The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press
The Times says EU legal action looms over the Marsa power plant. It also carries comments by Franco Debono that the Police Commissioner ‘prejudiced investigation into leak’.
The Malta Independent says 62,365 will be compensated for the fuel price increases. It also reports that the President has signed the Divorce Bill, which has become law.
l-orizzont says factory rents by Malta Industrial Parks are rising sharply.
In-Nazzjon also leads with the compensation being given for the fuel price increases.
The overseas press
CNN reports that the US Senate has rejected a Bill to raise America’s debt ceiling passed earlier by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The vote by the Senate, where the Democrats have a majority, was expected. Intense talks will now continue to reach a compromise to avoid a possible default on the country’s debts.
Al Arabiya TV says thousands of mourners have joined the funeral procession in the unofficial eastern rebel capital Benghazi for the Libyan rebels' military chief Abdel-Fattah Younis, a day after he and two of his aides were gunned down under mysterious circumstances. Fear and confusion gripped Benghazi, as residents worried about the possibility his death could undermine the rebels' military forces, leaving the opposition-held east vulnerable to attack by Muammar Gaddafi's forces. The circumstances of his death remained almost entirely unexplained.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reports that the Libyan National Transitional Council has formed a committee to investigate the assassination of the head of the rebels' armed forces, after a rebel special forces member accused fellow rebels of killing them. But Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said in Tripoli that Al Qaeda was behind the killing to "mark out its presence and influence" in the east of the country.
Cumhuriyet says the Turkish government has approved a new head of ground forces, hours after the resignations of the country’s former senior military commanders. They are reported to have stood down in protest at a number of trials of military officers.
El Pais reports that Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has announced early general elections on November 20, four months earlier than anticipated in a bid to give his Socialist Party a better chance at maintaining power. Analysts said the move could help the Socialist Party candidate, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, who sees Popular Party candidate Mariano Rajoy closing the gap. Zapatero announced earlier this year he would not seek a third term.
The Irish Examiner says a court in Dublin has imposed a six-year jail sentence, with the last four years suspended, on an 81-year-old priest for sexually abusing a girl 30 years ago when she was 11. The judge factored in his age and ill health in passing sentence on Paul McGennis, who pleaded guilty to eight counts of indecent assault at two locations in Dublin on dates between 1980 and 1984. The 81-year-old priest has four previous convictions for indecent assault. He remains a priest but is barred from celebrating Mass publicly.
El Cronista reports that a humanitarian group in Argentina has made a formal complaint against a Supreme Court judge following reports that illegal brothels have been operating from several properties that he owns. The judge denied he was directly involved in managing the 15 properties in Buenos Aires.
USA Today says the secret testimony of former US President Richard Nixon to a grand jury investigating the Watergate Scandal would be made public for the first time – some 36 years after it was given. A federal judge said the testimony’s historical significance far outweighed arguments for continued secrecy.
O Globo reports that with 1,048 days to go before the opening match of the 2014 World Cup finals, participating nations are all eager to discover the five – or maybe four – teams that lie between them and a place in Brazil. The lottery begins at 8 p.m. (Malta time), with the European section expected to start at around 9.30 p.m. It will be streamed live on http://www.fifa.com. Eight groups of six will be drawn, with one group of five. The nine group winners will qualify automatically, while the eight best runners-up go into two-legged play-offs to determine the final four European places. The European qualifying round starts in September 2012 and ends in October 2013. The European draw will be made from the following pots (one team from each): Pot 1: Spain, Netherlands, Germany, England, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Norway, Greece; Pot 2: France, Montenegro, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Slovenia, Turkey, Serbia, Slovakia; Pot 3: Switzerland, Israel, Rep of Ire, Belgium, Czech Republic, Bosnia-Herz, Belarus, Ukraine, Hungary; Pot 4: Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, Lithuania, Albania, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Poland; Pot 5: Armenia, Finland, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Moldova, FYR Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Faroe Isles; Pot 6: Wales, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Malta, Andorra, San Marino.