The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says talks have been held in Brussels on a new business plan for Air Malta.
The Malta Independent reports that a separated couple came to blows during the Holy Communion of their son in Dingli. It also says that a GWU delegation is to meet the management of ST Microelectronics today to discuss proposed austerity measures.
In-Nazzjon highlights the high pass rate at the SEC exams. It also reports that 11 local councils have been allocated €8.3m in rural funds.
l-orizzont says an autospsy report had embarrassed the authorities. It was established that the man had drowned. The AFM initially said he had suffered cardiac arrest.
The overseas press
The President of the European Commission told the London Times that the new era at the White House was in danger of becoming a "missed opportunity" for Europe. José Manuel Barroso said that the EU-US relationship was "not living up to its potential" and was being marred by fundamental disagreements on how to deal with the economic crisis, climate change and trade reform.
Expansión reports Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has called on Parliament to support his government's austerity drive. During the annual state of the nation debate in parliament Zapatero said the savings programme must be given time to take effect even if it slows economic growth in 2011.
Deutsche Welle reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in Russia for two days of talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev focusing on economic cooperation. During the visit, engineering giant Siemens is to sign a €2.2-billion deal to supply 200 trains to Russia's regional network. The company has also signed on to provide 54 trains for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
Börzen Zeitung says tax investigators have raided all 13 German branches of Swiss bank Credit Suisse as part of a probe into tax fraud allegedly committed by the bank's German customers. Around 150 officials searched branches in Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Duesseldorf and other cities, acting on information from a recently-purchased CD containing the details of over 1,000 suspected tax evaders.
Manila Times says 20 people have been confirmed dead after Typhoon Conson ripped across the Philippines, sweeping shanties into the sea and bringing the nation's capital Manila to a standstill. At least 12 people were crushed to death by trees, walls and other objects, while most of the others drowned and one was electrocuted.
In the UK, the Daily Express says fresh concerns have been raised about mobile phone safety after a government health adviser warned that children should text not talk. The new advice, outlined in health leaflets handed out in Wales, says the under-16s were told to text whenever possible and call only for short periods in order to be "safe not sorry".
Sky News reports a tiny toxic mushroom was believed to be behind the death in SW China of at least 400 people who mysteriously died from cardiac arrest over the last 30 years. Investigators focused on mushrooms because while deaths were spread out in different villages in the Yunnan province, more than 90 percent occurred mainly in the mushroom harvesting season during July and August.
A report by the Economist Intelligence Unit says Britain leads the world in the quality of care it provides for the dying, despite not having the best healthcare system overall. Australia ranked second on the global list followed by New Zealand and Ireland, with Germany, the US and Canada also featuring in the top 10. Many rich nations were in the bottom half of the list, including Denmark (22nd) and Finland (28th). India scored worst at number 40, with Portugal, South Korea and Russia also in the bottom 10.
Metro quotes a Cambridge University study which discovered that women's brains functioned better at remembering information than men's. In tests on participants aged between 48 to 90 years, women made an average of 5.9 fewer errors than men, regardless of age. Education was also found to play a significant part in memory function. Participants who left education after the age of 18 were found to make an average of 20 fewer total errors than those who left education before the age of 16.
Fox News reports that a 40-year-old Chicago mother has been charged with seducing and molesting three teenage boys - all 14 or 15 years old - after providing them with alcohol and marijuana. The pattern of abuse was exposed when the woman's13-year-old daughter walked in on her mother and one of the boys having sex. The boy posted an apology to the girl on Facebook - but it was seen by his parents, who alerted authorities.
Access Hollywood says Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias plans to don his birthday suit in a popular waterway off Miami to honour a bet he made before Spain's World Cup victory. In June, he had told the BBC that if Spain won, he was going to get drunk and ski naked in Biscayne Bay. After Spain scored a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands on Sunday, Iglesias's representative said the singer was ready to strip down in patriotic pride - because "A bet is a bet!". Biscayne Bay is a 56km-long lagoon on the Atlantic coast of south Florida.