The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta reports that half of the population do not know how to get mental health help.
The Malta Independent says Mark Gaffarena has refused to comment on the controversial expropriation deal he benefited from.
In-Nazzjon leads with PN statements on the 'Old Mint Street scandal'. It also says a Malta-based fund is being investigated for funds transferred to a failing Italian bank.
l-orizzont says the AFM had wanted a helipad on top of the hospital emergency department, which was subsequently found to have weak concrete.
The overseas press
Le Monde reports French investigators have said they were expanding their Germanwings crash probe to see if anyone could be held liable for manslaughter as it emerged the pilot had seen seven doctors in the month before the disaster. Andreas Lubitz, the Germanwings pilot who ploughed his plane into the French Alps, saw 41 doctors over the course of five years. He feared that he was losing his eyesight and might go blind, and some of the doctors he consulted felt that he was unfit to fly.
Deutsche Welle says they did not tell Lubitz’s employers, Lufthansa, because of privacy laws. The deliberate crash on March 24 killed all 150 passengers on board.
Le Soir reveals the European Commission will open an investigation into online retail giant Amazon’s e-book distribution, in light of contractual clauses that will be examined for possible anti-trust violations. The clauses in question require publishers to inform Amazon about agreements they have that could favour industry competitors, and to offer Amazon the same conditions.
The Daily Mirror reports Argentina’s President Cristina Kirchner has attacked British prime Minister David Cameron in a public speech accusing him of an “irate, almost ill-mannered” rebuke to her Foreign Minister Hector Timerman over the Falklands. Cameron had asked the Timerman to stop “threatening” residents and those who work in the islands and respect the referendum in which the people have chosen to be British. Timerman said that the islands, referred to as Malvinas by the Argentineans, are Argentine.
Haaretz says the Israeli army has dropped criminal proceedings over four Palestinian children killed by an airstrike on a Gaza beach last July while playing football. The Israeli military said the deaths were accidental. The four cousins, aged between nine and 11, were killed by missiles fired by members of the Israeli Defence Force who believed the children were Hamas fighters. The incident sparked international criticism after journalists witnessed the event.
Il Tempo reports President Obama’s special envoy on the Islamic State has ended two days of talks in Rome on ways of strengthening the fight against the extremist group. The US embassy to Italy said John Allen’s meetings with top Italian politicians and security officials, centred on ways to “broaden and deepen cooperation within the US-led coalition to counter IS.
It described the talks as “productive”. Meanwhile, The New York Times says the ISIS war in Iraq and in Syria, which began with the bombing last August, has so far cost the United States $2.7 billion, or $9 million a day.
Al Mana TV announces Lebanese security forces arrested two brothers suspected of belonging the Islamic State jihadist group in the north-eastern Bekaa valley. They had in their possession military equipment and propaganda material for the Al-Qaeda-aligned al-Nusra Front. There have been a raft of arrests of suspected jihadists in Lebanon in recent months and thousands of militants are believed to be hiding out in the barren mountainous area on its border.
Xinhua reports former Chinese security chief Zhou Yongkang, the highest ranking former official to be investigated for corruption in decades, has been sentenced to life in prison on charges of bribery, abuse of power and leaking state secrets. The agency said Zhou “admitted guilt” following a secret trial in the northern city of Tianjin.
Fox News says a judge has said enough evidence exists to charge two white policemen in the fatal shooting of a 12-year-old black boy who was holding a pellet gun. Municipal Court Judge Ronald Adrine ruled there’s probable cause to charge rookie officer Timothy Loehmann with murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide or dereliction of duty in the November shooting death of Tamir Rice. And he ruled there’s evidence to charge Loehmann’s partner, Frank Garmback, with reckless homicide or dereliction of duty.
Al Jazeera reports a group of armed men stole the body of Tareq Aziz, the former Iraqi Foreign Minister and right hand man of Saddam Hussein, who died last week. The corpse disappeared from Baghdad airport minutes before the coffin was to be loaded on a plane to Amman.
The People’s Daily says one of the most famous actresses in China, Zhao Wei, is being sued by a viewer who accused her of having plunged him into a state of “spiritual distress” and “profound loss” because her stare across the screen was “too intense”. Legal observers say it was unlikely that the man’s complaint would be upheld.
L’Equipe reports the European Parliament has called on Sepp Blatter to step down immediately as FIFA president and allow for an interim leader to launch reforms in football’s governing body. Through a show of hands, members overwhelmingly voted for the resolution which is not legally binding, but amounts to political pressure. In the wake of a massive corruption scandal, Blatter, 79, tendered his resignation on June 2 but it will not take effect until December at the earliest.