The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:

The Times reports the call by the governor of the Central Bank for Malta to cut its debt at a fast pace. It also says that a quarter of prisoners at Corradino are still awaiting sentence.

The Malta Independent says there are plans for a child development centre in Gozo. It also says that a Libyan embassy driver has been accused of rape.

In-Nazzjon says Joseph Muscat is continuing to avoid replies on who travelled with him on a recent visit to Libya.

l-orizzont says a wheelchair stolen from a man in Fgura has been found and returned.

The overseas press

ABC reports that fears that debt-stricken Greece might be headed for a chaotic eurozone exit loomed large as US President Barack Obama met other G8 leaders for crisis talks in the United States. The Group of Eight top economies come together as Greece faces its second election in just six weeks, putting its eurozone future in doubt and dragging down Spain, where the government is struggling to keep its banks afloat. At the close of trade, European stock markets posted sharp losses, mirroring drops in Asia, although Madrid rose in an illustration of the extreme volatility at work.

France 24 quotes French President François Hollande saying Greece should remain in the eurozone as Obama noted after talks that the region was of "extraordinary importance" not only to the people of Europe but to the global economy. Reuters reports that Obama pressed Europe to shift toward a more pro-growth policy and away from austerity to tackle the crisis that threatens to push Greece out of the euro one and send economic shockwaves worldwide. Setting the tone for a weekend G8 summit, Obama made clear he was aligning himself with the new French president's drive for more economic stimulus in the eurozone.

European parliament chief Martin Schulz has warned that a Greek exit from the eurozone could see its economy collapse in days, with untold consequences. AFP quotes European Parliament President Martin Schulz saying Greeks "suffering" from two years of austerity cuts must meet reform pledges in order to keep receiving EU-IMF loans.

The Irish Enquirer says that the latest EU Fiscal Treaty poll has revealed a total of 59 per cent of respondents claimed that they will definitely vote in the referendum. Half of all likely voters claim that they will vote Yes to ratify the treaty, 31 per cent claim they will vote No and 19 per cent remain undecided.  When these ‘undecided’ voters are excluded, the Yes side enjoys 62 per cent of the vote and 38 per cent are left voting No.

According to Wall Street Journal, there has been a roller-coaster day of trading in the share price of the social network Facebook, after one of the world’s ever biggest business floatations. Facebook shares jumped by more than 10 per cent within minutes of marking their stock market debut in New York but later they dropped back to close just 23 US cents (€0.18)above their initial offering price.

Weekend Times reports Malawi’s new President Joyce Banda has announced during her first State of the Nation that she would repeal the country’s ban on homosexual acts. International condemnation in 2010for the conviction and 14-year prison sentences given to two men, who had been arrested after celebrating their engagement and were charged with unnatural acts and gross indecency led to former President Bingu wa Mutharika, who died in office in April, to pardon the couple.

La Semana says Spain’s royal family faced fresh embarrassment with the publication of details of the controversial elephant hunting trip taken by King Juan Carlos last month and the mysterious role of the blonde aristocrat who accompanied him. Corinna zu Sayn Wittgenstein appears on the cover of the June edition of Spain’s Vanity Fair magazine alongside claims that she has been the King’s unofficial companion on numerous private trips abroad. The twice-divorced Princess Corinna, 46, who was born in Germany and claims her title through her second husband, has reportedly fled Spain amid intense media speculation over the nature of her role within the Spanish monarchy.

A controversial new biography of President Obama claims that Michelle Obama planned to divorce the future president in 2000. Huffington Post reports that in "The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House", author Edward Klein claims that the divorce talk came eight years into the Obamas' marriage, after President Obama failed to listen to his wife's warnings about challenging Democratic congressman incumbent Bobby Rush for a Chicago House of Representatives seat in 2000. Obama lost the election by a 2-1 margin. But the unauthorized biography, which Klein claims is based on nearly 200 interviews, has been dismissed by presidential spokesperson Eric Schultz, who told the Washington Examiner, "Ed Klein has a proven history of reckless fabrication in order to sell books.” It's not the first time the Obamas' marriage has been called in question. In 2010, the National Enquirer reported that Michelle Obama threatened to leave the president if he decided to seek a second term in office. The couple have been married for nearly 20 years and have two daughters, Malia, 13, and Sasha, 10.

Sky News reports the Olympic flame has arrived in the UK for this year's London Games. It was flown into an airbase in Cornwall on board a BA plane which had the slogan "our moment to shine" printed on it. Hundreds of people watched Princess Anne carry the Olympic flame off the plane inside a lantern. She was accompanied by Games chairman Sebastian Coe and David Beckham. The torch will be lit and begin a 70 day relay across the UK today.



Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.