The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta reports how the President appealed for compassion on migrants.
The Malta Independent quotes the Prime Minister saying the Cabinet was united in considering all options on dealing with migration.
In-Nazzjon says there has been more international criticism over Malta’s handling of migration - people cannot be used for blackmail.
l-orizzont reports how two traffic policemen visited a baby after they helped its parents get to hospital just in time for delivery.
The overseas press
European banks have been faced with extraordinary costs of almost €100 billion as a result of the economic crisis the area suffered in the 2011-2012 period. Ansa quotes the latest annual R & S Mediobanca report, issued by Italy's largest investment bank, saying the costs have been offset by some €45 billion raised in the period by the region's lenders. The extraordinary costs US banks had to account for in the period totalled about €36 billion, according to the report.
South China Morning Post reports thousands of people have been evacuated in Taiwan and the entire island declared an “alert zone” as Typhoon Soulik made landfall early on Saturday morning, killing one person and injuring seven. In the capital Taipei, a 50-year-old police officer died after he was hit in the head by a brick that came loose during the typhoon. More than 8,000 people have been moved from their homes, many from southern areas prone to landslides.
Six people died and several dozen were injured when a packed commuter train derailed at a station outside of Paris on Friday evening, in France's deadliest train crash in 25 years. France 24 quotes witnesses saying the site of the crash resembled “a war zone”, with one describing walking over a decapitated body to exit a carriage that had been thrown on its side. President François Hollande has visited the site of a crash and promised an investigation to establish the causes of the derailment.
Romania's High Court has sentenced Transport Minister Relu Fenechiu to five years jail on corruption – the first cabinet member convicted while in office. Adevarul says that between 2002 and 2005, through a company he controlled, he sold second-hand electrical transformers and switches to the state-owned power maintenance service company. Fenechiu had denied the charges and rejected calls to step aside. In reaction, left-wing Prime Minister Victor Ponta removed Fenechiu from office and assumed his post until the appointment of a successor.
In a powerful speech to the United Nations, on her first public appearance since being shot by the Taliban, Malala Yousafzai has said books and pens scare extremists. The New York Times reports that as she urged education for all, she vowed not to be silenced by terrorists. Her 20 minute speech was given several standing ovations and was quickly hailed for her message of peace. Malala said the power of education had “silenced” the Taliban, who are “afraid of women”.
VOA News says President Obama has spoken to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about the case of Edward Snowden after the fugitive intelligence contractor said he was requesting asylum in Russia. Earlier, the White House had warned Moscow against given Snowden “a platform for propaganda” by agreeing to the request. A spokesman said that Snowden had been charged with leaking classified information and should be returned to the US for trial.
After another day of mass protests in Cairo, there is growing international pressure on Egypt’s interim leaders to free deposed President Mohammed Morsi. The Washington Times quotes the US State Department saying the Obama administration agreed with Germany which has already called for Morsi to be freed. Up until now, the US had only condemned what it called “political-motivated” or “arbitrary” arrests of Moslem Brotherhood members.
Al Ayyam says at least 40 people have been killed and more than 20 others injured in a bomb attack on a cafe in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. The victims were marking the end of the day's fast for Ramadan. The incident comes after more than 40 people died in a series of bombings and shootings across the country, including in Kirkuk, on Thursday. Many of those targeted were members of the security forces.
Women in Zimbabwe have been exploited at their most vulnerable time by a hospital that charged them $5 (€4) every time they screamed during childbirth. According to The Washington Post, the shocking discovery was made by a US group that campaigns against corruption, as it released its annual Global Corruption Barometer. Many mothers already avoid hospital deliveries in the African nation because of the $50 cost, which is about the third of the average $150 income. In a country where nearly 95 per cent of the population is unemployed and where one in eight women die in childbirth every day, the fines could rob a woman of a year's salary.