The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Sunday Times reports that theatre guru Cameron Mackintosh, at the request of the government, is to present a proposal for the Mediterranean Conference Centre to be turned into a financially feasible grand opera house within two years. The newspaper also reports that after a quarry wall collapsed under a school playground in Mqabba, the owner blamed water seepage from the school garden.
The Malta Independent on Sunday says head teachers are considering setting up a breakaway union after a speech by MUT president John Bencini last week was viewed as being political. A number of teachers are also reported to have migrated to the UHM.
MaltaToday says the chairman of Enemalta has denied that his resignation is linked to a €25m solar energy project.
Il-Mument carries an interview with the prime minister who expressed confidence that Malta would hold its own in the employment sector. In other stories, it says the Joseph Muscat is not consulting his parliamentary group, and last Monday's four-hour tariffs protest threw the PL 40 years back.
It-Torca says that the Archbishop has called on the head of the Dominican order in Rome to act against Fr Mark Montebello over controversial public statements. It also says that the police are eying doctors close to the Nationalist Party as part of their investigations into the letter-bomb murder of Karin Grech.
KullHadd says Simon Busuttil embarrassed the prime minister when he presented a petition asking the EU to investigate air quality deterioration caused by the building industry. It also says that unemployment last year was the highest in five years.
Illum reports that €39m have already been paid by BWSC by the government even though the contract awarded to BWSC is still being investigated by the Auditor-General. It also says that the PN removed the barman at its club in Marsaxlokk after it was revealed in court that he hid the pistol held by il-bona in the incident during which he was killed.
The overseas press
Morgunbladid reports that 98 percent of Iceland's 230,000 voters have rejected a government proposal to repay 3.9 billion euro to the UK and Dutch governments which compensated Icesave's 340,000 customers after the collapse of the online bank in 2008. Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said the result was no surprise.
El Pais quotes Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign affairs representative, saying she wants to add Gaza to her Middle East tour to inspect EU aid implementation.
Le Soir says fresh rioting has erupted in Brussels, as more than 5,000 demonstrators protested against a police crackdown on organisations accused of having links to Kurdish separatists. AA
Aswat al Iraq reports three mortars struck Baghdad's "Green Zone" and three other blasts were heard in the Iraqi capital as polls opened in the country's general election.
The Sunday Times says that as Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan, it was revealed that Britain's military force in Afghanistan would be given 200 new patrol vehicles to replace the much-criticised Snatch Land Rovers, blamed by troops for many of the deaths caused by roadside bombs.
An opinion survey published in the News of the World has put the British Conservative Party nine points ahead of Labour, which gained just one percentage point to hit 31 per cent. Dropping two points, the liberal Democrats trailed behind with 18 per cent. The Tories nine-point lead is the party's biggest advantage over Labour for a fortnight.
L'Osservatore Romano says the Vatican has backed a German diocese's efforts to shed light on sexual abuse allegations by a former chorister at a renowned boy's choir once led by Pope Benedict XVI's brother.
The Age reports that torrential rains and gigantic hailstones the size of marbles have lashed Australia, flooding the city of Melbourne and bursting riverbanks further north. Melbourne was hit by 19mm of rain in the first 18 minutes. In Queensland, monsoon conditions led to serious flooding and a state of emergency was declared.
Dawn says Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has ordered police to step up their efforts to find a five-year-old British boy who was kidnapped while visiting relatives in the Punjab region.
The New Musical Express reports Band Aid Trust will complain to the British broadcasting watchdog about a BBC report that alleged millions of pounds raised for famine relief in Ethiopia were spent on weapons.
Blick says a nationwide referendum is taking place in Switzerland on a proposal to give animals right to be represented in court.
USA Today reports an Asiatic black bear bit off a woman's fingers at a zoo in the America state of Wisconsin after she ignored signs that warned against trying to feed the animal. The 47-year-old woman lost a thumb and a forefinger, and two fingers were partially severed. Her boyfriend was bitten as he tried to rescue her. The bear will not be put down.
Berliner Zeitung reports that armed robbers stormed a luxury hotel in central Berlin and raided a poker tournament last night. Armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, machetes and hand grenades, the raiders made off with the jackpot of €800,000. Several of the 1,000 players were injured.
Thirty-eight members of the staff at the Danish daily Politiken have published a letter protesting at its decision to apologise for printing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Kurt Westergaard, one of the cartoonists, who this year was the subject of an attack at his home, said it had betrayed its duty to uphold freedom of speech.
Entertainment News says James Cameron's 3D blockbuster Avatar has gained late ground on The Hurt Locker, and is now 11/8 second favourite to walk away with tonight's biggest prize in the 82nd Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009. Hollywood expects tonight's Oscars show, hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, to be remembered for a selection of groundbreaking firsts: Kathryn Bigelow, the film-maker behind The Hurt Locker, is odds-on to become the first female Best Director over her fellow nominee and ex-husband Cameron. Also in the Best Director race, Lee Daniels is vying to become the first black winner.