The following are the leading stories in the Maltese and overseas press today:

The Times leads with the PN mass meeting in Sliema, quoting Dr Gonzi saying Malta needs five more years of stability. Labour leader Alfred Sant in another mass meeting urged his supporters not to believe the government. The newspaper also reports an EU survey saying people are not seeing price changes.

l-orizzont allocates the front and back pages to a picture of the MLP mass meeting held yesterday.

In-Nazzjon said the choice for the PN at the general election will be a choice for a better future. It also reports the opening of Kullegg San Inazju in Qormi.

The Malta Independent says Dr Gonzi said that every day, every vote is precious, while Dr Sant urged the people to vote Labour to fight corruption. Josie Muscat, leader of Azzjoni Nazzjonali said hunting is a legitimate hobby.

Malta Today also leads with the mass meeting under the heading Hype Sunday. It also says that Mintoff has summoned Emmy Bezzina and John Zammit who form the Alpha Liberal Party.

The Press in Britain...

The Daily Telegraph reports the bodies of at least seven children may be buried at a former care home in Jersey in what police fear is one of the worst instances of child abuse in Britain. Police kept the child abuse inquiry under wraps for two years, but then went public last November and appealed for information from victims. More than 140 victims came forward, some from as far away as Australia.

The Daily Mirror quotes an alleged former lover of Paul Gascoigne who says she witnessed the ex-England football hero's "descent into mental hell".

The Daily Mail warns thousands of consumers are having their phone company switched without their knowledge.

The Daily Express says blunders have resulted in households being overcharged £750m for council tax.

The Daily Star claims crazed fans have threatened to kill football player Martin Taylor over "the horror tackle" that broke the leg of Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva on Saturday.

The Independent features an interview with a student in Afghanistan who has been sentenced to death after a four-minute trial for downloading an article on women's rights.

The Times quotes an expert's warning that heart disease, which has been declining for 30 years, appears to be back on the rise mainly among the young.

The Guardian reports that the Independent Police Complaints Commission faces a crisis of confidence after a network of more than 100 lawyers who specialise in handling police complaints resigned from its advisory body. The paper adds the lawyers' leaders said in a letter that they were dismayed at the "poor quality of decision-making" in the organisation.

And elsewhere...

Hamburger Morgenpost leads with Christian Democratic Union's renewed electoral setback in Hamburg. Although it remained comfortably the largest party in the northern German city-state, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU lost its absolute majority. Preliminary results gave the CDU 42.6 per cent of the vote, the Social Democrats (SPD) rose to 34.1 per cent, the Greens secured 9.6 per cent and the new Left Party 6.4 per cent. The election is seen as an indicator of how federal elections in 2009 will play out.

The European commissioner for taxation and customs has called on all European Union member states to co-operate more closely to combat tax evasion. Laszlo Kovacs told Germany's Bild newspaper that this was the only way to bring enough power to bear on tax havens to persuade them to change policies that allow Europeans to illegally avoid paying taxes. Kovacs was speaking in light of a series of ongoing investigations by the German authorities. Around 700 suspects, including a number of celebrities, are said to have been implicated in a €3 billion tax fraud probe.

The Cyprus Weekly says AKEL party leader Demetris Christofias made history yesterday becoming the first communist to become Cyprus president after sailing past rival Ioannis Kasoulides. Jubilant supporters flooded the streets of Nicosia, waving Cypriot and Che Guevara flags. Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat telephoned Christofias to congratulate him and said he looked forward to substantial cooperation.

As expected, Cuba's Communist party organ Granma leads with Raúl Castro's election by the country's National Assembly as the next head of state. He succeeds his 81-year-old brother and has been acting president since Fidel handed over power before undergoing surgery in July 2006. The 76 year-old has said that he would maintain Cuba's socialist policies. Fidel Castro is to remain head of the ruling Communist Party.

Washington Post quotes consumer advocate Ralph Nader saying he will campaign to be US president because he feels the top White House contenders are too close to big business. The 73-year-old said most people are disenchanted with the Democratic and Republican parties due to a prolonged Iraq war and a shaky economy. He also ran as a candidate in 2000 and 2004 and is blamed by some Democrats for costing Al Gore victory in 2000.

The British Medical Association's The Lancet says bed sheets that monitor a sleeper's heart activity and breathing are to be tested as part of a major new European research programme. Scientists involved in the HeartCycle project will also try out hi-tech clothing fitted with heart sensors. The €20.7m-project will involve 18 research, academic, industrial and medical organisations from nine countries.

Amsterdam's Trouw says environmental campaigners have denounced the world's first commercial aircraft to be powered partly by biofuel as a publicity stunt. The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 flew from Heathrow to Amsterdam using a 20 per cent mix of coconut and babassu oil. But green groups say that biofuel crops raise food costs in developing countries, damage the environment and displace indigenous local populations.

South Wales Echo reports police are investigating whether a man choked to death while taking part in a contest with friends to see how many fairy cakes they could eat at once. The 34-year-old collapsed at a coffee shop in Swansea, and was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later. Detectives, who say the death is not suspicious, are awaiting a post-mortem exam to determine the cause of death.

South China Morning Post predicts a Plymouth boy is set to become Britain's youngest ever male Olympian after he qualified for the Beijing Games in the 10-metre dive competition. Tom Daley, 13, took bronze in the 10m synchro event at the FINA Diving World Cup which was also held in Beijing. He will be 14 years and 81 days old when the Olympic competition begins in August, which would see him take the title from 1936 diver Fred Hodges.