The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press today:
The Times leads with evidence by Mistra disco developer Dominic Micallef who said that Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando offered him sites at Ricasoli and Ta’ Qali before suggesting his own land in Mistra.
The Malta Independent says the scholastic year opened yesterday, and there were confusing figures in government statements on the number of children attending primary and second schools.
In-Nazzjon says Air Malta and the Australia-based World Aviation Group are to set up a services centre in Malta.
l-orizzont focuses on the evidence given in court yesterday in the Pullicino Orlando case, saying the Nationalist MP knew from the outset about the disco plans, to the extent that he bought a second piece of land in Mistra.
The Press in Britain…
The Guardian reports on Gordon Brown's plans to end speculation about his premiership with a crucial speech announcing a series of new measures.
Metro leads with David Miliband's tribute to the Prime Minister, in which he called Mr Brown an "inspiration".
The Independent warns of a climate time bomb as a thaw in the Arctic permafrost threatens to release millions of tons of methane.
The Daily Express reports on the rising cost of basic foods – bread and butter have soared by nearly 10 times the official inflation rate. Cheese, eggs and mince have also soared.
The Times leads with ministers' plans to allow patients to pay for some drugs – a move that opponents say will spell the end of the National Health Service.
The Daily Telegraph's main story is the threat to pensions after the market slump.
The Daily Star reveals the "real" cost to stars of the popular reality TV show Big Brother - "death threats, unemployment, sex scandals and depression".
The Financial Times leads with news that fears are growing over the $700bn US government rescue plan: Markets doubt the scheme can end the economic crisis.
And elsewhere…
The fate of a group of 11 tourists and eight Egyptians, kidnapped in southern Egypt last Friday is still unclear. According to a number of media reports, they may have been freed. But Al Ahram quotes Egyptian Tourism Minister Zoheir Garana saying the tourists and their eight Egyptian guides and drivers were still in Sudan, where they were taken by the kidnappers.
Wall Street Journal reports that US shares have plunged on Wall Street as doubts emerged about the prospects for a massive $700-billion government plan to bail out the banking industry as opposition grew to the proposed bailout package to counter the financial crisis.
Meanwhile Washington Post reports that America's two remaining major investment banks, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, have sought shelter with the Federal Reserve. The Fed approved a request to change the status of the banks to holding companies, which would bolster their liquidity by allowing them to create commercial banks.
EU Observer says EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has promised a shake-up of Europe's financial rules to protect taxpayers from risk-taking by money manipulators.
The New York Times says the UN Security Council has voted to keep international troops in Afghanistan for another year and called on countries to boost their force commitments to deal with growing instability.
At least 15 people have been injured in Jerusalem after a driver drove his car into a group of people. Israel Radio said armed civilians killed the driver, believed to a Palestinian, at an intersection near the invisible line between the Jewish and Arab sections of Jerusalem.
Chumhuriyet reports that 13 newborn babies have died within 24 hours at a Turkish hospital amid fears infection was to blame.
Meanwhile, The People’s Daily announces that the country's food safety watchdog has resigned over the contaminated baby formula scandal that has poisoned nearly 53,000 children, of whom four have died.
San Francisco Chronicle reports that a woman whose dogs viciously attacked and killed her neighbour in the hallway of their apartment building in California seven years ago has been sentenced to a prison sentence of between 15 years and life. Prosecutors say the case is California’s first murder conviction connected to a dog mauling.
Globe and Mail leads with the unveiling of Zakumi, the mascot of the next FIFA World Cup tournament to be held in South Africa in two years’ time. The mascot unites the words “Za”, which stands for South Africa, and “kumi”, which in various languages of the continent translates to the number 10.