The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press. All the newspapers report on the release of a Maltese hospital manager abducted in Libya.
Times of Malta says Etihad Airways is buying a hefty stake in Air Malta.
MaltaToday leads with comments by BirdLife that the government is bringing in weaker rules for offences against protected birds.
The Malta Independent reports how Ian Borg said the Commission Against Corruption found him innocent over allegations involving Mepa permits.
In-Nazzjon says the Corruption Commission confirmed the Ombudsman report about Ian Borg.
l-orizzont says the Commission against Corruption found that Ian Borg had not committed any crime.
The overseas press
An Iraqi volunteer force commander has said a mobile phone found on the person of a deceased ISIS militant proves that Turkey’s intelligence agency is providing support for the group. “The mobile phone was found with one of the ISIS leaders killed in the northern parts of Salahuddin province,” Jabbar al-Ma'mouri told Al Soumaria news agency. He said the phone contains messages from Turkish intelligence proving that Ankara was providing security at the points used by militants travelling from Turkey to Iraq.
According to monitors quoted by AFP, Islamic State militants have targeted a school in eastern Syria, killing nine girl students and two adults and wounding at least 15 more children. The UN estimates more than 10,000 children have died since the start of the war.
The BBC quotes an Amnesty International report saying at least 200 civilians have been killed in Russian air strikes in Syria. Amnesty says its findings indicate “serious failures [by Russia] to respect international humanitarian law”. Moscow has repeatedly denied causing civilian deaths, describing such claims as part of “information warfare”.
Fox News reports the UN Security Council has unanimously renewed a resolution facilitating the cross-border delivery of aid to millions of Syrians. It extended the authorisation for UN humanitarian convoys to cross into Syria without the consent of the Damascus regime. Since last year trucks have passed through rebel-held areas from Turkey, Jordan and Iraq.
ABC TV announces two men, aged 20 and 24, have been arrested in counter-terrorism raids in Sydney after police thwarted what they say were “plots to attack locations, including a naval base and police headquarters”. Deputy NSW Police Commissioner Catherine Burn said there was no specific threat to the community. Over 150 Australians, 500 Indonesians and 100 Malaysians have gone to Syria to join ISIS or other militant groups.
Le Parisien reports French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has announced that two men had been arrested near Orleans, south of Paris, in connection with a foiled jihadist plot to carry out attacks on security services.
Dnevni Avaz says police in Sarajevo have arrested several people suspected of “financing terrorist activities” for the Islamic State. Prosecutors said evidence linking the suspects to the militant group was uncovered during the raids.
NBC News reports the war of words between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump continued in Iowa with the former Secretary of State saying, “We shouldn’t let anybody bully his way to the presidency.” Though she didn’t mention Trump by name, the remarks came in the wake of controversial comments made by the real estate mogul in which he called a bathroom break that she took during the most recent Democratic debate “disgusting”. They also came as Clinton stood by her claim that ISIS operatives are using Trump in recruitment videos.
Tribune de Genève reports the IMO and the UNHCR have said that more than a million refugees, mostly fleeing conflict and famine, arrived in Europe this year with some 3,600 of them drowning during their desperate attempt to reach their destination. They landed in Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Malta and Cyprus. IOM estimates people smuggling operators earned at least $1 billion this year and $10 billion or more since 2000.
Denmark’s police federation chief thinks plans to confiscate migrants’ valuables to cover the cost of their stay are unworkable. Claus Oxfeldt told public radio DR that it was not the police officers’ job to assess the value of a refugee’s possessions.
The world’s airlines are expected to post a collective record $60 billion in profits this year. Montreal Gazette reports preliminary figures released by the ICAO, which represents some 1,400 commercial world airlines, show a 6.4 per cent increase in the number of passengers. A 40 per cent decline in jet fuel costs contributed to the industry’s profits.
The Guardian says a “ginger extremist” who fantasised about shooting the Prince of Wales so Harry could be king has been detained indefinitely under the mental health act for plotting a terror attack “for the Aryan people”. Mark Colborne, 37, likened himself to Norwegian far-right terrorist Anders Breivik and made notes in his diary of his plan to assassinate Charles with a high powered sniper rifle.
Astronomy Magazine reports the Earth will have two rare astronomical events this week, with an asteroid flying by tomorrow, December 24, and the first Christmas Day full moon since 1977. NASA predicts that the next full moon to fall on Christmas Day will not occur until 2034, while the asteroid will return in 2018.