The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times quotes Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici saying that Col Gaddafi's call for jihad against Switzerland should be taken in its context but should not be ignored.
The Malta Independent says Malta is insisting on continuing traditional fishing for tuna. It also reports a court expert saying it was the cold water at Chadwick Lakes that caused the death of Gunner Matthew Psaila.
l-orizzont continues its campaign ahead of the tariffs protest tomorrow. It also slams an employer for submitting a tender with such a low price, that workers would have unacceptable working conditions.
In-Nazzjon says three trade unions have threatened to withdraw from tomorrow's tariffs protest because it has been politicised. It also reports on court proceedings against bouncers who allegedly beat up two Italians.
The overseas press
A spokesman for the EU chief of foreign affairs Catherine Ashton has regretted the Libyan President's call for a jihad against Switzerland, saying the comment was "unfortunate". Deutsche Welle quotes Lutz Guellner saying Gaddafi's call came at an unfortunate moment when the European Union was working closely with Switzerland trying to reach a diplomatic solution to the diplomatic row over visas.
United Arab Emirates police chief Dhahi Khalfan told the Arab satellite television Al-Arabiya they now have fingerprint DNA traces of one of the killers of top Hamas militant leader Mahmud al-Mabhuh. Khalfan was also quoted by Al-Bayan saying a multi-national unit would hunt the alleged Israeli hit squad. Officers from the UAE and from at least seven other countries in Europe, Australia and perhaps the United States would form a special unit to hunt the killers.
Brigadier General Ben Hodges, who heads operations in the south of Aghanistan, has told US television show PBS Newshour that a major offensive against the Taliban has been largely completed.
Meanwhile, Afghan Times reports Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned a series of explosions which killed at least 17 people in the country's capital. The suicide bombings targeted hotels used mainly by Indian guests in Kabul.
Berliner Morgenpost says that the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag, has approved an additional 850 troops to be sent to Afghanistan, boosting the number of German soldiers on the ground to around 5,350 and extended the German mandate there by one year.
Asia Times reports an earthquake has struck off the coast of Japan sparking a tsunami warning. But this was quickly downgraded to an advisory and there were no immediate reports of casualties.
According to Chumhuriyet, a Turkish court has charged 11 more high-ranking officers for allegedly plotting in 2003 to topple the Islamic-rooted government, increasing the number of officers jailed to 31. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed opposition calls for early elections. Opposition leaders claim the coup probe is tinged by politics, a charge the government rejects.
Trouw says an extradition hearing date has been set for March 18 for a suspected leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, who was arrested as he tried to enter the Netherlands. Turkish authorities believe Hasan Adir, who lives in Germany, is a leading member of the separatist party, considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU, and the US.
Danish daily Politiken, one of the papers that reprinted contentious cartoons of the prophet Mohammed originally published in 2005, has apologized to Muslims for causing offence. The move has been widely criticized.
Frettabladid quotes Icelandic Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir saying a deal to repay billions in lost savings to the Netherlands and the UK was still possible. Late on Thursday, the latest round of talks fell apart over the repayment of 4.2 billion euros lost by Icelandic Internet bank Icesave.
Environmental Daily says a giant iceberg that has broken off from a glacier in Antarctica could cause changes to ocean currents and weather patterns. It is described as being the same size as Luxembourg - at around 965 square miles.
Le Monde says flights in France have been disrupted for the fourth consecutive day by striking French air traffic controllers upset at a Europe-wide restructuring plan that they claim would jeopardise their status as public servants.
Al Ahram reports that three people have been killed, and several tourists injured, after a cruise liner slammed into a dock in Egyptian Sinai. A security official said it is not clear what caused the ship to hit the docks in Sharm el-Sheik.
Bangladesh Sun says a fire at a sweater factory near Dhaka has killed at least 21 people, including 14 women, and injured dozens more. All victims died of suffocation while being treated in hospitals or on the way there, after they were pulled from the factory.
London's Evening Standard reports a British woman who had sex almost 200 times with a 12-year-old boy has been jailed for nine years. Angela Sullivan, aged 36, even gave the boy a pair of trainers as a reward after he slept with her for the 100th time. When police arrested her in October, they found her diary marked with childish entries, and 191 stars against dates when they had sex. The unemployed single mother admitted charges of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.