The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.

Times of Malta leads with the rescue of migrants by the AFM yesterday, including many children. 

The Malta Independent says occasional dabbling in cocaine is not much of a worry for Maltese youngsters, according to an EU survey.

In-Nazzjon says a Libyan parliamentary delegation is in Malta seeking recognition.

l-orizzont says a baby was given medical assistance as 257 migrants were brought to Malta.

The overseas press

The Guardian reports world powers are seeking to step up international pressure on Russia after Kiev accused Moscow of a military invasion. NATO has released satellite images which it says show Russian combat forces, armed with heavy weapons, engaged in military operations in Ukraine.

RIA Novosty says Russia dismissed the allegations, describing the fighters there as “Russian volunteers”. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied arming and supporting the separatists who have been fighting Ukrainian troops for four months.

According to Kyiv Post, Ukraine’s ambassador to the EU, Kostiantyn Yelisieiev, has asked Brussels for large-scale military assistance. He also called for “additional, strong and significant sanctions to halt the aggressor”.  

Reuters reports Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni and his cabinet have resigned to allow the House of Representatives to form a government based on all parts of society. Libya is at risk of sliding into civil war after rival groups set up an alternative parliament this week. The competing parliaments and fighting among former rebels who helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 have created uncertainty and chaos in the country.

Meanwhile, The New York Times says the UN Security Council has decided to take action again those who threaten Libya’s stability and democratic progress. The Council said these acts included attacks by land, air and sea against Libya as well as engaging with groups looking to exploit the natural resources of the country with a particular emphasis on its oil.

The BBC reports the Islamic State (IS) has released a video appearing to show the beheading of a Kurdish man as a warning to forces fighting the group in northern Iraq. Earlier, IS videos from Syria appeared to show the mass killing of Syrian soldiers taken prisoner after their base was overrun.

Al Ahram quotes the Egyptian jihadist group Ansar Beit al Maqdis announcing it has decapitated four “Israeli spies” and has posted a video of their execution on line. The jihadists claim that the four placed listening devices in the cars and homes of the militants, allowing the Israelis to target them with drone attacks that left three killed.

al bawaba says Syrian armed groups have captured 43 UN peacekeepers from Fiji on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights and surrounded 81 Filipino blue helmets who refused to disarm. The UN has demanded their “unconditional and immediate release”.

The Ebola epidemic is spreading in West Africa and has already caused 1,552 deaths. Tribune de Genève quotes the WHO saying the epidemic might affect over 20,000 people.

A poll for the Scottish Daily Mail shows support for Scottish independence has risen by four per cent – from 43 to 47 per cent – after the final TV debate before a breakaway referendum in less than three weeks’ time. This was the first survey since the debate.

The Financial Times reports British Prime Minister David Cameron is scrambling to restore order after one of his MPs defected to the UKIP.  The Daily Mail claims eight more Tory MPs have held in-depth talks with UKIP about defecting.

According to El Tiempo, Colombia’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a lesbian woman could adopt her long-time partner’s daughter. With six votes for and three abstentions, the court ruled that Ana Leiderman, who underwent artificial insemination to conceive her daughter and raised her together with Veronica Botero, had the right to request an adoption by her partner regardless of sex.

 

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