The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press. Most of the local media is dominated by the findings by the Inquiry into inferior concrete at Mater Dei Hospital.
Times of Malta reports how an inquiry found the hospital concrete was fraudulently certified.
l-orizzont says there was fraud in the building of Mater Dei Hospital. The Malta Independent says 1996 fraud on the hospital project has been exposed.
The lead story in In-Nazzjon is that the Water Services Corporation is a classic example of Taghna Lkoll management for Labour supporters.
The overseas press
CCTV reports Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out rescue efforts after a passenger ship carrying 458 people sank on Monday night in China’s Yangtze River after being caught in a cyclone. The People’s Daily said those on board had mostly been tourists aged around 50 to 80 on a tour organised by a Shanghai company. Only about 20 people have been rescued.
A Canadian court has ordered tobacco firms to pay $12.4 billion (€11.4 billion) to smokers in Quebec province who claimed they were never warned about the health risks associated with smoking. Montreal Gazette says Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans Benson & Hedges and JTI-MacDonald said they would appeal the award for moral and punitive damages, which is the largest in Canadian history. The two class action lawsuits represent nearly a million smokers who were unable to quit or who suffer from throat or lung cancer, or emphysema.
Deutsche-Welle reports that after talks that lasted well into the night, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande, along with Greece’s international creditors, have agreed to work with “real intensity” to reach a deal with Athens in the coming days. According to Die Welt, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi unexpectedly joined the late-night summit in an effort to come up with “a final proposal” for Athens. The eurozone has set a Friday deadline to conclude the slow-moving talks.
According toLondon’s The Independent, European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has angered Downing Street with a claim that the British did not want to leave the EU. In an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Juncker said and that Prime Minister David Cameron’s referendum on the issue would only anchor more firmly the country to the EU.
Europe’s largest bank, will announce a plan next week to cut thousands of jobs, Sky News reports, quoting unidentified people close to the matter. Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver will disclose a target when he updates shareholders on the bank’s strategy on June 9, laying out a reduction that will probably affect between 10,000 and 20,000 people. The number is still being worked out. HSBC in London declined to comment on the report. The company employed almost 258,000 people at the end of last year.
Reuters says Egyptian authorities have thwarted a Muslim Brotherhood plot against the state – a day before a court is expected to give a final ruling on a death sentence recommendation against Mohamed Mursi, Egypt’s former Islamist president. Mursi was removed by then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi nearly two years ago following mass protests against his rule. Last month an Egyptian court sought the death penalty for Mursi and 106 supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood in connection with a mass jail break in 2011.
The court will give a final ruling today. The verdict can be appealed.
Ynet reports the Mossad have reportedly informed Cypriot authorities of an imminent attack on Israeli sites, leading to the arrest of a Canadian-Lebanese individual last Friday. Quoting the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jarida, the report claims the Mossad closely watched the man’s movements after the agency was tipped off he had purchased almost two tons of ammonium nitrate – a fertilizer that in large quantities can be mixed with other substances to make a powerful explosive.
El Universal announces members of a dissident teachers’ group went on indefinite strike in Mexico, vandalizing government offices, torching electoral documents and leaving at least a million children without classes, in an effort to halt an education overhaul and disrupt coming federal midterm elections. The action and the possibility of further disruptions ahead of Sunday’s vote pose a growing challenge to President Enrique Peña Nieto.
The Chronicle reports a 40-year-old woman was raped by six men in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh for allegedly practicing witchcraft. Police said she was admitted to hospital and they had arrested all six authors of what the district police chief described as “the brutal aggression”. The woman said no one came to her aid as she was raped and tortured.
Euronews contends Turkey’s election campaign is going down the toilet, after Opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of using tax payers’ money to decorate his presidential palace bathroom, most notably with a golden lavatory. Erdogan has responded by saying he will launch a lawsuit. Costing more than €500 million, Erdogan’s 1,150-room palace has been the source of much criticism from the opposition who say it was built on protected land.
AP report restaurant operator KFC has filed a lawsuit against three companies in China whose social media accounts spread false claims about its food – including that its chickens have eight legs. The case filed by China's biggest restaurant operator comes as the government intensifies a campaign to clean up rumors on social media. Internet marketers have been convicted of trying to manipulate online sentiment on behalf of clients by posting false information about competitors or deleting critical posts.