The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports that the identity of whoever was responsible for the bomb at Transport Malta’s offices more than a year ago may never be known. It also quotes European Commissioner John Dalli saying that he cannot testify before the PN Executive Committee today.
The Malta Independent features the denials of Joe Mizzi’s claims made by Richard Cachia Caruana and former Police Commissioner George Grech.
l-Orizzont says Cachia Caruana implicated two former ministers as having been involved in trying to kill him in 1994.
In-Nazzjon also leads with the denial by former commissioner Grech.
The overseas press:
AFP reports Syria's rebels announced the launch of a full-scale attack operation – dubbed "the Damascus volcano and earthquakes of Syria" – as major clashes engulfed several districts of the capital. The Free Syrian Army's central-Homs Joint Command said its operation was launched "in response to massacres and barbaric crimes" committed by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
The most senior Syrian politician to defect to the opposition has told the BBC the regime would not hesitate to use chemical weapons if it was cornered as President Assad would not relinquish power peacefully. Nawaf Fares, former Syrian ambassador to Iraq, said the Syrian president would only be ousted by force "even if he will have to eradicate the entire Syrian people".
Meanwhile, The New York Times says UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan is due to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Syria, amid mounting pressure for tougher international action against the country. Russia is a key ally of Syria. The UN observer mission's mandate in Syria comes on to an end on Friday and a new UN resolution is needed to renew it.
Wall Street Journal reports the International Monetary Fund has slightly lowered its outlook for global growth over the next two years to 3.9 per cent in 2013, from 4.1 per cent three months ago. The IMF also warned that Europe’s financial crisis and a potential budget crisis in the US could slow world economic growth even further.
In another development, Bloomberg says the IMF said it was releasing €1.48 billion in new funds to troubled Portugal after Lisbon passed a performance review under its bailout loan programme. The Fund said Lisbon was on track to narrow its fiscal deficit under tough austerity measures required under the €78-billion joint IMF-EU rescue programme launched in May 2011.
CNN reports a US Senate report has disclosed how lax controls at HSBC left it vulnerable to being used to launder dirty money from around the world. The report, released ahead of a Senate hearing later today, said huge sums of Mexican drug money – as well as suspicious funds from Syria, the Cayman Islands, Iran and Saudi Arabia – passed through the bank. It concluded that the US bank regulator failed to properly monitor HSBC.
USA Today announces that US health authorities have approved the first drug shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection – a milestone in the 30-year battle against the virus that causes Aids. The Food and Drug Administration approved Gilead Sciences’ pill Truvada as a preventive measure for people who are at high risk of acquiring HIV, such as those who have sex with HIV-infected partners. A three-year study found that daily doses cut the risk of infection in healthy gay and bisexual men by 42 per cent, when accompanied by condoms and counselling.
Rodong Sinmum says North Korea has named Hyon Yong-Chol to the post of vice marshal of the army, a day after it emerged that the country's army chief had been relieved of all his posts. The paper quotes the official KCNA news agency saying Hyon Yong-Chol was awarded the title of vice marshal of the Korean People's Army, adding the decision had been made by top officials on Monday.
Al Ahram reports former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak was back in prison after weeks in a top-line military hospital. The Cairo prosecutor said the 84-year old ex-president's health had improved from several weeks ago, when he was reportedly on the brink of death. Others in Egypt saw the move as an attempt to allay scepticism that officials sympathetic to Mubarak were exaggerating his health crisis to give the ex-president a more comfortable imprisonment.
Sky News announces the death of Jon Lord, who founded rock band Deep Purple and co-wrote their most famous song, Smoke OnThe Water. He was 71. The Leicester-born keyboard player had been suffering from pancreatic cancer. He joined Deep Purple in 1968 and they sold more than 100 million albums – many featuring Lord's classically-inspired keyboards. A statement on his website said he had passed "from Darkness to Light".
And CBS News reports singer Kitty Wells, the first female superstar of country music, has died. She was 92. Her 1952 recording of It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels was the first No. 1 hit by a female artist on the country music charts. Her other hits included Making Believe and a version of I Can't Stop Loving You. The singer's family said she died peacefully at home after complications from a stroke.
The Irish Sun says that Zak Gilsenan, a nine-year-old from Castleknock, Dublin, has been signed by Barcelona after a breathtaking performance in a recent trial. With 400 other hopeful kids looking to make a big impression, Gilsenan buried seven goals into the net of the final trail match and will now be heading to the FCBEscola. The Barca football academy has produced such stars as Lionel Messi, Xavi and Iniesta.
The overseas press
AFP reports Syria's rebels announced the launch of a full-scale attack operation – dubbed "the Damascus volcano and earthquakes of Syria" – as major clashes engulfed several districts of the capital. The Free Syrian Army's central-Homs Joint Command said its operation was launched "in response to massacres and barbaric crimes" committed by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
The most senior Syrian politician to defect to the opposition has told the BBC the regime would not hesitate to use chemical weapons if it was cornered as President Assad would not relinquish power peacefully. Nawaf Fares, former Syrian ambassador to Iraq, said the Syrian president would only be ousted by force "even if he will have to eradicate the entire Syrian people".
Meanwhile, The New York Times says UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan is due to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Syria, amid mounting pressure for tougher international action against the country. Russia is a key ally of Syria. The UN observer mission's mandate in Syria comes on to an end on Friday and a new UN resolution is needed to renew it.
Wall Street Journal reports the International Monetary Fund has slightly lowered its outlook for global growth over the next two years to 3.9 per cent in 2013, from 4.1 per cent three months ago. The IMF also warned that Europe’s financial crisis and a potential budget crisis in the US could slow world economic growth even further.
In another development, Bloomberg says the IMF said it was releasing €1.48 billion in new funds to troubled Portugal after Lisbon passed a performance review under its bailout loan programme. The Fund said Lisbon was on track to narrow its fiscal deficit under tough austerity measures required under the €78-billion joint IMF-EU rescue programme launched in May 2011.
CNN reports a US Senate report has disclosed how lax controls at HSBC left it vulnerable to being used to launder dirty money from around the world. The report, released ahead of a Senate hearing later today, said huge sums of Mexican drug money – as well as suspicious funds from Syria, the Cayman Islands, Iran and Saudi Arabia – passed through the bank. It concluded that the US bank regulator failed to properly monitor HSBC.
USA Today announces that US health authorities have approved the first drug shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection – a milestone in the 30-year battle against the virus that causes Aids. The Food and Drug Administration approved Gilead Sciences’ pill Truvada as a preventive measure for people who are at high risk of acquiring HIV, such as those who have sex with HIV-infected partners. A three-year study found that daily doses cut the risk of infection in healthy gay and bisexual men by 42 per cent, when accompanied by condoms and counselling.
Rodong Sinmum says North Korea has named Hyon Yong-Chol to the post of vice marshal of the army, a day after it emerged that the country's army chief had been relieved of all his posts. The paper quotes the official KCNA news agency saying Hyon Yong-Chol was awarded the title of vice marshal of the Korean People's Army, adding the decision had been made by top officials on Monday.
Al Ahram reports former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak was back in prison after weeks in a top-line military hospital. The Cairo prosecutor said the 84-year old ex-president's health had improved from several weeks ago, when he was reportedly on the brink of death. Others in Egypt saw the move as an attempt to allay scepticism that officials sympathetic to Mubarak were exaggerating his health crisis to give the ex-president a more comfortable imprisonment.
Sky News announces the death of Jon Lord, who founded rock band Deep Purple and co-wrote their most famous song, Smoke OnThe Water. He was 71. The Leicester-born keyboard player had been suffering from pancreatic cancer. He joined Deep Purple in 1968 and they sold more than 100 million albums – many featuring Lord's classically-inspired keyboards. A statement on his website said he had passed "from Darkness to Light".
And CBS News reports singer Kitty Wells, the first female superstar of country music, has died. She was 92. Her 1952 recording of It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels was the first No. 1 hit by a female artist on the country music charts. Her other hits included Making Believe and a version of I Can't Stop Loving You. The singer's family said she died peacefully at home after complications from a stroke.
The Irish Sun says that Zak Gilsenan, a nine-year-old from Castleknock, Dublin, has been signed by Barcelona after a breathtaking performance in a recent trial. With 400 other hopeful kids looking to make a big impression, Gilsenan buried seven goals into the net of the final trail match and will now be heading to the FCBEscola. The Barca football academy has produced such stars as Lionel Messi, Xavi and Iniesta.