The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports how ministers got an extra increase to their salaries through an increase to their duties allowance.
The Malta Independent leads with the demolition of City Gate, making Valletta an ‘open city’.
l-orizzont reports how a 41-year-old woman was stabbed and critically injured in a domestic incident yesterday.
In-Nazzjon also leads with the demolition of City Gate but gives prominence also to record financial results at MIA.
The overseas press
Wall Street Journal reports representatives from 22 countries and six international organisations meeting in Rome have agreed to set up a special fund to help finance Libyan Libya's Transitional National Council (TNC). The fund wouls tap frozen assets belonging to Muammar Gaddafi's regime, although French Defense Minister Alain Juppe acknowledged that there were still unresolved legal issues surrounding this plan. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told the meeting, co-chaired by Italy and Qatar, that some €170 million were already available. This figure that falls far short of the two to three billion dollars that the rebels say they desperately need. According to media reports, the EU and US have frozen as much as €40 billion in Gaddafi assets.
The Financial Times leads with the news that the price of crude oil has dropped by 10 per cent, leading the sharpest sell-off of commodities in two years. The price of US crude fell to just under $100 a barrel. The prices of cocoa and metals, including copper and silver, also fell. Analysts disagree on a possible cause of the fallen prices. Some point to worse-than-expected unemployment figures in the United States.
O Globo says that in a landmark decision, Brazil's Supreme Court has voted overwhelmingly in favour of allowing same-sex couples the same legal rights as married heterosexuals. The decision was approved by 10 votes for and one abstention. None voted against. The ruling would give gay couples in "stable" partnerships the same financial and social rights enjoyed by those in heterosexual relationships, improving their inheritance and pension rights. There are over 60,000 gay couples in Brazil, one of the world's most populous Roman Catholic nations.
The New York Times says President Obama has visited the sight of the former World Trade Centre in New York. He laid a wreath at the spot where the centre’s twin towers stood until they were destroyed by the Al Qaeda attack 10 years ago. He met families of 9/11 victims and visited firefighters and police.
Le Matin reports that the police on Morocco have arrested three people suspected of involvement in the bombing of a café in Marrakesh at the end of April in which 16 people were killed. No group has so far claim responsibility for the attack. However, a video posted on the internet threatening Morocco three days before the blast was attributed to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
As the US and Italy condemned the "brutal crackdown" by the Syrian government on its people, Al Arabiya says that the Damascus Centre for Human Rights Studies has accused the government of carrying out "10 days of massacres" against protesters in the southern city of Deraa. The human rights group said snipers and anti-aircraft machine guns were being used to fire on unarmed civilians. Recent amateur video appears to show dozens of unarmed protesters being shot and bleeding to death on the streets.
In an interview with the Guardian, former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown has accused British Prime Minister David Cameron of a having betrayed the Liberals over the Alternative Vote referendum held yesterday on whether to change the way MPs are elected to Westminster. Ashdown said Cameroon was a disappointment. Meanwhile, votes were being counted and results were expected by this evening. There have also been national elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Mail & Guardian says the wife of South Africa’s Minister for State Security, Cheryl Cwele has been found guilty of drug trafficking. She was convicted of recruiting two women to smuggle drugs. Cwele’s arrest has led to opposition calls for her husband’s resignation.
Ivoire Press reports that Ivory Coasts’ Constitutional Court has formally confirmed Alassane Ouattara as president replacing former President Laurent Gbagbo. Meanwhile, Tribune de Genève says the authorities in Switzerland have frozen assets worth €55.25 million linked to Gbagbo. But the Ivorian government must prove the assets were gained criminally if it ever hoped to reclaim them
The New York Post reports that the name Elvis was not among the top 1,000 US baby names in 2010, the first year it had not made the list since 1954. The US Social Security Administration said Jacob and Isabella topped the list for the second year in a row. And Aiden was the only new name among the top 10 for either gender. Tiana – the name of the main character in the 2009 Disney movie The Princess and the Frog – was one of the biggest gainers.