The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Sunday Times features comments by the Bishop of Gozo who described IVF treatment as highly abortive.
The Malta Independent says the ‘scandalous’ Easter parliamentary recess is the same as in 2010 and in 1997, the latter under Labour. It also says that a Malta-based Iranian company is allegedly involved in Syrian sanctions busting.
MaltaToday says Hermann Schiavone has still not been accepted as a PN candidate to avoid irking Franco Debono.
It-Torca says Clare Zammit Xuereb has been allowed to return to her penthouse, the scene of the New Year double murder. It also says the money which Health Minister Joseph Cassar returned could have been better used to reduce hospital waiting lists.
Il-Mument says Vanessa Frazier has been appointed Maltese ambassador to Brussels. She previously served as director (defence) in the Office of the Prime Minister. The newspaper also highlights the visit to Malta by Michel Platini.
Illum says AD is ready to hold talks with both the PN and the PL on a possible coalition.
KullHadd says there is a crisis in the PN in the wake of the local council elections.
The overseas press
A top European Central Bank official has said the International Monetary Fund requires more funds to handle global economic challenges. The Wall Street Journal quotes ECB Vice-President Vitor Constancio saying the IMF needed more resources so that it could respond to a future emergency situation. Constancio’s comments came after eurozone finance ministers, meeting in Copenhagen, agreed to temporarily boost the lending capacity of the region’s rescue funds to €700 billion in an effort to convince markets they could contain the region’s long-running sovereign debt crisis. Finance ministers from the G-20 economies meet this month in Washington, where they will discuss whether to increase funding for the IMF. It was unclear if the US would back an increase in IMF funding.
Irrawady reports that Burma has held a landmark election that was expected to send democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi into parliament for her first public office since launching her decades-long struggle against the military-dominated government. Today’s voting, to fill a few vacant seats, followed months of reforms by a nominally civilian government. Suu Kyi’s party and its allies will have almost no sway even if they won all the seats they are contesting, because the 664-seat parliament would remain dominated by the military and the military-backed ruling party.
Al Bawaba reports Syria's regime has declared victory over the nation's rebel uprising and reiterated support for a UN-Arab peace plan. Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdisi declared victory during an interview on state-run television, saying Syrian troops would only retreat from urban areas once the security situation was stable. The UN aid more than 9,000 people have been killed in President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on an Arab Spring-inspired uprising that began a year ago with pro-democracy protests.
Meanwhile, according to the BBC, more than 70 countries were expected attend a “Friends of Syria Conference” in Istanbul today to raise pressure on President Assad to abide by the peace plan which called for the government to pull troops and heavy weapons out of population centres, and for a daily pause in fighting to allow humanitarian aid to reach affected areas. Dr Bassma Kodmani from the Syrian National Council said ''concrete measures'' were needed to address the ''humanitarian crisis'' in Syria.
Al Ahram says Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has reversed its pledge not to contest Egypt's presidential elections in May, nominating one of its deputy leaders, Khairat al-Shater. The Brotherhood already dominates Egypt's newly-elected parliament and the panel that has been set up to draft a new constitution. Shater, who spent 12 years in prison because of his connection with the Brotherhood which was previously banned, was only released after last year's uprising.
Tripoli Post quotes Libyan health minister Fatma al-Hamroush saying 147 people have been killed and 385 others injured in six days of tribal clashes in the remote southern desert town of Sabha, 645 km south of Tripoli. Some 180 people had been transported to Tripoli for emergency treatment. She said that there was an urgent need for medical supplies in Sabha and that the government had sent large amounts of emergency aid to the city. Meanwhile, the Libyan government has announced it had registered more than 8,000 former rebels who would be trained to protect borders and oil sites.
CBS News reports hundreds of world landmarks from Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to the Great Wall of China went dark in the voluntary hour-long blackout as part of a global effort to highlight climate change. Earth Hour, held on the last Saturday of March every year, began as a Sydney-only event in 2007. The city's iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House were dimmed again this year. The WWF, the global environmental group which organises the event, said a record 6,494 cities in 150 countries have taken part.
China has shut down 16 websites, made a string of arrests and punished two popular microblogs after rumours of a coup linked to a major scandal that brought down a top politician. Quoting a spokesman with the State Internet Information Office, Xinhua news agency said the websites were closed for spreading rumours of "military vehicles entering Beijing and something wrong going on in Beijing". Two popular microblog sites also had been "criticised and punished accordingly".
Sky News reports higher taxes on flights leaving Britain have taken come into force with most passengers paying an extra eight per cent in Air Passenger Duty. Tax rates depend on destination and whether travellers are in economy, business or first class seats. The basic rate payable on short haul flights to Europe has gone up from £12 to £13 but travel agents have warned that those paying for family holidays will be the worst hit.
Le Journal du Dimanche says a French auction house has called off the planned sale of a collection of torture devices dating back three centuries, which had sparked outrage among rights groups and in Algeria. Some 350 objects, from a hand-crusher to hanging ropes and written death sentences, collected by France's last executioner Fernand Meyssonnier until his death in 2008, had been slated to go on sale on Tuesday in Paris. A former chief executioner in French-ruled Algeria, Meyssonnier carried out 198 executions between 1957 and the country's independence in 1962, devoting the rest of his life to retirement and his torture collection.
The Washington Post reports that the record $640 million (€480 million) lottery jackpot would be shared by three US ticket-holders, who have the winning numbers 2, 4, 23, 38, 46 with mega ball 23. None of the winning players have been identified but media reports said the three tickets were sold in Illinois, Maryland and Kansas.
L’Equipe says footballers from 300 professional clubs in 20 leagues throughout 16 EU member-states have joined in a world-wide campaign across Europe to raise awareness and encourage support for the famine-gripped Sahel region of Africa. This weekend, appeals by top soccer players from around the world would be broadcast during the third annual Match Day Against Hunger promoted by the Association of European Professional Football League, the European Commission and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The Sahel region faces a devastating food and nutrition crisis caused by drought, chronic poverty, high food prices, displacement and conflict affecting millions of people.