The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
Times of Malta quotes Tripoli’s government representative in Malta saying the Libyan people would unite against a ground operation in their country, as is being promoted by Italy and supported by Malta. In another story, it speaks to the widow of cyclist Cliff Micallef, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in 2009, who says she is “shocked and let down” by the Constitutional Court’s decision to declare the driver’s statement during his interrogation inadmissible.
The Malta Independent speaks to Martin Xuereb, the director of Migrant Offshore Aid Station, who says Libya’s escalating situation is leading to people becoming so desperate to escape they do not even consider weather conditions.
L-Orizzont says that the majority of Freeport workers have joined the General Workers Union.
In-Nazzjon accuses the General Workers Union of trying to justify renting offices to ARMS in breach of contract by throwing mud against the Union Haddiema Maghqudin.
International news
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has told Mediaset TV Italy had no intention of launching a military intervention in Libya, despite concerns about the most recent advances made by Islamist extremists. He said the international community had all the necessary instruments to intervene if it wanted to but his proposal was to wait for the UN Security Council. Renzi argued that ISIS had not invaded Libya but rather, extremists groups already in Libya had affiliated with ISIS. He called for wisdom and prudence and said one could not go from total indifference to hysteria.
Al Ahram reports new Egyptian raids have hit Islamic State and Ansar al Sharia positions in Derna, Benghazi and Sirte. The Libyan army has said the raids killed 64 Isis fighters, including three of their leaders, and injured “dozens”. Meanwhile, Libya Herald said at least 35 Egyptian citizens were kidnapped in Libya after the start of the raids. They were largely agricultural workers.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni pleaded for Western military strikes against ISIS to stop it and other extremist Islamist groups. In an interview with Reuters he called on the “world powers to stand by Libya and launch military strikes against these groups” and warned “this threat will move to European countries, especially Italy”.
Ekstra Bladet says tens of thousands of Danes have attended a memorial rally in Copenhagen for the two victims killed in twin shootings on the weekend. The police arrested two people on suspicion of aiding the attacks but said there was no indication the shooter was part of a cell or had travelled to Syria or Iraq. Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt told reporters, Danes would not accept any attempt to threaten or intimidate their liberties and their rights. Jewish leaders also called for calm and tolerance as some Muslims feared a backlash.
Le Parisien reports French police have detained five teenagers in connection with the vandalizing of Jewish graves in a cemetery in eastern France. The incident, amid rising anti-Semiticism in France, followed the attacks in Copenhagen. French President François Hollande said anti-semitic acts could not be tolerated and would not be left unanswered. Some 10,000 military personnel had been deployed to protect public sites.
Le Soir says crunch talks in Brussels over Greece’s rescue package have collapsed after Athens rejected a proposal for an extension of its current programme calling the offer “absurd and unacceptable”. Greece’s finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, said negotiations would continue and he had “no doubt” that an agreement on its debt would be reached. However, he said his country would not implement recessionary measures such as pension cuts and VAT hikes. Eurozone finance ministers gave Greece until Friday to decide whether it wanted to continue working with the Eurogroup of finance ministers on future “arrangements”.
Kyiv Post reports fighting continues to rage around the eastern Ukrainian town of Debaltseve in spite of a European-brokered peace deal. Western leaders have appealed for both sides to respect the ceasefire.
Tass says the European Union has expanded its sanctions against Russia and its supporters in east Ukrain. Nineteen individuals and nine organizations were added to the list. These included Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov and lawmaker and prominent singer Joseph Kobzon.
Deutsche Welle says German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives have seen their worst-ever result at elections in the city state of Hamburg, receiving only 15.9 percent of the vote. However, Merkel is defending the conservative candidate.
Bild reports a 93-year-old man in northwestern Germany has been charged as an accessory to 170,000 counts of murder – dating back to his time at the Auschwitz concentration camp. The defendant claims he had no role in the killings.
Sky News announced the death in New York of singer Leslie Gore, who topped the US charts in 1963 with her song about teenage angst called “It's My Party”. Gore, who had cancer, died aged 68. Her hits in the early 60s also included “Judy's Turn to Cry”, “You Don't Own Me”, “She's A Fool”, “That's The Way Boys Are” and “Maybe I Know”. The American singer also co-wrote with her brother, Michael, the Academy Award-nominated “Out Here On My Own” from the film “Fame”.