The following are the top stories in the Maltese and international press
The Times leads with the murder of a car dealer in Birkirkara yesterday and the decision by the European Court to ban Spring hunting this year.
The Malta Independent also leads with the murder, and also reports an address by the Governor of the Central Bank who said GDP growth is expected to slow down to under 3 percent this year.
Like the other papers, In-Nazzjon also has the Birkirkara murder on its front page, along with a report on the presentation of a petition to the MLP president calling for all party members to be eligible to vote.
L-orizzont says the Birkirkara murder was ‘mafia style' and adds that two Birkirkara men have been held for questioning. It also reports on higher milk prices as from today.
The Press in Britain...
Three newspaper focus on life in Britain's jails after a prison officers' leader claimed it is "cushy".
The Daily Telegraph also reports that inmates are enjoying such comfort in jail that they are ignoring chances to break out.
The Daily Express highlights three points: drugs are so cheap that inmates smuggle them out to sell; crooks have TV in cells and enjoy breakfast in bed; and convicts even get cash bonuses for good behaviour.
The Daily Mail reports that drug dealers are breaking into jails to sell their wares to inmates.
The Guardian says airline passengers are to be screened using automated facial recognition technology rather than identity checks by passport officers, in an attempt to improve security and help ease congestion at airports.
The Times warns that Britain faces a wave of industrial unrest this summer as unions, emboldened by Gordon Brown's climbdown after the 10p tax revolt, ballot millions of members on strike action.
The London Evening News says Gordon Brown has continued to suffer fallout from the 10p tax row as the Tories moved to a 21-year record 18-point opinion poll lead over Labour.
Metro reports on how a four-year-old girl, who dropped a piece of sausage roll, landed her mother with a £75 fine after they were pounced on by litter wardens.
The Independent says Britain's biggest banks face payouts of more than £10 billion after losing the right to charge current account holders as much as they like for unauthorised borrowing.
The Financial Times claims ambitious Government targets to ease housing shortages look "increasingly unrealistic" as the mortgage crisis hits housebuilding around the country.
The Scotsman says gas, electricity and oil production in the UK could be hit by the strike at Scotland's only oil refinery, impacting on energy prices.
The Daily Star says football star Peter Crouch has been at the centre of an extraordinary late-night love tussle in a posh club.
And elsewhere...
Berliner Morgenpost leads with the ratification by Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, of the new European Union treaty with a two-thirds majority. Christian Democrat Chancellor Angela Merkel and Social Democrat leader Kurt Beck said the EU treaty provided a solid foundation for further development of the 27-member bloc
EUobserver says the European parliament has called on Zimbabwe to immediately release the results of last month's disputed presidential election
Italy's financial daily, Il Sole 24 Ore, highlights the European airlines denunciation of plans by the Italian government to grant an emergency loan to the country's struggling national carrier, Alitalia. Rival competitors have described the bailout - worth some 300 million euros - as illegal state aid. The European Commission has also expressed doubts about the loan, saying it may contravene EU rules.
Al-Thawra quotes President Bashar al-Assad of Syria agreeing to negotiate with Israel to find common ground for peace. He said Syria had received word from Turkey that Israel was prepared to give back the occupied Golan Heights in return for peace with the Arab state. Israel has declined to comment on the reported offer.
Washington Post says the United States has accused North Korea of helping Syria build a reactor that could be used for a weapons programme. Damascus immediately rejected the allegations. US officials have suggested that UN inspectors should go to Syria to investigate.
International Herald Tribune quotes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who's in Washington, urging the US to put more impetus into the envisaged Israeli-Palestinian peace due by December.
Al-Quds reports that the Islamist movement Hamas has planned a series of protests, starting today, against the Israeli embargo on the Gaza Strip.
Le Monde quotes President Sarkozy vowing he will push for an EU agreement on whether to boycott the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.
Meanwhile, Chunichi Shimbun says the Olympic flame has arrived in Japan for a relay in Nagano, the city that hosted the 1998 Winter Olympic Games.
Variety reports that Amy Winehouse has accrued an estimated wealth of £10m - and makes her debut in this year's Sunday Times Young Music Millionaires list. The 24-year-old singer ranks 10th in the top 100 richest people in music in Britain aged 30 and under.