Malta and international press digest

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

The press in Malta is dominated by the murder, early yesterday, of a man in Qormi.

The Times carries a picture of the victim and details of the fatal shooting which took place at 1 a.m. on the roof of a private residence. It also reports that 11 trade unions have demanded a reply from the Prime Minister on the utility rates.

The same stories are carried on l-orizzont, which says that the utilities issue is not closed for 11 trade unions.

The Malta Independent features the building of a new state school in Mosta and says the entry criteria for Church schools are set to change.

In-Nazzjon also leads with the building of the new school in Mosta and the Qormi murder.

The Press in Britain…

The Daily Express leads with a story of a 27-year-old woman giving birth to a designer baby free of the breast cancer gene. The mother told how she decided to undergo the screening process after seeing all her husband's female relatives suffer.

The Times leads with the news that charities have started cutting down in services as donations start to dry up.

Readers of the Daily Star are told that Britons are taking a record amount of holidays this Christmas and spending £500m on parties.

The Daily Mirror reports that workers are being given a bumper 16 days off this Christmas as firms try to save money due to the credit crunch.

The Independent reports the ‘secret’ sale of the Aldermaston Atomic Weapons factory to the Americans in a bid to boost the Treasury coffers.

The Guardian quotes the country's leading police expert on gang culture Sue Akers saying gang members are resorting to lethal violence over trivial matters.

The Daily Telegraph claims councils are dumping recycled rubbish in landfill tips.

Metro quotes a senior Opec figure branding Gordon Brown "confused" for demanding the cartel maintained output levels to control prices rather than reducing domestic duty. Oil prices have dropped more than $100 since the July high of $147 a barrel.

The Sun says a woman who sent and received more than 20 text messages before she hit the back of a stationary car at 70mph and killed its motorist has been found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. She faces jail.

And elsewhere…

Handelsblatt reports General Motors' European division welcomed a decision by Washington to extend a $13.4-billion (€9.7-billion) loan to US carmakers General Motors, Chrysler and Ford. Zurich-based GM Europe said the aid package would help stabilize the global auto industry, but added that European carmakers, itself included, would still seek emergency support from governments.

The Wall Street Journal said the US government will provide $17 billion (€12.2 billion) in loans to help shore up the country's beleaguered car industry in exchange for concessions from the so-called Big Three. President Bush said Washington cannot stand back and allow the industry to collapse, which he said was a certainty without government support. The automakers will have to become viable by March 31 or repay the aid.

The International Herald Tribune says some of the world's biggest underwater internet cables have been cut wreaking havoc on global network connections. The cables are a major link for internet and phone traffic between Europe and the Middle East and Asia.

De Standaard reports Belgium's Prime Minister Yves Leterme has offered the resignation of his coalition government over the handling of a proposed bailout of Fortis bank.

The Zimbabwean says President Mugabe has once more defied calls by world leaders to resign. The 84-year-old president told thousands of Zanu-PF party delegates during a gathering of his ruling party that "Zimbabwe is mine".

Meanwhile Tribune de Geneve quotes WHO officials saying the number of people who have died from cholera in Zimbabwe since September has reached 1,100. It is estimated that over 20,000 people are infected with the disease.

Yemen Times says the German embassy in Sana’a has confirmed that three German hostages have been freed by their kidnappers. The three, a German woman working for a development aid agency, and her visiting parents, were said to be in good health.

The Washington Post quotes US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has warned that renewed violence against Israel by the Islamist Hamas movement in Gaza will only hurt the Palestinians.

European Voice says EU agriculture ministers have rejected attempts by the European Commission to lift a long-running ban on US poultry. The US food industry rinses poultry in chlorine to kill off bacteria, including salmonella, before it reaches consumers. This practice however is banned in the EU.

Santa Cruz Sentinel announces the death of Amanda Roberts Jones, a slave's daughter who lived to be 110 and voted for the first African-American US president. Her life touched three centuries, during which she worked as a maid and a stay-at-home mother of 10 with deep religious faith. Jones had voted actively for more than 70 years, even when it meant picking cotton to save money to pay a poll tax.