The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times says the EU is expected to stay out of the tuna fishing issue between Malta and the Sea Shepherd conservation group. It also reports that AD yesterday filed a judicial protest over discrimination in the electoral law.
The Malta Independent says first quarter tourism results show improvement, but are still far from the 2008 performance. It also says that two consortia are still in the hunt for the bus service contract.
In-Nazzjon says footage confirms the aggression of the Sea Shepherd against a tuna pen. It also reports that Transport Malta is anaysing the final bids for the bus service contract.
l-orizzont asks if there are conflicts within KPMG because of its consultancy work for the governemnt, Enemalta and companies involved in related issues. It says reports that questions have been raised about the legality of a tuna catch.
The overseas press:
Kathemerini quotes Greek Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos saying Greece would cover the extra costs for any tourists stranded in the country as a result of industrial action or natural disaster. The offer is part of an effort to improve Greece's image, which has been damaged by strikes and protests over government austerity measures.
Haaretz reports that the mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat has approved a controversial plan to demolish 22 Palestinian homes for a tourist centre in Jerusalem's eastern sector on a site where some say King David wrote his psalms.
The Financial Times says British Chancellor George Osborne is about to set out what is expected to be the toughest package of tax increases and spending cuts in a generation as he presents an "emergency" plan to tackle Britain's record £155 billion (€186 million) deficit over the course of the current Parliament. His approach to reduce the level of debt has been broadly welcomed by business leaders who urged him to concentrate on cutting spending rather than increasing taxes.
The Moscow Times reports President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly to cut gas supplies to ex-Soviet neighbour Belarus by 15 per cent over its debt for Russian natural gas supplies. The order follows his warning last week to Belarus to start paying off its €156 million debt or face cuts. Belarus challenged the Russian claim saying Russia owed it €176 million transit fees.
Al Jazeera says Iraq's minister of electricity Karim Waheed has resigned following protests in southern Iraq over a lack of electricity. The move follows weekend protests in the southern city of Basra that left one Iraqi dead and two others injured. The protests over the lack of electricity continued yesterday, when hundreds of Nasiriya city residents demonstrated in front of the Nasiriya provincial council.
The New York Times quotes UN officials saying they have started relocating some of their 300 foreign staff in Afghanistan because of rising violence. The UN has 1,500 staff in Afghanistan of whom about 80 per cent are locally hired. The relocations are likely to affect a few dozen of those 300 internationally-hired staff.
Metro quotes Prime Minister David Cameron saying Britain should keep asking how long it needs to remain in Afghanistan, after the UK death toll hit 300. Britain has lost the second highest number of service personnel among Nato forces after the Americans - 1,124 US military personnel have died in the conflict. Canada has lost 147, France 44 and Germany 43 with Denmark, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands also suffering losses.
The International Herald Tribune says Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-born US citizen accused of attempting to blow up Times Square in New York, has admitted all 10 charges against him which include attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted terrorism transcending national borders. The 30-year-old, who faces life in prison, told a packed New York court that Islamist extremists would continue to attack the US.
The Irish Times says an Irish-based Portuguese woman, who wished to marry her partner before their child was born, has secured the permission of the High Court to challenge the Civil Registration Office's refusal to recognise her Portuguese divorce. In her proceedings the woman claimed the refusal was in breach of European Law which provided for a recognition of certain other member states matrimonial decrees, including divorces.
USA Today reports a zoo in Canada has pleaded for the safe return of a tiger and two camels that were stolen in transit last week - and has even offered $2,000 (€1,625) for a picture of the animals being given water. Jonas, a Bengal tiger, and camels Todd and Shawn were in a trailer being moved from Nova Scotia to the zoo when their vehicle was stolen near Montreal.
The New Yorker reports US census officials have suffered some 400 incidents, including about a dozen in which gunshots were fired. More than 635,000 Census takers are going door-to-door to try to count the 48 million US residents who did not answer a census form they were asked to fill out and return by mail. Among those not keen to be counted, 132 pulled a weapon or threatened the census taker with one; 88 physically assaulted the census taker, and about a dozen decided to hold pesky tally-takers against their will... not counting some 24 attacks with animals. The US population is currently estimated at 309 million.