The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times leads with the EU summit held yesterday, where government leaders agreed on financial reform. It also reports that most social partners intend to stay away from tomorrow’s manifestation in Valletta, seeing it as politically partisan.
The Malta Independent leads with the approval of €4.2 million in funds to be used to tackle the migration problem in Malta.
L-orizzont highlights a statement by the Pensioners’ Alliance, which hit out at the budget and the new utility tariffs, saying many would fall below the poverty line.
In-Nazzjon also leads with the EU summit decision on financial action. It also focuses on the demonstrations being held by the MLP and the GWU and says that while they appear to be separate, Joseph Muscat had defended Alfred Sant when he said the GWU would be held in a privileged position by the MLP.
The Press in Britain…
The Guardian reveals the boss of Britain’s biggest supermarket chain put pressure on the monetary policy committee to slash interest rates in the days leading up to this week’s unprecedented 1.5 percentage point rate cut.
The Daily Express says banks have been shamed into passing interest rate cuts on to borrowers – but it came at the expense of millions of savers.
The Daily Telegraph continues that hundreds of thousands of savers have rushed to move their funds to the few remaining high-paying deposit accounts after the Bank of England’s rate cut left the savings market in chaos.
The Daily Mail adds the rate cuts will be cheered by more than a million homeowners whose monthly bills will drop by around £135 on an average £150,000 loan.
The Independent says the government plans tax cuts for low and middle-income earners in an attempt to limit the pain and the duration of the economic downturn.
Daily Star alleges television soap operas also sparked fury after ignoring the nation’s war dead by excluding poppies from their shows.
The Times quotes the head of Britain’s equality watchdog saying US President-elect Barack Obama would never have been elected prime minister in the UK because of “institutional racism” in the Labour Party.
And elsewhere…
The US media gives extensive coverage to President-elect Barack Obama’s first news conference during which he told reporters the United States was facing the biggest economic crisis in a generation. Although the government had already done much to master the global credit crunch, more measures were required. Turning to foreign policy, Obama said it was unacceptable for Iran to develop nuclear weapons and called for strengthened international efforts to convince Tehran to abandon its sensitive nuclear activities.
The European edition of The Wall Street Journal says a European leaders meeting in Brussels have reached a common position on the international financial crisis to present at a global summit in Washington next week. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, told reporters that the bloc would call for major changes to the rules that govern the world's financial system at the G-20 talks.
East African Standard reports that African leaders at a crisis summit in the Nairobi have called for an immediate ceasefire in the Congo and an amendment of the mandate of UN peacekeepers stationed in the conflict region.
Le Matin says police in Haiti have opened an investigation into the collapse of a school building that killed around 50 people and injured 85.
Resonansi reports around 10,000 people have demonstrated in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, against President Mikhail Saakashvili, demanding early presidential and parliamentary elections.
The Dominion Post says polls have opened in New Zealand's parliamentary elections. Opinion polls give the centre-right National Party good chances of replacing Prime Minister Helen Clark's nine-year-old Labour government with the backing of smaller parties.
Il Tempo reports that protests by university students against proposed government reforms in the education sector turned violent in Rome as a third week of sit-ins and rallies drew to a close.
New York Post reports Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is seeking re-election for a third term, is considering charging five US cents per plastic shopping bag in a proposal which is expected to raise $16m (€12.5m) per year as part of a series of measures to cut the city’s budget deficit. New Yorkers use an estimated one billion plastic bags per year.
El Pais says the police have arrested a 53-year-old grandfather suspected of kidnapping his baby grandson and demanding a £40,000 ransom to feed a slot machine gambling habit.
Asia Observer quotes a Japanese Justice Ministry report saying elderly people were behind a surge of crimes in Japan, particularly shoplifting and pick-pocketing. Low income, declining health and a sense of isolation were the main causes of the trend.
USA Today says President George Bush’s pet dog Barney looks to have reacted badly to the news that he will soon be replaced as the nation’s first canine. When a reporter reached down to pat the Scottish terrier, the usually docile dog snapped at him and bit his index finger, causing an injury that needed treatment by the White House doctor.