The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press today:
The Times says that oil companies are hoping to make giant strikes in Maltese waters. It also carries an impressive picture of the ceremony marking the end of the Bishops’ Synod in Rome. The Pope urged Chinese bishops to persevere in view of restrictions by the Chinese authorities.
The Malta Independent quotes Finance Minister Tonio Fenech saying the Budget 2009 will be an investment programme. Meanwhile, Opposition leader Joseph Muscat said the government had not achieved its budget targets.
In-Nazzjon reports comments by Foreign Minister Tonio Borg that the visa requirement for travel to the US is due to be waived from January 1.
l-orizzont says it was government inefficiency which was solely to blame for missed budget targets. The newspaper also reports that a boy, called ‘Owen’ is missing school because of a rare condition and is not finding the required help.
The Press in Britain…
The Times says pressure is mounting on the Bank of England for an emergency interest rate cut this week as the severity of the global downturn wreaks more havoc.
The Financial Times reports that Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, is planning new targets for cutting borrowing and external oversight of public finances to replace Gordon Brown's fiscal rules.
The Independent reveals that the number of children born behind bars has almost doubled since Labour came to power, with new figures showing women prisoners currently giving birth at nearly four a week.
The Daily Mail leads with a study which claims the intellectual ability of the country's cleverest youngsters has declined radically because of the rise of TV, computer games and over-testing in schools.
According to The Guardian, every police force in the UK is to be equipped with mobile fingerprint scanners – handheld devices that allow police to carry out identity checks on people in the street.
The Daily Telegraph says hundreds of thousands of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers are offered new hope by a treatment that can stop the disease in its tracks.
The Daily Express says scientists have developed a new variety of tomato which could offer protection against cancer.
Metro reports three members of the same family were killed when their light aircraft crashed during stormy weather over the Wicklow mountains in Ireland.
The Sun says Prince Harry plans a return to the front line as a helicopter pilot. It also heralds the release of the ‘Help for Heroes’ single, the proceeds from will be split between the Sun-backed charity and the Poppy Appeal.
Daily Star claims David Beckham is poised for a shock return to Britain as new Spurs boss Harry Redknapp lines up a deal to hijack his move to AC Milan.
And elsewhere…
Al Thawra reports US helicopters have attacked an area along Syria's border with Iraq, killing eight civilians. Syria's government condemned it as "serious aggression".
Baltic News quotes Lithuania's election commission saying the Homeland Union, a conservative party critical of Russia, has won both rounds of the country's election and is expected to form a coalition with three smaller centre-right parties.
Jerusalem Post says Israeli PM-designate Tzipi Livni has abandoned her efforts to form a new coalition government. She has met with President Shimon Peres and recommended that he call an early genersal election
Teheran Times reports that President Ahmadinejad of Iran, who turns 53 today, is suffering from exhaustion because of the strain of his job. The Los Angeles Times says the reports have stirred speculation about whether he will run again for the country's highest elected office next June.
L’Avvenire leads with Pope Benedict XVI decrying the killing of Christians in Iraq and India and appealing for political and religious leaders to defend them.
Colorado Springs Gazette reports Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama sharpened his criticism of rival Republican John McCain, warning a huge crowd of more than 100,000 supporters that a McCain White House would mean four more years of failed Republican policies and broken politics.
Pakistan Times claims security officials suspect US spy drones have fired missiles into a Pakistani region on the Afghan border killing more than 10 militants.
Shabelle News quotes a UN spokeswoman saying that under a deal signed yesterday between the Somali government and the Islamist opposition, Ethiopian troops will withdraw from Somalia by early next year.
El Tiempo quotes Colombian officials saying a former lawmaker who had been held for more than eight years by Marxist FARC rebels, has escaped with the help of one of his captors. Oscar Lizcano, 62, was abducted in August 2000.
Al Ahram says Egypt's first female marriage registrar has started work despite complaints by some conservative clerics that the move is against Islam.
San Francisco Chronicle reports Zeppelins are being brought back for the first time in 70 years with tours planned of San Francisco Bay.