The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
All national newspapers report about the closure of the hunting season three days early after a hunter shot a protected bird of prey that fell bleeding into a schoolyard while students were taking their lunch break.
Times of Malta says there were nearly 300 applications from Libyans seeking asylum in Malta in only the first two months of this year, nearly as many as the whole of 2014.
The Malta Independent says former nursing union president Paul Pace has been appointed CEO at the Health Ministry with one of his tasks being to oversee the logistics of a potential new nursing school.
In-Nazzjon says that the ambulance service is being administered unprofessionally and on a day to day basis without a long term plan.
L-Orizzont reports about a report published by the Tourism Ministry on the contribution of the industry to the Maltese economy.
International news
As the death toll from Nepal’s devastating earthquake climbed past 4,000, The Himalayan Times reports aid workers and officials in remote, shattered villages near the epicenter have pleaded for food, shelter and medicine. The death toll is expected to rise as rescuers reach mountain villages that have been inaccessible since the quake. More than 7,000 were injured and the UN estimates more than eight million people have been affected by Saturday’s magnitude-7.8 quake. Countries large and small sent medical and rescue teams, aircraft and basic supplies.
Euronews says a UN inquiry has blamed the Israeli military for seven attacks on UN schools which were being used as shelters during the 2014 war. Forty-four Palestinians who had sought shelter were killed in the attacks. The inquiry also found Palestinian militants hid weapons and launched attacks from several empty UN schools.
According to Libya Herald, a five-member Cyrenaica TV crew kidnapped near Ajdabiya nearly nine months ago are reported to have been beheaded by the Islamic State (IS). Headless bodies are reported to have been found following the arrest at the Libya-Egyptian border crossing at Musaid of an Egyptian said to be a member of IS. According to a lawyer connected to the TV station, the man confessed to involvement in the killing of the five who were kidnapped at a fake checkpoint near Ajdabiya on 5 August. They were on their way back to the town, travelling on the desert road, after filming the inauguration of the House of Representatives in Tobruk.
The head of the Islamic State is reportedly injured so badly he can barely move, Kareem Shaheen at The Guardian reports. “Sources tell us Baghdadi is still alive, but still unable to move due to spinal injury sustained in the March air strike,” Shaheen tweeted. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who last year declared himself caliph of the Islamic State, was reportedly wounded in a US-led airstrike in March.
Radio Nigeria reports some 400 bodies have been found in Damasak in homes, in the streets, in the river and in about 20 graves – the result of an umpteenth massacre by Boko Haram. According to witnesses, 21 other people were killed by people dressed as soldiers in the highway between Damaturu and Gujba.
Fox News says Maryland governor Larry Hogan has declared a state of emergency and has activated the state’s national guard in the US city of Baltimore as protesters clashed with police after the funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died a week ago from a spinal injury suffered in police custody. Seven police officers were injured as authorities in riot gear cordoned off streets. Television images showed looting and a mob of rioters jumping on the top of a police car, after teenaged crowds ignored calls to disperse and clashed with a line of hundreds of police.
AGI reports that since March 12, the Italian navy has saved 17,000 illegal immigrants from a sure death at sea. The captain of the “San Giusto” told UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, who met Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini on board the vessel that 111 rescue operations had been conducted.
Ansa quotes Italian Premier Matteo Renzi arguing a leftwing dissident minority within his own centre-left Democratic Party (PD) might sink the government over its contested ‘Italicum’ electoral reform bill, but they won’t be able to stop the change his executive is trying to usher in. Renzi’s government is facing stiff opposition to its bill for a new election system, which would award bonus seats to the party winning 40 per cent of the vote – or a run-off vote in case no one party reaches that threshold – to ensure it has a working majority. Opponents say the Italicum, as it stands, would tip the balance of power away from parliament and in favour of the executive.
Kathimerini reports Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has reshuffled his team handling talks with European and IMF lenders – a move widely seen as an effort to relegate embattled Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, who has angered peers with his brash style, to a less active role in negotiations. Deputy Foreign Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, a close Tsipras ally and soft-spoken economist liked by officials representing creditors, was appointed coordinator of the group, pushing Varoufakis to the sidelines. The news spurred a rally in Greek stocks and bonds.
Metro says the first do-it-yourself HIV kit was put on sale in the UK yesterday after being approved by Britain’s Health Ministry. It tells users if they are HIV positive in only 15 minutes. According to manufacturers, the BioSure Hiv Self Test is accurate in 99.7 per cent of the cases. The Health Ministry estimates say that at least 26,000 people in Britain are HIV positive without knowing it. The kit costs €40.
Le Courrier says that Lithuania tops the WHO list of the EU country which consumes most alcohol with almost 13 litres per year per capita. It is followed by Ireland, the Czech Republic, Austria, France, Luxembourg, Estonia and Germany. At the bottom rung is Italy, Sweden, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Romania and the Netherlands. In 2010, the EU direct and indirect social cost of alcohol abuse was estimated at €155.8 billion.
La Gazzetta dello Sport reports Italian sports personalities have demanded radical action after Serie A’s image was soiled by the umpteenth day of violence last Sunday. At the derby between Juventus and Torino, a firecracker exploded injuring 10 people. Before the game, which Torino won 2-1 for their first derby win in 20 years, the Juventus team bus was damaged after Torino fans hit, kicked and threw objects including stones at it. Meanwhile, Atalanta’s Argentine forward German Denis got a five-match ban for bursting into the changing room of visitors Empoli after a 2-2 draw and punching defender Lorenzo Tonelli in the face. Atalanta General Manager Pierpaolo Marino said Denis, who scored Atalanta’s injury-time equaliser, was provoked by death threats against his family.