The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta reports how a woman was locked in room for 17 hours a day. It also reports how Gozo has a higher rate of graduates pro rata than Malta.
The Malta Independent says MEPs have insisted that Malta has not abdicated its responsibilities of saving migrants in distress at sea.
In-Nazzjon quotes Simon Busuttil saying the people’s choice should be for the PN because the country deserves better.
l-orizzont also reports about the woman kept under lock and key, asking if she lived in an apartment of terror.
The overseas press
Eurostat reports that at least 213,000 people have applied for asylum in the EU for the first time. Le Soir says this was an 85 per cent increase compared to the second quarter of 2015 and a 15-percent jump from the first quarter figures of this year. Refugees from Syria (21 per cent of the total), Afghanistan (13 per cent) and Albania (eight per cent) were the largest three groups of applicants.
A four-year-old Syrian girl’s body has washed up on a beach in western Turkey, just weeks after images of drowned Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi shook the world. Anatolia news agency says the yet-to-be identified girl was found lifeless on a beach in the Aegean town of Cesme in Izmir province after a boat carrying 15 Syrians to the Greek island of Chios sank.
Al Jazeera says the Islamic State (IS) has issued an appeal to migrants to return home, where they will be able to “count on God and the Islamic State”. The video appeal was broadcast on IS-related channels. At the end of the appeal, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi intervenes in person, speaking in heartfelt tones to the refugees asking them to return.
Meanwhile, Ansa reports 1,013 migrants were saved off the coast of Libya yesterday in eight rescue operations coordinated by the operations centre of Rome Coast Guard.
According to Libya Herald, equipped with grenades and explosive belts, ISIS commandos attacked an air base prison in Tripoli. Eight people, including three guards, were killed.
AP reports President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro had a rare phone call yesterday ahead of Pope Francis’ impending visit to both their nations. The White House said they commended the Pope’s role in “advancing relations between our countries.
Deutsche Welle announces EU member states have agreed on a unified bargaining stance for the climate talks in Paris later this year. The bloc hopes to conclude a binding global agreement that further reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Euronews reports Alexis Tsipras has scored a narrow lead in opinion polls as the final day of campaigning before Sunday’s general election drew to a close. The Syriza leader is battling to be re-elected as Greece’s Prime Minister after he resigned last month to trigger a new ballot and refresh his mandate.
Huffington Post quotes UNICEF saying Boko Haram attacks have forced half a million children from their homes in the last five months. The Islamist militant group has been waging a violent uprising since 2009, in an attempt to establish an Islamic State in the north east of Nigeria. A recent sharp rise in attacks has brought the total number of people forced to flee Boko Haram’s insurgency to 2.1 million – some 1.4 million are children
The Washington Post says American and Russian military chiefs have had talks over Moscow’s build-up in Syria. A 50-minute phone call between US Defence Secretary Ash Carter and Russia Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu marked the first military-to-military conversation between the two countries in more than a year.
Fuji TV announces Japan’s upper parliament has approved a contentious law that removes post-World War II curbs on troops fighting overseas. The issue has sparked protests from pacifists who question the need to join global conflicts.
LBC reports a software programmer has been jailed for eight years for trying to buy deadly ricin poison from the Dark Web after being inspired by the hit US television series Breaking Bad. Mohammed Ali, 31, was found guilty last month of attempting to possess a chemical weapon between January 10 and February 12.
Times of India says overwhelmed Indian officials are struggling to sift through applications after 2.3 million people applied for a few hundred low-level government jobs. It would take more than three years to interview candidates. The jobs pay 16,000 rupees (€215) a month and would involve making tea and passing files between government offices. Requirements for the 368 jobs include having finished primary school and being able to ride a bike. The applicants include at least 255 people with doctorates and 150,000 graduates.