The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Sunday Times says that according to the EU, Malta has one of the worst black economies in the eurozone. The newspaper carries an interview with Transport and Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt, who says Arriva was twice warned that its contract would be cancelled unless its service improved.
The Malta Independent reports that Malta has rated Malta’s competitiveness above average. It also highlights yesterday’s press conference by Austin Gatt where he announced bus route changes.
MaltaToday says Tonio Fenech’s claim that Malta’s exports were up by 54% was a joke. It also says that Libyan doctors have accused Malta of ‘picking and choosing’ the injured for treatment in Malta.
Illum reports that 1,672 workers were employed by the government in a year. It also says that Marcel Cutajar, a board member in the Malta Communications Authority, submitted a tender to the Authority itself. He has now been asked to step down.
It-Torca highlights yesterday’s traffic fatality in Attard. It also says that phone tapping by the AFM had been going on for years.
Kullhadd leads with a comment by Joseph Muscat, who told an interviewer that the government wants the PL to say what it will do after the election, when the government itself does not know what it is doing now. It also says that the breakwater ‘bridge to nowhere’ is to have a project manager.
Il-Mument highlights comments by the Prime Minister that the PN is updating its policies to offer the best solutions to the country.
The overseas press
Tens of thousands of people in several cities around the world have been staging protests against corporate greed and mismanagement in international banking resulting in the current economic crisis. Events took a particularly violent turn in Rome and the violence sent many peaceful demonstrators and local residents near the Colosseum and St John's Basilica running into hotels and churches for safety. Protesters are angry that banks are enjoying booming profits after getting massive bailouts in 2008 while average people are struggling in a tough economy with massive unemployment and little help from governments.
Reports say hundreds of protesters clashed with police on horseback in Times Square in New York. Los Angeles Times says about 1,000 protesters marched to a Chase bank branch, a few going inside to close their accounts. About 24 people were later arrested at a Citibank branch near Washington Square Park after refusing to leave the bank. In Washington, about 200 protesters gathered in front of the white columns of the Treasury Department headquarters shouting, "Poverty stinks, tax the banks!"
Thousands took to the streets in European cities. Corriere della Sera says that the police in Rome fired teargas and water canons to disperse thousands of hooded protesters who smashed bank and shop windows. Some 70 people were reported injured and 12 arrests were made as the demonstrations burned a police armoured vehicle and two stories of the Ministry of Defence. Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has vowed to punish those responsible for the trail of destruction in the capital.
Madrid also saw a huge rally but El Pais reports the atmosphere there appeared to be festive. People of all ages, from pensioners to children, and many of the young unemployed, gathered on Puerta del Sol Square, where the "Indignant" movement was launched in May.
Espresso says Portugal was the scene of the biggest reported protest action, with more than 20,000 marching in Lisbon and a similar number in the country's second city Oporto, two days after the government announced a new batch of austerity measures. Hundreds broke through a police cordon around the parliament in Lisbon to occupy its broad marble staircase.
According to Kathimerini, about 4,000 people rallied outside parliament in Athens with banners bearing slogans like "Greece is not for sale”. A similar number reportedly turned out in the second city, Thessaloniki.
Reuters reports that in Paris, around 1,000 protesters rallied in front of city hall, coinciding with the G20 finance chiefs' meeting, after coming in from the working class neighborhood of Belleville where drummers, trumpeters and a tuba revved up the crowd.
In Germany, Bild says thousands gathered in Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig and outside the European Central Bank in Frankfurt.
Demonstrators gathered peacefully in Paradeplatz, the main square in the Swiss financial centre of Zurich.
The BBC says 1,000 people demonstrated in London's financial district but were prevented by police from reaching the Stock Exchange, and five arrests were made.
The Irish Times says that in Dublin, about 400 people marched to a hotel where a delegation from the EU, the European Central bank and the IMF, involved in the country's ongoing financial bailout, was staying.
Sydney Morning Herald reports that hundreds of activists – including representatives of Aboriginal groups, communists and trade unionists - rallied outside the central Reserve Bank of Australia – chanting anti-big-business slogans and some holding up banners reading, "You can't eat money". Protesters declared that the events were "only the start".
The Dominion Post says hundreds of people marched in New Zealand cities. In Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city, 3,000 people chanted and banged drums.
Japan Times says about 600 people joined rallies in Tokyo, marching on the headquarters of Tepco, the utility that owns the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which suffered a major meltdown after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
China Times reports that over 100 people gathered at the Taipei stock exchange, chanting "We are Taiwan's 99 percent" and saying economic growth had only benefited companies while middle-class salaries barely covered basic costs.
Chosun Ilbo reports that in Seoul, members of 30 civic groups banded together to protest the "super-wealthy" with demonstrations across the South Korean capital.
South China Morning Post says that in Hong Kong, home to the Asian headquarters of investment banks including Goldman Sachs, over 100 people gathered at Exchange Square in the Central district. Students joined with pensioners, holding banners that called banks “a cancer”.
In other news…
Le Monde reports that at the end of their meeting in Paris to look at ways of handling the faltering world economy, Finance Ministers from the G20 group said they believed European leaders were making progress towards solving the crisis. French Finance Minister François Baroin said the EU summit later this month would agree "decisive" measures” and give "clear answers" to tackle the eurozone debt crisis. The G20 statement also said ministers were "committed that the IMF must have adequate resources".
The Red Star says the security forces in the Yemen have shot dead 12 people as tens of thousands of demonstrators demanded the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Reports say live ammunition and water canons were used.
Reuters reports Syrian forces shot dead two mourners when they fired at a funeral in central Damascus for a 10-year-old child killed during a protest a day earlier. Some mourners began throwing stones at the security forces, who fired live ammunition back.