The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.

Times of Malta quotes figures tabled in Parliament showing that more Eastern Europeans have been granted residential status than African boat migrants. It also reports that Malta is calling for tougher EU sanctions against Russia.

The Malta Independent says Justice Minister Owen Bonnici still hopes legal proceedings instituted by Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco will be concluded in time for Parliament to debate the impeachment motion against the judge before he retires. In another story it says that the Delimara LNG project could be delayed by six to 12 months.

L-Orizzont says the process to select a transport operator for Malta is nearing its end and the final package will soon be finalised with the chosen bidder.

Maltatoday leads with a report of Foreign Minister George Vella’s statement yesterday calling for an end to the ‘carnage’ in Gaza.

In-Nazzjon quotes a Nationalist Party statement accusing the government that it is not keeping its promise to fight corruption.

International news

As the Gaza conflict enters its third week, Al Ayyam quotes health officials in the enclave report that 613 Palestinians have been killed, 121 of whom are children. Most of the victims are civilians. The Gaza health ministry also reported that 3,720 people, including 900 children, had been injured since Israel launched its military offensive on July 8. At least 27 Israeli soldiers and two civilians have been killed during the conflict. An Israeli soldier is also reportedly missing in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Huffington Post says UNICEF has reported that 84 boys and 37 girls aged between five and 17 months have died in the Israeli offensive on Gaza and that two thirds of the minors killed were under the age of 12. In the meantime 107,000 children are in need of psychological help in facing this trauma.

The Jerusalem Post reports a Hamas rocket exploded on Tuesday near Israel’s main airport, prompting a ban on all flights from the US and many from Europe and Canada. Israel declared Ben-Gurion Airport was safe and said there was no reason to “hand terror a prize” by halting flights.

Bloomberg quotes President Vladimir Putin telling a meeting of the Security Council in the Kremlin that Russia would resist ultimatums from the US and the EU aimed at destabilising his nation. Putin accused the US and its allies of exploiting the crash of the Malaysian airline to force him to renounce support for people of Russian heritage in Ukraine.

Putin’s reaction comes as Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans has said that the EU would later today announce the imposition of new sanctions against officials deemed responsible for Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Le Soir says the EU’s “forceful decision” by foreign ministers from the 28-nation bloc imposes visa bans and asset freezes on more officials. Timmermans said harsher economic sanctions –targeting the arms, energy and financial sectors – would be imposed if Russia failed to back down from destabilizing Ukraine.

Ansa reports migrants rescued last Saturday by the Danish petrol tanker Torm Lotte in waters between Libya and Malta have told investigators that some 60 people had been stabbed by traffickers indiscriminately and their bodies thrown into the sea. These deaths come on top of the 29 people known to have died by asphyxiation after the traffickers allegedly prevented dozens of migrants from leaving the hold. Earlier in the day migrants told La Repubblica that 181 people had died in the tragedy but investigators put a closer estimate at 141. Five men presumed to be the traffickers have been arrested on charges of multiple homicide.

El Universal says Mexico’s Senate has approved legislation to implement historic constitutional reform that would open the country’s oil and gas industry to foreign investment for the first time since 1938. In an 85-26 vote, lawmakers passed the last of four packages of laws to end the monopoly held by state oil company Pemex for 75 years in the exploration and exploitation of energy resources. The Chamber of Deputies must now vote on the measures. President Enrique Pena Nieto hailed the marathon voting as an example of Mexico’s “political civility and maturity”.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), has ordered genital mutilation for all women of the caliphate zone between Iraq and Syria. In a statement seen by AKI Adnkronos International, Baghdadi said the practice had been set by Prophet Muhammad in his list of ‘hadith’ (‘words and deeds’). Souad Sbai, Moroccan-Italian journalist and writer, described the order as “chilling news”. She called on the international community to act against “this horrendous crime against humanity.”

Maarteen de Jonge is a Dutch national who at age 29 has already defied death twice in less than five months. He was booked to fly both the Boeing 777 that disappeared last March  with 239 persons on board, and on that which crash last Thursday in eastern Ukraine. He told RTV Oost, deciding, in both instances, to take cheaper flights had saved his life.

The BBC reports a racehorse owned by Queen Elizabeth has tested positive for morphine. Buckingham Palace said the banned substance was found in Estimate and indications were that the positive test resulted from the consumption of a contaminated feed product. The British Horse Racing Authority revealed last week that five horses had tested positive for morphine in post-race samples but refrained from naming the horses – allowing the Palace to issue the statement first. The Queen had cheered Estimate on to Gold Cup success at Royal Ascot last year.

AFP reports Afghans’ aversion to the number 39, due to its mysterious connotations of prostitution, has forced the government to appeal for people to stop refusing vehicle licence plates containing the much-feared figure. According to many Afghans, “39” got its bad reputation through a well-known pimp who was often identified by the number on his car plates as he drove around Herat, the western city that lies close to the border with Iran. The number became associated with immorality and the curse was born. Now anyone seen sporting a “39” licence plate is in danger of being linked to the underground sex industry that is taboo in the devoutly Muslim nation.

 

 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.