The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says the owners of BB Energy, a Lebanese company selected as the preferred bidder for the privatisation of Enemalta's petroleum distribution section, were implicated in fraud but a company delegation on Monday still met officials of the Malta Resources Authority.
MaltaToday says EU Commission President Barroso is pushing for Joe Borg to be retained at European Commissioner. It also reports that the Church has reiterated its objection to the underground extension of St John’s Cathedral Museum. In another story it reports on the arraignment of Bastjan Dalli, the Social Policy Minister’s brother.
l-orizzont says there is a ‘war’ over the tuna fishing quota, which Maltese fisherman see as being too low. It also reports how Enemalta has announced it has started to revise the power tariffs.
In-Nazzjon also leads with the Enemalta announcement that it has started the revision of tariffs. In another story is says Northway Financial has recruited 116 employees since 2005. Northway, a financial services company, yesterday inaugurated an extension of its offices.
The Malta Independent says Malta has objected that it has been allocated far too little funding for energy projects by the EU. It also reports that Labour MP Carmelo Abela is to be retained as Deputy Speaker, despite the absence of pairing.
The Press in Britain
The Independent says the UK government may restrict the number of highly skilled migrants allowed into Britain because ministers fear many of the record 400,000 graduates leaving university this summer will fail to find work in the recession.
The Financial Times says Alistair Darling has admitted taxpayers may have to buy toxic assets from Britain's banks to help kick-start lending, which would add a "bad bank" scheme to the government's existing plans to insure banks against unexpected losses.
The DailyExpress tells how the snow caused chaos across Britain.
According to The Guardian, parents, business leaders and education campaigners have condemned the decision to close 8,000 schools across the UK.
The Daily Mail reports the schools were shut even though many of them were in areas where the wintry weather had dramatically improved.
The Sun tells how reality TV star Jade Goody, 27, has been told that cancer has spread throughout her body.
The Mirror reveals Carol Thatcher was axed from her BBC show in a race storm for calling a black tennis star a golliwog.
The Star says three more Premier League stars will be quizzed over the alleged rape of an 18-year-old student.
And elsewhere…
The International Herald Tribune reports that the United States, the European Union, Japan and Norway have issued a joint statement urging Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels to consider surrendering to government troops. They also called on the warring factions to respect international humanitarian law and allow the sick and wounded out and aid into the war zone.
The Washington Times says US Middle East envoy George Mitchell will return to the region before the end of February. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the announcement after talks with Mitchell in Washington. They discussed his recent Middle East peace tour that was focused on achieving a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. She reiterated the US position that Hamas had to recognise Israel and stop all rocket attacks if there was to be a lasting agreement.
The Washintong Post says Mrs Clinton and visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier have expressed concerns about the news that Iran had succeeded in launching its first domestically built satellite. Iranian state television said the satellite was designed for use for peaceful purposes only.
South China Morning Post says North Korea was accused of preparing to test-fire a ballistic missile with enough range to hit the US. The move comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula, with the North declaring last week that it was abandoning pacts designed to prevent hostilities with the South.
L’Osservatore Romano reports that the Vatican has rejected criticism by German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the Roman Catholic Church had not spoken out clearly enough in condemning Holocaust denial. A Vatican spokesman cited a papal address last week, during which Pope Benedict XVI expressed his solidarity with the Jewish people.
Corriere della Sera leads with the case of a woman who has been in a vegetative state for nearly 17 years and who was transferred to a private clinic Tuesday where she is expected to die -- ending what has been a lengthy and controversial legal fight. Eluana Englaro suffered irreversible brain damage in a car crash in 1992, when she was 20 years old. For years, her father has fought to have her feeding tube removed, saying it would be a dignified end to his daughter's life.
El Pais says Spanish police have arrested 11 Pakistanis, a Nigerian and an Indian in early morning raids in Barcelona and Valencia. They are suspected of belonging to an international crime gang involved in passport forgery, drug trafficking and people smuggling.
USA Today reports that Nadya Suleman, the mother of the world’s longest-living octuplets has being inaundated with offers for book deals, TV shows and other business proposals. But the 33-year-old single mother has not decided what she might do other than care for her children. Her babies continue to grow stronger but it was not immediately known when they or their mother would be discharged.
Variety says the former manager and friend of Britney Spears, Osama "Sam" Lutfi, has filed a lawsuit against the singer and her parents for libel and defamation. Mr Lutfi filed his claim in Los Angeles, three days after a judge granted Spears' father a restraining order against him and Adnan Ghalib. The libel claim cites Lynne Spears' book Through the Storm as being filled with "false statements".
New York Post reports that an American toy company is renaming its Malia and Sasha dolls, in a move welcomed by First Lady Michelle Obama, who had objected to the use of her daughters’ names. The dolls, first called Marvelous Malia and Sweet Sasha, will now be named Marvelous Mariah and Sweet Sydney. The company denied the dolls were not modelled on the daughters.