The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta reports how there will be salary top-ups for low income earners.
The Malta Independent quotes Jean-Claude Juncker saying there will no longer be empty promises on migration assistance if he becomes EU Commission president.
In-Nazzjon says PL candidate Lino Bianco had been made ambassador to Romania. It also reports that Eurostat has confirmed a rise in unemployment.
l-orizzont leads with the launch of the jobs policy, saying it is key for the future.
The overseas press
Fox News reports Russia and the western powers have traded accusations at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, accusing each other of hypocrisy in handling the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Russia warned of catastrophic consequences if the Ukrainian government continued its actions in eastern Ukraine.
Kyiv Post quotes police authorities in the Ukrainian city of Odessa saying 31 people had died as the result of a building fire that broke out during a clash between pro-Russia militants and supporters of the central government in Kiev.
Afghan Post says a landslide triggered by heavy rain buried large sections of a remote Afghan village today, killing at least 350 people and leaving more than 2,000 missing. Authorities evacuated a nearby village over concerns about further landslides.
Telivicentro reports the authorities in Honduras are investigating the death of at least seven children who could have been murdered after refusing to join criminal gangs. In the latest case, police found the body of a seven-year-old boy who appeared to have been tortured. His 13-year-old brother was found dead a day before. All
According to Manila Times, Philippine police, backed by Interpol, have arrested 58 suspected members of a cyber-sex extortion syndicate. Users worldwide were lured into exposing themselves via webcams and then blackmailed. Payments ranged from €361 to €1,443. In one case, a victim paid the equivalent of €10,825.
USA Today reports a jury in California has ordered the smartphone maker Samsung to pay its rival Apple nearly $120 million in damages for using its patented technologies. But Apple failed to get a permanent ban on Samsung using its ideas and the damages were much smaller than Apple was seeking.
O Globo says an extra 2,000 police officers will start patrolling the streets of Rio de Janiereo from Monday, following a wave of violence in the Brazilian city in recent weeks. It brings forward a special security operation planned for next month’s football world cup.
El Observador reports the Uruguayan authorities have revealed how marijuana will be produced and sold legally in the country. Licensed pharmacies will sell the drug for less than $1 a gramme, with consumers allowed 40g a month. The bill specifies that each household may grow up to six cannabis plants, and that marijuana may be consumed in the same places as tobacco.
New Straits Times reports the official leading the hunt for the missing Malaysian airliner MH370 says a full search of the suspected crash area could take up to a year. Speaking in Malaysia, Angus Houston said he was confident an “effective search” would find the plane. Officials from Australia, China and Malaysia will meet in Canberra next week to discuss the ongoing search.
CNN says the first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS), a dangerous respiratory virus that originated in the Middle East and has a high death rate, has been confirmed in the United States
Curbing smoking and drinking, salt intake, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and obesity can prevent more than 37 million premature deaths by 2025, according to an analysis published in today’s The Lancet medical journal. A team of researchers wrote that if globally-adopted targets for reducing these risk factors are met, the risk of dying prematurely from heart or lung disease, stroke, cancer or diabetes will fall by 22 percent in men and 19 percent for women in 2025, compared with 2010. Worldwide, this improvement is equivalent to delaying or preventing at least 16 million deaths in people aged between 30 and70 years and 21 million in those aged 70 years or older over 15 years.