The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times reports that the EU has delayed the plan for the rescue of Air Malta. A final decision has been put off by four months.
The Malta Independent reports how three applications for oil exploration rights have been submitted. It also reports how EU Commissioner Barnier is urging Malta to back the EU financial transactions tax.
In-Nazzjon gives prominence to the opening of a new secondary school in Mosta. It also reports comments by the prime minister that he is prepared to consider Constitutional amendments and splitting the ministry of justice and home affairs.
l-orizzont says the Ministry of Gozo has blamed the contractor for the damage caused by rainwater in Xlendi.It also says the WSC is two years late in submitting an application o remove the pumping station at Wied Ghammieq, making way for SmartCity.
The overseas press
Le Monde quotes President Sarkozy announcing he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel would meet on Monday to announce a joint plan to safeguard the future of Europe. Before an audience of several thousand sympathisers of his conservative party in Toulon, Sarkozy said France and Germany would seek a new EU treaty to impose greater integration and financial discipline. However, he rejected German suggestions that national budgets could be approved and regulated in Brussels.
The Financial Times says Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, has signalled that the ECB is ready act more aggressively to fight the eurozone debt crisis.
He told the European Parliament that at next week’s summit, eurozone leaders could restore confidence by agreeing stronger deficit and debt rules. Such a fiscal union, he said, would be "the most important element" in a chain of events. The ECB is under political pressure to step up its bond-buying programme.
The Daily Telegraph says the Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, has described the current economic situation as “extraordinarily serious” and urged British banks to build up their financial reserves to withstand the possible consequences. Speaking at the unveiling of the bank's six-monthly financial stability report, he said the crisis affecting some eurozone countries was the biggest threat to Britain’s banking system but refused to speculate on the institution's contingency plans if there was a break-up of the euro.
Le Soir reports that the European Union has agreed to impose fresh sanctions on 180 Iranian officials and firms, which would include the freezing of assets and travel bans, over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme. Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels also agreed to work on other measures that could target Iran's energy sector but failed to agree on an oil embargo against Iran because some EU countries are dependent on Iranian oil. Further measures would be taken no later than January.
Al Jazeera says that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has expressed deep dismay at the worsening human rights situation in Syria, which she said was now in a state of civil war with a death toll "much more" than 4,000. She reiterated her claim that Syrian forces were committing "crimes against humanity".
According to Syria Times, the main opposition group in Syria has truck a deal with insurgents, calling themselves the Free Syrian Army, to work together against the government of President Assad. The opposition Syrian National Council said the insurgents had promised to use force only to protect civilians.
Kabul Daily says Afghan President Hamid Karzai has pardoned a woman who was jailed for adultery after being raped by a male relative. Afghan official said the woman had agreed to marry her aggressor. The woman gave birth in prison to a daughter who has been kept in jail with her.
Reuters reports from Dubai that Al-Qaeda has announced it had 70-year-old US aid expert Warren Weinstein, who was kidnapped by armed men in the Pakistani city of Lahore nearly four months ago. In a video, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri listed a number of demands for his release, including the end of US air strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Weinstein is a former USAID worker who has lived in Pakistan for five years.
Voice of America says US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has pledged to improve ties with Burma if current reforms continue. After meeting Burmese President Thein Sein, Mrs Clinton said the US would reward Burma's leaders if they kept "moving in the right direction". After talks with Mr Thein Sein in the remote capital, Nay Pyi Taw, Mrs Clinton met pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the main city, Rangoon.
Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain has told the New Hampshire Union Leader that he never told his wife about another woman he befriended 13 years ago and helped out financially. In an editorial board meeting, Cain said he repeatedly gave Ginger White money to help her with "month-to-month bills and expenses." However, he denied a sexual affair, as White alleges.
Seattle Times says an elderly man in the US has returned stolen cash to a department store, despite having pocketed the funds in the 1940s. The man hand-delivered an envelope to the manager of the Sears store in Seattle, which included both a note explaining his actions and a $100 bill. While he originally only stole between $20 and $30, the matter had been playing on his conscience and he wanted to pay the store back with interest. Sears plans to put the cash towards helping needy families throughout the Christmas period.