Press digest

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

The Sunday Times says the Egyptian regime is showing cracks. It also says that the second hand car market is doing very well.

The Malta Independent on Sunday says Joseph Muscat will try persuasion not imposition, on divorce.

MaltaToday reports a ‘demolition campaign’ against Karmenu Vella after his elevation within the Labour Party

Il-Mument reports that the Labour Party’s CEO wants to leave.

It-Torca reports how a private investigator said he investigates three cases of adultery a week.

KullHadd quotes the Finance Minister who allegedly said he would not put a stupid Maltese at the helm of Air Malta.

Illum quotes Jesmond Mugliette saying that the cost of a Malta-Gozo tunnel would be closer to half a billion euro, rather € 150 million.

The overseas press

Al Jazeera says the demonstrations in Egypt have entered their thirteenth day. The scene in the square was relatively calm shortly before dawn in what has become a "tent city", but at one point, there were extraordinary scenes when hundreds stopped the army moving in by lying down in cold rain. The military had brought in tanks in an effort to confine the protest to a smaller part of the square and open most of it to the public. A senior army commander had urged the demonstrators to clear the square and allow normal life to resume – but they did not move and continued to demand the resignation of the president.

Egypt's most influential opposition group, Al-Ikhwān, commonly known as the Muslim Brotherhood in the West, has said it would enter talks with officials on ending the country's political crisis. The group told Reuters the talks would begin later today – first ever to be held between the government and the officially banned organisation. It said it would assess how far the government was "ready to accept the demands of the people".

Al Arabiya television retracted an initial report that Mr Mubarak had quit as leader of the ruling party. But Al Ahram announced that senior figures in the party, including Gamal Mubarak and secretary-general Safwat el-Sharif, had resigned in a shake-up seen as a gesture to anti-government campaigners.

The Washington Post reports the US State Department has distanced itself from comments by a US special envoy, to the effect that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak should stay in office during a power transition. It said Frank Wisner's views were his own, and not coordinated with the US government.

Abendzeintung says the unrest in Egypt, missile treaties and terrorism dominated the discussion between heads of state and diplomats during a weekend-long security summit in Munich. German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the conference Egypt's pro-democracy demonstrators were "right" but that political change in the country must be free of conflict. Drawing parallels between the demonstrations that helped lead to the fall of the former East Germany and the ongoing protesters in Egypt, Merkel said Egyptian protesters deserved the support of outsiders.

Münchner Merkur quotes US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying the Middle East faced a "perfect storm" of unrest and regional leaders must quickly enact real democratic reforms or risk even greater instability. Clinton, speaking at the Munich security conference, said lack of political reform, coupled with a growing young population and new Internet technologies, threatened the old order in a region crucial to US security.

Asharq Al-Awsat says a Coptic church in the Egyptian town of Rafah, bordering the Gaza Strip, went up in flames on Saturday, with witnesses reporting a blast although a local official denied an explosion was the cause. Armed men on motorbikes were spotted near the church, one of them said. The attackers also snatched a cross from outside the building. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Assabah quotes Tunisian police saying they had shot dead at least two people during a protest in the north-western town of Kef. Officers opened fire after a crowd attacked and burned a police station, demanding the resignation of the police chief they accused of abuse of power. Unconfirmed reports say two other people died on the way to hospital. The deaths came as a nationwide night-time curfew remained in force.

Sonntags Zeitung reports that former President George W Bush has cancelled a visit to Switzerland amid concerns he could be arrested. The former US leader was due to be a keynote speaker at a Jewish charity gala. But human rights groups in the country have been calling for the Swiss government to arrest him over allegations he ordered the torture of suspected militants at Guantanamo Bay.

La Tercera says an earthquake measuring 5.8 magnitude has hit central Chile –some 50 miles south of the city of Concepcion. The epicenter of the quake was 19 miles deep.

Serbia Post reports that tens of thousands of opposition demonstrators took to the streets in Belgrade on Saturday to protest economic hardship and corruption, and demand early elections. The rally was called by the nationalist Serbian Progressive Party, the strongest among the country's opposition bloc.

The Irish Post reports the Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has said it would be "a serious breach of trust" if Germany and France continued their attacks on Ireland's Corporation tax rate.

El Pais says Ryanair had to off-load a group of 100 passengers travelling from Lanzarote to Brussels following a request by Spanish police. The group became disruptive and refused to comply with crew instructions after a number of their group were required to pay a gate bag fee for outsized luggage. The 66 remaining passengers ended up suffering a three-hour delay.