The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times reports comments by the FKNK that the EU should not be consulted over hunting limits. It also says members of George Farrugia’s family have been arrested as part of the oil scandal investigation.
The Malta Independent quotes the prime minister telling supporters that their five seconds of voting on Saturday are ‘crucial’. It also says that Malta leads the EU in the healthy life expectancy chart.
MaltaToday says according to the European Commission, there is no funding for the gas pipeline at present, as the project has not started. Funding is being considered, however.
In-Nazzjon reports how the prime minister urged supporters to vote for the PN and for job-creation.
l-orizzont asks if Lufthansa Tachnik has no work in August. It also raises questions on regulatory approval of Zaren Vassallo’s loan to the PN.
The overseas press
Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela for the last 14 years, died on Tuesday following his treatment for cancer. Globovision says his death was announced by the country's vice president Nicolas Maduro, ending a months of speculation surrounding his health. He was 58. The popular but controversial leader had won his fourth presidential term in 2012 but was never sworn in due to his failing health. The career military officer-turned-politician won friends and enemies as he launched poverty-fighting programmes, nationalised key industries and forged alliances with other leftist leaders in Latin America – particularly the Castro brothers in Cuba.
VOA says the US described Chavez’s death as a “challenging time”, reaffirming what it described as its support for the Venezuelan people and its interest in developing a constructive relationship with Caracas. Panamericana TV reports that President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina suspended all activities after the death was announced and in Peru, Congress held a minute’s silence in his honour. Bolivia's President Evo Morales said he was leaving immediately for Caracas. The governments of Chile and Ecuador also released official notes of condolence to Venezuela. The BBC quotes UK Foreign Minister William Hague saying he was “saddened” to learn of the death, saying Chavez had left a “lasting impression” on Venezuela.
Ansa quotes Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi saying cardinals gathered in Rome were in “no rush” to set a date for the conclave to elect Pope Benedict's successor. The cardinals on Tuesday embarked on their second day of pre-conclave meetings to decide what characteristics the next leader of the Catholic Church should have and establish a date for the conclave. Lombardi said that the fact that the cardinals have opted not to hold afternoon sessions Tuesday and Wednesday, after holding two sessions on Monday, was “significant” as it suggested they intended to take their time. All but five of the 115 cardinal electors who are set to select the pope at the upcoming conclave were already in Rome. All of the cardinal electors have to be present before the date of the conclave can be set.
The latest New York Times/CBS News Poll reveals Roman Catholics in the United States believe the church and bishops are out of touch, and that the next pope should lead the church in a more modern direction on issues like birth control and ordaining women and married men as priests. Most wanted the next pope to be “someone younger, with new ideas”. A majority said they wanted the next pope to make the church’s teachings more liberal. Seven out of 10 say Pope Benedict XVI and the Vatican had done a poor job of handling sexual abuse – by far the largest problem facing the church. Three-fourths of those polled said they thought it was a good idea for Benedict to resign.
According to Reuters, protesters demanding that ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi's former associates be barred from power blocked some 100 members of Libya's national assembly from leaving a meeting for several hours before letting them go. Speaking on national television, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said around 300 protesters had gathered at a building on the outskirts of Tripoli “to put pressure on members to vote on this bill”. Proposed in December, the bill would ban officials from Gaddafi's regime and their associates from politics. After several hours, the politicians were let out.
Sole 24 Ore says Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi has told business and financial leaders at a conference in New York there was no reason to worry about instability in the eurozone's third largest economy despite inconclusive national elections last week. According to sources at the closed-door event, Terzi reassured those attending the meeting organized by the International Economic Alliance, of Italy's “ability to recover”.
Kenya Today reports Uhuru Kenyatta has established a large lead over rival Raila Odinga in early results from Kenya's presidential poll. With results in from over 40 per cent of polling stations, Kenyatta has 53 per cent of the vote, against Odinga’s 42 per cent.
Chicago Tribune reports a deadly late winter storm dumped between six to 10 inches of snow snow on the Midwestern United States on Tuesday, contributing to numerous automobile accidents on highways and flight cancellations as it moved east toward the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic states. More than 1,200 flights were cancelled in and out of Chicago and hundreds of schools were closed in northern Illinois.
Euro Investor says Swedish furniture giant Ikea has said it was investigating claims that Chinese authorities have found coliform bacteria, normally present in faecal matter, in an almond cake made in Sweden for the company’s restaurants. The Shanghai Daily wrote the cake had failed tests “for containing an excessive level of coliform bacteria”. Ikea said 1,800 cakes — described on its website as an almond cake with chocolate, butter cream and butterscotch — were destroyed after being intercepted by Chinese customs in November.
Ireland’s RTÉ reports that in a landmark case, the genetic parents of twins born to a surrogate have won their High Court case to have the biological mother – who provided the embyros – recognised as the children’s legal mother. The genetic mother’s name will now be added to the birth certificates.