The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press
The Times says that Malta could have its first woman MEP, with Roberta Tedesco Triccas likely to take Simon Busuttil’s seat if he opts for the general election. The newspaper also reports that PC owners have been warned over a fake virus scam.
The Malta Independent quotes the Prime Minister saying the PN will continue to be author of change. It also features the PL promise of patient-centred health policies.
l-orizzont also leads with the PL health promises.
In-Nazzjon features Dr Gonzi’s comments that change can only be brought about by the PN.
The overseas press
The Daily Star leads with Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s rare public appearance before tens of thousands of demonstrators in Beirut, telling the large crowd that the United States would face more grave consequences if it allowed the release of the full version of the low-budget film which depicts Prophet Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a child molester, among other overtly insulting claims. Arguing that the world had not yet grasped the depth of hurt felt by Muslims, Nasrallah called on governments to block access to websites showing the film, which was made in California. The Beirut protest was probably the largest gathering to oppose the film so far, but it was peaceful and did not go near the US embassy.
Al Arabiya TV shows Indonesian police fire teargas and water cannons to break up a protest outside the American embassy in Jakarta. Hundreds of hardline Islamists, some of them throwing rocks and fire bombs, marched on the embassy calling for the film's producer to be executed and for an official apology from the US. It says shots were also fired in the Afghan capital Kabul, where cars were set on fire. Police fired warning shots to disperse protesters in the Pakistani city of Karachi, as the country's government blocked YouTube.
Teheran Times quotes Iranian officials saying they would hunt down those responsible for making the video. Washington has sent ships, extra troops and special forces to protect US interests and citizens in the Middle East, while a number of its embassies have evacuated staff and are on high alert. The US says it will close its embassy in Bangkok on Tuesday because of a large planned demonstration against the film.
Kathemerini reports that court judges and hospital doctors in Greece have begun working to rule over planned austerity measures that would leave thousands of legal cases in limbo and routine operations cancelled. The latest round of action between unions and the Greek coalition is the most serious confrontation yet, and is in protest of the government's ever-increasing mountain of unpaid bills and salaries.
Italian gossip magazine Chi, owned by Silvio Berlusconi's media empire, has published a special edition featuring grainy topless photos of Prince William's wife Catherine. Chi editor Alfonso Signorini claimed the pictures represent "extraordinary reportage". He said that for the first time, “the future queen of England was appearing in a natural way, without the constraints of etiquette” and called the photos “a scoop, not a scandal”. The photos were taken through a powerful telephoto lens as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge relaxed in private at a luxury chateau in the south of France.
As the furore over the photos continued in Europe, the couple, on a visit to the Solomon Islands, appeared unperturbed when they were introduced to a group of topless South Pacific women. The Times says a decision to print the images of the Duchess of Cambridge has incensed the royal family, whose lawyers are seeking a civil injunction to prevent further publication of the images, and criminal charges against the photographer, in a French court. They are also seeking an injunction to prevent the French magazine Closer from re-selling the images. A decision will be this morning. They also want the photographer who took the snaps to face criminal charges.
The Irish Daily Star announces that its editor Michael O'Kane has been suspended with immediate effect, following the publication of topless photos of Kate Middleton in the newspaper. Independent Star Limited says an investigation has now been launched into the circumstances that led to the newspaper re-publishing pages from “Closer”.
Irrawady reports that Burma's government has releasde of more than 500 political prisoners and foreign detainees. The announcement came as Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in Washington for a three-week tour of the US, which would include meetings with politicians and students. The hectic schedule would take Aung San Suu Kyi from New York to Los Angeles, holding 100 events along the way. She meets US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today to be handed the Congressional Gold Medal – the top honour bestowed by Congress.
According to Ansa, the Pope's former butler will go on trial next week over the embarrassing theft of papal documents that exposed alleged corruption at the Holy See's highest levels. Paolo Gabriele, who as butler in the papal apartments had served for several years as one of the pope's closest aides, is accused of grand theft. Also on trial is Claudio Sciarpelletti, who has been temporarily suspended from his post as a computer specialist in the Holy See office of secretariat of state. He faces a lesser charge of aiding and abetting the crime.
The Daily Mirror reports that a woman in the UK who aborted her own baby within a week of his due date has been jailed for eight years. Sarah Catt bought drugs on the internet which induced her labour when her pregnancy was nearly full-term. Leeds Crown Court heard she claimed the boy was stillborn and that she buried his body but no evidence of the child was ever found. Catt, 35, already had two children with her husband when she became pregnant in 2009. She believed the baby's father was a man with whom she had been having an affair for seven years.