The following are the top stories in the national and international press.
The Times leads with a story saying that Terry Embleton, the British man who disappeared from hospital two weeks ago, would turn himself in this morning to help the police in cannabis-related investigations. In another story it says that in spite of talks between Nationalist MP Franco Debono and the Prime Minister, the impasse is persisting.
l-Orizzont leads with a story on the havoc wreaked by the wind in Marsascala yesterday night. In another story it says that attacks on Dr Debono have increased. It also says that there is cheap labour also at the Malta Tourism Authority.
The Independent also leads with the havoc wreaked in Marsascala and with the report that three arrested were arrested after a heroin find.
In-Nazzjon leads with more information about l-Istrina charity campaign which on Monday collected €2,566,539 for charity. In another story it concentrates on the sales which are now taking place.
The international press
Al Jazeera reports that tens of thousands of protesters in Syria have filled the streets of Homs as Arab League observers visited the city to monitor a peace agreement. According to the Syrian Human Rights Observatory, the regime's security forces have used teargas to try and stop the 70,000 protesters from marching towards the city centre. The Arab League's observer presence in Syria has failed to rein in the Assad regime's repression of civil unrest as 33 more civilians were killed yesterday, 13 of them in Homs. Angry residents in one neighbourhood urged the monitors to be more outspoken. Meanwhile, the Syrian Sana Press Agency says an "armed terrorist group" reportedly sabotaged a gas pipeline near Al Rastan, in the Syrian province of Homs. No victims were reported.
The Jerusalem Post says several thousand Israelis have held a rally to condemn the behaviour of ultra-Orthodox Jews who want to force segregation between the sexes. Opposition leader Tzipi Livni told protesters in the town of Beit Shemesh that their struggle was against extremists who were trying to impose their world view on others. Beit Shemesh, a small town south-east of Jerusalem became the symbol of the new wave of discrimination against women after a eight-year-old girl was verbally abused on her way to school for wearing what ultraorthodox Jews consider 'inappropriate' clothes.
Iran has threatened to close down the Strait of Hormuz and block global oil-tanker traffic if the UN imposed further sanctions. IRNA Press Agency quotes Iranian Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi sayhing that if sanctions were adopted against Iranian oil, “not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz".
The Manila Times reports that the confirmed death toll of the floods and mudslides caused by the Washi typhoon in the Philippines has reached 1,250. Benito Ramos, the Chief of the Civil Protection Department, said the calculation of missing persons would be suspended as, at present, nobody was capable of providing reliable numbers. The number of people unaccounted for had gone from the 53 recorded yesterday to 1,079 this morning. The number of people who are reported to be injured is 1,979.
Al Ayyam says one Palestinian was killed and two others were injured in an Israeli air strike on a Gaza refugee camp. The three were traveling in a rickshaw in the Jabaliya camp when they were hit. Israeli military sources said they were trying to hit a militant camp.
Kathimerini quotes Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos saying early elections would be held in late April, after the Easter holidays. Venizelos also said that the country's future would be decided based on the debt renegotiation plan to be outlined in January.
Kabul Post reports President Hamis Karzai of Afghanistan has announced he would allow the Taliban to open a liaison office in the Gulf state of Qatar to try to help peace efforts. It was the first time Karzai has given his public backing to the idea. There has been no reaction yet from the Taliban.
Moscow Times says Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has dismissed his country’s fledgling opposition movement as lacking Goals and leadership, rejecting demands of a re-run of the parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that a comprehensive examination of the full results from Russia's nearly 100,000 voting precincts revealed statistical anomalies that experts said were consistent with widespread vote-rigging. These irregularities could cast doubt, by one rough measure, over as many as 14 million of the 65.7 million votes reportedly cast.
The Washington Times reports that the US authorities have extradited a Sarajevo Bosnian woman accused of killing Croats civilians during the civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina almost 20 years ago. She is charged with helping to kill 18 Croats in 1993.
El Mondo says large queues have formed outside Spanish embassies in Latin America on the final day that descendents of Spanish exiles could apply for citizenship. In recent years more than 200,000 whose families fled from Spain because of the civil war, had been recognised as Spanish.
Al Ahram reports that a Cairo court has ordered forced virginity tests on female detainees in military prisons to be stopped. The court made the decision after a case was brought a protester who accused the Egyptian army of forcing her to undergo a virginity test after she was arrested during a protest in Tahrir Square in March. Earlier this year, an Egyptian general was quoted as acknowledging that the military had conducted such tests, saying that they were used so women would not later claim they had been raped by authorities.
The Albanian Daily News says Finance Minister Ridvan Bode has revealed the country’s economy grew 3.9 per cent in 2011 and will grow a further 4.3 per cent in 2012 in spite of the economic crisis. In his report, Bode said Moody's and S&P had given Albania "stable in the near term" outlook for the economy, while other Balkan countries have been showing signs of slowing down compared to last year.
The BBC has been harshly criticised after it was revealed that the TV network had started filming Tony Blair's obituary. British tabloid The Sun reported that the BBC had already begun filming interviews for the obituary of the 58-year-old former Labour prime minister, quoting members of the Labour party saying the initiative was "in pretty poor taste".
Football: Tribune de Genève says Fifa has accepted a Swiss court decision clearing the way for the release of a document that is said to name football officials who took financial kickbacks. The document allegedly reveals that Fifa officials pocketed millions of dollars from World Cup broadcast deals. World football's governing body had repeatedly blocked attempts to have the document published. Last year, lawyers acting for Fifa and the officials paid £3.9 million to settle the case and keep their identities secret.