The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta reports about a government proposal to allow MPs to sit on government boards. It also reports how a policeman was injured while chasing a quadbike yesterday.
The Malta Independent says the €1.12 billion allocated to Malta in the EU Budget 'is not in question' as talks on the Budget continue in the EU.
In-Nazzjon says legal proceedings against Paul Degabriele had been presented an hour before he was shot dead in Marsa last Friday. The police had accused him of theft of meat from cold stores.
l-orizzont says €9.5m in road building contracts had been given to a single company in Gozo, which had a practical monopoly. Many of the contracts bound the present government.
The overseas press
Gazete Oku reports violent confrontations continued for the fifth night running in the streets of Ankara and Istanbul as Turkish riot police used water cannons and fired dozens of rounds of tear gas at the crowds of protesters.
The Belfast Telegraph says a group of British Tory MPs, campaigning for a looser relationship with Brussels, have called on the Government to push for sweeping changes to European Union rules on welfare payments to prevent immigrants exploiting the benefits system.
Euronews reports the EU has promised financial aid to flood-stricken Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Water levels are still rising with no let-up expected anytime soon. Member states have 10 weeks to assess the extent of the damage and apply for the funds.
USA Today reports that at the trial of Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of passing secret documents to the Wikileaks website, prosecutors said they would present evidence that Osama Bin laden asked for and received information Manning passed on. Manning lawyer described his client as “young and naive” but said he had good intentions.
According to CNN, the US has offered rewards of up to $23 million to help capture the five leaders of militant groups in western north Africa. The highest reward of up to $7 million is offered for the leader of Nigeria’s Boko Haram group.
Times of Central Asia says suicide bomber targeting an American military delegation outside a government office in eastern Afghanistan has killed 13 people, including 10 schoolchildren. The attack came as the Taliban and other militants step up bombings and raids on police posts nationwide in a major test of the ability of Afghan soldiers and police to hold ground without international military forces, which are now withdrawing.
The European Commission called on EU member states to step up their efforts to improve childcare in order to reach the EU employment rate target of 75 per cent by 2020. Le Soir says an EC report points out that only eight member states have fulfilled the so called “Barcelona targets” for availability and accessibility of childcare, negotiated by EU leaders in 2002. Meanwhile, a new EC study revealed that women’s pensions in the EU are 39 per cent lower than men’s. The report revealed that marriage and motherhood increased gender pension gaps, calling this phenomenon “motherhood penalty”.
The BBC reports that a group of British MPs have called on their government to do more to cut the amount of food wasted by households and businesses. At present, British households are estimated to waste about 20 per cent of the food and drinks bought.
CNBC quotes a new study which has found that more than a third of marriages in the United States began with on-line dating, changing the social landscape and turning math and computer experts into digital matchmakers. It has also concluded that “love at first byte” couples were more likely to stay together than those who met through other means.
A pioneering women-only sports centre has opened in Saudi Arabia's eastern city of Khobar and plans to recruit foreigners to work there. al-Watan reports the club, opened after getting a green light from Saudi authorities, offers a range of sports including karate, weight-loss courses and courses for children. Saudi Arabia last month gave the go-ahead for private sports lessons for girls. Only a minority of Saudi women practice sports regularly.