The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times features strong criticism by the GRTU over the energy tariffs. It also says that an explosive device used by fishermen was discovered on the wreck of the Um El Faroud, which is a diving attraction. The device was made safe by the AFM.
The Malta Independent also leads with the GRTU press conference on the utility tariffs. It also carries the launch of a new drink drive campaign.
In-Nazzjon says bad weather in Europe affected flights from Malta. It also features the appeals for drivers not to drink, not even small amounts.
l-orizzont says the PL spokesman on utilities presented an official letter to contest the utility tariffs. It alsofeatures the GRTU press conference where it was reported that the power tariffs in Malta are the highest in Europe.
The international press:
According to the EU Observer, the European Commission has said that the euro was overvalued by between seven and eight per cent in relation to other major currencies. In a report issued yesterday, the European Union's executive arm warned that a further rise could be a "serious concern" for the more open euro-zone economies. The euro has continued to rise against the US dollar since March but the trend reversed itself in recent weeks in part due to fears about Greece's fiscal position.
In an exclusive interview with the Wall Street Journal, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said there would not be a new Palestinian uprising as long as he's in office, but warned the current calm might end once he steps down, as early as June. He rebutted charges by Israel that he was responsible for holding up peace talks and pushed for the US to act more aggressively to bring Israel back to negotiations.
Iranian authorities are continuing to hold several members of Osama bin Laden's family. Abdul Rahman bin Laden has told Al Jazeera his sister Eman, one of his stepmothers and five of his brothers have been prevented from leaving by the authorities in Tehran since 1997. He called on Tehran to release his relatives.
Apple Daily says Taiwan is planning the world's first tax on junk food in a bid to encourage the public to eat healthily and cut obesity rates.
In London, The Independent says Tory leader David Cameron has failed to seal the deal with the British public, who believe the Conservatives would govern for the well-off and are not an attractive alternative to Labour. The paper says a new poll shows the Conservative lead slipping and finds they offer unappealing alternative.
The Washington Times reports a historic healthcare reform passed its first crucial test in the US Senate on Monday, with 60 Democrats voting to put President Barack Obama's top legislative priority on a path to passage by Christmas. More than 30 million US citizens stand to benefit from health care cover for the first time.
Israel’s Channel 2 TV has published parts of an interview with the former head of the country’s Abu Kabir forensic institute, Dr Jehuda Hiss, who admitted that its forensic pathologists harvested organs from dead bodies in the 1990s, including from Palestinians, without permission of their families.
Al Jumuhariya reports that a British girl, who was abducted by her father and taken to Libya 30 months ago, has been reunited with her mother in Tripoli. Nadia Fawzi, now aged six, was denied all contact with her mother. Last July, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown asked the Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi, for his help.
The Jerusalem Post says the remains of the first house in Nazareth that can be dated back to the time of Jesus were unveiled by scientists yesterday. The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about four acres.
People magazine reports Tiger Woods is reportedly yachting to the Bahamas for the holidays to escape the firestorm over his sex scandal while his wife Elin is said to be heading back to Sweden for Christmas with her family. The magazine quoted an unidentified friend as saying that the golf star faced a deeply unhappy time ahead.