The following are the top stories in the local and international press today:
The local press
The Times leads with a story quoting Nationalist MP Robert Arrigo denying interference claims made against him by former PN Sliema mayor Nikki Dimech, currently facing charges for soliciting a bribe. Councillor Yves Cali, however, backed the allegation. A photo story shows Elton John entertaining the crowds on the Granaries yesterday night.
The Independent also leads with an Elton John photo. It quotes Labour leader Joseph Muscat saying that stipends and allowances had been set up by Labour and the Prime Minister saying that former Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said had faced his biggest test.
l-Orizzont leads with a photo of Elton John on the Granaries yesterday. In another story it says that farmers are worried about produce being imported from Morocco and the year 2014 when subsidies on agricultural products are to be halted.
in-Nazzjon says that more than 54,400 students return to school today after the summer holidays. It quotes Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi during a political activity yesterday saying that people who enter politics have to be loyal to the truth. Its main photo on the front page is of the air show.
The international press
As Jewish settlers prepared to resume building in the occupied territories following the end of Israel's ban on West Bank construction, The Jerusalem Post quotes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to continue the peace talks. Earlier he had called on Jewish settlers to show restraint. Israel says the settlements were no bar to talks, but US negotiators have been working intensively to secure a deal.
Le Monde reports President Abbas has met with Jewish writers and intellectuals in France, ahead of his planned talks with the French President Nicolas Sarkozy later today, as peace talks with Israel teetered on the question of renewed building by Jewish settlers in land claimed by Palestinians. Abbas'. The Palestinian leader has said peace talks would be a "waste of time" unless the freeze was extended.
But Mr Abbas yesterday told al-Hayat the Palestinians would not immediately walk away from peace talks with Israel even if the moratorium was not extended. He said he would go back to the Palestinian institutions and the Arab League. A day earlier, he had told the UN General Assembly in New York that Israel must choose between "peace and the continuation of illegal settlements" if it wanted international talks to succeed.
El Universal says Venezuelans have voted for a new parliament, with opposition parties poised to return to the National Assembly after a poll boycott in 2005. They are set to take back seats from the governing United Socialist Party of President Hugo Chavez. But Mr Chavez hopes to hold on to a two-thirds majority in the Assembly.
The Guardian quotes New British Labour Party leader Ed Miliband declaring the New Labour era was over and that he would not be tied to the orthodoxies of the Blair/Brown period “A new generation has taken over,” he said. Making his first appearance at Labour’s annual conference in Manchester, he insisted the party would not embark on a “lurch to the left” under his leadership and dismissed the “Red Ed” tag applied to him by critics as “tiresome rubbish”.
China Daily reports the start of a visit to Beijing by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for talks with Premier Wen Jiabao and Wu Bangguo, chairman of China’s National People’s Congress, amid growing energy co-operation between the neighbours. No agenda has been provided for Medvedev’s three-day visit but China and Russia have expanded energy co-operation in recent months.
Berliner Zeit says at least 12 people have been killed and dozens injured after a bus carrying Polish tourists crashed on a motorway near Berlin. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited the site and met with survivors. The bus, carrying 47 passengers, was forced off the road by a car leaving a motorway, and crashed into a bridge support while the passenger car landed in a ditch.
El Pais reports that the Spanish government has rejected a statement by the Basque separatist group Eta that it is ready for a permanent ceasefire in a bid to settle the troubled region’s long-running conflict. Two unnamed and masked ETA members said in an interview published in Basque newspaper Gara that the violent, armed group was prepared to abide by the conditions set out in March in a document called the Brussels Declaration by a group including four Nobel peace laureates.
Deutsche Welle says the German government has decided to raise welfare benefits for the long-term unemployed by five euros a month. The move comes despite the country's tight financial situation and widespread public opposition to any increase.
Variety reports global actors' unions have told their members not to take roles in the new The Hobbit movies amid a row over pay. Cate Blanchett, Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis are among the stars who have been linked with the two big-budget Lord of the Rings prequels. But seven unions in the US, Australia, the UK and Canada said producers refused to negotiate a deal with them.
Abrar said a complex computer worm has infected the personal computers of staff at Iran's first nuclear power station. The official IRNA news agency reported the operating system at the Bushehr plant has not been harmed. The Stuxnet worm is capable of seizing control of industrial plants.
Autoblog announces that a new Porsche advent calendar looks to be the perfect gift for your loved one this Christmas – if you're a millionaire and you are also in need of a few expensive trappings such as a new kitchen, a watch, and even a yacht. Only five of the calendars were being created, each costing a cool $1 million. It was nearly two metres high and made of brushed aluminium.
Coventry Telegraph says a two-year-old Rottweiler has been recognised for his bravery after he saved a woman from a sex attacker. The dog, named Jake, chased off the man as he molested a woman in Coventry in 2009 and stood guard over the victim until police arrived. The attacker was jailed for four years.