The Press in Britain
The Daily Mirror says frantic shoppers are expected to spend an astonishing £1 million a minute at the Boxing Day sales.
Daily Star claims that Britons are saying "buy buy" to the credit crunch with a £500 million frenzy.
The Daily Record reports internet bargain hunters spent more than £100 million in the sales on Christmas Day.
The Daily Express claims a bonanza on holidays starts today as tour operators offer cut-price deals.
The Daily Mail reports that people who drink more than the recommended alcohol limits are being hammered with huge hikes in life insurance premiums.
The Times alleges works of art worth hundreds of thousands of pounds are missing from British embassies and other official buildings around the world.
The Telegraph says millions of middle-class home owners face with higher council tax bills following a secret exercise to assess the "niceness" of different areas.
The Independent pays tribute to legendary playwright Harold Pinter, who has died aged 78 after suffering from cancer. The author of The Birthday Party and Betrayal was the son of tailor from London's East End who rose to become one of the nation's greatest playwrights. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005.
The Sun says crippled paratrooper Ben Parkinson was celebrating after being granted his Christmas wish of staying in the Army.
And elsewhere…
The International Herald Tribune reports there are growing signs that Israel may be preparing to launch a major military operation against the Islamist militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.
Berliner Morgenpost says the German navy has for the first time foiled an attempt by pirates off the coast of Somalia to seize control of a merchant ship.
Guinea’s Le Jour reports coup leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara has promised that military rule will only be temporary and end in free and transparent elections to be held in two years' time.
East African Standard reports that Zimbabwe police are ignoring an order by a High Court judge to immediately release human rights campaigner Jestina Mukoko and nine other activists charged with plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe
World media focuses on the Pope’s traditional Christmas Day greetings and Urbi et Orbi message in 64 languages. The pontiff expressed hope for peace in the Middle East and other conflict areas. During the traditional midnight mass, the Pope called for the protection of children all over the world.
Ukrainian Observer says at least 22 people have been killed after a gas explosion ripped through a five-storey apartment block in the Ukrainian Black Sea resort. of Yevpatoria.
Al Sumaria reports two car bombs have killed seven people and injured dozens in Christmas Day attacks. Although violence has dropped sharply in Iraq over the past year, car bombs and suicide attacks are still routine.
Pakistan Times says a bomb-rigged truck with government plates has exploded in Lahore, killing one person in an area home to many government officials.
Variety announces the death of American singer and actress Eartha Kitt. She was 81.
The New York Times says actor John Costelloe, 47, who played a gay firefighter in The Sopranos, has been found dead with a gunshot wound in New York.
Los Angeles Times reports a gunman dressed as Santa has set a house ablaze before shooting guests at a Christmas party in the US, killing at least six people.
Serbia’s state-run television has broadcast a warning that anyone helping war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic could be putting themselves in danger.
El Universal reports that soldies in Mexico have arrested the deputy police chief of Zihuatanejo and six more officers accused of protecting drug gang members at a cock fight.
Moscow Times says Russia has put into orbit three Glonass-M satellites by a rocket that blasted off from Kazakhstan to enhance the country's space navigation system.
USA Today says court workers in Atlanta will get "sensitivity training" after police arrested a Muslim woman for refusing to remove her headscarf before a hearing.
Local papers have not been published today.