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

Times of Malta reports of confusion at state schools, as few students turned up at schools which opened despite the teachers’ two-day strike called over the COVID-19 situation. The teachers’ action will go into its second day as planned.

It also reports how congress formally certified Joe Biden as the next US president, dealing a hammer blow to Donald Trump whose supporters stormed the Capitol, triggering unprecedented scenes of mayhem in the seat of American democracy.

The Malta Independent carries similar stories on its front page. In its top story, it reports on how Biden's win was confirmed by Congress, while in a separate piece it reports on the teachers' strike, deemed "a big success" by the unions.

l-orizzont meanwhile reports on how a number of schools still opened despite the strike. In another article, it refers to comments by the Malta Chamber of SMEs, which said that most businesses did not complain about Christmas and New Year's Day sales. 

In-Nazzjon also refers to the teachers' strike, saying meetings between the unions, stakeholders and the government will continue on Friday (today). In a separate article, it notes that the COVID-19 death toll reached 228.