The following are the top stories in Malta's newspapers on Friday.

Times of Malta leads with a call by the Gozo Tourism Association to extend the ban on demolition and excavation in summer to the entire island, insisting that the whole of Gozo is considered to be a tourist zone.

The newspaper reports prominently on Thursday’s compilation of evidence against a man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend in Sliema that has been delayed after the defence challenged Malta's new femicide law. Fabian Eliuth Garcia Parada denies the aggravated crime of femicide, which was introduced in the Criminal Code in 2022, and makes him liable to a harsher punishment.

The Malta Independent and L-orizzont also report on the murder court case that was due to begin on Thursday but was deferred until next month.

In-Nazzjon and The Malta Independent also report how patients at Mater Dei Hospital were being forced into “undignified” situations as they waited for beds to free up. Adrian Delia, the shadow minister for health, spoke on Thursday about persistent issues with long waiting lists at the country’s main hospital and warned that a staff shortage and staff burnout were close to leading Malta’s healthcare into a “critical emergency”.

In-Nazzjon separately reports how certain factions within the Labour Party were pushing the idea for former leader Joseph Muscat to return to politics.

L-orizzont meanwhile leads with comments by Foreign Minister Ian Borg that the “illegal” war of Russia in Ukraine topped Malta’s agenda as chair of the OSCE.

The newspaper also reports on a case of a man who was a victim of domestic violence at home. He claims his wife threatened him with a gun.