The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta says that while the EU-coordinated Mediterranean rescue mission has been beefed up, it is still not enough, given the surge of migrant crossings expected in the summer. The newspaper also reports that the Belgian police are investigating phone taps by Olaf, the EU anti-fraud agency, in the snus case.
The Malta Independent says 90% of Maltese students under 25 still live with their parents.
In-Nazzjon says the difference in standards between the PN and the PL is becoming more apparent. It also says Economic Services Minister Chris Cardona has, for the past eight years, not presented the accounts of the company in which he is a shareholder.
l-orizzont says there have been complaints about new paintwork on the facade of San Niklaw chapel in Siggiewi. It also quotes Joseph Muscat to come clean on what he knows on the 'works for votes' case
The overseas press
Three days after his unexpectedly clear election victory, British Prime Minister David Cameron has told The Daily Telegraph he has begun preparations to renegotiate with his European counterparts Britain’s EU membership. Cameron said he had spoke to several EU leaders and a referendum could be held as early as next year.
Refugees and migrants face rape, torture and abduction for ransom by human traffickers in Libya, forcing many to make the dangerous journey by boat to Europe, according to a new study. Newsweek says the report by Amnesty International and titled “Libya Is Full of Cruelty”, details the disturbing conditions for many who arrive in Libya to work or as a stop on their way to a better, safer life in Europe.
Jakarta Post reports some 500 Muslim migrants from Burma on two boats were rescued in northern Indonesia. The immigrants included women and children, weakened by lack of food and water. The community of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Burma, in recent years has been the victim of Buddhists’ sectarian violence, which has caused at least a 100,000 to flee the country.
Libya Herald says Saadi Qaddafi appeared in court in Tripoli yesterday on charges relating to the death in March 2006 of Ittihad Tripoli football team coach, Bashir Al-Rayani. However, the trial was adjourned until July 19 at the request of Saadi’s lawyers who said they needed more time to study the case. Saadi is accused of ordering the coach’s murder after Rayani is said to have made disparaging remarks about Saadi’s lack of talent as a footballer. This is just one of a number cases being brought against Saadi, although potentially it is the most serious as it carries the death penalty.
Polskie Radio reports incumbent Poland’s President Bronislaw Komorowski has said he would win the second round of the presidential election, despite the fact that he had lost the first one to Andrzej Duda. Komorowski, an independent candidate, supported by the Civic Platform centre-right party, got 32.2 per cent of the votes, and Duda, of the Law and Justice conservative party, led by former Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kazcynski, obtained 34.8 per cent, according to the exit polls.
Exit polls conducted by German television broadcasters ARD and ZDF project a win for the Social Democrats (SPD) in the legislative election in the northern city-state of Bremen. Despite suffering a sharp dip in yrsterday’s vote, the SPD still topped the poll with 32.5 percent of the ballots.
Avvenire reports Cuban President Raul Castro placed his hand over his heart on Sunday and confessed in the presence of Pope Francis that his visit with the pontiff was “the most important visit” in his entire life. The 83-year-old leader of communist Cuba, who later met with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Ranzi, was deeply moved by his visit with the pope. “I read all of the pope’s speeches and if the pope keeps talking like this, I’ll go back to praying and will return to the church, and I’m not joking,” Castro said.
Azertac News reports the Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanon has accused a group of gunmen involved in deadly clashes with police of planning to carry our terror attacks to destabilise the country. The Macedonian authorities say they found a huge arsenal of weapons during raids in Kumanovo. Eight police officers and 14 alleged members of an armed group have been killed in the fighting while 37 other police officers were wounded in the clashes that started on Saturday.
Sputnik says German Chancellor Angela Merkel has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Western media viewed her visit to Moscow to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory over fascism as a sign of reconciliation between the two countries. The Wall Street Journal says Merkel’s visit to Moscow broke a sort of “taboo” widely spread among Western leaders who had avoided travelling to Russia since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis.
AGI reveals a 30 year old man is in police custody, suspected of being the perpetrator of sexual assault and robbery last Friday of a 43-year-old woman taxi driver. She had reported being beaten, robbed and sexually assaulted by one of her fares, on a suburban road and then fled on foot through the fields.