The following are the top stories in the Maltese press today:
The Sunday Times says the man jailed for life for murdering his former girlfriend has said he does not deserve that punishment . The newspaper also carries an interview with former Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, who says the PN government broke an agreement to nominate Dom Mintoff to the presidency.
The Malta Independent on Sunday says Malta if flirting with an EU deficit procedure. It also says that a former Mayor of Catania had used a Malta-based company for mafia purposes.
MaltaToday says the government is involved in tough and delicate talks with ST Microelectronics, which wants to relocate its factory or reduce the workforce. It also says that 51% of the people are against having Parliament on the site of the former Opera House.
Il-Mument says that according to the World Economic Forum, the Maltese banking sector is the third strongest worldwide.
KullHadd leads with comments by economist Edward Scicluna insisting that the utility tariffs are wrong.
It-Torca says $1.6m have been given as compensation to 150 workers who had worked with asbestos. It also says that Nationalist MEPs have a shocking environment record in the European Parliament.
Illum focuses on Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s position in the context of an Opposition parliamentary motion urging the government to withdraw its backing for an underground extension of St John’s Museums. It also says that Louis Galea is still angry for not having been nominated to the Presidency.
The Press in Britain…
The Independent on Sunday warns that Britain could see a return to the three-day week on the scale of the 1970s, as the recession - likely to be the worst for 60 years - takes its toll.
The Sunday Express reports how estate agents are warning that "greedy bankers" are in danger of crushing the first "green shoots" of a housing recovery by failing to loosen their grip on Britain's purse strings.
The Mail on Sunday says Whitehall mandarins in charge of saving Britain from the economic slump drank whisky and danced the night away at the Treasury on the day the recession was officially confirmed.
The Sunday Telegraph reveals how householders are paying up to £140-a-year in council tax to help fill a £35billion black hole in town hall pension funds. In a second lead the paper announces that Prince Harry has split from his girlfriend Chelsy Davy, after she decided that she could no longer cope with the pressures of his military career.
The Observer reports the BBC was in crisis as politicians, religious leaders and senior members of its own staff condemned the decision not to broadcast a charity appeal to help the stricken people of Gaza.
A Sunday Times investigation claims Labour peers are prepared to accept fees of up to £120,000 a year to amend laws in the House of Lords on behalf of business clients.
In an exclusive, The Sunday Mirror claims Sir Paul McCartney's new girlfriend Nancy Shevell is now divorced from her husband, leaving her free to marry the music legend.
Ulrika Jonsson tells the Daily Star Sunday about her experiences on the Celebrity Big Brother TV show, revealing how she "fixed it".
And elsewhere…
France has reportedly drawn up a plan for EU nations to accept 60 detainees from the US Guantanamo Bay prison camp. The German weekly Der Spiegel says the plan applies to inmates who are deemed innocent but would risk persecution or torture if sent to their home countries. Paris has reportedly sent the draft to EU capitals in order to discuss it when EU foreign ministers meet on Monday in Brussels. EU governments are divided on whether to accept inmates or not.
The Washington Post says President Obama has used his first weekly radio address since his inauguration to push for swift and unprecedented action to meet the current economic crisis. He said his $825 billion economic stimulus plan would not only boost employment but would also provide relief to Americans through tax cuts and health care benefits while bolstering renewable energy and infrastructure.
L’Avvenire says the Vatican has condemned President Obama's move to restore US funding for family planning clinics abroad that give advice on or carry out abortions. One official said it dealt a blow to groups fighting against "the slaughter of the innocents". But a White House statement last night reiterated the move aligns the US with other nations fighting poverty and promoting health care.
La Sicilia reports that some 600 migrants and refugees joined a demonstration by residents of Lampedusa to staged a peaceful demonstration against their treatment after temporarily breaking out of their overcrowded immigration camp. The incident cams a day after the UN criticised conditions in the camp where about 2,000 people are forced to live in premises designed for 850.
High winds and storms in France and Spain have left at least 15 people dead. El Pais says four children were killed when the roof of a sports centre collapsed near Barcelona. At least nine adults died in separate incidents in Spain and 14,000 have been forced to abandon their homes as gales buffeted the region for a second day, cutting power, disrupting flights and blocking roads. In France, Le Journal du Dimanche says the authorities have advised the public to stay indoors. The storm was slowly moving eastwards over southern France in the direction of northern Italy, losing power as it went.
Le Soir reports that a 20-year-old man suspected of carrying out a bloody rampage at a day care centre in western Belgium has been charged with the murder of two toddlers and a nursery worker. Twelve more were hurt in the attack in the town of Dendermonde. The authorities said the man was carrying a backpack of weapons – a knife, an axe and a fake gun – and the addresses of three other nurseries,.
The New York Times quotes a UN official warning that peacekeeping efforts are increasingly jeopardised by insufficient funds and lack of troops. UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy says the UN is over stretched with 113,000 military, police and civilian personnel deployed in 18 mission across the globe.
Asia Observer reports North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Il made his first appearance in nearly six months when turned up for talks with a senior Chinese envoy. There were reports that last summer, Kim had suffered a stroke.
O Globo announces the death of 20-year-old Mariana Bridi, the Brazilian model whose feet and hands were amputated because of an infection. She fell ill last month and doctors originally diagnosed her with kidney stones. Bridi was twice a finalist in the Brazilian stage of the Miss World contest.