Malta and international press digest

The following are the top stories in the Maltese and international press today:

The Times says that bars have reported a drop in business. In another story it says that the police are holding 13 in connection with drug abuse and trafficking on New Year’s Eve.

This story is also on the front page of The Malta Independent which also says that five couples had children in the first day of the year.

In-Nazzjon says that Malta is looking at the New Year with confidence and determination. It reports on the abusive occupation of St Anne Square in Sliema.

l-Orizzont says that Malta faces gloomy tourism in view of the global financial situation.

The Press in Britain

According to The Times, Israeli officials fear it is only a matter of time before Hamas rockets have the range and sophistication to hit the country’s nuclear facility at Dimona.

The Daily Express reports Russia's decision to turn off Ukraine's gas could put at risk Britain's energy supplies.

The Guardian says the public may be able to vote for what form of punishment is handed out to convicted criminals in their neighbourhoods.

The Daily Telegraph claims married couples are thousands of pounds worse off than parents who do not live together under the tax and benefits system.

The Independent says top scientists believe cuts in carbon dioxide production are not working and a new plan using the latest technology is needed to save the world from climate change.

The Daily Mail claims local councils are snubbing government plans for "pay-as-you-throw" rubbish taxes.

Britain faces the worst economic outlook since the early 1980s, according to the Financial Times' annual survey of leading economists.

The Scotsman reports Alex Salmond's bid to buck the economic downturn received a £30m boost from one of the most successful Hogmanay parties ever staged in Edinburgh.

The Sun says that Britain saw in the new year with a “sickening orgy of violence”.

According to The Herald, experts are predicting more than 25,000 Scots will be declared bankrupt in 2009 as the recession tightens its grip.

The Daily Record reports Royal security bosses launched a probe after detailed plans of Holyrood palace were found near a footpath.

And elsewhere…

Falesteen reports Hamas has vowed revenge after Israel killed one of the movement's top leaders by dropping a one-ton bomb on his house in the northern Gaza town of Jebaliya.

The Jerusalem Post reveals Israel demanded an international monitoring force as part of any Gaza ceasefire deal.

The New York Times quotes UN sources saying more than 400 Gazans have been killed and 1,700 wounded since Israel began its bombing campaign on Saturday.

The International Herald Tribune says that on the diplomatic front, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has held talks in Paris with President Nicolas Sarkozy, after peace efforts stalled at the UN Security Council.

Az-Zaman reports that Iraq has reassumed control of Basra International Airport, bringing British troops a step closer to withdrawing from Iraq.

Berliner Zeitung says German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called on Moscow and Kiev to end a dispute over gas payments that has led to a cut-off in Russian gas supplies to Ukraine.

The Mail & Guardian reports the death of veteran South African anti-apartheid campaigner Helen Suzman. She was 91.

Bangkok Post says a fire at a night club during New Year's celebrations has killed at least 59 people and injured more than 200.

Kathemerini reports that arsonists have attacked 10 banks and two car dealerships around Athens, causing minor damage. USA Today reports that a bitter former resident turned New Year's Eve into a mass evacuation in Aspen after leaving four gift-wrapped bombs in a bank robbery attempt.

Der Kurier says the premier of the German state of Thuringia, Dieter Althaus, has been seriously injured in a skiing accident in Austria when he collided with a woman skier, who died of her injuries on the way to hospital.

The Hindustan Times says a New Delhi labourer survived getting hit by a bus, only to get hit and killed by a second bus 20 minutes later.