The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta says a Council of Europe committee has complained about failings in party funding legislation. It also reports how a Canadian man was acquitted of the involuntary killing of his wife in a traffic accident near Rabat.
The Malta Independent reports that the Simshar movie trailer will be launched today.
MaltaToday quotes Simon Busuttil saying the government forced the Opposition's hand to turn to the European Parliament about the citizenship scheme.
In-Nazzjon quotes Mario de Marco saying safety needs to come before haste in the gas power station and storage project.
l-orizzont says the government has 100 proposals for the division of the Mepa planning and environment functions.
The overseas press
ABC says the air and sea search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 resumed today after an improvement in the weather in the southern Indian Ocean where it is believed the aircraft disappeared more than two weeks ago. The Australian authorities coordinating the operation said a dozen aircraft from Australia, the United States, China, Japan and South Korea have taken part scouring an area of 80 square kilometres in the hunt for potential debris.
President Obama will meet leaders of the European Union and Nato in Brussels to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. The Washington Times says that in a major policy speech later in the day, he is expected to emphasise the importance of European security for the United States and warn Russia of taking any further steps to destabilise the international system.
Kyiv Post reports Russian forces appeared to be attempting to take over the last military ship controlled by Ukraine in Crimea after a Ukrainian military spokesman reported explosions in its vicinity and helicopters approaching the vessel. Russian forces armed with stun grenades and automatic weapons have seized ships and military bases from the last remaining Ukrainian troops in Crimea in recent days as part of Russia’s largely bloodless annexation of the region.
According to AFP, the Ukrainian government has warned it would refuse to import Russian gas at the announced by Russia. The two countries are still negotiating the price of Russian gas deliveries, which would be applied as of April 1. The Russian authorities earlier made it clear concessions concerning gas deliveries would be ended as well as the concessions concerning the use of the military base in the city of Sevastopol which joined Russia.
Capital Daily reports the Fitch international rating agency has downgraded the ratings of nine Russian companies, including Gazprom and Lukoil, and 15 Russian banks from stable to negative. The rating action followed Fitch’s revision of Russia’s outlook to negative from stable and the affirmation of its long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings at BBB,
Pravda says two Russian cosmonauts and a US astronaut have blasted off for six-month stay aboard the International Space Station – a partnership unaffected by the political rancour and economic sanctions triggered by Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The trip to the space station, a $100 billion research laboratory that flies about 260 miles above Earth, was scheduled to take about six hours. However, an unknown problem caused the crew’s Soyuz capsule to skip two planned steering manoeuvres, delaying the crew’s arrival until tomorrow.
USA Today reports rescue workers in the northwestern United States said they have located 10 more bodies in the area of Washington state which was devastated by a landslide last Saturday. So far the rescuers have identified 24 people who died in the disaster but dozens of people are still unaccounted for.
A 10-year-old Turkish boy is in a critical condition in hospital after reportedly being hit in the head by a teargas canister fired by police. The father of the boy told the BBC that his son was hit at close range at the end of a rally held by the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party.
Asia Daily reports North Korea has test-fired what appears to be two medium-range ballistic missiles, just hours after the US, South Korea and Japan met in the Netherlands for talks. It is the first launch of a Nodong missile since 2009 and marks an escalation from the short-range rockets Pyongyang has fired in recent weeks. Washington and Seoul have condemned the launch, which violates UN resolutions.
Mail & Guardian says Oscar Pistorius will probably testify at his trial later this week, a defense attorney said Tuesday after prosecutors rested their case against the double-amputee Olympic runner who is accused of murder in his girlfriend’s death. In a rare public comment, Pistorius said he was going through “a tough time” as the case advanced. Legal experts describe Pistorius’ testimony as critical because the judge will have a chance to assess firsthand whether he is credible.