The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta leads with the probe requested by a court into alleged conflict of interest by lawyer and Labour MP Luciano Busuttil. It also says hundreds of birds died while they were held as evidence in a court case.
The Malta Independent says prohibiting smoking in cars is 'imperative' to safeguard children's health.
In-Nazzjon reports how Asian former workers of Leisure Clothing recounted in court how they were made to work 14 hours per day all week. The workers are claiming their wages.
l-orizzont focuses on bad quality paving in the square in front of St George's church in Victoria, Gozo, saying it would have to be removed even before it was fully paid. The tiling was laid five years ago but sections are broken or stained.
The overseas media
Euronews reports Standard & Poor’s has warned that the danger of the eurozone slipping into its third recession since the start of the global economic crisis had risen. Jean-Michel Six, the rating agency’s chief economist for Europe, said the recovery had “lost much thrust”, adding that a third recession would have “deeply damaging effects”.
ABC says world leaders arriving in Brisbane for the G20 leaders’ summit would have to contend with very hot weather conditions, with the city predicted to hit 32 degrees Celsius today, 35 on Saturday and 39 degrees on Sunday. Delegations from South Korea, India, Mexico and Japan touched down in the city this morning, with more delegations due to arrive throughout the day.
Canberra Times reports British Prime Minister David Cameron has laid out his plans to tackle foreign fighters in an address to a joint sitting of the Australian Parliament in Canberra. He said under the new powers, police would be able to seize passports to stop suspects travelling abroad and to stop British nationals returning unless they submit to screening processes.
Fox News quotes Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, telling the House of Representatives armed services committee that the United States was actively considering the direct use of troops in the toughest forthcoming fights against the Islamic State in Iraq.
According to Aftonbladet, eight northern European nations have pledged closer cooperation in an effort to counter a recent increase in Russian military activity in the region. The Defence Ministers from the Baltic and Nordic states, as well as Britain, meeting in Stockholm, have agreed to improve intelligence sharing and broaden cross-border air force training in the Nordic territories.
The New York Times predicts Republicans angry over President Obama’s stance on immigration will be even angrier next week when he announces major changes to the immigration enforcement system. Those changes could protect up to five million undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation and provide many of them with work permits.
Space Daily says the race is on for comet lander Philae to complete its main science mission in the next two days before its battery runs out, or disaster strikes and the probe tips over. The lander’s 10 science instruments will attempt to sample comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s gas and dust, measure its electrical properties and take images, all before its chemical battery runs out after 64 hours.
Avvenire announces Pope Francis has ordered a bathroom with three showers be made available for homeless people sleeping rough near St Peter’s Square because in Rome, all the public restrooms have been shut down. Senior Vatican official Mgr Konrad Krajewski said it would suffice to close your bathroom at home for two days to understand what it means to not be able to wash.
Metro says scores of police have patrolled a small town west of the French capital after a tiger eluded a massive search and remained on the prowl in the region near Disneyland Paris. The small beast was spotted yesterday morning near a parking lot in Montevrain by a woman who snapped a photo of it.
The Sun says the tallest and shortest men in the world have have met in London for tenth annual Guinness World Records Day. Sultan Kosen, a 31-year-old Turk who is 2.51 metres tall, and 74-year-old Chandra Bahadur Dangi, from Nepal, who measures 54.6 centimetres, both in the Guinness Book of Records, met at St Thomas Hospital. The giant Turk, who also holds the world record for the largest hand (28.5 cm), has held the record since 2009, while the small Nepalese has held it since 2012.
World Soccer reveals hours after a FIFA judge cleared Russia and Qatar of corruption in their winning World Cup bids, the American who led the investigation said he would appeal the decision. Prosecutor Michael Garcia criticised the report clearing the 2018 and 2022 hosts – Qatar and Russia – saying it was based on “materially incomplete and erroneous” information.
.