Press digest

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

The Sunday Times says there will be higher bus fares for tourists under the transport reform. It also reports that the water and electricity tariffs will remain unchanged next year.

The Malta Independent says the bus service reform will bring about a significant reduction in emissions.

MaltaToday says a former secretary has admitted receiving money from a contractor involved in the Mistra Heights development project for the Finance Minister’s political campaign in exchange for some properties not being declared.

It Torca says three police officers are to be dismissed once more after having been reinstated on orders by the courts

Il-Mument says contractor Charles Magro, who is alleged to have carried out works at the Finance Minister’s house in exchange for help in the sale of the Jerma Hotel, is finding refuge in Joseph Muscat

Illum features reactions to the comments by the Gozo Bishop on sex education for children.

KullHadd features a big picture of Lou Bondi celebrating the PN victory after the last elections. It also says that the Prime Minister is ‘washing his hands’ in the Charles Magro case.

The overseas press

El Vanguardia says Pope Benedict XVI has criticised what he called “the return of aggressive anti-Church sentiment” in Spain during the first day of a visit to the country. Despite strong opposition from the Catholic Church, the Spanish government has introduced legislation allowing gay marriage, fast-track divorce and easier access to abortion.

Pravda reports that President Dmitry Medvedev has vetoed a bill passed by Russian parliament in October that would make it illegal for those convicted of planning illegal rallies in the past to organize new demonstrations. In an open letter to the two chambers of parliament, Medvedev explained his decision by saying that the amendment contradicted the right to assembly guaranteed by the Russian constitution. Meanwhile, a journalist for a leading newspaper has been severely beaten and is in a coma.

Le Journal du Dimanche says some 140,000 protesters marched throughout France in the latest demonstrations against plans to raise the retirement age. Strikes last month linked to the protests disrupted fuel supplies along with train and air travel.

In London, The Observer says the unemployed will be ordered to do periods of compulsory full-time work in the community or be stripped of their benefits under controversial plans to slash the number of people without jobs. The proposals, in a white paper on welfare reform to be unveiled this week, are part of a radical government agenda aimed at cutting the £190bn-a-year welfare bill and breaking what the coalition now calls the "habit of worklessness".

Deutsche Welle reports minor scuffles in the northern German city of as anti-nuclear demonstrators gathered to protest the arrival of a heavily guarded train carrying 123 tonnes of radioactive waste. Organisers said that some 50,000 people had turned out to disrupt the transfer of the nuclear waste to a storage facility in the nearby town of Gorleben.

India Today says US President Barack Obama, who is on a tour of Asia, has arrived in Delhi, with the ink drying on freshly-signed business deals worth $10 billion that he hopes could help kickstart the struggling US economy. During his visit in Mumbai, the president praised the 'strength and resilience' of India after reaffirming the country's joint opposition to terrorism.

Le Matin says the death toll from Haiti's cholera epidemic has surpassed 500 dead. It quotes the Haitian Health Ministry latest figures also showing that 7,359 have been hospitalised. Relief agencies are trying to get clean drinking water to the areas worst affected by flooding caused by hurricane Tomas.

Mynmar Digest says polls have opened in Burma’s first general election for two decades. Critics say the army has ensured its continued domination through tight restrictions and the use of proxy parties. The main pro-democracy opposition is boycotting the vote.

Jakarta Post reports that international airlines have cancelled flights into Indonesia’s capital after a volcano hundreds of miles to the west unleashed its most powerful eruption in a century, incinerating villagers as they fled a searing gas cloud. The number of people killed by Mount Merapi in the last two weeks has now climbed to 138. Some of the survivors have burns on 95 per cent of their bodies.

Il Mattino says a 2,000-year-old house in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, once used by gladiators to train before combat, has collapsed. The collapse highlighted controversy over the poor state of Pompeii, one of Italy’s main tourist attractions. Many experts have denounced the degradation and decay of the area.

The Sunday Expess reports that Formula One champion Jenson Button was attacked in his car by a gang armed with machine guns as he was being taken to his hotel after practice for today’s Grand Prix in Sao Paulo. Six men carrying weapons raced towards his Mercedes B-class car which was stuck in a traffic jam. Button looked up, spotted that at least one was carrying a gun and told his driver. The chauffeur, a policeman hired for the weekend by Button’s McLaren team, put his foot down and smashed his way through the cars in front, scattering the attackers.