The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta reports how an Italian couple dashed onto the airport apron and tried to stop their plane from taking off. It also reports how Go plc has formed a separate property company.
The Malta Independent says encroachment by businesses in narrow Valletta streets is irking residents. A particular case, it says, is Archbishop Street, with spaces taken over by tables, chairs and cars. The newspaper also reports that only one application was made for medical marijuana use, and it was rejected.
In-Nazzjon says Labour whip Godfey Farrugia said that he was told by Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon that he never went abroad with Mark Gaffarena. The newspaper says Dr Falzon 'lied' to the Labour whip.
l-orizzont says a PN website to measure the impact of high fuel costs was prepared up on the basis of input by 'spies' for Tonio Fenech in the public service.
The overseas press
Le Soir reports European leaders are to hold an emergency summit next Monday after the failure of the latest attempt to resolve the Greek crisis. Eurozone finance ministers who met in Luxembourg said no progress had been made and no agreement was in sight.
Börzen Zeitung says the Greek issue would be discussed later today by members of the council of the European Central Bank, which includes the members of the executive of the Bank and the governors of the 19 central banks of the eurozone.
Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt has conceded defeat after he governing centre-left coalition lost its majority following a general election. Politiken says her Social Democrats remain the strongest party but unexpectedly the anti immigration Danish People Party came second. This would give the Opposition centre-right bloc, led by former Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, 91 seats against the 84 seats of the centre-left.
TIME reports former USW Secretary of State and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has challenged the nation to take new actions to curb gun violence. In her first reactions to the shooting inside a historically black Charleston church that left nine dead, she said America needs to face “hard truth about guns and race”. President Obama has also condemned the shooting, urging Americans to reflect on the issue of gun violence. The 21-year-old white man suspected of having carried out the attack, Dylann Storm Roof, has arrived back in Charleston after his arrest.
According to Libya Herald, all 10 Tunisian diplomats kidnapped by the Alba Libya militia in recent days from their consulate in Tripoli, have been released. It is said they are now in a safe place and are being sent home.
South China Morning Post reports Hong Kong’s Legislative Council has blocked a Bill that would have granted the city free elections of Beijing-approved candidates. The two-thirds pro-democracy bloc had called the proposed elections “fake.”
Rich nations have a moral obligation to replace fossil fuels with renewables, fight climate change and help poorer countries develop sustainably, Pope Francis said yesterday in his first major encyclical on the environment. Avvenire says the 192-page letter, ‘Laudato Si (Be Praised) aims to inspire Catholics and non-Catholics alike to protect the Earth, making changes to lifestyles and energy use. Ansa reports Franciscan friars from Assisi expressed delight at Pope’s encyclical, hailing it as a “green manifesto” that captures the spirit of St Francis.
Almost 60 million people worldwide have been forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution at the end of last year – the highest ever recorded number. Tribune de Genève reports the UNHCR’s annual “Global Trends Report” warns the situation could deteriorate further. More than half the displaced from Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia were children.
Meanwhile, Ansa says figures from the International Organization for Migration show that 800,000 people – of whom 90 per cent are women and children – are estimated to be victims of human trafficking each year. The harrowing statistic was revealed at the inauguration of a new Italian committee on human trafficking. The number of human trafficking victims in Italy rose from 1,624 to 2,381 between 2008 and 2010 – a 47 per cent increase.
London’s The Times says one of Tbilisi zoo’s escaped penguins made it all the way to the border before being spotted, then gave his pursuers the slip again and is thought to have swum beyond their reach into neighbouring Azerbaijan. Heavy rains lashed the Georgian capital on Saturday night, causing the river Vere to burst its banks. At least 20 people died in the flooding and dozens of families have been made homeless. Hundreds of wild animals escaped
Raw human milk sold on the web is not controlled and those who drink it may be exposed to infectious diseases such as hepatitis, HIV and syphilis. The stark warning comes from an article by Dr. Sarah Steele of Queen Mary University in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Bodybuilders and cancer patients seek to buy online breast milk for its nutritional value and energy properties. Steel told The Daily Telegraph there were fewer proteins in breast milk than other types of milk, such as cow milk.
Other than Viagra for women, the secret of female pleasure is a matter of the legendary G-spot, of which the French are well aware. So much so that Cheek Magazine reports they are using injections of hyaluronic acid not only to do away with wrinkles, but also to inflate a point just above the legendary area of pleasure and intensify the sensation during sex. The pioneer of the practice, gynecologist Marie Claude Benattar, defines the operation short and painless which women can undergo in Paris for between €800 and €2000.