The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
Times of Malta says that as schools reopened yesterday, many roads turned into a solid traffic jam in a situation aggravated by chronic mismanagement and lack of discipline. In another story, it says the government has defended the head of Identity Malta, saying there was no reason to investigate him, as the police continue to probe allegations that thousands of visas and residence permits were issued fraudulently.
L-Orizzont accuses the Union Haddiema Maghqudin of betraying transport workers through its request to the court to exempt it from the warrant of prohibitory injunction filed by the bus company after the bus strike called by the General Workers’ Union last week.
The Malta Independent says a police sergeant told a court yesterday that the stench inside a room where an intellectually disabled woman was locked for 17 hours a day with two dogs was “unbearable”.
In-Nazzjon says that 55,420 students returned to school yesterday after the summer holidays.
International news
Fox News reports divisions on ending the war in Syria have been laid bare at the UN General Assembly as world leaders gathered to find a solution for the conflict. The US and France insisted Syria’s President Assad must go, but Russia said it would be an “enormous mistake” not to work with him to tackle Islamic State militants. Both the US and Russia hinted they could still cooperate on the crisis with Obama saying he would work with any nation, and Putin calling for a “broad coalition”.
Sputnik says after his first formal meeting with Obama in two years, the Kremlin chief announced that he has not ruled out joining airstrikes against IS in Syria but stressed he would not send ground troops into combat. He also added that any Russian action in Syria would be in accordance with international law.
Xinhua reports Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised support for a permanent UN police squad and African peacekeeping as he vowed a peaceful rise for the Asian power. He also announced $100 million in funding to the African Union to support a similar rapid reaction force, as well as a broader 10-year, one billion dollar UN-China “peace and development fund.”
Avvenire quotes Pope Francis saying barriers being put up in Europe to stop the influx of migrants were not a solution. Speaking to reporters as he returned home from a 10-day trip to the United States and Cuba, he said, the solution had to be found through dialogue.
Le Soir says the EU will begin combating human traffickers in the Mediterranean as of October 7. Operation Sophia will allow naval forces belonging to EU member-states to board, search and seize suspicious vessels.
Meanwhile, AFP reports more than 250 migrants were rescued in international waters off Libya in two separate groups. Among them were many women and children. They were transferred to Italy.
ABC says the Australian government has announced it will this year resettle 12,000 refugees from the Syrian conflict. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said this will be the largest single refugee intake since World War II.
El Mundo reports Spain’s Prime Minister has ruled out independence talks for Catalonia after separatist parties won an absolute majority in Sunday’s regional elections Mariano Rajoy said he was willing to work with the next Catalan government on a wide range of issues but Spanish unity is not one of them.
Nasa’s discovery that traces of liquid water had been found on Mars was a boon to a future human manned mission to the Red Planet. John Grunsfeld, Nasa associate administrator, told Nature Geoscience the scientific discoveries indicated Mars had resources “useful to future travels”. A study published in the journal identified waterlogged molecules taken from readings from orbit.
Ansa says Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has said he sees Italy overtaking Germany to become Europe’s leader if it continues with the reforms his government has started. He told reporters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, which he addresses today, that “we decide which taxes to cut, not the bureaucrats in Brussels”. His remarks came after an EU report suggested Italy shift taxes from labour to consumer spending, property and the environment.
Channel News Asia reports Indian and Pakistani authorities have said the death toll from last week’s stampede near Mecca climbed to 1,100 with at least 863 pilgrims injured. Some two million people are undertaking the traditional hajj pilgrimage.
Al Ayyam says Palestinians clashed with Israeli riot police after barricading themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, throwing firebombs and rocks at officers outside during a major Jewish holiday on Monday. Officers later managed to restore order as the director of the mosque blamed Israeli police for the violence.
Fox News announces Joyce Mitchell, the former prison worker who helped two murderers escape from a maximum-security facility last June, was sentenced to up to seven years behind bars. She also may have to contribute to the $120,000 in restitution the state is seeking for damages to Clinton Correctional Facility from the brazen escape.
An Armenian belly dancer who was jailed after she performed wearing a costume in the colours of the Egyptian flag – red, white and black – has won an appeal against her six-month sentence. The Youm7 website reports Sofinar Gourian was accused of “inciting obscenity, spreading depravity and shameful acts”. Her lawyer claims she was reported to authorities in a revenge act by former employer.