The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press. The Japanese earthquake features on all front pages.
The Times leads with the earthquake in Japan. It also reports how EU leaders have told Col Gaddafi to go, now.
The Malta Independent says Malta has stood firm against Libyan pressure to return fighter jets.
In-Nazzjon says the EU is seeking a summit meeting with the Arab League and the African Union on Libya.
l-orizzont says Malta is seeking to extend the life of Marsa power station. It also says that an Italian minister wants to attract tourists which used to go to Egypt.
The overseas press
The 10-metre-high tsunami that hit northeast Japan early on Friday, triggered by an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.9, dominates the international media which describes it as “apocalyptic”. The estimated death toll rose to more than 1,000.
Associated News says that for more than two terrifying, seemingly endless minutes, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan shook apart homes and buildings, cracked open highways and unnerved even those who have learned to live with swaying skyscrapers. Then came the violent wall of water that swept away houses, cars and ships. Fires burned out of control. The earthquake also shook subway lines and buildings in Tokyo, Japan's capital and one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The full extent of the damage was still unclear at daybreak on Saturday. The country's military has mobilised thousands of troops, 300 planes and 40 ships for the relief effort.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan early on Saturday ordered some 45,000 people to evacuate their homes close to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. The Kyodo news agency reported that radiation measurements in the reactor control room were 1,000 times higher than usual, attributing this to damage sustained by cooling systems during the quake.
Radio Pacific said the warnings traveled quickly across the Pacific in the middle of the night: An 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan spawned a deadly tsunami, and it was racing east Friday as fast as a jetliner. Sirens blared in Hawaii. The West Coast pulled back from the shoreline, fearing the worst. People were warned to stay away from the beaches. Fishermen took their boats out to sea and safety.
The New York Times says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was sending a special envoy to Libya on an urgent mission to try to end the escalating violence and ensure humanitarian aid gets through. Ban told reporters he also expected his envoy, former Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdelilah Al-Khatib, to be engaged in the broader dimension of the Libyan crisis, including political issues. Al-Khatib called it a “delicate and crucial mission” and said he is “prepared to meet all parties concerned”.
Al Jazeera reports that the Gaddafi regime showed growing confidence yesterday after retaking a strategic town near Tripoli following days of relentless shelling against protesters-turned-rebels as it strengthened its hold on the capital and surrounding areas. Government forces also captured a key oil town in the east and fought to dislodge rebels who took refuge among towering storage containers of crude oil and gas in nearby facilities.
The Washington Times quotes President Obama saying the US and the world community were "slowly tightening the noose" on the leader of Libya and will keep up the pressure. But he would not commit to intervening at any cost, warning of potential perils in military action. "It's going to require some judgment calls, and those are difficult ones," Obama said from the White House as Gaddafi's violent counteroffensive against rebels gained strength.
Le Soir says an emergency European Union summit on Libya brought a no-fly zone no closer, but leaders embraced a new Libyan opposition group as a viable partner after cutting all contact with strongman the Libyan leader.
EU Times reports that leaders of the 17 Eurzone countries have agreed to better coordinate their economic policies to improve competitiveness and keep public deficits in check. In the so-called "pact for the euro", which will be formally adopted at a wider European Union summit on March 24-25, they commited themselves to hit annual benchmarks on economic competitiveness, boosting employment and making their budgets sustainable in the long term.
Gulf News says a massive show of force by Saudi Arabia's government snuffed out an effort to stage unprecedented pro-democracy protests in the capital on Friday. However, political unrest and sectarian tensions roiled neighbouring Yemen and Bahrain.
YNet website reports that a Palestinian infiltrated a Jewish West Bank settlement early Saturday and killed five people. The Israeli media is reporting that the dead are all members of the same family – the parents and three children. The family – including an 11-year-old, a 3-year-old and an infant – was all stabbed in their sleep, the.