The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta says a rape suspect being held at St Julian’s police station escaped from loose handcuffs.
MaltaToday reports that Green NGOs disagree with the government’s intention to break development boundaries.
The Malta Independent reports that a woman testified against Fr Charles Fenech behind closed doors.
In-Nazzjon leads with how a rape suspect escaped from police custody.
l-orizzont says the International Monetary Fund has again issued a positive report about the Maltese economy.
The overseas press
World leaders have voiced shock over the Taliban massacre at a military-run school in Pakistan, in which 132 students and nine members of staff were massacred. All seven attackers, who opened fire on students in a packed auditorium and went from classroom to classroom firing shots, died in the eight-hour assault.
Dawn reports an overwhelming sense of disbelief pervaded the responses of world leaders as mourners began burying victims as darkness fell. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who announced three days of national mourning, described the attack as a “national tragedy unleashed by savages”. The Pakistani Taliban said the attack was in response to anti-militant offensives in North Waziristan and the Kyber region.
The New York Times quotes UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon saying it had been “an act of horror and rank cowardice to attack defenseless children while they learn”. President Obama said by targeting students and teachers “in this heinous attack, terrorists have once again shown their depravity”.
Deutsche Welle reports German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced her shock at the nature of the attack.
The Times says British Prime Minister David Cameron said the attack defied belief and there was nothing that could justify such an act.
Asia Times says Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to denounce the violence. He called on schools to hold a two-minute silence.
Kabul Post reports the Afghan Talaban, who have close links with the Pakistani Talaban, have criticised the attack on the school in Peshawar saying the killing of innocent women and children was “un-Islamic”. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani called the attack “inhuman”.
In other news...
Azaal TV announces 15 primary pupils thought to be girls are among at least 25 people killed in Yemen in twin suicide car bombings. The children’s bus was caught up in an attack on the home of a Shiite rebel leader. Yemen’s defense ministry blamed al Qaeda militants in the region for the bombings.
The Guardian reports the European Court of Human Rights has ruled four men who attempted to set off a series of explosives in London in 2005 did not have their right to a fair trial breached. Three of the men argued that they did not have access to a lawyer during questioning and the fourth said the proper procedure was not followed when he gave testimony.
President Obama is expected to tighten sanctions against Russia by the end of the week. Fox News quotes US Secretary of State John Kerry saying the sanctions could be lifted “within days if President Putin made the right choices in Ukraine”. Kerry’s statement came as the Russian currency suffered its sharpest one-day fall since the financial crisis of 1998.
Baltic Times reports Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, accompanied by 200 executives, is visiting Belgrade to advance projects which includes plans to turn Greece’s port of Piraeus into a hub for China’s trade with Europe. The talks involve 16 heads of central and eastern European nations.
VOA News says former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has said he has decided to “explore the possibility of running for president” in the 2016 US election. His said his decision came after consulting his family “and thoughtful consideration of the kind of strong leadership America needs”. Both his father, George Bush, and his sibling, George W. Bush, were former US presidents.
Pennsylvania Post reports a former US marine and Iraq war veteran, accused of killing six family members in Pennsylvania, has been found dead of “self-inflicted cutting wounds” following a two-day manhunt. The body of Bradley Stone, 35, was found a day after he shot dead ex-wife Nicole Hill, 33, her grandmother, sister, brother-in-law and niece. He was involved in a dispute over the custody of their two children.
According to Japan Times, McDonald’s says it can only serve customers small portions of French fries as it deals with a shortage of its famous side order. Industrial disputes on the United States’ west coast are stifling exports of French fries, leaving Japanese McDonald’s restaurants scrambling to secure fresh supplies.