The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press
The Times reports that Bank of Valletta emerged as one of the EU's soundest banks when the results of stress tests were announced yesterday. It also reports on the emergency EU summit to discuss the worsening situation in Greece and the rest of the eurozone.
The Malta Independent leads with the Air Malta demonstration, reporting a comment that the PM had ‘bought’ the workers.
l-orizzont quotes Tony Zarb, general secretary of the GWU, telling the demonstration that the government is responsible for Air Malta and its workers.
In-Nazzjon’s main story is about the inauguration of the new US embassy.
The overseas press
Euronews announces that the leaders of the 17 eurozone countries will hold a special summit on Thursday in an attempt to forge a deal on a second bailout for Greece. EU President Herman Van Rompuy called the meeting after disagreement over the contribution of banks and other private investors in a second rescue package rocked markets for much of the week.
Börzen Zeitung says the so-called European Banking Authority "stress test" of 90 banks in 21 countries – representing 65 percent of the assets in Europe's banking sector – showed five banks in Spain, two in Greece, one in Austria and one in Germany failed the test. The German result is disputed by the bank in question. Between five and 15 smaller lenders had been expected to fail the test. As expected, all big banks passed.
In what business daily Il Sole 24 Ore called an "absolute first," the government and opposition parties set aside differences to approve, by 316 votes for to 284 against, the draconian €48-billion austerity budget designed to cut the country’s soaring deficit by 2014 and reassure nervous financial markets. Aware of the gravity of the situation, the country's centre-left opposition refrained from delaying the parliamentary process.
Meanwhile, Ansa reports that one Italian household in five is living in poverty. It quotes the national statistics agency Istat saying that for large families in the poorer south of the country, the figures rises to one in two. More than eight million people, or almost 14 per cent of the Italian population, are living below the bread line and over three million, or five per cent, are in a state of "absolute poverty".
Cumhuriyet reports that western, Arab and African countries, and international organizations, meeting in Istanbul, have agreed to formally recognise Libyan rebels fighting to topple Muammar Gaddafi, designating them the country's legitimate rulers. The meeting also agreed on a road map that would see the Libyan leader relinquish all power and military responsibility, and call a ceasefire. It also includes a plan for a transition to democracy. Mahmud Jibril, the de facto foreign minister of the NTC, was also present and was seeking both financial and military aid for the cash-strapped opposition.
Al Jazeera says Syrian security forces have opened fire on anti-government protesters in cities across the country, leaving at least 28 people dead. Activists say at least 16 people died in the capital, Damascus, where about 20,000 took part in protests. There were reports of mass demonstrations in several locations including the cities of Homs, Hama and Deraa. The government has launched a "national dialogue", but many protesters want President Bashar al-Assad to quit.
Under the heading “Day of Atonement”, The Times reports media tycoon Rupert Murdoch's apology to the family of Milly Dowler, the murdered 13-year-old British schoolgirl whose phone was allegedly hacked by one of its newspapers, the News of the World, in 2002, and the resignation of his top executives. Allegations surfaced last week that the newspaper had also snooped on senior politicians, the victims of London's 2005 terrorist bombings and the families of dead British soldiers. Meanwhile, in the course of yesterday, two of Murdoch’s senior executives resigned. The scandal claimed the first US News Corp casualty, Les Hinton, and then former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks.