Malta and foreign press digest

The following are the leading stories in Maltese and foreign newspapers:

The Press in Malta...

Once again, all local newspapers focus on the euro conversion process with the NECC reporting a smooth changeover, consumers noting prices increases and commuters told to either pay in euros or else present the exact fare in the old currency.

The Times:
NEEC reports smooth changeover.
Chamber, FOI agree on merger roadmap.

The Malta Independent
Three days into new currency, cases of euro abuse minimal.
TB in elderly patient prompts Mater Dei to test ex-patients and staff; ‘public should not be alarmed'

In-Nazzjon
A study by the European Commission reveals that the euro adoption process in Malta was working smoother than that of Cyprus or Slovenia.
EasyJet confirms taking over flights from London and Manchester being operated by GB Airways.

l-orizzont
Two days after the changeover: Prices start soaring.
Bus drivers to accept only fares in euros or in exact fares if payment is in the old currency.

And elsewhere...

A bitterly cold winter storm has gripped parts of Europe, leaving at least three sailors dead and thousands stranded at airports, on snowy mountain roads and in remote villages.

Sofia's Dnevnik says Bulgarian authorities declared a state of emergency in the north-eastern part of the country. The army was called in as temperatures fell to minus 15 degrees Celsius, while snow drifts reached more than six feet in parts of the country. Hundreds of motorists were trapped on mountain roads. Around 311 Bulgarian villages were left without electricity and dozens were cut off without food supplies or fresh water.

The cold spell also caused problems in neighbouring Romania, where Cotidianul reports that Bucharest's two main airports were closed and thousands of passengers were stranded.

Parts of Turkey and Greece, as well as Western Europe, were also affected. In Ankara snowfall caused traffic jams and accidents and temperatures in Greece fell to a low of minus 18 degrees Celsius in the north of the country.

In Western Europe, ice and snow disrupted traffic. Corriere della Sera reported the Mont-Blanc tunnel linking France and Italy was closed to trucks because sharp temperature differences between the two sides threatened to disrupt the tunnel's ventilation.

The East African Standard says Kenya's opposition has re-scheduled a banned mass rally of thousands of supporters in Nairobi, 24 hours after it was originally scheduled. There have been running battles between police and opposition supporters since an election last week and the rally had been originally postponed until January 8 in an attempt to end violence. But an opposition spokesman said the rally is on for today. Anger over the December 27 polls triggered violence which has left over 300 people dead, including dozens of terrified women and children who died when the church in which they were sheltering was torched. More than 100,000 people have been forced from their homes.

Ankara's Chumhuriyet quotes Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Edrogan saying at least four people were killed and 52 injured when a bomb destroyed a military vehicle in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir. The Anatolian state news agency later put the death toll at five and said it included two school students.

Pakistan Daily News says the country's political crisis appeared to stabilise yesterday with parties looking ahead to an election in which the party of assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is set to make gains. Meanwhile, new video footage has emerged of the last moments before Bhutto was killed in Rawalpindi. The amateur video, which has no sound, appears to show her slumped on the roof of the car before an explosion.

Washington Post quotes President Bush saying he strongly supports an investigation into the destruction of CIA tapes showing the interrogation of terrorism suspects. He revealed the White House would co-operate with the Justice Department probe.

Voters in Iowa have began the process of choosing the next US president. Cincinnati Post reported on Thursday a new poll showed Barack Obama leading John Edwards among Democrats - with Hillary Clinton falling to a potentially third.

Al Ayyam quotes witnesses and hospital officials saying the Israeli army killed at least four Palestinian gunmen and five civilians in air and ground strikes in the Gaza Strip. The Israelis were reacting to a stone-throwing attack by Palestinian militant youths.

South Africa's Mail and Guardian says a pride of lions has killed and eaten a man at a game farm in the country's northwest province. Police said a 36-year-old a caretaker had gone into the lion enclosure to feed the animals when he was attacked.