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

Times of Malta reports how Bishop Charles Scicluna went birdwatching yesterday and condemned hunters’ aggression.

The Malta Independent says no further action is planned by the government against the former Commissioner of police Peter Paul Zammit over what is described as 'lack of objectivity' in investigations.

In-Nazzjon highlights the EU-wide police Operation Archimedes against organised crime. The Malta Police and Customs were involved.

l-orizzont says a dangerous breed of bees has spread to residential areas.

The overseas press

VOA News reports the UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution which binds its 193 members to hinder the spread of extremism and to prevent their nationals joining jihadists in Iraq and Syria. 

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera says US and Arab jets bombed IS targets in Syria for a second day, including oil facilities. The US launched air raids against the militants in Iraq last month and on Monday night expanded the strikes into Syria, with the participation of Arab allies.

The New York Times reports the UN Security Council has condemned the beheading by an Algerian splinter group from al-Qaida of French hostage Herve Gourdel, a mountaineer who was kidnapped while hiking in Cabilia. 

The BBC announces Prime Minister David Cameron has recalled parliament for Friday to win support for a bombing campaign against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq.

Al Khaleej reveals there is also a woman among the pilots of the Arab nations taking part in the raid against IS targets in Syria. Thirty-five-year-old Mariam Al Mansouri, an F-16 pilot, commands a squadron that has dropped bombs on the stations of the jihadists in Raqqa, Aleppo and Idlib. She was born in Abu Dhabi, and was the first woman to join the UAE Air Force.

AGI reports that speaking on the sidelines of the General Assembly, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has denounced the “undervaluation” by the UN of the crisis in Libya. Renzi’s comments followed the news by Libyan media that Prime Minister Abdullah Al Thani had ordered “a general mobilisation of the armed forces” to free the capital from Islamic militias.

Ansa quotes Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano saying that since the beginning of Mare Nostrum last October, the corpses of 500 migrants were recovered from the Sicily Channel while some 1,500 others, according to the statements of the survivors, were still missing. 

Deutsche Welle says NATO officials have reported a withdrawal of large numbers of Russian troops from Ukraine to locations near the border. About 20,000 Russian troops have been stationed on the Ukrainian border since early September.

Voice of Nigeria quotes the country’s military authorities claiming hundreds of members of Boko Haram had surrendered. They said the man posing as the Islamic militant group’s leader has reportedly also been killed.

Times of India reports the death toll from flash floods and landslides in the north-east of India had risen to 73 as rescue workers reached homes cut off by the rising waters. A senior government official said hundreds of thousands of people in Meghalaya and Assam states had been forced from their homes.

O Globo announces Brazilian researchers in Rio de Janeiro have released thousands of mosquitoes infected with a bacteria that suppresses Dengue fever. The hope is they will multiply, breed and become the majority of mosquitoes, thus reducing cases of the disease. The initiative is part of a programme also taking place in Australia, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Il Mattino reports Italian police have seized 17 million euros worth of counterfeit banknotes after stopping an erratic driver in a town north of Naples. Inside the van, they found a large amount of coins and banknotes hidden under 15 piles of stationery. The counterfeit banknotes, in 50-euro denominations, were said to be good quality including fake versions of such security features as holograms and watermarks.

Former French First Lady Valerie Trierweiler has become a millionaire thanks to her book, “Merci pour ce moment” (“Thanks for this moment”), which has sold 442,000 copies in two weeks – breaking all sales records in just 16 days of publication. According to Le Figaro, Trierweiler has already earned €1.3 million thanks to the vengeful volume about the background of her relationship with President Hollande.

 

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.