The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta says Malta has proposed that African countries that do not accept immigrants should loke EU aid.
The Malta Independent quotes the UHM saying employers should pay for second pillar pensions, but not maternity leave.
MaltaToday says Mepa has retained the legal firm of the President's son in an unbroken 15-year run.
l-orizzont highlights a court judgement ordering a kindergarten and a teacher to pay a total of €291,000 in compensation to a severely injured child.
In-Nazzjon reports comments by Simon Busuttil that the prime minister did not achieve any concrete results on immigration at last week's EU summit.
The overseas press
The New York Times reports America’s top spymaster told the House Intelligence Committee that the White House had long been aware in general terms of the National Security Agency’s overseas eavesdropping. James R. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, testified that NSA had kept senior officials on the National Security Council informed of surveillance it was conducting in foreign countries. He defended spying on foreign allies as necessary and said such scrutiny of America's friends – and vice versa – was commonplace.
Israeli army radio Galei Zahal has announced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Interior Minister Gideon Saar have agreed to build 1,500 new homes in the east Jerusalem settlement of Ramat Shlomo. The early-morning report came shortly after Israel freed 26 veteran Palestinian prisoners – the second of four batches to be released as part of a deal that set in motion the current Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Tribune de Genève quotes the World Health Organisation confirming an outbreak of polio in Syria for the first time in over a decade – warning the disease threatens to spread among an estimated half-million children who have never been immunized because of the civil war.
A test that identifies seven classes of breast cancer could be available within two years. Writing in the British Journal of Cancer, Nottingham scientists say it could help doctors tailor treatment better and boost survival rates.
Gardening, carrying out DIY jobs and tending to hobbies can cut the risk of a heart attack or stroke by more than a quarter among people 60 and older. A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that sitting all day lowers the metabolic rate to the minimum, while standing and moving increase it. Public health authorities say people should engage in at least 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous activity. At the same time, researchers say, lots of sitting has been found to increase the risk of several diseases.
The Palo Alto daily News reports the house where Steve Jobs grew up and created his first computer has been declared a historic landmark. It is a one-storey building, in Los Altos, California, where his parents moved to in 1968. In it now-famous garage, Jobs in 1976, created his first 100 pieces of his famous Apple1.
Ansa says the Moldovan dancer who once former captain Francesco Schettino for his role in the Costa Concordia shipwreck has admitted that she had an affair with him. The ex-commander is on trial for multiple manslaughter and dereliction of duty.
Support for the death penalty is at a four-decade low in the United States, though most Americans – three out of five – still favour it. AFP quotes a new Gallup poll which found 60 per cent of Americans say they backed capital punishment for convicted killers. That is the lowest figure since November 1972 when the death penalty had 57 per cent of Americans' support. About 44 per cent of respondents said the death penalty was not imposed often enough.
The leaning Tower of Pisa will one day straighten up, thanks to modern engineering. Giuseppe Bentivoglio, technical director of the monument, said the 56-metre bell tower's lean towards the south is shrinking thanks to an 11-year restoration project completed in 2001.