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

Times of Malta says that according to an audit by the National Audit Office, the electoral office spent more than €4,000 on nine dinners during election time, including two for which no one turned up. In another story, it says examiners warned 16-year-olds are leaving school with a “poor command” of English despite having been exposed to the language in the classroom for 10 years.

L-Orizzont says a number of abuses in the Electoral Office have been uncovered by the National Audit Office including in the payment of thousands of euros in overtime and on inadequate work schedules.

The Malta Independent quotes Justice Minister Owen Bonnici saying that the Whistleblower Act does not provide an arbitrary go-ahead for information leaks.

In-Nazzjon says the Maltese authorities addressed the launch of this year’s Milied Flimkien with Opposition leader Simon Busuttil saying that, in his heart of hearts, man always wanted the most basic thing, which was to live in peace.

International news

Radio Tunis reports veteran politician Beji Caid Essebsi has claimed victory in Sunday’s Tunisian presidential runoff. Official results were still awaited and the campaign team of his rival, Moncef Marzouki, has not conceded defeat. But soon after polls closed, Essebsi announced he had won and jubilant supporters took to the streets of the capital in celebration.

AFP reports Libya's Islamist-backed rival government of self-declared prime minister Omar al-Hassi has called for diplomats and foreign firms to return to Tripoli, pledging to protect them despite Friday’s attack on the empty home of the Swiss ambassador. Weeks of deadly fighting between a coalition of Islamist militias, and a nationalist group triggered an exodus of foreigners from the Libyan capital and prompted the closure of several embassies, with many relocating to neighbouring countries.

The crusade for Britain to cut ties with Brussels has taken another giant leap forward after the Daily Express revealed most voters now back leaving the European Union. Britons would vote to quit by 51 per cent to 49 per cent if an in-or-out referendum was held now. It was the second poll in a month to show a majority want to leave.

China has detained over 30,000 people during a two-month clamp down on pornography and gambling, state news agency Xinhua reported yesterday. In the latest arrests, police in the southern province of Guangdong arrested 3,014 and put more than 8,000 in criminal detention. In Huizhou City, police busted an online gambling ring involving funds of 30 million yuan (€4 million).

Adevarul says Klaus Iohannis has been sworn in as President of Romania after his shock victory over left-wing Prime Minister Victor Ponta last month. He pledged to take a hard line on corruption – a policy he fought and won his campaign on.

Seattle Gazette says a veteran Florida police officer has died after being gunned down and run over with a car Charles Kondek , a 45-year-old father of six, was killed after responding to a noise complaint around. Authorities charged Marco Antonio Parilla Jr., 23, with the first-degree murder of the officer. Parilla was released from prison in March and was wanted for an alleged probation violation. Kondek’s murder after the cold-blooded killing of two police officers in Brooklyn.

The Washington Post quotes President Obama saying the US is reviewing whether to put North Korea back onto its list of state sponsors of terrorism in the wake of the Sony hacking case. He described the hacking attack against Sony Pictures as a “very costly, very expensive” example of cyber vandalism, but did not call it an act of war.

France 24 says a driver has been arrested in the eastern French city of Dijona after ramming his car into groups of people whilst shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great). Eleven people were injured in the incident. Two of the 11 victims are reported to be in a “serious condition. The attack came the day after a French convert to Islam was shot dead after attacking three police officers with a knife.

The Islamic State has kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery hundreds, possibly thousands, of girls and women in the past five months, London’s The Times reveals, in what is thought to be the biggest case of enslavement this century. It said girls as young as 12 and their mothers have been seized and raped by Isis as part of a programme drawn from the earliest examples of Islamic slavery. The women were torn from their families and classified according to age, education and maritial status and either sold or given to fighters as a reward.

Sky News announces Sir Elton John has married his partner, David Furnish. Sir John, who joined in a civil partnership with Furnish in 2005, is one of a host of celebrities to take advantage of new laws which came into force earlier this month and allowed gay couples to convert their civil partnerships into marriages.

According to The Daily Telegraph, police in London are investigating reports of five Westminster paedophile rings that allegedly included a number of high-ranking officials. The Sunday Times had earlier said Labour MP John Mann, who had spent months collecting evidence from members of the public, presented a list of 22 high-ranking officials to the police for further investigation.

The BBC announces the death of acclaimed actress Billie Whitelaw, famous for her roles on stage and screen. She was 82. Whitelaw made her radio acting debut aged just 11 and in 1950, she made her first stage appearance in a performance of Pink String and Sealing Wax, before moving into films and television. She was well known for her role as Mrs Baylock in horror film The Omen. Whitelaw also played a starring role as Violet Kray in The Krays and more recently appeared in comedy Hot Fuzz.

 

 

 

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