The following are the top stories in the local and overseas press.
The Times says the Eurozone has been warned to prepare for the worst. It also reports on the angry outburst by Franco Debono yesterday when the government moved to block an Opposition amendment to its motion of censure against the Home Affairs Minister. The amendment calls for the minister’s resignation.
The Malta Independent leads with the developments in parliament yesterday and the EU's announcement that Maltese waters are the cleanest in the EU, after Cyprus.
In-Nazzjon gives prominence to Kurt Calleja, who has held his dress rehearsals ahead of tonight's Eurovision semi final.
l-orizzont says the ‘Prisons Queen’ is enjoying new privileges. The reference is to Josette Bickle, who is in jail for having trafficked drugs behind bars while serving an earlier term. She allegedly is allowed to roam within the prisons female section.
The overseas press:
The euro crisis over Greece dominates the international media.
Börzen Zeitung reports that Europe's leaders, at their informal summit in Brussels, broke up early this morning after more than six hours of “focused and frank discussions” on the crisis in the eurozone. Amid fears that Greece might have to exit the single currency, they declared renewed pledges on austerity coupled with growth. They also repeated their determination to do everything to keep Greece in the eurozone as long as the country kept its agreement to impose strict austerity measures in return for continued bailouts. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy told a news conference that the eurozone had shown considerable solidarity having already disbursed, together with the IMF, nearly €150 billion in support of Greece since 2010. He said the EU would take action to return Greece to economic growth and job creation.
France 24 says President François Hollande of France spoke in favour of joint eurozone bonds to make borrowing cheaper for struggling countries. German Chancellor Angela Merkel opposed the idea.
The Financial Times says the euro fell to its lowest level in almost two years as investors dumped riskier European equities. European markets slumped and the euro hit a 22-month low after Greece's former prime minister hinted that his country is preparing to leave the euro. Shares in Spain and Italy fell by more than 3 per cent while the markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt were down more than 2 per cent. The euro plunged below $US1.26, its lowest level since 2010.
Metro says Facebook's botched stock market listing was under fresh assault as angry shareholders sued the company, the banks leading its flotation and its founder Mark Zuckerberg. They filed a law suit in New York, where the shares are listed on the NASDAQ exchange. Facebook went public last Friday but the shares plunged 18 per cent in the days after, wiping billions of dollars from the company's $US104 billion valuation. The shareholders claim that days before the listing, Zuckerberg and a number of banks failed to disclose "a severe and pronounced reduction" in revenue growth forecasts.
Bloomberg reports that US stocks erased gains in the final hour of trading as concern that Greece would exit the euro and a fall in Facebook (FB) Inc. shares overshadowed economic optimism. Concern about Europe’s debt crisis drove the S&P 500 down as much as 8.7 per cent from an almost four-year high in April.
ABC reports Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will know on Wednesday if he would be extradited to Sweden to face allegations he sexually assaulted two women in August 2010. But he always insisted sex was consensual, and that the allegations wsere politically motivated as his release of leaked diplomatic cables embarrassed governments and international businesses. Assange has been under house arrest in England for more than a year.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Hewlett-Packard plans to slash 27,000 jobs, or eight per cent of its global workforce, by 2014 to save around $US3.5 billion a year in a major restructure. HP is struggling amid the rise of mobile devices and tablet computers. The company says many of its workers will either be sacked or given early retirement offers.
Sky News reports high-profile BBC journalist and television presenter Jeremy Paxman has told the British inquiry into media ethics that CNN host Piers Morgan, then the Daily Mirror editor, explained to him how to hack mobile phones. Morgan had always denied knowledge of phone hacking. The inquiry has been investigating media ethics in the UK after it emerged that News International journalists hacked into the voicemail of public figures and a murdered schoolgirl. News Corporation boss Rupert Murdoch shut the News of the World in July last year after it became apparent that hacking was rampant at the British tabloid.
Arguing between holidaying couples starts even before the trip begins. The Irish Independent quotes the results of a poll by travel agent ebookers.com which shows that 52 per cent of couples could agree on a destination. Once away, two-thirds of couples end up arguing, with 25 per cent having rows by the third day of their break. Topping the list of trigger factors are how much time to spend together, and money. Despite the disagreements, 56 per cent of couples said they had come back from holiday feeling their relationship was stronger.
Montreal Gazette announces that at their meeting in Quebec, International Olympic Committee officials had drawn up a shortlist of three cities hoping to host the summer games in 2020. As Doha and Baku were eliminated, Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul all former bidders, now advance to the final phase, a 17-month race that would end with the IOC vote on September 7, 2013, in Buenos Aires.