The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press
The Times reports how the killing of the American ambassador to Libya was described as an attempt to destabilise Libya.
The Malta Independent says the setting up of a mixed commission by Italy and Malta will lead to a more structured approach in bilateral relations.
In-Nazzjon quotes the prime minister saying workers are finding better quality jobs.
l-orizzont says a Libyan father has been given the chance to see his son in Malta.
The overseas press
Fox News quotes President Barack Obama pledging the United States would work with the Libyan government to bring to justice those who killed US ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in what he called “the outrageous and shocking” attack on the consulate in Benghazi last Tuesday. Obama ordered an increase in security at US facilities overseas. Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans were killed when he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff as the building came under attack by protesters armed with guns and rocket propelled grenades. The incident in Benghazi followed another similar protest in Cairo over a film that ridiculed Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.
Global Post says Libya joined global condemnation over the killings. President Mohammed el-Megari f extended his country’s apology and denounced “any use of force and the killing of innocents”. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton described the Benghazi attack as “despicable” and called on Libyan authorities to protect the lives of all diplomats and foreign staff working to restore peace in Libya. European Parliament chairman Martin Schulz urged Libya to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
News aggregator DutchNews.nl says with 60 per cent of the votes counted, Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s right-wing VVD was set to emerge as the biggest party in the Dutch general election with Labour a very close second. The VVD is on target to win 41 or 40 seats in the 150-seat parliament and Labour 39, opening the way for a two-party coalition. The big shock of the night was the large drop in support for Geert Wilders' anti-immigration PVV as voters shifted away from his populist policies. The PVV, which campaigned on an anti-Europe ticket, is on target to win 15 seats - down from the 24 they currently hold. The Socialist Party was expected to win 15 seats, unchanged from its current total.
The Philippines, Guatemala, Bangladesh and two Pacific islands have topped a 173-nation ranking of disaster risks and how societies cope. Deutsche Welle says the World Risk Report listed climate change as a growing risk. The collaborative report listed Qatar and Malta as the safest places to live. Two remote, low-lying Pacific islands, Vanuatu and Tonga, ranked first and second as worst placed on the World Risk Index as they did last year, based on a matrix of four criteria: the dangers a nation faces through weather, the probability it will suffer damaging events, the nation's capacity or incapacity to cope, and what resources, if any, it has to adapt after being hit.
Börzen Zeitung reports that there has been a positive reaction by the Frankfurt stock exchange to the rejection by the German Constitutional Court of objections to the legality of Germany's contribution to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and separate budget pact. Other European exchanges rose as well and the euro made a healthy leap, climbing to 1.29 – its highest level in four months. The ESM will provide the eurozone with the flexibility to deploy €500 billion in emergency funds to support its weakest members.
European Commission President Jose Barroso has unveiled plans leading towards closer economic and fiscal integration in Europe and safeguarding the future of the single currency. L’Echo says that under the banking union reforms, the European Central Bank would attain power to monitor all banks operating in the eurozone and other parts of the EU. A fund would be established to assist struggling banks in the region and a scheme to protect banking client deposits in the eurozone would be introduced. All measures would be subject to approval by EU member states.
Reuters reports Unicef saying the number of children dying before the age of five has fallen significantly over the past 20 years. Some 6.9 million children died before the age of five last year, compared to 12 million such deaths in 1990. Almost 19,000 under-fives died daily in 2011. Unicef said the sharpest drops in levels of child mortality were in countries that had received a lot of external assistance.
Moscow Times says President Vladimir Putin has issued a new decree to prevent certain Russian companies from disclosing their secrets to foreign regulators. Observers said this appears to be in response to an EU investigation into the energy giant Gazprom.
Radio Banadir reports Somalia's newly-elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has escaped unharmed after two suicide blasts hit the capital Mogadishu. The attacks took place outside the hotel where President Hassan was meeting the visiting Kenyan Foreign Minister Sam Ongeri. Witnesses said at least one person was killed in the attacks.