The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times and most of the other newspapers, lead with the series of explosions on board a barge from where fireworks were being let off near Sliema yesterday. No one was injured. The Times also carries an interview with the parents of a 15-year-old boy who escaped serious injury following a fall into a quarry in Mellieha last month. They called for greater safety precautions in sites like this.
The Malta Independent quotes an article from The Times of London asking if a Maltese registered ship hijacked near the English Channel, the Arctic Sea, had been carrying weapons for Iran.
In-Nazzjon says 86 persons are still on the list of missing persons. Some have not been seen for years. It also reports Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono saying the Cabinet will soon discuss eco-island proposals for Gozo. A set of 2,500 proposals will be made, covering the period to 2015.
l-orizzont in its story on the fireworks explosion, says there was one big explosion for San Girgor. It reports Labour MP Luciano Busuttil saying he intends to move a private member's motion for legislation on noise pollution. The newspaper also says that the battle against a weevil which is destroying palm trees is being lost.
The Press in Britain...
The Daily Mail leads with a breakthrough by British scientists that could cut the rate of new Alzheimer's cases by a fifth.
According to the Financial Times, European banks are facing pressure to issue far more shares in order to meet a tough new global regulatory framework that calls for much bigger and better capital buffers against shocks.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been forced to offer his support to IRA victims seeking compensation from Libya, after outrage greeted the revelation that he had told them it would not be "appropriate" for him to get involved.
The Guardian focuses on the "forgotten casualties of war" in Afghanistan and says some civilians in the troubled country believe foreign forces are as dangerous as the Taliban.
The Times says the Home Secretary has released a man regarded as one of Britain's most dangerous terror suspects from virtual house arrest to avoid disclosing secret evidence against him.
The Independent leads on the release of an Afghan student who was sentenced to death for the 'crime' of downloading information on women's rights.
The Daily Express reports a new study suggests taxpayers face a one billion pound bill to provide school places for children born in a looming immigrant baby boom.
The Daily Mirror leads on how a man who tried to save two jockeys from a blazing flat has been arrested on suspicion of arson. Daily Star says sobbing Jack Tweed told a friend he's innocent and "living a nightmare" after being sent back to prison charged with rape.
And elsewhere...
The International Herald Tribune says EU diplomats have again called on Israel to stop building new homes for its people inside Palestinian territories. However, on Sunday Israel reiterated its plan to construct "several hundred additional homes" in the occupied West Bank. Palestinians say peace talks cannot restart until this becomes a reality.
Aftonbladet quotes European Union officials meeting in Stockholm promising EU troops will stay the course in Afghanistan. However, officials called on Afghan politicians to help bring an end to corruption, human right abuses and the narcotics trade.
Amid rising tensions between US and German commanders, The Washington Post claims that the German commander had ordered the air strike on two stolen fuel tankers in Kunduz based on intelligence from only one Afghan informant - a violation of NATO rules aimed at reducing civilian casualties.
Afghan Times says that results from 74 per cent of the country's polling stations show President Hamid Karzai creeping closer to the important 50 per cent threshold with 48.6 per cent of the votes. Top challenger Abdullah Abdullah has 30.7 per cent. A substantial number of votes from 447 voting sites across the country had been discarded after allegations of fraud.
Manila Times says rescue efforts continued through the night for 30 missing passengers of a ferry which sank in the southern Philippines leaving at least nine people dead.
Meanwhile, Vreme reports that Macedonian authorities have detained the captain of a tourist boat that sank in a popular lake, killing 15 Bulgarians, as survivors said the vessel lacked life jackets.
Asia Observer says China has warned that anybody convicted of attacks with hypodermic needles containing harmful substances or contaminated by drug use will face harsh penalties, including the death sentence. Beijing blames Muslim separatist groups among ethnic Uighurs for the syringe attacks in the western ity of Urumqi, which was also hit by ethnic violence in July.
La Prensa reports that Mexican authorities have detained a 19-year-old single mother on suspicion of selling her eight-month-old daughter in exchange for a house and undisclosed payments.
Bild says a stamy new AIDS awareness advert shows an Adolf Hitler lookalike having sex. The controversial footage to be shown on TV and in cinemas is aimed at shocking the public out of complacency over unprotected sex. A tag line then reads: "AIDS is a mass murderer." The campaign, which also features posters of Joseph Stalin and Saddam Hussein lookalikes en flagrante, was organised with an AIDS awareness group ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1. Over 28 million people worldwide have died of AIDS, with the toll increase by another 5,000 every day.