The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times reports that the ECB is to buy eurobonds in an effort to ease the growing financial crisis. It also says that the Church has no policy on compensation in sex abuse cases.
The Malta Independent says fireworks samples have been sent abroad for analysis as part of the Gharb fireworks explosion investigation. It also says that Joseph Muscat has questioned a murderer’s release from prison.
l-orizzont quotes abuse victim Lawrence Grech saying that last Monday’s court judgment was a warning to child sex abusers. It also quotes Joseph Muscat saying shortcomings in the administration showed poor government.
In-Nazzjon says that the Curia has no policy on child abuse compensation. It also quotes the PN saying that had Joseph Muscat’s advice been followed, Malta would be in a financial crisis.
The overseas press
Börzen Zeitung reports the European Central Bank will begin buying government bonds in those eurozone countries suffering the most from a heavy burden. Analysts assumed this was to mean Italy and Spain. The announcement, after a rare emergency Sunday meeting, was seen as an attempt to calm financial markets before Monday’s trading, avoiding a repetition of last week’s heavy falls.
The European Central Bank had so far insisted that the main responsibility for action lied with national governments. The Wall Street Journal notes that the decision to buy Italian and Spanish bonds was tantamount to conceding that the eurozone's member states were “unable or unwilling” to respond effectively, turning the ECB into the lead firefighter – which could reshape the future of Europe's monetary union.
However, the BBC reports that Asian stock markets fell early today, extending one of the worst sell offs in recent years, on concerns about the state of the global economy. Japan's main Nikkei 225 index fell 0.9 per cent, with South Korea's Kospi down 1.5 per cent. Investors sold crude oil, with the main US contract down almost 3 per cent, on concerns demand would slide. Gold, meanwhile, gained in Asian trading as investors looked to buy assets that offered less risk.
Al Jazeera says Syrian troops have fired on mourners at a funeral and raided an eastern city, killing at least 50 people as Arab and international pressure against the intensifying government crackdown grew. It quotes an activist in Deir az-Zor saying the city was bombed by all types of heavy weapons and machine gun fire before troops started entering. The city has been under siege for nine days and there was lack of medicine, baby formula, food and gasoline.
Gulf News quotes King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia saying that the government violence against civilians in Syria was unacceptable. In a written statement early this morning, he said the Syrian government must implement real reforms and stop “the killing machine” before it was too late. He announced Saudi Arabia was withdrawing its ambassador from Damascus for consultations. The Saudi king's statement came the day after the Gulf Cooperation Council urged Syria to "end the bloodshed" as the international pressure mounts.
In Cairo, Al Ahram says that the 22-member Arab League, which had been silent since the uprising began, said it was "alarmed" by the situation in Syria. The league’s Secretary General, Nabil Elaraby has called on Syrian authorities to "immediately stop all acts of violence and security attacks and for a speedy adoption of necessary steps in this regard to preserve the national unity".
Sky News reports that extra police have been deployed to Enfield to handle clashes that broke out on Sunday evening after a night of rioting in nearby Tottenham. At least 200 youths are believed to be in the area Enfield High Street where a police car was attacked, shop windows smashed and shops looted. The police have launched a major investigation into the riots. Fifty-five people arrested. The rioting erupted in protest at the police shooting dead a young man in Tottenham on Thursday.
A survey of items dragged home by Britain's cats has thrown up a bizarre mix of objects – including a string of Christmas tree lights, a Yorkshire pudding and a pair of Playboy bunny ears. The Irish Independent reports that the Cats Protection charity said hundreds of people had responded to an appeal, which canvassed views on unusual "gifts" hauled home by their pets. Among the other novelties which made it into an unofficial top 10 compiled by the charity were a drawing, which still had fridge magnets attached, a pair of swimming goggles, a bra and a fibre optic lamp. Meanwhile, one lucky cat owner was presented with a £10 note, another was treated to a shuttlecock, and a third saw his or her feline drag in a green feather duster.