The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta reports the plight of a woman who said breast surgery left her dying inside. She will take legal action. The newspaper also reports that Fantasy Tours clients are planning class action.
The Malta Independent says there is divided opinion on the City Gate stencil image, found yesterday and later covered up.
In-Nazzjon quotes the chairman of the Institute for Journalists saying there are ways and ways how somebody my opt not to reply to reporters' questions. He was referring to the manner how the Commissioner of Police refused to answer two days ago.
l-orizzont leads with the programme of activities to mark the GWU's seventieth anniversary.
The overseas press
The United States has hinted it could act alone in taking military action against Syria after the British Government was defeated in the vote which sought to endorse the principle of British involvement in such an intervention. The Washington Times quotes the White House saying it had seen the result of the British vote and, while the US would continue to consult with the UK Government, President Obama’s decision-making would be guided by what was in the best interests of the United States.
London’s The Times reports dozens of Conservative MPs refused to support Prime Minister David Cameron and sided with the opposition Labour Party in opposing the Government motion backing the use of force “if necessary”. The motion was rejected by 285 votes to 272 – a majority of 13 votes. Within minutes of the defeat, Cameron said he understood that there was not support for British action against Syria and indicated he would abandon any such plans. The decision came just hours after Britain had sent fighter jets to the region.
Both France and Russia have dispatched warships to the eastern Mediterranean. According to an unnamed French military source quoted by the French news magazine Le Point, France has dispatched an anti-air warfare frigate, the Chevalier Paul, to join a growing flotilla of warships including US navy destroyers and British and American submarines, which are armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles. Meanwhile Interfax news agency said that Russia, a close ally of President Assad and a staunch opponent of military strikes against the Damascus regime, announced that it was sending two ships to strengthen its naval presence in the Mediterranean because of the “well-known situation” there.
Al Jazeera says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced that the UN inspectors investigating the alleged chemical weapons attack will be leaving Syria on Saturday, and has asked for time for them to be able to complete their investigation. Ban's comments came as the team reached Douma, outside Damascus, to examine sites where activists say rockets loaded with chemical weapons struck on August 21. Aid agencies say at least 355 people were killed and as many as 3,000 injured after the attacks
Egyptian state ERTU TV reports security forces have arrested senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed el-Beltagy who on Wednesday urged supporters to attend a protest today demanding the reinstatement of deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. In televised comments yesterday, Egypt's interior ministry said security forces would use live ammunition on Friday against “dangerous” protesters who “threatened public order”.
Expresso announces that the Portuguese Constitutional Court has blocked the law permitting the sacking of state employees. The proposed law was one of the commitments taken on by the government in exchange for international bailout aid. The law is considered important by the government as a means to cut spending. Observers say the Court's refusal has alarmed investors, and possibly put the other austerity measures at risk.
Ansa reports Italian supreme Cassation Court judges, have called media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi the “creator” of a system for manipulating media rights. The comment came in their justification for upholding the former premier's conviction for tax fraud in early August. Berlusconi was convicted of manipulating the purchase of film rights for the television broadcaster Mediaset, which is part of a multi-billion-euro media empire controlled by the centre-right leader's family.
The Wall Street Journal says the US government has announced that legally married gay couples will be treated the same as married couples for federal tax purposes. The US Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service said the decision applies to legally married same-sex couples whether they live in a state that recognises the marriage or not,
France 24 reports Russian artist Konstantin Altunin has fled to France and was applying for asylum after police seized his painting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in women's underwear. Police on Tuesday raided an exhibition in St Petersburg, which next week hosts the G20 summit, and confiscated works including a painting of Putin in a strappy nightie and Medvedev in a bra and skimpy knickers.
AGI says animal rights activists in Italy called for a halt to Foligno's historical Giostra della Quintana jousting tournament after the death of a horse injured during preparations for the annual competition. The traditional horse-and-rider competition dates back to 1448, but was revived as a modern festival in 1946. Riders gallop at breakneck speed aiming to spear 3 rings hanging on separate wooden carousels with a statue representing Mars, the god of war.
Sole 24 Ore reports Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has been named one of the world's most elegant personalities by the American magazine Vanity Fair. Montezemolo appears on the magazine's annual International Best-Dressed List for 2013 along with other high-profile names like singers Justin Timberlake and Beyonce', ex-Spice Girl Victoria Beckam, actress Charlize Theron, Spain's Princess Letizia and the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton.