The following are today’s top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times leads with yesterday’s attempted burglary in Attard which left one of the alleged burglars injured. It also reports that one in four women has reported being victim to some sort of physical or emotional abuse.
The Malta Independent reports that Major Peter Ripard’s condition has improved after Monday’s explosion.
l-orizzont says the Governor of the Central Bank of Malta is among the top ten best paid bank governors, earning more than the head of the Federal Reserve. It also gives prominence to a PL statement that national insurance is set to rise.
In-Nazzjon features the opening of a new school in Gozo; the jailing of a club administrator for storing fireworks in the club basement, and the attempted theft in Attard where one of the alleged burglars was shot.
The overseas press
Euronews reports northern Europe remained in the grip of heavy snow and freezing temperatures, with worse weather forecast for the weekend. Dozens of people were reported to have been killed by exposure to the cold or in weather-related accidents – 30 in Poland alone, where temperatures plummeted to as low as minus 33 degrees Celsius. Air, rail and road traffic remained badly disrupted. Across Europe, schools and businesses have been forced to close and power has been cut in many places.
And it is not just the snow that is causing problems in Europe. The Baltic Times reports that several countries have been overrun with freezing floodwaters. A state of emergency has been declared in parts of Serbia, with hundreds of residents forced to flee their homes. Flood alerts have also been issued in Bosnia and Montenegro. Parts of Croatia have also been affected, with dozens of homes inundated. Residents say it is the worst flooding they have seen, with rivers reaching their highest levels ever in some places. Venice, where flooding is common, is also affected.
El Pais says the Spanish government would hold a crisis meeting today and might declare a state of alert, leading to possible criminal action against striking civilian air traffic controllers. Spain's military has already taken control of the nation's airspace after they called in sick as part of a protest on working conditions.
El Universal reports that Mexican soldiers have arrested a 14-year-old boy on suspicion that he has been working as a hired killed for a drug cartel. The Mexican army alleges that he took part in beheadings while under the influence of drugs supplied by his employers.
The Washington Times says President Obama has made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan. He told American troops that important progress had been made in the fight against the Taliban, so much so that few areas were now under the Taliban’s control. However he also warned of difficult days ahead.
According to The Daily Telegraph, new leaked diplomatic cables set to be published by Wikileaks would contain fresh details on UFOs. The newspaper quotes Julian Assange, the 39 year-old Australian who is wanted by Interpol over a charge of rape and sexual assault in Sweden, saying there were some references to extraterrestrial life in yet-to-be-published confidential files obtained from the American government. It remained unclear when they would be published.
Meanwhile, The Financial Times reports that WikiLeaks was trying to keep the material online after two US technology companies dropped it as a customer. Mr Assange confirmed his website was under considerable strain in recent days over its "Cablegate" series of leaks. Wikileaks has moved its services to Switzerland, Sweden and France, and remains, for the most part, up and running.
Le Matin says the opposition candidate in the Ivory Coast presidential election, Alassane Ouattara, has declared himself the new head of state. He has received from the UN, the West African grouping Ecowas and France, the former colonial power. President Sarkozy urged the incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, to respect the will of the Ivorian people. However, state TV reported that Mr Gbagbo would be sworn in to office later today.
Corriere della Sera reports that Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has reiterated he has no intention of resigning as opposition leaders have demanded ahead of a December 14 confidence vote. He told reporters at an Italo-Russian summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, he was confident he would win that vote and told the so-called 'Third Pole' which wants someone else in his place: "No one is at my level."
Ansa reports Italy was portrayed as demoralised and in decline in social and economic thinktank Censis's annual report on the state of the nation, released on Friday. It said Italy had endured the recession with ''an evident struggle to get by and with painful marginalization in the labour market''. The report added that almost 40 per cent of Italians had no savings and that 91 per cent of families with a single breadwinner who was unemployed were at risk of poverty.