The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Sunday Times of Malta reveals romantic letters written by late President Agatha Barbara to a naval officer. It also reports that a former Libyan prime minister was involved in the release of oil worker Martin Galea.
The Malta Independent reports that the government is refusing to publish the Henley contract.
MaltaToday says the Martin Galea case was mishandled by the government. It also says government cases against consul Marisa Farrugia have been closed.
It-Torca focuses on the difficulties for prospective parents to adopt children, quoting one saying she paid €27,000 to adopt a child.
Il-Mument leads with comments by Maltese Bishop Sylvester Magro in Benghazi that his community is living in tension.
Illum says policemen are guarding Libyan patients in Mater Dei Hospital.
KullHadd says a company which includes top bloggers or members of their family received €5.5 million in contracts by the PN government.
The overseas press
Haaretz reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hamas it would “pay an intolerable price” if it continues to fire rockets at Israel. He also hinted Israel would reassess its operations in the Gaza war once troops have demolished all Hamas tunnels under the Gaza-Israel border. The Israeli leader spoke after 26 days of Israel-Hamas fighting that Palestinian health officials say has killed at least 1,650 Palestinians, most of them civilians, along with 66 Israelis, all but three of them soldiers.
UNICEF spokeswoman Monica Awad has told Al-Jazeera Israeli forces had “deliberately killed” 296 children and teenagers in Gaza and injured more than 2,000 others. Of the victims, 187 were boys and 109 were girls, with at least 203 less than 12 years old.
Meanwhile, The Jerusalem Post says the Israeli army has announced that infantry officer Hadar Goldin, reported missing or abducted in the Gaza Strip on Friday, had been killed in combat. It did not say whether the body of the 23-year-old soldier had been found or not.
Sky News understands the Royal Navy is preparing to rescue British nationals from Libya. HMS Enterprise is being moved into position off the coast of North Africa ready to be given the order to sail into Tripoli later today. It will moor offshore and the survey boat, Spitfire, will collect people from the Port of Tripoli. Royal Marines will provide force protection to the ship in event of attack.
According to Xinhua news agency, 37 civilians and 59 “terrorists” had been killed last week in an attack in Xinjiang, home to China’s mainly Muslim Uighur minority, AFP reported. It said 215 “terrorists” had been arrested while 13 civilians were also wounded.
A report commissioned by London Mayor Boris Johnson has concluded that a British exit from the European Union would be better for the city than remaining in an unreformed EU. Johnson is likely to give his backing to the report in a speech this week to launch the document, The Sunday Telegraph and The Sunday Times said.
Gazeta Polska reports Poland wants compensation from the EU for Russia’s fruit and vegetable import ban following the EU’s decision to impose sanctions on Russia’s banking, oil and defence sectors because of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. Poland’s agriculture minister Marek Sawicki says the country’s farmers affected by the ban should receive aid.
VOA News says the first Ebola victim to be taken to the United States from Africa was safely escorted into a specialised isolation unit. Fear that the outbreak killing more than 700 people in Africa could spread in the US has generated considerable anxiety among some Americans. But infectious disease experts said the public faces zero risk.
Asian Business News reports 68 people were killed and nearly 200 others injured, most with severe burns, after an explosion at a car parts factory in eastern China that supplies General Motors. It was China’s most serious industrial disaster since a fire at a poultry plant killed 119 people in June last year.
ABC News says more than €125,000 have been raised to help a Thai surrogate mother care for her baby after his parents refused to take him when they discovered he had Down Syndrome. The baby boy, named Gammy, was left with Pattaramon Chanbua, 21. Now six months old, has been in hospital with a lung infection for a number of days and it is hoped he can be moved to another hospital with better facilities.
Corriere dello Sport reports an investigation into the death of Tour de France winner Marco Pantani has been reopened. Family members of the cyclist are said to have presented fresh evidence, alleging that Pantani was beaten by a group of men, forced to drink cocaine and murdered. They also reportedly claim that key evidence was missed in the initial inquiry.