The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta reports that holidays cancelled by Fantasy Tours cost some €375,000.
The Malta Independent leads with yesterday’s Public Accounts Committee hearings on oil procurement between 2008 and 2011.
In-Nazzjon reports that the former government made a net gain of €19 million from oil purchases in 2010 thanks to hedging of oil procurement and foreign exchange.
l-orizzont says PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami’s questions at PAC meetings yesterday amounted to an attack on the Office of the Auditor-General.
The overseas press
Most of the world’s media leads with US Secretary of State John Kerry's warning that the Syrian regime must be held accountable for the suspected chemical attack on its own people and Russia’s warning to western allies not to intervene in the civil war in Syria.
The Washington Post quotes US senior administration officials saying President Obama was weighing a military strike against Syria that would be of limited scope and duration, designed to serve as punishment for Syria’s use of chemical weapons, while keeping the United States out of deeper involvement in that country’s civil war. Missile-armed US warships are already positioned in the Mediterranean.
VOA News reports US Secretary of State Kerry on Monday outlined the clearest justification yet for US military action in Syria, saying there was "undeniable" evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack, with intelligence strongly signaling that Bashar Assad's regime was responsible. Kerry said last week's attack was “a moral obscenity” that "should shock the conscience" of the world.
Meanwhile, Russia has warned the West against intervening militarily in the Syrian conflict without the approval of the UN Security Council. Kommersant quotes Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying such action would violate international law, adding that the West was currently moving towards "a very dangerous path, a very slippery path". Lavrov said the West has been unable to produce any evidence to back claims that the Syrian government used chemical weapons in an incident last week that has prompted calls for military action.
al-bawaba says UN chemical weapons inspectors have returned to Damascus after carrying out testing at the location of the alleged poison gas attack. They had come under fire en route to the site on Monday. As US officials said there was very little doubt that Syria used chemical weapons and Western powers stepped up calls for swift military action, President Bashar Assad's government vowed to defend itself against any international attack, warning that such an intervention would ignite turmoil across the region.
The New York Times reports the UN has said it plans to speak with the US government about the latest reports on alleged NSA espionage. German news magazine Der Spiegel on Sunday reported, citing documents from former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden, that the NSA cracked the UN's video conferencing system in 2012.
al-arabiya says the Palestinians have reacted to a deadly clash between civilians and Israeli security forces by calling off scheduled peace talks. Three people were killed and several others wounded in the incident in the West Bank. Around 1,500 Palestinians took to the streets and began throwing stones and firebombs at the Israeli troops, who then responded with "riot dispersal means".
Il Tempo reports Italy's Prime Minister Enrico Letta convened a meeting of key government members Monday as European shares fell on fears his fractious coalition would collapse amid political wrangling. The talks centred on the controversial IMU property tax, which the PdL wants to be scrapped. Tensions between the centre-left Democrat Party and the PdL are also running high over Berlusconi's possible ejection from the Italian Senate upper house of parliament next month after his binding one-year prison sentence for tax fraud and an associated ban from political office.
An ex-wife's new relationship does not mean her former husband can stop paying alimony and child support, Italy's highest court ruled Monday. Ansa reports the Court of Cassation said that until the new romantic relationship provides "stability, continuity and regularity" to an ex-wife, her former husband must continue his responsibilities. The ex-husband must also contribute to child support, including medical, school and cultural expenses, such as courses of study in Italy or abroad, or sports activities.
According to Clarin, about 300 Argentinean women with faulty breast implants have filed suit seeking €41 million in damages from three European companies – France's Poly Implant Protheses (PIP), Germany's TUV Rheinland (quality control) and German insurer Allianz. News of the faulty implants in 2011 led to 16,426 women having their implants removed.