The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta follows up the story of how a Gozo ferry was ordered back to Cirkewwa to pick up stranded passengers, including the Minister for Gozo. It also reports how the PN presented a motion for high standards in public life.
The Malta Independent reports how students are taking pills to stay awake.
In-Nazzjon says Joseph Muscat in a long statement yesterday failed to give details of the Enemalta agreement with China.
l-orizzont gives prominence to the prime minister’s announcement that the gas price will be stable till the end of the year.
The overseas press
VOA reports the US Republican-controlled House of Representatives has passed another emergency government funding Bill that includes measures to limit President Obama’s heathcare reforms. The move means the Bill is almost certain to be rejected by the Democrat-controlled Senate brining a shutdown of government services even closer. President Obama accused Republicans in Congress of being totally irresponsible in refusing to approve a straight-forward budget.
USA Today says President Obama has tried to reassure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over US nuclear negotiations with Iran, vowing to keep all options on the table, including the possibility of a military response. Netanyahu had urged Obama to keep sanctions in place against Iran and to tighten them if Tehran continues its nuclear advances during a coming round of negotiations with the West. In White House talks on Monday, Obama said he would keep his eyes open and that he will stay in close contact with Israel.
Venezuela has announced it was expelling three American diplomats it accused of plotting to sabotage the country’s economy. El Universal quotes President Nicolas Maduro sayng he had evidence that the three took part in a power-grid sabotage last month and had bribed Venezuelan companies to cut down production. The United States and Venezuela have been without ambassadors in each other's capitals since 2010. The US Embassy in Caracas said it “completely rejects” the allegations.
Ta’ Nea announces four MPs from Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party are to appear in court on charges of belonging to a criminal group, murder, assault and money-laundering. The four were arrested over the weekend along with the party's leader and his deputy, both of whom are due to appear in court later this week. In all 22 people have been held amid anger over the murder on last month of anti-racist musician. A man held for the stabbing told police he was a Golden Dawn supporter, though the party strongly denies any link.
An international survey has found that the global war drugs is failing to stem supply, as prices are now generally cheaper and they are purer than at any time over the last 20 years. AFP says the prices of heroin, cocaine and cannabis in the US fell by more than 80 per cent between 1990 and 2007. Over the same period, the average purity of these drugs rose by up to 161 per cent. In 18 European countries, the street price of cocaine and heroin fell by 51 and 74 percent between 2000 and 2009.
Al Bawaba reports UN experts wrapped up their investigation of alleged gas attacks in Syria on Monday, as a chemical weapons disarmament team arrived in neighbouring Lebanon ahead of their trip to Damascus. In an address to the UN General Assembly, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem accused Western states of supplying chemical weapons to the Syrian opposition.
Meanwhile the foreign ministers of Syria's neighbours – Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey – pleaded at a meeting of the UN refugee agency for more international support to deal with an influx of refugees. The Syrian war has killed more than 110,000 people and forced more than 2.1 Syrians to flee to neighbouring countries since it erupted in March 2011.
Ansa says former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi appeared to sound the death knell for Enrico Letta's unprecedented left-right coalition when he reportedly said "our government experience is over" during a closed-door meeting of his People of Freedom party.
Euronews reports MEPs have voted against new European rules for flying hours in a move welcomed by pilots who claimed the new regulations threatened flight safety. By 20 votes to 13, the EU’s transport and tourism committee rejected the proposals which would have allowed a team of two pilots to take long-haul flights instead of three. The regulations will still be voted on by the full European Parliament in the coming weeks.
The world is aging so fast that most countries are not prepared to support their swelling numbers of elderly people. CNN quotes a UN reports issued today ranking Sweden as the best country to be an elderly among 91 nations. Afghanistan came at the bottom. By 2050, for the first time in history, seniors over the age of 60 will outnumber children under the age of 15.
London’s Daily Express warns that the prospect of women delaying motherhood until well into their fifties and sixties loomed nearer last night after scientists revealed they had discovered a way to beat the menopause.