The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times reports that Brussels yesterday unveiled a plan to save the eurozone. It also reports that there will be no VAT hike on utilities.
The Malta Independent reports how members of the judiciary want a pay rise of some €40,000.
l-orizzont says Arms Ltd has warned Gozo Hospital over a pending electricity bill of €500,000.
In-Nazzjon says that the Opposition in Slovakia have agreed to back the government for the ratification of the European Financial Stability Facility and a new vote will be taken on Friday. The newspaper also reports a 22 per cent increase in bus service usage.
The overseas press
There are conflicting reports from Libya about the whereabouts of one of Gaddafi’s sons, Mutassim, who served as the deposed leader’s national security adviser. An official of the National Transitional Council told Reuters that Mutassim had been captured in Sirte and taken to Benghazi. But other NTC officials told Associated Press they could not confirm the report.
Meanwhile, the BBC quotes an Amnesty International report saying that under the NTC, Gaddafi soldiers and suspected loyalists have been tortured into making confessions. The human rights group described sounds of whipping and screams in one detention centres it visited.
Los Angeles Times says eight people have been killed and another critically wounded in a shooting incident at a shopping mall in Seal Beach, California. Six were killed on the scene and two died in hospital. The gunman escaped from the scene but was stopped by the police half-mile away and surrendered without incident. The motive for the shooting has not yet been established.
Reuters reports that Asian shares rose early on Thursday on growing hopes that Europe was taking concrete steps to contain the region's debt woes and head off a systemic banking crisis. Strengthening investor confidence in the eurozone underpinned the single currency, while receding concerns about the banks' problems threatening the wider financial system sharply tightened Asian credit markets.
The markets’ reaction followed the announcement by European Commission president José Manuel Barroso of a plan designed to bring an end to the eurozone debt crisis. The Financial Times says that under the plan banks must set aside more assets to help guard against future losses and those supported by the European Financial Stability Facility, the eurozone bailout fund, should not pay dividends or bonuses.
Meanwhile, The Slovak Spectator reports that political rivals in Slovakia have agreed to support a crucial Bill ratifying changes to the EU bailout fund in exchange for early elections. The Bill was defeated in a first vote on Tuesday, after a coalition party and the main opposition Social Democrats abstained. A second vote is expected by the end of this week.
Voice of America announces that Syrian-born America has been charged for spying on US activists who oppose the Damascus government. The US Justice Department said Mohamad Soueid, 47, sent 20 recordings of protests in the US, against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, to Syria's spy agency. It said Soueid's actions were intended to "silence, intimidate and potentially harm" the protesters.
Forbes says the problems faced by millions of users of BlackBerry smart phones across the world have stretched into a third day for Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa and spread to the US and Canada. The company that makes the phones has promised to deliver all emails and messages affected by the outage but it has warned it may take time for the backlog to clear.
USA Today says lawyers for the doctor charged over Michael Jackson’s death have dropped their claim that the pop star killed himself by swallowing a fatal dose of the anaesthetic propofol while his physician was not looking. The allegation had been a key tactic in the defence of Dr Conrad Murray. The lawyers said a study showed that any effect from swallowing propofol would be “trivial”.
The Times reports that British Prime Minister David Cameron has written to other Commonwealth governments about proposed changes to the rules of royal succession. He has proposed that the oldest child of the monarch should succeed, scrapping the current law which gives boys precedence over their sisters.
Entertainment Week says a man has been charged with hacking into the emails of dozens of people, including Christina Aguilera, Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis, in a computer invasion scheme which targeted Hollywood celebrities. Nude shots of Johansson appeared on an internet site earlier this year and tmz.com reported that hackers stole them from her mobile phone.
La Tercera says heavy fog has led to a 51-vehicle pile-up on the highway linking Chile’s capital Santiago to the port city of Valparaiso today, killing five people and injuring more than 20. Police said the accident started when one small vehicle stopped suddenly due to lack of visibility in the dense morning fog which was made worse by smoke from the burning of nearby fields. In all, 23 trucks, 11 buses and 17 cars were involved.