The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta reports that Identity Malta workers took bribes to issue residence permits after four individuals were arraigned yesterday.
In-Nazzjon also speaks about the court arraignment as it carries a photo of party leader Simon Busuttil paying tribute to former Prime Minister George Borg Olivier.
L-Orizzont says that the Curia has reduced its subsidies towards children's homes, citing its financial results which saw the Church turn a loss into a surplus.
The Malta Independent reports Opposition leader Simon Busuttil speaking about the Gaffarena-Joe Cassar car deal.
The oversea press reports:
An explosion and ensuing flames on a stage at a Bucharest nightclub has left 27 people dead and 180 injured. Witnesses told Antena 3 TV that there were between 300 to 400 people at the club when the metal band Goodbye to Gravity was performing and a “pyrotechnical show” went awry. The station reported that people panicked and rushed for the exit.
Die Presse says talks on Syria’s civil war have ended in Vienna with diplomats agreeing to work towards establishing a transitional government in Syria, holding new elections and implementing national or regional ceasefires. However, the participants “agreed to disagree” over the future of President Assad. A new round of talks will be held in two weeks.
Pravda reports Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that plans by the US, to send special operations forces to Syria to serve in an “advise and assist” role in the fight against Islamic State, could increase the risk of a proxy war developing in the region. Up to 50 American soldiers are heading to Kurdish-controlled northern Syria to train local and Arab forces.
Kathimerini confirms at least 22 migrants, including 13 children, drowned during the night between Thursday and Friday off the Greek islands of Kalymnos and Rhodes as they made a desperate bid to reach Europe. More than 44 others were rescued. Another boat sank off Rhodes further south, where at least one woman, a child and baby drowned. Speaking in parliament, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accused the UN of passing the buck over the plight of migrants. Meanwhile, Spain’s coast guard called off the search for 35 migrants missing at sea after their boat shipwrecked between Spain and Morocco.
El Pais reports rescuers managed to pluck 15 migrants alive from the remains of the boat and found the bodies of four others.
Al Ayyam says a Palestinian eight-month old baby has died intoxicated by tear gas fired during clashes in the village of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem. Meanwhile, Palestinian officials have urged the International Criminal Court to accelerate its probe into accusations of “Israeli war crimes” as they handed over a new dossier alleging summary killings and collective punishment.
The UN Security Council has approved the appointment of German UN official Martin Kobler as the new UN special envoy to Libya. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon notified the 15-member council in a letter, seen by Reuters, of his intention to replace the current envoy, Bernardino Leon, with Kobler. But the letter did not specify when Kobler would take over mediating the stalled peace talks.
Ansa reports Pope Francis has said that the martyrdom of Oscar Romero, the El Salvador archbishop killed by a murder squad in 1980, continued with the slander he was subjected to after his death. Romero, who was beatified in May, was a vocal opponent of El Salvador’s military dictatorship and was assassinated by a sniper on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass.
Warsaw Times says a Polish court has ruled that the law forbids Roman Polanski’s extradition to the US where he pleaded guilty nearly four decades ago to having sex with a minor. Polanski’s lawyers argued that the US request had legal flaws and said the film-maker had already served a prison term under a deal with a Los Angeles judge.
Newstag reports NASA has asked astronauts at the International Space Station to train cameras on a patch of Kazakhstan. That’s intended to capture details of colossal, ancient earthworks in geometric shapes that are recognisable only from the air. Their existence has become widely known only recently. Some speculate that the Steppe Geoglyphs are the Stonehenge-like creations of a sun cult.
Ahead of tonight’s final concert before their planned hiatus, One Directions Louis Tomlinson has told ITV they “fully intend to come back” to perform. The four-piece boy band, which has sold more than 50 million records worldwide, are set to separate for at least a year, leaving the band’s enormous global teenage following devastated.