The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Sunday Times of Malta reports that Joseph Muscat has asked for patience in the case of the shooting by minister Manuel Mallia's driver. It also reports that only five Labour MPs questioned by the newspaper said Dr Mallia should stay.
The Malta Independent on Sunday quotes Simon Busuttil saying the prime minister should shoulder political responsibility if he knew the truth about the shooting by minister Manuel Mallia's driver.
MaltaToday says the Acting Commissioner of Police vetted the 'warning shot' statement while minister Mallia was at police headquarters.
It-Torca says a solution has been found to the problem of large desks in the chamber of the new parliament. The Italian company which manufactured them will take them back for adjustments.
Il-Mument says the case of the shooting by the home affairs minister's driver has embarrassed the prime minister.
Illum says the prime minister appears to be resigned to appointing a new home affairs minister and a new police commissioner.
KullHadd reports on more investment on social housing.
The overseas press
Fox News reports President Obama has condemned the “barbaric murder” of American journalist Luke Somers and South African teacher Pierre Korkie who have been killed by al-Qaeda militants in Yemen during a failed rescue bid. The operation was carried out by joint US and Yemeni special forces in the southern Shabwa region. They were being held by militants from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), regarded by the US as one of the deadliest offshoots of al-Qaeda.
Meanwhile, The Manila Times says a Swiss hostage has escaped from Abu Sayyaf extremists after more than two years of jungle captivity in the southern Philippines. Lorenzo Vinciguerra, 49, made his daring escape while government forces were firing artillery rounds near the jungle forest where he was being held in the mountainous Patikul town in Sulu province.
Kathimerini reports thousands of demonstrators have marched through the streets of Athens to mark the sixth anniversary of the fatal police shooting of an unarmed teenager. During the march, shop fronts and bus stations were damaged, while clothes looted from a shop were set ablaze. Clashes also broke out between demonstrators and police in other parts of the country.
Manila Shimbun says typhoon Hagupit has hot the central Philippines’ east coast, knocking out power and toppling trees in a region where 650,000 people have fled to safety, still haunted by the massive death and destruction wrought by a monster storm last year. Packing maximum sustained winds of 175 kph and gusts of 210 kph, Hagupit made landfall in Dolores, a coastal town facing the Pacific in Eastern Samar province. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Avvenire reports two former Vatican bank managers and a lawyer have had their accounts seized as part of an investigation into allegations of embezzlement. The bank, officially known as the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), said it had pressed charges against the trio some months ago. Reports said they had siphoned off cash while managing the sale by the bank of 29 buildings.
Pope Francis has told Argentina’s La Nacion, that “in all probability” he would visit his native land in 2016. It was his first exclusive interview to an Argentine medium since he left Argentina 21 month ago and was elected to the papacy.
USA Today quotes President Obama’s physician saying his boss, who had medical tests on Saturday after complaining of a sore throat, was suffering from acid reflux. Captain Ronny Jackson said in a statement the president’s symptoms were consistent with soft tissue inflammation related to acid reflux and would be treated accordingly.
A Chinese film mogul who purchased a Vincent van Gogh still life for a record $62 million, has admitted he would have paid even more for the masterpiece. Hollywood Reporter says Wang Zhongjun, chairman of the high-powered Huayi Brothers film studio, bought van Gogh’s 1890 painting “Still Life, Vase with Daisies and Poppies” for $61.8 million at Sotheby’s in New York last month. The painting had been valued at $30 to $50 million before the sale.
Metro reports some 25 breastfeeding women held a mass protest in front of Claridge’s, a luxury 5-star hotel in London in the latest development in a dispute that developed in the UK, even at high political level, on whether new mothers should breast-feed in public. A where a few days ago a mother breastfeeding her baby at a hotel tea room was asked to cover her breast as she was disturbing patrons.
Ansa reports the world’s largest white truffle was sold at an auction on Saturday for $61,250 – far less than the cool $1 million its owner reportedly had hoped for. The White Alba’s Truffle weighed 1.89 kilos when unearthed last week in the Umbrian region of Italy, making it by far the largest ever found. Sotheby’s said it was purchased by a gourmand from Taiwan.