The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times quotes the finance minister saying that the government was still aiming for a budget surplus in 2017 despite the electoral pledges costing cost €1.1 billion over five years.It also says Maltese Bishop Sylvester Magro was instructed to evacuate the Church.
The Malta Independent says nominations for the general elections close tomorrow. It also says a jealous Hungarian wanted to kill himself after allegedly murdering his partner in their flat in St Paul's Bay.
In-Nazzjon also leads with the PN’s commitment to achieve a balanced budget and then a surplus. It also reports Anglu Farrugia's comments on TVAM yesterday.
l-orizzont says Year VI girls in St Benedict College primary school do not know which school they will go to next year. It also focuses on Labour’s commitment to reduce taxes on art-time work.
The overseas press
Courier Mail reports deadly floodwaters were sweeping down Australia's east coast Tuesday, with Queensland's state capital Brisbane bracing for its river to peak as other towns waited anxiously as waters rose. Four people have died so far in the violent weather, including a three-year-old boy who succumbed after being hit by a falling tree in Brisbane. More than 2,000 homes have been flooded in Bundaberg alone. Hundreds of people have been rescued from their rooftops in the town, many by helicopter to pluck them to safety as floodwaters rapidly ripped around them.
Fox Business quotes EU Economy commissioner Olli Rehn saying Spain's austerity programme might be eased if the economy continues to contract. He has suggested that Spain could be given more slack to meet the strict budget targets set out by the block to save the eurozone's fourth economy from bankruptcy. Spanish companies should be given easier access to credit if the economy was to buck the downward trend and generate new jobs. Unemployment as a record 26 per cent in the last quarter of 2012.
Jeune Afrique reports the African Union has pledged $50 million to help fund the ongoing military intervention to retake control of northern Mali from Islamist militants. The whole operation was expected to cost an estimated $460 million. The news came as French-led forces, combating the Islamist insurgency, secured control of the historic city of Timbuktu. As the troops advanced, the Islamist extremists have set fire to a library containing historic manuscripts, destroying many priceless ancient books on culture, science and geography, some dating back as far as the 12th century.
Al Ahram says a young man has been shot dead in clashes outside a police station in Egypt's Suez Canal city of Port Said as thousands of demonstrators went on the streets of the cities of Suez, Port Said and Ismalia, in defiance of a curfew imposed by President Mohamed Morsi. Hundreds of soldiers have been deployed. Morsi announced the month-long state of emergency and curfew on Sunday to tackle violent protests.
According to Le Matin, gunmen attacked an oil pipeline in northern Algeria Monday, killing two guards before fleeing. The incident comes two weeks after Islamist militants seized control of a gas plant in the south of the country, in an attack that left 37 hostages dead.
O Globo announces Brazilian police have detained the owners of the nightclub where a fire killed 231 people as well as two band members whose pyrotechnics they say triggered the blaze as the focus turned to finding those responsible for the tragedy. Some of the first funerals for the victims took place on Monday.
The Washington Post reports a group of influential Democrat and Republican US senators has announced details of a plan to reform the American immigration system. The bi-partisan plan includes measures to reinforce border security as a pre-condition to putting some 11 million illegal immigrants on a path towards citizenship.
Associated Press says a grey-tufted monkey strapped in a pod resembling an infant's car seat rode an Iranian rocket into space and returned safely, officials said Monday in what was described as a step toward Tehran's goal of a manned space flight. The mission also touched on concerns that advances in Iran's rocket expertise could be channelled into military use for long-range weapons that might one day carry nuclear warheads. Iran says it does not seek atomic weapons.
Al Jazeera reports 11 journalists have been arrested in Iran accused of co-operating with foreign-based Persian-language media organisations. It is a major escalation in a press crackdown that shows Iran’s zero tolerance for those who work with dissident media or outlets deemed as unfriendly. The 11 reporters are from six different news organisations, including four daily papers, a weekly and the semi-official ILNA news agency.
La Hora says a judge in Guatemala has ruled that former military leader Efrain Rios Montt should be tried for genocide. He faces charges of crimes against humanity in connection with the killing of more than 1,771 indigenous Mayans during his rule in 1982-1983.
Het Parool reports Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has announced that she would abdicate in favour of her eldest son, Prince Willem-Alexander at the end of April – exactly 33 years after she ascended the throne. In a televised address, she said it was time to hand over responsibilities to the next generation.
ABC News reports an arsonist has been sentenced to death penalty for killing five men who died of heart attacks during a wildfire nearly a decade ago that ripped through the hills east of Los Angeles. Rickie Lee Fowler, 31, was convicted in August of five counts of first-degree murder and two counts of arson. A jury later recommended the death sentence. Prosecutors said Fowler lit the fire in October 2003 out of rage after he was thrown out of a house where his family was staying.
Ansa says the Trevi fountain in Rome is to be restored, with the Italian luxury fashion company Fendi picking up the bill. There has been concern with the stat of the 18th century fountain after chunks of stone fell away.