The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta says some financial operators feel the changes in the citizenship scheme are not strong enough to fend off international criticism.
In-Nazzjon says there are more problems in the Gozo health sector and the MUMN has ordered industrial action.
l-orizzont highlights a court decision rejecting cardiologist Albert Fenech’s call to stop the division of the cardiac unit at Mater Dei hospital.
The Malta Independent says the prime minister hinted at hesitation to save migrants due to international laws.
The overseas press
In the aftermath of two suicide bombings within 24 hours which killed at least 31 people in the Russian city of Volgograd, USA Today reports that with less than six weeks before the Sochi Games, athletes around the globe are “keeping an eye on the terror threats in Russia”.
Fox News reports Israel has released 26 Palestinian prisoners – convicted in deadly attacks against Israelis – as part of a US-brokered package to restart Mideast peace talks.
USA Today says as many as a dozen oil tank cars burst into flames in eastern North Dakota on Monday after a collision with another train. The incident, the latest in a string of incidents that have raised alarms over growing oil-rail traffic, caused at least five powerful explosions just a mile outside of the small town of Casselton.
President Salva Kiir of South Sudan has ruled out a power-sharing agreement with rebel leader Riek Machar to try to end ethnic violence which has left thousands dead. President Kiir told the BBC that Machar, his former deputy, should not be rewarded with power for rebelling. Regional leaders have set today Tuesday as a deadline to peace talks to begin.
al-Arabiya report three people, including a suicide bomber, were killed early today in three explosions targeting security offices in Aden, the main city in southern Yemen, where the government and allied tribal militias are fighting against Islamist militants allied to al-Qaeda.
Al Ayyam says 44 Iraqi MPs announced their resignation after security forces demolished a Sunni anti-government protest site and detained a lawmaker.
RIA Novosti reports most of the passengers and some of the crew stranded on a Russian scientific expedition ship off Antarctica will be evacuated by a Chinese helicopter should the weather allow. The ship Akademik Shokalskiy has been stuck since Christmas Eve after a blizzard's whipping winds pushed the sea ice around the ship, freezing it in place. The ship is not in danger of sinking, and there are several week's worth of supplies for the 74 scientists, tourists and crew on board.
London’s The Times has named Russian President Putin its “Person of the Year”. The newspaper says that 2013 had become the year of great accomplishments for the Russian leader. T
Pope Francis has been named Best Dressed Man of 2013 by Esquire magazine, which equates his simple robes with the style he has brought to the Catholic Church since taking over in March. Since becoming head of the Catholic Church last March, Pope Francis has not only won Time's coveted award, but it was also revealed that he was the most talked about human being on the Internet. Despite the church still being beset by scandal, the Pope has won admirers for his humble approach, including gestures such hugging a man with tumors all over his body.
There has been an outpour of support around the world for the German former motor racing champion Michael Schumacher who is in a critical condition after a skiing accident in the French Alps. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she and her government were, like millions of Germans, “extremely shocked”.