The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times like the other newspapers, leads with the announcement that ministers wil refund part of their honoraria. The newspaper also reports that Maltese patients will from 2013 be refunded for costs of medical procedures abroad.
The Malta Independent says two Maltese remain at large after escaping a Tunisian prison
In-Nazzjon reports that Cisco will expend in SmartCity.
l-orizzont describes the honoraria changes as cosmetic. It also reports that the GWU is not satisfied with the proposals being made by the government to give the Police Association trade union status.
The overseas press
The Washington Post quotes Chinese President Hu Jintao saying China had made "enormous progress" on human rights but acknowledged that "a lot still needs to be done". During a joint press conference at the White House with his US counterpart Barack Obama, Hu also stressed "national circumstances" were different in China. The US President urged Hu to uphold human rights, saying it could prove key to China's future success. He also acknowledged Beijing and Washington had different opinions on human rights and freedoms.
Assabah says Tunisian prosecutors have launched an investigation into the overseas assets of deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family. The inquiry would examine possible illegal transactions through bank accounts, real estate and other assets belonging to Ben Ali, his wife Leila Trabelsi and other relatives. In central Tunis around 2,000 protestors rallied against the inclusion of old regime figures in their new government.
Tribune de Genève announces that the United Nations was sending a team of human rights officials to Tunisia to look into weeks of violence and advise the new coalition government. More than 100 people are known to have been killed in the violence over the past month.
Meanwhile, Al Ahram reports that Arab League Secretary-General Amr Mussa has warned that the grievances of ordinary Tunisians that sparked the uprising were linked to "unprecedented anger" in the region. Speaking at an Arab economic summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Mussa warned "the Arab soul is broken by poverty, unemployment and general recession". However many leaders disagreed there was any comparison between their nations and Tunisia. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said the prospect of a Tunisia-style uprising in Egypt was "nonsense."
Blick says that just hours after his trial on fresh charges of breaching banking secrecy, whistleblower Rudolf Elmer has been arrested in Zurich. The former Swiss banker had escaped with a fine of €5,500 instead of a prison sentence for making secret data public in 2007 and threatening an employee at his former employers. Swiss police say Elmer was arrested on the suspicion of breaking banking secrecy laws by handing over CDs earlier this week in London to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks.
Ansa says Karima El Mahrough, the 18-year-old Moroccan belly dancer at the centre of an investigation involving Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and underage prostitution, has said the premier had “never touched” her – “not even with a finger”. In an interview on one of Berlusconi's TV channels, Ruby Rubacuore said she esteemed him as a person and for helping her without anything in return. Berlusconi denies wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a plot by prosecutors and the media.
Meanwhile, Il Tempo quotes President Giorgio Napolitano saying the country was "in turmoil" over the prostitution accusations against Berlusconi. After a meeting with the premier, he urged "clarity" and said he hoped Berlusconi would respond to Milan prosecutors as soon as possible. The Vatican has not commented on the case, but the Italian bishops have called the investigation a "devastating tornado" and their newspaper Avvenire said the implication of Italy's head of government in the probe was "hurtful and upsetting".
Metro says a collection of previously unseen photographs of Adolf Hitler sold at auction for €35,600. The collection of between 600 and 800 images, some of which have been digitally developed by the auction house, feature scenes including Hitler meeting Benito Mussolini, as well as going to an SS training camp.
Kathemerini reports that a Cypriot monk has been caught at a Greek airport with the skeletal remains of a woman in his baggage. The 56-year-old, who was detained at Athens airport, said he was taking the relics of a sainted nun back to his monastery.
Houston Chronicle says Nasa astronaut Timothy Kopra has had to pull out of a space shuttle launch after falling off his bicycle six weeks before the scheduled blast-off. Nasa replaced him with veteran spaceman Stephen Bowen who flew on the most recent shuttle flight, last May. He will assume Kopra’s spacewalking duties during the 11-day flight that has been on hold since November because of fuel tank cracks.
International Business Times reports Swiss bank UBS was revising its dress code after being mocked for suggesting employees wear skin-coloured underwear and avoid garlic breath. The bank said it is whittling down its 44-page style guide to a more modest booklet that would concentrate on how to impress customers with a polished presence and sense of Swiss precision. The original code instructed women on how to apply make-up and which perfume to wear. Men were told how to knot a tie, avoid unruly beards, garlic breath and earrings.