The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta reports that the EU has bound itself to take decisions on immigration by December.
The Malta Independent reports that a Palestinian learned his mother is alive during the funeral of victims of the Lampedusa tragedy yesterday.
In-Nazzjon says the prime minister left the EU summit without concrete solutions to immigration, despite having said he would not leave the room without such solutions.
l-orizzont says a Syrian boy is in Malta alone after all his relatives died in the tragedy off Lampedusa.
The overseas press
The United States has acknowledged that the latest allegations that America has been spying on its allies have created “significant challenges and tensions” in relationships with European governments. Reuters quotes State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki telling reporters the revelations had created “a public distraction”.
The Guardian reports Germany and France are to spearhead a drive to try to force the Americans to agree new transatlantic rules on intelligence and security service behaviour in the wake of the global uproar over reports the United States spied on the phone conversations of 35 world leaders. At an EU summit in Brussels, President Hollande also called for a new code of conduct agreed between national intelligence services in the EU. European leaders and Merkel in particular warned that the international fight against terrorism was being jeopardised by the perception that mass US surveillance was out of control.
La Sicilia reports some 700 refugees have been rescued off Sicily in five operations, as leaders grappled with the issue of illegal immigration at the European Union summit. Patrol boats, navy vessels and a Maltese-flagged cargo vessel rescued asylum-seekers from five boats over the past 24 hours. More than 33,000 migrants have landed in Italy so far this year.
The New York Times says the UN special report on Eritrea reveals human rights abuses are forcing between 2,000 and 3,000 people to flee the east African nation every month despite a “shoot-to-kill policy” targeting those attempting to leave. Sheila Keetharuth, the UN special rapporteur, pointed to the number of Eritreans on board the two boats of migrants that sank off the coasts of Italy and Malta in October. UN figures show that over 7,500 Eritreans arrived in Italy by sea in the first nine months of this year. The Eritrean ambassador to the UN has rejected the findings of the report.
Czech voters went to the polls on Friday to try to elect a new government after months without a proper administration. Dnevnik quotes observers saying the Social Democrats, promising to slap new taxes on big firms and high earners to pay for social programmes, were likely to win the most votes but fall short of a majority and find it hard to form a strong cabinet. The party, out of power since 2006, may call on the Communists to support it in a minority government. Voting takes place over two days.
Al Jazeera says a car bomb explosion at a mosque near Damascus has killed at least 40, including seven children, and injured many others. The government and the rebels blamed each other for the attack. Car bombings have plagued Syria in recent months, killing scores across the country. Syria's 31-month conflict has killed more than 115,000 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
Saudi Arabia activists against the driving ban for women have called off today’s mass driving protest. TM News quotes activist Najla al-Hariri saying many women had who had received a phone call from the Ministry of Interior explicitly advising them against participating in the protest. The ministry said that anyone flouting the ban was likely to face unspecified punishment.
O Globo reports several hundred protesters, demanding free public transport, have attacked a bus station in Sao Paolo, setting a bus alight and destroying cash machines at the station. Riot police responded with tear gas. At least six people have been arrested.
According to Focus, Roma leaders and rights activists in Bulgaria say they are worried that global media coverage in the case of blonde girl removed from a Roma family in Greece, would reinforce negative stereotypes of the Roma community. DNA tests have shown that a Bulgarian Roma couple are the biological parents. Sasha Ruseva, a 35-year-old Bulgarian Roma woman, said she gave birth to a baby girl four years ago in Greece while working as an olive picker, and gave the child away because she was too poor to care for her.
The Irish Examiner says Ryanair has announced a series of customer service changes following an in-depth consultation with passengers, including allowing for a second carry-on bag, reduced baggage fees, and the introduction of quiet flights. CEO Michael O’Leary said the moves showed the company was “actively listening and responding” to customers.
Six racing pigeons in Belgium have tested positive for doping with drugs such as cocaine and painkillers, Het Nieuwsblad reports. The doping was revealed when the Belgian pigeon-racing federation sent samples from 20 birds to the National Horseracing Authority of Southern Africa, and six of the birds were found to have traces of cocaine and painkillers in their systems. Pigeon racing and breeding are big overseas. Last May, a racing pigeon named Bolt (after Olympic gold-winning Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt) was sold to a Chinese businessman for €310,000. Last month, controversy broke out when Bolt, along with hundreds of other Belgian pigeons, was detained by Chinese authorities in a dispute over import duties.