The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
Times of Malta says the Office of the Prime Minister has refused to condemn comments made on Facebook by its special envoy Joe Grima, who launched an attack on President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca for urging migrant integration. In another story, it says MEPs yesterday also called for an expansion in the area of responsibility for Triton, the EU’s search-and-rescue operation, as well as the “the strongest possible” criminal sanctions against people smugglers.
The Malta Independent says the St James Hospital deal with the Americans has not yet materialised but the hospital and shareholders are confident the €28 million deal will eventually go through.
L-Orizzont says that a policeman was cleared of breaching the peace and committing a crime he was duty bound to prevent as the case was time barred.
In-Nazzjon leads with a report of the European Parliamentary sitting yesterday which debated irregular migration and the response to the latest Mediterranean tragedy.
International news
France’s Defence Ministry has confirmed it was investigating alleged sexual abuse against children by its soldiers serving as peacekeepers in the Central African Republic, adding that it would impose the “strongest penalties” on anyone found guilty. France 24 says the announcement follows the publication of a confidential report in Britain's The Guardian.
Members of the European Parliament have called on the European Union to save migrant lives by expanding its current border patrols to include “robust” search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean which all member states would pay for and contribute to. Le Soir reports the resolution was approved by 449 votes to 130, with 93 abstentions.
The New York Times says UN envoy for Libya, Bernardino Leon, has given warring parties until Sunday to respond to his latest proposals for a power-sharing deal that could pull the country out of chaos. He told a closed-door Security Council meeting that the responses would help lay the groundwork for another round of talks but played down prospects for a quick breakthrough.
The Himalayan Times reports the first supplies of food aid have began reaching remote, earthquake-shattered mountain villages in Nepal, while thousands clamoured to board buses out of Kathmandu, either to check on rural relatives or for fear of spending yet another night in the damaged capital. They blocked trucks carrying supplies for earthquake victims, demanding the government do more to help survivors.
The Associated Press says South Korea’s spy agency has told parliamentarians that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had ordered the execution of 15 senior officials this year who were accused of challenging his authority. In a closed-door briefing, the agency chief said told Kim appeared likely to visit Russia next month to attend the 70th anniversary of its victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky told Switzerland’s RTS television channel on Wednesday that the decision by President Hollande and Chancellor Merkel to snub Moscow’s celebrations was “ill-considered”. Merkel and Hollande are among numerous Western leaders, including President Obama, who are skipping the celebrations in protest against Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
The Sun has come out in support of Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party citing the economy, fears about the power of Scottish Nationalists and Cameron’s promise of a referendum on EU membership. Meanwhile, latest poll show the Tories have a one percentage point lead over the opposition Labour Party in the run up to Britain’s May 7 general election.
Ansa reports Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s government survived to fight another day after it won the first of a series of confidence votes over its election-law reform bill. The government won with 352 votes in favour, 207 against and one abstention. Thirty-eight MPs did not vote. Renzi now faces two more confidence votes today before the entire Bill goes to a secret ballot next week. A loss in the confidence votes, held on different articles within the bill, would bring down his executive and government.
Adam was sexist to blame Eve for eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden and humanity’s fall from grace, Pope Francis said yesterday. Avvenire says he told the faithful at his general audience, “Adam cuts a bad figure when he tells God he ate the apple because Eve gave it to him: it’s always the poor woman’s fault! We must defend women.” Lending his support to economic equality between the sexes, the Pontiff also said it was an “absolute scandal” that women often earn less than men for doing the same job.
Metro says the European Court of Justice has ruled that the French law banning men who have had sexual relations with other men from donating blood was justified, given the risk of HIV transmission. The court admitted, however, that this ruling could violate the right to non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and therefore stressed that there was a need to prove that the risk of transmitting HIV or other serious illnesses was in fact higher in gay men. This is the only case in which the right of non-discrimination can be waived.
According to Al Ahram, a judge in Egypt has sentenced 69 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to life in prison and fined them €2,560 each for burning down a Coptic church in Giza in 2013. The judge also sentenced two minors to 10 years each in jail for the attack on the church in Kerdasa. The attack took place during a wave of violence after police launched a crackdown against sit-ins in Giza and in Cairo.
Agelioforos reports a Greek court has convicted a dead man of stealing electricity from a power utility, giving him a six-month suspended jail sentence. Defence lawyer Christos Bakelas told the Thessaloniki court that his client was deceased, and asked to have the trial deferred until he could produce the death certificate. But the court refused and convicted his client in absentia. Bakelas said he was astonished by the court’s decision and hadn’t experienced anything like it in his 25 years as a lawyer.
AGI says Justin Bieber yesterday faced possible arrest during a visit to Rome after Argentina reportedly issued an international warrant for an alleged assault against a photographer. Police were checking with the country’s judicial authorities whether the international arrest warrant issued by Argentina is valid in Italy. Bieber is in Rome to film scenes for the highly anticipated comedy sequel “Zoolander 2” with actor Ben Stiller as well as a video for his latest single.
It’s official: hard work is good for the brain! The journal Neurology reports that a study by the University of Leipzig found that jobs that challenge the brain may provide the best protection against mental decline in old age. Memory and thinking ability is better preserved by solving problems, developing strategy, conflict resolution and information processing than less demanding work.