The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times leads with the dispute between Malta and Italy over where rescued illegal immigrants should be taken to.
The Malta Independent says the UHM and the Malta Employers’ Association have condemned GWU threats of an international boycott of shipping line CMA CGM, the operator of Malta Freeport. It also reports the Malta-Italy dispute and the arson attack on the Mayor of Lija.
l-orizzont says Medecins Sans Frontieres has claimed Malta detention centres lack basic services. It also carries a reaction to the UHM, MEA criticism of the CMA-CGM boycott.
In-Nazzjon leads with the attack on the Mayor’s property as well as criticism of the GWU over its Freeport actions.
The Press in Britain
The Guardian leads with the news that the police officer caught on film pushing Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests could face manslaughter charges.
The Independent reacts to the news that a second post-mortem concluded that the newspaper vendor died of internal bleeding, and not from a heart attack.
The Daily Mail, suggests that a file on the death probe is likely to be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service.
The Daily Express reports that Chancellor Alistair Darling is set to scrap income tax relief on workplace pension contributions made by millions of higher-rate taxpayers in next week’s Budget.
The Times reports that police who arrested the Conservative frontbencher Damian Green searched his private e-mails looking for information on civil liberties campaigner Shami Chakrabarti.
The Daily Telegraph leads with the news that motorists driving on residential roads and near schools will be forced to obey a strict 20mph limit under new proposals to cut road traffic accidents.
And elsewhere…
Belorusskaya Gazeta announces that the EU has invited Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko – referred to as Europe's last dictator – to a Prague summit in a sign of a potential thaw in relations with the West.
Pravda quotes Russian President Dmitry Medvedev saying Nato made a "dangerous decision" in planning military exercises in Georgia next month.
Berliner Zeitung reports that five of Germany's eight major internet service providers, who together cover around 75 percent of the German market, have agreed to block websites containing child pornography.
Expressen leads with the conviction of four men, linked to popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay, found guilty of breaking Sweden's copyright law by helping millions of users freely download music, movies and computer games on the internet. They were sentenced to one year each in prison and ordered to pay damages of €2.7 million to a series of entertainment companies.
Times of India reports that Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the only Pakistani surviving gunman from the Mumbai attacks started undergoing trial charged with 12 criminal counts, including murder and waging war against India.
Afghan Times says at least 21 people have been killed in two earthquakes which caused homes to collapse on top of villagers while they slept.
L’Osservatore Romano reports the Vatican has criticised Belgium's parliament for passing a recent resolution condemning the Pope's comments about condoms and Aids during a trip to Africa. It has said some negative reactions were an "unprecedented" attempt to intimidate him.
The Australian says Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has denounced people smugglers who set hopeful refugees adrift in boats as "scum" and pledged to step up efforts to thwart them. He was speaking after a vessel, carrying 47 Afghan asylum seekers, exploded at sea and killed three people.
Aftonbladet reports mobile phone giant Sony Ericsson will axe a further 2,000 jobs worldwide after crashing to losses of €358 million in the first quarter of 2009. The company is coping with a slump in demand.
Michigan Chronicle says a Detroit couple who admitted killing their two-year-old son and were accused of trying to cremate his body on a barbecue have began long jail sentences of up to 50 years. Police found the toddler’s remains while investigating the 2007 scalding of the couple’s one-year-old son.
Colorado Globe says a 20-year-old woman, who wrapped her boyfriend’s dog in packing tape and stuck the animal upside down to a refrigerator because he would not get rid of it, was charged with felony, cruelty and drug possession. The dog, a Japanese breed called a Shiba Inu, has been taken to a shelter and will be put up for adoption.
The Yorkshire Times reports that an amateur pilot guided to the ground by the RAF after suffering a stroke and going blind at 15,000 feet has met the man who helped him land safely. Jim O’Neill, 65 made a mayday call last October while flying a Cessna over North Yorkshire on a solo flight. RAF controllers scrambled a jet, whose crew guided O’Neill down to a nearby RAF base.