The following are the top stories in the national and international news today.
Times of Malta says dissolving corpses in chemical baths is one of the solutions being considered to address the island’s overcrowded cemeteries. It also says that Malta’s deficit fell below the Maastricht Treaty target of three per cent of GDP last year.
The Malta Independent says that the police had warned a BLM press officer to stop filming them three times before he was taken in for questioning.
In-Nazzjon quotes PN leader Simon Busuttil saying that the planning authority should defend the people’s and not the government’s interests.
l-Orizzont quotes the Prime Minister saying that people who do not vote in next May’s elections would be awarding those who had punished them for 25 years.
International news
ABC reports the Australian Transport Safety Bureau did not believe material found on a beach in Augusta in Western Australia was connected to the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.
According to Chosun Ilbo, many of the bodies pulled from the wreck of a South Korean ferry have broken fingers, indicating the desperation of the final moments of the mostly young victims.
Radio Okapi announces the derailment of a train in Katanga, in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has left 63 people dead and 80 seriously injured.
RIA Novosti reports Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the United States of being behind the political upheaval in Ukraine and said Moscow would respond if its interests came under attack.
Gazeta Polska says the first contingent of 150 US troops has landed in Poland for military exercises amid tensions with Russia over Ukraine.
Al Ayyam announces the signing of a reconciliation deal between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas. They said they planned to form an interim unity government – headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas – within five weeks and hold parliamentary elections within six months.
Haaretz says that following the announcement, Israel said it would not attend a negotiation session planned for Wednesday evening.
US President Barack Obama has assured Japan that islands at the centre of its territorial dispute with China are covered by a bilateral defence treaty. In an interview with Yamiuri, ahead of his Asian tour, Obama said the US would oppose any attempt to undermine Japan's control over the islands.
EU Observer reports new figures from the European Commission show that EU governments are gradually making progress with their financial problems.
USA Today says a New York police department campaign to boost its image via social media instead produced critical tweets and a flood of pictures of apparent police brutality.
TMZ reports Justin Bieber has apologised and insisted he loved Japan and China after he stepped into a bitter fight over history by visiting a controversial war shrine in Tokyo.
Oscar-winning Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o has been named “Most Beautiful Person of 2014” by People magazine.