The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
The Times leads with a story saying that the transplants ethics committee has decided that the 20 people who offered to donate their kidney to Chris Bartolo after his former partner placed an advert offering financial compensation will not be allowed to give their organ specifically to him as organs have to go to those most in need.
The Malta Independent leads with the activity held in Sliema to celebrate world water day. It says the WSC is investing €13 million to start using water sewage as second class water. In another story it speaks about the orthopaedic operations being held at Mater Dei Hospital.
l-Orizzont reports that the budget for stipends has been reduced by €100,000. It also reports GWU general secretary Tony Zarb saying on Bondi+ that precarious employment is on the increase.
In-Nazzjon says that the Nationalist Party has embarked on a series of meetings with different sectors of society. The first such meeting was held with the Forum of trade unions.
The international press
President Nicolas Sarkozy has appealed for national unity following a 30-hour siege which ended with the death of Mohammed Merah, the gunmen wanted for killing seven people. France 24 reports that he said in a televised address that everything had been done to try to bring 23-year-old Mohamed Merah to justice, but it was decided that no more lives could be put at risk. He also vowed a new crackdown on those who visited "hate or terrorism" web sites or travelled abroad to be indoctrinated in terrorism.
Meanwhile, Le Monde sxays France was facing calls for an inquiry into possible intelligence failures after Merah – who claimed to have al-Qaeda training – was shot by a police sniper, after he opened fire on police commandos storming his flat on Thursday morning. The marksman killed Merah as he tried to jump out of the bathroom window. Prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters Merah was shot in the head after he had fired some 30 bullets as the commandos broke in.
The Washington Post quotes US Army officials saying Staff Sgt. Robert Bales would be charged with 17 counts of murder as well as assault and a string of other offenses in the massacre earlier this month of Afghan villagers as they slept. The 38-year-old soldier and father of two would be charged with a shooting rampage in two villages near his southern Afghanistan military post in the early hours of March 11, gunning down nine Afghan children and eight adults and burning some of the victims’ bodies.
USA Today says a big rally has taken place in Florida by protesters demanding the arrest of a crime watch volunteer who shot dead an unarmed black teenager almost four weeks ago. As the demonstrations began, Florida’s governor announced that he had appointed a new prosecutor to investigate the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Le Matin reports strong international condemnation of Malian troops who have overthrown the government of President Amadou Toumani Toure. The UN Security Council has added its voice to calls to a return to Constitutional rule. The World Bank and the Africa Development Bank said they were suspending some operations.
Al Bawaba quotes activists saying government forces in Syria have killed 10 people who were trying to escape to a refugee camp in Turkey. The group, which included women and children, was shot at in the northern town of Sermin, were travelling on a bus when it came under fire. Opposition sources say that altogether about 60 people, including government soldiers, were killed in violence across the country on Thursday.
Ansa reports five more bodies have been found near the wreck of the cruise ship, the Costa Condordia, more than two months after nit capsized off the Italian coast. It raises the number of confirmed dead to 30.
According to The Los Angeles Times, coroners’ officials in the United States say the singer Whitney Houston died by accidental drowning in the bath but that heart disease and cocaine use contributed to her death. Analysis of cocaine found in her system indicated that she had been a chronic user of the drug.
O Globo reports schools in Brazil have started to put computer chips in school uniforms to keep track of pupils and reduce truancy. Parents would receive a text message when children arrive at schools or if they were late for classes.
Metro says police in England believe they have smashed an operation involving a gang of men preying on girls as young as 11 for sex. A dozen men have been arrested by police in Oxford investigating a child sex gang that had allegedly groomed 24 girls for sex. All of the girls were under 16 and many were runaways and living on the street or children in care. The men face charges of child prostitution, trafficking and rape.
Figures issued today by the London-based The Arts Newspaper confirm that the Louvre in Paris has cemented its position as the world's most-visited museum with nearly 8.9 million. The Centre Pompidou also saw an increase from 3.1 million to 3.6 million. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, was also riding high, breaking the six million barrier. Free entry to the UK’s national museums helps keep London’s British Museum (5.8 million), National Gallery (5.3 million) and the Tate Modern (4.8 milliom) in the world’s top 10. Visitors from abroad accounted for 66 percent of the museum's attendees, led by tourists from the United States, followed by Brazil, Italy, Australia and China.