The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
Times of Malta says six Italians wanted for their involvement in organised crime are to be extradited to Italy following an investigation by the Italian police, who believe the Mafia used betting companies in Malta to launder vast sums of money. In another story, it quotes a theatre studies academic saying actors should be clearly informed what the training for a nude scene involved and be required to sign a consent form.
L-Orizzont says that Rapid Intervention Unit officers are now being given new trousers following its report that their torn ones were not being replaced.
In-Nazzjon quotes Italian newspaper La Gazzetta de Mezzogiorno saying Malta had become a web of organised crime.
The Malta Independent quotes Italian President Sergio Mattarella saying that the EU’s decision to have refugees relocated to other EU countries from Greece and Italy is an important first step that will see Europe share the migration problem.
International news
CTV News reports NASA has released a statement hinting that its Kepler mission had found an exoplanet that very much resembles our own. And while the Space agency will not provide any additional details until 6pm today (Malta Time), many are already certain that “another Earth” has been found in the Milky Way. The statement has already spurred predictions of a new planet capable of sustaining life. Space enthusiasts and journalists have taken to Twitter to express their anticipation over the upcoming announcement.
Key Westminster figures from the 1970s and 1980s have been named in a series of British government child abuse documents. After months of requests from Sky News, the government has revealed that papers exist that relate to Margaret Thatcher's former parliamentary secretary Sir Peter Morrison, former Home Secretary Leon Brittan, former diplomat Sir Peter Hayman and former minister Sir William van Straubenzee. All four have passed away and the contents of the papers have not been revealed.
The Daily Mail reports protesters lobbed petrol bombs and clashed with security forces in Greece last night ahead of a crucial vote which if passed, could help unlock the country's desperately needed bailout funds. Thousands of anti-austerity campaigners, the majority of which were from the Communist-affiliated PAME union, gathered outside the parliament in fiery scenes which echoed the chaos that broke out in the capital last week. The reforms being voted on are the key conditions for opening talks on a bailout worth up to €86 billion over the next three years.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg says the European Central Bank eased the pressure on Greek lenders as it prepares to embark on a third tour of duty in Athens. Officials raised the limit on Emergency Liquidity Assistance to banks by $900 million in a telephone conference on Wednesday. Attention now turns to a bigger task – sending a team back to the Greek capital to monitor compliance with austerity policies that the government accepted in return for another bailout deal.
France 24 reports tobacconists who man France’s licensed “Tabac” outlets with their iconic red signs (nicknamed “carrots”) have scored a headline-grabbing victory in a protest that included dumping four tonnes of carrots outside the French Senate. And by the end of yesterday’s sitting, the Senate’s social affairs committee had removed the clause in the health bill that would require cigarettes to be sold in plain packaging. Instead, they argued for an increase in the size of public health warnings in line with EU legislation.
China's most famous modern artist Ai Weiwei has had his passport returned and will be free to leave the country again. For more than four years Ai had not been allowed to leave China after the renowned artist and outspoken critic of the government had his passport confiscated when was taken into secret detention for 81 days. ABC says the return of Ai's passport means that as long as Australia grants him a visa, he will be able to visit Melbourne for an exhibition of his work later this year.
Ansa reports Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has told the Israeli Knesset that “on the safety of Israel, there can be no compromise”. Italy and the US believe that the new Iran nuclear deal, which Israel sees as a threat, “is a useful compromise that will make the region safer,” he said. He spoke one day after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which he acknowledged that the two nations hold “different” positions on Iran.
Meanwhile, CNN says hours before top Obama administration officials began briefing Congress on the classified details of the nuclear accord with Iran, House Speaker John Boehner vowed Republicans would “do everything possible to stop” the agreement. Secretary of State John Kerry, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz are expected to face tough questioning from members of both parties on Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Corriere della Sera reports Italian police have arrested two men – one from Tunisia and one from Pakistan – they said were affiliated with Islamic State (ISIS) militants and were planning several attacks including one on a northern Italian air base. Police said the two suspected supporters of ISIS made threats against landmarks in Rome and Milan.
Fox News says the White House has entered the “final stages” of drafting a plan to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. President Obama's efforts to shut the military installation had been stymied by opponents for years.