The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta and l-orizzont report how a court has cleared the way for the government to engage a new bus service operator next month. The Times of Malta also quotes Bishop Charles Scicluna saying changes of faith is healthy for society.
The Malta Independent and l-orizzont say the Maltese government has been caught up in a dispute over who should head the Libyan embassy. The embassy building was ringed by policemen yesterday.
In-Nazzjon leads with comments by Simon Busuttil that the PN was effective and credible over the past year.
The overseas press
The Washington Times reports the United States and Cuba have announced talks aimed at restoring full diplomatic relations after 50 years of hostility. It comes as part of a deal that saw three Cubans freed from a Florida jail and the release of American prisoner Alan Gross by Cuba. Presidents Obama and Castro have paid tribute to Pope Francis for helping to broker the agreement.
News 24 says some Republican and Democratic lawmakers expressed outrage over the breakthrough, accusing President Obama of conceding “everything to a brutal Castro regime”. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a Cuban American warned Congress would block efforts to lift the trade embargo, saying the deal was “naïve and inexplicable”.