The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta reports comments made in Strasbourg yesterday on Malta’s citizenship scheme. One MEP described the scheme as undermining European citizenship. The government is lobbying hard to remove references to Malta in the final resolution.
The Malta Independent reports how an 11th hour deal brought the socialists on board for a joint resolution on citizenship in the European Parliament.
MaltaToday says the pardon to oil trader George Farrugia was given in the dark. Prime Minister Gonzi had acted on advice by the then Commissioner of Police.
In-Nazzjon gives a curtain-raiser of today’s European Parliament debate on citizenship.
l-orizzont gives prominence to the introduction of co-ed in all government secondary schools from September.
The overseas press
Al Ahram reports 11people have been killed in clashes between security forces and protesters loyal to deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. The violence came on the first of two days of voting on a new constitution that could replace a charter approved before the Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi was ousted in a coup in July 2013. The new constitution deletes the Islamic language from the basic law and strengthens state bodies such as the army, the police and the judiciary.
Reuters say Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon has apologised to US Secretary of State John Kerry after a newspaper quoted him scorning the diplomat's quest for Israeli-Palestinian peace as “messianic” and “obsessive”. Yaalon did not deny making the closed-door remarks published on the front page of Yedioth Ahronoth, which drew rare condemnation from Washington and added to acrimony over Jewish settlement of occupied West Bank land where the Palestinians seek statehood. Yaalon issued a statement of guarded appreciation for the United States and followed it hours later with another explicitly praising Kerry.
Arab Times reports charity organisations meeting in Kuwait have pledged $400 million (€292 million) to help alleviate the humanitarian plight of Syrians affected by their country's civil war. The funds will target people inside and outside Syria, where more than 130,000 people have been killed and millions displaced during the 34-month conflict. Tuesday's gathering came a day before the Second International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, which aims to raise $6.5 billion (€4.8 billion) for more than 13.4 million Syrians facing extreme conditions inside the country and in neighbouring nations.
Le Figaro quotes the French politician steering the EU's banking reforms, Michel Barnier, saying he was ready to run for the post of European Commission president after the European elections in May. The main centre-right bloc, the European People's Party (EPP), would first have to nominate him for the post currently held by Portuguese conservative José Manuel Barroso when the latter steps down in November.
Britain’s Chancellor George Osborne will warn in a speech later today that the European Union must halt the continent’s “continuing decline” by backing business and cutting welfare spending if Britain is to remain a part of it. The Daily Telegraph says at a London conference, Osborne will stress Europe’s current economic performance was unacceptable and only a significant improvement will persuade Britain to continue as a member of the EU. Facing growing competition from global economic powers including China, India and the US, the EU now faces a simple choice, Mr Osborne will say: “Reform or decline.”
France 24 reports President François Hollande detailed his plans to revive France's flagging economy at a key press conference on Tuesday, but spent much of the time deflecting questions about his private life. He refused to answer questions about reports of a love affair with a French actress, saying “private matters should be dealt with privately”. Hollande unveiled a raft of economic proposals, including €30 billion in tax breaks for companies in return for a commitment to boost employment. He also defended France’s military interventions in Mali and the Central African Republic, saying French troops were there to “help, and not to replace, [African forces]”,
One Direction’s Liam Payne has apologised for scaring his devoted young fans after he was pictured balancing on a ledge outside his 34th floor flat. The Sun says the 20-year-old was photographed 360ft up after celebrating bandmate Zayn Malik’s 21st birthday in London. Many fans took to twitter to berate their hero for giving them a scare. The photo was posted on the internet by one of his friends but has since been deleted.
The owners of New York's Empire State Building have sued a photographer Allen Henson who shot images of a topless woman – model Shelby Carter – on the skyscraper's observation deck last August. They say Allen Henson's actions were “inappropriate” at a family tourist attraction and that he lacked permission to hold a photo shoot there. The owners seek $1.1 million (€806,000) in damages. The New York-based photographer and Iraq war veteran told the BBC the photos were taken of a friend on his personal cell phone and have “zero commercial value”.
Some 100 homeless and poor were guests to a lavish dinner organised by the parish of Pope Francis – the Vatican. Ansa reports they arrived in dribs and drabs, around 7 pm yesterday, at the Moretto Bar, on Via di Porta Angelica, right across from the walls of the Vatican. To welcome and serve at the tables there were also some exceptional waiters – Don Bruno Silvestrini, pastor of St Anne, and the chaplain of the Pope, the Polish Mgr Konrad Krajewski.