The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The local newspapers are dominated by the funeral of five victims of the Gharb fireworks factory explosion, all from the same family.
The Times says a family was united in death. The Malta Independent quotes Fr George Bezzina saying in the homily that this was an arrivederci, not addio. In-Nazzjon highlights the importance given by Fr Bezzina to the value of life. l-orizzont features a picture of Mary Farrugia, who suffered the deepest sorrow having lost a husband, two sons, a daughter-in-law and son-in-law.
In other stories. The Times and The Malta Independent report comments by the MHRA yesterday that tourism is gaining momentum, but hoteliers' profits are lower.
In-Nazzjon says Independence celebrations kick off today.
l-orizzont says the general secretary of the European Nurses Federation will be meeting nurses in Malta.
The overseas press
The Daily Mail focuses on the controversy surrounding the comments of one of the Pope’s senior advisers, Cardinal Walter Kasper, on the eve of the Pope's visit to the UK. The German-born Cardinal reportedly told the country’s magazine Focus the UK was marked by "a new and aggressive atheism". He was quoted as saying that "when you land at Heathrow you think at times you have landed in a Third World country". The Vatican said the cardinal had not intended "any kind of slight" and had pulled out because of illness.
Chilevision quotes the engineer in charge of the rescue of 33 miners trapped underground in Chile saying he hoped the men could be freed as early as November. Initially, mining experts had said the rescue could take until Christmas. Engineer Rene Aguilar said a drill used to dig a hole to haul the men to safety had reached a depth of more than 350 metres, halfway to where the miners were trapped after a rockfall 41 days ago. Mr Aguilar said work was progressing well.
The Jerusalem Post reports Israeli and Palestinian leaders have held a second day of Middle East peace negotiations in Jerusalem with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. American envoy George Mitchell said progress was made on the issue of Jewish West Bank settlements. The Palestinians say they will walk out of the talks if a partial Israeli ban on settlement building is not extended.
Meanwhile, Al Quds al Arabi says Gaza militants, who opposed to peace with Israel and have threatened to derail the fledgling negotiations, launched mortar shells into Israel. They said eight mortars and one rocket hit Israel by mid-afternoon – the highest daily total since March 2009. There were no injuries. Israeli warplanes responded by bombing a smuggling tunnel along the Gaza-Egypt border. Hamas officials said one person was killed and four wounded.
Le Monde reports that the row over France’s expulsion of Roma migrants has continued with President Sarkozy offering a strong response to the criticism from the European Commission. On Tuesday, Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said she was appalled by the recent French expulsions. EC president Jose Manuel Barroso came out in support Ms Reding's overall sentiments about the French actions, but said that she had gone too far in appearing to make comparisons with Hitler's Germany.
Afghan Daily says at least 35 police officers and 10 demonstrators were injured in Kabul after police moved in to disperse a crowd of several hundred demonstrators throwing stones and shouting anti-American slogans. The protest was triggered by the now-cancelled plans by an American pastor to burn copies of the Quran.
According to Oil City Derrick, the US government is requiring oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico to plug thousands of non-producing wells and dismantle hundreds of unused platforms. The order came after an explosion at a BP well caused the worst ecological catastrophe in recent American history.
Jam-e Jam newspaper reports police in Iran have arrested 60 people at a party where alcohol was served and men and women socialised. People of different sex are not allowed to mix freely if they are not related and alcohol is banned under the country’s Islamic laws. Penalties for breaking the strict laws include lashes, fines or imprisonment.