The following are the top stories in the Maltese and international press:
The Times leads with the range of directives for industrial action issued late yesterday by the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses.
l-orizzont says the trade unions had a positive meeting with the Prime Minister yesterday on the utility tariffs.
MaltaToday Midweek says PN officials have defended their request for sensitive information about people who complain at government ministries, arguing that their purpose is customer care. However the Prime Minister’s private secretary said this was unacceptable.
In-Nazzjon leads with the proposed reform announced by Education Minister Dolores Cristina to ease pupils’ transition from primary to secondary schools.
The Malta Independent also leads with the consultation document on education. It also reports the GRTU’s meeting with the Prime Minister, which also ended with hopes of a solution on the utility tariffs to ease burdens on SMEs.
The Press in Britain…
The Guardian says Labour backbenchers are forecasting a general election after a drop in the Tories poll rating.
The Financial Times reports renewed anger from Barclays shareholders over the bank's plans to raise money through Middle Eastern connections.
The Daily Express leads with the news that petrol and food prices are finally falling.
The Mirror reveals a list of 12,000 members of the BNP has been leaked on the internet.
The Independent leads with a Spanish woman who has become the first patient to receive an organ transplant grown using her own cells.
The Daily Mail asks whether this is the first step to “grow your own organs”.
And elsewhere…
De Standaard quotes EU Employment Commissioner Vladimir Spidla saying EU governments should lift their restrictions on workers from the bloc's newer member states since they bring more gain than pain.
China's Xinhua news agency says a Hong Kong cargo ship loaded with wheat for Iran has become the latest victim of piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
The Congo’s L’Avenire reports that Tutsi rebels loyal to General Laurent will withdraw from recently seized positions to support a peace initiative.
Le Monde says former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin has been ordered to appear before a court in connection with an alleged smear campaign that targeted President Nicolas Sarkozy. If convicted de Villepin could face up to five years in prison.
Belfast Daily announces that Northern Ireland's leaders have announced a "historic" deal to resume power-sharing in the British province, ending a four-month deadlock which had threatened to derail the whole peace process
The Zimbabwean reports that police in Harare have broken up a demonstration by doctors and nurses, who were protesting the collapse of the nation's health system.
El Pais says a Spanish judge has abandoned a probe into more than 100,000 disappearances during Spain's civil war and the nearly four-decade Franco dictatorship that followed it.
Haagsche Courant says the International Court of Justice has ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear Croatia's accusations of genocide against Serbia. The UN’s top court dismissed Serbia's argument that it was not entitled to hear the case because Serbia was not a member of the UN at the time of the alleged atrocities.
Meanwhile, The InternationalHerald Tribune reports that Amnesty International has accused Russia and Georgia of serious human rights violations during their five-day war in August, saying both sides failed to protect civilians.
Berliner Morgenpost quotes German President Horst Köhler warning Europe not to ignore the plight of the world's impoverished regions, especially Africa.
La Sicilia says Italian authorities have seized some €700 million in assets they believe can be traced to the most important fugitive Cosa Nostra boss, Matteo Messina Denaro. In an operation described as ''historic'', anti-mafia police seized 12 businesses, 220 real estate holdings – including villas and apartment blocks – and 133 pieces of land for a total of some 60 hectares.