Press digest

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

The Times says Europe's cold weather has finally reached Malta, although not to the same severity. It also says that a Maltese was found carrying cannabis in Tunisia.

The Malta Independent leads with reports of speeches made yesterday by the political leaders. Dr Gonzi said the Mepa reform Bill will be published on Thursday, while Dr Muscat said the people faced a choice between a mediocre government and a change in direction.

In-Nazzjon says Parliament reconvenes today. It also says that job creation remains the government's top priority this year. The newspaper carries a picture of Cirkewwa quay bearing the brunt of rough seas.

l-orizzont carries a similar picture, with the small Cirkewwa road tunnel underwater. It also reports comments by Joseph Muscat on the lasting harm being caused to the economy by the high utility tariffs. In another story it says Orthodox Christians are still without a Church in Malta despite having been granted a Mepa permit.

The overseas press:

President Barack Obama has told People magazine he has no intention of sending American troops to the Yemen or Somalia. He said he still believed the centre of al-Qaida activity is along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Afghan war has claimed a second journalist in 10 days -the Sunday Mirror's defence correspondent Rupert Hamer who died of his wounds after an explosion. The Daily Mirror pays tribute, dedicating the front page and describing him as "fine, fearless,dedicated". On December 30, Canadian reporter Michelle Lang of the Calgary Herald newspaper was killed in Kandahar province alongside four soldiers in a roadside bomb explosion.

The New York Times reports that a man under investigation for his links to a terror suspect pleaded not guilty to charges that he flew to Pakistan to get military training from al-Qaida. Adis Medunjanin, 25, faces counts of receiving military training from a foreign terrorist organisation and conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country.

The Arctic freeze, blamed on a rare depression that forecasters labelled "Daisy'', led to more deaths, travel disruptions and power blackouts yesterday as Europe remained in the grip of sub-zero temperatures and heavy snowfall.

Het Parool reports three men, aged between 17 and 22, died in the Netherlands when their car skidded on ice and hit a tree. A Dutch man was also killed by an avalanche in the Italian alps.

Blesk reports four deaths in the Czech Republic caused by cars skidding in the icy and snowy conditions over the weekend.

In Russia, Pravda says five men died in an avalanche during a mountaineering expedition.

According to El Pais, an elderly Spanish woman who drowned when her village was flooded and other fatalities included people slipping as they cleared snow.

In France, Metro reports about 1,000 people were stranded at Lyon's airport after a number of flights were cancelled or re-routed.

Across the channel in Britain, the Daily Express says there's panic in shops as shelves have been stripped bare of all food items. A man rescued after falling through thick ice on the River Tees has died. Some 50 flights were cancelled from Heathrow, and the Eurostar train to Paris and Brussels cancelled one third of its planned trips. At least 26 people have died from the frigid weather.

The International Herald Tribune reports areas of Poland, France and Italy suffered power outages.

Il Tempo says the Pope has denounced riots between immigrants and Italians in southern Italy. At the end of his traditional Sunday noon blessing, the Pontiff said migrants had rights and they were looking for a better life in a country which needed them. Yet, they ran the risk of exploitation because of their status. More than 35 people were injured in two days of riots in the southern Calabrian town of Rosarno.

Hurriyet says outrage has greeted plans by Pope John Paul II's would-be assassin to sign multi-million-dollar book and film deals after his release from prison this month.

South China Morning Post says Hong Kong police have arrested a man following an acid attack that left 30 people injured, a report said, the latest in a string of similar incidents that have terrorised the city.

The Irish Times reports former Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble has called for the North's First Minister Peter Robinson to resign. The call came in the wake of the revelation of Robinson's 59-year-old wife Iris's affair with a 19-year-old lover.

The Independent reports that the British Royal Military Police will investigate allegations about the death of a 62-year-old Iraqi woman who was caught up in crossfire during a raid on her home.

Al Ahram reports that achaeologists have discovered a new set of tombs for the workers who built the Great Pyramids, shedding new light on how the labourers lived and ate more than 4,000 years ago. According to the statement from the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, the tombs showed that the workers were paid labourers, rather than slaves as had long been assumed.

Togo Presse says the country's national football squad flew home although their African Nations Cup future remains shrouded in uncertainty. It emerged they have asked to return to Angola at a later date.