The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta says Malta faces the second EU action over the high deficit.
The Malta Independent says the prime minister is upbeat that Malta’s deficit will slip below 3 per cent by the end of this year despite the looming excessive deficit procedure.
In-Nazzjon says appointments at Mater Dei Hospital have been postponed by several months.
l-orizzont reports how a number of Gozo Channel employees stole thousands in cash from the cafeterias on the ferries over a number of months.
The overseas press
The UK national Press leads with what British Prime Minister David Cameron described as “absolutely sickening” attack by two men, who with butcher knives hacked another to death near a London military barracks.
VOA News says the FBI shot a Chechen immigrant in central Florida early yesterday after he turned violent while being questioned about his ties to one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. Officials said Ibragim Todashev, a 27-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, was fatally shot at his Orlando townhouse during a meeting with an FBI agent and two Massachusetts state troopers. The agent was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Metro quotes Amnesty International saying refuges and migrants in crisis areas were particularly vulnerable for human rights abuses. In its annual report assessing human rights around the world, Amnesty International said that at the start of last year 12 million people were stateless and 15 million people are currently registered as refugees world-wide. An additional 214 million migrants live without protection of their home state or their host state.
Seeking ways to make energy prices more affordable, EU leaders have agreed on completing the internal energy market by 2014 and the interconnectors of EU member states’ gas and electricity networks by 2015. Le Soir each EU member state will determine its energy needs and energy sources on its own. At their meeting in Brussels, the EU leaders have also taken a major step to stop companies avoid taxes by paving the way to ending banking secrecy among its 27 members. Tax fraud and evasion costs the EU an estimated one trillion euro a year.
Aftonbladet reports Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has called for calm after three nights of rioting in the poor immigrant suburbs of Stockholm, during which 30 cars, a school and a nursery were burnt. The rioting erupted on Sunday after police shot dead a 69-year-old man on May 13. Police said officers had acted in self-defence when the man wielded a machete but a group which works with youth in deprived areas accused them of being heavy-handed and targeting immigrants indiscriminately.
Fox News says relief operations in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, devastated by a tornado on Monday, continued through the night and will go on for the rest of today. The death toll stands at 24, including two newborn babies and nine children, seven of whom died under the rubble of their school, which was directly hit by the tornado. Authorities are increasingly confident that no-one is still missing. The number of injured is more than 240.
Pope Francis yesterday urged the Chinese authorities to let Catholics there practise their faith freely and without fear. Avvenire says he invited the Chinese faithful to stay loyal to the Vatican, whose authority is challenged by China's Communist rulers.
Ansa announces the death of Don Andrea Gallo, the popular Catholic priest who founded a drug-rehabilitation centre, promoted LGBT rights, and once called for a gay pope. Don Gallo, 84, was known as the "street priest" for his community work, including founding Genoa's San Benedetto drug-rehab community. He once smoked marijuana in city hall to protest what he denounced as draconian drug laws. His opponents branded him a Communist.
German chancellor Angela Merkel has been named as the most powerful woman in the world by business magazine Forbes for the third year running. She tops the list for the third year running and makes her eighth appearance on the list. Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff is second in the list, and Melinda Gates, co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is third. The top figures in the entertainment industry are Americans Beyonce in 17th place, Angelina Jolie in 37th, and Lady Gaga in 45th after dropping 31 places.