The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Sunday Times says bus drivers are taking irregular breaks, leaving commuters stranded. It also reports how nine people were hospitalised in a three-car crash near Rabat.
The Malta Independent says a Maltese government delegation is to visit Benghazi today. It also says that millions in wardens’ fines are unaccounted for.
MaltaToday leads with comments from Cyrus Engerer that he started to have second thoughts on the PN when he heard comments by MP Stephen Spiteri on homosexuality
It-Torca reports that there is a crisis in the Criminal Court, with suspects being released for not having legal assistance during questioning. It also says that a man accused of torture in Kazakstan may have escaped to Malta.
Il-Mument says Labour is trying to scare people about the retirement age.
KullHadd says Air Malta had planned to wet lease six aircraft to break the Air Malta strike, had it gone ahead.
Illum reports that Tonio Fenech spent €2,000 to rent a historic venue for a barbeque.
The overseas press
As fighting raged around the eastern Libyan oil town of al-Brega, CNN reports that supporters of Muoammar Gaddafi's internationally isolated government staged a rally in Zawiyah, hundreds of kilometres to the west. Much like previous rallies in the towns of Zlitan and Ajilat, more than 10,000 portrait-waving demonstrators gathered amid a sea of green flags in the city’s central square. For the third consecutive day, Gaddafi addressed his supporters with an audio message that denounced the rebel-held enclaves in the west, centre and east of the country. He also denounced the foreign governments that recently declared the rebel Transitional National Council based in the eastern city of Benghazi as the sole legitimate government in Libya.
Al Jazeera says 10 Libyan opposition fighters have been killed and 172 more wounded in an attack on the strategic eastern oil town of Brega controlled by forces loyal to Gaddafi. Opposition forces captured four government soldiers. It was unclear whether any other government troops were killed and whether the fighting had advanced the opposition frontline. Brega, nestled at the southeastern tip of the Gulf of Sirte, has changed hands multiple times during Libya's civil war, which soon will enter its fifth month.
Cumhuryiet reports that a conference in Turkey which aimed to unify the Syrian opposition has instead exposed divisions within its ranks. Kurdish activists pulled out after accusing other participants of marginalizing them. One of the leaders of the National Salvation Congress reportedly called for a campaign of civil disobedience.
Meanwhile, Al Arabiya says tens of thousands of Syrians have attended funerals for people killed in Friday's anti-government protests. In some places security forces tried to break up the crowds, who were chanting slogans as they carried the coffins in the streets. At least 28 people were killed in Damascus and other cities on Friday, in what some said were the largest protests since the anti-government uprising began in March.
Asia Observer reports that China has reacted angrily to a meeting between President Obama and Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The Chinese Foreign Ministry described the meeting in Washington as a gross interference in China’s internal affairs. The Washington Times quotes the White House saying the talks underscored President Obama’s strong support for the preservation of Tibet’s “unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity”.
Al Ayyam reports that the Prime Minister of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip has called o all Palestinian militants to stop firing rockets into Israel. Small groups that regard Hamas as too moderate, have fired at least nine missiles in the past week.
Sudan Tribune says Unicef has airlifted food and medicine to malnourished children in southern Somalia o the first since the Islamist militant group Al Shabab, which controls most of Somalia, lifted its ban on working with foreign relief agencies.
According to Akhbar Al Youm, the Sudanese authorities are to issue new banknotes following the announcement that the newly-independent country of South Sudan will launch its own currency. The Sudanese Central Bank said the South Sudanese should surrender the two billion Sudanese pounds (€0.53 billion) circulating there since they would soon be worthless.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has left for Cuba where he would go further treatment for cancer. El Universal quotes him as saying doctors did not find any more malignant cells in his body after he had had surgery to remove a tumour last month. Before leaving Caracas, he delegated some powers to the vice president and the finance minister.
Abrar reports Iran said it was ready to cooperate with Argentina over the bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in 1994. Argentina had blamed Iran for the attack in which 85 people died. The Iranian foreign ministry said the investigation “was going the wrong way”.
Deutsche Welle says Sweden secured the bronze medal by defeating France 2-1 as the Women's World Cup entered its final stage. Both Sweden and France had already secured the two available European places in the 2012 Olympic Games in London by making it to the semi-finals. The United States and Japan face each other for the Women's World Cup title this evening (8.45 p.m.) in Frankfurt.
Clarin says Uruguay will meet Peru in the semi final after knocking out the Argentina on penalties after a dramatic game in Sante Fe which ended 1-1 even after extra time. Carlos Tevez missed the decisive penalty in shootout. Peru’ beat Columbia 2-0, also after extra time. Falcao missed a penalty for Columbia n the first half. Brazil meet Paraguay and Chile face Venezuela in the two other quarter finals later this evening.