The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Sunday Times of Malta says Joseph Muscat plans to review MPs pay in the next Parliament. It also says that a woman who bit off the tongue of an attacker is living in fear after he was given a suspended sentence
The Malta Independent on Sunday says an offshore leaks database has uncovered 36 Maltese offshore entites. It also quotes John Dalli saying the case which forced his departure from the European Commission was complete entrapment.
MaltaToday reports that according to an opinion poll, Joseph Muscat’s performance rating has dropped by 13 points but he still leads Simon Busuttil by 17 points. It also reports that John Dalli may be given an executive role in the health sector.
It-Torca says medicines which have expired were stored with fertiliser.
Il-Mument claims Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca was paid in cash on several occasions by his patients after operations in breach of the code of ethics.
Illum reports that senior officials are questioning whether the pardon to George Farrugia should be withdrawn as he has not given much information in the oil procurement scandal. It also says there is anger after Lou Bondi was appointed to a national festivities organising committee.
KullHadd quotes Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia saying the government has a plan to reform the hospital emergency department.
The overseas press
Several key international governments – including the United States, France and Germany – have acknowledged Hassan Rohani’s election as Iran’s next president and looked ahead to establishing a relationship with him, as jubilant supporters took to the streets of Teheran to celebrate the dawning of a new era. France 24 reported “cries of joy” and “scenes of jubilation.” Euronews says Rohani finished with more than 18.5 million votes, some 12 million more than his nearest challenger, the Mayor of Tehran, who could only muster 16.5 per cent of the vote to Rohani’s just-under 51 per cent. Rohani said his win was a “victory of moderation over extremism”.
The Sunday Times says British Prime Minister David Cameron meets Russian President Vladimir Putin today for key talks about the conflict in Syria which could set the tone for the G8 summit next week. Cameron will seek to forge a consensus on how to deal with Syria when he hosts the leaders of the world's most industrialised nations in Northern Ireland, from Monday.
Meanwhile, The Independent on Sunday has learnt that Iran will send a first contingent of 4,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad’s forces against the largely Sunni rebellion that has cost almost 100,000 lives in just over two years. Iran is now fully committed to preserving Assad’s regime, according to pro-Iranian sources which have been deeply involved in the Islamic Republic’s security, even to the extent of proposing to open up a new ‘Syrian’ front on the Golan Heights against Israel.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea has proposed high-level talks with the US aimed at discussing nuclear weapons programmes and easing of tension on the peninsula. The paper quotes a statement by the North's powerful National Defence Commission saying the talks should “secure peace and stability in the region” and urged the Americans to set the time and venue for the talks.
There are conflicting reports on the number of people dead in clashes between Libyan special forces and armed activists in the eastern port city of Benghazi. Libya Herald quotes the army putting the number at three soldiers while international news agencies say it could be as high as seven. The clashes came just hours after dozens of protesters forced a brigade of former rebel fighters from their base in Benghazi on Friday evening. The brigade was set up by former rebel fighters who helped overthrow the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Corriere della Sera says Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta has announced a series of measures aimed at boosting the country’s troubled economy. These include freeing up €3 million of funding for public works projects. He said the move could create up to 40,000 new jobs across the country.
German businesses are recruiting new workers despite the economic downturn. Bild reports an estimate by the Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry said there would be 250,000 new jobs this year – 100,000 more than in January. Construction companies are recruiting 30,000 workers, there are 15,000 vacancies in the retail sector and 40,000 in mechanical industry.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany has told the BBC the 3.6 million young unemployed people in the eurozone should be ready to move for work. She said their level of joblessness represented a "huge crisis". But she also resolutely defended the policy of tight controls on spending. She has long been criticised in eurozone countries like Spain and Greece where unemployment is rising to previously unknown levels.
A passenger plane, travelling from Cairo to New York, has made an emergency landing in Britain after a threatening note was found on board. A BBC reporter who was on the Egypt Air flight has seen the note which said “I’ll set this plane on fire”.
Gazete Oku reports Turkish riot police have cleared a park in the centre of Istanbul which has been occupied for more than two weeks by anti-government protesters. Officers moved into Gezi Park in Taksim Square, firing water cannons and tear gas. Several people were hurt, some of them allegedly by rubber bullets. There were also reports of continuing stand-offs in other parts of Istanbul. The police operation came hours after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an end to the occupation.
Al Ahram leads with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi’s announcement that Cairo was cutting off diplomatic relations with Syria. Addressing a rally in support of the Syrian opposition, Morsi said President Assad’ embassy in Cairo would be closed. He also demanded that the Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah withdraw from the fighting in Syria.
Pakistan Times says gunmen have attacked a hospital in the western Pakistani city of Quetta, hours after an explosion on a bus killed 24 female university students. Officials say four gunmen were killed during a siege of part of the hospital where the wounded are being treated. Nurses, hospital security personnel and a senior city official were among the 10 others killed in the stand-off. An extremist Sunni militant group, Laskar-e-Jhangvi, told the BBC it carried out both attacks.
O Globo reports that riot police in Brazil have clashed with protesters outside the main football stadium in the capital Brasilia, hours before the start of the Confederation Cup tournament. It was the latest in a wave of protests against rising cost of living in Brazil and the cost of hosting the world cup. In the inaugural game of the tournament, Brazil beat Japan 3-0 (Group A). This evening, Mexico plays Italy (9 p.m. Malta time) in the same group while Spain meets Uruguay in Group B (midnight).