The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
All the local newspapers feature on their front page the death of a woman from swine flu yesterday.
The Times says the death was not a surprise, given that the woman was elderly and had chronic heart and respiratory conditions. It also reports a statement by the Malta Maritime Authority that the hijacked cargo shop Arctic Sea never disappeared, despite what was said on the media.
The Malta Independent says consumers have complained of milk having turned sour before its expiry date. The health authorities are investigating.
MaltaToday midweek says allegations have been made by a young woman of having been beaten by police at St Julian's police station. It also reports that a Viagra conman is alleged to have chanelled the money through the facilities of local banks.
In-Nazzjon reports that the local aquaculture industry now has exports of €100,000.
l-orizzont said that in the Delimara power station extension, Enemalta did not get what it sought.
The Press in Britain...
Afghanistan again dominates the front pages of a number of newspapers as a Taliban suicide bomber attacked a Nato convoy on the outskirts of Kabul killing up to 10 people and wounding more than 50 - just days before the presidential election that the group has vowed to disrupt.
The Daily Telegraph reports General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the British Army, has called for more resources in Afghanistan after the government admitted key staff shortages were undermining operations to protect troops from Taliban roadside bombs.
The Daily Mirror devotes its front page to the widow of soldier Sean Upton, who received the Elizabeth Cross on Tuesday.
Sean Upton's funeral is the top story in The Sun, quoting lines from a poem written by 10-year-old Ewan about his late soldier father, whom he calls "Rambo".
The Daily Express has a picture of Mrs Upton wearing her husband's medal but leads with a report that almost two-thirds of council house tenants receive their rent from taxpayers.
The Daily Mail leads with a victory for three families, who will be reimbursed by the NHS with the £350,000 they had been wrongly charged for their relatives' health care.
NHS negligence payouts have risen by 22 per cent in a year to £807 million, says Metro, which cites "ambulance chaser lawyers" as the cause for the sharp rise. There were 8,885 clinical and non-clinical claims brought against the service in 2008/09 - a rise of more than a fifth on the previous year.
Meanwhile, The Times reports almost 50,000 NHS workers call in sick every day, a rate one-and-a-half times the absences seen in the private sector.
The Guardian cites a war of words in Westminster after Tory leader David Cameron accused the government of running the risk of defaulting on its debt amid the latest round of anti-recessionary spending.
The Independent says "scores" of state schools are ditching the teaching of traditional subjects at A-level in order to boost academic results.
And elsewhere...
The Scotsman says a Scottish court has allowed the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing to drop his appeal, opening the way for his possible return to Libya.
Dawn reports that at least 27 people have died and some 80,000 are homeless in flash floods caused by heavy rains in north-western Pakistan, where many refugees from a recent army offensive have been staying.
Pravda says divers scoured the flooded rooms of Russia's largest hydroelectric plant but it was unlikely that any of the 64 workers missing after an accident would be found alive. The incident on Monday which drowned or crushed to death 12 other workers shut down the massive power plant in southern Siberia and left several towns and major factories without electricity.
Asia Times quotes scientists warning that Asia must urgently reform its water management to avert devastating food shortages, malnutrition and increases in poverty which would lead to social unrest.
Los Angeles Times says Dr Conrad Murray, the man at the centre of the investigation into Michael Jackson's death has broken his silence and, in a short video message posted on You Tube, thanked supporters and assuring them he had told the truth. Federal agents investigating Jackson's death are working on the theory that Dr Murray administered a powerful sedative of the type thought to have killed Jackson shortly before he collapsed in his rented Beverly Hills home.
Le Parisien says that French tourists going to risky foreign destinations could be asked to pay if their government has to come to their rescue
The Irish Times says the High Court has prohibited the trial of an 84-year-old man accused of raping and sexually assaulting his niece at his home during the 1970s. The judge held that there was a risk that the man would not receive a fair trial due to a number of factors including the unavailability of important witnesses who are now deceased and because of the delay in taking the proceedings. The woman was 12 years of age when it is claimed the abuse began.
Deutsche Welle reports that a raid of Chinese restaurants across Germany has uncovered a gang of human traffickers who brought more than 1,000 Chinese "specialty cooks" into the country. Prosecutors are investigating charges of exploitation.
El Pais reports that a smuggler was caught short after trying to sneak 6.6 kilos of cocaine through customs - hidden inside a pair of custom-made drug pants. Customs officers at Barcelona airport grew suspicious when they noticed that the drugs mule seemed to have an unusually massive backside and thighs as he waddled through the airport, despite the fact that he was wearing baggy denim cut-offs in an attempt to disguise his drugs bulge. They forced him to strip and found him wearing specially-made underwear with dozens of tiny pockets sewn in to hold the drugs.