The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta reports how a man was critically injured and another was hurt in a blast at a fireworks factory. It also reports how a Gozitan died after he was hit by a car during an argument.
The Malta Independent reports how a German politician claimed money ‘escaped’ from Cyprus to Malta.
In-Nazzjon leads with a press conference by Simon Busuttil, saying the past 100 days were days of renewal for the PN.
l-orizzont reports how the government paid a quarter of a million euro to Georg Sapiano and his firm for draft legislation on occupational health and safety which took 10 years to be enacted.
The overseas press
President Barack Obama wants to reduce deployed nuclear weapons by up to a third and revive negotiations with Russia to “move beyond Cold War nuclear postures”. Berliner Zeitung reports that in an address at the Brandenburg Gate, Obama said he intended to seek negotiated cuts with Russia and try to move beyond the new nuclear arms reduction agreement known as START. The original treaty was signed in 2010 and required the US and Russia to cut stockpiles of deployed nuclear weapons to 1,550 each by 2018. Obama said he would also lead two new nuclear security summits during his second term.
However, according to Ria Novosti, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated Moscow's concerns about anti-missile shields the US and NATO are deploying, and said the development of high-precision, long-range conventional weapons could upset the strategic balance. At a meeting on defence issues in St Petersburg, Putin said these weapons were approaching the level of strategic nuclear arms in terms of their strike capability and states possessing such weapons strongly increase their offensive potential. Russia has repeatedly said that further cuts in strategic nuclear arms should not be made without measures to allay its concerns about other weapons.
The French media has accused European Commission President José Manuel Barroso of deliberately failing to support EU states ahead of forthcoming trade talks with the US. Le Monde openly accused him of siding with the “Anglo Saxons” because he was angling for the leadership of either the UN or NATO when his mandate ends next year – positions that would require approval from the US administration. At the heart of the argument is France’s insistence that its “cultural exception” – the idea that the country’s artists should be protected from international competition through state subsidies – is not negotiable in forthcoming free trade talks with the US.
Garhwal Post reports flooding has killed more than 130 people in northern India with the death toll expected to rise. The floods have swept away buildings and triggered landslides across northern India. Tens of thousands of people are stranded in Uttarakhand, the worst-hit state where over 100 people have already been killed. India has received 68 per cent more rain than normal for this time of year.
Somali Press says at least 16 people, including three foreigners, have been killed in an attack on a United Nations office in the Somali capital Mogadishu. The Al Qaeda-linked group Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack – the first the UN office since it relaunched its mission in Somalia.
The Los Angeles Times reports the American Medical Association had voted to declare obesity a disease – a move that effectively defines 78 million American adults and 12 million children as having a medical condition requiring treatment. At its annual meeting, AMA noted that obesity rates in the US have doubled among adults in the past 20 years and tripled among children in a generation. Obesity is associated with a variety of diseases, including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
Meanwhile, Corriere della Sera reports a Milan court has sentenced Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana to 20 months in prison and fined them €500,000 for tax evasion of €200 million. Their lawyers immediately gave notice of appeal. Dolce and Gabbana were accused of having transferred control of their brands to a shell company in Luxembourg in 2004 and 2005 to avoid paying Italian taxes.
CNN announces the death of Slim Whitman, the American country singer known for his yodelling abilities. He was 90. Whitman had a string of hits in the 1950s and through the 1970s. His 1955 song, Rose Marie, held the record for the longest reigning number one single in the UK until Bryan Adams broke the record in 1991.
O Dia reports Brazilian police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse at least 30,000 protesters in the city of Fortaleza, as unrest continues across the country in protest about the rising cost of living and the €11 billion price tag attached to the Confederations Cup and next year's soccer World Cup.