The following are the top stories in the national and international news today.
The Times says the government has passed its first test in its coalition with MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando as the latter has agreed to the IVF bill, expected to be launched for consultation later today. In another story, the newspaper says that the post of Mepa auditing officer will cease to exist as the officer's functions are being passed on to an environment commissioner in the Ombudsman’s office on Tuesday.
l-Orizzont says that a public official has filed a Constitutional case in court claiming inhuman treatment. The official claims that his tasks have been passed on to former UHM general secretary Gejtu Vella.
In-Nazzjon reports on the oversubscription of the Malita share issue. In another story it says that the second phase of development of the oncology hospital has been approved.
The Malta Independent reports that the national aquarium in Qawra will open next year. It also reports on the bishops’ pastoral letter on IVF.
International news
With just hours to go, the stage is set in east London for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games. Sky News reports London is preparing to welcome some 10,000 athletes, hundreds of thousands of visitors and a world-wide TV audience when the games formally open this evening. The extravagant opening ceremony will be directed by Danny Boyle, the director of the Oscar-winning movie “Slumdog Millionaire”. The parade of athletes will start with Greece and end with Britain. Queen Elizabeth will officially open the games.
The Daily Express says tens of thousands lined the streets to cheer the Olympic torch through London last night and sports a half-page picture of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appearing with the flame outside Buckingham Palace. Mystery still surrounds who will be given the honour of lighting the Olympic flame and exact details of the €34.5 million extravaganza have been kept under wraps.
All London newspaper front pages have Olympics fever. The Daily Telegraph says that after seven years and 21 days of preparation, an estimated one billion people will tune in to the opening ceremony. The Daily Mirror say forget the £9.2 billion (€11.7 billion) spent, the security staff shambles, traffic jams – “Ring It On!” The Times’ front page is a souvenir Olympics special showing the Olympic rings at Tower Bridge.
Forbes magazine reports the Dow Jones industrial average notched a triple-digit gain after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said he would do whatever was needed to preserve the euro and prevent a collapse of the eurozone. The remarks seemed to signal that the ECB would step into bond markets where prohibitively high borrowing costs threaten Spain and Italy.
The Financial Times says that European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has told Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras that his government must deliver its promised austerity measures if it was to receive more bailout money. He said “words were not enough”. The EU, IMF and European Central Bank are due to examine Greece's finances before deciding whether to hand over a further €31.5 billion. Meanwhile, Greece has reportedly found a further €11.5 billion in spending cuts.
CNN reports that the United States fears Syrian government forces were preparing to carry out a massacre in the city of Aleppo. The State Department said there were credible reports of tank columns moving towards the city. Quoting an Arab diplomatic source, Al-Watan, the newspaper close to the regime, said Aleppo would be “the last battle waged by the Syrian army to crush the terrorists and after that Syria will emerge from the crisis". A security source told the AFP news agency that the army was preparing for an all-out assault on rebel-held districts.
The New York Times says Arab nations have said they will go to the UN General Assembly and seek approval of a new resolution on Syria. They are calling for a political transition and establishment of a democratic government in Syria after the UN Security Council's failure to address the crisis. The push for action in the General Assembly followed an appeal on Wednesday by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for the world to unite in its response to Syria's civil war and do all it can to stop what he called the slaughter taking place there.
Gramma reports Cuban President Raul Castro has said his government was willing to mend fences with its bitter Cold War foe, the United States, and sit down to discuss anything, as long as it was a conversation between equals. At the end of a Revolution Day ceremony marking the 59th anniversary of a failed uprising against a military barracks, President Castro echoed previous statements that no topic was off-limits, including US concerns about democracy, freedom of the press and human rights on the island, as long as it is a conversation between equals.
Deutsche Welle says UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on world leaders to bridge their differences and agree on a treaty regulating the international arms trade. Diplomats in New York have been working for weeks on a draft of a global Arms Trade Treaty, an idea that has been in the pipeline since 2006. The international arms trade, currently unregulated, was estimated to be worth some €49 billion a year. With today’s deadline for a draft treaty hours away, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon lamented "very limited progress" and appealed to the international community to reach an agreement.
Fifty-three rescuers have been freed after becoming trapped while trying to save five coal miners stuck underground when a tunnel collapsed at a south-west China mine. The official Xinhua News Agency said the rescuers had been trying to help five miners trapped since the tunnel at the Anlilai mine in Guizhou province collapsed on yesterday. But as they tried to enter the mine, the tunnel collapsed a second time and trapped the rescuers. Xinhua said the 53 were pulled out through a freshly-dug tunnel. The work to reach the five trapped miners was continuing.