The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta and all the other newspapers focus on yesterday’s Marsa murder. The newspaper says the police are hunting two suspects. Victim Paul Degabriele was well known to the police and was lucky to avoid a car bomb eight months ago.
The Malta Independent also reports how a car bombing target was gunned down in Marsa yesterday.
l-orizzont asks if this was a vindictive homicide.
In-Nazzjon says yesterday’s murder victim was shot five times.
The overseas press
British Foreign Secretary William Hague has unveiled the first of the EU reforms the UK government wants before holding a referendum on membership, calling for a “red card” scheme so that individual nations could block laws they dislike. Börzen Zeitung reports Hague told a foreign policy think-tank in Berlin that Germany should help Britain “lead the way” in reforming the 27-nation bloc. He also called for an extension of the current “yellow card” system under which parliaments in member states could force the European Commission to reconsider a law.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung says an estimated 2,500 supporters of the anti-capitalist group “Blockupy” demonstrated in Germany’s financial capital Frankfurt on Friday, blocking access to the European Central Bank in protest against euro-crisis austerity policies. Banging on drums and carrying signs that read slogans such as “Block the ECB – Fight Capitalism and Austerity” and “Humanity before Profit”, the demonstrators cut off roads leading into the downtown financial district.
Libya Herald reports that judges at the International Criminal Court have rejected a request from Libyan authorities to cancel the court’s war crimes case against the son of Libya’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi. It has also demanded Qaddafi’s son by handed over.
Turkish police have fired tear gas and water cannons at demonstrators in central Istanbul, wounding scores of people and prompting rallies in other cities in the fiercest anti-government protests in years. Euronews reports protesters in Ankara had planned to protest against new laws restricting the sale of alcohol. But their rally became one of solidarity with activists in Istanbul – who are campaigning to save Gezi Park from development that would “unnecessarily modernise the area and turn it into a soulless, commercial zone and drive away residents” in the Taksim area of the city. In Istanbul itself, the protests that began four days ago continued throughout the night.
The Washington Times reports German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and US Secretary of State John Kerry have said Syria's war may be prolonged if Russia provided the Assad regime with advanced air weapons. They said peace talks could also be at risk. They met in Washington ahead of peace talks that would attempt to bring Syria's warring parties together.
Metro quotes the family of murdered British soldier Lee Rigby saying he would not want violent attacks carried out in his name. Relatives of the young soldier urged mourners to show their respect in a “peaceful manner” amid increased tensions between political and religious groups. They spoke out as one of his suspected killers Michael Adebolajo was discharged from hospital where he had been recovering after he was shot by police.
The Zimbabwean reports that the Constitutional Court has ordered President Robert Mugabe to hold crucial national elections before the end of July. The judge said Mugabe violated his duties by failing to announce a date. The elections are meant to end an uneasy power-sharing government between Mugabe and long-time political rival Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's prime minister.
AskMen says metrosexuals – men who are especially meticulous about their grooming and appearance – have hit Britain hard with 50 per cent of men admitting to using beauty products – from fake-tan to hair-dye. A study in the UK said that many men think their beauty regime makes them feel better and boosts their confidence. But at least one in 10 have said they feel under pressure to look good from either their partner or their mates.
Business Insider reports a Zumba fitness instructor at the centre of a prostitution scandal featuring sex videos, adultery and more than 100 clients told a judge who sentenced her Friday to 10 months in jail that she was happy to have escaped her former life. Speaking through tears, Alexis Wright said she felt relief when police raided her business in February last year because she wanted out.
According to Ansa, Silvio Berlusconi has described prosecutors' claims that three of his associates had helped create “Bacchic orgies” at his home as the result of pathological “fantasy”. Prosecutor Antonio Sangermano talked of orgies as he requested seven-year prison terms for TV anchorman Emilio Fede, bankrupt ex-talent scout Lele Mora and Nicole Minetti, a former Lombardy regional councillor and Berlusconi's former dental hygienist, for providing prostitutes for parties at the former premier's house. Minetti has been aid to have also offered her services for money.