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

The Times reports that the deficit has soared to €271 million and that the reform document of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority is expected to be discussed by Cabinet in the coming weeks.

In-Nazzjon interviews Thai Jam Mukchiew who saw his friends die in the Indian Ocean tsumani which left many thousands dead four years ago, yesterday.

A photo on Patong Beach in Phuket yesterday in The Independent recalls the tragedy. This newspaper leads with a story on the attacks on the Kirkop and Safi cemeteries.

l-Orizzont says that during a “black mass” at the Safi cemetery on the night between Christmas eve and Christmas day, an old cross which was on the grave of a priest went missing. It also reports on the prisoners who refused food on Christmas day.

Il-Gens Illum gives the political leaders’ messages for the New Year and reports on the open day at the Dar tal-Providenza next Thursday.

The Press in Britain

Britain's sales frenzy hits the front page of the Daily Express as millions of shoppers defied the credit crunch.

The Sun also leads on the Boxing Day sales - but it predicts tough times ahead for major retailers.

The Guardian reports nine out of 10 shoppers are planning to cut spending in the new year.

The Times says a wave of high street retailers are expected to go bust in the new year, fuelling the massive reductions in the Boxing Day sales.

The Financial Times reports bargain hunters queued for Boxing Day sales as early as 2am as retailers tempted shoppers with huge price cuts. The Daily Mail features the tragic story of a young soldier who was killed in Afghanistan - just days before he was due home for Christmas.

The Scotsman leads with what it calls the scandal of bird killers escaping justice and alleges thousands of birds of prey are being killed.

The Record says a campaign has been launched to bring William Wallace's last surviving letter back to Scotland from a German city.

The Daily Herald reports that police found a nurse, who had been missing for more than a week, alive locked in the boot of her car.

The Daily Mirror has an interview with Paul Gascoigne’s son Regan. He says he fears his father will die soon because of his “mammoth boozing sessions”.

According to the Daily Star, David Beckham is being guarded by armed security officials over fears he will be the target of terrorists when he goes on tour to the Middle East with AC Milan.

And elsewhere…

Al Quds al-Arabi reports that some 100 trucks have delivered humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip after Israel opened its border with the enclave.

La Sicilia says some 1,000 illegal immigrants have landed on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.

Pakistan Times says the Talibans have ordered the closure of all girls' schools in the war-ravaged district of Pakistan.

Az-Zaman reports a prisoner breakout from a police station in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi triggered a shootout which left 14 people, including six policemen, dead.

The International Herald Tribune says the US has advised restraint as tension increased on the India-Pakistan border.

Jakarta Post reports that Indonesia's coral reefs have bounced back following the tsunami in 2004, surprising scientists who thought it would take a decade for them to heal.

Los Angeles Times says Bruce Pardo, the man who showed up dressed as Santa Claus at his ex-wife’s parents’ Christmas Eve party and killed at least nine people, had reached a divorce settlement with his wife Sylvia days earlier after two years of marriage. She

The People’s Daily says six Chinese suspects went on trial accused of making and selling the industrial chemical at the centre of a tainted milk scandal blamed for killing six children and making nearly 300,000 others sick.

El Comercio, the main newspaper in Peru, reports that 20-year-old Virgen Mary Huarcaya gave birth to a baby boy on Christmas day and named him Jesus. The baby's father, 24-year-old Adolfo Jorge Huamani, is a carpenter. Virgen Maria delivered the 3.5kg boy, Jesus Emanuel, in the early hours of Christmas.

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