The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says objectors may block funds for an updating of the Delimara power station boilers. It also reports how a court acquitted the editor and a writer of Ir-Realta in an obscenity case.
The Malta Independent also gives prominence to the court decision in favour of Ir-Realta in the obscenity case. It also says that the AFM quashed claims that a migrants' ferry had been 'pushed back'.
In-Nazzjon quotes the prime minister saying there are no easy solutions for the problems caused by the Libya crisis.
l-orizzont says Malta faces fines if an extension to the life of the Marsa power station is not granted. It also quotes GWU General Secretary Tony Zarb saying that closer relations between the trade unions must be based on seriousness, not convenience.
The overseas press:
Asahi Shimbun reports that Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has warned the level of radiation at the Fukushima plant had risen considerably following a third explosion in four days, and there was a high risk of radioactive material leaking out. He ordered the last remaining people within a 20km exclusion zone around the plant to leave, and that those living between within 30km from the site remain indoors or risk getting radiation sickness.
The Nikkei Sangyo Shimbum says Japanese shares plunged for a second day on Tuesday as investors unloaded assets on escalating fears of a nuclear crisis. The benchmark Nikkei stock average shed six percent in early trading, extending losses from the previous day. The broader Topix lost seven percent. The index fell by more than six percent Monday on the first trading day since the devastating earthquake and tsunami struck on Friday, washing away towns and killing thousands of people. The official death toll rose to 2,800 b ut thousands others are missing.
Global Post says fears about nuclear safety have resurfaced around the globe. The European Union has called a meeting later today of nuclear safety authorities to assess Europe's preparedness in case of a nuclear emergency. Individual EU members including Britain, Bulgaria and Finland also urged a nuclear safety review. Austria has suggested an EU-wide stress test for nuclear plants, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged a three-month moratorium in her government's plan to extend the running times of Germany's nuclear power plants. Switzerland has frozen plans to build new nuclear plants, while opposition voices rose up in Turkey, Sweden and South Africa.
Meanwhile, Euronews reports the governments of Russia, China, Chile and Poland said they were sticking to plans to build more reactors. Spain warned against hasty decisions. Statistics from the International Atomic Energy Agency show there are 442 nuclear reactors in operation worldwide, with 65 new facilities under construction. Construction last year was started on 14 new reactors – in China, Russia, India, Japan and Brazil.
Los Angeles Times says Warner Bros announced that Clint Eastwood's movie Hereafter has been pulled from Japanese cinemas. The film follows three people questioning life, death and a potential afterlife. Exorcism film The Rite, starring Anthony Hopkins, was due to open this weekend but its release has now been delayed.
According to Al Jazeera, forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have reportedly defeated rebels in the coastal town of Zuwarah, retaking one of the last rebel-held towns in western Libya. The only main town still held by rebels in the west, where Gaddafi has his power base, is Misurata, 200km east of Tripoli. Meanwhile, Gaddafi's warplanes bombed the rebel-held eastern city of Ajdabiya, one of two major population centres between government forces and the rebel headquarters of Benghazi.
The New York Times says the UN Security Council continued to wrangle over calls from Britain and France for a Libya no-fly zone with Russia insisting "fundamental questions" remain over the proposal. However, Britain and France are already working on a draft resolution which they hope to present to the council as soon as possible. Manwhile, former Libyan minister Ali Errishi told Al Jazeera “the UN should live up to its moral and legal obligations, and do what is right; we are disappointed with the US for not exercising leadership”.
Gulf News reports that a combined military force from Gulf states has entered Bahrain to help deal with a month of political unrest. A Saudi official said the units came from a special force within the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. He did not have information on the size of the force, but said they were deployed by air and road and will help protect key buildings. The intervention sharply boosts the regional stakes on behalf of Bahrain’s embattled Sunni rulers, who have faced growing pressures from the country’s majority Shiites for sweeping political reforms.
According to Yemeni Observer, four journalists – two British and two Americans – have been held in Yemen accused of illegally entering the country. Yemeni officials did not identify the organisations that employ the four or explain the circumstances of their arrest. Yemen is continuing to be rocked by unrest with protesters demanding the removal of long-time President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Tribune de Genève reports that airlines worldwide are flying into some heavy turbulence caused by soaring kerosene prices. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has downgraded its profit forecast for the global airline industry to €6.2 billion from the €6.5 billion that it projected in December. That represents a 46 percent fall from the €11.5 billion that airlines made in 2010.
The Irish Times quotes Ireland’s Finance Minister Michael Noonan saying in Brussels that talks with European Central Bank president Jean Claude Trichet on the possibility of revising the bank bailout 'went well'. Mr Noonan has warned that Ireland would have to tap into the €25 billion contingency fund, provided by the EU and the IMF, in order to resolve the national banking crisis. He also intends to ask Ireland's eurozone partners for more time to re-structure the banking system. However, the new Finance Minister is adamant he won't consider any change to Ireland's corporation tax rate in exchange for a review of the bank deal.