The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says University lecturers have backed the collective agreement agreed between their trade unions and the university last week. It also gets reactions to the Ombudsman call for action on hospital waiting lists, saying that doctors are blaming staff and bed shortages for the situation.
The Malta Independent leads with the publication yesterday of the National Climate Change Report and says Enemalta is prepared to spend in excess of €1.2 billion to reduce carbon emissions.
l-orizzont says the European Parliament has approved a resolution which would allow marriage for gay couples.
In-Nazzjon says the Climate Change Report makes 37 proposals for change. It also quotes President Eddie Fenech Adami praising George Abela’s suitability for the presidency.
Press in Britain
The Sun reports on the heroic pilot who crash landed a failing plane in New York's freezing Hudson River and saved the lives of all the 155 passengers.
The Daily Mirror carries a photograph of all the passengers standing on the wings before being taken to safety.
The Daily Mail says the Airbus 320 was brought down by a flock of birds.
The passengers’ 'great escape' also makes The Times, alongside reports that Heathrow's third runway could be built five years earlier than planned as the government rushes to prevent opponents from blocking the expansion.
The Independent warns that the Government faces a long and bitter struggle with environmentalists to secure the expansion of Heathrow.
The Daily Express says swearing has become the curse of modern British daily life with nine out of 10 adults uttering profanities every day.
The Guardian reports David Cameron is to announce his desire to build a £1bn high-tech national grid that would tell people when it is cheapest to use electricity.
And elsewhere…
The New York Times quotes an aviation expert saying Capt Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot who managed to safely land US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River, did "absolutely everything right New York mayor Michael Bloomberg hailed Capt Sullenberger, saying he did a "masterful job".
Blesk says the Czech EU presidency has joined the UN in condemning Israel’s bombing of the UN Refugee Agency’s headquarters in Gaza City, in which a UN spokesman claimed that the Israelis used phosphorous bombs.
Al-Jezeera reports that as Israel intensifies its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, ceasefire negotiations appear to be making headway
Al-Quds al-Arabi says Hamas are coming under increasing pressure as Israeli forces push deeper into Gaza's urban areas. Yesterday, the militant group's interior minister Saeed Seyyam was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Die Welt quotes German Chancellor Angela Merkel warning Russia that it is in danger of losing its credibility as an energy supplier over the current gas row with Ukraine. She added that she would take up the issue in a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Berlin today.
Börzen-Zeitung says the European Central Bank has cut its interest rates by half a percentage point to two percent. The move, which is in line with expectations, matches the bank's lowest ever rate. However the ECB's rate is still relatively high compared to an almost zero percent rate in the United States and Japan.
The Washington Post leads with President Bush’s farewell address to the nation in which he paid tribute to his successor. He said Barack Obama's story reflected "the enduring promise" of America and his inauguration would be "a moment of hope and pride" for the nation. Of his own tenure, Mr Bush said "there have been good days and tough," but the role had been "a privilege of a lifetime".
La Stampa reports on a landmark trial of six managers from Turin's ThyssenKrupp steelworks over the deaths of seven workers in a fire in 2007, where one is charged with murder and the other with manslaughter. Although relatives of the seven workers reached a compensation agreement with the German multinational in June for a reported total pay-out of €12.97 million, many were in court on Thursday wearing t-shirts with pictures of the victims' faces.
In Italy, Bolzano’s Alto Adige reports that a jilted Italian lover sent e-mails containing camera-phone recordings of his affair to 150 friends and relatives of the woman who dropped him, including her husband. The message reportedly contained detailed verbal descriptions of the pair's sexual activities as well as attached videos and photos. The victim, a 40-year-old Bolzano mother, reported the case to police who have opened an investigation.