The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports that pilots have threatened to strike over Air Malta plans to dismiss over 50 of them. The newspaper also reports a Malta University invention makes airports safer.
The Malta Independent says dismissed Air Malta employees will be offered retirement schemes similar to those at the dockyard.
In-Nazzjon quotes the prime minister saying the government wants to save Air Malta because it is vital for the country.
l-orizzont says a trailer driven by a Maltese driver toppled over in Sicily. It also says that Air Malta pilots may strike.
The overseas press
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has said China will lend a helping hand to European countries experiencing financial difficulties. The Financial Times says that during a visit to Britain, he said China had increased its investments in government bonds of some EU countries, demonstrating Beijing’s continuing confidence in the eurozone. Wen arrived in Britain from Budapest and will end his European visit in Berlin, where he is expected to discuss the debt crisis with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Wen, who is seen as the most pro-Europe leader in the Chinese politburo, has voiced China’s willingness to prop up the region’s struggling economies, pledging to buy an unspecified amount of Greek government bonds during a visit to the debt-ridden country last October.
Associated Press reports that rebels in Libya's western mountains said they have advanced and were fighting Muammar Gaddafi's forces in the strategic town of Bair al-Ghanam, some 80 kilometers southwest of Tripoli, creating pressure against government troops on a second front. The rebels' claims follows weeks of intense fighting in the Nafusa mountains in which opposition forces have slowly pushed Gaddafi troops back toward the capital. The BBC reports the rebels’ advance was being strongly resisted.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera says African Union leaders meeting in Pretoria have welcomed Gaddafi’s decision to stay out of negotiations to end the four-month war, in what appears to be a concession by the Libyan strongman. AU leaders announced the agreement in a statement following talks aimed at ending hostilities in battle-ravaged Libya. Heads of states from the Republic of Congo, Mali, Mauritania and Uganda attended the talks hosted by South African President Jacob Zuma.
Sky News reports Gaddafi has renewed his offer to let the people of Libya vote on whether he should continue to lead the country. Col. Gaddafi has said that he would step down if he lost Nato-assisted elections. The British broadcaster said th proposal was unlikely to muster much interest from his opponents within the country, but it could widen differences inside Nato and allow him a dignified way out.
Jeune Afrique reports that suspected members of an Islamic sect bombed three beer gardens in northeastern Nigeria, killing 25 people and wounding 12 other. Police blamed the attack on a group known locally as Boko Haram, which earlier this month carried out an attack on the national police headquarters in Abuja.
A senior Conservative party member and friend of the Prime Minister has been found dead in a backstage portable toilet at Glastonbury festival. Successful businessman Christopher Shale, 55, chairman of West Oxfordshire Conservative Association, was discovered by officers shortly after 9am on Sunday. The Daily Mail says that the senior Tory was called in by No.10 over his criticism of the party and 20 hours later he was found dead. One report claimed it as a heart attack, another said it was suicide.
The New York Times says the state's gay parade turned into a carnival-like celebration of same-sex marriage on Sunday as hundreds of thousands of revelers rejoiced at the state's new law giving gay couples the same marital rights as everyone else. The star of Sunday's show was undoubtedly New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who fought to get the bill over its final hurdle in the state Senate. The historic law makes New York the sixth state to extend full marriage rights to gay couples and doubles the number of gay people nationwide who are eligible to marry.
Clarin reports that one of the great clubs of South American football, River Plate, has been relegated from the Argentine first division for the first time in their 110-year history. River needed to win by two clear goals but the team managed only a 1-1 draw against Belgrano de Cordoba. The match had to be abandoned in the final minute, amid chaotic scenes. Police fired water hoses at the stands, following a pitch invasion by furious River fans.