The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
The Times says that banks in Malta are safeguarding their liquidity by depositing surplus cash with the European Central Bank, against no interest, rather than going for a profit with international financial institutions. In another story, it reports that access to Simblija, one of Malta’s most beautiful rural and archaeological sites, is being blocked by a family that has occupied a farmhouse in the area for generations.
EU Commissioner John Dalli tells l-Orizzont that he had introduced two VAT acts for more people to pay according to what they earned but no businessmen had gone to prison when he was minister. In another story it says that the tuna used at the tuna feast last Saturday was farmed. It also reports on the power cuts at STMicroelectronics yesterday.
The Malta Independent leads with reports of the political speeches of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Opposition leader Joseph Muscat yesterday. It reports Dr Gonzi saying that unemployment will increase under Labour and says that the PL has, for the first time yesterday, organised a Google hangout.
In-Nazzjon also leads with a report of the Prime Minister’s speech saying that Labour brings unemployment while the PN has a policy that creates employment through the modernisation of the island and confidence in the people.
International news
Al Jazeera reports that in a television address in today’s early hours, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has vowed that he would retake control of the Sinai after an attack near the Israeli border left 16 guards dead and another seven injured. Sunday's assault on the border between Egypt and Israel in north Sinai took place as gunmen reportedly tried to smash their way across the border into Israel. The Israeli military said the attack was part of a plot to abduct an Israeli soldier, and two vehicles commandeered by the attackers crashed into Israel, where one blew up. Egyptian state television said that armed foreign fighters were behind the attack.
Reuters quotes senior Israeli defence official saying Israel was upgrading its ballistic missile shield in a US-backed "race" against Iran, Syria and other regional enemies. Israel has threatened pre-emptively attacks in both countries – a prospect that could trigger wider war and clash with Washington's efforts to resolve the crises diplomatically.
The BBC says unknown assailants have carried out a grenade and rocket attack on a residential building of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Libyan port city of Misrata. Seven members of the staff were said to be inside the building at the time of the attack, but no-one was hurt. They have now been withdrawn to the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
The Washington Post says US federal authorities were investigating the fatal shooting of six people at a Sikh temple south of Milwaukee – an incident that shocked members of the nation’s closely-knit Sikh community. Police said that during a religious service, a man entered the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek and sprayed automatic-weapon fire, killing four people inside the building and two more outside. He then wounded a police officer before being shot to death by another officer. Three people were injured, including the temple president.
Haaretz quotes Palestinian officials saying a meeting of envoys from the Non-Aligned Movement, due to convene in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has been cancelled after Israel refused to admit four representatives of states with which it had no diplomatic relations. The envoys were due to sign a declaration backing the Palestinians ahead of their planned campaign to win recognition as a state at the United Nations next month. Israel barred the foreign ministers of Malaysia and Indonesia along with ambassadors from Cuba and Bangladesh on the grounds the four countries do not recognize the Jewish state.
AFP reports some 20,000 Syrian government troops are amassed outside Aleppo threatening to mount a "decisive battle" for the country’s biggest city even as rebels clawed towards the city's ancient centre under intense bombardment and strafing from warplanes. In the capital Damascus, militiamen appeared to step up guerrilla-like forays in central districts that were once firmly in the regime's hands.
Meanwhile, Abrar says Iran has asked Turkey and Qatar to help secure the release of 48 Iranian pilgrims seized in the Syrian capital by rebels, who say the captured men were actually in Syria to fight opponents of President Bashar al-Assad. Iran said those captured were pilgrims visiting an important Shiite shrine on the outskirts of Damascus.
Kathimerini says the Greek authorities have rounded up nearly 5,000 undocumented immigrants in Athens over the weekend – the beginning of an effort to free up jobs and resources for the crisis-stricken country. Over a thousand had been detained. Immigrants from Asia and Africa have long used Greece as a gateway into EU countries.
As the stand-off on European Central Bank support for Italian and Spanish debt hardened, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti has told Germany’s Spiegel magazine that disagreements within the eurozone were undermining the future of the European Union. He wd quoted as saying that the tensions that had accompanied the eurozone in the past years were already showing signs of a psychological dissolution of Europe. He urged swift action to lower borrowing rates.
Metro reports a man has been arrested for throwing a plastic bottle at Usain Bolt and the seven other competitors just before the start of the 100 metres final at the Olympics London. The incident did not disrupt the race – the highlight of the athletics programme at the Games – won by Jamaican Usain Bolt in an Olympic record time of 9.63 seconds. Meanwhile double-amputee Oscar 'Blade Runner' Pistorius has described his journey to the London Olympics as an “unbelievable experience” and said he had no regrets despite finishing last in the 400 metres semi-final.