The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press. 

Times of Malta reports that Mepa is set to consider a plan for a batching plant in a  protected area

The Malta Independent reports that Briton is claiming to have been beaten by a taxi driver in Paceville last week.

In-Nazzjon says former police inspector Daniel Zammit and Joe Gaffarena are being questioned by the police.

MaltaToday focuses on the arraignment yesterday of a 14-year-old boy, charged with the involuntary murder of his friend in a beach incident,

l-orizzont says the GWU has given the bus operator an ultimatum to improve workers’ conditions. It also reports that according to the Labour Force Survey, the average salary was up by €328 in the second quarter compared to the same quarter in the previous year.

The overseas press

Pope Francis was greeted by President Obama at the foot of the aircraft steps at the start of his visit to the United States for a historic six-day trip. Fox News reports in line to his commitment to a modest lifestyle he turned down an official limousine and left Andrew’s Air Force Base in a small grey Fiat 500, windows rolled down. Francis’s first appointment later this morning is at the White House, where he will hold his first US speech followed by a meeting with President Obama. 

CBS reports governors from five US states have met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and signed an agreement aimed at pushing cooperation on the use of clean tech businesses to combat climate change. 

The New York Times reveals an American businesswoman has been held by authorities in China for the past six months accused of stealing state secrets. Sandy Phan-Gillis’s husband Jeff Gillis said he decided to go public ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the US. Her family deny the allegations.

Euronews reports EU Home Affairs ministers have approved a plan to relocate 120,000 refugees from the countries under the greatest pressure.  

Sputnik quotes Russia’s  Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Gennady Gatilov stating his country would support the UN resolution on migrants and refugees proposed by Britain. He said the resolution “takes account of all views and proposals” advanced by Russia as well as Moscow’s concerns on the possible use of force against boats carrying migrants.

Russia is increasing its military presence in Syria with two other bases, according to satellite images obtained by The Wall Street Journal. Expansion near the Mediterranean coast of Syria, according to the newspaper, shows that Russia is preparing to use new military forces on the battlefield in Syria, bringing new challenges to the US-led coalition.

Börzen Zeitung says Volkswagen shares fell another 16.8 per cent in Frankfurt yesterday following the 18.60 per cent fall on Monday on revelations the Wolfsburg giant rigged US emissions tests on diesel cars. Over €24 billion euros in share value has been lost in two days.  

Cape Times reports the Supreme Court of South Africa has decreed that the appeal trial of Oscar Pistorius will begin on November 3. The former Paralympic champion had been sentenced to five years for the manslaughter of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his mansion in 2013. He was released from jail after 10 months.  

Europe has the world’s highest rates of drinking and smoking, and more than half its people are too fat, putting them at high risk of heart disease, cancer and other deadly illnesses. Reuters quotes WHO saying in a report on health in its European Region, that while many countries had reduced risk factors for premature death, rates of obesity, tobacco use and alcohol consumption “remain alarmingly high”.

Durham News says a North Carolina sheriff’s deputy heard wailing in the darkness and plunged into an apartment complex’s pond at night to rescue two three-and five-year-old girls who, police say, had been thrown there to drown by their father. Durham County Sheriff’s Deputy David Earp was off duty and says he rushed out with little more than his department T-shirt, badge and flashlight after the apartment manager called him at home around 9 p.m. on Sunday to report some kind of trouble. The father Lassiter remains in jail, with bond set at $2 million, pending a hearing next month. 

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