The following are the top stories in the Maltese and international press:
The Times says harsher penalties are in the pipeline to deter the illegal manufacture of fireworks. It also reports that Pierre Portelli may be preparing to stand for general secretary of the PN, especially if incumbent Joe Saliba prepares to step down
l--orizzont says subtle attempts are being made to shift the arguments on the Mistra development scandal. It also says that the MLP has demanded an explanation as to what the Prime Minister really knew about this issue.
In-Nazzjon leads with a consistent decline in unemployment, which shed a further 845 in February. It also says pressure is increasing for the entire MLP leadership to resign in the wake of the party's election defeat.
The Malta Independent leads with a study showing the detrimental extent of Malta's light pollution on seabirds. It also reports that Foresta 2000, the grove between Ghadira and Marfa, is flourishing.
Malta Today midweek leads with the MLP demand that Gonzi explain what he knew about the MIstra case. It also reports that Social Policy Minister John Dalli still thinks that insurance companies should pay for hospital costs.
The Press in Britain...
The Sun says MPs have launched a High Court bid to keep their expenses secret - and the fight will cost taxpayers a fortune.
The Daily Mail describes as "shameless" how the Speaker of the House of Commons is spending £100,000 in a court battle to keep MPs' expenses secret. And the paper says it won't be giving out any prizes to those who guess who would pick up the bill.
The Guardian reveals the government is suggesting Britain leads the world in new nuclear power stations, creating at least £20bn of business and 100,000 jobs,
The embryo debate leads The Independent, which asks "Is this just a bunch of cells or is it, as the Catholic Church insists, a human being with a soul?"
The Scotsman says Gordon Brown has offered Labour MPs a free vote on key aspects of new embryology bill after the threat of a Cabinet rebellion.
And the Metro asks whether there has been a U-turn on embryo testing as the free vote will include the most controversial clause of all - allowing scientists to create "admix" embryos with human DNA and animal cells.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the health authorities hav warned pregnant women not to drink any alcohol at all despite no evidence that the occasional glass is harmful.
The Daily Express says drunken teenagers face being breathalysed on street corners in a clampdown on binge drinking... and they will be marched off to their parents if they are found over the limit.
The Financial Times claims the central banks' efforts to ease strains in the money markets are failing to stop financial institutions from hoarding cash.
The Herald says Gordon Brown is prepared to consider abolishing the Act of Settlement, which bans Roman Catholics from becoming king or queen.
And elsewhere...
La Tribune de Genève reports the European Union has called on Beijing to refrain from using force against Tibetans protesting against Chinese rule in the region
Berliner Zeitung says Germany has ruled out boycotting the summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier used a telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart to urge Beijing to resolve the crisis in Tibet through dialogue.
Le Monde reports President Sarkozy has become the first world leader to suggest that he might boycott the Beijing Olympics. He told reporters in the French city of Tarbes that all options remained on the table. He also called on China to enter a dialogue with Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post quoes a White House spokesman telling reporters that President Bush is still planning to attend the opening ceremonies.
Al-Ahrar reports that British jets have taken to the skies over Basra to provide air cover for Iraqi forces involved in fighting amid a major crackdown on Shia militias. The operation - backed by PM Nouri Maliki - is the first on this scale since Britain handed Basra Province over to full Iraqi control in December. Amid reports of at least nine deaths, the fighting followed rising tensions with Muqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army.
The New York Times quotes UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urging Israelis, Palestinians and the international community to step up efforts to reach a peace settlement in the Middle East this year. Speaking to the UN Security Council in New York, Ban said the peace process was too important to be allowed to lose momentum through inaction or indifference.
An-Nahar says the Lebanese government has announced that it will boycott the Arab summit scheduled for this weekend in the Syrian capital, Damascus. A government minister said one of the main reasons for boycotting the meeting was parliament's repeated failure to elect a new president.
Pakistan's The Statesman quotes former prime minister and leader of one of the parties in the country's new coalition saying Islamabad is set to reconsider its approach to fighting terrorism. Nawaz Sharif told Deputy US Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher that the newly-elected parliament would review all of the policies implemented by President Musharraf since the 2001 terror attacks in the United States.
The Monitor says a preacher who put his two-month-old daughter in a microwave oven lost his bid to claim he was insane at the time. A Texas jury found Joshua Mauldin guilty of deliberately intending to harm the baby girl when he put her in the oven. Ana Mauldin suffered severe burns and needed skin graft operations, but is recovering and now lives with relatives. Mauldin will be sentenced at another hearing.