The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports that the case over alleged leakage of information by the former secretary to the President has been closed.
The Malta Independent says the prime minister has lambasted comments by the leader of the opposition on migration.
l-orizzont gives prominence to the arrest of two men arrested after trying to rob elderly people in Paola.
In-Nazzjon leads with comments by the prime minister on migration, saying that between life and egoism, the government chooses life.
The overseas press
Helsingin Sanomat says the Conservative National Coalition Party in Finland has won a narrow victory as the general election was marked by a dramatic surge of votes for the nationalist True Finns Party opposed to immigration and EU bailouts. Final results showed the True Finns won 39 seats in the 200-member parliament – five seats behind the NCP, part of the current centre-right government and a strong advocate for European integration, and just three behind the opposition Social Democrats.
La Republica reports Italy has lodged a formal protest with the French government after France blocked trains at the border in an attempt to prevent an influx of African migrants. Italy said the French authorities violated the right to free travel within Europe because the refugees had been issued with valid travel documents. Thousands had fled the turmoil in Tunisia and Libya, overwhelming refugee facilities in Lampedusa.
The BBC says the British government is to hold "urgent talks" at the United Nations about the "dire" humanitarian crisis affecting residents in western Libya. The nws came as British Prime Minister David Cameron said the terms of UN resolution on Libya restricted coalition powers in what they can do to protect civilians. He repeated there could be no deployment of British or other foreign ground troops.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reports that the rebel-held western town of Misrata has been under attack from Colonel Gaddafi's forces for over five weeks. On Sunday, six civilians were reported to have died and 47 injured in a barrage of rocket fire. Pro-government fighters are also said to have shelled Ajdabiya in the east. Members of the Transitional National Council have called on Nato to target Col Gaddafi's long range rocket launchers.
Arab News says that in further protests in Syria a day after President Bashar Al-Assad said the long-standing emergency laws would be lifted, at least four people were killed by the security forces when they opened fire on a crowd at a funeral north of the city of Homs. Rallies were reported in Aleppo, Baniyas, Lattakia, Deraa and nearby Suwaida. Some 200 people have been killed and hundreds arrested in weeks of protests.
Nigeria’s The Guardian reports that preliminary results from the countgry’s Presidential election show the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan to have won outright in the first round. A Christian from the oil-producing Niger Delta, Jonathan so far has almost twice the number of votes from his main rival, the former military leader, General Muhammadu Buhari.
USA Today reports that the death toll from a series of powerful storms in the central and southern United States in recent days has risen to at least 40 people. Six states were affected. North carolina, where 18 people were killed, experienced 62 separate tornadoes, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency.
The Canadian Press reports that Burmese pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has said she hoped that a new US special envoy to the country would help usher in true democratic reforms. President Obama last week nominated defence official Derek Mitchell as US special envoy to Burma. Suu Kyi told reporters she views Mitchell as an ally who “probably sees his duty is to try to bring about democratisation of Burma as smoothly and quickly as possible”.
The Daily Mail quotes a report by the Centre for Social Justice which showed that nine out of 10 British couples now live together before – or instead of – marriage. Some 46 per cent of children are born to unmarried mothers – the highest level for two centuries. About 48 per cent of children are likely to see their family break up before they are 16. Ten years ago, it was 40 per cent.