The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says that a group of prominent priests is to publish a position paper on divorce. The paper has the approval of the Archbishop and is a reaction to comments by Mgr Arthur Said Pullicino. The newspaper also reports that Malta is the second lowest in EU gender equality.
The Malta Independent says progress has been made in criticial areas with regard to the administration of EU funding for education programmes.
Malta Today says the tax department has begged auditors not to pester it with phone calls about refunds and the department would call them instead.
In-Nazzjon says the first EasyJet aircraft is in Malta for maintenance at SR Technics.
l-orizzont carries comments by Lino Spiteri who was critical of the Speaker's ruling on the power station extension contract.
The overseas press:
A hoard of TV and radio stations transmitted directly throughout the night from San Josè in Chile to follow the rescue of the first of the 33 miners trapped deep underground for more than two months. Florencio Avalos, 31, was winched up a 624-metre-shaft in a custom-built capsule, wearing an oxygen mask and a belt monitoring his vital signs. The operation began at 2318 (0418 Malta time) and would take 48 hours. Each ride up the shaft takes about 20 minutes, and rescuers believe they should be able to rescue one miner each hour.
L'Osservatore Romano announces Pope Benedict has created a Vatican office for re-evangelising Europe and other traditionally-Christian regions where the faith was falling by the wayside. In an official decree, the pontiff said the new office would work with bishops to promote church doctrine, use modern communication methods to get the church's message out and mobilise missionary-type activities using members of religious orders and new religious movements.
Le Parisien says French unions have staged their biggest strikes and demonstrations so far in opposition to the government's pension reform plans. Unions put the national turnout on the third day of protests this month at 3.5 million, while police said 1.2m people were involved. The Sarkozy administration wants to raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62, and from 65 to 67 for a full state pension. Some unions say they might extend or continue the strikes.
The New York Times reports Germany and Portugal have won election to two non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council assigned to Western Europe and other Groups (WEOG). Portugal was awarded the other seat after Canada withdrew its bid after two inconclusive rounds of voting. The two-year term begins on January 1, 2011.
The Washington Post announces the US is to lift its six-month ban on deep water oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico imposed after the BP oil spill. Congressional sources said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar planned to lift the moratorium, on the condition that companies would first have to meet a host of new safety regulations. The ban has put people out of work and damaged the economy.
Kyiv Post says at least 42 people died and eight others were seriously injured when their bus was hit by a train at a level crossing in the Ukraine. Officials said the bus attempted to cross the track, ignoring a siren that indicated an oncoming train. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov reacted by ordering payments of more than €9,000 to the victims' families and demanding automated crossing gates be installed at all railway crossings.
Gazeta Polska reports a van crammed with farm workers crashed head-on into a truck while trying to overtake in dense fog in Poland, killing all 18 inside today. The van was designed to carry six people, yet three times as many were squeezed in on wooden boxes and planks without seatbelts. The victims - 14 men and four women - were were seasonal workers being driven to an orchard in one of Poland's best known apple and plum-growing regions.
The Washington Post says a US judge has ordered a nationwide halt to enforcement of the country's ban on openly-gay military personnel. US District Judge Virginia Phillips last month ruled the "don't ask, don't tell" policy unconstitutional. Under the policy, gay people can serve in the military but face expulsion if their sexuality is discovered. President Barack Obama and some military leaders have called for it to be overturned. A legislative attempt to do so failed in the Senate last month.
Al Ahram reports that 11 officials from the Culture Ministry, including the deputy minister, have been convicted of gross negligence and incompetence in the theft of a Vincent Van Gogh painting that embarrassed the government. The defendants received sentences of three years in prison The "Poppy Flower," valued at $50 million was stolen in broad daylight from Cairo's Mahmoud Khalil Museum. Subsequent investigations revealed that no alarms and only seven of 43 security cameras were working.
Dallas Globe says the "Where's The Birth Certificate" billboard campaign has arrived in Dallas, with the the question that is key to the dispute over whether President Barak Obama is eligible to occupy the Oval Office. The question pertains to the core issue raised in all of the legal and other challenges to Obama: Was he qualified, under the requirements of the US constitution that the president be a "natural born citizen," a requirement not imposed on other federal officeholders.