The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas newspapers
The Sunday Times says Malta is proposing that southern European countries disregard the Swiss Schengen blacklist in an effort to persuade Tripoli not to continue to deny their nationals entry to Libya. It also reports that GRTU Director-General Vince Farrugia says he feels like ‘a beaten dog' after last week's assault.
The Malta Independent on Sunday says Vince Farrugia's battered face is too dramatic to show. In a story on the economy, it says that seven workers are losing their job every day, but 11 find a new one.
MaltaToday says Sandro Chetcuti, the man accused of the attempted murder of Vince Farrugia, recently acquired XFM radio with former Nationalist minister Michael Falzon.
It-Torca says taxpayers will pay €240,000 for the prime minister's backbench peace. It also explores 'the missing link' in the BWSC ‘scandal' in the contract for the extension of the power station.
Il-Mument says a group of Munich-based economics have predicted that economic growth in Malta this year would be almost twice the EU average. It also reports enthusiasm among PN backbenchers after the appointment of parliamentary assistants.
KullHadd says the PM engaged a British consultant to help him solve his backbench problems and to work as a spin doctor.
Illum says the cruise liner Norwegian Gem is no longer going to operate to Malta, and Malta could lose 93,600 visitors as a result. It says operators are complaining of high costs.
The overseas press
El Pais quotes a spokeswoman for the EU Spanish presidency saying the EU had developed a set of options to help Greece overcome its financial crisis, which had unsettled the euro currency and markets globally.
Il Tempo reports tens of thousands of Italians have taken part in a protest in Rome's main square against the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The demonstrators, called out by the opposition and unions, accused him of changing laws for his own benefit. The protest organisers also called for employment, education and health to be at the centre of campaigning for this month's regional elections.
Al Jazeera says Israel has extended a lockdown on the occupied West Bank and restricted access to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem as tensions continue over its plans to build new homes for Jewish settlers in mainly Arab east Jerusalem.
L'Osservatore Romano reports that the Vatican has denounced attempts to link Pope Benedict XVI to a raft of child sex abuse revelations in Germany, denying accusations that he had once tried to cover up the actions of pedophile priests. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said that to any observer it was clear that these attempts had failed.
Meanwhile, Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican official in charge of prosecuting priests alleged to have committed serious sexual crimes, told L'Avvenire - the Italian Bishops Conference newspaper - that accusations that the pontiff had helped cover up abuse were "false and calumnious". He added that the future Pope "showed wisdom and firmness" in handling cases of abuse when he was head of the department in charge of Church discipline, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, for four years before becoming Pope.
Deutsche Welle quotes Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb saying there was 'enough consensus' within the EU to implement unilateral sanctions against Iran for its nuclear programme, even if the UN Security Council failed to agree on a resolution.
Research for The Sunday Times in the UK has found that the Conservative Party's lead narrowed from five points to four during the past week. If repeated at a general election with a uniform swing across the country, the results would leave Labour as the largest party with 302 seats, against 277 for the Conservatives. No party would have an overall majority.
Meanwhile, research for The Sunday Telegraph found the Conservatives' advantage had dipped by two points over the past month and suggests Mr Cameron would be in control of the largest party, but 30 seats short of an overall majority.
According to the Afghan Times, at least 39 people have been killed and 46 wounded in four suicide bombings in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. Officials said the biggest attack was aimed at the city's main prison. The Taliban said they carried out the bombings as a "message" to Nato.
El Sur reports 13 people have been killed in an outbreak of drug-related violence in the southern Mexican beach resort of Acapulco. Five of the dead were police officers whose patrol was machine gunned. Eight other bullet-riddled bodies were discovered in different areas around the city - four had been beheaded.
Balkan Times says Serbia has paid €250,000 in compensation to the family of a former president killed under orders from late strongman Slobodan Milosevic. Ivan Stambolic, who served as Serbia's president in the 1980s, was kidnapped while jogging in a Belgrade park and executed by state security officers in 2000. His body was dumped in a lime pit in a forest in northern Serbia where it was found in 2003.
Fox News reports the US state of Georgia was considering outlawing abortions based on the baby's race or gender. The issue has already inspired a billboard campaign claiming a racial conspiracy was behind the termination of pregnancies. The billboards have drawn national attention for claiming black babies are an "endangered species".
Gulf News says a British man facing jail in Dubai after he was accused of kissing a woman in public has vowed to clear his name. Ayman Najafi, 24, will appear in court later today together with a 25-year old female British tourist to appeal against a one-month prison sentence. They were allegedly seen kissing on the mouth in a restaurant, breaching Dubai's strict decency laws. They were arrested by police in November last year and appeared in court last week.