The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
Most of the newspapers feature pictures of the Joseph Calleja concert on their front page.
The Times reports how GO is spending €100m on an upgrade of its networks. It also reports that a man was awarded €1,500 in moral damages for lengthy court proceedings. He had been acquitted after seven years in a case of domestic violence.
The Malta Independent recalls the death of Cliff Micallef a year ago today and quotes Max Micallef, a relative of the victim, saying nothing much has changed since in terms of road safety.
In-Nazzjon says Mepa turned down a permit for 164 apartments to be built in place of the former 7-UP bottling plant in Sta Venera.
l-orizzont says Zaren Vassallo's company is to be awarded the contract for the restoration of the remains of the Opera House, along with another two companies. It points out that Vassallo recently hosted PN General Secretary Paul Borg Olivier on his yacht.
The overseas press
The Washington Times reports Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has lashed out at WikiLeaks, saying the whistle-blowing website might already have blood on its hands. The Pentagon warned that its unprecedented leak of secret US military files could cost lives and damage trust of allies. Defence Secretary Robert Gates told reporters his biggest concern was that Afghans and other allies would no longer trust the United States to keep their secrets safe. Gates said he had asked the FBI to assist the Army.
Al Ahram reports that Arab officials meeting have agreed in principle to the holding of direct Middle East peace negotiations but left it up to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to decide when to start talks with Isreal. The United States said it was encouraged by the news from Cairo, while Abbas's rivals Hamas rejected it and sais it stood by its demands.
A Texas man has been sentenced to death for a second time for the beheading of three children, including his own daughter, in 2003. Dallas Morning News said John Allen Rubio, 29, was previously found guilty in 2003 of killing the three children but an appeals court overturned the conviction in 2007. Angela Camacho, the children's mother and Rubio's common law wife, pleaded guilty to the murders in 2005. She is currently serving three life sentences. On Monday, a jury found Rubio guilty of four counts of capital murder - one charge for each child and one for the children together. The court yesterday sentenced Rubio to death by lethal injection. His attorney said he would appeal.
Le Parisien says 47-year-old nurse has confessed to killing her eight newborn children and hiding their bodies in a village north of Paris. Dominique Cottrez explained that she didn't want any more children but didn't want to see a doctor to take contraceptives. Her husband was also put under investigation for hiding the bodies and not alerting police. Her daughters have said they were "in shock" and "didn't notice anything".
Panapress reports some 138 people have died after an overloaded boat carrying passengers and goods capsized in bad weather in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The accident took place on Wednesday.
The BBC says the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee is ready to send members to the UK to question British witnesses on the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi on compassionate grounds. Senator Robert Menendez revealed the plan after British witnesses turned down requests to attend a hearing of the committee in Washington.
Metro reveals Britain would overtake France and Germany to become the most populous country in the EU by 2050. Official projections show the population will jump to 77 million by the middle of the century with France in second place with 70 million. Germany, currently the EU's biggest country with 81.6million people, will see its population slump to 71.5million, owing to low birth rates, fewer immigrants and ageing population. The figures from the Population Reference Bureau also show the world population will hit seven billion next year, just 12 years after it reached sixbillion.
USA Today reports several hundred civil rights activists have marched through Phoenix as a new Arizona immigration law went into effect, sparking a tense standoff with riot police in which about 25 people were arrested. The angry protestors were met by scores of police in riot gear. A judge had previously temporarily stripped it of key powers allowing police to spot check the immigration status of all suspects. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer appealed against the decision.
Environmental Daily says wildlife officials have trapped a female bear believed to have killed a man and injured two other people in three separate pre-dawn attacks at a campsite near Yellowstone Park. Two of the grizzly mother's three cubs have also been caught. The bear's DNA is being tested to see if it matches samples taken from the victims.