The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times says the European Commission and John Dalli have traded blows over his 'resignation'. The newspaper also carries a detailed interview with Mr Dalli.
The Malta Independent says two witnesses were present with Jose Manuel Barroso when John Dalli offered to resign.
In-Nazzjon reports that Jose Manuel Barroso has agreed with the nomination of Tonio Borg as European Commissioner.
l-orizzont leads with John Dalli's letter to EU president Jose' Manuel Barroso who said that there was no resignation without a formal letter.
The overseas press
CNN reports that in their third and final debate ahead of the November 6 election in Boca Raton, Florida, President Obama played offense, saying Mitt Romney was "all over the map" on foreign policy. Romney called Obama's leadership weak extremists and called for a “comprehensive strategy”.. The debate, which was supposed to focus on foreign policy, covered Syria, Iran, Libya, Afghanistan and more – but the economy and other domestic issues were never far away from the discussion. USA Today says the debate saw sharp exchanges between the candidates, but it had a serious tone and lacked the crackling tension of the first two meetings. Polls after the debate showed 48 per cent agreed Obama won, compared to 40 per cent for Romney.
The Daily Telegraph discloses that British patients’ health is being put at risk by what it calls “unscrupulous EU regulators” who are prepared to license potentially-dangerous medical implants for sale in the UK. A joint undercover investigation with the British Medical Journal has exposed loopholes in the “woeful” EU system to approve devices including replacement hips, knees and other joints.
Helsingin Sanomat says Finland's Prime Minister Jykri Katainen escaped unharmed on Monday after a man pulled out a knife as he met with voters ahead of municipal elections. Bodyguards moved in quickly to avert any serious threat.
Live Science reports international seismologists have condemned the manslaughter verdict for six Italian scientists and one government official accused of being too reassuring about the risk of an earthquake prior to a deadly temblor in 2009. They used words like unfair, incredible and ridiculous in discussing the verdict, which came after a year-long trial in L'Aquila, Italy. Prosecutors charged that the researchers were too blasé about the risk and on Monday the court took about four hours to find the defendants guilty, sentencing them to six years apiece.
New Straits Times reports at least 12 people were killed and 72 injured when a blaze tore through a hospital in southern Taiwan this morning. Health authorities said the fire started in the early hours in a nursing facility housing mainly bed-bound patients in Tainan city.
Former Cuban president Fidel Castro has used an article published under his name to label reports of his ill-health as "trash" and another example of misinformation from the media. The article was published on the state-run Cubadebate web site and reproduced in virtually all other state-media later in the day. It said the 86-year-old's health is so good that he did not remember what a headache feels like. Photos attached to the article show him standing outdoors in a field leaning on a cane.
France 24 says a controversial French study linking genetically-modified corn to cases of cancer was dismissed by an investigative panel on Monday. Experts, asked by the French government to examine the study, found there was no link between the corn and tumours found in rats.
According to Sky News, four people have instituted legal action against the publishers of The Daily Mirror over the alleged phone hacking. The claimants include former England football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and a former nanny to the Beckham family. The allegations relate to the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People. This is the first time a publisher outside Rupert Murdoch's News International has faced court action over hacking allegations in Britain.
Le Monde says the trial of seven people suspected of being involved in a high-end prostitution ring opened in the French city of Marseille on Monday. One of those on trial is accused of organising 20 escorts to attend a birthday bash for Mutassim Gaddafi, the son of the late deposed Libyan leader.
Los Angeles Times reports that according to coroners, "Top Gun" director Tony Scott had traces of anti-depressant and sleep-inducing drugs in his body when he killed himself by jumping from the Vincent Thomas Bridge over Los Angeles Harbour. Scott, 68, did not have any life-threatening conditions including cancer.
Huffington Post reports that the International Cycling Union on Monday stripped Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and banned him for life by the in the wake of a US Anti-Doping Agency report accusing him of leading a "sophisticated" doping programme. ICU President Pat McQuaid said, “Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling and he deserves to be forgotten in cycling.”
Do the French really need help in carrying out extramarital affairs? No. But they do need help keeping them secret, according to Canadian entrepreneur Neil Biderman, who is promoting the French launch of his extramarital dating website this week with a daring billboard ad. France 24 says that to illustrate his argument, the poster has taken four French presidents – including current head of state François Hollande – and printed lipstick kisses on their cheeks and foreheads. “What do they all have in common?” it asks. Well, they’re all wrinkled, thin-lipped, fat-necked…. No silly! They were all found out for having extramarital affairs. Hence the tagline, “They should have thought of Ashley Madison.com”.