The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
The Sunday Times of Malta says that according to the latest surveys burnout is high among the majority of Maltese nurses, exposing a worrying reality that requires immediate attention. In another story it says that nearly 50 per cent of the Maltese accept and live by the Church’s teachings on responsible birth control but find it difficult to follow.
MaltaToday says the tragedy off Lampedusa last October has led the Italian government to radically change its rescue policy at sea and is now taking responsibility for the lives that even fall under the Maltese government’s responsibility.
The Malta Independent on Sunday says that 159 new citizenships have gone through the International Investor’s Programme so far. In another story, it says that the issue of gay adoptions have exposed the PN deputy leaders Mario de Marco and Beppe Fenech Adami factions.
Illum says 60 per cent of the Smart City project has been taken up by companies that were preparing to move to start operations from there in the coming weeks and months.
It-Torca says that the Nationalist Party’s executive wanted the Opposition to vote in favour of civil unions but once the matter was discussed in the Parliamentary group, leader Simon Busuttil had to accept an abstention to avoid resignations.
Kullhadd says that several Nationalist MPs threatened PN leader Simon Busuttil they would resign if the party voted for the Civil Unions Bill.
Il-Mument says people within the Labour Party grassroots are angry at Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s decision to allow gay couples to adopt.
International news
Korea Herald reports rescue divers have recovered 17 bodies from the sunken ferry, bringing the confirmed death toll to 45 and reinforcing fears that many of the 256 people still unaccounted for were trapped inside.
Nepal Post announces search teams have recovered a thirteenth body from the snow and ice covering a dangerous climbing pass on Mount Everest, where an avalanche a day earlier swept over a group of Sherpa guides in the deadliest disaster on the world's highest peak.
The Sunday Tribune reports Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack ever in Nigeria's capital, as the search continued for 85 schoolgirls still missing after a mass abduction by the Islamists.
O Globo says demonstrators in Brazil have set alight vehicles in the southeastern city of Niteroi to protest the death of a young man, who was hit by crossfire in a gun battle between police and suspected drug traffickers on Good Friday.
ABC News quotes Malaysia’s acting transport minister saying the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight was at “a very critical juncture”, with area officials believing the wreckage could be in narrowing significantly over the next two days, has said.
President Putin has said he believed there was nothing to stop relations or collaboration between Russia and the West returning to normal. In an interview broadcast by the state television channel Rossiya, Putin warned that this did not depend on Russia but on its interlocutors.
Al Sumaria says an Iraqi army operation south of the city of Ramadi, in the province of Anbar, has killed 21 militiamen from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis).
Syria's regime has destroyed or surrendered almost 80 per cent of its chemical weapons arsenal. Huffington Post quotes the Head of the Joint Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and UN mission for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons, Sigrid Kaag, saying the results indicate that Damascus had accelerated its rate of elimination.
El Universal says the remains of Gabriel Garcia Marquez have been cremated in a strictly private ceremony attended by very close family and friends, according to his wishes.
Folha de Sao Paolo reports the remains of 40 newborn babies and foetuses have been found in a morgue at the Brazilian hospital.