The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times quotes the prime minister saying Malta is facing an enormous immigration crisis. It also says that an elderly person is still waiting for compensation from Transport Malta after his case was upheld by the Ombudsman three months ago.
The Malta Independent quotes a spokesman for the Libyan rebels saying they are seeking democracy. It also says that Italian TV presenter Giletti had admitted his error when he said that Malta shot at migrants.
In-Nazzjon gives prominence to the prime minister’s comments that Joseph Muscat had messed up on the issue of eligibility to vote in the referendum.
l-orizzont says a man from Tarxien goes on trial today, accused of the murder of a woman whose body was found at sea. It also reports that Joseph Muscat has challenged the prime minister to say why agreement in the electoral commission on when the referendum writ would be published was suddenly changed.
The overseas press
Former Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Ati al-Obeidi has told Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was seeking a solution to his country's crisis two weeks after his government's attacks to put down a rebellion drew international airstrikes. Associated Press reports al-Obeidi, who has served as a Gaddafi’s envoy during the crisis, would travel next to Turkey and Malta to try to persuade them to back his leader.
On the battlefront, Al Jazeera reports pro-democracy forces fought with troops loyal to Gaddafi for the third straight day in and around the key oil town of Brega, as foreign air strikes continued to rain down on the government's soldiers. Hundreds of rebels retreated east of Brega under artillery fire earlier in the day before regrouping and firing back with their own rockets.
Al Arabiya says Gaddafi's forces pressed on with attacks against Misrata, besieging civilian areas for around two hours with rockets and mortar shells and lined a main street with snipers. A doctor in the city said two shells landed on a field hospital, killing one person and injuring 11.
Al-Hayat quotes an opposition supporter in Tripoli expressing concern that dozens of people were disappearing in pre-dawn raids. He described the city as being locked down, saying many people were staying at home, shops were closed and hundreds of cars were lining up for hours at gas stations as people hoard supplies.
Al-Bawaba reports a Turkish ship carrying 250 wounded from Misrata has docked in Benghazi. The boat, which carried medical supplies, was also expected to pick up around 60 wounded people being treated in various hospitals in Benghazi, as well as 30 Turks and 40 people from Greece, Ukraine, Britain, Uzbekistan, Germany and Finland.
The Washington Times says the US has agreed to NATO's request for a 48-hour extension of American participation in coalition airstrikes against targets in Libya. However, American lawmakers have again cautioned the allies needed to know more about the rebels fighting Gaddafi's forces before providing them with weapons.
Meanwhile, Al-Arab quotes Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, vice chairman of the opposition's National Provisional Council, emphasising that the rebels would not allow Islamic extremists to hijack their plans to install a parliamentary democracy. He said Libyans wanted a civilian democracy, not one based on violence or terrorism.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC his country would neither arm the rebels nor send ground troops to Libya. British officials said a British diplomatic team was in Benghazi to speak to members of the opposition council to learn more about their aims.
In other news…
CNN reports that a three-day land, sea, and air search for missing people in Japan, conducted by the Japanese and US militaries, led to the discovery of nearly 70 more bodies from the earthquake and tsunami,. The overall confirmed death toll from the March 11 quake and tsunami now stands at 12,087, while 15,552 remain missing or unaccounted for. Meqanwhile, Asahi Shimbun ays that engineers at the Fukushima nuclear plant pinned their hopes on a chemical compound mixed with sawdust and shredded newspaper to stop highly radioactive water pouring into the ocean.
The New York Times says UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged Ivory Coast's internationally-backed President Alassane Ouattara to investigate hundreds of deaths blamed partly on his supporters. Ban said he was "concerned and alarmed" about the reports from the town of Duekoue but Ouattara said his followers were not involved.
Dawn reports that suicide attackers have killed at least 41 people and wounded many more at a shrine in Pakistan, police say. The explosions struck near the Sakhi Sarwar shrine in Punjab, as Sufi Muslim devotees gathered for an annual three-day festival.
Times of Central Asia says at least one person has been killed and 18 injured in a third day of protests in Afghanistan over the burning of a Koran in the US last month. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in Kandahar, Jalalabad and other areas on Sunday. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called on the US Congress to condemn the Koran burning and prevent it from happening again.
EurasiaNet reports that exit polls from Kazakhstan's controversial presidential election suggest incumbent Nursultan Nazarbayev has won 95 per cent of the vote. Nazarbayev, 70, has been in power for more than 20 years.
Dallas Morning News says an examination of a Southwest airlines plane that developed a hole in its cabin roof in mid-flight has found evidence of metal fatigue in the fuselage. The plane is one of the oldest in airlne’s fleet and has made thousands of flights, but the company said it had undergone all required inspections.
Vanguardays the Nigeria electoral commission has again postponed the parliamentary election until next Saturday – the second such delay in two days. The vote was initially due to take place on Saturday, but staff and papers failed to materialise at polling stations around the country.