The following are the top stories in the local and international press today:
The Sunday Times reports a sucessful l-Istrina, in spite of the removal of gifts for donations. In another story, it says that the victim of this week’s parcel bomb is still in a critical condition. It also says that 13-year-old girls were to be arraigned in Court, accused of corrupting another.
The Malta Independent on Sunday recalls the anniversary of the Asian tsunami. It quotes Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Mario de Marco saying that discussions are underway for new routes to be opened. In other stories, the newspaper says that the environment is as not being safeguarded during the excavation of a tunnel for Smart City and that the Malta Transport Authority has gone ahead with the driving test reform.
Malta Today says that this year haa been a bad one for Finance Minister Tonio Fenech. It also carries a review of what has taken place in 2009..
Il-Mument reports that more than €2.3 million have been collected in l-Strina. It has a story on the first years of the 21st century and another on the attack on the Pope in the Vatican just before the Christmas Eve Mass.
It-Torca refers to the recent Parliamentary incident with Franco Debono and says that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had threatened with calling an early election. It says that architect Giovanni Trevisan confirmed with the newspaper that he was to be in charge of the works at City Gate.
KullHadd says that Malta is heading towards a six per cent deficit. Another story refers to the work done by the Intensive Therapy Unit.
Illum lists the winners and losers of 2009.
The international press
USA Today reports the US Justice Department has charged 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab with attempting to destroy the Northwest Airlines plane which managed to land in Detroit after a flight from Amsterdam. The alleged Christmas Day terrorist had a device containing a high explosive attached to his body and, as the flight neared Detroit y, Abdulmutallab set off the device, but it sparked a fire instead of an explosion.
Meanwhile, The New York Times says increased security measures were put in place at airports around the world at the request of the United States after the Detroit incident. The heightened security measures include frisking all passengers headed to the US and extra checks on carry-on luggage. The new rules limit on-board activities by passengers in US airspace, prohibiting them from leaving their seats during the final hour of flight passengers. Also, they would not be allowed access to carry-on baggage or to have any items on their laps.
Az-Zaman reports that six Palestinians have been killed during two Israeli military operations a day before the anniversary of the three-week war in Gaza. Israeli soldiers stormed into the West Bank town of Nablus and shot dead three suspected militants accused of gunning down a Jewish settler on Thursday. In a separate operation, three Palestinians were killed by an Israeli air strike in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip near the border. The Israeli military claimed the three were approaching the security fence to carry out an attack.
The Daily Star says three bombs planted under a car has exploded south of Beirut, killing one person and wounding several others in an attack that apparently targeted an official from the Palestinian militant group Hamas The state-run news agency did not identify the targeted official or the victims. One of the wounded was in serious condition.
Al Jazeera reports Iranian police clashed with protesters on Boxing Day amid ongoing turmoil in the wake of this year's contested election result. According to opposition activists police have used tear gas and baton charges against demonstrators in north Tehran. Earlier in the day they reportedly arrested protesters who sought to demonstrate against the government during an annual Shi'ite mourning event.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been urged by a senior government minister not to turn the general election campaign into a "hideous" class war with David Cameron. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Tessa Jowell warned that it would be a mistake simply to attack the Old Etonian Tory leader for his privileged background. She said Labour must continue to campaign as the party of "aspiration, linked to opportunity".
Asia Observer says Buddhist monks chanted on a Thai beach, an Indonesian mother mourned her children at a mass grave, and a man scattered flowers in now-placid waters today to commemorate the 230,000 killed five years ago when a tsunami ripped across Asia. Indonesia’s Aceh province was hardest hit with 167,000 people dead – more than half the total death toll.
Times of India reports that at least 45 people have been killed after a bridge collapsed in western India. Dozens of labourers plunged into the water when the bridge on which they were working gave way over the Chambal River on the outskirts of the city of Kota. Two senior project managers, including a South Korean national, have been arrested in connection with the incident.
Kyiv Post says Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has dismissed Russian claims that her government was having trouble paying its gas bill. She denied accusations by Russian gas exporter Gazprom that the country would be unable to pay its energy bills.
Metro reports that British rtailers have enjoyed bumper post-Christmas sales with one department store clocking up record figures. Selfridges saw its best Boxing Day with a 10 per cent rise on last year, and by 1pm menswear in the London store had taken more than £1 million.
Indian Express reports the resignation of an 84-year-old Indian politician after a sex tape was broadcast allegedly showing him in bed with three women. Narayan Dutt Tiwari, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh in south-east India, had maintained his innocence after the sex tape was aired a day ago. But he has now has bowed to pressure and resigned on "health grounds".