The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta leads with the publication of Sai Mizzi’s contract, showing she has a basic annual salary of €74,000. It also reports that the European Parliament today votes on the election of Jean-Claude Juncker as EP President.
The Malta Independent reports that Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis has hit out at illegal restaurants.
In-Nazzjon says Sai Mizzi’s contract confirms that she has a pay packet of €13,000 monthly.
l-orizzont says Sai Mizzi’s pay is €3,700 monthly and not €13,000 as the PN had claimed.
The overseas press
Libya Herald announces that the Libyan government was considering asking for international help to end the fighting between rival militias at Tripoli International Airport.
Meanwhile, Lana news agency reports seven people have died and 49 others were wounded in the clashes that took place in Benghazi between the security forces and the militia jihadist Ansar Al Sharia.
al bawaba says both Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas have said they would consider proposals for a ceasefire in Gaza put forward by Egypt.
The Jerusalem Post reports one person was wounded in late last night from the fragments of a rocket fell on the city of Eilat, the tourist centre in the far south of Israel.
The BBC announces William Hague has stepped down as British Foreign Secretary and would stay in the cabinet as Leader of the Commons. He is to leave Parliament at the 2015 general election after 26 years as MP. As part of a significant ministerial reshuffle, veteran Conservative MP Ken Clarke has also stepped down. Opposition Labour Party described the reshuffle as “the massacre of the moderates”.
The Times says the Anglican Church would try a second time to approve the ordination of women bishops.
Moscow is considering a retaliatory “surgical strike” after Ukrainian artillery shells hit the Russian region of Rostov on Sunday, killing one person and seriously injuring two. Kommersant said the Kremlin knew where they were firing from.
Börzen Zeitung says the International Monetary Fund has warned that the eurozone recovery was weak and the region risked falling into deflation. As a consequence, the IMF lowered the estimated GDP growth for the area to 1.1 from 1.2 per cent, confirming growth expected in 2015 at 1.5 per cent.
La Sicilia reports a former parish priest in Palermo, Fr Aldo Nuvola, has been sentenced to six years in prison for paedophilia. The prosecution had asked for a nine-year prison sentence for the priest charged with having sexual relations with a number of minors. He was also ordered to pay compensation.
Huffington Post says the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina was the most followed sports event in the history of Facebook with 88 million active fans and over 280 million interactions including posts, comments and likes, beating the 245 million recorded for American football's Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Pope Francis was “not happy” that his native Argentina lost 1-0 to Germany in Sunday's World Cup final. O Globo says Blatter told a news conference he had received a message from Pope Francis. “He certainly was not happy about Argentina's defeat, but he told me that football is good because it united people and gave lots of excitement.”