The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta leads with comments Joseph Muscat gave to Al Jazeera TV. He said Malta had wanted Europe to smell the Coffee about immigration, and it managed to do so. The newspaper, as well as l-orizzont, also highlight a court paternity case where the court decided in favour of a man who raised a five-year-old boy, not the man who claimed to be the biological father.
l-orizzont in its main story complains about bad workmanship at Melita Street, Valletta. It also comments on a ‘hypocritical conscience by the PN’ over the repatriation of migrants, after having backed Italy on push backs four years ago.
In-Nazzon says Joseph Muscat had turned the immigration issue into an issue of human rights. It also says that in parliament, the Government voted against an opposition motion for greater transparency in the power station tendering process.
The overseas press
Luxemburger Wort reports that after 18 years as Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker has been forced to resign over claims that he had failed to curb abuse of power by the country's secret service, including illegal bugging and accepting money for access to local officials. Alex Bodry, the president of the Socialist coalition party, called on Juncker to take responsibility and demanded early elections be held within the next three months.
Montreal Gazette says the head of a railway company whose runaway train devastated part of the Canadian town of Lac-Megantic has blamed the accident on an employee, who he said failed to properly secure the brakes. Residents heckled Rail World chief Edward Burkhardt, as he visited the town. At least 20 people were killed and 30 others are still missing, presumed dead.
The Washington Times reveals the United States still intends to deliver four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt as scheduled in the coming weeks, despite the political unrest in the country. The White House said it was continuing to evaluate the Egyptian military’s decision to remove Mohammed Morsi from the presidency.
Meanwhile, The Associated Press reports Egypt's military-backed government tightened a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday, ordering the arrest of its revered leader in a bid to choke off the group's campaign to reinstate President Morsi one week after an army-led coup. The Brotherhood denounced the warrants for the arrest of Mohammed Badie and nine other leading Islamists for inciting violence Monday that left dozens dead, saying “dictatorship is back” and vowing it would never work with the interim rulers.
CNN says Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving suspect in the Boston marathon bombings last April, has pleaded “not guilty” to all charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction. Three people died and 264 others were injured during the bombings. Dzhokhar and his brother Tamerlan, both ethnic Chechens, are also considered responsible for the death of a Boston University agent. Tamerlan died during a shootout with police.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the latest details to emerge from the crash-landing of the Asiana aircraft at San Francisco airport shows that the evacuation of its passengers did not begin until 90 seconds after it had come to a stop. The National Transportation Safety Board said the trainee pilots in charge of the plane initially told passengers to remain in the seats. Manwhie, according to USA Today, federal crash investigators revealed that the pilot flying flight 214 told them that he was temporarily blinded by a bright light when 500 feet above the ground.
The Wall Street Journal reports Apple has been found guilty of conspiring with book publishers to raise the retail prices of-ebooks. The decision by a US District Judge in Manhattan is a victory for the US Department of Justice and 33 U. states that brought the antitrust case. Observers said the case could reshape how e-books are sold on the Internet. Damages will be determined at a future trial.
Chicago Tribune says country music star Randy Travis suffered a stroke while at a Texas hospital and was in surgery late Wednesday. He was being treated for congestive heart failure because of a viral illness. One of Randy's doctors said he was stable and “showing signs of improvement” but is still listed in a critical condition.
Fewer babies have been born in Europe since the start of the financial crisis in 2008. A study by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany has found that the birth rate in 28 European countries dropped as unemployment rose. Deutsche Welle says the report shows people under 25 have been particularly affected, proving that “the extent of joblessness in a contemporary European country does in fact have an effect on birth rates”.
According to The New York Times, a company called Pixie Scientific has developed a new “smart” diaper capable of detecting urinary tract infections, kidney dysfunction and dehydration. A small patch at the front of the diaper contains four small, coloured squares that each react differently when they come into contact with certain proteins, water content or bacteria. If an abnormal reaction occurs, the squares will change colour, signalling to parents that something might be wrong with their baby’s health. The diaper will be tested this September and if all goes well, the product will be submitted for review by the Food and Drug Administration.
SportsWorld reports Tokyo is promising a model Olympic Games with the world's strictest anti-doping rules if it wins the right to host the 2020 edition. The IOC meets in Buenos Aires in September to decide which of the three shortlisted cities – Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid – will play host to thousand of athletes for the 2020 summer Games. Tokyo has received widespread praise for a bid that promises a highly-compact and environmentally-friendly games in a city with an already well-developed infrastructure. Growing public support for the project is also helping, making Tokyo the bookies' favourite.