The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times says the police are hunting three men over the bomb discovered under a van in Fgura.
The Malta Independent asks if the Church is in need of reform. The story is based on a debate organised yesterday by The Times.
MaltaToday says Franco Debono has claimed death threats and warned of a growing political divide.
l-orizzont says there is economic pessimism in Malta, according to an EU survey.
In-Nazzjon says the government and the private sector are working closer together in the health sector and knee operations are to be outsourced.
The overseas press
Osun Defender reports Nigerian authorities enforced a curfew in the country’s north-eastern town of Mubi after at least 26 people were killed by gunmen at a student hostel. Most victims were students called out by name by the gunmen. A resident said the attackers went from door-to-door, shooting or stabbing. The attack came days after dozens of people with suspected links to the Boko Haram militant group were arrested in the town.
WalesOnline quotes the parents of missing five-year-old April Jones saying their lives had stopped since her disappearance. A statement from the family said the pair was "shattered". April has not been seen since she was spotted getting into a grey-coloured van at around 7pm on Monday night. Meanwhile, it has emerged that a man arrested in connection with the abduction of April was known to the family. The 46-year-old was caught on foot but his empty car was quickly recovered and was being examined by forensic experts.
Imedi TV says that just hours after Georgia's president conceded defeat in parliamentary elections, the victorious opposition leader has called on him to resign. Mikheil Saakashvili surprised many when he conceded his party had lost to the opposition coalition. The president must leave office when his term expires next year, and until then he will work with a government led by his bitter rival. But victorious billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili urged him to step down now. Both the US and Russia have welcomed the result of the election and smooth transition of power.
Deutsche Welle reports a group of advisers to the European Commission has recommended splitting big European banks' retail business from their investment operations, to protect savers and governments from the sort of risk-taking that triggered the ongoing debt crisis. The proposal is the central pillar of reforms the group of financial experts and academics deem is needed to overhaul the banking sector, particularly in the embattled 17-member eurozone. The report said such a measure would be limited only to banks whose trading assets exceeded €100 billion.
According to L’Avvenire , former papal butler and Vatileaks whistleblower, Paolo Gabriele, has said the Pope was not informed enough about important issues. Gabriele also claimed he had been held in a tiny room with the light on constantly for the first few weeks of his detention – an accusation that has prompted an investigation of the Holy See's police force. Gabriele said he was not guilty of "aggravated theft" but guilty only of betraying the Pope's trust.
A 30 year old teacher from the UK, who ran away to France with one of his studens has said that he looks forward to revealing the truth about what happened in the coming months. The Guardian quotes a lawyer for Jeremy Forrest speaking briefly outside court in Bordeaux, after telling magistrates he would not fight extradition to the UK. Forrest was arrested on suspicion of abducting schoolgirl Megan Stammers last week.
The Los Angeles Times reports an improperly installed clamp caused passenger seats on three American Airlines flights to come loose as the planes were airborne. The airline said the incidents occurred on a flight last week between Vail, Colorado, and Dallas-Fort Worth and again on Saturday and Monday. A spokeswoman said the airline was inspecting eight of its Boeing 757s with similar seat assemblies. The US Federal Aviation Administration said it was looking into the incidents, which raised questions about safety on the third biggest US airline.
Ansa says a man climbed the dome of St Peter's in Rome and displayed a banner in protest against the austerity measures being taken by the technocrat government of Prime Minister Mario Monti and against the EU. Marcello Di Finizio is angry about an EU directive and an Italian government plan that would see licences to operate patches of seafront auctioned off transparently from 2016. Beach workers say the plan will favour multinational companies over smaller local businesses. Di Finizio has staged several public protests against the plans and had already climbed out onto St Peter's dome during a shorter protest in July when he demanded a meeting with the tourism minister.