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

Times of Malta reports that hitmen who murdered Daphne Caruana Galizia had met former minister Chris Cardona to discuss another murder plot three years previously, The newspaper also reports that the Manoel Theatre has been slammed by a sexual assault victim for presenting works linked to former actor John Suda. 

The Malta Independent reports that an educator was assaulted by a student in a school in Gozo. It also reports how tourism operators have reported a strong recovery, but Air Malta's recovery is crucial for the sector's future. 

In-Nazzjon also reports how hitman Vince Muscat claimed in court that he drove George Degiorgio to a meeting with Chris Cardona to discuss the fee for the planned murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The newspaper also says there has been total silence by the police about a case where a man was bound and dragged by a car. 

l-orizzont says the discovery of rare earth metals in Sweden is expected to boost the EU's Green Deal. It also reports that LESA issued 885,000 fines in three years.