The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
Times of Malta says the Police Commissioner has been fined €500 by the Data Protection Commissioner after a police inspector’s file was illegally copied and passed on to a newspaper while it was in his possession. The offence took place under the watch of Peter Paul Zammit.
The Malta Independent quoted Columbian media saying that at least one person recently arrested in Colombia in connection with international drug trafficking operations is set to be extradited to Malta to face criminal proceedings.
Malta Today says that William Mangion’s €19,582 contract has been extended for another year and he is now responsible for providing support in the organisation of certain events.
In-Nazzjon says people from the Labour government are using the Freeport to give jobs to their people.
L-Orizzont says NSO officials cannot understand why former Finance Minister Tonio Fenech used public officials to gather information when he had could have accessed this information personally.
International news
Eurozone finance ministers will meet for the third time in a week this evening to try to secure an agreement to avert a default in Greece. Bloomberg reports that with a week to go before the country’s bailout expires, a deal appeared within reach after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras signalled he was ready to end a bitter five-month standoff and reach agreement with creditors to unlock aid.
The Greek proposals, that includes an estimated €8 billion in tax revenues and reforms in pension laws have caused mixed reactions among several members of the Syriza coalition government. Greek Reporter says the party’s left platform was seeking to force an end to negotiations and head to a direct rift with creditors and the EU in general.
AGI quotes China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang saying Beijing was looking closely at the handling of the Greek debt crisis and hoping for a quick solution “for the sake of stable development in the EU integration process”. However, he made no comment on the possibility that his government might rescue Athens with an emergency loan or the purchase of assets in the event of a default.
Magyar Hirlap reports Hungary has suspended indefinitely a key EU asylum rule that states that a country must take back asylum seekers who first entered Europe through their borders. A government spokesperson said the country was overburdened by illegal immigration. Hungarian police have discovered more than 60,000 migrants crossing its border with Serbia. The EU has called on Budapest to clarify its position.
WikiLeaks has published documents it says shows the US National Security Agency (NSA) eavesdropped on the last three French presidents. There was no immediate confirmation of the accuracy of the documents released by French daily newspaper Liberation and investigative website Mediapart. There was no immediate comment from the White House or the offices of French President Hollande, who has reportedly called a defence council meeting for this morning to discuss the claims.
Ansa reports Italian Catholic bishops are mulling a more tolerant approach to divorced and gay people, as well as towards unmarried couples. According to a working document they published ahead of a synod on the family next October, “Every individual, independent of sexual orientation, must be respected in dignity and welcomed delicately and with sensitivity by the Church and by society”. The Catholic Church may seek to find ways to bring divorced people who remarry back into the fold.
Some 68 million children under five will die by 2030 mainly from preventable causes, and that year 119 million children would suffer from chronic malnutrition. The New Yorker says these are just two stark realities highlighted in the new UNICEF Report ‘Progress for Children’, which also states that it would take about 100 years by the time all the girls from the poorest families in sub-Saharan Africa could complete the school cycle of lower secondary education.
Sputnik reports a median of 62 per cent around the world support the military campaign against the Islamic State militants, according to a new poll released by Pew Research Centre while 24 per cent were opposed. The US-led coalition of some 60 nations has carried out airstrikes against the Islamic State positions in Iraq and Syria.
Meanwhile, al bawaba says that in a new audio message released by ISIS, the spokesman urges Muslims to “attack, during Ramadan, Christians, Shiites and Muslim apostates who support the international coalition in Iraq and Syria.” The 28-minute message was released on jihadist websites.
Hollywood Reporter announces James Horner, the celebrated composer of the scores of several smash hit films including “Titanic” and “Avatar”, has died in a plane crash. The 61-year-old composer, also a trained pilot, died when his private aircraft crashed north of Santa Barbara, California.
A class of erectile dysfunction drugs that includes brand names such as Viagra, Levitra and Cialis, has been linked to a slight increase in the risk of the skin cancer melanoma. While the research in the Journal of the American Medical Association stops short of proving that the drugs cause melanoma, researchers said their findings warrant a closer look at medications which sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil.
La Sicilia says Catania FC chairman Antonino Pulvirenti was among seven people arrested yesterday in relation to a probe into allegations the Sicilian club paid to win matches to avoid relegation from Serie B in the season that has just ended. Catania finished 15th in Serie B last season with 49 points, two points above the danger zone. Investigators believe the alleged fraud may have led to betting scams.