The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times leads with reactions to a sentence by Mr Justice Raymond Pace who in a case instituted by Smash TV against the Broadcasting Authority, ruled that the regulator must not be judge and prosecutor.
The Malta Independent reports that Gozo Channel industrial action has been called off after a solution was reached. It also reports on the new €500m fund for the restoration of old houses in urban conservation areas. The same two stories are featured on the first page of In-Nazzjon.
l-orizzont says the GWU has hit out at GRTU director-general Vince Farrugia who during a meeting of the MCESD reportedly described some workers as ‘rats’. Mr Farrugia has denied the claim.
The overseas press
Ansa quotes a statement by the office of Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, following a telephone conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Premier Lucas Papademos saying the three leaders believe a deal could be reached over a second Greek bailout on Monday at the Eurogroup meeting of eurozone finance ministers. The impasse over Greece's bailout, which has dragged on for weeks, has been seen as a sign that European leaders are far from solving the eurozone debt crisis, provoking instability on the sovereign-debt market. Monti, Merkel and Papademos spoke after the German chancellor called off a visit to Rome when German President Christian Wulff announced he would step down over a loan scandal.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Welle reports Angela Merkel has said that Germany's ruling coalition would approach the main opposition to find a president they could all agree on. She had words of praise for President Wulff she heaved into office just two years before he resigned over allegations he improperly granted or accepted favours. German presidents are elected by a special "Federal Convention", of more than 1,200 parliamentarians and other representatives of society, which must come together within 30 days of a head of state's resignation to begin the process of selecting a new one.
The Washington Times says the FBI have arrested a Moroccan man on charges he tried to carry out an Al Qaeda suicide bombing in the US Capitol. The justice department identified the man as Amine El Khalifi, a 29-year-old immigrant from Morocco living illegally in the US state of Virginia, which borders the capital Washington. Khalifi made an initial appearance before a federal judge, and was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against US property. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.
According to The Scotsman, Poland and Slovenia have announced they would not ratify the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, ACTA. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said yesterday the country was abandoning plans for ratification. He said he now sees his earlier support for the deal as a mistake and sent a letter to the European People’s Party appealing for it to not back ACTA in its current form. His announcement came after Slovenia also said that it was halting the ratification. Despite signing it, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have also backed away from it saying they needed more time to analyse the deal.
Corriere della Sera reports that Italian police have arrested eight people over the seizure of $6 trillion in counterfeit US bonds found in Switzerland. The fake securities, worth more than twice the size of Italy's national debt, were seized in January from a Swiss trust company where they were held in three large trunks. Authorities believe criminals may have been planning to sell the bonds to an unsuspecting nation. The criminal network was believed to be interested in acquiring plutonium.
The Financial Times reports that Rupert Murdoch has told staff at The Sun that a new Sunday paper, The Sun On Sunday, would be launched "very soon". The News Corporation chairman addressed the staff following the arrest of 10 current and former reporters and executives at the paper over alleged corrupt payments to public officials. There has been increasing speculation that a Sunday version of the tabloid would be published after the closure of sister paper the News Of The World last summer over the phone hacking scandal.
The New Jersey Globe says everything is ready for today’s funeral of singer Whitney Houston to be attended by 1,500 guests, including Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. Houston, 48, was found submerged in the bath in her hotel room on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles last Saturday. Her final resting place will be next to her father John who was buried there in 2003.
The Daily Mail says British singer Adele is set to sue the French magazine Public after it published photos it claimed came from a sex tape starring the award-winning star. The 23-year-old immediately rubbished reports that it was her in the images. It comes just days after the Someone Like You singer scooped six Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.