The following are the top stories in Malta's newspapers on Thursday.

Times of Malta reports how a court in Gozo concluded that new, larger mesh nets used by trappers in line with changes to the law earlier this year were a form of animal cruelty, “cutting and tearing flesh” as birds fly through. It also reports how British Prime Minister Theresa May beat off a challenge to her leadership from fellow Conservative MPs. 

The Malta Independent says all Maltese were safe after a gun attack in Strasbourg, but an Italian journalist was among the injured. It also highlights a 13% increase in tourism in the third quarter of the year. 

In-Nazzjon reports on the grim discovery of an inmate found hanged in his cell at Corradino prisons. 

l-orizzont interviews Franco Mercieca, the chairman of the committee overseeing preparations for the Malta-Gozo tunnel, saying there is a commitment for the project to go ahead.