The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports how the Air Malta restructuring will cost €200m. It also says that Bank of Valletta has claimed victory in the La Valette Fund saga.
The Malta Independent says a slip of the tongue by the chairman of Transport Malta, where he said that this could be the last press conference with Austin Gatt, has further fuelled election speculation.
In-Nazzjon highlights Dr Gatt’s press conference, where he said that Malta’s shipping register is now the biggest in the EU. It also says that 370 have applied for Air Malta’s early retirement schemes.
l-orizzont follows up a story started yesterday, and says that a building in Strait Street has been granted a permit for an extra two storeys after having been refused in the past. It also quotes Peter Darmanin, the former PN treasurer, saying Franco Debono may abstain in Thursday’s confidence vote in order to continue to play his game.
The overseas press
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has defended Berlin's response to the eurozone debt crisis. Deutsche Welle reports that on a visit to the US, he also lashed out at what he called a "caricature of Europe" that prevailed in US politics. Westerwelle told an audience at the Brookings Institution think-tank that deep-rooted fiscal reforms rather than endless bailout packages remain critical to Europe's rescuing of indebted eurozone economies. Germany has urged heavily-indebted eurozone nations such as Greece, Italy, Ireland and Spain to quickly introduce structural reforms to supplement existing austerity measures.
According to Magyar Hirlap, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has backed down further in the legal dispute with the European Union over controversial banking reforms. The EU and IMF opposed new laws seen to limit the independence of Hungary's central bank.
ABC reports the wreck of the cruise ship Costa Concordia shifted on the undersea ledge supporting it yesterday, forcing a new suspension in rescue work and threatening plans to pump oil out of the vessel to prevent a possible environmental disaster. Seven days after the disaster, salvage crews weare unable to begin pumping remove more than 2,300 tonnes of fuel out of the wreck – a process that would take at least two weeks – until the search for survivors and bodies is called off.
Meanwhile, Italy's consumer association Codacons and two US law firms have told the BBC they would file a class-action lawsuit in the US against Costa Cruises on behalf of the passengers. They want at least €125,000 for each passenger on the ship. Costa Cruises, owned by US-based Carnival Group, has blamed the ship's captain for last week's crash, in which at least 11 people were killed. Hundreds were injured and 21 remain missing.
The Financial Times says the European Aviation Safety Agency has ordered that 20 Airbus A380s undergo a visual inspection for wing cracks. The alert stems from the mid-air engine explosion of a Qantas A380 in November 2010. Airbus has confirmed the cracking does not affect flight safety in any way.
Il Tempo reports that the Italian cabinet has adopted a fiercely-contested liberalisation programmed aimed at rescuing Italy's ailing economy. The measures, which include issuing more taxi licenses, permitting pharmacists to reduce prices on selected medicines and scrapping minimum fees for doctors and lawyers, have been fiercely opposed by Italian trade unions.
USA Today says former US speaker and Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has closed the gap on frontrunner Mitt Romney on the eve of the South Carolina Republican primary and could even pull off an upset. With the conservative vote split, the former Massachusetts governor could still win but a victory by Mr Gingrich would be a major setback for the Romney campaign.
Voice of Nigeria reports that a 24-hour curfew has been imposed in Kano after at least seven people were killed in co-ordinated bomb attacks in the northern Nigerian city. Police stations and the regional police HQ were among the targets. The militant Islamist group Boko Haram says it carried out the attacks.
Le Monde says France was considering pulling out of the international mission in Afghanistan, after an Afghan solider shot dead four unarmed French troops. President Sarkozy has suspended military training operations, and sent his defence minister to investigate the attack and establish whether French troops were safe.
Sky News reports that the body of British hostage Alan McMenemy, who was kidnapped in Iraq five years ago, has been handed in to the British Embassy in Baghdad. The security guard from Glasgow was seized from the Iraqi finance ministry, along with three other guards and an IT expert, by 100 armed men posing as police officers. Bodyguards Jason Creswell, Jason Swindlehurst, Alan MacLachlan were all killed and their bodies returned. IT specialist Peter Moore was released in December 2009.
Variety says the entertainment world is mourning two Rhythm & Blues greats: Etta James, three-time Grammy winner singer, and Johnny Otis, dubbed the "godfather of R&B”. Etta James, a pioneer of 1950s rhythm and blues and rock music known for her show-stopping hit “At Last”, died from complications of leukaemia at 73. She was an influence on performers such as Tina Turner, Bonnie Raitt, Diana Ross and Janis Joplin. Bandleader Johnny Otis, who was 90, was best known for the track “Willie and the Hand Jive”. He also wrote “Every Beat of My Heart”, a hit for Gladys Knight and the Pips in 1961.