The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Sunday Times reports how damage has forced a delay in the Delimara power plant extension. It also says that John Dalli was banned from EU headquarters as soon as he resigned.
The Malta Independent on Sunday says John Dalli has claimed a tobacco industry conspiracy.
MaltaToday quotes John Dalli saying he had expected EU Commission president Jose Manoel Barroso to support him.
Illum focuses on the damage to the Delimara power station saying it was a dark day for the government.
It-Torca says the Marsa power station is being brought back on stream because of the Delimara problems.
KullHadd reports that in view of the Delimara damages, Franco Debono is demanding immediate debate in parliament of his motion against Austin Gatt. It also says that the COLA cost of living increase this week will b €5 a week.
Il-Mument leads with the nomination of Tonio Borg to serve as European Commission. It also says that 82% of Maltese are satisfied with healthcare.
The overseas press
AFP news agency reports hundreds of Roman Catholic pilgrims had to be rescued from the French town of Lourdes after heavy rain caused the river to burst its banks causing the worst flooding in the town for at least 40 years. The shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes – which attracts about six million visitors a year including many Maltese – has been closed after the water’s level reached about a metre deep, covering the altar.
Haaretz says the Israeli navy has intercepted a boat of pro-Palestinian activists trying to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip. The Finnish-flagged Estelle, which left Naples on October 7 with some 30 people of eight different nationalities aboard, was boarded some 60 km off the coast of Gaza before being taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod. Israel tightened the blockade after the Islamist group Hamas came to power in the coastal sliver in 2007.
Daily Star says huge protests are expected in Lebanon today during the funeral of the country’s intelligence chief Wissam al-Hassan who was killed by a car bomb on Friday. On Saturday, Opposition supporters set up roadblocks and burnt tyres in Beirut, denouncing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Lebanese allies. Similar protests were held in Sidon in the south, Tripoli in the north and in the Bekaa Valley in the east. Tension in Lebanon has been rising as a result of the Syrian conflict.
Voters are to go to the polls in Spain's north-west region of Galicia in an election seen as a key test of the government's economic policy. El Pais says polls suggest Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's centre-right People's Party, which has ruled the region for 24 of the past 31 years, has lost support nationally because of austerity measures. A regional vote will also be held in the Basque Country, where separatist parties are expected to do well.
NBC News says the White House has denied a report in the New York Times saying that Iran had agreed to one-on-one negotiations over its nuclear programme with the US. The report, quoting unnamed officials, said Iran had agreed to the talks for the first time but would not hold them until after US elections on November 6. The White House said it was prepared to meet Iran bilaterally, but that there was no plan to do so.
Sky News says more than 150,000 workers protested in London, Glasgow and Belfast in demonstrations against the British Government, loudly cheering calls for a 24-hour general strike. Union officials and politicians, including Labour leader Ed Miliband, bitterly attacked the coalition's spending cuts, accusing ministers of being more interested in supporting millionaires than ordinary workers.
Panactual reports that hundreds of people opposed to Panama selling state-owned land in a duty-free zone on the Panama Canal have marched through the city of Colon a day after a violent protest resulted in the death of a 10-year-old boy and several injuries. Officers used tear gas and fired shots in the air to disperse the rioters who burned tires, barricaded streets and threw missiles at the police. Heavily armed police are patrolling the streets.
Fox News quotes UN deputy humanitarian chief Catherine Bragg hs warning food shortages had become "a chronic problem" in southern Africa, emphasising that more than 5.5 million people in eight countries needed aid this year – a 40 per cent increase over 2011. Winding up a five-day southern Africa trip, she said worsening food shortages were the result of drought or floods and rising world food prices. Food shortages are particularly acute in Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi and Swaziland.
Luxemburger Wort reports the church wedding of Prince Guillaume and Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy wedding drew onlookers lining the streets and royals from around the globe including Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan, royal couples from Sweden and Denmark, and Prince Edward and his wife Sophie. The couple also had a civil ceremony on Friday at city hall. Stephanie plans to renounce her Belgian citizenship in order to one day become Luxembourg's grand duchess.
The Irish Independent says a Russian employment agency is recruiting Irish childcare workers and teachers for well-paid jobs with wealthy families who want to make sure their children grow up speaking English. The Bonne International agency said it wants to recruit up to 100 degree-educated men and women – with male tutors increasingly in demand. Governesses and nannies will earn between €4,000 and €6,500 a month, while teachers in the private pre-schools it runs in Moscow will earn between €1,900 and €4,000.
According to CNN, President Obama has turned his rival's name into an ailment, accusing Romney of suffering from "Romnesia" for emphasising moderate positions rather than the conservative ones he put forward in the Republican primary race. Obama told a crowd of about 9,000 in the election battleground state of Virginia that Romney has been backtracking on his conservative-leaning promises.