The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times says that Malta has been told to speed up the pace of pension reform. It also quotes a statement from the Youth FA which said a former nursing aide was banned from football nurseries.
The Malta Independent says the UHM is likely to step up industrial action at Gozo Channel.
In-Nazzjon reports how a 16-year-old was jailed for illegal possession of a weapon and driving without a licence. The judge said he had no option as the youth had been previous opportunity to reform. It also says that job creation in Malta's manufacturing sector is continuing to grow.
l-orizzont leads with a picture of Dom Mintoff and a story recording the fiftieth anniversary since Archbishop Gonzi banned the faithful from voting Labour. The newspaper also asks if a new hospital is already needed because of overcrowding at Mater Dei.
In-Nazzjon
The overseas press
The Daily Express reports that Europe’s 754 MEPs have sparked fury by demanding a pay rise of up to three per cent or €3,000 in their basic annual salary of €100,00. Euro MPs can also rake in €435,000 in expenses. If the increase is ratified in Brussels next month, MEPs would also receive more lucrative expenses and pension entitlements. It would also add the equivalent of an extra €54 million a year, bringing the total cost to €1.8 billion next year. They said the increase was needed because Croatia is joining the EU in 2013.
Meanwhile, Börzen Zeitung says that a highly critical report by the European Court of Auditors has found problems in the way the EU’s 31 agencies manage their budgets. The auditors found that 11 out of the 22 surveyed could not properly account for half the expenses they filed in 2010. The report analysed the costs, financial management and “operational efficiency” of 22 out of the EU’s 31 autonomous agencies, which carry out studies on issues ranging from drug addiction to trademark registration and police co-operation.
Deutsche Welle reports the public prosecutor in Hanover has applied for the lifting of German President Christian Wulff's immunity from legal proceedings. It said extensive evaluation of documents and media reports allowed for an "initial suspicion" that Wulff may have improperly received and granted benefits. Wulff has been under fire over his ties to provincial businessmen during his time in office as premier of Lower Saxony state.
According to the South China Morning Post, the man expected to become Hong Kong’s next chief executive, Henry Tang, has become engulfed in a scandal over an illegally-built underground basement in one of his villas. The structure, under a swimming pool, is in violation of building regulations. When first reports emerged, Tang had said it was only “a hole in the ground”. Later, however, newspapers published plans of a leisure place which includes a Jacuzzi, wine cellars and spacious rooms.
La Prensa says forensic experts in Honduras continue to try to identify the bodies of more than 350 people who died in a prison fire on Tuesday. Hundreds of relatives are camped outside the morgue in the capital waiting to be handed the remains of their loved ones. Official records show that many of those killed in the blaze were still awaiting trial and had not been convicted.
The New York Times reports the UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved an Arab-sponsored resolution condemning rights violations in Syria and calling on President Bashar al-Assad to step aside. The non-binding resolution was introduced by Egypt on behalf of 27 other countries including Arab states, Britain and the United States. The vote came after at least 22 people were reportedly killed in flashpoint cities of Syria, and a prominent blogger and other top activists were arrested.
Al Ayyam says Hezbollah has joined Iran in denying Israeli accusations that his group was behind bombers who attacked Israeli missions in India and Georgia this week. Speaking at an event marking the fourth anniversary of the assassination of its military commander, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has assured supporters that “Hezbollah has nothing to do with this”. The Shiite group accused Israel of killing the military commander in a car bomb in Syria and has vowed revenge. Israel has denied any involvement, and said that it has since foiled several Hezbollah attempts to kidnap Israelis abroad.
The Scotsman reports that British Prime Minister David Cameron has made an emotional plea to the Scottish people not to break up the United Kingdom, declaring they were all better off together. In a speech in Edinburgh, Cameron laid out the case against independence saying he hoped and wished that Scotland would vote in the 2014 referendum to remain part of the UK. He raised fears about the economic crisis and the increasingly uncertain world to point out why Scotland would be safer and wealthier as part of the United Kingdom.
It has been revealed that the film star Charlie Chaplin became the subject of an investigation by British intelligence services after the US pressed for information linking him to communism. News 24 reports, however, the newly declassified files show that Britain's MI5 domestic intelligence service found no evidence of Chaplin’s communist credentials. In September 1952, the US immigration slammed the door on Chaplin and seven months later he vowed never to return to the United States.
Asia Times reports that Lu Jun, who was once China's top football referee has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail for taking bribes to fix matches. Lu, once dubbed the "golden whistle", was the first Chinese referee to take charge of a World Cup match, at the 2002 event hosted by Japan and South Korea. He was also twice named referee of the year by the Asian Football Confederation.