The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:

The Times says Parliamentary Secretary Mario Galea apologised and offered to resign after his mistake while voting in Parliament on Thursday. His resignation was turned down by the Prime Minister.

The Malta Independent reports that Labour MP Carmelo Abela has resigned his post as Deputy Speaker in protest at decisions by the Chair in Parliament on Thursday.

In-Nazzjon quotes the PN parliamentary group saying Joseph Muscat had not respected the clear vote of 35 government MPs on the power station extension contract. It also reports that Transport Malta has launched the tender procedures for a new passenger terminal at Cirkewwa.

l-orizzont says a person using a government vehicle had removed old stones from the Opera House which had been stored near Tarxien, to be used as foundations.

The overseas press:

France 24 reports European leaders have launched plans to create a new crisis fund aimed at all troubled euro countries, after formally giving their backing to a massive 110-billion euro aid package for debt-ridden Greece. The heads of the 16 eurozone countries, meeting in Brussels, also agreed to impose new curbs on speculators blamed for sustained and deliberate attacks.

Greek NET TV has captured Greek Prime Minister Georges Papandreou mourning the three victims of a firebomb attack in Athens by visiting the gutted bank where they died during anti-austerity protests. He then spoke with passers-by before departing. His visit had not been publicised by his office, but it was captured on video by a public television cameraman who was in the vicinity.

In the UK, the front pages of the national newspapers are dominated by the talks between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats as they try to form a coalition government. The Times says talks between senior Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are expected to continue this morning. The Tories won the most seats but finished 20 short of a majority. Labour leader Gordon Brown also says he is prepared to talk to the Lib Dems.

USA Today reports huge containment box has been lowered to within 60 metres of a ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to stop the leak which threatening an environmental disaster. They hope to use the chamber to start funnelling the escaping oil into a tanker on the surface next week - the best short-term hope of controlling the spill. The technique has never been tried at such a depth before.

Fettabladid quotes meteorologists reporting that Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano has showed increased activity with crater explosions scattering magma. The new eruptions raised the prospect of fresh aviation disruptions after last month's shutdown of European skies.

Gazete Ankara says Turkish lawmakers have approved a bill that clears the way for major constitutional reform. The text, which has been slammed by secularists, now will now go to President Abdullah Gul for his approval and a referendum vote.

Bangkok Post reports a Thai policeman has been killed and another wounded in a drive-by shooting in the capital, Bangkok, police say. The attack occurred in the Silom financial district, close to the area where red-shirt opposition protesters have been barricaded. A number of blasts in the same area later wounded another four policemen.

Irrawady says hours after Aung San Suu Kyi's party - the National League for Democracy - was formally dissolved under new electoral laws, a splinter faction announced that it would form a new party and contest polls set for later this year. They said the new pro-democracy movement would continue their resistance to the ruling military junta.

An Nahar reports that Lebanese police have arrested two men in connection with the mob lynching of an Egyptian accused of killing a local couple and their two grandchildren. The Egyptian man was with police re-enacting the crime when he was seized by angry villagers, stabbed to death and then hanged with a butcher's hook from a pole in the village square.

Seoul Daily says a South Korean woman has finally succeeded in passing her driving test on her 960th attempt. Cha Sa-soon passed a written exam on her 950th try last year by spending about £11,000, including application fees. In South Korea, an aspiring driver must pass a written exam to get behind the wheel for a driving test.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.