The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times, like most of the other newspapers, leads with the shooting of a BirdLife ranger, who was slightly injured yesterday. It also reports that Freddie Fenech, president of the Association of Abandoned Animals, has been dismissed from his position in view of a fraud investigation.
MaltaToday says the time has come for fresh thinking on Malta’s drugs policy.
The Malta Independent notes that BirdLife ranger Ray Vella also survived a previous shooting. It says the third time might not be lucky. The newspaper also reports that a Bill to allow early voting has been published in the Government Gazette.
l-orizzont reports that the GWU is seeking criminal proceedings against Malta Freeport directors and that three workers have been suspended by the Freeport for obeying union directives.
In-Nazzjon says the details of the local councils reform will be announced this afternoon. It also says the police are close to solving the hold-up which took place at a mobile phones shop in Birkirkara.
The Press in Britain
The Daily Telegraph announces parents who allow their children to skip school will be fined £50.
The Guardian runs a call from the inventor of genetic fingerprinting for innocent people's DNA to be wiped from the national database.
According to The Sun, a British bombmaker's DNA has been found on a roadside explosive planted by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The Times claims hundreds of colleges approved to accept non-EU students were not inspected.
The Daily Express leads with researchers’ findings that taking asprin every day makes you 70 per cent more likely to bleed in the brain.
The Daily Mail says bank Goldman Sachs has promised its staff a 33 per cent pay boost for returning a profit after it was bailed-out by the US government.
The Daily Star leads with Jack Tweed, Jade Goody's widower, being sentenced to 12 weeks in jail.
Tweed's lawyer tells the Daily Mirror his client was harshly treated because he is famous, while the taxi driver Tweed assaulted says the celebrity got off lightly because of his status.
And elsewhere…
The Washington Times leads with the White House’s call to North Korea to "cease its provocative threats" and respect the will of the international community by honouring its international commitments. The US said Tuesday's declaration by Pyongyan to restart its nuclear reactor and boycott international disarmament talks was a serious step in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced North Korea had ended co-operation with UN nuclear inspectors and ordered them to leave the country.
According to Kyiv Pos, three Ukrainians have been arrested for seeking to sell radioactive material that could have been used by terrorists to make a "dirty bomb". The three men, a member a regional parliament and two businessmen, tried to sell a container of radioactive material for €7.5 million.
Panapress reports that Somali pirates have hijacked four more ships in the Gulf of Aden and taken more than 60 crew members hostage.
Magyar Nemzet says Hungary's new Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai plans to immediately introduce austerity measures and economic reforms and demand sacrifices from many Hungarians, including cuts to pensions and public sector pay.
Bangkok Post reports an arrest warrant has been issued for fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as three of his followers were charged over violent anti-government rallies that had paralysed Bangkok.
The Washington Post says President Barack Obama has given a progress report on the recession-hit economy, saying there are signs of recovery but warned that the country was "by no means out of the woods just yet".
El Universal reports that at least six children and two teachers plunged to their death and 33 others were seriously injured when a hanging bridge snapped under their weight in southern Peru.
Afghan Times says a Taliban firing squad has executed a young Afghan couple for trying to elope to Iran. The 19-year-old woman and the 21-year-old man were accused by the militants of immoral acts and a council of clerics decided that they should be killed. The two had fled their homes but their parents sent villagers to bring them home,
The International Herald Tribune quotes US military chief Admiral Michael Mullen warning that violence in Afghanistan is set to rise in the coming months as extra us troops arrive in the country to battle a bloody insurgency.
The New York Post says new White House dog Bo took a bow before a paparazzi-style pack of cameras, prompting President Obama to proclaim the new first pet had "star quality".
Down To Earth magazine reports that over 1,500 farmers in the Indian agricultural state of Chattisgarh committed suicide after being driven to debt by crop failure. The state was hit by falling water levels.
Berliner Morgenpost says restoration work has started on murals painted on the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin wall, 20 years after the cold war barrier fell.