The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.

The Times reports that the slowdown in the property market has persisted, as shown by figures published yesterday by the Central Bank.

The Malta Independent says Gozitans are making the most of the Santa Marija holiday, but crossings from Malta are down sharply.

In-Nazzjon reports that several of those alleged to be involved in the VAT Department scam are expected to file guilty pleas in court, but one is expected to be tried before a jury.

l-orizzont quotes environment organisations saying that the fact that Mepa had only revoked one of Victor Scerri's Bahrija permits made the exercise a waste of time.

The Press in Britain...

The Times claims relatives of Lockerbie victims were denied their final chance of discovering the truth when the only man convicted of the atrocity abruptly dropped his appeal.

The Daily Mail tells how surgeons are celebrating a European first with five lifesaving transplant operations from two donors in 24 hours.

According to the Daily Express, police chiefs have been accused of a scandalous misuse of taxpayers' money after helping to set up a special support group for sex-change staff.

The Daily Telegraph says families will be hit by a new stealth tax next month as the government raises the interest rate payable on inheritance tax bills,.

In an interview with The Guardian, shadow chancellor George Osborne says large City bonuses should be outlawed in banks that have received any sort of government guarantee.

FT Weekend reports private banks are capitalising on what is expected to be a bumper bonus season in the City by easing their lending rules to attract wealthy home buyers who have been shut out by the high street.

The Independent leads with the row about how the NHS is being misrepresented in America over President Obama's plans to reform healthcare - with a special report on medical services in the US.

The Sun claims singer George Michael was involved in a crash with a lorry on the A34 near Newbury in Berkshire.

The Daily Star reports on the latest dramas in Aussie singer Peter Andre's personal life.

And elsewhere...

Al Jazeera reports that at least 13 people have been killed and more than 100 injured as Islamic radicals from an al Qaida-inspired group fought Hamas security guards in the Gaza Strip. The confrontation was triggered by the group's leader who defied Gaza's Hamas rulers by declaring in a prayer sermon that the territory was an Islamic emirate.

The Scotsman says the man serving a life sentence for the Lockerbie bombing has applied to drop the second appeal against his conviction

The Washington Post says President Barack Obama has made an impassioned defence of his proposed health care reform.

O Globo says Brazil has banned advertisements for over-the-counter flu remedies because of fears their widespread use might mask the spread of swine flu.

Australia's Daily Telegraph reports that a cancer drug that destroys the deadly cells which give birth to tumours has been developed by scientists. The drug selectively kills cancer stem cells which help tumours grow and spread the disease through the body.

Reports from the Russian news agency Itar-Tass and Financial Times Deutschland, citing unidentified sources, say the Maltese-flagged ship Arctic Sea has been sighted near the Cape Verde islands. The cargo ship's disappearance has sparked international search efforts.

San Francisco Chronicle announces that a Charles Manson follower who tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford has been freed from a US prison after 34 years behind bars. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was just 26 years old when she pointed a .45-calibre pistol at Mr Ford in September 1975 in Sacramento, California.

Il Tempo reports that five private security guards have climbed to the top of the Colosseum in Rome to protest at planned layoffs at their company. They unfurled a banner that read "no to job insecurity".

The People's Daily says the number of children showing signs of lead poisoning blamed on a smelting plant in northern China has doubled to more than 600.

Moscow Times reports that seven women have been shot dead in a sauna in the republic of Dagestan, in Russia's north Caucasus region. They were shot by rebels at around the same time as separatists attacked and killed four policemen manning a nearby checkpoint in Buinaksk, a town 41 km from the local capital, Makhachkala.

USA Today reports that a scientific study has found evidence that women like to target men who are already in relationships. Researchers at Oklahoma State University observed that 90 per cent of women were interested in a man when told that he was in a relationship, compared to 59 per cent when told the same man was single. They said this may be because a man who is attached has already shown his ability to commit and, in a sense, has been pre-screened by another woman.