The following are the leading stories in Maltese and foreign newspapers.
The Times leads with Opposition Labour leader Alfred Sant's attack on the Malta Environment Planning Authority (Mepa) claiming the authority is in a frantic rush to approve as many permits as possible before the election. Mepa reacted by releasing statistics contradicting Dr Sant's figures. Its second lead says the prime minister has demanded an apology from Dr Sant for accusing him of lying in the ‘health-for-free' controversy.
The Malta Independent also refers to both stories, quoting Dr Gonzi as saying the "MLP made you pay for health care, PN did not and never will" and Dr Sant claiming "Mepa ‘pushing through' applications".
l-orizzont also refers to the hurried appointment of the new Mepa Development Control Commission board on the eve of the elections and asks whether the 300 cases before the board are urgent.
In-Nazzjon quotes Dr Gonzi as saying on TVM's programme ‘Xarabank' that next Saturday's choice should not be on the parties but on the country's destiny and our children's future.
Il-Gens illum quotes former Labour Finance Minister Lino Spiteri saying that, for the two main parties in next Saturday's general election, everything depends on the number of uncollected votes and the number of votes obtained by the smaller parties.
The Press in Britain
For the second day running, Prince Harry dominates the front pages of the British Press as military chiefs ordered his immediate removal from Helmand, the lawless Afghan province, because worldwide media coverage of his combat role put his life and the lives of his men at risk.
London's Evening Standard quoted radical cleric Omar Bakri Mohammad warning in Lebanon that the prince's presence in Afghanistan was a "crime" and would be used as a recruiting tool for al-Qaeda. He said footage of Harry fighting against the Taliban would radicalise young British Muslims.
The Times reports 23-year-old Harry, who is expected to be reunited with his family and girlfriend Chelsy Davy today, returns to England a hero to the Army, a changed man in the eyes of the public and a target for jihadists. His future in the Army, however, is uncertain.
The Daily Express says sneering British Muslim fanatics labelled Prince Harry a target for assassins after his Afghan heroics.
The Daily Mirror says the move to bring Harry home was a bitter clow to the prince. The Household Cavalry officer has said he would like to spend his career in the forces. But defence experts and senior Whitehall figures yesterday doubted he could fulfill that ambition
The Daily Mail says extremists are making Second Lieutenant Wales a prime target and publicity surrounding his role in Afghanistan could provoke new terror attacks on Britain.
The Daily Star says Harry may be coming home but warns he won't be safe.
The Daily Telegraph reports the Queen has praised her grandson, who has pleaded to go back into action.
The Guardian asks whether Prince Harry is a dog-of war or prince of public relations but then leads with the revelation that it has found strong and growing opposition among Labour MPs to the government's plans to detain terrorist suspects without charge for 42 days.
The Independent reports Prince Harry has been withdrawn from Afghanistan after his cover was blown. It leads, however, with the news of a new trade deal that is to unleash an aviation boom, spelling bad news for the planet.
The Financial Times reports house prices fell for the fourth month in a row in February as evidence mounted that banks' borrowing costs are again on the rise.
And elsewhere...
Yediot Aharonot says Israel is considering sending its military into the Gaza Strip in response to rocket attacks launched from the Hamas-controlled area. The paper quotes Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai telling Israeli army radio that continued rocket strikes could provoke what he called a "shoah", the Hebrew word for holocaust or disaster. Israeli air strikes have killed at least 33 Gaza residents in the past two days. On Wednesday, a Palestinian rocket attack killed an Israeli student in the border town of Sderot.
Berliner Zeitung reports that Germany says it plans to send another 400 soldiers to Kosovo in the next few daysreplacing withdrawing Italian peacekeepers, raising its contingent to 2,700 troops. Around 16,000 NATO peacekeepers are stationed in Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia earlier this month. Serbia has said it will never accept Kosovo's secession.
Moscow Times quotes President Putin's appeal to his countrymen to go out and vote in tomorow's presidential election. In a televised address, he said the country's next head of state needed their support to be effective and confident. Opinion polls indicate that Putin's designated successor, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, is almost certain to win the election.
Chumhuriyet says Turkey has ended its offensive in northern Iraq. In a televised address, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said the cross-border operation had dealt an important blow to Kurdish separatist rebels based in Iraq: 240 Kurdish PKK rebels and 24 Turkish soldiers had been killed in the eight-day incursion. But the PKK says more than 130 Turkish troops and five rebels were killed. Ankara says the PKK fighters use northern Iraq as a base for launching attacks on targets inside Turkey.
The Dawn reports a suicide bomber has attacked a funeral procession in north-western Pakistan killing at least 30 people and wounding more than 50 others. Witnesses say the assailant targeted mourners of one of three policemen who had been killed when the van that they were travelling in struck a roadside bomb.
L'Avvenire says Pope Benedict has appealed for the swift release of a Catholic archbishop who was abducted in Iraq. The Vatican said in a statement that the Pope was appealing for reason and humanity from the militants, who killed the two bodyguards and driver of Mosul Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, seized as he left church.
The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine publishes the results of a study showing that taking 400 milligrams per day of vitamin E supplements could increase the risk of lung cancer by 28 per cent - with smokers at particular risk. The results of the US study of 77,000 people followed warnings about similar risks of excessive beta-carotene use. Writing in the same journal, an expert said people should get their vitamins from fruit and vegetables. Vitamin E can be found in many oils such as vegetable oil, safflower oil, corn oil, and olive oil. It is also found naturally in many foods such as avocados, sunflower seeds, almonds, sweet potatoes, and peanut butter.