The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times and most of the other newspapers lead with agreement by EU leaders to launch a pilot project in Malta for the transfer of migrants. The Times also reports that controversial development works in Bahrija have been stopped by the owner, Victor Scerri, pending an investigation which he himself requested.
The Malta Independent says 57% of University students agree on the introduction of divorce but still view marriage as a lifelong commitment.
In-Nazzjon says the EU has allocated €6.1 m for the Maltese manufacturing sector.
l-orizzont keeps its focus on the Bahrija development with the heading Bahh-rija. It also says the immigration problem is being made worse by a decision for migrants to be expelled from the open centres after a given period.
The Press in Britain
Prime Minister Gordon Brown tells The Guardian he is 'hurt' by critics of his performance. He insists he can win the next election for Labour but could also walk away from Downing Street tomorrow.
The Daily Mail warns of Scotland Yard being on the MP expense trail.
The Daily Express says four MPs and a member of the House of Lords are under criminal investigation for expense fraud.
The Times reports that MPs are planning to release further expense reports in spreadsheet format, thereby sparing close scrutiny of individual receipts.
The Daily Telegraph turns the heat up on the expense scandal by publishing a 68-page magazine of MPs' uncensored receipts and also reports about council tax claims.
According to The Independent, two patients with inoperable prostate cancer have made dramatic recoveries after receiving a dose of an experimental drug that is creating excitement among cancer specialists.
The Daily Star and The Sun report Peter Andre is distraught over the alleged behaviour of estranged wife Jordan's sex orgies.
And elsewhere...
EU observer reports that EU leaders have agreed to provide the legal guarantees sought by the Irish government on abortion, neutrality and taxation. The legal guarantees do not change the Lisbon Treaty but will be incorporated in the next treaty agreed between EU leaders, which will probably be a document to approve Croatia's membership.
Meanwhile, The Irish Independent says that the anti-Lisbon Treaty camp has warned the Irish government to expect a vigorous debate leading to the second referendum, branding EU talks securing Irish guarantees as "an elaborate charade". It claimed the assurances had not addressed voters' concerns and accused EU chiefs of wanting to create a superpower rivalling the US.
Al Jazeera reports Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said Iran's disputed presidential vote was not rigged and warned protesters to halt massive demonstrations demanding a new election or be held responsible for creating chaos. He asked how could President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have rigged a difference of 11million votes.
Pravda says Russia's air force lost its second fighter plane in three days when an Su-24 crashed in southern Russia, but both pilots survived. The air force immediately grounded its fleet of Su-24s, a Soviet era plane.
The Washington Post reports US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had successful two-hour surgery to repair her broken right elbow. Mrs Clinton tripped and fell in the State Department's basement on Wednesday while en route to the White House for a meeting.
Florida Post says police are searching for five children all aged about 10 who recently kissed a bat, now known to have rabies.
Journal de Monaco reports that police have arrested at least one suspected member of the "Pink Panther" gang international jewel thieves. The group is suspected of having carried out raids in Monte Carlo, France, Switzerland, Germany, the United States, Japan and the United Arab Emirates, where the Panthers carried out a spectacular heist.
Beijing Times says more than 40 million Chinese are to be unemployed in 2009 and the government wants to tackle the problem by training more to become housekeepers. Housekeeping is a growth business in China, as an increasing number of middle-class families can afford this service, and need it, because both spouses work.
Le Parisien reports that a French woman has been sentenced to eight years in jail for killing three of her newborn babies, burning one corpse and hiding the others in a freezer. Veronique Courjault had admitted to smothering two baby boys to death at her expat home in South Korea in 2002 and 2003, and a third child born in France in 1999.
De Telegraaf reports Dutch police have arrested twin brothers on suspicion of robbery after their alleged 14-year-old victim spotted a picture of them following him on Google's Street View map. The case was the first time Street View images had been used in a Dutch criminal investigation.
Asahi Shimbun announces the death of Tomoji Tanabe, the world's oldest man. He was 113. He had five sons and three daughters, 25 grandchildren, 53 great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren. Mr Tanabe drank milk every morning, did not drink alcohol and did not smoke.