The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times quotes Gozo Channel Captain Mario Grech saying that ferries are not being equipped to shackle heavy vehicles and there is not enough training for crews. It also reports EU proposals for banks to pay a levy on their profits apart from the taxes, to create a fund to help national economies.
The Malta Independent leads with the privatisation of the yacht marina at Mgarr. It also says that a Spanish company has protested that its bid was excluded from consideration as part of the transport reform.
In-Nazzjon also features the privatisation f the marina in Mgarr. In other stories it reports Finance Minister Tonio Fenech saying that the financial sector is continuing to grow.
l-orizzont continues its stories about BWSC sub-contractors involved in corruption. It also says that the City Gate project, the Barrakka lift and the restoration of forts St Angelo and Fort St Elmo have absorbed €2.8 million in consultancy fees.
The overseas press:
The Financial Times says Britain and France have rejected an EU proposal to form national funds to help wind up or reorganise failing banks, funded by a levy on the financial sector. EU internal market commissioner Michel Barnier said the proposals were an attempt by the to create a collective response to the banking crisis. The plan would be discussed by EU finance ministers and leaders next month.
La Tribune quotes the OECD saying the world was recovering robustly from the global downturn, but eurozone debt and overheating in emerging economies were still a risk. The organisation's six-monthly review upgraded the global growth forecast for this year to about 4.75 per cent after a shrinkage of 0.9 per cent in 2009. The signs of bounce back are being driven notably by emerging economies in Asia.
The International Herald Tribune quotes human rights group Amnesty International saying that a "global justice gap" allowed the rights of millions to be violated while their persecutors enjoy impunity or protection. Its annual report indicates Western Europe fell short of its promise in several areas, particularly regarding the rights of migrants, minorities, and those accused of terrorism-related crimes.
Voice of America says the BP operation to pump mud into a breached Gulf of Mexico oil well to try to stem the flow of oil caused by a rig explosion is going to plan. The US government is backing the "top kill" procedure, which has never been tried at such a depth. BP is under intense pressure to succeed with its latest attempt to stem the leak, after previous measures failed.
The Gleamer says that according to Jamaica's ombudsman, at least 44 people have died during fighting between police and gunmen in the current anti-drug offensive in Kingston. The city has seen days of running battles between security forces and fighters loyal to a suspected drug trafficker sought by the US. The whereabouts of alleged drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke is unknown.
Pravda says a bomb has killed six people - five women and a 12-year-old girl - and injured about 40 outside a concert hall in Stavropol, southern Russia. The explosion in the street came minutes before a Chechen dance troupe were due to perform inside the building.
Asia Observer reports US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the world must respond to the "unacceptable provocation" represented by the sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on Pyongyang. In Seoul on the final leg of a three-nation Asian tour, Clinton told reporters South Korea's measures were absolutely appropriate and had the full support of the United States. Meanwhile the North Korean regime unleashed more blistering rhetoric against Seoul and Washington.
Il Mattino says Naples police have arrested five local mobsters who shook down winners of a 33 million euro lottery, using threats to extort tens of thousands of euros out of some of the 30 winners. A local Camorra organised crime clan learned the identities of those who played the right numbers in the popular Superenalotto numbers game in January 2008. Some winners, including merchants and businessmen, paid the 40,000 euros apiece demanded by the mobsters, but others resisted. Authorities said wiretaps helped crack the scheme.
In the UK, the Daily Mail says a 40-year-old man, arrested following the discovery of body parts in a river, was being questioned on suspicion of murdering three prostitutes. West Yorkshire Police said the man had been arrested on suspicion of murdering Bradford three sex workers aged between 31 and 43.
According to The Age, a 15-month-old boy escaped with just a few cuts and bruises today after his pushchair rolled on to a railway track in Melbourne and was hit by a train. The incident happened when the baby's grandmother looked away for a moment. Officials were amazed the child survived. The dramatic escape came just seven months after another baby survived a train striking his buggy, which had also rolled on to the tracks.
The Daily News reports Bronx resident Orlando Caceres tried rushing his pregnant wife Johanna Melo to hospital, but she gave birth to baby girl Miah in the back seat. Paramedics cut the umbilical cord in the street, then brought mother and child into the hospital, followed by the frantic father. When Caceres got out again, he found a 35 dollar parking ticket. He's planning to fight and he has Miah as an alibi, the Daily News said.