The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:

The Times says Muammar Gaddafi has remained defiant as the EU debates sanctions.

The Malta Independent says the Security Service is interviewing the Libyan pilots who defected to Malta.

MaltaToday speaks of ‘Mad Dog’ Gaddafi’s last bark.

In-Nazzjon says Gaddafi is not prepared to flee Libya.

l-orizzont reports that there was joy and other emotions yesterday as another Air Malta flight arrived from Tripoli.

The overseas press

The New York Times leads with the UN Security Council’s appeal to the Libyan authorities to end violence against demonstrators and take "steps to address the legitimate demands of the population". The 15-nation council issued the statement late on Tuesday in response to the mounting death toll in the country – varying between 233 and 1,000. The Arab League announced it had suspended Libya's participation until it responded to the people's demands. AFP news agency reports several EU countries, notably Germany and Finland, called for sanctions against Gaddafi at talks in Brussels between foreign ministers of the 27-nation bloc.

Al-Sharq al-Awsat says the UN statement followed a speech on state television by the Libyan leader who threatened to take back the country from protesters “house by house” – signaling an escalation of the crackdown that has thrown the capital into scenes of mayhem, wild shooting and bodies in the streets. A defiant Muammar Gaddafi vowed to fight to his "last drop of blood" and was prepared to die a "martyr". He shouted that he would not step down and would not leave the country. He urged his supporters to go out and attack the "cockroaches" demonstrating against his rule.

London’s The Times saw the speech was an all-out call for his supporters to impose control over the capital and take back other cities. After a week of upheaval, protesters backed by defecting army units have claimed control over almost the entire eastern half of Libya's 1,600-kilometre Mediterranean coast, including several oil-producing areas.

Libya's interior minister Abdul Fattah Younis al Abidi told CNN he had quit the government and was supporting the protesters, who he predicted would achieve victory in "days or hours". He said he had resigned after hearing that some 300 unarmed civilians had been killed in Benghazi. He accused Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi of planning to attack civilians on a wide scale.

The BBC reports that during the speech there were reports of gunfire on the streets of the capital, Tripoli. In Benghazi, the second largest city, people watching the address reportedly threw shoes at screens as a sign of their anger. In other developments:

• Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has said that the unrest might be a pretext for a NATO invasion of Libya;
• China has urged Libya to ensure the safety of its citizens after hundreds of Chinese construction workers reportedly fled armed looters;
• Tens of thousands of foreigners are trying to leave the country;
• Three Turkish ships have been sent to Benghazi to evacuate about 3,000 nationals. A thousand have already been airlifted to safety;
• Italy is to send three C-130 air force planes to evacuate some 1,500 of its citizens;
• Oil company Royal Dutch Shell says all its expatriate staff have been "temporarily relocated". Italy's Eni and France's Total are also evacuating staff while Spain's Repsol is suspending operations and sending its expatriate staff home.
• Oil prices rose to two-and-a-half-year highs as the markets respond shakily to the escalating violence. Brent Crude from the North Sea briefly hit $108.57 (€79.44) in morning trade, before dropping during the course of the day.

The Dominion Post says rescue efforts have resumed in Christchurch in New Zealand after a powerful earthquake killed at least 75 people and left 300 missing. Prime Minister Jon Key has promised that Christchurch would be rebuilt as would the lives of those affected. The government has declared a national state of emergency as it continues to search for those trapped in the rubble.

The Arizona Daily Star reports that an Iraqi immigrant to the US has been convicted of the second degree murder of his daughter, in what prosecutors said was an honour killing. Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 50, ran over 20-year-old Noor and Amal Khalaf, the mother of her boyfriend, in a car park in a suburb of Phoenix in October 2009. Relatives said Noor had married a man in Iraq but had returned to Arizona to live with Mrs Khalaf's son. He faces between 17 and 44 years in prison.