The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports that the EU yesterday gave Air Malta its wings. It says Ryanair had been objecting to state aid.
The Malta Independent reports on the approval of the Air Malta restructuring and the EU’s ‘long and difficult’ summit, which starts today.
In-Nazzjon like the other newspapers also reports how the European Commission approved Air Malta’s restructuring plans.
l-orizzont quotes Simon Busuttil saying in The Times that the PN is divided and this has to be admitted.
The overseas press
As EU leaders prepare to meet for a summit on the fate of the euro, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has again rejected the idea of pooling eurozone debt through bonds and urged greater competitiveness in the EU. Börzen Zeitung reports she told parliament in Berlin that the proposal for "eurobonds" went against Germany's constitution. Merkel later travelled to Paris for talks with President François Hollande for two hours of talks.
Le Monde quotes Merkel insisting the 17 eurozone member states needed to press ahead with further economic and political integration before taking any measures to pool international debts. Warning there is no "magic formula" to solve the crisis, she said that progress for a pact for growth had been made and she hoped European leaders would adopt a €130-billion stimulus package. However, she feared the meeting would spend too much time talking about sharing debts rather than how to fix the system.
The BBC reports that regulators in the United States, Europe and Asia are investigating a number of major financial institutions for manipulating inter-bank lending rates. Yesterday, Barclays Bank was fined $452 million, after admitting fault. City Group, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and HSBC are said to be among the institutions under scrutiny.
Gunmen have attacked a Syrian pro-government TV channel, killing seven people. Sana news agency reports journalists and security guards died in the attack on al-Ikhbariya TV south of Damascus. Hours earlier, President Bashar al-Assad said Syria was in "a real state of war". Voice of America says the United States has condemned the deadly attack on the Syrian pro-government television station and said it hopes an upcoming meeting of world powers in Geneva would be a turning point in resolving Syria's 15-month conflict.
Meanwhile, The New York Times quotes the Iranian ambassador to the UN has said his country was ready to take part in international efforts to end the crisis in Syria. Mohammad Khazaee was speaking ahead of an international meeting on Saturday, called by international envoy Kofi Annan, to which Iran, unlike other neighbouring countries has not been invited. Western leaders accuse Iran of supporting President Assad’s regime. Khazaee said it was a mistake not to involve his country in the international talks.
The Irish Enquirer quotes Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams describing the handshake between Martin McGuinness and Queen Elizabeth as "a real gesture which goes beyond rhetoric". The historic encounter between the former IRA commander – now the North’s Deputy First Minister – and the Queen took place away from the media spotlight behind closed doors. McGuinness welcomed the Queen in Irish and acknowledged the significance of the event and the need to build on it. During the four-decade conflict, in which Republicans fought for a united Ireland ruled from Dublin, some 3,600 people on both sides of the religious and political divide were killed. In 1979, the IRA blew up a yacht carrying Lord Louis Mountbatten, the queen's cousin.
USA Today says more than 32,000 people have fled Colorado's second-biggest city because of raging wildfires that have hit six other US states – Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Utah. Traffic and smoke choked the streets as people left Colorado Springs and a nearby US Air Force Academy. Some 800 firefighters have been deployed. President Barack Obama is to tour the affected areas on Friday.
Bangla Times reports at least 94 people have been killed in flash floods and landslides in Bangladesh caused by some of the heaviest rain in years. The army has been sent to help with rescue efforts in the south-eastern port city of Chittagong. The region's chief administrator has warned that the death toll could rise as more remote areas are accessed.
Sydney Morning Herald quotes Australian officials confirming that 130 survivors, most of them reported to be women and children, had been rescued after a ship full of apparent asylum seekers trying to reach Australia capsized in the Indian Ocean. The Australian Customs and Border Protection Authority said there were 134 people aboard the vessel and that four had died in the accident. As recently as Sunday, the Australian navy was searching the same area for survivors or bodies from another rickety boat that capsized last Thursday. About 90 people are thought to have died in that accident; about 110 were rescued.
For the first time in 13 years, the US has approved a new drug to tackle obesity. American Medical News says the drug, to be known as Belviq, helps to control the appetite by working on receptors in the brain. It was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as an addition option, combined with diet and exercise, for about a third of American adults considered obese.