The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.

Times of Malta says that in a fleeing reference to the shooting incident involving a minister’s driver, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday insisted he would protect no one. In another story, it says a German woman, suspected of trying to abduct her three-year-old son last week, will be subject to a European arrest warrant.

MaltaToday says the the Opposition will be presenting a no confidence motion in Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia after the Prime Minister refused to sack him.

The Malta Independent says the police inspector who prosecuted a man who was wrongly imprisoned after his daughter made up claims of sexual abuse could not have been unaware of evidence that put the daughter’s claims in serious doubt.

In-Nazzjon says the case of Leisure Clothing uncovered a bigger scandal - that hundreds of foreign workers in Malta were being exploited and abused in several industries, paid peanuts and made to carry out specialised work they were not trained for.

L-Orizzont says a new design policy document is proposing an increase in the minimum size of residences as it seeks to do away with modern day slums.

International news

VOA News reports Missouri’s governor has ordered National Guard reinforcements into the St Louis suburb of Ferguson following a night of street violence, after charges were not laid against a white police officer over the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager. On Monday night, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters who fired guns at them, set patrol cars on fire and hurled bricks. Several shops in Ferguson were looted and about a dozen buildings burned overnight. More than 60 people were arrested as President Obama called for calm. The family of dead teenager Michael Brown has condemned a grand jury decision to drop charges against police officer Darren Wilson.

Al Watan says at least 36 civilians were among the 63 killed in the deadliest Syrian government airstrikes in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were also 20 unidentified victims who could be civilians or jihadists, as well as the disfigured remains of at least seven other people.

Ansa quotes Pope Francis saying he would not rule out the possibility of talks with militant Islamist group ISIS as he returned from delivering speeches urging European leaders to work to counter religious fundamentalism. Collective action to promote the values of openness and inclusiveness were key themes as Pope Francis made a quick, four-hour visit to Strasbourg to deliver his first speech to the European Parliament followed by an address to the Council of Europe.   During his speech to Parliament, the Pope deplored persecution against religious minorities around the world who he said are “subjected to barbaric acts of violence” – a reference to ISIS. The Pope called on politicians to promote policies that create jobs and accept immigrants.

Donbass TV says separatists in eastern Ukraine have asked the United Nations to send international peacekeepers to the crisis-hit region. The call came amid a standstill in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in which the UN says more than 4,300 people have been killed.

Le Monde reports France announced it was suspending “until further notice” the delivery of two warships to Russia because Moscow has not fulfilled the necessary conditions to receive the vessels. The handover of the Mistral warship was delayed after Russia annexed Crimea last March and lent support to pro-Russian separatists fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine.

Standard Times says a dispute over pay has seen burial teams dump bodies of Ebola victims in the street in eastern Sierra Leone. At least a dozen corpses were left outside a public hospital.

Il Tempo reports Italy’s Lower House has approved Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s Jobs Act Labour Reform Bill with 316 in favour, six against and five abstaining out of a total of 630 seats. Renzi’s victory was hard-won over internal opposition as 40 out of 307 MPs from his Democratic Party walked out before the final vote, while two remained to vote against the bill and two more abstained.

Voice of Nigeria says two teenage female suicide bombers claimed the lives of at least 45 people when they set themselves off in close succession in a crowded market in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri. One was wearing a hijab and pretending to carry a baby on her back when she detonated the explosive. The second bomber detonated herself after rescue and emergency workers arrived on the scene. More than 13,000 have died and 1.5 million have been made homeless since Boko Haram militias began their campaign of violence in Nigeria in 2009.

USA Today says a three-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his mother after finding a loaded gun under the living room sofa at his home in Oklahoma. The 26-year-old woman was changing her one-year-old daughter at the family home in Tulsa when she was hit by a bullet in the head.

Metro reports a doctor in England who used hidden equipment to spy on patients has admitted a string of voyeurism, indecency and pornography offences. World-renowned hearing specialist Dr Lam Hoe Yeoh pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court in south London to seven counts of voyeurism, six counts of making an indecent photograph of a child, and one of possessing extreme pornography. He has been remanded in custody.

According to CCTV, a restaurant Cixi, a city in China’s Zhejiang Province in eastern China, has ditched its traditional waiters and has pioneered the use of robots. The bionic stewards utilize magnetic strips on the ground to navigate the restaurant and deliver tasty treats to hungry patrons. In addition, the robots can dance to the celebrated song “Gangnam Style”.

Bangkok Post reports more than 1,700 Thais dressed in elf costumes have broken the world record for the largest gathering of Santa’s elves. The official tally came in at 1,762, beating the previous record, which was set in the UK last year, by more than 600 people. The final total would have been higher but several participants were eliminated for not wearing their pointed ears.

 

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