The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times leads with the start of talks on restructuring of Air Malta. It also says that overbilled water and electricity consumers will be paid interest.
The Malta Independent says the government will outline its plans on Air Malta to the trade unions today.
In-Nazzjon also features the talks on Air Malta. It also reports that a company producing LED lights is expanding.
l-orizzont says former minister Jesmond Mugliett hit out at the government over Arms Ltd and the Smart Meters yesterday.
The overseas press
The BBC says Washington has described as “deeply disappointing” an Isreali announcement that it would built more than a thousand housing units for Jewish settlers in occupied East Jerusalem. The construction of the settlements is illegal under international law and has hampered efforts to re-launch peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The announcement comes as Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is on an official visit to the US. The US said the move was disappointing, while Palestinian officials said it was an attempt to sabotage the talks.
L’Osservatore Romano reports Pope Benedict has summoned his cardinals to Rome to discuss the Catholic Church's response to cases of sexual abuse by clergymen. The unprecedented meeting, a day before the Pope is due to create 24 new cardinals, will also discuss the procedure for accepting Anglican converts into the Church.
The International Herald Tribune says EU and numerous Western countries have dismissed Myanmar's first multi-party election in 20 years, saying it was neither free nor fair. They also repeated calls to free imprisoned opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Irrawady reports that fighting between ethnic minority rebels and Burmese government troops has sent at least 10,000 refugees across the border into Thailand after the widely-criticised election that was expected to usher in a parliament sympathetic to the military regime. Fighting raged today at key points on the border with Thailand, leaving at least 10 people wounded on both sides.
Le Matin says doctors in the Haitian capital Port au-Prince say an outbreak of cholera had reached the city. The government says more than 540 have died and some 8,000 people were being treated in hospital. Meanwhile, it was announced that at least 20 people died when Hurricane Tomas brushed past Haiti. Seven people remain missing and dozens were injured during the storm.
The Times of India says President Obama has announced his support for India’s bid for a permanent place on the UN Security Council. Addressing India’s parliament at the end of a three-day visit, he praised India’s development saying the relationship between the two countries would be a defining partnership.
Le Parisien reports former French President Jacques Chirac has been ordered to stand trial in a second corruption case regarding his 1977-to-1995 tenure as Paris mayor. Chirac is already set to be tried in March in one City Hall jobs scandal. In the new case, Chirac has faced questions about seven jobs at his former Conservative Party that were improperly paid for by City Hall or by construction companies. The two cases against Chirac, who has denied any wrongdoing, could be tried at the same time.
Los Angeles Times says the lawyer leading the US government’s inquiry into the cause of April’s huge spill in the Gulf of Messiku says he has yet to find any evidence that BP or its partners cut corners to save money. Chief Counsel Fred Bartlett said a lost had been said about BP’s safety practicies but not a single instance had been found of decisions being made to favour dollars over safety.
USA Today reports 69 children who had been forced into prostitution were freed over the last three days as a result of a coordinated investigation by the FBI along with state and local authorities. The operation took place in 40 cities across the nation and resulted in the arrest of nearly 885 people, including 99 pimps.
The New York Post says a man convicted of the brutal murders of three members of a Connecticut family has been sentenced to death for strangling paediatric nurse Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, and Michaela, who had been tied to their beds and doused with petrol. Steven Hayes, 47, had never denied his involvement in the home invasion, rape and eventual murders. His lawyers argued at trial, however, that he did not foresee that the home invasion would escalate into rape, murder and arson.