The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press
The Times reports yesterday’s Festa Familja, held at Ta’Qali by the Church and reports that couples laid stress on unity, sacrifice and lifelong marriage.
The Malta Independent says the GWU disagrees with the Air Malta restructuring report. It also says that the Animal Welfare Department is investigating animal cruelty by young people in Kappara.
l-orizzont says a major military exercise is being held on Malta’s doorstep.
In-Nazzjon quotes the Archbishop saying that Christian marriage is a vocation and a call from God.
The overseas press
Al-Sharq al-Awsat reports that at least 15 people were killed and dozens injured as Israeli troops fired on thousands of Arab protesters who marched on four separate borders or crossing points – at Erez in Gaza, near Ramallah in the West Bank, on the Golan Heights and at the border with Lebanon. They were taking part in an unprecedented wave of demonstrations in an annual Palestinian mourning ritual marking the anniversary of Israel's birth. The Lebanese army said 10 were killed and at the Syrian border two men were shot dead as protesters breached a fence and crossed into the occupied Golan Heights. Jordanian forces used tear gas to disperse hundreds from the border with Israel and arrested several people. The Israelis said that Damascus, and its ally Iran, orchestrated the unrest to shift attention from an uprising back home.
Al-Ayyam says Israeli troops also clashed with Palestinian protesters in Gaza and the West Bank. In Gaza, at least 15 were reported to have been wounded by machine guns and tank shells. In the West Bank city of Ramallah, clashes continued for hours.
Meanwhile The Jerusalem Post reports that Israel has agreed to release about US$19 million in tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority so that it could issue workers’ salaries. The Israeli authorities suspended the payments when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reached a reconciliation deal with Hamas, which they consider as a terrorist organisation.
Al Jazeera quotes anti-government protesters in Syria saying that at least seven people have been killed by the security forces in the border town of Talkallah, where a number of deaths were also reported on Saturday. Human rights groups said the military shelled several disrticts of the town.
The New York Times says the head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Khan is to appear in court in New York over allegations that he sexually assaulted a maid in his hotel room. Police said the maid picked Strauss-Kahn out of a lineup. His lawyer says he intended to plead not guilty. EU finance ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss the debt crisis threatening the eursozone without Mr Strauss-Khan. The ministers are expected to approve the terms of a bailout for Portugal and discuss what to do about Greece which has not emerged from the debt crisis despite last year’s large bailout.
In an interview with Bild am Sonntag, European Central Bank head Jean-Claude Trichet has rejected fears that the the euro was on the brink of crumbling. Trichet said there was no euro crisis. “What we are currently observing in some eurozone countries is primarily a debt crisis in public budgets,” he said. Trichet justified his comments by saying the currency had achieved its purpose in the 12 years since it was introduced by keeping average eurozone inflation below two per cent annually.
Al Ahram says the head of Egypt's Christian church called on demonstrators to end a week-long protest following a night of violence that left dozens wounded. He said the peaceful demonstrators had been infiltrated by troublemakers. The statement came after at least 65 people were wounded in overnight clashes between Muslim youth and protesting Christians in the center of the Egyptian capital.
Ansa says polling booths have reopened in Italy where 13 million voters are eligible for administrative and provincial elections. On the first day of the vote yesterday, there was an increase in the number of those who cast their vote with respect to the last elections. Observers say all eyes are on Milan, Turin, Bologna and Naples. The vote is a last major test of Berlusconi's popularity before his term runs out in 2013.
Tanges-Anzeiger deports that voters in the Swiss canton of Zurich have overwhelmingly rejected calls to ban assisted suicide or to outlaw the practice for non-residents. Out of more than 278,000 ballots cast, the initiative to ban assisted suicide was rejected by 85 per cent of voters and the initiative to outlaw it for foreigners was turned down by 78 per cent. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, provided the helper doesn't personally benefit from a patient's death. About 200 people a year commit suicide in Zurich.
El Periodico quotes officials in Guatemala saying at least 27 decapitated bodies had been found near the borders with Mexico. The chief of police said the killings were probably linked to a battle between rival drug gangs.