The following are the top stories in the local and international press today:
The Times says that a legal but dangerous drug used in parties, known as Bubbles or Miaow Miaow, had come to Malta and could be bought over the internet. The paper says that the effects of this drug were not yet so well known.
The Malta Independent reports that vandals set on fire a 300-year-old tree in Mellieha. It says that Justin Chircop was the third victim of AH1N1. In another story it says that an Australian murderer of Maltese descent was being sought for another murder.
Malta Today says that Air Malta is scraping the barrel and quotes CEO Joe Cappello saying that the situation can be reversed.
l-Orizzont refers to a constitutional case lodged by immigrants in which they complained that the potatoes they were being served at the detention centre were too white and with not enough sauce. In another story it says that another government tender with miserable conditions of work, including payment of €5.50 an hour, had been issued.
In-Nazzjon says that AH1N1 vaccinations have started. It also reports on Citta Magica, being held in Valletta on January 9.
The international press:
USA Today quotes President Barack Obama attacking the "systemic failure" of the US intelligence service that nearly cost 300 lives in the skies of Detroit. During a press conference in Hawaii on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's alleged attempt to bring down Northwest Airlines Flight 253, the president said the 23-year-old Nigerian should never have been allowed to board a US-bound plane after concerns were raised about his extremist views. He said two security reviews were now in place in the US - one governing terror watch lists, and the other air travel screening.
The Washington Post reports the US has rejected fresh concerns raised by Moscow about its planned missile defence system. The State Department statement came after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the US plans were holding up a new nuclear disarmament treaty. The statement said the two issues were completely separate, and discussions would continue separately.
Abrar quotes a representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has described opposition leaders as "enemies of God" who should be executed under the country's sharia law. The statement by cleric Abbas Vaez-Tabasi coincided with rallies by tens of thousands of government supporters calling for opposition leaders to be punished for fomenting unrest. Meanwhile Iran has accused Britain of helping stir up unrest that has led to deadly street clashes in the country and summoned its ambassador to complain.
The BBC reports that the family of the Briton executed in China for drug smuggling have spoken of their shock at his death as Beijing came under attack from the UK government. Gordon Brown offered his condolences to the family of 53-year-old Akmal Shaikh after the Foreign Office confirmed his death by lethal injection. The Chinese ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office to explain the execution.
Bild says a Kurdish man has been sentenced to life in prison for ordering the honor killing of his daughter. The girl's brother was also sentenced to nine and a half years for his role in carrying out the brutal murder with the help of an accomplice. A German court in Kleve found Gulsum was murdered because she was no longer a virgin and had undergone an abortion. Judges said the young woman's lifestyle was seen as an affront to the family honor.
The Daily Mail leads with the story of a four-year-old girl shot dead by her father and her mother critically injured during a violent argument at a house in Hampshire. The girl's 56-year-old father was also found dead inside the property in Aldershot. It is understood he shot the pair before turning the gun on himself. The police were treating the shooting as a "domestic incident". The couple had separated four weeks ago.
Anchorage Daily News reports that Bristol Palin, the daughter of former US vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin, has lost her bid to keep confidential the bitter custody dispute over her year-old son with his father Levi Johnston. Ms Palin, 18, is seeking sole custody of her son, Tripp, and child support payments. She had argued that the attention the case could attract would turn it into a “media circus” that potentially could cause her son embarrassment as he grows older.
China Daily says Mian Mian, a Chinese novelist who specialises in tales of sex and drugs, is suing Google for €6,600 for scanning her work Acid House into its online library. After a two-hour hearing a Beijing judge told the two sides to hold talks on a settlement and report back., said her lawyer, Mian Mian also wants a public apology. A Google spokeswoman said the company removed Mian Mian’s works from its library as soon as it learned of the lawsuit.
The Jerusalem Post reveals a 50-year-old man from Jerusalem has been granted a divorce for the eleventh time – a new Israeli record for Jews according to a Rabbinical court. The man told the court he usually divorced his wives every two years and looked for a new bride immediately after. The previous Jewish Israeli record for divorces by one person was seven.
According to the Daily Telegraph, England is seriously considering pulling out of October’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi over fears its athletes would be victims of a terrorist attack. Quoting unnamed sources, the paper says police and security advisers fear the England team would be targeted by Pakistani militants and feel the safety of athletes could not currently be guaranteed. It would be the first time that England would not be present at the 80-year Games.