The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
Times of Malta says one restaurant was found to have gone beyond the allotted area where to set up tables outside and 11 decided to use promenades without seeking any permits whatsoever.
L-Orizzont says private boat operators are exploiting a loophole in the law and offering trips between Malta and Gozo against payment to the detriment of Gozo Channel, which, according to contract, had the exclusive right to offer these trips.
In-Nazzjon says former acting Police Commissioner Ray Zammit had given the order for the victim’s car in the shooting incident involving the driver of former Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia to be loaded on the police loader and taken to the police garage.
The Malta Independent quotes Opposition leader Simon Busuttil saying there is no reason to take action against his deputy Beppe Fenech Adami.
International news
AFP quotes Italy’s coastguard reporting that more than 1,000 migrants were rescued trying to cross the Mediterranean over the weekend. Several inflatable dinghies intercepted were so overcrowded they risked capsizing, and one boat was listing badly when it was spotted 220 kilometres southeast of Sicily. In total, 671 people, including 108 women and 48 children, were plucked from unseaworthy vessels in five separate rescue operations yesterday alone.
Sky News says Britain has accused Spain of “repeatedly” unlawfully entering Gibraltar’s territorial waters during the weekend, apparently while chasing suspected drug smugglers. The Royal Navy was used to escort Spain’s drugs and money laundering squad out of Gibraltar waters following the confrontation. Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said the incident would be raised “as a matter of urgency” with the authorities in Madrid.
According to Kyiv Post, four armoured vehicles belonging to the OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine’s eastern conflict zone have been completely burnt in an apparent arson attack. The organisation, which monitors the implementation of a much-violated ceasefire, has faced increased hostility in recent weeks. The OSCE has accused both separatists and Ukrainian troops of failing to respect the ceasefire – brokered to end a conflict in which more than 6,500 people have been killed.
Fuji TV reports Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called for a nuclear weapons-free Japan as he marked the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. He had come under criticism for not making the same pledge on the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing last week, as controversy over a government defence bill rages in the country.
Chosun Ilbo says South Korea has today accused North Korea of planting landmines that maimed two soldiers on border patrol, sending military tensions on the Korean peninsula soaring. Seoul has threatened to make Pyongyang pay a “harsh price” for last Tuesday’s incident in the demilitarised zone.
At least 11 people were killed and dozens more were injured this morning when Hindu devotees observing the holy month of Sawan Somvar tried to jump the line, setting off a stampede at a temple in Belabagan, India. The Asia News International news agency said as many as 50 people were rushed to local hospitals after the crush. The national news service IBNLive quoted local officials as saying at least 80,000 people had gathered in the line stretching more than 10 kilometres at the temple.
Reuters reports ruling party candidate Daniel Scioli was ahead in Argentina’s presidential primary with 36.6 per cent, early results showed, with voters favouring the Buenos Aires governor’s policy of gradual change following eight years of leftist government. Scioli is in outgoing President Cristina Fernandez’s Front for Victory party, and has promised to slowly modify her policies, which include heavy state control of the economy. The presidential election, in which Fernandez is banned from running for a third consecutive term, is on October 25.
El Universal says at least 15 people were killed in Mexico’s south-western state of Guerrero – including an activist who helped lead efforts to find 43 students who disappeared and were presumed murdered last year. Mexican officials said Miguel Angel Jimenez was found dead inside the taxi he drove.
LBC says a 400-strong masked mob attacked police after a party spiralled out of control in Stoke Newington in London. According to Scotland Yard, hundreds of party-goers turned on the police, hurling bricks and bottles off the balcony of a block of flats at the officers below and blocking their police cars in with bins. Riot police, dog units and a helicopter were drafted in to deal with the riot.
Euronews reports three life-size bronze statues of whistleblowers Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange and Edward Snowden now grace Berlin’s Alexanderplatz. All three are considered heroes on the political left for leaking US intelligence documents. Entitled Anything to Say, the sculpture, the work Italian sculptor Davide Dormino, encourages supporters to stand up for freedom of speech and information.
Entertainment Weekly announces this weekend, Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation withstood a challenge from Fantastic Four and ruled the worldwide box office for the second straight week, taking in $29 million domestically and adding another $65.5 million overseas. That lifts its total grosses to $109 million domestic, $157 million overseas. Cruise’s last three action vehicles – Jack Reacher, Oblivion and Edge of Tomorrow – all yielded disappointing box office returns.