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

The Sunday Times of Malta reports how Prince William charmed Malta as it celebrated Independence.  It also reports that in the 1980s the police had wanted the maid of Archbishop Joseph Mercieca to admit placing a bomb outside his door in Mdina.

The Malta Independent on Sunday says yesterday was a proud day for Malta as it celebrated independence.

MaltaToday reports how the hunting ban precedes Karmenu Vella's grilling on hunting credentials.

It-Torca quotes the prime minister saying that what Malta achieved in the past 50 years was only the start of what it want to achieve.

Il-Mument takes a look back at fifty years of independence

Illum says Joseph Muscat has moved Labourites towards one national day.

KullHadd focuses on new collaboration between St Vincent de Paul home and Gozo hospital.

The overseas press

The European Commission was among possible targets for jihadist fighters returning from Syria, as the Belgian authorities cracked down in an effort to thwart extremist attacks. Dutch public broadcaster NOS said at least two people among those arrested in the Belgian operations came from the The Hague.

Gazete Oku reports some 60,000 Syrian Kurds have crossed into Turkey in the past 24 hours, fleeing an advance by Islamic State fighters who have seized dozens of villages close to the border. At least 300 Turkish fighters have entered Syria from Turkey to join the battle against the militants. Meanwhile, Reuters says 150 mostly Christian refugees anxiously wait at Arbil International Airport in Iraqi Kurdistan, to flee their homeland aboard a French government aircraft.

Urasia Net says Turkish intelligence agents brought more than 40 hostages seized by Islamic State militants in northern Iraq back to Turkey after more than three months in captivity. President Tayyip Erdogan described it “a covert rescue operation”.

The BBC reports the wife of British hostage Alan Henning, who’s being held by Islamic State militants, has issued a statement caking on the jihadists to release him. She said he is a “peaceful and selfless man”.

VOA News says the US Secret Service has increased security measures at the White House after two major security breaches on Friday and Saturday. During Friday’s incident, the Texas intruder scaled a fence and made it inside the doors of the executive mansion. President Obama and his family were not at the residence at the time of the incident.

Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond saying he was surprised at the speed with which Britain’s main political parties are reneging on commitments to Scotland following a vote against Scottish independence. He told the BBC many voters would feel misled because promises to give more power to Scotland are now the subject of a row between the main parties. And The Sunday Times says British Prime Minister David Cameron was facing an open revolt from figures within his own party over his handling of the Scottish referendum, with some warning the Conservatives are on course to lose the next election.

Brisbane’s Sunday Mail says financial leaders of the Group of 20 top economies were divided on how to achieve higher global growth as Germany pushed back calls from the United States and others for more immediate stimulus. The Cairns finance summit is seen as an important test run before world leaders gather for the G20 in Brisbane in November.

As fighting in Ukraine continues, Baltic Times quotes NATO’s top military commander, US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, warning that the truce there was a ceasefire “in name only”. The Ukrainian city of Donetsk was rocked by blasts, even as government forces and pro-Russian separatists prepared to create a buffer zone to separate the warring sides.

Le Journal du Dimanche reports France and Britain have agreed to improve border controls and cooperate more closely in an effort to control a growing number of illegal immigrants trying to cross the English Channel from the French port city of Calais.

MENA says Egypt will host talks between rival Palestinian factions within days, followed by indirect negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis on the ceasefire in Gaza,

The Globe reports a team burying Ebola victims has been attacked in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown. The news came as a small group defied a three-day lockdown aimed at halting the worst outbreak of the disease on record.

Kabul Post says the rival candidates in Afghanistan’s presidential election have struck a long-awaited power-sharing deal after more than two months of tension over a vote in which each side accused the other of fraud

The Dominion Post says New Zealand’s ruling National Party, led by Prime Minister John Key, has stormed to a third term in office in an election with the centre-right party securing an outright majority on a platform to continue tight economic policies.

 

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