The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports how a man was arrested over star’s brutal treatment. It also reports the agreement which will see buses diverted from Bisazza Street to the Tigne’ tunnel.
The Malta Independent says that Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca will contest the general election. It also says that Italy has signed an immigration accord with the Libyan rebels.
l-orizzont says the agreement over Bisazza Street has disrupted bus service plans.
In-Nazzjon reports that an 80-year-old Briton missing for three weeks was also seen on security cameras in Qala and Nadur.
The overseas press
The Greek government faces a vote of confidence later today – a crucial first step towards gaining a vital €12 billion loan. Kathimerini says that if the government survived the vote, Greece's parliament would be asked to back the latest spending cuts worth €28 billion. These austerity measures and other reforms have to be introduced before the European Union and International Monetary Fund release the funds. Greece needs the loan to pay its debts.
Meanwhile, Ethnos says workers at Greece’s main generating company are to strike to protest at government plans to privatize the company as part of the austerity plans aimed at solving debt problems. Greece has seen near-daily protests against the belt-tightening that has slashed salaries and pensions in an attempt to stem a ballooning national debt.
Le Soir reports that EU foreign ministers were trying to work out a political solution to the Libyan conflict, as well as post-war planning to ensure the country does not descend into chaos. Dutch foreign minister Uri Rosenthal said progress was being made in efforts to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has said a successful post-conflict period in North Africa would require what she calls the three M’s: money, market access and mobility. She wants Europe to contribute billions to develop the economies of Libya, Egypt and Tunisia.
Meanwhile Al Libiya TV claimed a Nato airstrike on a large family compound belonging to a close associate of Gaddafi has killed at least 15 people, including three children, west of Tripoli. But Nato said its strike on a compound west of Tripoli hit a command-and-control centre for Libyan government forces and was a "legitimate military target".
Al Thawra quotes President Bashar Assad of Syria saying he would consider political reforms, but gave no sign he might step down – the key demand of nationwide protests. The opposition immediately dismissed Assad’s plan, saying it lacked any clear move toward democracy. Activists said thousands of people took to the streets to protest in several cities.
Al Hourria says a Tunisian court has sentenced former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his wife Leila to 35 years in jail for embezzlement and misusing public funds. The couple, who fled to Saudi Arabia in January after a popular uprising, were also fined €46 million. Ben Ali's lawyer said the verdict was politically motivated and "a joke".
The Irish Examiner reports that human rights activists trying to break the Gaza blockade have vowed to stop Israeli forces from boarding their ship. Dr Fintan Lane, coordinator of Irish Ship to Gaza, said crews in the second aid flotilla would make it difficult for officials to seize control of vessels. About a dozen aid ships carrying medical supplies, sports equipment and construction materials are due to meet in international waters some 16 hours from Gaza early next week. Nine people were killed last year when Israeli commandos stormed a Turkish aid ship trying to break the naval blockade.
Pravda says that at least 44 people have been killed after a passenger plane crashed in northern Russia. The Tupolev-134 aircraft, carrying 43 passengers and nine crew, came down on a highway a few hundred metres short of the runway.
La Tercera reports that a court in Chile has ordered the suspension of a multi-billion-dollar dam project in the south of the country, following objections by legislators and environmentalists. The five dams are to be built on two rivers in the sparsely-populated Aysen area of Chilean Patagonia. But the court has now ruled it needs to review the approval process.
Dawn quotes Pakistani officials saying suspected US drones fired missiles at a vehicle and a house in north west Pakistan today, killing 12 people in a rare attack in an area where some of Nato’s fiercest enemies have reportedly travelled. Seven of the 12 people killed in the attacks were Afghan militants whose bodies were taken across the border to be buried.