The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Sunday Times quotes tenor Joseph Calleja saying that Malta needs a proper opera house. It also reports that a Home Affairs Ministry official is to be investigated over an e-mail exchange involving the PN.
The Malta Independent on Sunday says bus owners have adopted a conciliatory tone on the transport reform. It also reports that the old City Gate design will be incorporated in the new one by Renzo Piano.
MaltaToday leads with the story of a mother who fought for two years so that her son could receive free diabetes medicine. It also says that the new Ghadira Bay road was first suggested by the Seabank hotelier. In another story it says that the government and the opposition had agreed to nominate Joseph Ebejer to serve as Data Protection Commissioner, but it is not certain if he will take the position.
Il-Mument highlights comments by the president of the Chamber of Architects about the unique opportunity presented by the City Gate project. It also reports that the CMTU has suspended the MUT and that GO has announced further investment in telephony.
It-Torca discusses the state of children born out of wedlock and their access to the sacraments. It also says spying by the PN has been going on since before the elections.
Illum says patients, including those who had received psychiatric treatment, are stopping their pills in order to save money. It also reports that non-CMTU unions have disagreed with government calculations on how many families will benefit from lower rates under the proposed new utility bills.
KullHadd says the Prime Minister is deeply involved in the issue over 'PN espionage'.
The Press in Britain…
The Sunday Times says Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, is to stand for a third term despite being criticised over the handling of the Damian Green affair, where the shadow immigration minister was arrested after he was accused of receiving leaked documents.
The Sunday Express claims shoppers have started a recession busting-spending spree this weekend which could result in sales figures topping last year's £13bn total.
The Mail on Sunday reports that Northern Rock, the rescued bank which precipitated the credit collapse, has been accused of selling off job lots of repossessed homes at knockdown prices.
The Sunday Telegraph says the Department of Health is resisting the release of the number of mothers who opt for abortion because their unborn babies have been diagnosed with abnormal conditions.
The Independent on Sunday covers the plight of Asian women forced into arranged marriages, saying that hundreds are turning to the Home Office for help.
The Observer reports the Archbishop of York is calling for President Robert Mugabe to be toppled from power and made to "answer for his crimes against humanity" at The Hague.
The Daily Star says British actor and former footballer Vinnie Jones' £50m film future could now be in jeopardy after he became involved in a "violent Wild West-style fight" that led to him being arrested.
The Sunday Mirror carries an interview with 80s pop star David Van Day who spoke of his astonishing life story of champagne, drug binges and bed-hopping.
The News of the World says X Factor's Alexandra Burke has been targeted by a greedy ex, hawking a sordid sex tape for £100,000.
The People focuses on brave Jade Goody who has spoken in candid terms about her cancer battle.
The Sunday Mail reports serial killer Peter Tobin will be quizzed by police hunting the killer of a young woman who disappeared almost 30 years ago.
The Sunday Post says Lord Mandelson has been accused of bully-boy tactics over an appeal against the Lloyds TSB-HBOS merger.
Scotland on Sunday says that in the wake of the Karen Matthews kidnapping case, ministers will this week order an historic crackdown on Britain’s benefits culture.
And elsewhere…
Le Monde leads with the talks in Gdansk between President Sarkozy and nine eastern European leaders which have failed to produce an agreement on a common position on combating climate change. However, Mr Sarkozy, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, expressed optimism that they could reach an agreement ahead of next week's EU summit in Brussels.
Meanwhile, Gazeta Polska pictues the French president’s meeting the Dalai Lama during celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of the then head of the Solidarity trade union, Lech Walesa, receiving the Nobel Prize. China has responded to Sarkozy's decision to meet with the Dalai Lama by cancelling a Sino-European Union summit.
USA Today quotes President-elect Barack Obama saying he has instructed his economic team to put together a recovery plan that will save or create more than two million jobs. In his weekly radio address, Obama said the programme would see the US government make the single largest investment in the country's infrastructure since the 1950s.
Washington Post says Caroline Kennedy is interested in the Senate seat that would open once Hillary Clinton becomes US Secretary of State. The paper quotes an unnamed close relative saying the powerful Kennedy clan is fully behind her rising to the office previously held by her uncle.
Kathimerini reports hundreds of rioters have fought pitched battles with police in the Greek cities of Athens and Thessaloniki following the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy. Witnesses said that the teenager was shot after a small group of youths attacked a police patrol car in central Athens.
Gulf News says millions of Muslims have begun the annual Haj pilgrimage as the Saudi authorities take massive security measures to ease the flow of pilgrims inside the Grand Mosque and the disaster-prone Jamarat Bridge in the holy city of Mecca. Three years ago, more than 350 people were crushed to death in what was the worst Haj tragedy since 1990.
South Africa’s Mail & Guardian quotes Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, saying the use of force to remove President Mugabe would be justified. The comments came as international pressure increased for the forcing out of Mugabe over Zimbabwe’s economic and political implosion and a cholera outbreak, which has killed more than 560 people and infected over 12,000.
Pakistan Times quotes the Pakistani High Commissioner in London, Wajid Shamsul Hassan, saying British and American officials had to intervene to prevent India carrying out a strike on Pakistan in retaliation for the Mumbai terror attacks. He said he had learned from sources that India was about to launch a military strike to "teach Pakistan a lesson".
The Sunday Tribune says some 70,000 people took part in a protest against education cuts. Parents, teachers and students marched through Dublin city centre to highlight their concerns over increasing class sizes and job losses resulting from the cuts in language support funding.
The New York Times reports US Heiress Martha "Sunny" von Bulow has died after almost three decades in a coma that prosecutors tried to blame on her husband. She was 76. Mrs Von Bulow spent the past 28 years in a coma.