The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta reports that John Dalli and his daughter are not being paid for their work at Mater Dei Hospital. .
The Malta Independent quotes a geologist saying the drilling of the oil well 'Madonna tax zejt' in the 1990s was a 33m euro blunder.
In-Nazzjon says the candidature of Alfred Sant for the European Parliament elections is being seen as strange in view of his campaign against EU membership.
l-orizzont says promised financial aid to NGOs by the previous government turned out to be empty words.
The overseas press
The Washington Times reports a UN team will today inspect the site of a suspected Syria chemical weapons attack, but a United States official said the development was “too late to be credible” and Washington was all but certain the government had gassed its own people.
Meanwhile, Moscow has warned the West not to pre-empt the work of the United Nations inspection team. Britain’s Daily Telegraph believes the Kremlin is certain to join China to block any attempts by Britain, France and the US to secure UN backing for a military response to Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons on its own people.
Al-bawaba quotes Syria's Information Minister saying any US military action would “create a ball of fire that will inflame the Middle East”. He said Damascus had evidence chemical weapons were used by rebels fighting to topple Assad, not by his government.
Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras has told Proto Thema that Greece may need a third bailout “of about €10 billion” but would not accept new austerity measures. He said this would be “an economic support package without new [austerity] terms”.
Der Spiegel says documents it obtained from American leaker Edward Snowden show the the US National Security Agency bugged the UN’s headquarters in New York last summer. In three weeks, the NSA increased the number of decrypted communications at the UN from 12 to 458.
San Francisco Chronicle says fire-fighters in California say they have managed to control only seven per cent of a wildfire around the Yosemite National Park. Some 2,700 fire-fighters are struggling to gain control of the huge wildfire which threatens a major reservoir serving San Francisco. More than 5,000 homes are endangered by the blaze.
Canarian Weekly reports more than 120 illegal migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were rescued off the coast of Spain. Among them were 26 men who said they had rowed for 14 days.
In Australia, the opposition coalition maintains an election-winning lead in the latest Newspoll, despite a bounce in support for Labour as the campaign enters its final fortnight. ABC reports today's Newspoll figures say the coalition now leads Labour 53 per cent to 47 per cent after preferences, compared to last week's 54 per cent to 46 per cent.
President Robert Mugabe has threatened to expel foreign-owned companies from Zimbabwe over what he says is the West’s interference in the politics of the country he has led since 1980. Financial Gazette says that in a speech before supporters gathered for the burial of a top military chief in Harare, Mugabe said he wanted no “ideas from London or Washington”.
Irrawady reports about 1,000 anti-Muslim rioters burned shops and homes in a fresh outbreak of communal unrest in Myanmar, as the former army-ruled nation grapples with spreading religious violence. Police fired warning shots on three occasions as a mob tried to set property ablaze and attacked fire engines. The unrest erupted after a Muslim man was arrested on suspicion of attempting to rape a Buddhist woman.
The sexy, sensual world of tango is experiencing a shake-up, as same-sex couples compete for the first time in the world championships in Argentina, where the dance was born. The crowds in this traditionally conservative bastion of machismo culture, surprisingly, seem to embrace the change. Enthusiastic cheers and massive applause rang out in a Buenos Aires exhibition hall for Juan Pablo Ramirez and Daniel Arroyo, as they danced to a 1940s classic.”It takes two to tango,” Ramirez told AFP, elated after his successful performance, “but they don't necessarily have to be different sexes.”