Malta and international press digest

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

The Times says the reform of public transport has started taking shape. It also reports comments by the Governor of the Central Bank and the Minister of Finance that they expect the banks to pass on the interest rate cuts announced by the ECB to their customers.

The Malta Independent says the government has launched the public transport reform but drivers' behaviour at a meeting yesterday did not help their cause..

In-Nazzjon says the reform will mean a better, more frequent, bus service. It also reports that a man admitted in court to having assaulted a teacher.

L-orizzont says former ambassador Richard Muscat is seeking compensation after having been made to resign. It also says that the ‘espionage’ by the PN is more serious than originally shown.

The Press in Britain…

The Independent's front cover is dominated by OJ Simpson, the former American football star who "looked visibly shellshocked" when he discovered he was facing up to 33 years in jail.

The Sun also reports that that O. J. Simpson has been jailed for armed robbery but leads with the news that 33-year-old Karen Matthews, who was on Thursday found guilty of kidnapping her daughter Shannon, has started work as a prison cleaner – the first job she has ever held.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror claims Karen Matthews' former lover Craig Meehan asked her to marry him.

The Daily Telegraph claims savers who have invested in government-guaranteed Premium Bonds are seeing their chance of making money dramatically reduced due to the cut in interest rates.

The Times speaks of secret talks between car-makers Vauxhall and Downing Street as the firm seeks financial guarantees.

The Daily Mail says power companies have raised energy prices even though wholesale prices have nearly halved – provoking anger from industry watchdogs.

The Daily Express reports that TV presenter Selina Scott has won £250,000 in an age discrimination case against TV channel Five.

The Financial Times reports that Max Mosley, the head of the Formula One governing body, has said the sport is in a "desperate" situation after Honda's decision to pull out.

And elsewhere…

Wall Street Journal quotes US president-elect Barack Obama saying the US economy would get worse before it gets better today as figures or November showed the nation suffered its worst month of job losses in 34 years.

Dawn reports at least 20 people have been killed and scores wounded by a car bomb in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.

The Washington Post says the US military has successfully intercepted a long-range missile target in a simulated attack to test a defence system that it plans to install in eastern Europe.

The International Herald Tribune quotes US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying that it was “well past time” for Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe to leave office.

The Jerusalem Post reports that Israel's chief prosecutor has said there was not enough evidence to charge departing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert over his conduct in the sale of an Israeli commercial bank. Olmert resigned in September in the face of several corruption cases, but is serving as caretaker until the elections in February.

Mocow Times leads with the death of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II, after long illness. He was 79. Alexy, head of Russia's 150 million orthodox, was credited with re-establishing the Russian Orthodox Church after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Börzen Zeitung says Lufthansa will buy 42 percent of Austrian Airlines, creating Europe's biggest airline.

Hague News reports the European Court of Human Rights struck down a British law that allows the government to store DNA and fingerprints from people with no criminal record – a landmark decision that could force Britain to destroy nearly one million samples on its database.

France 24 says armed robbers wearing women's wigs and clothing made off with diamond rings, gem-studded bracelets and other items worth over €85 million from a boutique in Paris, in one of the world's largest jewel heists, just steps away from the tourist-filled Champs-Elysees.