The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta says a stop to police training has reduced officers’ confidence.
Malta Independent says a doctor’s oath and confession are a barrier in teen pregnancy case.
l-orizzont says funerals are €40 more expensive because of an increase in church services fees.
In-Nazzjon quotes Simon Busuttil saying young people want jobs, not propaganda.
The overseas press
Euronews reports President Putin has called on pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine to postpone next Sunday’s referendum on autonomy in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Voice of Nigeria reports up to 300 people are thought to have died in an attack in northeastern Nigeria by suspected members of Boko Haram, the Islamist group that abducted 276 schoolgirls and threatened to sell them at market.
News 24 reports vote counting has begun and the first results were in from South Africa's fifth democratic election, all indications being that the ruling ANC would win its fifth term in office, albeit with a reduced majority.
Times of India says heavy polling was registered in the penultimate phase of Lok Sabha elections in 64 constituencies in a high-stake battle where the fate of 1,737 candidates including Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, were decided. The highest turnout in the 8th phase was 81.28 per cent in the six seats in West Bengal. One person was killed when police opened fire outside a polling booth in Bihar's Sitamarhi district in a bid to prevent its capture. Violence also flared in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Il Tempo reports Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti defended the humanitarian Navy-led operation Mare Nostrum patrolling Italy's southernmost borders, saying 27,790 illegal immigrants had been rescued and more than 200 human traffickers arrested. Among the thousands the task force has rescued while trying to reach Italy by sea from Africa were 3,034 minors, the minister told the Chamber of Deputies in response to criticism from the Northern League party, which said the funds would be better spent on encouraging businesses.
Panamericana TV says a member of the Peruvian air force, whose parachute malfunctioned during a training exercise, survived a 1,500-metre fall with nary a broken bone. Amasifuen Gamarra, 31, jumped from a military plane but when he went to open his parachute, the webbing wrapped around his neck and he lost consciousness. The sergeant, who served in the air force for eight years, was transferred to a military hospital for additional medical tests.
USA Today reports a Federal court in the US has sentenced a 90-year-old man to three years in prison for transporting drugs across the country from a Mexican drug cartel. Lawyers for Leo sharp had asked for leniency but the judge ruled his was not a victimless crime. He had admitted last year that he drove loads of cocaine into Michigan for a Mexican drug organization, one of 19 people charged in the case. The government said he was paid more than $1 million.
According to Jakarta Post, an Indonesian woman who was gang-raped by men accusing her of having extramarital sex might be caned publicly for violating Islamic law. The 25-year-old widow said she was raped by eight men who allegedly found her with a married man in her house. The men reportedly beat the man, doused the two with sewage, and then turned them over to Islamic police in conservative Aceh province.
Drugs normally prescribed to treat erectile dysfunction in adult males may help boys who have a muscle disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy, according to a new study published in the journal Neurology. Researchers found that the popular drugs Viagra and Cialis improved blood flow to the boys' weakened muscles.
O Globo reports federal police are threatening to stage a nationwide strike during the month-long World Cup if the Brazilian government did not increase their pay and improve working conditions.
Voice of Russia says Anastasia and Maria Tolmachevy, twins from the Russian city of Kursk, who reached the finals of the Eurovision -2014 Song Contest, had become the most discussed celebrities on Russia's blogs.