The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times reports that Louis Grech has been designated to ‘deliver’ the goods for Labour. The newspaper also gives a run-down of the PL electoral programme. It also says that an oil trader was accused of stealing from his own family.
The Malta Independent reports that Joseph Muscat condemned death threats against Anglu Farrugia. It also reports comments by Lawrence Gonzi that Muscat's references to cancer were the worst kind of political exploitation.
In-Nazzjon carries the text of a recording where GWU Tony Zarb is heard speaking to a businessman. It is claimed that Mr Zarb told him that if he had good relations with the union, he would be given a push when calls for tender were issued.
l-orizzont says the PL unveiled a roadmap of 20 priorities yesterday.
The overseas press
MEPs have backed the biggest reform plan in the history of the EU's fisheries policy, vowing to restore fish stocks and return profitability to fishing communities. The Irish Examiner says the measures, approved in a vote in Strasbourg, include banning, within three years, the current practice of dumping dead fish back in the sea. Dumping is a consequence of current Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) rules restricting the size of landed catches under a complex system of quotas.
Radio Tunis reports Tunisia’s Islamist Prime Minister Hemadi Jebali has said he would dissolve parliament and form a unity government of technocrats after the assassination of a leading secular politician, Chokri Belaid. Thousands of protestors had earlier taken to the streets, calling for the government to resign.
AFP says disaster relief agencies were scrambling to reach tsunami-hit villages in the Solomon Islands, warning the death toll following a powerful 8.0-magnitude quake is likely to rise. Officials said six people were confirmed dead after Wednesday's quake generated a wave that swamped coastal communities on the island of Ndende in the eastern Solomons, triggering fears of a more widespread destructive tsunami.
According to ABC, the authorities in southern Tasmania have issued an emergency warning for residents in the path of an uncontrolled bushfire, which has already destroyed more than 300 hectares north-west of Hobart and is now headed towards homes. Fire crews are also frantically working to put out other spot fire threatening several homes.
Sky News says five British hospital trusts are to be investigated over their mortality rates following the publication of the inquiry into mistreatment and neglect of patients at Stafford Hospital between 2005 and 2009. The Department of Health put cash over patient care, the report into the unnecessary deaths of up to 1,200 patients concluded.
Metro quotes scientists in Canada saying raising the minimum price of alcohol by just 10 per cent can cause drink-related deaths to fall by almost a third. Their findings were based on data from the province of British Columbia.
Le Monde says the French government has given the green light to the opening of the country’s first trial “shooting gallery” where drug addicts can inject drugs legally under medical supervision. The opposition has described the decision as a “moral defeat.”
Expectant women who live in areas with significant air pollution risk having babies of low birth weight. The largest study to date in Environmental Health Perspectives, which looked at more than 3,000,000 births in nine nations, found there was a notable impact on the population as a whole. Low birth weight babies have a higher risk of health problems and death. The majority survive but have an increased risk of developing conditions such as diabetes and heart disease as adults.
A Mexican girl has become one of the world’s youngest mothers after giving birth aged just nine. Spanish news agency EFE says the girl, named only as Dafne, gave birth to a 2.7 kilo-baby girl on January 27. The police are seeking the 17-year-old father, who fled two months ago, when the girl realised she was pregnant. News reports say the youngest mother on record is a Peruvian girl who was five years and seven months old when she delivered a boy by C-section in 1939.
The Financial Times reports the Royal Bank of Scotland has been fined fines more than $600 million by regulators for manipulating the Libor interest rate – a benchmark for consumer and business loans around the world. RBS said it had uncovered wrongdoing by 21 employees, who had now been disciplined or left the bank.
The Chilean navy is investigating allegations of xenophobia, after a video emerged apparently showing marines chanting offensive slogans. The BBC says some 40 men appear jogging along a beach while chanting that they would "kill Argentines, shoot Bolivians and behead Peruvians". The ministry of defence promised to punish those responsible and ordered an investigation within 24 hours. The head of the Chilean navy, Admiral Edmundo Gonzalez, described the video as unacceptable.
Gabon Eco reports the Gabonese National Parks Agency has revealed poachers have killed more than 11,000 elephants since 2004. Gabon is home to more than half of Africa's 40,000 forest elephants, which are prized for the quality of their pink-tinged ivory. Campaigners said the situation was "out of control" and blamed high demand for ivory jewellery in Asia.