The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says Malta, Italy and Libya are to discuss the visas issue. It also reports that the heirs of a wealthy businessman have insisted in reply to a judicial protest they only took what was bequeathed to them.
The Malta Independent says Malta has criticized the way Switzerland applied the Schengen treaty to ban entry to several prominent Libyans. It also says that the EU has given Malta has up to end of 2011 to remedy its excessive deficit or face procedures.
MaltaToday says the Prime Minister will face off his rebellious back bench in meetings next month. In another story, University lecturer and women rights' activist Anna Borg says the proposal to issue care orders to protect unborn children from their own mothers is a ‘tyrant law' which betrays a ‘paternalistic' attitude towards women.
l-orizzont says Gejtu Vella, general secretary of the UHM, has angered members of his union over his opposition to the protest over the utility tariffs. The newspaper also says that the government spent €2m 'for nothing' on the purchase of the swine flu vaccine.
In-Nazzjon quotes a statement by the CMTU which criticized the holding of street protests. In other stories it reports how a financial assistance scheme for the installation of photovoltaic panels was snapped up. It also says there has been progress in investigations over the Casino di Venezia hold-up.Two Maltese are being interrogated.
The overseas press
The Irish Examiner says Irish and American survivors of sexual abuse by priests rounded on Pope Benedict XVI for not acknowledging senior clergy covered up decades of sickening abuse.
De Standaard says EU finance ministers have told Greece that efforts to bring its deficit under control would have to be stepped up. The EU offered its support, but no firm commitments on specific aid.
EU Observer says the European Commission is recommending that talks begin on the EU accession of Iceland. The Commission is expected to formally make its recommendation next Wednesday, with the decision likely to be validated by the college of 27 commissioners the following day. Iceland has already said it could take between 12 and 24 months for talks on joining the union to conclude.
The Washington Post leads with President Barack Obama's announcement that about $8 billion (€5.8 billion) in federal loan guarantees would be available for the first new US nuclear power plant in nearly three decades, underscoring the administration's efforts to reduce dependence on foreign oil.
The International Herald Tribune says the US, Russia and France agreed that Iran's project to enrich uranium to a higher degree was raising fresh concerns about its nuclear intentions. Their joint statement was critical of Tehran's decision to enrich to the 20 per cent level, saying it represented "a further step toward a capability to produce highly enriched uranium". Uranium enriched up to 90 per cent is used to arm nuclear warheads.
Meanwhile, Abrar quotes President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad saying any country that tried to impose new sanctions on Iran would regret its actions. He was speaking a day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought Saudi Arabia's support to help win Chinese backing for additional sanctions.
Der Kurier reports a heterosexual couple in Austria has vowed to go to the country's highest court to be granted a civil partnership introduced for gay couples. They argued that current legislation was discriminatory because it gave same-sex couples a status similar to traditional marriage but different in a number of respects, like less strict rules in the event of a divorce. The heterosexual couple in question argued that this was a more modern form of union which simply suited them better than a traditional marriage.
The Irish Times says anti-smoking campaigners have appealed to legislators to save children under 16 from the risks of passive smoking in cars. Dr Angie Brown of Ash Ireland said passive smoke can be as much as 23 times more toxic in a vehicle than in a house because of the confined space.
Metro says church leaders in the UK are encouraging people to give up their iPods rather than chocolate for Lent to help save the planet. Senior bishops are calling for a technology fast and a cut in personal carbon use. Their list of ways to achieve this also includes eating by candlelight; cutting meat and vegetables thinner so they cook faster and flushing the toilet less often.