The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports that the sex abuse priests in their appeal case have questioned the victims’ credibility. It also reports how the Archbishop yesterday asked for forgiveness from the victims.
The Malta Independent quotes the Archbishop saying that many more victims of sex abuse need help. It also reports that a water and adventure park will be built at Ta’ Qali.
l-orizzont says the Church is ready to give compensation to the sex abuse victims.
In-Nazzjon says €5.5 million are to be spent on an extension of the Ta Qali national park. It also focuses on the Archbishop’s meeting with child sex abuse victims.
The overseas press
The Financial Times reports that at the end of a volatile week on global stock exchanges, shares in Europe and the US ended higher yesterday, making up much of the loss seen since Monday. However, share values remained well below their highs of last month as investors were worried about big European and US debt problems. Friday's gains were in large part due to a decision by the European Union market regulator ESMA to impose a two-week ban on short-selling. The practice enables investors to make quick profits by dumping select shares on the market to drive their prices down before buying more of them back at a lower price to then profit when their values return to normal levels. Short-selling is also suspected of being behind false rumors aimed at driving down share and bond prices in order to buy them on the cheap.
Sole 24 Ore says Italy’s government has approved €45 million in cuts over the next two years to balance the budget by 2013 to meet demands of the European Central Bank. The Cabinet approved the measures Friday evening despite fierce resistance from local government officials who denounced the emergency austerity measures as socially unjust. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told a news conference that the measures respond to requests from the ECB, which demanded a balanced budget a year earlier than anticipated as well as structural reforms to promote growth. The Cabinet approved €20 billion in cuts for 2012 and €25 billion for 2013.
France faced renewed pressure on Friday to convince rattled markets it could deliver on debt targets and keep its prized triple-A credit rating after data showed economic growth skidding to a halt. France 24 reports he bleak news came after a dramatic week that saw French banks plummet on stock exchanges as President Nicolas Sarkozy cut short a holiday to order deeper cuts and call a eurozone crisis summit with his German counterpart. The government insisted that French economic fundamentals remained "solid" and that the country was still on course to reach its official target of 2.0 percent growth for the year.
O Globo reports that a Brazilian judge known for her work against organized crime has been murdered in Rio de Janiero state. Judge Patricia Acioli was shot more than 20 times by masked men on motor cycles outside her home. She was best known for tackling vigilante gangs. She also convicted any policemen involved in crime.
Police in Britain say more than 1,600 people have been arrested in connection with riots and looting in England over the past week. More than 800 suspects have appeared before the courts and that almost a 20 per cent of those charged have been under the age of 18. The Times says a judge has condemned parents who refuse to take responsibility for their children's actions - after a 14-year-old girl in the dock over looting appeared by herself in court.
Al Jazeera quotes Syrian activists saying at least 16 people have been killed by the security forces amid further demonstrations against President President Bashar Assad in many parts of the country after Friday prayers. Tens of thousands of demonstrators called for his death in a dramatic escalation of their rage and frustration, defying bullets and rooftop snipers after more than a week of intensified military assaults on rebellious cities.
Al Ahram reports that several hundred protesters have clashed with riot police in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, defying Egypt’s military rulers who are eager to prevent any demonstrations there since forcefully clearing a weeks-long sit-in by youth activists last week. Protesters briefly threw bottles and stones at the columns of officers in riot gear before other demonstrators formed a human chain in front of the police to stop the violence.
Al Horria says a Tunisian court has sentenced 23 relatives of deposed leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to prison terms of between four months and six years. His former security chief was acquitted on charges of forging passports to aid Ben Ali's escape.
The Washington Times reports that a US appeals court has ruled that an element of President Barack Obama's healthcare law requiring Americans to buy healthcare insurance or be penalised was unconstitutional. The White House is expected to appeal to the Supreme Court.
El Universal says Mexican troops have discovered an unfinished 300-metre tunnel beneath the US border that would likely have been used to smuggle drugs and people. Announcing the find, General Alfonso Duarte said the entrance to the tunnel was inside a house in the border town of Tijuana that was made to appear as though it was under construction. Ten people have been detained in the operation, including a woman who had been helping to dig the tunnel for nearly a year.