The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says the international financial crisis will impact budget plans. It also says the Transport Federation has threatened strike action over proposed taxi reform. On the back page it says a property crisis could be looming unless the government introduces new incentives for first-time buyers, the GRTU said.
In-Nazzjon leads with agreement by EU finance ministers on a coordinated approach to tackle the financial crisis. It also reports that the government has ordered a stop on the drilling of new boreholes in order to save the water table.
The Malta Independent leads with the extraordinary general meeting of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association which warned that dismissals would follow the introduction of higher power tariffs.
l-orizzont highlights a press conference given yesterday by the GRTU, where director-general Vince Farrugia said the proposed new tariffs were unfair and would punish small consumers more than the bigger ones.
MaltaToday says it appears that a divorce bill is doomed in view of internal MLP opposition. It also reports that the new water tariffs could put stronger pressure on groundwater extraction.
The Press in Britain…
The Guardian reports British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was forced to rush forward his plans for recapitalisation of the banks as the government's timetable was left in tatters.
The Daily Mail claims the biggest nationalisation of modern times is to be announced with a £50bn state rescue of Britain's crumbling High Street banks.
The Times says it will be the taxpayers who will be committed to providing more than £50bn to bail out high street banks in an attempt to avert a failure of confidence.
The Telegraphs looks across the Atlantic and reveals President Bush is expected to host an emergency summit of world leaders to discuss the economic crisis.
The Financial Times says that about 15,000 British savers with Icelandic lender Icesave risk losing their money if the bank is declared insolvent.
The Daily Express claims that young Muslims will get direct access to Cabinet Ministers in a £1.3m "community cohesion" initiative.
The Independent announces that a Harry Enfield comedy sketch in which a Filipina maid is shown being talked into sex is causing diplomatic ructions with Manila.
And elsewhere…
The International Herald Tribune reports that US Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama went head-to-head on the economy, domestic policy and foreign affairs as they faced off in their second presidential debate. Obama faulted the Bush administration, and by extension McCain, for a deregulatory environment that he said “led to the nation's economic crisis”. And McCain, pledging to aid struggling homeowners, offered a new proposal to direct the federal government to save families from foreclosure by purchasing mortgages that were no longer affordable.
Luxembourg,s Tageblatt reports that European finance ministers have agreed to support large, troubled banks in a bid to protect the financial system from collapse. The EU would also guarantee bank deposits of up to €50,000, with some members extending guarantees to double that figure.
Berliner Zeitung quotes German Chancellor Angela Merkel reassuring bank customers that their savings were safe, but repeated her opposition to a joint EU bank rescue fund.
La Tribune says the President of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, has called for transparency to be urgently introduced into financial markets.
El Pais leads with the decision by Spain's Supreme Court to overturn the convictions of 14 people jailed for plotting terrorist attacks on Madrid in 2004. The court upheld verdicts for six other people, though one of the men had his sentence reduced after the court acquitted him of belonging to a terrorist cell.
Bangkok Post reports two people have been killed and hundreds injured during clashes between the conservative People's Alliance for Democracy and police. The army has been deployed to the streets to help quell the unrest.
Los Angeles Times quotes US Defence Secretary Robert Gates saying he opposed any partition of Kosovo, which has a large ethnic Albanian majority but a Serbian minority that wants to be re-united with Serbia.
Pravda says Russian forces are to begin withdrawing from a buffer zone in the country and will be out of the region within 24 hours.
Perth News reports 36 passengers and crew were injured, some seriously, in a mid-flight incident involving an airliner flying from Singapore to Perth, Australia. The Qantas Airbus aircraft made an emergency landing in north-west Australia following what the carrier called a sudden change in altitude. Some of the injured experienced lacerations and broken bones, requiring hospital treatment.
Gazeta Polska says the Polish parliament has approved a draft bill requiring people convicted of sexually-motivated crimes to undergo treatment to lower their sex drive.
Tennessee Times reports that a 10-year-old child was behind the wheel of a van when it crashed at speeds of up to 90mph. The authorities discovered a man and woman and two other children in the wreckage. The woman had been allegedly taking pills and the man told police he had drank at least 15 beers.