The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports how the government has absorbed €25m of Enemalta’s debts.
The Malta Independent focuses on comments by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi on TV that the PN is a party for the people.
In-Nazzjon says language schools are employing 1,300 people.
l-orizzont, with the headline Enough is enough, leads with the European Trade Unions action day against further austerity.
The overseas press
The overseas pressEU leaders start a two-day meeting in Brussels today that, according to European Voice, would discuss how to boost economic growth and offset the effects of painful austerity measures. Freed of the pressure to take action to stabilise the eurozone, the leaders would discuss over dinner tonight ways to stimulate growth and job creation. Leaders of 12 countries have written to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso calling for more action to boost growth, including plugging gaps in the EU's single market and moving ahead with liberalisation of the services sector. Tomorrow morning, they are expected to focus on the situation in Syria and developments in the region since the Arab Spring. Both the European Union and the Arab League are against arming of opposition groups in Syria, as this could lead to more chaos in the region.
The New York Times quotes the new UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan saying President Bashar Assad must stop the killing and violence immediately and allow humanitarian agencies into the country. The BBC says that Annan also highlighted the importance of the international community speaking "with one voice" if it was to have an impact on the Syrian regime. He said without a single, united voice the different "parties play with the mediators". In his role as UN-Arab League Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Annan said the first thing to do in the country was to "do everything we can to stop the violence and the killing".
ABC says Elite Syrian troops are reportedly poised to launch a major ground assault on a rebel-held district of Homs which has borne the brunt of shelling for 26 straight days. Communications and power have been cut in the besieged neighbourhood of Baba Amr ahead of the expected attack. The development comes as the UN debates a new resolution to pressure the Syrian government to end the bloodshed and allow access to humanitarian aid. A senior official of the rebel Free Syrian Army says Baba Amr is surrounded by at least 7,000 troops loyal to president Bashar al-Assad.
According to The Washington Times, the US has welcomed North Korea's pledge to suspend uranium enrichment, as well as nuclear and long-range missile tests. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the move was a "positive first step" toward denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. The move followed talks between US and North Korean diplomats in Beijing last week. In return, the US has announced 240,000 tonnes of new food aid for the North.
Recent protests sparked by the burning of the Koran by US soldiers were a "setback", Nato's commander in Afghanistan has told the BBC. However, Gen Allen said Nato's co-operation with Afghan security services would continue. At least 30 people died in the protests, including four US soldiers. Gen Allen's comments were echoed by the US Ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, who told the BBC that there had been no "permanent rupture" in relations with Afghanistan.
James Murdoch has resigned as executive chairman of News International, the scandal-ridden British arm of his father's media company. The Financial Times reports News International has been embroiled in a phone hacking scandal which has seen the arrests of several former top editors and the abrupt closure last year of The News of the World. James Murdoch's resignation comes just days after more damning revelations out of the phone-hacking inquiry. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers told the inquiry that the tabloid had a "culture" of paying police, the military, health workers, government and prison staff.
The Daily Mirror leads with the sudden death of Davy Jones, Manchester-born lead singer with 60s band The Monkees. Aged 66, he died in his sleep at his home in Florida of a massive heart attack. Brought together for a US TV series in 1966, Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork hits included Daydream Believer and I'm a Believer. The Monkees' TV show was popular in both the US and the UK, and the band had four number one albums in a 13-month period. They were famous for their clean-cut image and were marketed as the American answer to The Beatles, notching up nine top 40 hits.