The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
Times of Malta says land parcels in Żebbuġ given to Mark Gaffarena as part of the controversial Valletta expropriation deal are strategically located behind another plot in Qormi he was also given. In another story, it quotes the chairman of the biggest warden agency saying local wardens have never operated under any quotas that force them to issue a set number of fines per day.
The Malta Independent says Education Minister Evarist Bartolo has dispelled rumours that Ordinary and Advanced level examinations will eventually be removed.
In-Nazzjon leads with a report about a news conference by Nationalist Party spokesmen during which it was highlighted that fact that all properties in the Gaffarena expropriation deal were in strategic areas confirmed that they were selected by the beneficiary.
L-Orizzont leads with a survey carried out in 2013 which shows that 24 per cent under 17 years were at risk of poverty.
International news
US administration sources have told Ansa that the return to “business as usual” with Russia “will not be possible until the Minsk agreements are fully respected”. Commenting on the meetings held in Italy by Russian President Vladimir Putin, White House sources said the conclusions of the G7 were “very clear”: the leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, pledged “to maintain the current sanctions” on Russia and “to impose others if necessary”. Renzi didn’t condemn Russia’s alleged involvement in Ukraine, but said reiterated there should be a full implementation of the Minsk peace accord.
The Russian President also had a private audience with Pope Francis. Avvenire says the pontiff used the talks to call for a “sincere and great effort” towards ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine. More than 6,400 people have died in fighting in Ukraine since the separatist insurgency broke out in April 2014.
Meanwhile, AGI reports that before returning home, Putin had a quick meeting at Fiumicino airport with long-time friend, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who assured him of his support against the EU sanctions imposed on Russia. After the meeting, Berlusconi announced the presentation today of a parliamentary motion to commit the Italian government to end the sanctions which also meant an economic loss for Italy.
Kathemerini quotes Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras saying Greece and EU heavyweights Germany and France had agreed that last-ditch bailout talks must reach a “viable solution” as negotiations on the sidelines of an EU-Latin America summit in Brussels broke-up without a deal. Deutsche Welle reports a German government spokesman would only say that the discussions had been constructive. The talks took place shortly after Standard & Poor’s cut Greece’s credit rating further into junk territory, from CCC+ to CCC, adding that without an agreement with creditors and ‘likely a default in the next 12 months.
Euronews announces Polish Prime Minister Eva Kopacz has forced several government ministers, embarrassed by secret recordings, to quit their posts four months ahead of a general election. Three ministers, three junior ministers, the speaker of the country’s parliament and two other senior officials have resigned. The scandal broke last year but resurfaced this week when details of prosecutors’ investigations into the bugging were leaked onto social media.
Bloomberg reports the World Bank has warned emerging economies around the world of a rocky road ahead as the US moves toward tightening monetary policy and the dollar strengthens. In an update of the prospects for world growth, the bank trimmed its forecast for 2015 to 2.8 per cent, compared to the 3.0 per cent expansion predicted in January. That downgrade was due mainly to the US contraction in the first quarter, the slow turnarounds in Europe and Japan, and China’s deceleration.
The hacker attack that on April 9 last stopped broadcasts of the French TV5 Monde and in their place aired Isis’ propaganda was organised by circles close to the Kremlin, according to the results of a French judiciary inquiry. According to L’Express, the attack was the work of a group called “APT28” from FireEye, an American company that deals with cyber security, considered to be related with the Kremlin. Among the clues which led to this conclusion was the fact that the code used in the attack was written with a Cyrillic keyboard.
Italian police have arrested three people alleged to have trafficked over 300 migrants who reached the southern Italian port of Reggio Calabria on Tuesday. La Republica reports a Tunisian national and two Libyans face charges of criminal association to smuggle illegal immigrants into Italy, endangering human lives and inhumane and degrading treatment of migrant boat passengers. A total of 125 people suspected of trafficking migrants from Libya have been arrested by Italian police since March.
Asia Times says South Korea’s health ministry has reported 14 new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers), taking the total to 122 in an outbreak that is the largest outside Saudi Arabia. The spread of the disease has stirred up public fear and confusion, prompting President Park Geun-hye to postpone a visit to the United States. Meanwhile, Tribune de Genève reports the World Health Organisation has urged people in the Middle East to refrain from drinking camel urine, warning it could be fatal.
The Times reports British Nobel Laureate Sir Tim Hunt, who advocated single sex laboratories and said that women scientists were a distraction for their male colleagues, has resigned from his position at University College London. Senior scientists at the university were believed to be unhappy with Sir Tim after he told a room of women science journalists and women scientists, “Let me tell you about my trouble with girls...Three things happen when they are in the lab: you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them they cry.” The Royal Society distanced itself from Hunt’s comments, which had sparked a backlash online.
America has the majestic bald eagle, France has the proud Gallic rooster, and now Britain has the robin. The Irish Examiner reports that after a nationwide ballot in which more than 200,000 people responded, the tiny, red-breasted Christmas favourite was declared as Britain’s favourite bird. The robin ruled the roost with a whopping 34 per cent of the vote. Second place in the pecking order was the barn owl with 12 per cent. Third place was swooped upon by the blackbird with 11 per cent. A separate vote exclusively for children shored up the robin’s victory, with it being declared the winner with 20 per cent of the vote in a ballot involving more than 11,000 young people.