International has called on the international community to ensure that uprisings in the Arab world are not a false dawn for human rights. In its annual report, AI takes Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen to task for targeting peaceful protesters to stay in power. And it says repressive regimes in China, Iran and Azerbaijan have tried to pre-empt uprisings. It also raises concern over a growing willingness by European countries to send illegal immigrants back to states where they risk persecution
Die Zeit reports that a Munich court has found Ukrainian-born John Demjanjuk guilty of helping in the murder of 27,900 Jews during World War II. However, the 91-year-old was released from his five-year prison term based on his advanced age.
A study into HIV transmission has found that people diagnosed with the virus can dramatically reduce the risk of affecting a partner if the HIV carrier starts treatment while still healthy. Science Today says it was found that infection rates could be reduced by up to 96 per cent if treatment with anti-retroviral drugs was started quickly after diagnosis. The study began in 2005 at 13 sites across Africa, Asia and the Americas. The World Health Organization said it was a "crucial development".
El Universal says police in Mexico have found eight decapitated bodies in the northern state of Durango. Among the dead was the deputy governor of Durango's prison, who had been abducted on Monday. Gerardo Galindo's head was found next to a wall bearing a threatening message by a local drug gang.
The tomato is the UK's most Googled fruit, according to new research. The Irish Independent says people are twice as likely to enquire Google for tomatoes as apples, which is the second most common searched-for fruit. The review, by the World Cancer Research Fund, found Google lists 53.6 million web pages mentioning tomatoes. Bananas and peaches are in joint third place, followed by oranges. The research was carried out to mark Fruity Friday, which aims to encourage people to eat more fruit and vegetables.
L’Equipe says Uefa has launched a disciplinary case against Barcelona's Sergio Busquets over alleged racism in the Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid. Real posted a video on their website before the second leg showing Busquets allegedly calling full-back Marcelo "mono" (monkey) in the first leg. The case will be heard on Sunday with a decision due the next day.