The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Sunday Times reveals that the Finance Minister will announce in the Budget speech that the maximum income tax rate is to be reduced over a period of three years.
The Malta Independent on Sunday says the Prime Minister may opt not to appoint a new foreign minister since the end of the legislature is near. Instead he will keep the portfolio himself. It also says that according to surveys, Simon Busuttil is the people’s choice to become PN deputy leader.
MaltaToday says Magistrate Scerri-Herrera has jailed a whistleblower who named and shamed her father. The man was arrested for allegedly sending a letter to threaten the husband of Rita Schembri, head of the OPM’s internal audit department.
It-Torca reports that a torture victim of former Kazhak diplomat Aliyev was in Malta to discuss with the Office of the Prime Minister what action could be taken against him. Aliyev lives in Malta.
Illum says the prime minister ignored Parliament’s decision and took Richard Cachia Caruana with him to Brussels for the EU summit. It also says the reduction of power tariffs for hoteliers by a Labour government will not be cosmetic.
Il-Mument says that according to an EU survey, the Maltese live a healthy life for the longest time.
The overseas press
Clashes continued in Cairo as Egypt’s top judges call for a nationwided strike in protest against President Mohamed Morsi’s recent decree expanding his powers, labelling the move an "unprecedented assault" on the judiciary. Al Ahram reports several hundred protesters remain in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where a number of tents have been erected in a sit-in following nearly a week of clashes with riot police. More than 200 people were wounded. The country’s most prominent opposition groups called for another mass rally on Tuesday, saying that the edicts make Morsi a "new pharaoh".
O Globo says President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil has dismissed a number of senior officials accused of involvement in the latest corruption scandal to hit the government. The officials, who include the Deputy Attorney General, were accused of influence peddling, fraud and corruption. The dismissals come as another set of former government officials is being sentenced in an even larger corruption scandal, known the Big Monthly Allowance. On Friday, the police arrested six people for allegedly running the influence-peddling ring selling government permits to businesses in return for bribes.
Avui says the leader of Spain's Catalonia region has rallied crowds cheering for independence to fight for "freedom" in snap elections today that he has described as “a vote for nationhood”. Artur Mas, president of the northeastern region, is openly defying a furious Madrid by promising a referendum on sovereignty for Catalonia if the vote gives him a mandate.
Basque separatist group ETA has said it wanted talks with the Spanish and French governments to negotiate a definitive end to military operations and a handover of its arms. Basque newspaper Naiz published an advance summary of an ETA statement, which said the group wanted talks over the return of ETA prisoners to the northern Basque region, an end to its military structure, and a full disarmament. The paper said the full statement would be published today, Sunday.
First Post says at least seven people died on Saturday when a roadside bomb struck a Shiite procession in Pakistan`s northwest. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack that targeted people marking the mourning month of Muharram.
The Irish Independent reports that more than 10,000 people have marched through Dublin City Centre, warning the government not to impose further cutbacks or increase taxes in December's Budget. The demonstration was organised by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions and other groups campaigning against the household and water taxes. Trade union leaders called for a general strike, and urged protesters to rally again outside Leinster House on Budget Day.
Börzen Zeitung quotes German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying she was "optimistic" that the Eurogroup would reach an agreement on Greek aid on Monday. However, Merkel stated in Brussels after a summit on the EU's financial situation, she remained against restructuring Greece's debt.
Al-Ayyam says the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has filed a protest with the UN Security Council accusing Israel of having violated the Gaza ceasefire. The protest reports the killing of a Palestinian youth who had tried to plant a flag on the border with Israel on Friday and the wounding 25 other Palestinians. The Hamas government had already reported the incident to Egypt, the guarantor of the ceasefire, but had to delegate to the UN protest to the PLO representative to the United Nations, Riad Mansour. The PLO has observer status at the UN.
The archbishop of Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, has told AGI the time for a black Pope "has been ripe since the days of St. Peter". His comments came before the 68-year-old left for Rome for the consistory that made him a cardinal. Onayekan is Nigeria's fourth cardinal, of whom three are still alive. With his creation, there are now eleven African cardinals. Pope Benedict’s new cardinals are from Nigeria, India, the Philippines, Colombia, Lebanon and the United States.
Hollywood Reporter says tourists and local people have flocked to Southfork Ranch with armfuls of flowers in a tribute to Larry Hagman, who played villainous oil tycoon JR Ewing in the TV soap Dallas. Hagman, 81, died in Dallas on Friday from to complications from his battle with throat cancer. Southfork, a ranch north of Dallas, was known to millions of viewers as the Ewing family home, although the actual show was not filmed there.
A Canberra psychology researcher has confirmed what many have long suspected, that video gaming can be just as addictive as gambling or alcohol. ABC says that as part of her PhD at the Australian National University, Olivia Metcalf found excessive gamers were unable to stop thinking about gaming when they tried to focus on other tasks. This "attentional bias" is a phenomenon found across heroin, alcohol and gambling addictions.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has announced its support to make birth control pills available without a prescription. According to Technocrati, four are the main reasons that encouraged the group to support non-prescription sales of birth control pills are: it’s safe, side effects are uncommon, risk factors are easily identifiable and a pap smear or pelvic exam are not needed. The FDA has indicated its willingness to meet and discuss with any interested companies the studies and other data which would be required to make a non-prescription pill available to the public.
Huffington Post reports a newlywed teacher has been charged with rape after allegedly having underage sex with two of her 16-year-old students – while also carrying on an affair with another teacher. Stephanie Fletcher allegedly had sexual contact with her two victims during class breaks, study periods and in the school parking lot. Fletcher, who has since quit her job at Walton High School, pleaded not guilty to all charges and is due back in court this week.
Austrian Times says sales of garlic are booming in western Serbia after the local council of Zarozje, in the municipality of Bajina Basta, issued a public health warning that a vampire was on the loose. The warning came after an old ruined mill said to once have been the home of the country's most famous monster in the form of vampire Sava Savanovic collapsed. Local mayor Miodrag Vujetic admitted that the thought that he is now homeless and possibly seeking other victims was terrifying people. He nobody in the region was in any doubt that vampires do exist.