The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says Arriva is expected to be fined the week over the quality of its service. It also says that there are no guarantees on the safety of gas regulators.
The Malta Independent says Lawrence Gonzi yesterday demanded 10 answers from Joseph Muscat.
In-Nazzjon leads with a comment by Lawrence Gonzi telling the people to judge the government by its results. It also features the 10 questions which Dr Gonzi posed to Joseph Muscat at the end of the PN general council yesterday.
l-orizzont asks if an inquiry into the working conditions of care workers have been shelved. It also says that a section of the rocks at Ghar Lapsi has collapsed.
The overseas press:
American police have arrested a man who was plotting to attack post offices, police cars, and soldiers returning from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Voice of America quotes New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg saying 27-year-old Jose Pimentel was inspired by al-Qaida, but that he was working as a “lone wolf,” and not as part of a larger conspiracy. New York City police commissioner Raymond Kelly said the suspect had already begun building three pipe bombs when police arrested him.
The New York Times says Pimentel, a US citizen, was originally born in the Dominican Republic and lived most of his life in New York. They said he was a convert to Islam, identified himself with terrorist organisations, was considering changing his name to Osama Hussein, after Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, and was a follower of the radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. The cleric was killed earlier this year in a US airstrike in Yemen.
Spain's opposition Popular Party has won a landslide victory in Sunday's elections, seizing an absolute majority of seats in parliament. El Pais says the Socialists conceded a humiliating defeat as official results showed the PP projected to take 186 seats in the 350-seat lower house, with 99 per cent of votes counted. The Socialists plummeted from 169 to 111, their worst performance ever. But he told an enthusiastic crowd Spain would not be able to perform miracles to dig it out of the severe economic crisis huge debts, stalled economy and unemployment above 20 per cent. He called for unity in tackling the financial problems.
Al Ahram reports that thousands of Egyptian protesters are back in control in Cairo’s Tahrir Square after another day of heavy violence. Earlier, at least 11 people died when soldiers and police beat protesters with batons and threw them out of the square. The protesters accuse the military of trying to keep their grip on power. The violence has cast doubts on elections due in a week – the first since former President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown.
Al Jazeera quotes Libyan officials saying the former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi has been captured alive in southern Libya. Sanussi, the brother-in-law of the former leader, was the most wanted member of Gaddafi’s government still at large. He is believed to have played a key role in attempting to crash the Libyan uprising.
The official death toll from Thailand’s worst flooding in more than 50 years has reached 602. Bangkok Post quotes Thai government officials say the flooding, that began in late July, continues to affect at least 17 provinces. The situation has improved dramatically in recent days: flood waters have been receding steadily and most streets in Bangkok, should be dry in two weeks.
The more often people over the age of 65 engage in sexual activity, the more likely they are to be happy with both their lives and marriages. USA Today quotes the results of a survey showing that 60 per cent of Americans aged 65 or older found who engaged in sexual activity more than once a month were very happy compared to 40 per cent who had not had sex for a year. Four fifths of those who had sex more than once a month said they were very happy in their marriage compared to 59 per4 cent who said they had not had sexual activity in the last 12 months. The study was presented in Boston at The Gerontological Society of America's 64th annual scientific meeting,