The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says some Alzheimer's drugs have been excluded from the list of free medicines. It also reports on Labour's midnight campaign launch.
The Malta Independent reports on a call for industrial negotiations involving unions and the government to stop during the electoral campaign.
In-Nazzjon features an interview with PN Secretary-General Paul Borg Olivier, saying PN policies are forward-looking.
l-orizzont says parents are demanding an inquiry amid fears that their daughter died as a result of carelessness at Mater Dei.
The overseas press
President Barack Obama is considering implementing the most comprehensive gun control measures seen in decades. The Washington Post reports the proposals go well beyond reinstating a ban on assault weapons and high capacity ammunition. In a move that is set to anger opponents of gun control, a task force is reportedly looking at measures that can be implemented by the president's order without the approval of Congress. The White House is understood to want swift action while the public remains outraged over the deaths of 20 children and six adults in the Newtown school shooting in Connecticut last month.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has told Tasmanians the nation was standing by them "in every way" as a makeshift flotilla ferried supplies into the cut-off Tasman Peninsula. ABC TV says Gillard was speaking ahead of a trip to the devastated township of Dunalley, where buildings were reduced to rubble by the bushfire.
Al-Ayyam reports Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has ordered his government to officially change the name of the Palestinian Authority to the “State of Palestine”. The decree comes after the Palestinians' successful bid for observer state status at the UN last year. He says the name change will help enhance Palestinian sovereignty and is a step towards "real independence".
Le Monde quotes Syrian opposition groups and foreign politicians describing President Bashar al-Assad's defiant "peace plan" speech as a renewed declaration of war. Although Sunday's rare speech was billed as the unveiling of a new peace plan, Assad offered no concessions and even appeared to harden his position. He rallied Syrians for "a war to defend the nation" and disparaged the prospect of negotiations.
Al Ahram says 10 new Egyptian ministers were sworn in on Sunday in a Cabinet shake-up aimed at improving the government’s handling of the country’s economy ahead of talks today with the International Monetary Fund over a $4.8 billion loan. The reshuffle, which President Mohammed Morsi had promised in response to public anger over Egypt’s economic malaise, also solidified Islamist control of the government, putting three portfolios in the hands of members of the president’s Muslim Brotherhood.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton returns to work today after a month-long absence caused by a series of health scares, including a blood clot. The Washington Times says Clinton's return was announced in the department's public schedule for the week ahead which revealed that she would meet at 9.15 a.m. (3.15 p.m. Malta time) with her assistant secretaries at the State Department in Washington. On Thursday, she will host visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the State Department and also welcome him for a working dinner.
A super pill made out of tomatoes could hold the key to beating arthritis, diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. The Daily Express reports that British scientists believe the tablet harnesses the health-boosting properties of the Mediterranean diet and has the potential to fight a host of life-threatening illnesses. The wonderpill, called Ateronon, contains the antioxidant lycopene, found in the skin of ripe tomatoes. Earlier research had hailed its fat-busting power to slash cholesterol levels.
Metro reports 72 Elvis Presley impersonators from the UK, Austria, Italy, France, Hungary and Germany, are competing to be crowned Europe's next big King in the European Elvis Championships in Birmingham. The contest, which is the largest of its kind in Europe and is in its tenth year, will see the pelvis-swivelling winner of the grand prize awarded the accolade for best act, as well as a cash prize, a trip for two to Memphis, Tennessee, and a specially-made jumpsuit created by designers who tailored Elvis's elaborate outfits.
Le Matin says the three candidates to host the 2020 Olympics – Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo – will take a huge step on the road to who will be designated the winner in Buenos Aires on September 7 when they present their candidature files to the International Olympic Committee today in Lausanne. The dossier will be carefully studied before the all-important visit of the IOC Evaluation Commission, headed by IOC Vice-president Craig Reedie, to the three cities for four day visits in March.
According to L’Equipe, record-breaking Lionel Messi is poised to become the first player to win four successive Ballon d'Or awards today, sealing his status as the greatest player of his generation. The 25-year-old is the overwhelming favourite to see off the challenge of Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta and great Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo for the prize. It will crown another landmark year for the Argentine who is the top scorer in La Liga this season with 25 goals having also broken Gerd Mueller's 40-year record for the most goals in a calendar year. He finished 2012 with an astonishing 91 goals in all competitions.