The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta says a Maltese match-fixing suspect had been threatened by Chinese gamblers.
l-orizzont reports that Simon Busuttil criticised the government for raising undue alarm about the state of Mater Dei Hospital. In its main story, however, it says that works on the building of a new hospital Emergency Department is proceeding fast.
In-Nazzjon reports how Simon Busttil stressed yesterday that the PN should continue to make a difference.
The Malta Independent says Zonqor farmers have united to express themselves against the new American University project.
The overseas press
The Irish Times quotes campaigners for same-sex marriage saying the referendum in Ireland, on whether to legalise same-sex marriage, will be carried on the back of high turnouts in urban centres and massive engagement by young and first-time voters. Those on the No side also acknowledged that the large turnout was likely to tip the balance in favour of a Yes. A result is expected by mid- to late afternoon.
According to Latvijas Radio, the EU’s fourth Eastern Partnership summit has wrapped up with the Western bloc and its eastern neighbours reaffirming their promise of cooperation. However, the summit also exposed strains over relations with Moscow. The declaration released by the European Union heads of state and government as well as their counterparts from six of the EU’s eastern partners at the end of their two-day summit in Riga, was only agreed at after some difficult conversations.
Isis has used the latest issue of its propaganda magazine Dabiq to suggest the group is expanding so rapidly it could buy its first nuclear weapon within a year, London’s Independent reports. The article, which the group attributes to the British hostage John Cantlie, claims Isis has transcended its roots as “the most explosive Islamic ‘group’ in the modern world” to evolve into “the most explosive Islamic movement the modern world has ever seen” in less a year.
Corriere della Sera says Italy’s Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni has said his government was concerned about the recent advances made by Islamic State jihadist group in Iraq and in Syria, where a monitor says it now controls half the country. IS has also seized large areas of Iraq, capturing the strategically-important city of Ramadi in Anbar province after weeks of fighting and has vowed to “liberate” Baghdad and the holy Iraqi city of Karbala. Gentiloni said an upcoming anti-IS coalition meeting in Paris would aim to forge a strategy to rout the bloodthirsty Sunni extremist group.
California Chronicle reports two 24-year-old men have appeared before a court in California, accused of plotting to provide material support to the Islamic State. Prosecutors charged Anaheim residents Muhanad Badawi and Nader Elhuzayel after investigators tracked their communications on social media and found messages claiming their support for IS. The pair face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Al Jazeera says the Islamic State group has declared it was behind a suicide bombing on a Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia that killed at least 21 people – the first to be claimed by the jihadist Saudi branch, which was formally established last November. IS had previously threatened to attack Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia.
CNN reports the US State Department has released the first batch of e-mails from Hilary Clinton’s private account linked to the attack that killed four Americans in the Libyan city of Benghazi in 2012. Clinton was Secretary of State at the time. Observer say the e-mails do not appear to contain any revelations proving she had acted negligently as some Republicans have claimed.
As many 24,000 asylum seekers, depending on “changeable” figures, could leave Italy under proposed quotas being developed by the European Commission, a source told Ansa yesterday. Combined with Greece, the total could be 40,000 refugees transferred. Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has pledged that Italy would raise a migrant boat that went down off Libya in mid-April claiming 800 lives, to make sure that “Europe does not close its eyes to the dead” in the migrant emergency in the Mediterranean.
Caracol TV says the Farc rebel group in Columbia has suspended its unilateral ceasefire following a government attack on one of its bases in which 26 guerrillas were killed. The Farc says it wants the full bilateral ceasefire but was not abandoning peace talks.
At least 40 people have died in a shoot-out in the Mexican state of Michoacan between security forces and an armed gang, according to El Tiempo. One of Mexico’s most-ferocious drugs gang is active in the area near the border with Jalisco state.
People Magazine reports the US cable network TRC has pulled the long-running reality TV show “19 kids and counting”, featuring a large conservative Christian family, following allegations of sexual abuse. The family’s older son, Josh Dugger is alleged to have molested five underage girls, including sisters, when he was a teenager.
Budapest Business Journal says a number of baby-carrying mothers in the Hungarian capital occupied a McDonald’s restaurant in protest against its move earlier this week to stop a woman from breast-feeding. They sat down, bared their breasts and began feeding their babies. A McDonald’s statement blamed a security guard for the incident, adding women are welcome to breast-feed in McDonald’s restaurants as part of the fast food chain’s family-friendly policy.
Kurier reports Sweden, Russia and Italy are among the favourites to win the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest, which takes place in Vienna this evening. A record number of 27 countries will take part, including Australia, which has been invited to compete for the first time to mark the diamond anniversary. Around 200 million viewers are expected to tune in to the event on television.
According to an investigation by Britain’s Channel 4, a data breach at a website billed as “the world’s largest sex and swinger” community may expose personal and sexual information on millions of users worldwide. Stolen data from some 3.9 million members of Adult FriendFinder was leaked by hackers. The leaked data included the sexual orientations and preferences of users, and whether they are seeking extramarital affairs. Also exposed were e-mail addresses, user names, dates of birth, postal codes and Internet addresses of the users’ computers.