The following are the top stories in the local and international press today:
The Times leads with a story saying that the Malta Community Chest Fund has not yet registered with the Commissioner for voluntary organisations and had it not been for Social Policy Minister John Dalli’s intervention, l-Istrina collections would have been illegal. The MCCF had been advised by the Attorney General that it does not need to register but the Commissioner has different legal advice.
The Malta Independent says that more than 380 health care professionals have been vaccinated against the AH1N1 virus. In another story it quotes the World Health Organisations saying that if a law on alcohol and driving is enforced, there will be a substantial drop in the number of road accidents.
The two Maltese papers lead with yesterday’s crash between a Libyan Arab aircraft and an airport van at Malta International Airport
l-Orizzont also carries a new year message from Forum Unions Maltin president John Bencini while in-Nazzjon reports on the government’s aid to councils to take part in EU projects, the AH1N1 vaccinations and that the entertainment industry is looking forward to the New Year celebrations as this is the best time of the year for it.
The international press:
El Pais reports that Spain has raised its terror alert level to the level of two on a scale of four over concerns that the Basque separatist group ETA may be planning attacks or kidnappings as Madrid prepares to take over the European Union presidency tomorrow. Spain's interior ministry also noted the "persistent international terrorist threat" after the alleged attempt to blow up a Delta plane headed for Detroit on Christmas Day. ETA is considered a terrorist organization by Spain as well as the EU and the US. The group is held responsible for 828 deaths in the last four decades.
The International Herald Tribune says the Netherlands and Nigeria are to begin using body scanners on US-bound flights following the attempted bombing of the Delta plane over Detroit. The hi-tech devices will be installed at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport within three weeks and in Nigeria airports in the new year.
Meanwhile De Telegraf quotes a Dutch government spokesman denying reports it had information on Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, the 23-year-old passed through security and metal detectors at Schipol, but was still able to board the plane with explosives hidden in his underwear. Mutallab was travelling on an Italian passport and spent several hours in the airport lounge before boarding the jet. He started his journey in Nigeria and connected through Amsterdam.
Yemeni Times reports that the country’s forces have stormed an al-Qaida hide-out in the country’s east and at least one suspected al-Qaida member was arrested. Deputy Interior Minister Brigadier General Saleh al-Zawari said forces would continue to strike against al-Qaida until the group’s powerful branch in Yemen is eliminated.
Afghan Times reports that eight American civilians have been killed in a suicide attack on a US military base in Afghanistan. No US or NATO troops were injured in the blast, which came as hundreds of Afghans took to the streets to protest against the killing of 10 civilians, mostly teenagers, in a raid by foreign forces.
Az-Zaman says staggered explosions killed 23 people – 13 of them policemen – and injured the governor of Anbar, the worst violence in months to hit the Iraqi western province as it struggles to stamp out the al Qaida insurgency. Anbar is seen as strategically important because it was once the heartland of support for al Qaida militants before American officials paid Iraqi fighters to join a pro-government force. The governor is the most senior Sunni leader to be attacked since then.
Paris Soir reports that France's Constitutional Council has struck down a carbon tax that was meant to come into effect tomorrow as too many polluters were exempted in the measure and the tax burden was not fairly distributed. Observers say the ruling was a severe blow to both Sarkozy's environmental plan and France's budget for 2010. The government now has to find €4.1 billion in revenue that were expected to be generated by the tax.
Perth News says an electricity company has admitted its power lines might be to blame for at least two bush fires that have forced the evacuation of hundreds of people in Western Australia. A natural disaster was declared north of Perth after 40 homes were destroyed in 24 hours by the flames. Officials said the bush fires were the country's worst since February, in which 173 people were killed.
At least three UK nationals – The Times, The Independent and The Guardian – lead with the release of British hostage Peter Moore, held in Iraq for more than 30 months. Now safe at the British Embassy in Baghdad, the 36-year-old was reported to be in "good health", but was undergoing medical checks as a matter of routine. The computer expert was seized along with his four British bodyguards at the finance ministry in Baghdad on May 29, 2007. Fears for his safety grew after the bodies of three of the guards were handed over to UK authorities.
Le Parisien reports that two French women, imprisoned on drugs trafficking charges in the Dominican Republic, have returned home after being pardoned by President Leonel Fernandez on Christmas Eve. French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy played a vital role in winning the release. Dominican newspaper Clave Digital reported the women wre serving an eight-year prison term after they were arrested in June 2008 while trying to board a flight to Paris carrying six kilograms of cocaine.
Tribune de Genève quotes WHO statistics which show deaths from A H1N1 influenza have soared to at least 12220 in more tan 208 countries. The UN agency says the most active areas of pandemic influenza transmission currently are in central and eastern Europe. A high intensity of respiratory diseases activity with concurrent circulation of pandemic influenza persists in parts of southern and eastern Europe.
Stockholm's Aftonbladet newspaper reports that members of Sweden's neo-Nazi scene were behind the theft of the sign from the Auschwitz concentration camp. Poland has requested help from Stockholm in its investigation. The sign was stolen on December 17 but shortly afterwards it was recovered and five suspects were arrested. So far, authorities have failed to establish who ordered the theft to be carried out.
The Sun says the mother of a four-year-old girl shot dead in Aldershot has died in hospital from wounds suffered in the same incident. Officers believe forty-year-old Julie Harrison’s estranged partner Andy Copland, 56, killed their daughter Maisie then shot Ms Harrison before killing himself at their house in Aldershot, Hampshire. The couple had seperted four weeks ago and the shootings took place as Maisie was dropped off for an access visit on Tuesday morning.
Florida’s Clearwater Gazette reports that an 11-year-old girl and her 15-year old boyfriend have been charged with attempted murder after allegedly setting her mother's bedroom ablaze in the middle of the night. The pair poured petrol in the woman's bedroom while she slept and then ignited it, fleeing in the victim’s car. Luckily, a smoke alarm went off and the mother was able to get out, but not before suffering serious burns and smoke inhalation. The police said the episode could be attributed to "teenage angst".