The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says the Police have arrested five councillors in Sliema and St Julians over alleged fraud and misappropriation.
The Malta Independent says that Tunisian President Ben Ali’s plane requested to fly through Maltese airspace in order to protect itself. The Tunisian president has quit the country.
In-Nazzjon quotes the prime minister saying the government was making choices to guarantee a better future for the country.
l-orizzont says yesterday’s PL protest in Valletta showed popular anger at the government.
The overseas press
Al Jazeera says Saudi Arabia officially announced early this morning it was hosting Tunisian President Ben Ali and his family. A palace statement carried by the official SPA news agency said they were received “out of concern for the exceptional circumstances facing the brotherly Tunisian people and in support of the security and stability of their country”. A Saudi source told the TV station earlier that Ben Ali's plane had landed in the Red Sea city of Jeddah but did not specify who had accompanied him to the kingdom.
Earlier, while his whereabouts were unknown, Deutsche Welle quoted initial reports saying he had flown to Malta, but the Maltese foreign minister said the former President only flew past. Sky News quoted reports saying his plane then reportedly landed in Sardinia where Italian authorities allowed him to refuel before taking off again to Paris. But Le Monde quoted the French foreign ministry saying they had not received an asylum request from Ben Ali and said they would consult the new Tunisian government if one were made. Later French media reported that Presient Sarkozy had refused to allow Ben Ali to land in his country.
Assabah reports that Tunisian Prime Minister Mohammed El-Ghannouchi, announcing on state TV that he was assuming power, has called on the security forces to maintain order. He had instructed the army to end looting and attacks against people across Tunisia and declared he would meet political parties to discuss forming a new government.
Akhbar Tounes said President Ben Ali had earlier fled the North African country he ruled in autocratic fashion for 23 years – chased away by a month of street protests that started in provincial cities but engulfed the capital, Tunis, this week. He had already promised to step down in 2014, dissolved his government and the country's parliament, and declared a state of emergency as weeks of protests culminated in a mass march through the capital. The focus of the protest was the Interior Ministry, for many Tunisians the symbol of an undemocratic and corrupt regime.
The Washington Times says President Obama has praised the Tunisian people for what he called “their determined struggle”. He deplored the use of violence against civilians and called on the Tunisian government to “hold free and fair elections in the near future that reflect the true will and aspirations of the Tunisian people”. The US was a staunch supporter of Tunisia during the time of the now ousted president who was seen in Washington as a strong ally in the fight against terrorism.
The Financial Times reports that the international oil company BP is to link up with Rosneft, the Russian state-run energy giant a joint venture with Russian energy firm Rosneft to exploit potentially huge deposits of oil and gas in Russia's Arctic shelf. Russian scientists estimate there are five billion tons of oil and 10 trillion cubic metres of natural gas under the sea off the northern coast of Siberia.
The Washington Post says President Obama will ease restrictions on US religious groups and students travelling to Cuba. The president believed the more relaxed rules would also make it easier to send remittances to Cuba to support civil society there. The changes will not end the decades-old US trade embargo.
Times of India reports that at least 100 pilgrims have been killed in a stampede at a religious festival in the Indian state of Kerala. Officials said many others have been injured in the crush, which was reportedly triggered by a road accident. The pilgrims were returning from the Hindu shrine of Sabarimala, which is in a remote, mountainous, densely-forested area.
Ansa reports that magistrates in Milan are investigating allegations that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi paid to have sex with 17-year-old Karima El Mahroug, who used the stage name "Ruby Rubacuori" (Heartstealer). Paying for sex with a prostitute under age 18 is an offence in Italy. They are also examining whether he intervened improperly with police to secure her release after she was held for theft.
The Los Angeles Times reports that doctors have amputated actress Zsa Zsa Gabor’s right leg, which was infected with gangrene. Doctor declared the life-saving surgery a success. The 93-year-old actress was in "frail health" and would be closely monitored. She had been admitted to hospital a number of times since breaking her hip in July.