The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta and l-orizzont quote the prime minister saying that no decision about Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia will be taken until an inquiry into how his driver shot at another car is completed. Dr Muscat said the minister would assume his responsibilities if he was found to be involved.
The Malta Independent says the British driver involved in the incident with the ministerial driver has been released from custody.
In-Nazzjon reports that the Maltese ambassador to Libya attended a meeting with that country's illegitimate government in Tripoli.
The overseas press
The European Parliament may be looking into measures to split up Internet search engine services, which would primarily affect Google’s estimated 90 percent market share in Europe. According to a draft motion, seen by the Financial Times and Reuters, such a move is seen as “one potential long-term solution” to levelling the competitive online playing field.
Islamic State militants insist they will plant their flag at the Vatican’s St Peter’s Square – the symbol of Christianity. The latest issue of its magazine Daqib is devoted largely to the expansion of the militant organization – from the Sinai to Egypt to Libya. They also said that the recent attacks by “lone wolves” in Canada and Australia were the effect of a “direct appeal by the Caliph” Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.
Israel has rejected an appeal by the five biggest members of the European Union not to demolish the homes of Palestinians who carried out lethal attacks in Jerusalem, saying the tactic was designed to deter further violence. Haaretz said the foreign ministry heard arguments from the German, French, British, Italian, and Spanish ambassadors but they were told the measure was “consistent with Israeli law” and would be pursued.
LBC Radio reports British Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed he would win back the seat it lost to Britain’s anti-EU party UKIP, which now has two seats in the House of Commons. The bitter blow was triggered after its sitting MP defected to UKIP. Meanwhile, Nigel Farage has ruled out his UKIP entering into a coalition government with either Labour or the Conservatives after next year’s general election.
El Pais says Spanish state prosecutors have filed charges against the regional leader in Catalonia, Artur Mas, his deputy and his education minister for staging a non-binding referendum on Catalan independence. It is the latest chapter in the fallout from last month’s symbolic independence referendum, which was conducted despite a court injunction.
Kyiv Post reports Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has been shouted down by angry relatives of 100 protesters who were killed in Kiev’s “Euromaidan” revolution. Ukrainians have gathered in Kiev to mark the anniversary of the start of the country’s anti-government protests. US Vice President Joe Biden has criticised Russia for its role in eastern Ukraine, adding Western sanctions would not be lifted until Moscow does more to enforce the ceasefire.
VOA News quotes President Obama saying he would press for further immigration reform, after Republicans slammed his “go-it-alone move” to lift the threat of deportation for nearly five million US residents. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said Obama was “damaging the presidency itself” with measures that were “those of a king or an emperor, not an American President”.
According to a series of WHO studies, current efforts to prevent domestic violence were insufficient as a third of women worldwide are still physically abused. Tribune de Genève quotes the reports showing between 100 and 140 million women are victims of genital mutilation. Some 70 million girls are married before 18, often against their will, and seven percent of women risk being raped in their lifetimes.
Metro says a British man suffering from flashbacks, memory problems and seizures has been living with a rare tapeworm in his brain for the last four years. Scientists found a centimetre-long parasite which travelled 5cm from the right side of his brain to the left before it was removed by surgeons.
USA Today reports the Los Angeles Unified School District will pay $139 million to end remaining litigation involving an elementary school teacher convicted of committing numerous lewd acts on his students, The settlement, involving 81 students, puts a legal end to the saga that began when an elementary school teacher was arrested in 2012 and accused of blindfolding students and feeding them his semen on spoons and cookies. Another 65 cases were settled earlier for $30 million. The combined total of nearly $170 million is believed to be the highest ever for a school sex abuse case.