The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times leads with remarks by the Pope yesterday who called for a political solution to the problem of immigration. It also reports a speech by the Prime Minister where he pointed to an increase in outlay on social benefits, particularly children’s allowance, as the main cause for the widening of the financial deficit.
In-Nazzjon also picks up the PM’s speech but focuses on employment growth, with the gainfully occupied population having reached a record of 143,000.
The Malta Independent, with reference to the same speech, quotes Dr Gonzi urging the GWU and dockyard workers to seek the national interest in the current talks on privatisation. It also features the summit meeting of EU leaders due to be held today to discuss relations with Russia.
l-orizzont says there is hope for a young girl suffering a rare condition. It also reports on the growth of a small city of illegal immigrants in Marsa with an allowance of €0.5 million annually.
The Press in Britain…
The Daily Mail quotes a leaked letter from the Home Secretary to Gordon Brown predicting a surge in lawlessness because of the economic downturn.
The Telegraph also reports on the same leaked document, saying crime and racial tension will soar.
The Times says Alistair Darling's future is in question after Whitehall insiders told the paper he could be involved in an imminent Cabinet reshuffle.
The Mirror focuses on the mystery of the mansion fire in Shropshire belonging to missing businessman Christopher Foster. It says police have launched a murder investigation now it has been established that wife Jill Foster was shot in the head.
The Express says millions of cancer sufferers have been given fresh hope after doctors found the key to block tumours.
The Sun says it has foiled a plot to sell intimate stolen photos of Prince William and his girlfriend Kate Middleton relaxing on a Caribbean holiday.
The Metro has a stark warning for pregnant women - that perfumes and scented creams have been linked to cancer and infertility in unborn baby boys.
And elsewhere…
Pravda quotes President Medvedev saying there is no "turning back" from his decision to recognise the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abhazia as independent states. In a TV interview, he said Russia will provide military aid to Georgia’s breakaway provinces.
Meanwhile, writing in a guest column in Handelsblatt, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for a quick end to the crisis over Georgia ahead of today’s European Union emergency summit.
Jerusalem Post says that after another round of peace talks in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas remain sharply divided on core issues. These include the final borders of a Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem, the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees and the future of Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories.
Bihar Times quotes survivors of two-weeks of massive floods in northeast India say authorities are struggling to rescue some 700,000 people still marooned on rooftops or small patches of high ground.
Asia Observer reports Thailand's Parliament has convened for an emergency session in a bid to resolve the country's spiralling political crisis.
Pakistan Times announces the suspension of a major military operation against insurgents in the restive north west in honour of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Az-Zaman says Kurdish PKK rebels have killed four Turkish soldiers in an attack on a military station in eastern Turkey.
Washington Post reports that nine polar bears are lost in the Arctic Sea and face an impossible 640km swim back to shore because of global warming. Scientists say the bears plunged into the sea after the ice floe where they lived melted, and although land was only 100km away, their homing instinct sent them north towards the ever-shrinking polar ice cap. Scientists are now considering sending a ship in a bid to rescue them.
Dubai tabloid newspaper 7Days reports that two foreign women – a 30-year-old Lebanese national and a 36-year-old Bulgarian – have been jailed for a month for kissing and fondling each other and engaging in "indecent acts" on a public beach in Dubai. They will be deported after serving their sentences. This was the first case of its kind in the UAE.
The Lagos Sun says an 84-year-old Nigerian religious leader with 86 wives has accepted an Islamic decree ordering him to divorce all but four of them. Mohammadu Bello Abubakar, 84, agreed on Saturday to comply with the decree after one of Nigeria's top Islamic bodies sentenced him to death. Earlier, he had challenged Islamic scholars, saying there was no punishment in the Koran for having more than four wives. The former teacher and Islamic preacher lives in Niger State with his wives and at least 170 children.