The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta reports on the discovery of the decomposed body of Pawlu Grech, who had been reported missing.
The Malta Independent describes the discovery as 'murder most foul'.
In-Nazzjon also reports on the discovery of Pawlu Grech's body.
l-orizzont reports how a Russian man has been arrested in connection with the discovery in l-Ahrax, Melieha, yesterday.
The overseas press
The US has urged the Syrian government to allow immediate aid convoys to starving civilians cut off in rebel-held suburbs of Damascus. According to the BBC, Washington said the army's months-long siege left many people in desperate need of food, water and medicine. The Syrian army has warned the rebel-held areas must surrender or starve.
Meanwhile, London’s The Times reports snipers in Syria were targeting pregnant women in order to kill their unborn babies. It quotes British surgeon David Nott telling ITV News pregnant women had been brought into his hospital with gunshot wounds to the uterus, indicating the snipers “must be targeting pregnant women in a sickening war game in which their unborn babies appear to be used for target practice”.
Libya Herald reports gunmen in Benghazi have killed the head Libya's military police force, Colonel Ahmed Mostafa el-Barghathy, as he was heading to a mosque to attend Friday prayers. Later, the family home of the commander of the Libya Shield No. 1 Battalion, Wissam Ben Hamid, was set on fire by members of the Barghathi tribe who accused him of responsibility for the assassination. Appearing in a Tripoli studio for the Alaseema channel’s “Seventh Question” show, Ben Hamid denied he was in any way connected with the murder.
The New York Times quotes UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon saying that the United Nations has not yet received an official reply from Saudi Arabia stating that the country did not wish to take a non-permanent seat in the Security Council. The Arab state won a seat on the council on Thursday but yesterday accused the body of “double-standards”. The Saudi Foreign Ministry has said it had no other option but to turn down the membership until the body is reformed.
Il Tempo reports two days of protests against austerity measures passed by the coalition government began in Italy yesterday when strikes by civil servants, hospital staff and transport workers disrupted transport in Rome and other cities. More than 100 flights were cancelled at Rome's main Fiumicino airport, 80 percent of buses were not running in the capital and rail and underground services were disrupted elsewhere.
Ansa says a political firestorm and a potential €10-million lawsuit were ignited on Friday after Bulgarian actress Michelle Bonev claimed that ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's fiancée is a lesbian. Francesca Pascale, 28, said she has been defamed by the allegation made during the political talk show “Servizio Pubblico” on the La7 network. Bonev said Pascale's engagement to the 77-year-old Berlusconi was “just a facade” and that Berlusconi knew that Pascale was a lesbian.
France 24 reports France’s constitutional court has ruled that mayors cannot refuse to carry out same-sex marriages. The ruling comes a month after seven mayors contested France’s new law allowing for gay marriage. The mayors say it should have allowed local authorities to opt out on the grounds of freedom of conscience but the court rejected the mayors’ arguments. The law allowing gay marriage exposed deep divisions in French society, prompting big protests for and against such unions.
The Times says mouth cancer cases in the UK have risen by more than a quarter in a decade, fuelled in part by changing sexual habits. Almost 7,700 new cases were diagnosed in 2011. Men are most at risk of the disease, which is also caused by smoking, drinking and poor diet.
ABC says the Children's Court in Canberra has warned parents of the dangers of the internet, after a 12-year-old boy downloaded pornography, showed it to his young cousins and had them re-enact segments. The boy's actions, involving three girls aged between seven and 10, left his family “torn apart”, a magistrate said. The boy, now aged 14, was charged with multiple counts of indecent assault and one of sexual intercourse with a minor. Magistrate Karen Fryar labelled it a tragedy of mammoth proportions.
A young couple in China are facing charges for “selling” their daughter and using part of the proceeds to buy an iPhone. Xinhua reports prosecutors have brought a case against the couple for human trafficking after they illegally put their third child up for adoption through online postings and accepted money for the baby. Investigators found the mother used the money to buy an iPhone, high-end sports shoes and other products online.
The Irish Examiner says U2 have released new material for the first time since 2009. “Ordinary Love” is featured in upcoming biopic “Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom”, which stars Idris Elba and Naomie Harris. A clip of the new song was released to U2.com subscribers and marks the first new U2 release since 2009’s “No Line on the Horizon”. U2 are rumoured to release their sixteenth studio album next February.