The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Sunday Times says that the police are investigating a scam at Mater Dei Hospital where patients were being swindled out money offering therapy not provided by the state and leading them to believe it was free. It also carries a story where Sliema mayor Nikki Dimech accuses PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier of a frame up. The newspaper says that a deputy mayor in Gozo has resigned following a court case.
Il-Mument claims there may be a Maltese cardinal by the end of the year, possibly Archbishop Paul Cremona.
The Malta Independent on Sunday says that inferior material could have been the cause of the fireworks explosion at Mosta.
Malta Today says that Paul Borg Olivier has campaigned in Sliema following the Nikki Dimech saga. It says that the biggest worry of 46 per cent of the Malta was the worry water and electricity bills and that mobile phone were the biggest cause of accidents. It also says that the fish market will be moving to Marsa
It-Torca says that an ITS student who suffered from ADHD ended in court to refund €900 euros given in stipend. It asks if the Curia’s pro-vicar Mgr Anton Gouder had been speaking on behalf of the church when he spoke about divorce earlier this week. The newspapers says that members of the PL would be choosing their new emblem in the coming days.
Llum says that 61 per cent do not feel that Malta is yet out of the recession.
Kulhadd clams that Paul Borg Olivier could have committed a crime when he asked councillor Sandra Dimech to choose between her mother and the mayor.
The overseas press
The Australian reports that up to 80,000 uncounted votes in four seats would determine which of the two major parties formed a minority government in what looked likely to be Australia's first hung parliament in 60 years. At last count, the major parties were tied on 71 seats apiece, and a minority government would depend most likely on which major party was able to woo Australian Greens' Adam Brandt and three, possibly four, independents.
SBS Radio says the counting of votes resumes later today. A record 10.86 million votes – or 85 per cent – had been counted by midnight on Saturday, half a million more than at the 2007 election. A record number of pre-poll votes were also received ahead of the election and voters went to the polls early yesterday.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that bookies have installed the coalition as the favourite to form government following an inconclusive result from Saturday's federal election. It also predicts that the uncertainty of the result would push the Australian dollar and the share market lower when trade resumes on Monday.
Asia Observer says that tens of thousands more people were being moved to safety as floodwaters continued to inundate more communities in Pakistan. In the southern region of Sindh, described as worst of the region, the number of displaced peopled is reported to be between 2.5 and 4 million. The IMF has announced it would start talks with Pakistanti officials in Washington on Monday to assess how best they can help.
According to China Daily, four people died and more than 64,000 were evacuated in China as heavy rain sparked serious floods along the North Korean border. Some 230 homes collapsed and transport, power and communication links were cut off.
Expressen says Swedish prosecutors have withdrawn an arrest warrant for the founder of WikiLeaks, saying it was based on an unfounded accusation of rape. They said that for the moment Julian Assange remained suspected of the lesser crime of molestation in a separate case. The accusations have been labelled a dirty trick by Mr Assange and his group, who are preparing to release a fresh batch of classified US documents from the Afghan war.
Pravda reports police in southern Russia said security forces have killed the man suspected of organising the Moscow underground bombings in March that killed 40 people and wounded more than 100. Madomedali Vagabov was killed along with four others during an exchange of fire with special forces.
The Jerusalem Post quotes an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman saying Iran’s start of an operation to load fuel into its first nuclear power station at Bushehr was totally unacceptable. He urged world powers to increase pressure on Iran to comply with international decisions and stop its uranium enrichments and heavy water reactor programmes.
The Egyptian Gazette says the fate of a Van Gogh painting valued at 39 million euros, that was stolen from a Cairo museum yesterday, remained unclear. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni was quoted as saying it was still missing. Earlier, the minister said the painting had been recovered and that two Italians had been arrested when they tried to smuggle it out of the country. The work goes by two titles, Poppy Flowers and Vase with Flowers. This is the second time the painting has been stolen from the Cairo museum. Thieves made off with the canvas in 1978, before authorities recovered it two years later at an undisclosed location in Kuwait.
Voix du Nord says a crocodile that closed French beaches along the English Channel turned out to be driftwood. French authorities closed beaches after receiving reports a 3.6m crocodile was seen swimming around sailing boats in Boulogne-sur-Mer, on the northern French coast. Thousands of people were barred from beaches because of the scare.
Le Matin reports UN peacekeepers in Haiti have called for calm after electoral officials rejected international hip-hop star Wyclef Jean's presidential candidacy. Jean, who has a strong following among Haiti's youth, was the best known of the 15 candidates disqualified from running.
Sky News says the lead singer of a British band jumped to his death at a Belgian rock festival, shortly after playing a set on stage. Charles Haddon of London-based electro-pop band “Ou Est Le Swimming Pool?” climbed up a telecommunications mast behind the main stage at the Pukkelpop festival Friday and threw himself to the car park below. The 22-year-old was pronounced dead and district attorney Marc Rubens said police were treating the death as a suicide.
Illinois Gazette says a 23-year-old woman has drowned after getting trapped in an uncovered manhole during heavy rain in Illinois. Police say the woman and a man were riding in a car and got stuck in a flooded viaduct. Both got out of the car to start pushing, and the woman slipped into a manhole and underwater. She was submerged for about four minutes before the man and a police officer were able to free her. She died at the scene.