The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press
The Times reports how a man set fire to his prison cell.
The Malta Independent says the government is considering moving the Gozo Channel cargo handling operation to Grand Harbour from Sa Maison.
In-Nazzjon says Transport Malta has issued a call for the design of six junctions in Valletta and Floriana as part of the City Gate project and the new Valletta terminus. It also reports comments by the Prime Minister on the emphasis placed by the government on solidarity.
l-orizzont says that firms investigated about alleged fraud in the first scheme for assistance for the purchase of photovoltaic systems have been allowed to take part in the second scheme. It also quotes the leader of the opposition saying bureaucracy is discouraging people from redeeming their energy vouchers.
The overseas press
The Guardian in the UK, The New York Times and Der Spiegel in Germany say a massive leak of US military files has exposed unknown details on the war in Afghanistan, including unreported Afghan civilian deaths and covert operations against Taliban figures. Some 91,000 records of incidents and intelligence reports, spanning six years in the conflict, have been posted online by the whistle-blower organisation Wikileaks. The Washington Times says the White House has "strongly condemned" the release of the files, which include communications between military and diplomats from January 2004 to December 2009.
Deutsche Welle reports that German state prosecutors have opened an investigation into the stampede that killed 19 people, between 20 and 40 years of age, and injured hundreds at the Love Parade music festival in Duisburgon Saturday. Calls for an "intensive" and "uncompromising" investigation into the causes of the tragedy have come from as high up as Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Christian Wulff. The 19 victimes include two Spaniards, an Italian, a Bosnian, a Dutchman, an Australian and one person from China.
The Financial Times leads with BP's embattled Chief Executive Tony Hayward, saying he could step down before the company publishes its second-quarter results on Tuesday - expected to reveal a $34 billion provision for paying compensation for the Golf of Mexico disaster. The BBC earlier said Mr Hayward was negotiating his exit. The Times says Mr Hayward could walk away from the company with a nearly £12m package.
Abrar quotes Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warning the European Union against imposing sanctions, saying his country would cause it to "regret" the move. Mr Ahmadinejad said that anyone who adopted hostile measures "should know that Iran will react swiftly". EU foreign ministers are expected, later today, to formally approve restrictions on Iran's energy sector, to impede the development of its nuclear programme.
The New York Post says that while in public, President Obama called the early release of the Lockerbie bomber "highly objectionable", behind the scenes, his administration advised Scottish ministers it would be "far preferable" to free Abdel Baset al-Megrahi than to have him locked up in a Libyan prison. The newspaper was commenting on revelations by The Sunday Times of London which said the intervention came in a letter from Richard LeBaron, deputy head of the US Embassy in London, a week before Megrahi was sprung last August.
The East African reports African Union president Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi has criticised International Criminal Court indictments against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, saying they were "undermining African solidarity and African peace and security". Mutharika told African leaders at the opening session of AU summit in Kampala, to look for ways of resolving the conflict in Sudan without the need to arrest Bashir. Leaders from 53 countries across Africa are meeting in the Ugandan capital for an African Union (AU) summit expected to focus on security in Somalia.
Die Welt announces that a Palestinian protestant bishop has been elected head of the Lutheran church around the world after a vote in Stuttgart. The post is the most important in the federation of 145 member churches from 79 countries. Bishop Munib Younan has said he would strive for peace in the Middle East.
An Nahar says the Lebanese military opened fire with anti-aircraft batteries on an Israeli reconnaissance plane that violated the country's airspace today. The UN considers such overflights to be a violation of the UN Security Council resolution which brought an end in 2006 to a brief but deadly war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia.
Il Sole 24 Ore quotes Italian farmers' trade union Coldiretti saying that production of tomatoes was down by as much as 25 per cent due to exceptionally high temperatures. After getting battered by the heavy rains that pounded much of Italy in June, the plants are now being scorched. The average harvest per hectare of land would tumble from 80,000kg last year to an average of 60,000kg this year. A food expert working for Coldiretti, said that above 300C, plants become stressed and are no longer able to grow, despite irrigation.