The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says the Cabinet has approved a report outlining alternatives to the junior lyceum entrance examination system. A public consultation process is expected to start in the next few weeks
The Malta Independent leads with comments by the GRTU that the proposed utility tariffs are unacceptably high.
The same subject is taken up by l-orizzont, which says today’s MCESD meeting on the tariffs could be decisive. It also carries a GWU statement saying the tariffs could lead to dismissals and more companies going on a four-day week.
Malta Today says two years have been wasted for the development of windfarms in Malta.
In-Nazzjon says the windfarm plans have been greeted by environment organisations. It also reports parliamentary approval of a resolution on the transfer of land for the building of a new gas bottling plant in Benghajsa. The Opposition voted against.
The Press in Britain…
Several newspapers report that pressure is mounting on shadow Chancellor George Osborne after financier Nat Rothschild claimed he was involved in talks about a donation to the Tories through a company controlled by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
The Independent says a new witness had come forward to back claims that he sought money from the Russian.
The news also makes the cover of Metro, which reports that Mr Osborne admitted meeting the Russian billionaire five times but denied asking for money.
The Financial Times leads with the news that the Bank of England governor, Mervyn King, gave a gloomy assessment of Britain's economic prospects saying Britain was entering a recession.
And elsewhere…
Le Parisien leads with President Sarkozy’s call for the creation of sovereign wealth funds in Europe to provide an "industrial response" to the financial crisis.
Les Echos quotes a new report which shows that the gap between rich and poor has grown in more than three-quarters of OECD countries over the past two decades.
The Washington Times says President Bush has emphasised that the United States and other prosperous nations must stay committed to helping the world's poor despite the current financial crisis.
Pravda reports plans by Russia to establish permanent military bases in the Georgian separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia next year
Az-Zaman says the Iraqi cabinet wants to change a draft pact with Washington that would keep American forces there for another three years.
Clarin reports President Kirchner of Argentinian has proposed a government takeover of nearly 30 billion dollars in private pension funds.
Corriere della Sera says Italy's top court has ruled that Germany must pay around 1 million euros in compensation to the Italian families of nine people killed in a 1944 German army massacre in which over 200 people were killed. The court in Rome rejected Germany's argument that international law gave it immunity from prosecution by private citizens.
Aftenposten reports that two men secretly filmed mixing the type of explosive used by the suicide bombers who killed 52 people in London in 2005, have been convicted in Denmark of preparing a terrorist attack.
Asia Observer says former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
El Pais says more than 20 people have been arrested in Spain for buying and using fake degrees in subjects ranging from medicine to the law.
Gulf News reports that two Britons, convicted of having unmarried sex on a Dubai beach, have had their bail extended. Michelle Palmer, 36, and Vince Acors, 34, are also accused with public indecency and being drunk in a public place. Arguments against their conviction would be heard in court next month.