The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says Labour is calling on the government to be consistent in the National Bank case and let the courts decide. The government had suggested an out-of-court settlement.
The Malta Independent says the government ignored the political situation and kicked off the process for the 2013 budget yesterday. It also says there were heated exchanges yesterday as the prime minister continued to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
In-Nazzjon says the reform in education is making progress.
l-orizzont says that before the 2008 elections the prime minister told the Americans that Malta would rejoin the Partnership for Peace if he was re-elected.
The overseas press
The International Labour Organisation has said that nearly 75 million or 13 percent of young people worldwide are currently out of work with no sign that there would be any improvement in the situation for at least four more years. The Financial Times says that ILO’s “Global Employment Trends for Youth” report shows developed countries and the European Union have experienced the steepest rise in youth unemployment since the financial crisis
CNN quotes President Obama saying that Nato was unified on its plan to hand control of Afghanistan over to its own security forces by the middle of next year. Closing the summit of the alliance and its partners in Chicago, Obama said Nato troops would shift to a training and support role by then, as they prepared for their final withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
Voice of American says the UN Security Council has condemned "in the strongest terms" the suicide bombing in the Yemeni capital Sanaa that has left more than 100 people dead and 200 wounded. A council statement described the attack as a "heinous act" and vowed to combat "all forms of terrorism". Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility, saying the attack was in response to the "crimes" of the security forces who are fighting to dislodge militants from their strongholds in the south of the country.
Ansa reports that the so-called anti-politics Five Star movement of comedian Beppe Grillo pulled off a major coup on Monday when its candidate was elected mayor of Parma in a runoff with the centre-left's representative. Federico Pizzarotti prevailed with just over 60 per cent of the votes for the grassroots movement, which also won a number of runoffs in smaller towns after making big gains in the first round of local elections earlier this month.
Il Sole 24 Ore says the earthquake that struck northern Italy early on Sunday caused some €200 million euros of damage to agriculture. The Coldiretti farmers' association estimated the cost by calculating the loss of 400,000 wheels of parmesan cheese, damage to farm buildings and machinery and the loss of animals. The Emilia Romagna region's worst quake in around 700 years killed at least seven people.
According to Tirana Observer, a bus carrying university students has fallen off a cliff in Albania, leaving 11 people dead and 22 others injured. The police said the bus driver was among those killed. The bus went off the road near the town of Himare, 137 miles south of the capital, Tirana. The dynamics of the incident were still unclear.
Il Tempo says doctors in Rome have successfully implanted the world's smallest artificial heart into a 16-month old boy. The operation, the first of its kind, used an 11-gram device to simulate heart palpitations before a real heart was later transplanted last month. The child is reportedly in good condition.
Mali’s interim President Dioncounda Traore is recovering in hospital after demonstrators attacked him at his office, beating him unconscious. L’Essor reports thousands of attacked the presidential palace in Bamako, angry about a deal brokered by regional powers that extended the time Traore would stay in power for up to a year, instead of the 40 days originally agreed.
Fox News reports a former US student has been jailed for 30 days for using a webcam to secretly film his room-mate in a gay encounter. Tyler Clementi, 18, jumped to his death days after learning that Indian-born Dharun Ravi, 20, had filmed him kissing another man.
The Guardian says 450 years after the founding of the modern Royal Navy, a woman will make history today by taking command of a major British warship for the first time. Women have captained smaller vessels, such as minesweepers, but not the large frigates and destroyers, which are regarded as the bulwarks of the fleet. Breaking this significant glass ceiling is 40-year-old Commander Sarah West, who is taking charge of the modern Type 23-frigate, HMS Portland. The Royal Navy described it as a historic moment, one that may help to encourage more women to consider a career in the armed forces, where the gender imbalance is more than 10 to one. West was trained as a warfare officer and has spent time in the Gulf with HMS Sheffield. She also helped to coordinate the navy's contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.