The following are the top stories in the international press today.
There are no local papers today and tomorrow. The Sunday Times will be on the newstands as usual on Sunday.
Ansa reports that a woman the Vatican described as ‘unstable’ has been arrested after she jumped over a barricade, lunged at Pope Benedict and dragged him to the floor at the start of his Christmas Eve mass in St Peter's Basilica. The 82-year-old pontiff was not injured and went on to finish the two-hour service, but French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, 87, fell to the floor and was taken to hospital with a broken leg.
L’Avvenire quotes the Pontiff in his homily to more than 10,000 people, urging the faithful to rediscover the simplicity of the nativity message. At noon today, the Pope delivers his "Urbi et Orbi" message to the city and the world.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reports thousands of pilgrims and dignitaries crowded into Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity for a Christmas Mass, where Latin Patriarch Fuad al-Tuwal urged visitors to return home bearing a message of peace for the Holy Land.
Il Mattino says a bloody-faced Silvio Berlusconi, Pope Benedict XVI with his arm in a sling and pop star Michael Jackson are among the crop of new nativity scene figurines on sale in Naples this year. On sale are also statuettes of escort girl Patrizia D'Addario, who claimed to have been paid to have sex with Berlusconi, Naples schoolgirl Noemi Letizia, whose friendship with the premier caused his wife Veronica Lario to accuse him of consorting with minors and ask for a divorce, and Lario herself.
China's official newsagency Xinhua announces that the most prominent dissident, Liu Xiaobo, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was found guilty by a Beijing People's Court judge of "incitement to subvert state power" with writings calling for civil freedom and multiparty democracy.
El Tiempo reports Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has threatened to expel Japanese carmaker Toyota unless it produces an all-terrain model of 4x4 vehicles used for public transport in poor and rural areas. He also said he would not hesitate to expel and expropriate plants from other Asian and US automobile companies operating in Venezuela if they failed to share technology with locals.
Sky News says snow, ice and freezing fog caused more disruptions in the UK on Thursday, with flights grounded, trains delayed and drivers warned of treacherous conditions on some roads. At least three people died in road accidents in Britain and northern Italy after heavy snowfalls. In the US, icy roads were blamed for the deaths of 14 people, mostly in Nebraska and Kansas. Some 100 flights leaving Minneapolis were cancelled.
The Washington Times says President Barack Obama has hailed the passing of landmark healthcare legislation through the Senate as a “historic vote”, saying it brought the US towards the end of a near century-long struggle for reform. During a special Christmas Eve session in Congress, the Bill was carried by a 60 to 39 vote in a ballot which was split strictly along party lines with no Republican support.
Manila Times reports four people were killed and 23 are still missing after two boats collided in darkness near Manila. A swift emergency operation in the busy waterway saved 46 people but as dusk approached 13 hours later there were fears that 23 of the 73 people known to be aboard the passenger boat had been trapped while asleep.
Aftonbladet says the Nazi gang that ordered the theft of the sign from Auschwitz planned to sell it to fund attacks against the Swedish Primed Minister and Parliament. A spokesman for the Swedish security police confirmed that the authorities were taking seriously a threat by a militant Nazi group to disrupt national elections next year.
Metro reports that a Asda supermarket worker who filmed himself licking a chicken before putting it back on a shelf has been warned he may face jail. The film also showed the worker and fellow colleagues setting off fire extinguishers and urinating in bins in a North England chain of the store.
Six of Osama bin Laden's children and one of his wives, missing since the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, are under house arrest in Iran. Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported Omar bin Laden, 29, the fourth son of the Al-Qaeda chief, said he only learnt that family was in Tehran after receiving a call a month ago.
Australia’s Herald Sun says a male sex offender and a mother of four young daughters – who both committed depraved acts on one of her under-age girls – have seen their original prison sentences increased to eight and half years and four years respectively. The sex offender met the mother over the internet in 2005, and the two moved in together days later. In 2006, the mother drugged her teenager, removed her clothes and the man then photographed and sexually assaulted the girl while she was unconscious. He also exposed himself to the woman’s eight-year-old daughter and police later found nude pictures of two other under-age girls on his camera and mobile phone.
MTV reports Lady Gaga has been named the musical station’s Woman of the Year. The New York-born singer has made headlines throughout the year with her show-stopping performances, jaw-dropping outfits and her chart-topping hits. Lady Gaga – whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta – revealed that her blood-soaked, dramatic performance at the Video Music Awards was a high point in her year.