The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports on a bid to gauge hidden cases of domestic violence. It also features confirmation by Mepa that a firm dumped contaminated water into sewers.
The Malta Independent says a Greek bouncer was convicted for causing the death of a Maltese-Australian tourist. It also features a campaign to increase the number of foster carers and the controversy caused by the Malta Freeport extension.
In-Nazzjon says Mepa yesterday approved the Freeport extension, but a Labour MP voted against what would be a €130m investment and 500 new jobs.
l-orizzont says approval of the freeport extension angered Birzebbuga residents as it would bring industrial activity closer to their homes. The newspaper also reports that the Union Gradwati Maltacom has become an affiliate of the GWU.
The international press
El Pais announces that EU justice ministers meeting in Toledo, Spain, have put off a request by the US to install full-body scanners at airports across Europe. They said studies must first confirm that the devices are safe and don't invade privacy.
The Wall Street Journal says the global banking industry is in turmoil after President Barack Obama's sent shockwaves by calling for the most far-reaching reforms on Wall Street since the 30s. He announced sweeping moves aimed preventing them growing so large that their collapse could bring down the entire system and promised to push the reforms in Congress, even if Wall Street launched a campaign to block them.
France 24 reports that the managing director of the Washington-based International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has called for a multilateral strategy for the reconstruction of Haiti similar to the "Marshall Plan" that rebuilt Europe after the Second World War. The IMF last Thursday promised an interest-free loan of $100 million (€71 million) in initial emergency funds to the Haitian government.
The International Herald Tribune says workers in Haiti are carving out mass graves on a hillside north of Haiti's capital, using earth-movers to bury 10,000 earthquake victims in a single day.
The Los Angeles Times reports some 800 homes in the Los Angeles area remain evacuated under threat of mudslides as storms cause renewed transport chaos and power cuts. Torrential rains and waves as high as 7.6 metres have eroded beaches and flooded low-lying roads.
Environment Today reports a Nobel Prize-winning panel of climate scientists who wrote the world's most authoritative report on global warming have apologised after five glaring errors were discovered in one paragraph. All the mistakes appear in a sub-section that suggests glaciers in the Himalayas could melt away by the year 2035 – hundreds of years earlier than the data actually indicated. The year 2350 was apparently transposed as 2035.
Belfast Times reports disgraced MP Iris Robinson is under police investigation after securing £50,000 (€57,000) from two developers to fund her toyboy lover’s restaurant business.
Variety announces that sci-fi extravaganza 'Avatar', Iraq drama' The Hurt Locker' and coming-of-age story 'An Education' have earned eight nominations apiece in the race for the British Academy Film Awards, Britain's equivalent of the Oscars. The three films are up for best picture alongside Up in the Air and Precious. South African alien thriller 'District 9' has seven nominations. Prizes will be awarded at a ceremony at London's Royal Opera House on February 21. They are considered an important indicator of prospects at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles two weeks later.