In the Press: Commercial flight downed in eastern Ukraine | PM defends judge's appointment

The Times of Malta

A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, carrying close to 300 passengers and crew, was downed last night over the settlement of Grabovo, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials say that the aircraft was hit by a surface-to-air missile launched by pro-Russian separatists.

In-Nazzjon

PN leader Simon Busuttil has called for civil and democractic debate in Parliament. His comments come in the wake of some disruption in Parliament in the previous days, when PM Joseph Muscat threatened MPs with August sittings, and after the controversial appointment of Wenzu Mintoff as judge.

L-Orizzont

Directives issued by the UHM within the European Union Programmes Agency may compromise local education programmes funded by the EU. The stalemate between the government and EUPA employees over their collective agreement may bring programmes like Erasmus+ to a halt.

The Malta Independent

The appointment of Wenzu Mintoff as a judge has been met with much criticism from legal practitioners, with some expressing shock at the development. PM Joseph Muscat defended the appointment, saying that Mintoff would rise above his political past to handle his cases with integrity.