The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times refers to a European schools survey (ESPAD) and says cannabis consumption by Maltese young people doubled in eight years. It also reports the arson attack on a prison warder in Zabbar.
The Malta Independent also leads with the ESPAD survey. In other stories, it says the Barrakka lift will be rebuilt by 2011; and a hoteliers’ survey has found that the first quarter of 2009 is expected to be worse than the last three months of 2008.
l-orizzont says alcohol and drug abuse are growing among young people. It also features the attack on the prison warder and says port workers have filed court action against the Malta Dockers Union and the Malta Maritime Authority, demanding funds which they say they are owed.
In-Nazzjon also starts with the rebuilding of the Barrakka lift. In other stories it says the PN General Council meeting opens this evening.
The Press in Britain
The Daily Mail says Gordon Brown wants to change the law governing the Royal line of succession.
The Daily Express reports that a million migrants landed in Britain in the past four years.
The Independent says US President Barack Obama is planning to end the 'drift' in Afghanistan with a fresh offensive against Taliban fighters.
The Times says Britain is getting ready to send more troops to Afghanistan following a request from the United States.
The Daily Telegraph says Gordon Brown has opened talks with Buckingham Palace on the law which bars royals from succeeding to the throne if they marry Roman Catholics.
The Guardian says a group of Iraqi kidnappers claim to have reached a deal over the release of British hostages.
The Financial Times reports that Barclays' loan book is in the final stages of an extreme stress test by regulators amid expectations it may be forced to seek government assistance.
Robbie Williams has told the Daily Mirror he's ready to rejoin ‘Take That’ – 14 years after his bitter departure.
And elsewhere...
Berliner Morgenpost quotes a Council of Europe special investigator, Swiss MP Dick Marty, telling a German parliamentary committee that NATO countries were aware the United States was conducting secret rendition flights of terror suspects for possible torture following the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Die Welt says German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on NATO to work more closely with the United Nations and Russia. In a speech to the German parliament, Merkel said the Cold War times were over, but said that Russia too must send a signal of trust.
The Washington Post announces senior US, Japanese and South Korean negotiators will meet in Washington today to discuss rising tensions with North Korea as it prepares to launch a rocket in defiance of international warnings. The US Navy, meanwhile, moved two US warships with missile tracking systems to waters off Japan.
Prague Observer says Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has formally submitted the resignation of his government.
Börzen Zeitung reports that the World Trade Organisation has warned that protectionism is threatening the recovery of the global economy. The WTO says protectionist measures by governments could strangle international trade and undercut the effectiveness of moves to boost economic growth.
La Stampa reports that a 63-year-old man and his 41-year-old son have been arrested by Italian police for allegedly sexually abusing their respective daughters over three decades. The father accused of abusing his daughter for 25 years, starting when she was nine and prosecutors believe the son also abused his sister and then later his own four daughters, who are aged between six and 20.