The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
Times of Malta says family emotions erupted as Kenneth Gafa, the man who murdered a woman in Żebbiegħ was jailed for 35 years, with her brother trying to assault the killer in court and her daughter yelling that he should “go rot in jail”. In another story, it says the number of migrants that Malta had agreed to take as part of an EU burden sharing agreement has been reduced to 74 from the original 292.
L-Orizzont also leads with Mr Gafa’s arraignment and quotes what the victim’s daughter wrote on Facebook, that her mother can now rest in peace.
The Malta Independent says Economy Minister Chris Cardona is alleged to be staying at an apartment in Portomaso for free, an apartment owned by a relative of one of the key shareholders in Electrogas Malta.
In-Nazzjon says Prime Minister Joseph Muscat opted not to reply to the claims made about Dr Cardona's living arrangements.
International news
Kathimerini reports Greek anti-corruption authorities have launched embezzlement proceedings against three former officials from the country’s privatisation agency over the sale of 28 public buildings. The managing director of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, and two other former members of the agency’s board, are accused of withholding over €100,000 in interest on rents from the buildings, which were sold to subsidiaries of Greece’s Eurobank and the National Bank of Greece.
Ta Nea says the Greek finance ministry has confirmed the government had completed payments of billions of euros that were due to the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, after the EU granted emergency bridge funding of €7.16 billion. The IMF separately announced Greece was no longer in default on its loans after remitting about €2 billion to make up for missed repayments, while an ECB spokesperson said: “The ECB confirms it has been repaid”.
The New York Times reports the UN Security Council has unanimously endorsed the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers and authorised a series of measures leading to the end of UN sanctions. Meanwhile, according to the ISNA news agency, as cited in Germany’s The Local, Iran’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed visiting German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel’s call for Iran to recognise Israel.
CNN says a joint investigation by two UK-based groups – Conflict Armament Research and Sahan Research – has found ISIS recently used devices filled with chemical agents against Kurdish forces and civilians in both Iraq and Syria. The findings build on previous reporting that ISIS had begun to adapt both suicide bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to include chlorine and other chemicals and may seek to exploit the use of chemicals as it develops new weapons.
LBC Radio reports Muslim organisations in Britain backed David Cameron’s call to expose the brutality of Islamic State as part of a bid to prevent the radicalisation of young Britons. But concern was expressed that the Prime Minister’s call to promote and “enforce” British values may fuel prejudice and suspicion against Muslims. The Muslim Council of Britain said it supported “sound, evidence-based” measures that confront terrorism effectively and agreed that the conduct and values of IS – also known as Isil, Isis or Daesh – were “abhorrent”.
Tribune de Genève quotes a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre showing over 19.3 million people were displaced by natural disasters in 2014 due to insufficient man-made policies and structures. Man-made factors, like urbanization, rapid economic development and increasing populations in hazard-prone areas were main drivers of disaster displacement, and increased global displacement would be seen as climate change becomes more acute.
Earth dialled up the heat last month, smashing temperature records for June and the first half of the year. Nature says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calculated that the world’s average temperature in June hit 16.38OC, breaking the old record set last year by 0.12OC. The first six months of the year beat a record set in 2010, averaging 14.35OC.
AP says an 18-year-old French teen born with the AIDS virus has had her infection under control and nearly undetectable despite stopping treatment 12 years ago – an unprecedented remission, according to doctors. The teen might have some form of natural resistance to HIV that hasn’t yet been discovered. But her case revives hope that early, aggressive treatment can limit how strongly the virus takes hold, and perhaps in rare cases, let people control it without lifelong drugs.
The Washington Post says China’s record on nuclear proliferation is facing US congressional criticism as the Obama administration seeks renewal of a 30-year agreement that enables American involvement in China’s fast-growing atomic energy industry. The agreement facilitates the transfer of US technology for civilian use, and blocking or delaying it could complicate already tense US-China relations.
The New Yorker says jet-setting stallions and high-flying hounds at New York’s Kennedy Airport can look forward to a new luxury terminal that would handle the more than 70,000 animals flying in and out every year. JFK’s “The ARK” – its name inspired by Noah’s biblical vessel – is billed as the world’s first air terminal for animals. The $48 million, 16,500-square-metre shelter and quarantine is set to open next year.
The Verge reports a matchmaking website with 40 million members looking for secret affairs has been hacked and some personal details posted online. A group calling itself “The Impact Team” claims it has complete access to Ashley Madison’s database of members, including financial records and other personal information that it is threatening to publish online unless the site closes.
A woman received a letter from the hospital informing her that she was pregnant. However Doris Ayling was fairly certain they had made a mistake, considering she is nearly 100-years-old. Metro says Doris, 99, was stunned to see the letter, which asked her to bring a urine sample to an antenatal appointment, even had her date of birth correct. Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust apologised to Doris and her family, blaming the mix up on an “administrative error”.