The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta and the Malta Independent reports how the family of a young Dutch man found dead in St Julian's are insisting this was a case of a robbery gone wrong.
Times of Malta also reports about a stalemate in payouts for the land to be used by the American University of Malta in Marsascala.
In-Nazzjon reports on works done by government workers on a private house facade in Victoria, Gozo. The works also breach the Mepa permit conditions.
l-orizzont says tourism's contribution to the economy grew by €88m last year.
The overseas press
The family of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, sentenced to death for the Boston Marathon bombings, has reacted sharply to the punishment. His father Anzor told ABC News by phone from Russia, they would “fight until the end”. His brother Saeed said they would appeal, calling the decision a “big tragedy” for the family and “insulting to our name”.
Armed groups in Libya are committing war crimes by abducting civilians, including minors, and summarily executing or torturing some of the hostages to death. Al Arabiya quotes the UN’s mission in Libya saying beside being at risk of torture, murder and ill treatment, abducted civilians are often denied any contact with their families. The kidnappings are taking place amid a deepening political crisis, terrorist attacks and the spread of the Islamic State jihadist group and other extremist groups, lawlessness and the breakdown of the criminal justice system in Libya.
Islamic State fighters have shot dead 23 civilians, including nine children, near the city of Palmyra. Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told the AFP that family members of government employees were among those killed near the city. Fighters from the jihadist group are closing in on Palmyra, which is a UNESCO world heritage site.
The UN Human Rights Council adopted a scathing report, consisting of 348 recommendations that address myriad human rights violations in the United States. The report came out as a part of a mechanism called the Universal Periodic Review, which examines the human rights record of all UN member states. The Huffington Post says the report sends a strong message of no-confidence in the US human rights record and “clearly demonstrates” that the United States has a long way to go to live up to its human rights obligations and commitments.
Writing in The Sun, Britain’s Chancellor George Osborne announced plans for a second 2015 government budget to quickly implement his Conservative Party’s campaign promises of spending cuts and savings following a surprise election win. The chancellor has said he would strip out £12 billion (€16 billion) a year from Britain’s welfare bill in a bid to balance the nation’s books by 2020. However, he said it would be a “budget for working people” that would protect the National Health Service, make savings in government administration and improve British productivity.
Two Christian girls have been victims of an acid attack in Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province in southwestern Pakistan. Dawn says the two women of 27 and 15 years, Rimsha Masih and Hina, are in the burns unit of a city hospital. They were walking when a man on a motorcycle approached them and sprayed acid on their face with a syringe. The assailant then fled.
AP announces Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton have reported they earned more than $30 million combined in speaking fees and book royalties since January 2014, putting them firmly within the upper echelon of American earners as the former secretary of state seeks the White House again. Clinton’s presidential campaign reported the income in a personal financial disclosure report filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Fox News reveals the US National Transportation Safety Board has asked the FBI to investigate reports that the Washington to New York Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia on Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring more than 200, might have been hit by an object before the accident. One of the assistant conductors had told investigators that just before the crash she heard a radio transmission from the engineer that the locomotive had been hit by a rock or shot at.
The New Yorker reports UNICEF has said 12 babies are born every hour without access to basic healthcare in the areas of Nepal worst hit by two powerful earthquakes. It warned that that over the next month the lives of almost 18,000 babies and mothers could be at risk unless urgent action is taken to restore key healthcare systems.
Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel married his partner Gauthier Destenay yesterday, becoming the first European Union leader to enter a gay marriage. As Tageblatt says, gay marriage is a relatively new thing in Luxembourg. Bettel’s party won a prominent spot in the ruling coalition after campaigning for it.
A hotel restaurant in Anambra, Nigeria has been closed down for serving human flesh. According to the BBC, the police raided the restaurant after suspicious residents told police of rumours that the restaurant was cooking human meat for customers. They discovered fresh human heads. In addition to the illegal meat, authorities discovered automatic weapons, grenades, and cell phones. Ten people were arrested.