The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports how a man was shot dead and another two were injured in Marsascala yesterday.
The Malta Independent also leads with the murder, as well as the call by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association for the government to retain control over Air Malta.
In-Nazzjon also leads with those two stories and like some of the other newspapers also features a picture of the coffin of Censu Tabone when it was taken to the Palace in Valletta.
l-orizzont also reports how a man was shot dead and two were wounded, allegedly in an argument involving drugs.
The overseas press:
Le Soir says Belgium is today observing a national day of mourning after the bus crash in a Swiss alpine tunnel which killed 22 children and six adults. A minute of silence will be observed at 11.00 a.m. in schools, public offices and across Belgium with flags at half mast and ceremonies planned into the weekend. Earlier, grieving parents were driven to the site of the crash after visiting the morgue to identify the bodies of the 28 victims. They laid flowers during the emotional visit. A vigil was also held in the Belgium town of Lommel, where many of the victims were from. More than 2,500 people attended and candles were lit in memory of the dead.
The BBC reports that Argentina is threatening to take legal action against companies exploring for oil around the British-controlled Falkland Islands, which it claims as its own. Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timmerman said his country was going to defend the resources of the South Atlantic whch belong to all Argentines.
Euronews reports that one of China’s most charismatic “western-style” politicians has been sacked in a rare political scandal. Bo Xilai, Communist party chief for the huge southwest metropolis of Chongqing had been seen as a leading contender to join the Communist Party’s politburo central committee. Speculation about his future began last month when police chief Wang Lijun reportedly tried to defect to the United States
Al Jazeera quotes the UN saying it would soon send experts on a Syrian government-led humanitarian mission, while the world body's leader Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the past year of “brutal repression” by President Bashar al-Assad. As the opposition marked the first anniversary of the revolt on Thursday, government troops pressed ahead with their efforts to control key cities in the south and north while Assad supporters marked the occasion with rallies across the country, saying the uprising was a “conspiracy” against the state.
Ma'an News Agency reports Israeli military aircraft have struck militant sites in the Gaza Strip in response to continued rocket fire on southern Israel. The latest air strike came after the two sides agreed earlier this week to halt a four-day flare-up of violence but sporadic rocket fire and retaliatory air strikes have persisted.
The Wall Street Journal says that the world's largest electronic payment system would cut off Iranian banks blacklisted by the European Union in an attempt to further strangle Iran's ability to finance a nuclear programme. Belgium-based SWIFT, which facilitates most global cross-border payments, said it would disconnect designated Iranian financial firms from its messaging system on Sunday after European regulators ordered it to do so.
Bloomberg says the International Monetary Fund has approved a loan of €28 billion to Greece as part of the European Union's second bailout plan for the debt-riddled country. The IMF said the approval of the four-year loan programme allowed the immediate disbursement of €1.65 billion to Athens.
Corriere della Sera reveals that the bell from the sunken cruise liner Costa Concordia has disappeared. The vessel ran aground off the coast of Italy two months ago, killing at least 30 people. Soon after it capsized, the bell was filmed still hanging in position, but now it is gone. Police suspect the search and rescue teams, who have had constant access to the wreck, of stealing it.
As-Sabah says Moroccan activists have stepped up pressure on the government to repeal a law that allows rapists to avoid prison by marrying their victims. It comes after a 16-year-old girl committed suicide when she was reportedly forced by court officials to marry the man who raped her. The families of rape victims often agree to this because the loss of a woman's virginity outside of marriage is considered a dishonour to her family. Women's rights groups say they will not stop protests until the law is overturned.
Bild says an earless baby bunny had his 15 minutes of fame brought to an abrupt end when he was accidentally stepped on by a television cameraman. The fate of 17-day-old Til, a bunny with a genetic defect and a rising star on Germany’s celebrity animal scene, was plastered across German newspapers today, the same day a small zoo in Saxony was to have presented him to the world at a press conference. Germany has been home to several global animal celebrities in recent years, including polar bear Knut and Paul the octopus, who was said to have predicted the result of eight matches at the 2010 football World Cup.
Al Ahram says Egypt’s top prosecutor has charged 75 people with murder and negligence in connection with a deadly football riot in the Mediterranean city of Port Said. At least 74 people were killed in the riot on February 1, the world’s worst soccer-related disaster in 15 years. Those charged include nine police officers and two minors.