The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:

The Sunday Times reports that a third of all 112 calls to the police are not answered. In other stories, it says that the Pope will be in Malta on April 17 and 18 to mark the 1,950 anniversary of St Paul's Shipwreck, and John Dalli is favourite to be Malta's nominee for the European Commission, but it is not clear if he will accept.

The Malta Independent on Sunday says the Transport Authority is expected to change the way people apply for driving exams, to discourage delays by instructors in order to make more money from lessons. It also reports that the MUT has disagreed with a teacher who wanted to install a camera in class to enable sick children to follow class.

Malta Today says Finance Minister Tonio Fenech has so far failed to publish Montebello receipts and answer its questions on work done in its home by a contractor. It also says the Prime Minister met George Fenech and Joe Gasan to discuss their plans, should they buy the former Jerma Hotel.

Il-Mument leads with the meetings of the PN General Council and says a message from EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso will be read this morning.

It-Torca speaks of an influx of cocaine. It also says the tender conditions for the park and ride service show the service will no longer be free. It will cost €600 a year for regular users.

KullHadd says some elements within the PN want Tonio Fenech to resign.

Illum says the European Court of Human Rights cannot force governments to do anything, including remove crucifixes from classrooms. It asks if the amnesty on interest on overdue tax is to be extended. The newspaper also notes an absence of MPs among the speakers at the PN general council.

The Press in Britain...

The Mail on Sunday claims there is new speculation that Prince William could marry long-time girlfriend Kate Middleton in 2012 - the same year as the summer Olympics in London and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

The Sunday Express quotes Prince Charles saying that the Royal Family is past its sell-by date and Australia should be made a republic.

Metro says severely disabled baby boy at the centre of a court battle between his parents has died after his father dropped his objection to switching off his ventilator, a report said overnight.

The Observer predicts Gordon Brown will introduce a series of new measures to help military families, amid plummeting public support for the war in Afghanistan.

That loss of support is also covered in The Independent on Sunday which reports more than 70 per cent of Britons are backing their calls for withdrawal within a year.

The Sunday Mail has the grieving mum of a hero soldier killed in Afghanistan urging the Prime Minister: "Bring our boys home."

The Sunday Times says Gordon Brown is to make an embarrassing climbdown on plans to abolish a childcare tax break, after a rebellion by female Labour MPs.

The Sunday Telegraph reports bankers who are paid "unjustifiable" bonuses could have their contracts ripped up and their employers fined under new laws to be unveiled.

According to the News of the World, Simon Cowell has been forced to read the riot act to X Factor stars after bad behaviour in the finalists' house.

And the Sunday Mirror says Simon Cowell has become hooked on Angel Delight.

The People announces Victoria Beckham has landed her first major Hollywood role.

The Daily Star on Sunday reports soap sex bomb Jennifer Metcalfe has hit back at rumours she'd asked her new bloke to marry her.

Scotland on Sunday says Alex Salmond and the SNP leadership were subjected to withering criticism from within their own ranks after their by-election loss.

And elsewhere...

Il Tempo reports that at a ceremony in Rome, Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer handed his government's approval of the Lisbon Treaty to Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.

Il Manifesto says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will join a 24-hour fast over the weekend to draw attention to the plight of the world's estimated one billion people who do not have enough to eat.

Dnevnik reports Russia's plan to channel gas directly to Europe has moved a step closer to reality after Slovenia signed the South Stream deal.

De Telegraf announces all road and vehicle tax will be scrapped by 2012 and replaced with a ‘green' charge based on the distance driven in a bid to reduce CO2 emissions by 10 percent.

Under the proposed plans motorists would initially pay 3 euro cents per kilometre, rising to 6.7 cents by 2018. Taxis, buses and motorcyles, are expected to be exempt.

Koha Ditore says one and a half million Kosovans go to the polls today in local council elections, the first since Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia last year.

Straits Times reports Asian leaders will drop a fixed target for halving greenhouse gas emissions in a final Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation statement to be delivered today. On the economic front, President Barack Obama has promised them that the US will put its economic energy back into the region. He has called for the world's economy to be rebalanced, which would mean getting Americans to save and export more and spend and borrow less.

Dawn says a suicide car bomber attacked a police checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, killing 11 people, including four children, in the latest in a wave of militant attacks that have claimed more than 300 lives in the past month.

El Universal reports that 15 people, including three women and a child, have been killed in a single day in the violent Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez. The city is Mexico's deadliest city with more than 1,700 killings so far this year.

Il Gazzettino reports Venetians have held a mock funeral to highlight the Italian city's sinking population. The event's organisers say the city has become a ghost town, flooded with tourists. They claim numbers have dipped under 60,000 - about a third of the level it was during the 1950's. Many blame the tourist overflow, arguing it has led to rising food and property prices, pushing many residents out.

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