The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times says a cloud hangs over the first MCESD meeting today because most of the members disagree with the appointment of John Bencini as chairman. It reports how PN leadership candidates Simon Busutil and Francis Zammit Dimech launched their leadership election campaigns yesterday.
The Malta Independent reports that Simon Busutil and Francis Zammit Dimech yesterday outlined their vision for the PN. It also says the Budget debate is expected on Monday.
l-orizzont quotes Simon Busuttil saying yesterday that the PN had a good electoral programme.
In-Nazzjon says the Opposition will vote against the nomination of Anglu Farrugia as Speaker because the Opposition was not consulted on the post.
The overseas press
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appealed to North Korea to change course, saying it had “gone too far” in its rhetoric. The BBC quotes Ban telling a news conference in Madrid he was concerned any “unwanted crisis” on the Korean peninsula would have “very serious implications”. His warning came hours after South Korea's foreign minister said the North had shifted a missile with “considerable range” to its east coast. Pyongyang earlier renewed threats of a nuclear strike against the US. White House spokesman Jay Carney described the threats as “regrettable but familiar”, adding the US was taking “all the necessary precautions”.
Iran heads into nuclear talks with world powers today in an apparently uncompromising mood, demanding the immediate recognition of its right to enrich uranium and downplaying the chances of direct talks with the United States. Al Arabiya quotes Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili saying the so-called P5+1 – the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany – had to accept Iran's right to enrich uranium. The demand is inherently objectionable to the P5+1 because Iran is prohibited from enriching uranium by the United Nations and is heavily sanctioned for its secretive work.
Deutsche Welle reports the European Commission has called on EU countries to tighten financial regulations following the news of alleged widespread tax dodging. Some 130,000 people from over 170 states around the world have a total of $32 trillion in secret bank accounts in the offshore haven of the British Virgin Islands. They heads of state, oligarchs, politicians, businessmen and celebrities. EC spokesman Olivier Bailly pointed out that tax evasion costs over €1,000 billion annually in the EU. He said that the EC was determined to fight tax fraud by both individuals and companies. Last December, the commission proposed 30 measures to tackle the problem and was waiting for member states to express an opinion.
Börzen Zeitung quotes the head of the European Central Bank admitting that initial plans to impose losses on all depositors in Cyprus as part of its bailout package were “not smart”. Mario Draghi was speaking in Frankfurt as the ECB left its main interest rate unchanged at 0.75 per cent. He said Cyprus’ troubled offshore financial sector demonstrated the importance of having a banking union within the eurozone and called for the new eurozone authority to start operating by 2015 rather than 2018 as is currently proposed.
The death toll from a new strain of bird flu in China has risen to six as scientists around the world stepped up efforts to determine its pandemic risk. Xinhua reports at least 14 people in China have been confirmed to have H7N9, all in the eastern part of the country. The Washington Post says this is the first time the H7N9 virus has been detected in humans, and scientists worldwide are following the situation to assess the human pandemic potential. There is no evidence that the H7N9 bird flu strain is transmitted from human to human.
The Los Angeles Times reports that for the second time in three days, prosecutors announced corruption charges yesterday against a New York state lawmaker, this time accusing a legislator of accepting bribes from businessmen who wanted his help in running and maintaining adult day-care centres. A 36-page complaint charged Sen. Eric Stevenson with accepting about $22,000 – most of it stuffed into envelopes and handed over at a number of secretly recorded meetings. He was charged with fraud, conspiracy and bribery and could face at least 20 years in prison if convicted. On Tuesday, the US attorney in Manhattan announced charges against Sen. Malcolm A. Smith and five others, including a New York City councilman, on charges Smith had tried to buy his way onto the 2013 mayoral ballot.
Euronews reports a senior member of Portugal’s cabinet, Miguel Relvas, has resigned amid claims that he got his university degree without completing the necessary work. Relvas was minister for parliamentary affairs and was close to the prime minister.
The Sun says a British man was jailed for life and his wife and accomplice were given long prison sentences on Thursday for accidentally killing six of their children in a bungled house fire plot aimed at getting custody of five other children. A jury on Tuesday found all three guilty of manslaughter following an eight-week trial. All six children, aged from five to 13, died from smoke inhalation.
According to El Observador, President Jose Mujica of Uruguay was left red-faced on Thursday after disparaging remarks apparently aimed at Argentine counterpart Cristina Kirchner and her late husband were picked up by an open microphone. The newspaper posted the audio on its website. Within an hour, Mujica told the online version of La Republica that he had not talked or mentioned anything about Argentina and was not going to clarify anything.