The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times quotes Fr Peter Serracino Inglott saying a law on cohabitation was not the answer for calls for divorce or gay marriage.
The Malta Independent quotes the MUMN saying that 300 nurses and midwives needed to be recruited every year, but recruitment was currently only between 60 and 70.
In-Nazzjon says a Labour MP is being investigated over alleged aggression in hospital. It also reports that John Attard Montalto voted wrongly in the European Parliament after making a mistake about a directive on the self-employed. He corrected his mistake.
l-orizzont quotes the PL saying says the government has confirmed its weakness over corruption when it did not promptly investigate bribery claims involving a tender.
The overseas press:
The Financial Times says EU finance ministers have backed tougher sanctions against countries that flout fiscal rules. At the first meeting of a special economic governance taskforce, the ministers agreed four broad objectives: the need for greater budgetary discipline; an effective crisis management system; stronger economic governance and means to reduce divergences in competitiveness between members of the 27-country bloc.
The Washington Times reports that President Obama has said the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico only underscored America's long-term security depended on the development of alternative sources of fuel and new transportation technologies. He had earlier called for first-ever US mileage and emissions standards for big work trucks.
Afghan Times says the Talibans have denied attending peace talks with the Afghan government in the Maldives, saying those at the talks were no longer active members and had "surrendered" to President Hamid Karzai's government. The talks were organised by Hizb-i-Islami, a Taliban-allied insurgent group which began negotiations with the government last March. Meanwhile, Taliban militants have strapped bombs to two men they accused of spying for the US and blew them up at a public execution.
ABC reports that three Eta members have been jailed for 1,000 years each for a bombing blast in 2006 that destroyed a five-storey car park at Madrid airport, killing two Ecuadorean immigrants and wounding 41 other people. Spain frequently hands down lengthy sentences in terrorism cases although they are mostly symbolic because the maximum jail sentence a person can serve for a terrorism conviction is 40 years.
El Punt ser says a British woman has confessed to suffocating to death her two young children in a hotel room using a plastic bag. Lianne Smith, 43, is accused of two counts of murder over the deaths of her five-year-old daughter and 11-month-old son, whose bodies were found in their room at the four-star Hotel Miramar at the eastern coastal resort of Lloret del Mar. According to he report, Smith then slept next to the bodies of her children before trying to kill herself.
USA Today confirms that the mothers of three US hikers, held in Iran for 10 months over spy accusations, have been able to see their children a second time in as many days. The three Americans were detained on July 31 after crossing Iran's border while on a hiking trip in northern Iraq's Kurdistan region.
Fox News reports a US evangelist has been sentenced to life plus 51 years in prison after being convicted of killing his wife and storing her body in a home freezer. Circuit Judge John Lockett imposed the sentence on Anthony Hopkins, 39, after hearing he killed his 36-year-old wife in 2004 after she caught him molesting a girl, then stuffed her body in a freezer at their home.
O Globo says a Polish Cathiolic priest living in Brazil has been arrested on charges of pedophilia and of turning his home into an "erotic dungeon" where he organized orgies with teenagers. Church officials declined to comment on the case.
La Vanguardia reports authorities in Barcelona, fed up with tourists wandering the streets in their swimming costumes, are preparing a massive campaign to convince them to put on clothes when they leave the beach. A spokesman said they wanted people to understand that it's something they don't think is civil.
Le Parisien says Renault is facing legal action over plans to christen a new model Zoe by a French woman named Zoe Renault. The 23-year-old, from Paris, has hired lawyers to insist that Renault scrap its branding. Ms Renault, who has no apparent family link to the company, said she could not bear to be associated with a car for the rest of her life.
France Football says Europe will crown a new champion this evening when the Bernabeu plays host to its fourth European Cup final. At the start of this UEFA Champions League campaign, few would have expected a decider contested by Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. However, the German and Italian giants both arrive at this continental showpiece aiming to add the final piece of a domestic and European treble, having disposed of Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona among others en route to Madrid.