The Sunday Times leads with a story on the massacre of graves at the Addolorata Cemetery. In another story it says any national team players implicated in a 2007 match-fixing scandal will be suspended at once pending a local probe into claims made in an international trial.
Malta Today leads with a story on Finance Minister Tonio Fenech saying that his political future was in the balance because of the number of scandals emerging concerning his ministry. In another story it says that Archbishop Paul Cremona has warned Fr Colin Apap not to given any more interviews following an interview he gave the newspaper.
The Independent dedicates its front page to divorce. It quotes a study used by the Divorce Movement which says that the majority of Maltese who divorce say they do not want to remarry. It also reports on the controversy regarding the slots with excerpts from an interview which had been given by the founder of the Cana Movement Mgr Charles Vella.
It-Torca says that the lifestyles of officials at the VAT Department were being investigated and notes that a number of documents which could answer certain questions about fraud at this department were still not public.
Il-Mument reports on a study carried out with three generations in Australia which says that divorce endangers children for life. It also interviews Chief Justice Emeritus Giuseppe Mifsud Bonnici who replied to comments which had been made by Judge Philip Sciberras on the church and divorce in The Sunday Times.
Illum reports on comments by Fr Joe Borg that one’s decision on whether to vote for or against divorce had to be taken according to conscience and voters had to be ready to justify their decision with God.
Kullhadd asks what is Finance Minister Tonio Fenech waiting for to resign following the number of emerging scandals concerning his ministry. It says that the report on the VAT operative system pointed at low accountability at the ministry.
The International Press
The New York Times reports IMF head Dominique Strass-Kahn is being questioned by New York police over an alleged sex assault at a hotel. Reports said the allegations against Strass-Khan, 62, had been made by a 32-year-old woman who worked at the Manhattan hotel near Times Square. He was taken off a plane at John F Kennedy airport minutes before it left for Paris to attend a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels on Monday to discuss the bailouts of Portugal and Greece.
Al Arabiya says that Moslems around the world have been urged to kill one thousand persons for each of the 11 imam killed in a Nato attack on a Brega house on Friday. The Libyan government said that the imams were among 16 person killed and targeted for reprisals are citizens of countries members of the coalition – Italy, France, Denmark, Qatar and UAE.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reports that Mahmoud Jabril, a senior leader of the Libyan opposition Transitional National Council, has met President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon in Paris for talks in a bid to garner further international support for the fight against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The meeting came a day after Jibril met Tom Donilon, the US president's national security adviser in Washington. The White House called the council a "legitimate and credible interlocutor of the Libyan people", but stopped short of granting the opposition full diplomatic recognition.
According to Kathemarini, Greece says it will send diplomats next week to the Libyan city of Benghazi to act as liaison with rebels, while also maintaining relations with Tripoli Foreign Minister. Dimitris Droutsas made the comments to reporters on Saturday after talks with UN envoy to Libya Abdul Ilah Khatib, who will travel to Tripoli later today. It will be his seventh trip to Libya.
USA Today reports army engineers in the American state of Louisiana have opened the first floodgates to let water from the swollen Mississippi river and protect cities downstream from flooding. The water, gushing like waterfalls, was directed towards large areas of farmland. Residents of the affected areas have been leaving their homes.
The Irish Examiner says a ring of steel has been erected around Dublin city as security was stepped up for Queen Elizabeth’s historic four-day state visit which starts on Tuesday. Barriers were placed across Dublin with parking restricted on more than 30 streets. Roads have already been closed around one of the most controversial sites the Queen plans to visit as garda chiefs prepare for protests at the Garden of Remembrance, which honours those who died fighting for Irish independence.
Ansa reports that the Genoa curia has suspended Fr Riccardo Seppi, the parish priest, who was arrested following investigations into child abuse, drug trafficking nd prostitution. The police acted after intercepting telephone conversations. Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, expressed shock and grief over the seriousness of the case and apologised to the victims and their families.
Al Ahram reports that an angry mob attacked a group of mainly Christian protesters demanding drastic measures to heal religious tension, leaving 65 people injured. The Christian protesters had been holding their sit-in outside the state television building in Cairo for nearly a week following deadly Christian-Muslim clashes that left a church burnt and 15 people dead. More than 100 people rushed into the sit-in area, lobbing rocks and fire bombs from an overpass and charging toward the few hundred protesters sleeping in the area. Vehicles were set on fire and fires burned in the middle of the street.
According to The Sunday Telegraph, a Council of Europe committee has ruled that mobile phones and computers with wireless internet connections pose a risk to health and should be banned from schools. The committee also highlighted the potential health risks of cordless telephones and baby monitors, which rely on similar technology and are widely used in homes. Fears have been raised that electromagnetic radiation emitted by wireless devices can cause cancers and affect the developing brain. The report said it was crucial to avoid repeating the mistakes made when public health officials were slow to recognise the dangers of asbestos, tobacco smoking and lead in petrol.
Manchester Evening News says Manchester became the capital of English football as United secured a record 19th league title and City ended their 35-year wait for a trophy by lifting the FA Cup. United got the point they needed to win the title, coming from behind at Ewood Park to draw 1-1 with Blackburn while City beat Stoke 1-0 at Wembley. It was the first time both had held major trophies at the same time since 1968, when City won the league and United the European Cup.
Meanwhile, in Italy, Corriere della Sera says thousands of Milan AC fans, celebrating the winning of the Serie A league title, greeted the Rossoneri open-air coach at the Piazza Duomo. Celebrations continued after the team beat Cagliari 4-1 and was presented with the cup. Among the crows was also Tiziana Maiolo, the new club president.