The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says a man suspected of murder has been allowed to go on a business trip to Africa, amid complaints by the relatives of the victim that such a thing was unheard of. It also reports that according to an EU Commissioner, car owners can claim reimbursement of ‘illegal vat’ charged on car registration tax.
MaltaToday reports ‘Failure at the docks,’ with the bids offering substantially less than what the government is spending on the early retirement schemes. It also reports that there are €11 million in unpaid fines, with six people owing over €1m.
The Malta Independent reports that the government is helping Methode to recover and investment further in Malta. It also reports on the early end to Carnival and a call for government assistance for the building of a Carnival village.
In-Nazzjon leads with Methode Inc’s decision to invest €6.5m and return to a normal working day.
l-orizzont’s focuses on comments by Mgr Anton Gouder yesterday on whether the school day should be extended and housewives paid. It also reports that Methode Inc’s factories in Malta are to return to a normal working week and that, according to the PL, VAT on car registration tax can be reclaimed.
The Press in Britain
The Daily Mail reports angry scenes in the Commons amid accusations of a cover-up as Justice Secretary Jack Straw vetoed the publication of minutes of two key Cabinet meetings in 2003 on the decision to invade Iraq.
The Daily Telegraph reports that savers withdrew a record £2.3bn from their accounts last month as historically low interest rates forced millions to look elsewhere.
The Financial Times says US stocks rose in response to Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s assurance to Congress that regulators were not planning to nationalise banks. He expressed faith that the banking system could be stabilised.
The Evening Standard says Scotland Yard is facing new claims of racism over allegations that an "apartheid" culture among police community support officers.
The Daily Star says cancer battling Jade Goody is defying doctors by planning her sons’ christening next week and vowing: “I will be there.”
The Daily Mirror reports that family and friends are among more than 500 people who next Saturday will be taking part in a massive walk for Jade to raise money to fight cancer.
The Guardian quotes a former government security chief warning searching personal data will 'break moral rules' and that the fight against terror “spells the end of privacy”.
The Daily Express says a 63-year-old respected village councillor was landed with a criminal record and a £3,000-legal bill for clipping a foul-mouthed thug round the head with her rolled-up committee papers.
And elsewhere…
Electronic media throughout the world lead with President Barack Obama’s keynote speech to Congress during which he pledged America will "rebuild", “recover" and be "stronger than ever".
The Washington Post quotes Pentagon officials saying the US plans to withdraw most of its troops from Iraq by August 2010.
And The Washington Times says President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso have agreed on close cooperation in stemming the global economic crisis.
El Pais quotes Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos saying his country was prepared to accept prisoners from the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay.
Il Sole 24 Ore leads with the signing of an agreement in Rome by President Nicholas Sarkozy and Premier Silvio Berlusconi for nuclear cooperation.
USA Today reports Nasa’s first spacecraft dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide and global warming crashed into the ocean after failing to launch.
Afghan Daily says a roadside bomb has killed four US troops on overnight patrol in Helmand province and an Afghan civilian working with coalition forces.
Jamhuuriya reports that at least 18 people have been killed in Mogadishu in clashes between insurgents and soldiers accompanied by African Union peacekeepers.
Isreal’s Haaretz quotes diplomats in Syria saying the country has built a missile facility over the ruins of what the US says was a nuclear reactor destroyed by Israel war planes.
The New York Post prints an apology by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch for a cartoon in the newspaper which appeared to depict President Obama as a chimpanzee shot dead by police.
The Lancet reports that researchers from the University of Oxford found that, among women who drink, consuming one alcoholic beverage a day increased the risk of all types of cancer by 6 per cent by the time women were 75.
And a study in the British Medical Journal suggests that being obese increases the risk of dying just as much as smoking.