The following are the top stories in the local and international press today.
Most of the national newspapers today lead with the elevation of Prospero Grech to Cardinal.
The Sunday Times leads with a report on the celebrations in Rome in which Mgr Grech became Malta’s second cardinal. It also has an interview with one of the Libyan pilots who a year ago defected to Malta so as not to bomb their people.
MaltaToday says that the families of 400 former drydocks workers have filed court cases claiming exposure to asbestos while working on US ships. It also has a story on a man who managed to make his way working into Mater Dei claiming he is a doctor, without having the necessary qualifications.
The Malta Independent on Sunday says that no patients have been kept in corridors at Mater Dei hospital since last Wednesday due to an increase in the number of beds.
Il-Mument leads with the PN’s manifesto and candidates for the March elections. It speaks on claims by Labour MEP Edward Scicluna in 2009 that wage cuts could save jobs.
It-Torca leads with a story in which the General Workers Union is calling for an apology from GRTU director general Vince Farrugia, who it claimed called workers rats.
Illum says that the OPM was refusing to say if its consultants’ pay was being approved by cabinet. In another story it says that Malta Transport had refused to publish the employment contract of its Chief Enforcement Officer.
Kullhadd leads with Labour leader Joseph Muscat’s speech on 50th anniversary of mortal sin elections. It also has a feature about the Nadur carnival.
The international press
Diplomats in Vienna say Iran was preparing a greatly-expanded nuclear programme at an underground site. They said it was ready to install thousands of new machines to enrich uranium at the facility. A BBC correspondent said the machines could speed up the production of material that could be used for nuclear warheads. Iran insists its nuclear programme is only for generating electricity.
The Economic Times reports that two Iranian warships have entered the Mediterranean. Iranian Navy Commander Admiral Habibollah Sayari told Irna news agency the deployment was to show off the "power" of the Islamic republic and aimed against Israel and supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad. Sayari added that the two units crossed the Suez Canal for the second time since the Islam revolution in1979. Israel defined it "a provocation".
Balkan Times says a referendum in Latvia has largely rejected a proposal to have Russian the second official language. Initial results say three quarters of those casting their votes elected not to change the constitution.
Bloomberg quotes the governor of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco, predicting that the eurozone's third-largest economy will see a return to growth next year, but he confirmed forecasts that 2012 would be a "year of recession". Speaking at a financial forum in Parma, Visco also described Italian banks as being sound in terms of having adequate capital, but cautioned that the outlook for their profit recovery this year was not good. His speech followed the release of data by the national statistics agency finding that Italy's economy slid into recession in the last quarter of 2011.
Aftonbladet quotes police in northern Sweden sayong a man has been rescued from a snowed-in car after being stranded in freezing temperatures without food for at least two months. Officers said the man was found huddling in sleeping bag in the car after the top of his vehicle was spotted in the snow on a deserted forest road just south of the Arctic Circle. The man could barely move or speak. He told police he had been without food since December.
Deutsche Welle reports that the Italian docu-drama Cesare Deve Morire (Caesar Must Die) has won the highest prize at the Berlin Film Festival, the Golden Bear. Filmed in black and white, the film follows a group of real life convicts in a high security prison as they rehearse the Shakespearean play Julius Caeser. It was directed by the veteran film-making brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani.
New Jersey Globe says some 1,500 family and friends have attended the funeral of music star Whitney Houston in Newark, New Jersey. Houston's cousin, singer Dionne Warwick, presided over the ceremony at the New Hope Baptist Church. Stevie Wonder and Kevin Costner were among the celebrities paying tribute in person. Houston, 48, was found dead in a hotel in Los Angeles a week ago.
Houston's ex-husband, Bobby Brown, arrived at the service, but AP news agency reported that he left again shortly afterwards in an apparent disagreement over seating arrangements. He later said he had left her funeral because he "did not want to create a scene". He said he and his children were seated at the service but were repeatedly asked to move. Brown was seen to walk to Houston's flower-covered coffin at the front of New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, and touch it before walking out.
Their tumultuous 15-year marriage came to an end in 2007 following allegations of domestic abuse and Houston's much-publicised battle with drug addiction.
El Universal reports that the Mexican Football Federation is backing a decision by the country’s premier league clubs to ban a major sports newspaper, Record, from their games. The federation said it supported the ban issued by the sports club Deportivo Guadalajara, better now as Ciba, in protest at the paper’s negative coverage. The paper’s director said the ban ws an attack on freedom of speech.