The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times quotes the prime minister saying that the Cabinet costs less, despite the pay rise because there are fewer ministers.
The Malta Independent reports that according to a nurses’ union serious problems remain at the emergency department.
In-Nazzjon quotes the prime minister saying that the government’s priority remains job creation.
l-orizzont features the tray sliding incident which saw a youth injured in Ta’Qali. It also says that 289 migrants who drowned between Sicily and Malta 14 years ago were never compensated.
The overseas press
ABC News reports US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords remained heavily sedated and in a critical condition as investigators sought to understand what motivated a gunman to carry out the assassination attempt in a rampage that left six people dead and another 12 injured. Doctors said they were encouraged by her response to brain surgery performed just 38 minutes after the incident. She was able to communicate and follow simple commands such as raising one or two fingers or squeezing the hand of surgeons.
Meanwhile, USA Today says the suspected gunman, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, has been charged with five federal counts – two for murder and three for attempted murder. While Loughner remains in federal custody, police are searching for a second man. The shooting stirred debate about the country's political tone.
According to al Jazeera TV, the atmosphere in the southern Sudan capital Juba was festive as voters as polling booths closed on the first day in a week-long independence referendum likely to create the world’s newest nation about five years after the end of a brutal civil war. The mainly Christian south is widely expected to secede from the mainly Muslim north, splitting Africa’s largest country in two. Results are now expected before February.
Icelandic politicians have blasted US demands for Twitter to hand over a member of parliament's account details. Icelandic Foreign Minister Oessur Skarphedinsson told Icelandic public radio RUV that it was not acceptable that US authorities had demanded the information. Birgitta Jonsdottir faces investigation as one of several people connected to the website WikiLeaks. Individuals whose details were requested also include WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and US Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning, alleged to have sent Wikileaks the secret diplomatic service cables.
France 24 quotes a Tunisian government statement saying the number of people killed in unrest over unemployment in the country over the past 24 hours had risen to 14. The statement said that in Thala and Kasserine, police had fired in self-defence after rioters attacked public buildings. The protests first erupted last month over a lack of freedom and jobs.
Abrar says an Iranian passenger plane with more than 100 people on board has crashed in north-western Iran, killing at least 72. The IranAir Boeing 727 was flying from Tehran when it came down and broke into pieces near the city of Orumiyeh. Thirty-three people survived.
The Daily News reports that a male model has been taken into police custody hours after his companion, a celebrity Portuguese television journalist, was found castrated and bludgeoned to death in a New York City hotel. The journalist, 65-year-old Carlos Castro, had arrived in the US in late December in the company of his young boyfriend, the model Renato Seabra, to see some Broadway shows and spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square. There had been some friction between the two men toward the end of the trip. A guest at the InterContinental said she heard the two men arguing in their room during the day Friday.
Ansa reports that an Italian pensioner in Genoa has shot dead three people including his wife before turning the gun on himself. Seventy-year-old Carlo Trabona shot himself in the head after a 30-minute stand off with police. Investigators think he became jealous when he suspected his wife was having an affair.
New Musical Express says Rihanna has set a new record as the first female solo artist in UK chart history to achieve number one singles in five consecutive years. The Official Charts Company announced her record after “What's My Name?” rose from number two to the top spot. The last solo artist to achieve the feat was Elvis Presley, who had number ones in each year from 1957 to 1963.
The Daily Star reports that David and Victoria Beckham are expecting their fourth child in the summer. The couple already have three sons – Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, eight, and Cruz, five – and the newspaper asks whether the fourth would be a girl. Former Manchester United and England star David has been married to ex-Spice Girl Victoria since 1999. The news came on the day it was also announced that 35-year-old Mr Beckham has agreed to train with Tottenham until February10.
The Daily Express says the English Football Association could launch disciplinary action against Liverpool forward Ryan Babel after he tweeted a photo of referee Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt. The mocked-up picture appeared on the winger’s official Twitter page a matter of hours after his side exited the FA Cup at the hands of United at Old Trafford. Webb, who refereed the game which the home side won 1-0, angered Liverpool by awarding a first-minute penalty against them and then sending off captain Steve Gerrard.