The following are the top stories in the national and international news today.
Times of Malta says construction magnate Charles Polidano has submitted a detailed statement to the planning authority on how he intends to restore a large area in Ħal Farruġ where hundreds of tons of machinery and rubble have been dumped illegally over the years.
The Malta Independent says the Sliema council has suggested the temporary removal of the bus lane at the seafront, which reduces the road to a single lane for regular traffic and the improvement of pedestrian lights timing.
L-Orizzont leads with a report of a radio interview with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat during which he said the government had returned to talks on the citizenship programme because it was not arrogant.
In-Nazzjon leads with a report of Opposition leader Simon Busuttil’s address during the opening of a party fund-raising marathon during which he said the Opposition was making a difference as could be seen from how the government had to return to the negotiating table in the citizenship issue.
International news
Novy Kanal TV reports anti-government protesters have toppled and decapitated the landmark 3.4 metre-high statue of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin in central Kiev amid huge protests gripping Ukraine– the biggest since the country’s “Orange Revolution” in 2004.
Thai TV 3 says Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has announced she will dissolve Parliament and hold an election “as soon as possible” following a wave of anti-government protests.
North Korea has confirmed that one of its most powerful politicians has been dismissed. State news agency KCNA said that Jang Song-Thaek was removed from office for committing “criminal” acts and for leading a “counter-revolutionary faction”.
Mail & Guardian says South Africans of all races and religions united in an outpouring of prayer and song for the let Nelson Mandela, hearing calls to keep his dream alive.
AGI reports two people have been killed and six others injured in two attacks in less than 24 hours in Benghazi, the troubled capital of Libya's Cyrenaica eastern region.
La Nazione says Matteo Renzi, the 38-year-old mayor of Florence has won the leadership of Italy’s Democratic Party. Daubed as Toscana’s Tony Bair, Renzi garnered a staggering 70 per cent of the vote against 17 per cent for Gianni Cuperlo and 13 per cent for Giuseppe Civati.
A study reveals Europeans with long-term exposure to particulate pollution from road traffic or industry run a higher risk of premature death, even if air quality meets EU standards. Published in The Lancet, the paper pointed the finger at fine particles of soot and dust, emissions of which are also stirring a health scare in parts of Asia, especially China.
AFP reports officials from Greece’s main creditors – the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund – will return to Athens tomorrow in a bid to push forward talks on releasing one billion euros for the recession-hit country.
According to Straits Times, hundreds of foreign workers, mostly from Bangladesh and India, have rioted in Singapore after being enraged by a fatal road accident, leaving 18 people injured and police vehicles burnt.
O Globo TV reports three people have been badly injured in clashes that erupted between rival fans at a key Brazilian league football match.