The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says that Air Malta has confirmed that 511 jobs will be shed. It also says banks are facing bigger credit risks.
The Malta Independent quotes the prime minister saying Malta will never be satisfied with just migration repatriation assistance.
In-Nazzjon says the EU pilot project for the repatriation of migrants will continue.
l-orizzont also reports how voluntary early retirement is being offered to 511 Air Malta workers.
The overseas press
The Washington Times reports that the US House of Representatives has dealt a symbolic blow to American military intervention in Libya by rejecting a resolution to authorize operations. But a second resolution, which aimed to limit funding for the military action in Libya was also rejected. The congressional action has no immediate effect on American involvement. House Republican leaders pushed for the vote, saying the president broke the law by failing to seek congressional approval for the three-month-old war.
France 24 says President Nicolas Sarkozy has criticised the low US profile in the international campaign in Libya, saying that France and Britain are carrying most of the burden. He said they would continue the campaign until Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi leaves. Seven Nato members are now participating in air strikes: Britain, France, Belgium, Canada, Norway, Denmark and Italy. But most of Nato’s 28 members, including Germany, have refused to join the strike mission in Libya.
Börzen Zeitung reports EU leaders meeting in Brussels have appointed Italy's Mario Draghi as the next president of the European Central Bank. He succeeds France’s Jean-Claude Trichet on November 1. They also endorsed Croatia's membership to the bloc. The draft conclusion of the summit said that membership could be concluded in June, with the accession treaty signed by December. The EU, the IMF and Greece reached an agreement on Thursday on a stringent austerity plan which includes tax rises and spending cuts in exchange for a €12 billion loan, which would allow Athens to escape bankruptcy. In protests at the cuts, Greek unions have announced a two-day strike starting Tuesday.
Al Jazeera says at least 15 people have been killed in Syria in the latest protests calling for the removal of President Assad. Tens of thousands of people across the country again took to the streets after Friday prayers and the security forces responded with teargas and gunfire.
The New York Times says the UN Security Council has expressed its grave concern over the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Yemen following the killing of five people in Aden. The Security Council urged maximum restraint by all sides in Yemen and called for new efforts to reach a political settlement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son has posted disparaging comments about Arabs and Muslims on his Facebook page. The newspaper Haaretz found that earlier this year 19-year-old Yair Netanyahu posted that Muslims “celebrate hate and death”. He wrote after Palestinians killed five members of an Israeli family that “terror has a religion and it is Islam”. A lawyer for the Netanyahu family said the comments were those of a “teenager” and were “taken out of context in an attempt to defame the prime minister and his family”. Haaretz said the comments were quickly removed.
The Arusha Times reports that a UN court in Tanzania has jailed Rwanda’s former minister for family and women affairs and her son, a former militia leader, for life for their role in the 1994 genocide. They were both found guilty of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape. Nyiramasuhuko is the only woman charged before the court so far.
The African says UN aid workers investigating allegations of widespread rape in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo say the number of victims has risen to 170. The UN refugee agency said the attacks on two villages in south Kibu happened earlier this month. The attackers are said to be former rebels who has been integrated in the army and then deserted.
Variety announces the death of Peter Falk, the American actor famous for his role in the TV detective series Columbo. He was 83. Falk, who had been suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's disease,had won four Emmys for his starring role in Columbo, which ran from 1971 until 2003, and one for his role in the TV drama The Price of Tomatoes. He received Oscar nominations for Murder, Inc. in 1960, and the comedy-drama Pocketful of Miracles, a year later. He also starred in the films The Princess Bride, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World; Robin and the Seven Hoods, The Great Race, and The Cheap Detective.