The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports the Jesuit provincial saying MPs should be clear about their views on divorce. It also quotes a windsurfur saying that a shark bit off a small piece of his surfboard's sail, but experts have cast doubts on the incident.
The Malta Independent also leads with the shark story. In another story it says that the government will be awarding 430 scholarships by the end of this year.
In-Nazzjon says a new scheme will provide EU funds for farmers. It also says there was a positive reaction by doctors to the increase in the number of medicines given by the heath service.
l-orizzont says the FORUM group of trade unions is to be accepted in the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development.
The overseas press
The Washington Times reports US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has announced a major re-allocation of defence spending. In a Pentagon news conference, Mr Gates said the Joint Forces Command would close, the use of outside contractors would be cut and the number of generals and admirals reduced - saving some $100 billion (€76 billion) in the next five years.
The New York Times quotes a UN official saying the flooding in Pakistan which has killed 1,600 people, could affect more people than the world's last three great disasters combined. The toll could exceed the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Deaths in each of those were much higher than the 1,500 people killed so far in the floods that first hit Pakistan two weeks ago. But the Pakistani government estimated that over 13 million people have been affected - two million more than the other disasters combined.
Deutsche Welle reports high water levels have been receding in the state of Saxony, but officials in Brandenburg were on alert as the flooding heads north. The River Spree, which goes through Berlin, was expected to burst its banks anytime today, Tuesday.
China Daily says the death toll from landslides in north-west China has risen to 337, with 1,148 people missing. The landslides in Gansu came as China was struggling with its worst flooding in a decade, with more than 1,000 people reported dead and millions more displaced around the country.
Pravda reports international aid from France, Germany and Bulgaria began trickling into Russia as the country continued efforts to contain widespread forest fires. Top health officials in Moscow announced that the daily death rate in the city has nearly doubled amid the record heat wave, with about 700 people succumbing each day the extreme weather persisted.
The Sun says supermodel Naomi Campbell's former agent Carole White and film star Mia Farrow disputed the model's claim at a war crimes trial that she did not know who had given her a gift of "blood diamonds". All three were present at a party in September 1997 hosted by Nelson Mandela in Pretoria, South Africa. Giving evidence to the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, the Netherlands, Ms White said Campbell was flirting with Taylor during the dinner
Metro says a Christian charity has said it was not planning to leave Afghanistan despite the murders of 10 of its aid workers - six Americans, two Afghan, a Briton and a German - all doctors, nurses and logistic personnel. The International Assistance Mission said it would continue to serve the Afghan people as long as it was welcome.
Times of Central Asia reports that the Taliban publicly flogged a pregnant Afghan widow by 200 lashes and then executed her by shooting her three times in the head for alleged adultery. Bibi Sanubar, 35, was kept in captivity for three days before she was shot dead in a public trial, accused and found guilty of having an "illicit affair" that left her pregnant.
The human race must colonise space within the next two centuries or it would become extinct, Stephen Hawking warned in an interview with website Big Think. The renowned astrophysicist said he fears mankind was in great danger and its future "must be in space" if it was to survive. He said threats to the existence of the human race were likely to increase in the future.
Variety says China was to experience the trappings of Hollywood glamour with its first celebrity memorabilia auction next October. The sale in Macau would feature a lock of Elvis Presley's hair, Marilyn Monroe's size-36C black-lace bra, Michael Jackson's stage costumes, including a black crystal-encrusted glove, and a dress worn by Princess Diana. The items would be exhibited in Japan and Chile before the auction.
Hamburger Morgenpost reports that police have raided and shut down a mosque visited by September 11 jihadists. Shortly before Ramadan, Hamburg deemed the mosque's extreme Islamist ideology as sufficient grounds for a ban.
In the UK, the Daily Express and the Daily Mirror say 65-year-old singer Rod Stewart is to become a father for the seventh time. He is expecting a second child with his model wife Penny Lancaster, 39, whom he married three years ago. The couple already have a four-year-old son called Alastair. Stewart has five children from previous relationships.
A British man has become the first person known to have walked the entire length of the Amazon River. Sky News reported Ed Stafford's epic 6,437km journey along the world's longest river took more than two years to complete. Stafford said he hoped the walk would raise awareness of the ongoing destruction of the Amazon rain forest.