Malta and international press digest

The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:

The Times like the other newspapers leads with yesterday’s press conference by the Prime Minister where he announced that Parliament is to be housed on the site of the former Opera House. It also reports that the FOI and the GRTU are not happy with the utility tariff structure.

The Malta Independent says the regeneration of the city entrance will see a new City Gate and Parliament replacing the ruins of the Opera House. It also reports how Rudolph Cini has demanded the resignation of his successor as MUMN president.

In-Nazzjon says architect Renzo Piano has been asked to draw up new plans for City Gate and the Opera House site in a project of between €60m-€80m.

l-orizzont reports that Piano is back. It also reports a GWU statement where the GWU warned that Air Malta could be repeating a mistake it made two years ago with the Voluntary Redundancy Scheme which saw the best people leave the airline.

The Press in Britain…

The findings of a "damning" and "devastating" report by inspectors into the death of Baby P in north London make the headlines in most of the British papers. The independent report uncovered a "catalogue of failings" at Haringey Council and led to the suspension of three officials and the resignation of two other senior figures.

The Independent warns that thousands more children could be at risk after councils fail to protect them from abuse.

The Sun argues the resignations at Haringey council are not enough, as all who have left are still on full pay.

The Times says spot checks have been ordered on social workers across the UK

The Daily Mail claims that cutbacks made by the NHS in dementia services will affect thousands of Alzheimer patients.

The Daily Telegraph reports Cabinet ministers were accused of attempting to collude with the Speaker of the House of Commons over the leaked documents affair led to the arrest of Conservative MP Damian Green.

The Herald says a Home Office 'mole' at the centre of the Damian Green affair has confessed to leaking documents.

The Daily Express says a top bureaucrat in Brussels has revealed that British Ministers are secretly plotting to scrap the pound for the euro.

The Financial Times reports that some of Europe's leading companies are facing spiralling funding costs in the bond markets as banks tighten lending restrictions.

And elsewhere…

The Washington Times leads with the announcement by US President-elect Barack Obama of his national security team, nominating former rival Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and asking Defence Secretary Robert Gates to stay on in that role. Mr Obama described Mrs Clinton as “someone of great stature who can advance America's interest around the world”.

The Press Trust of India reports the Foreign Office has summoned the Pakistani ambassador to lodge a formal complaint over last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Indian investigators said all 10 militants involved in the co-ordinated attacks, which killed almost 180 people, were Pakistani nationals. But President Zardari of Pakistani said the men were "non-state actors" with no government links.

Meanwhile, The Times of India says that as soldiers removed the last bodies from the Taj Mahal hotel, public outrage in the country has been fuelled by reports that clear intelligence warnings of a coming attack were ignored by the authorities.

Il Gazzettino reports that Venice has been hit by the worst floods in more than 20 years, forcing people to wade through knee-high water.

Gulf News quotes the Saudi oil minister saying the price of oil is not likely to rise until midway through next year. He said said he was looking in the medium term at oil prices of around $75 dollars a barrel.

Adevarul confirms partial results from Romania's parliamentary elections show the leftists Social Democrats neck and neck with the centrist Democratic Liberal party.

The Istanbul Post reports Turkish warplanes have struck Kurdish rebel targets inside northern Iraq. It quotes the military saying jets bombed the Zap region, close to the Turkish border, and that the operation had been "effective." There was no word on possible casualties.

According to The Irish Times, Aer Lingus chiefs have rejected Ryanair’s ambitious plan to takeover the Irish flag-carrier. The airline’s board of management said his offer of €747.5m significantly undervalued the airline.

The Bangkok Post says more than 300,000 travellers are stranded in Thailand, trapped in the siege of Bangkok’s two airports by anti-government demonstrators. All commercial flights in and out of the capital have been halted.

Times of Central Asia reports that a suicide bomber has attacked a police convoy in southern Afghanistan, killing 10 people and injuring 27 others. The attack took place in a crowded market in Musa Qala district, a focal point of Taliban insurgency attacks.

El Universal reports that the decapitated bodies of nine men have been found in a vacant lot in Tijuana amid a wave of violence by warring drug traffickers.

Il Giornale di Sicilia says a wife had to call in the police to help her fend off the ''insistent' attentions of her 82-year-old Viagra-fuelled husband. The Palermo woman, also in her 80s, told officers she was afraid her husband's heart might give out. Police said the man was ''furious'' when they arrived on the scene and insisted they leave the matter up to him and his wife. The man finally calmed down when some relatives arrived and the police left the case in their hands.