The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says the impact of the cost of living increase announced in the Budget would be less than feared. It also says that Mepa has lambasted its audit officer over comments he made about a development in Qala.
The Malta Independent reports that a man, 36, was yesterday accused of the attempted murder of three persons when he allegedly shot at their home on Wednesday evening. It also reports that in the trial of former Chief Justice Noel Arrigo, different versions were heard on who allegedly passed money to whom.
In-Nazzjon says products by leading world companies are based on research of a Maltese company. It also reports that the PN General Council opens today with voting for the election of the president, to succeed Victor Scerri.
l-orizzont says the sailors of the Arctic Sea have spoken up. It reports that a ransom of €1.5 million was demanded for their release. It also reports that a Safi man was accused of three attempted murders.
The Press in Britain...
The Independent claims there are bitter divisions in the Obama camp over Afghanistan policy as the US president rejected all four options presented to him for increasing troops.
The Guardian quotes a key adviser to Britain and the US saying Obama's dithering has been "messy".
The Financial Times leads with the merger between British Airways and Iberia, which the paper calls "one of the biggest deals in the global aviation industry".
According to the Daily Express, the Prime Minister's speech on immigration has "ignited a fresh wave of anger" over the strain on public services.
The Daily Telegraph looks at the news the BBC is paying its top 100 staff an average of £199,316 - more than the Prime Minister's £194,250 salary.
The Times has the same story and pictures of the debut display by the Red Arrows first female fast-jet pilot Kirsty Moore.
The Daily Mail says Home Secretary Alan Johnson has been told he does have the power to stop a suicidal Asperger's syndrome sufferer, who hacked into Pentagon and Nasa computers, from being extradited to the US.
Metro leads with the story of a suspicious wife who snared her paeodophile husband by posing as a 14-year-old schoolgirl whom he propositioned for sex in an internet chatroom.
And elsewhere...
Corriere della Sera announces an international terror cell has been smashed with the arrest of 17 Algerians across Europe. Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the group been raising money for terror operations. The arrests followed an investigation in Milan, and the co-operation of anti-terrorist units from Algeria, Austria, Britain, France, Spain and Switzerland. Six of the arrests were in Italy.
Pravda leads with President Dmitry Medvedev's annual state of the nation address during which he called for a "total reform" of the economy for Russia, a sweeping modernisation of ageing Soviet-built military arsenals and a foreign policy aimed at attracting investment and improving living standards. Without criticising his predecessor and mentor Vladimir Putin, Medvedev said he was interested in "the flow of capital, new technologies and modern ideas".
Texas Globe says Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the US Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 and wounding 29 in last week's shooting rampage at his military post in Fort Hood, would face 13 charges of premeditated murder -making him eligible for the death penalty if convicted. He could face a 14th count of murder related to the death of the unborn child of a pregnant shooting victim.
Himalayan Times reports tens of thousands of communist demonstrators have blocked the streets of Kathmandu leading to the government headquarters and clashed with police armed with batons and tear gas. Demonstrators prevented Nepalese officials from entering the area, shutting down many government functions.
USA Today says the police in Cleveland have identified a tenth woman whose skull was discovered at the home of Anthony Sowell, an accused serial killer charged with five counts of aggravated murder. The 25-year-old had not been seen since August 2008 but was not reported as a missing person. Her remains were identified through DNA. Of the remains of 11 people, only one is still unidentified.
China Today says a school cafeteria in Hebei province collapsed under heavy snow, killing three primary school students and injuring 28 others. Heavy snow has hit major parts of northern China, causing highway closures and flight cancellations.
The New York Post reveals a teenager accused of robbery has been cleared of all charges after providing a Facebook alibi. Rodney Bradford spent 12 days in prison after being arrested on suspicion of holding up two people close to his home in Brooklyn. But the 19-year-old was eventually released after it was found that an update on the social networking site placed him at his father's flat across town in Harlem.