The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:

The Times says that Lawrence Gonzi and George Abela had crossed swords. Dr Gonzi speaking yesterday said he was surprised that the ultimate aim of politics was seen as being to win elections. Dr Abela, on the other hand, said the MLP needed to win the next election in order to be able to serve the people. The newspaper prominently reports a fire at a farm near Ghaxaq and arson of a ranger’s farm rooms in Mellieha.

The Malta Independent reports how Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the PN structures need to change to reflect the country’s priorities. It also reports that since October 2004 almost 3,000 people have been arraigned in court and accused of smoking in public places.

l-orizzont carries a large picture of the major fire at a farm between Ghaxaq and Tarxien on Saturday-Sunday night. It also reports that a top secret document has revealed that Malta had no connection with the Lockerbie incident, despite claims that the bomb which downed a Pan-Am Boeing 747 started on its way from here.

In-Nazzjon leads with the renewal of the PN, the central issue discussed at the party general council meeting over the weekend.

The Press in Britain...

The Guardian quotes human rights lawyers saying the US is housing suspected terrorists on 17 "floating prisons".

The Daily Express raises fears about what it calls Britain's "open door" immigration policy, saying that most of the UK's 2.3 million immigrants have come from outside the EU.

The Times also focuses on immigration, saying that tens of thousands of immigrants are working with vulnerable elderly people without having gone through full criminal records checks.

The Daily Telegraph says Gordon Brown has been accused of trying to bribe voters by diverting public money from rural areas to traditional Labour heartlands.

The Daily Mail says that the Home Office has paid millions of pounds to a firm run by a man jailed for arranging a murder.

The Metro splashes on shocking new figures that suggest that more than 2,000 children aged 14 and under have been admitted to hospital every year since 1998 for drinking too much alcohol. Four of them had alcoholic liver disease, a condition usually only seen in much older patients

And elsewhere...

Dnevnik reports that Macedonia's centre-right party of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's has won the country's parliamentary elections with enough seats to enable him to form a government without having to seek a coalition.

Berliner Morgenpost quotes German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying she will push G-8 leaders at this year's summit in Japan to come up with a common approach for combatting the rise in global food prices.

Corriere della Sera says around 60 heads of state and government are expected to discuss global problems of poverty and malnutrition, caused by steep rises in food prices, during a UN food summit which starts in Rome tomorrow. According to the BBC, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has reportedly arrived in Rome to attend the Food and Agriculture Organization summit. He is accused by domestic critics of running down agriculture and causing food shortages in his own country..

Washington Post reports Hillary Clinton has won a convincing victory over her Democrat rival Barack Obama in the Puerto Rico presidential primary. Projections showed Mrs Clinton won 65% of the votes to 35% for Mr Obama, with a total of 55 delegates at stake. The final two Democratic nominating contests -- Montana and South Dakota -- will be held tomorrow.

Sydney Morning Herald says 550 Australian troops, in Iraq since 2003, have ended combat operations and will return home by the end of the June. The intended pullout will fulfil a pledge made by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd during last November's Australian election. The Australian military says its troops trained local Iraqi forces and carried out reconstruction work. Australia suffered no combat losses.

Jerusalem Post says Hezbollah has handed over the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in 2006 in exchange for Israel's release of a Lebanese jailed for alleged spying. The swap has increased speculation of a wider exchange.

Kuwaiti Times reports Muslim hard-liners in Kuwait’s parliament walked out of the body’s inaugural meeting to protest the lack of head scarves for two female Cabinet ministers. Half of Kuwait’s 50-seat legislature are fundamentalist Muslims. No female MPs were elected in recent elections, but the prime minister appointed two to the Cabinet.

International Herald Tribune says 64 percent of Swiss voters have rejected a proposal by the far-right Swiss People's Party (SVP) that would have made it even harder for resident foreigners to gain citizenship. Only one of Switzerland's 26 cantons backed the plan. More than a fifth of Switzerland's 7.5 million residents are of foreign origin.

Los Angeles Times says a large blaze has destroyed part of a backlot of Hollywood's Universal Studios. Fire engulfed a replica of a New York Street and a "King Kong" exhibit. A senior fire official said the blaze had also "compromised" a video vault containing original and master versions of old movies.

Chicago Tribune reports a "multiple warhead" drug has offered a lifeline to patients suffering from kidney cancer. Results from a trial, presented at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, shows patients had their lives extended by more than six months. This is the first new treatment for kidney cancer for 30 years..