The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says Mepa auditor Joe Falzon is considering resignation. It also reports that smacking children breaches children's rights, according to a UK expert.
The Malta Independent reports on the trial of former Chief Justice Noel Arrigo. It reports evidence by Mr Justice Joseph Filletti who said he had been assured that a reduced prison term of 12 years in an appeal case was fair.
l-orizzont asks if there is an effort to remove the Mepa auditor. The paper also carries the GWU reaction to the Budget, saying it was not enough.
In-Nazzjon reports that Paula Mifsud Bonnici was elected president of the PN general council, succeeding Victor Scerri. It also quotes the PN deputy leader Tonio Borg insisting that job creation is the government's priority.
The Press in Britain...
An exclusive poll for The Times finds that less than half of the population believes that human activity is to blame for global warming.
The Financial Times says British Airways is already eyeing-up deals with other airlines after clinching a merger with Spain's Iberia.
The Daily Telegraph is back on the expenses story: it reports that £45,000 were spent by the new speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow to have his his grace-and-favour Westminster apartment refurbished.
According to the Daily Mail, today's 60-year-olds are the first modern generation to be less healthy than their predecessors.
The Daily Express says new research claims calorie guidelines taken as the gold standard by the weight-conscious for two decades now appear to be wrong.
The Independent has an exclusive report on detailed allegations of prisoner abuse by British soldiers in Iraq.
The Guardian reveals doctors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah are reporting a huge rise in birth defects.
The Daily Record accused supermarkets of encouraging binge drinking by flogging four cans of lager for under a pound.
The Herald says the Scottish Government and the Glasgow City Council are poised to pump tens of millions of pounds more into the 2014 Commonwealth Games budget.
The Scotsman says a move to ensure Scotland's World Cup and European Championship home qualifiers are on terrestrial TV would be a "disaster" for the game.
According to The Sun, David Beckham is being brought in to help England bid for the 2018 World Cup.
And elsewhere...
Tribune de Genève quotes WHO confirming that more than 6,200 people worldwide have now died from swine flu, with the virus spreading to 206 countries and territories. Most deaths have occurred in the Americas, which has seen 4,512 die since the start of the global pandemic. Europe has witnessed least 300 deaths.
Gazete Ankara reports Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay has announced reforms which ease restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language and establish an independent commission to investigate human rights violations.
L'Avvenire says Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia advisors are briefing Vatican officials and Catholic bishops about contemporary media at a symposium exploring the possibilities and dangers of the internet for the Catholic Church.
Le Parisien reports Brigett Bardot, one-time French screen goddess turned animal rights activist, wants the European Union to institute a "Vegetarian Day" as part of the battle against global warming.
The New York Times leads with the Obama administration's order that the self-confessed mastermind of the September 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four others face trial in New York. Prosecutors are to seek the death penalty in all five of the cases.
The International Herald Tribune says US Federal prosecutors are seeking to take the assets worth more than $500 million (£302 million) of a Muslim organisation suspected of being controlled by the Iranian government. They include bank accounts; Islamic centres consisting of schools and mosques in New York, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres in Virginia; and a 36-story Manhattan office tower. The US government accuses Iran of bankrolling terrorism and trying to build a nuclear bomb.
Moscow Times reports two firefighters were killed and some 35 were still unaccounted for when huge explosions and fire ripped through a Russian military arsenal. Thousands of civilians nearby were evacuated.
US Space and Aviation News says Nasa scientists have announced evidence of water on the Moon in quantities potentially far larger than previously thought. Lunar experts said they were "ecstatic" with the results of an experiment that saw a rocket smash into the surface of earth's orbiting satellite.
Colorado Globe reports that Richard and Mayumi Heene, the Colorado parents accused of pulling a spectacular hoax by reporting their son was aboard a runaway balloon, have pleaded guilty to charges that could put them in jail.
The Waco Tribune-Herald reports a Texas woman has been charged with theft by deception after having lied about having breast cancer to have her breasts enlarged.
Toronto Star says aides to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper were asked to prepare a statement of condolence after wrongful reports of former Lady Thatcher's death spread at a gala dinner he was attending. Some 20 minutes after the rumour started spreading, it was revealed that the "Thatcher" who had just passed away was not the former British Prime Minister but a 16-year-old cat belonging to Transport Minister John Baird, who had named it after his political hero.