The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times leads with evidence in court where it was shown that 30kg of green coloured bars seized by the police from a yacht on December 27 were soap and not cannabis, as initially suspected. It also reports the death of a cargo handler who was crushed under glass in an incident in Zebbug yesterday. The newspaper in a backpage report says that no vote was taken in the PN parliamentary group meeting which discussed George Abela's nomination.
MaltaToday reports that Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Alfred Sant are among those who disagree with the appointment of George Abela. It says PN MEP Simon Busuttil and the MLP's George Vella also dissented. In another story it says that Lino Spiteri was never told he was being considered for nomination to the Presidency.
l-orizzont asks if the GRTU will be issuing directives over the utility charges. It also carries a statement by the GWU praising the consensus reached on the appointment of George Abela.
In-Nazzjon leads with the additional €30m investment in SmartCity and also reports the tragedy in Zebbug.
The Malta Independent says the first 58 migrants from a group of 162 stranded on a tanker off Anchor Bay have disembarked but bad weather stopped the operation. It also reports that the accused in a murder which took place in Qormi last December has been granted bail.
The Press in Britain
The Times predicts tens of thousands of public sector jobs will be lost across the UK this year as a result of the recession.
The Guardian quotes a new poll showing Britons' confidence in the economy has been shattered by the financial crisis.
The Daily Express claims that as Britons tighten their belts ahead of the coming recession, MPs are planning to bolster their own pensions.
The Financial Times says Citigroup will break itself up in a dramatic attempt to ensure its survival.
The Independent announces that an official investigation has been launched after two immigration staff working with asylum-seekers were found to have links to the British National Party.
The Daily Mail says as the row over Prince Harry using the word 'Paki' to describe a military colleague raged, it emerged an Indian polo-playing friend of the Prince of Wales and his sons is known to them as 'Sooty'. He is multi-millionaire businessman Kuldip Singh Dhillon.
The Telegraph has a picture of Prince Harry poking his polo stick at Mr Singh.
And elsewhere…
Haaretz says Israeli ground troops were engaged in heavy clashes in the suburbs of Gaza City and several large apartment buildings were ablaze. The thrust into the Tel Hawwa neighbourhood was the deepest yet by Israeli troops who have virtually surrounded the coastal city. For the first time, attacks continued during the three-hour truce called to allow aid in to 1.5million people.
Al Quds Al Arabi says the number of Palestinian dead is put at more than 970. Swedish Red Cross officials accused Israel soldiers of deliberately attacking ambulances during the offensive in Gaza.
Falesteen says Moussa Abu Marzouq, a senior Hamas official based in Damascus, has expressed reservations about an Egyptian plan for a cease-fire with Israel. The statement came as a Hamas delegation was in Cairo for a fresh round of negotiations with Egyptian intelligence officials.
The Washington Times quotes designated US secretary of state Hillary Clinton saying the United States must address Israel's security needs and the Palestinians' aspirations for a state of their own.
Strasbourg’s Metro reports that the European Parliament has voted to tighten the rules on the use of pesticides amid fears that they are posing an increasing danger to human health.
Tribune de Geneve quotes WHO officials saying the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe has claimed more than 2,000 lives since the start of the outbreak in August.
Irish Independent reports Catholic Primate Cardinal Sean Brady breaking his silence over repeated calls for Bishop of Cloyne John Magee to resign over his mishandling of child sex abuse allegations, branded inadequate and dangerous by the church’s own watchdog.
Variety says a settlement has been reached in the legal fight over seven nude and semi-nude photographs taken during Marilyn Monroe’s in 1962. Two photographers had approached Bert Stern, who took the photos for ‘Vogue’ magazine, to make a deal involving seven film transparencies from the shoot. Stern sued because he believed the items had been stolen from him. But photographers Donald Penny and Michael Weiss said another colleague found the transparencies in curbside garbage in Manhattan in the 1970s.
Helsingin Sanomat reports a study by Jyvaskyla Central Hospital found that women are more likely to feel pain, aches and tiredness due to rheumatoid arthritis than men.
The British Medical Journal warns that drinking cup after cup of coffee dramatically increases the risk of hallucinating. Durham University researchers found that healthy young men and women who had more than seven cups of instant coffee a day were three times more likely to hear or see things that were not there than those who limited their intake to less than a cup. It is thought that caffeine boosts levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. Confirming the link could lead to new treatments for those who suffer severe hallucinations, including schizophrenics, some victims of child abuse and the recently bereaved.