The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports that a man has been jailed for 31 years for complicity in the murder of bank messenger Alphonse Ferriggi in San Gwann in 2001. It also reports that ST is to shed up to 450 jobs by the end of this year.
The Malta Independent leads with the same announcement on ST. In other stories, it reports that the European Parliament has called for more frequent inspections of detention centres.
In-Nazzjon says some 200 people are to be made redundant at ST. It also reports a success story at James Caterers, which has grown from a one-man business to a firm employing over 100.
l-orizzont says the leaders of 11 trade unions have taken an oath to confirm that they were told by the Malta Resources Authority that utility tariffs would be adjusted retroactively. It also reports on the 450 dismissals at ST Microelectronics.
The Press in Britain
The Daily Mail reports many savings accounts will pay no interest at all after the Bank of England cut the base rate of interest to one per cent.
The Daily Telegraph has learned that all NHS employees risk losing their job if they discuss their religious beliefs with colleagues or patients.
The Daily Mirror reports that up to 16,000 Royal Mail workers could lose their jobs as part of a cost-cutting plan.
The Independent says workers who are made redundant could get bigger pay-offs under government plans to help victims of the economic downturn.
According to The Times, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group are poised to follow the Royal Bank of Scotland by rushing out huge bonuses for senior bankers and traders before a government crackdown.
The Daily Express leads on house prices after they increased by 1.9 per cent last month following 10 consecutive monthly falls.
The Guardian reports a House of Lords report warns that the expansion of the "surveillance society" puts fundamental freedoms at risk.
A Herald investigation reveals there are up to 700 human trafficking victims being used as sex slaves in Scotland, but no successful prosecutions of those responsible.
Metro claims the police are being stripped of powers to enforce some 18 minor traffic offences, such as driving the wrong way up a one-way street which they are told to deal with by giving the driver a ticking off.
And elsewhere…
The People’s Daily says China has declared an official emergency in eight provinces hit by a drought “rarely seen in history” that has left nearly four million people without drinking water. The latest drought has affected 24 million acres of crops, a third of them seriously. Almost half of the wheat-growing areas in the eight provinces are threatened.
The Washington Times reports US President Barack Obama piling pressure on Congress to approve his economic stimulus plan, saying that "the time for talk is over". Mr Obama warned of "bickering" at a time when urgent action is needed and hit out at failed policies of the past.
Le Monde leads with the 18-year jail sentence imposed by a Paris court on German terror suspect Christian Ganczarski for his involvement in the 2002 bombing of a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba which killed 21 people.
Az-Zaman reports preliminary results of last Saturday's provincial elections in Iraq showed that the coalition backed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has won 38 per cent of the vote in Baghdad, with its nearest rival getting just nine percent. The polls were widely seen as a referendum on Maliki's performance as prime minister.
The Herald says Zimbabwe's parliament has passed a constitutional amendment that creates the post of prime minister for Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Svenska Dagbladet reports Sweden has reversed a 30-year-old ban on building new nuclear reactors, saying they were needed for future power.
EU Observer reports that recognition for Libertas as an official party fighting euro-elections in June has been put on hold pending checks into its levels of support.
USA Today says US experts have warned that if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapses it will swamp densely populated coastlines of north America and Europe.
According to Environmental Daily, British ministers are looking at a scheme under which motorists could be paid to trade in their old cars for new, less-polluting models.
The Lancet reports that people who have taken aspirin at least once in the last year were 36per cent less likely to develop stomach cancer. Those who took other non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, in the last 12 months were 32 per cent less likely to get cancer.
Le Parisien quotes doctors at a Paris hospital saying an operation to separate conjoined twin boys was successful and the babies are “doing well”. The eight-month-old Madagascar-born babies were joined at the chest and abdomen and shared a liver.
Los Angeles Times says 33-year-old Nadya Suleman, the Californian woman who gave birth to octuplets last week, has been discharged from hospital. It was unclear whether she returned to her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Whittier where her six other children have been cared for by her parents. The six boys and two girls, born on January 26, are said to be making sustained progress.
Variety says Rhythm and Blues legend Etta James, 71, slammed Beyonce Knowles for singing "her song" at Barack Obama's inauguration.
The Irish Independent says Irish distance runner Richard Donovan has cracked the world's ultimate endurance race – seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.