The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Sunday Times says public car parks are set to be privatised. It also quotes the prime minister saying minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici ‘won’t be sacrificial lamb’ on May 30 when parliament votes on a censure motion.
The Malta Independent says foreign diplomats may be invited to testify before the Foreign Affairs Committee to back Richard Cachia Caruana, who is also facing a censure motion.
MaltaToday says the government, opposition have renewed opposition to a fresh US call for Malta to join the SOFA – the Status of forces agreement. The agreement gives legal immunity to US servicemen.
Il-Mument asks who accompanied Joseph Muscat on his recent visit to Libya.
It-Torca gives prominence to how a man, now deceased, spoke on how usury robbed him of his life.
KullHadd says a PN mayor is facing accusations of bribery to be granted a marine licence. It also says that an inquiry has confirmed that government workers worked on a PN club.
Illum says a new contract has been awarded to Claudio Grech in Austin Gatt’s ministry, giving his access to agencies from which he recently resigned.
The international press
Euronews says tens of thousands of people have joined marches in Spain in a revived protest against economic austerity. The biggest rallies were in Barcelona and Madrid where huge crowds gathered in Puerta del Sol, the capital’s main square. The demonstrations came a year since the first protest by the movement known as “Los Indignados”, There have also been protests against austerity measures in other cities around the world. Thousands took to the streets in Moscow, New York, Athens, London and Frankfurt, where activists from the “Occupy Movement symbolically slaughtered a sculpture of the stock market bull.
Corriere della Sera reports that in the latest attack on Italy’s economic policies, a tax office has been fire-bombed in the city of Livorno. No one was hurt. The tax agency had already received several letter bombs and an employee was taken hostage at gunpoint.
EU Observer quotes EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olii Rehn, warned against funding growth through the creation of new debt and called on EU member states to promote "structural reforms and deficit reduction”. Commissioner Rehn maintained that the present crisis could be solved only pursuing fiscal consolidation, noting that Europe was suffering from a very high level of public debt which has increased from 60 per cent on average to 90 per cent.
Kathimerini says Greek President Carolos Papoulias has called a meeting with the leaders of the three main parties later today in a final effort to form an emergency government – the only alternative to another election next month. The parties invited are the radical left Syriza, the conservatives of New Democracy and the socialist Pasok. Europe central bankers have been openly expressing views on the possibility of Greece leaving the eurozone as its leaders struggle to form a government. Germany's top banker said it was up to the Greeks to decide, but if they did not keep to their bailout commitments, they would receive no new aid. His counterpart in the Irish Republic said a Greek exit would be damaging but not necessarily fatal to the euro. The outgoing Greek government's deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos has expressed “grave concern” at the future, underlining that if Athens failed to follow through on EU-IMF commitments, state coffers would run dry in six weeks.
Ukrayinske Radio reports a rally in central Kiev demanding the release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the heroine of the Orange Revolution. The event, supported by many opposition forces, was part of a programme of action against President Yanukovich ahead of October's parliamentary elections, considered a crucial test for the future of the former Soviet republic.
Having an egg for breakfast could help you lose weight. WedMD says new research presented at the European Congress on Obesity suggested starting the day with egg protein, rather than the wheat in cereal, was more likely to keep hunger at bay. Also at the congress, research was presented which indicated the size of a person's waist was the best guideline for life expectancy. It recommended keeping stomach circumference under half of a person's height.
Al Ahram reports that the funeral of a 28 year-old waiter in southern Egypt turned into a celebration when he woke up after being declared dead. Hospital officials had pronounced dead Hamdi Hafez al-Nubi, who came from the village of Naga al-Simman in the southern province of Luxor, after he suffered a heart attack while working.