The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press
The Times says the prime minister yesterday urged the PL to back the Budget. It also quotes Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco insisting he will not resign amid the controversy over Olympic Games tickets.
The Malta Independent quotes the prime minister saying a general election will be held early next year, independently of the outcome of the vote on the Budget tonight. It also quotes Joseph Muscat saying the party comes before the country for the PN.
l-orizzont says the country is awaiting the outcome of this evening’s vote on the Budget in parliament.
In-Nazzjon quotes the prime minister saying the responsible choice is for approval of the Budget so that everyone may benefit. It also says that Joseph Muscat wants to deny families money in their pockets.
The overseas press
Dagbladet reports European leaders are gathering in Oslo today to collect the Nobel peace prize. Announcing their choice last October, members of the Nobel committee lauded six decades of reconciliation among enemies who fought Europe’s bloodiest wars. The award evoked pride among EU leaders and a wave of sarcasm among others. Former laureates were against the choice, saying there were still inequality, injustice and poverty in the union. Marches have been through Oslo to protest against the award to the European Union. Fifty organisations held the torch-lit march on the eve of the award. They say the EU is "undemocratic" and maintains a large military even during an economic downturn.
AFP quotes Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta declaring he was ready to lead the next government after exit polls showed his centre-left coalition won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections. Adevarul says exit polls indicated Ponta's Social-Liberal Union, in power since May, took 57 percent of the votes. The Right Romania Alliance, which comprises parties close to President Traian Basescu's camp, trailed far behind on 19 percent. Basescu, Ponta's arch rival, was expected to have talks with political parties in the coming days.
Börzen Zeitung says Greece's prime minister said he was convinced he would soon be able to declare success in his country's huge debt buy-back plan, as he visited the southern German state of Bavaria. Greek authorities have set a 30-billion-euro target for a complex financial operation to buy back some of the country's huge debt pile at reduced prices. The operation aims to cut the national debt by around 20 billion euros and is vital to qualify for more financial aid from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
Al Ahram reports that a decision by Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to annul a decree giving himself sweeping new powers has failed to placate his opponents. The main opposition coalition called for a renewed mass protest on Tuesday, insisting that the president withdrew his plans for a referendum on the constitution.
The Jerusalem Post says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticised the Islamic militant group Hamas, accusing its leader Khaled Meshaal of calling for Israel's destruction at a mass rally Saturday in Gaza. Speaking at the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said Israel's Palestinian enemies have proven once again that they are not interested in compromise. He said Israel wants peace, but that is impossible with enemies like Hamas who seek to destroy it.
Tribune de Genève reports that US and Russian diplomats who met in Geneva Sunday with UN peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi agreed that the situation in Syria was "bad and getting worse" but a political solution was still possible. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow's participation in the Geneva talks did not mean it had softened its position. He said Russia was not conducting any negotiations on the fate of President Assad.
Accra Daily Mail says the incumbent John Mahama has won the Presidential election in the first round, garnering 57 per cent of the vot against 47.7 for his opponent Nana Akufo-Addo. However, the opposition NPP said it would contest the result, accusing the governing NDC party of conspiring with commission staff to fix Friday's poll.
Japan said Monday it was on full alert over North Korea's planned rocket launch as a 13-day lift-off window opened, despite a suggestion from Pyongyang that it could delay the much-criticised move. According to AFP, North Korea said that the launch, originally scheduled for December 10-22, could be changed "for some reasons". But it gave no further details. South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing a government official in Seoul, later said the North had stopped all preparations at the launch site in the country's northwest. Japan has deployed missile defence systems to intercept and destroy the rocket if it looks set to fall on its territory.
La Vanguardia reports Lionel Messi has scored two goals in a Spanish league game for Barcelona, taking his tally in all competitions for the calendar year to 86. He beats the 1972 record of 85 goals set by Gerd Müller, "the Bomber." The goals also cemented Messi's place as Barca's all-time top league scorer, with 192 goals in La Liga compared to Cesar Rodriguez's 190 between 1939 and 1955. Lionel Messi, three-time World Player of the Year and Barcelona's all-time leading scorer at just 25 years of age, has now scored more goals in a calendar year than any professional footballer in history.