The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta reports that the Dalligate probe into a witness has been reopened. It also says that hoaxers and pranksters plague the 179 supportline.
The Malta Independent says the list of European Parliament election candidates of the two main parties is expected to grow.
In-Nazzjon leads with Simon Busuttil's reaction to the Police Board report, saying justice has been turned upside down. It also quotes the PN leader saying the PN is being rebuilt.
l-orizzont says Nicky Azzopardi, the PN official involved in an argument with former PN MPs Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Franco Debono in Rabat, was accidentally punched by a PN activist.
The overseas press
US Secretary of State John Kerry told NBC and CNN television that hair and blood samples provided to the United States from the scene of last month's Damascus attacks “have tested positive for signatures of sarin”. Kerry said that the case is building for military action, adding that he was confident Congress “will do what is right” in an upcoming vote on US intervention.
The Washington Post reveals several key Republican senators have strongly indicated that they would not vote to give President Obama authorisation for a missile attack on Syria unless the White House first lays out “a strategy and a plan” to stop the Bashar Assad regime from ever again using chemical weapons.
Reuters report exclusively that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and other ships in its strike group are heading west toward the Red Sea to help support a limited US strike on Syria, if needed. The Nimitz carrier strike group, which includes four destroyers and a cruiser, has no specific orders to move to the eastern Mediterranean at this point, but is moving west in the Arabian Sea so it could do so if asked.
AFP says the Arab League has urged the UN and the international community to take deterrent measures against Syria. At a meeting of foreign ministers in Cairo, the League again accused the Syrian of being the chemical attack last month.
Meanwhile, Syrian Deputy Premier, Qadri Jamil told Syria State TV President Obama appeared “clearly hesitant, disappointed and confused” in delivering his announcement that he would seek congressional authorisation before ordering an attack. Syria believes that its determination in the face of potential military intervention has averted an immediate US attack, while Obama has become a laughing stock after his surprise U-turn. He also said that Damascus “continued to have great faith in its allies” and warned that reprisals against a potential attack could take place “anywhere”.
President Barack Obama’s decision to seek congressional authorisation for a military strike on Syria has sparked calls for the French parliament to get the same privilege. Former Prime Minister Francois Fillon said parliament should vote on the issue, telling the Journal du Dimanche, in the current circumstances, France could go to war without the clear support of parliament. France’s parliament is scheduled to debate the issue on Wednesday, but no vote is scheduled.
Avvenire reports Pope Francis has condemned the use of chemical weapons, but he called for a negotiated settlement of the civil war in Syria, and announced he would lead a worldwide day of fasting and prayer for peace there next Saturday. Francis abandoned the traditional religious theme of the weekly papal appearance to crowds in St Peter's Square and instead spoke entirely, and with anguish, about Syria.
Bulgaria has to look for help from the European Union, from the UN and the Red Cross on the issue with the Syrian refugees, Deputy Prime Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev said in an interview with TV7. He said the largest number of Syrian refugees who had entered Bulgaria was reported two days ago when their number reached 100 per a day. Most of them were women, children and pregnant women.
In other news...
Deutsche Welle reports German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the opposition Social Democrat leader Peer Steinbrück have faced the nation in a key televised debate. Germany goes to the polls on September 22. Steinbrück condemned Merkel’s approach to Europe’s debt crisis, saying that austerity had failed. On her part, Merkel pointed out her rival and his party had voted in support of her policies in Parliament.
Cairo Radio announces Egypt's interim President Adly Mansour has appointed a 50-member committee to review proposed amendments to the country's Islamist-drafted constitution, moving ahead with a military-backed transition plan as protests over the coup that ousted the country's president wane. The committee is to begin discussions next Sunday.
Fuji TV says contaminated water leaking from Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has radioactive levels so high it could kill an exposed person in four hours. Experts at the plant say the water is 18 times more radioactive than previously thought. A plant operator has said the water was found dripping from a pipe which has now been repaired.
Mail & Guardian reports Nelson Mandela went home on Sunday after nearly three months in a hospital that became the focus of a global outpouring of concern. However, authorities said the health of the former South African president remained critical and sometimes unstable.
The Times says Welsh footballer Gareth Bale has signed a deal that’s thought to make him the world’s most expensive player. Real Madrid is reported to have paid a transfer fee of more that €100 million for the Tottenham Hotspur winger. Regarded by many as the third best player in the world after Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and his new Real Madrid team mate Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale was voted Footballer of the Year by journalists and Player of the Year by his peers last season.