The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times says a legal notice setting out the utility tariffs is to be amended by the government "because it does not explain precisely how the eco reduction will be worked out." A spokesman said the legal notice would be amended to better reflect what Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had discussed during meetings he had with trade unions.
l-orizzont leads with the murder of a 31-year-old man in Xemxija yesterday.
In-Nazzjon says Malta will keep its EU Commissioner as a result of concessions brought in ahead of the holding of a second referendum in the Republic of Ireland. It also reports that former Labour MP Joseph Cuschieri appears to have been given a job at Labour HQ.
The Malta Independent says Malta has emerged satisfied from a pivotal EU summit. It also reports that medicine importers may cease imports until they get paid by the government.
The Press in Britain…
The Daily Express reports that the drug Tamoxifen may stop women getting breast cancer: it was 46 per cent effective in a study of 7,000 women.
The Daily Mail predicts millions of cards and presents could arrive at their destinations late because of a decision by postal workers to go on strike next Friday.
The Daily Telegraph reports that four million people are still struggling to pay off their credit card bills from last Christmas as the credit crunch continues to bite this year.
The Financial Times says that the US administration is scrambling to save the Detroit car industry after the Senate rejected a bail-out deal and General Motors said it was closing most of its North American operation during January.
The Times reports a financial rescue package for Britain's motor industry was also being put together.
The Daily Telegraph says three Royal Marines were killed in Afghanistan after a 13-year-old suicide bomber approached them with an explosive hidden in a wheelbarrow.
The Independent reports a jury’s verdict that Jean Charles de Menezes was not lawfully killed as part of an anti- terrorist operation.
And elsewhere…
European newspapers focus on the agreement reached by EU leaders, meeting in Brussels, on a €200 billion euro stimulus package aimed at combating the global economic crisis. All 27 EU leaders had agreed to commit 1.5 percent of gross domestic product to the effort. They also committed themselves to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.
The International Herald Tribune says little progress has been reported by negotiators from 190 nations after 12 days of talks on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in the Polish city of Poznan. The only notable agreement was a €45-million-dollar fund to help poor countries combat effects of global warming such as rising sea levels.
Kathemerini reports that Greek riot police clashed with youths for a seventh straight day in a row in Athens. Around 4,000 students marched on Parliament, some hurling firebombs and stones at police who responded with tear gas. Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has again dismissed opposition calls to quit over the riots that erupted after a 15-year old teenager was killed by a police bullet.
According to Los Angeles Times, one of the world's top drug lords has been extradited from Colombia under heavy police escort to stand trial on a number of drug trafficking charges in Miami, Florida. Colombian drug boss Diego Montoya, also known as “Don Diego” allegedly handled 70 percent of the cocaine trade in the United States and Europe.
Estonia Times says Parliament has approved a law making the country the first to allow voting by mobile phone.
Gulf News reports that Emirates Airline pilots have complained that the new super-jumbo is so quiet they can't get any sleep. The say the four engines powering the Airbus A380s are so serene they can hear all the cabin noise, including crying babies and sweet paper rustling. The engine noise on other planes drowns out the cabin noise, meaning pilots can catch 40 winks on long-haul flights.
China Times says Taiwan's former president Chen Shui-bian has been released on bail, a day after he was formally indicted on corruption charges including forgery and money laundering.
Jamaica Gleaner reports that plans for a multimillion-dollar expansion of a popular tourist port in Kingston are being suspended because no one wants to finance the project.
El Universal says hundreds of Mexican doctors are marching in a border city to protest against a wave of kidnappings and death threats targeting the medical community.
Variety reports that USA ‘American Pie’ actress Tara Reid, 33, has checked herself into rehab in Los Angeles.
Il Mattino claims women around Naples are threatening their husbands with no sex if they let off their beloved fireworks in the holiday period when scores are maimed and some killed by illegal bangers each year. Naples each year records the highest number of injuries – and sometimes deaths – from the improper use of fireworks, mostly illegal ones and increasingly made in China.