The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times leads with the arrival of 129 migrants in two groups yesterday. It also reports that a driver was seriously hurt and trapped when his vehicle was hit by a van and flipped on its side in Birkirkara yesterday. The van kept on going,
The Malta Independent leads with Joseph Muscat's comments yesterday that should the Prime Minister veto the EU Immigration Pact, he would find the full support of the MLP. It also carries a picture of the Red Arrows which gave a display over St Paul's Bay yesterday.
l-orizzont also leads with Dr Muscat's appeal to the Prime Minister not to sign the Immigration Pact. It also reports the arrival of 129 migrants yesterday.
In-Nazzjon highlights the consultation process for Gozo to be turned into an eco-island. It also underlines the benefits of the EU Immigration Pact.
The Press in Britain…
The news that the Spanish banking giant Santander will take over the retail deposits and branch network of troubled mortgage bank Bradford & Bingley was announced too late to make the first edition of the British dailies. Sky News reports the deal is worth around £400m.
The Financial Times reports on government plans to nationalise Bradford & Bingley and sell the ailing mortgage lender off in parts after failing to find a "white knight" to take the whole business.
According to The Daily Mail, taxpayers face a multi-billion pound bill as a result of the forced nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley.
The Scotsman says it's "crunch day" for the world markets as billions of pounds of public money are poured into financial rescue packages.
The Daily Express says former soldiers will be trained as teachers under Conservative plans to beat classroom yobs.
The Independent says that drinking water supplies are to be tested amid fears that rivers are being contaminated by prescription drugs being flushed down the drain.
The Daily Star says that Peaches Geldof and her friends are making thousands of pounds by appearing at A-list parties.
Metro pictures the dramatic moment that Ferrari's Felipe Massa sped away from his pit stop at the Singapore Grand Prix - taking most of a petrol hose with him.
And elsewhere…
Der Kurier reports the combined forces of the extreme right took 29 per cent of the vote as the extreme right emerged from a general election as a contender to be the strongest political force in the country. The two big parties fared poorly: the Christian Democrats obtaining 26 per cent, down eight percentage points, and the Social Democrats took around 30 per cent and laid claim to the chancellorship.
Beloruskaya Gazeta quotes the head of the Belarus election commission saying that with nearly all districts counted, no opposition candidate won a seat in yesterday’s parliamentary election. Opposition leaders have alleged the vote was rigged despite promises by President Alexander Lukashenko that international standards would be followed. Full results are expected later in the day.
Suddeutsche Zeitung suggests Bavaria’s dominant conservative Social Union lost its long-standing, outright grip on power in yesterday’s election. The CSU is projected to have won 43 percent of the vote.
El Universo quotes President Rafal Correa of Ecuador saying his constitutional referendum won a "crushing victory," after exit polls showed some 66 to 70 percent of voters backed his socialist reform proposal.
The New York Times reports that tensions have increased over the Ukrainian cargo ship hijacked off the coast of Somalia, as the pirates vowed to fight to the death, a hostage died and Somali officials urged the American Navy to send in commandos. A heavily armed US destroyer was stationed off the coast, making sure the pirates don’t remove tanks, ammunition and other heavy weapons from the ship.
Chad’s Al Wihda reports that all but two of a group of eight kidnappers who abducted a group of European tourists in Egypt last week have been shot and killed by Sudanese forces. The two surviving kidnappers were taken into custody and told Sudanese soldiers that the tourists remain in captivity in Chad.
Wall Street Journal reports US politicians have published a $700bn deal to rescue America's financial system and end the credit crunch. The move, backed by both Republican and Democratic leaders, allows the Treasury to spend up to $700bn buying bad debts from ailing banks in the US. Stock markets in Asia rose following the announcement.
Afghan Daily says unidentified gunmen have shot dead one of the most high-profile female police officers in Afghanistan.
The People’s Daily leads with the Chinese spacecraft Shenzhou 7’s safe return to Earth after a three-day trip into space that included China's first-ever spacewalk. Commander Zhai Zhigang on Saturday became the first-ever Chinese person to conduct a spacewalk. Shenzhou 7 also placed a small satellite into orbit.
Asahi Shimbun says Japan's new transport minister, Nariaki Nakayama, has resigned because of a series of controversial remarks. The resignation is seen as a setback for the new prime minister, Taro Aso, who already has an approval rating of less than 50 percent.
Sport 24 reports Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie has broken his own world marathon record in Berlin, becoming the first man to run under two hours four minutes. The 35-year-old Gebrselassie beat the record he set in Berlin 12 months ago by 27 seconds, running the over 42-km marathon in two hours, three minutes and 59 seconds.