The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says that according to a survey, the old buses were more popular than Arriva. It also says that the Cospicua project contractor is blaming the government for the project delays and wants to be paid.
The Malta Independent quotes the prime minister saying that the case against Richard Cachia Caruana has all the ingredients of a frame-up. It also reports Joseph Muscat saying that the PM should tomorrow resolve the problems in the PN in the country’s best interests.
In-Nazzjon says Joe Mizzi had made serious allegations about a drugs party on a yacht and that the police were sent to the wrong yacht, but he did nothing about them as a minister.
l-orizzont says the Pharmacy of Your Choice Scheme is still unlicensed.
The overseas press
Al Jazeera reports heavy fighting around the Syrian capital Damascus. According to activists, government forces used tanks and artillery in clashes with rebel fighters in the southern suburbs. The Red Cross said the conflict in Syria was now in effect a civil war. The change in status means combatants would now be officially subject to the Geneva Conventions, leaving them more exposed to war crimes prosecutions.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told Arabic-language Al-Alam TV that Iran was ready to host a meeting between Damascus and its opponents aimed at solving the country's conflict. He said they believed “the Syrian issue should have a Syrian solution".
Al Ahram reports that the head of Egypt’s military council said the armed forces would not allow anyone to prevent them from fulfilling their role as Eygpt’s protector. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi made the comment a few hours after meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She was reported to have stressed the army must honour its commitment to full transition to civilian rule.
AGI reports that on her way to Alexandria, demonstrators threw shoes and tomatoes at Clinton's motorcade and chanted "Monica, Monica", in reference to Monica Lewinsky, who was said to have had an affair with the then US President Bill Clinton. The agency says the protest seemed to have been triggered by the suspicions that Washington had helped Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, Mohamed Morsi, win the elections in Egypt. Clinton firmly said “the United States is not in the business, in Egypt, of choosing winners and losers, even if we could, which, of course, we cannot".
Ethiopia Observer says the African Union has chosen Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma f South Africa as the new chair of the organization. She is the first woman to hold the post. At the AOU summit in Addis Ababa, she beat incumbent Jean Ping of Gabon after a closely fought contest for the chairmanship of the organisation. She said her priority would be reforming the organisation.
The BBC reports the Save the Children has delivered a fresh warning about what it has called “a rapidly-escalating refugee crisis” in the border region between Sudan and South Sudan. The humanitarian organisation said fighting along the disputed border had led to “a huge influx of refugees with around 2,000 children arriving each day at crowded camps.
According to Annapurna Post, at least 39 people have been killed in a bus crash in Nepal. The bust was overcrowded with pilgrims carrying them from India to a Hindu festival in southern Nepal when it swerved off a highway and plunged into a deep river.
Le Monde reports France’s far right party, the National Front, has said it would sue the pop singer Madonna over a video at one of her concerts in Paris which showed the party’s leader Marine Le Pen with a swastika superimposed on her face. The footage appeared on a huge screen at the concert, followed by an image of a man resembling Adolf Hitler.
Mail & Guardian says South African rescue teams have moved more than 2,000 people to safety as well as dozens of trucks stuck due to heavy rains. There has also been snowfall in southern parts of South Africa, over what turned out to be a particularly icy weekend. Johannesburg and Cape Town saw over 100 millimeters of rain over three days.
Asia Observer reports Japanese troops were airlifting supplies to thousands of people trapped in mountainous districts cut off by floods on the southern island of Kyushu. Rescue teams have been searching for those missing following flooding and landslides caused by record rainfall. The death toll has now risen to 26. Heavy rain has also caused flooding in Japan's historic capital, Kyoto.
The Los Angeles Times announces the death of Oscar-winning actress Celeste Holm. . She was 95. Her career spanned more than 50 years. The versatile actress achieved fame on Broadway in the original production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's hit musical "Oklahoma!" in 1943 and later moved to Hollywood. She won an Oscar for her best supporting role in "Gentleman's Agreement".
L’Equipe reports a police investigation is underway in southern France after dozens of cyclists taking part in the Tour de France fell victim to saboteurs who had thrown small nails onto the course. The race organiser condemned the attack as irresponsible and dangerous”.