The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times quotes the Police Commissioner saying that legal changes could speed up police action on domestic violence. It also reports comments by the GRTU that further erosion of profits on medicines could force small pharmacies to close.
The Malta Independent reports that the price of Maltese bread may rise in the wake of the fuel price increases.
MaltaToday says Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi just under three years ago warned Malta that it could not drill for oil in an area of the continental shelf which Libya considered its own. The warning was made after Malta granted oil exploration licences to Heritage Oil in 2007.
In-Nazzjon reports that a man was accused yesterday of defiling his daughter, aged nine. It also reports that the prices of 38 medicines were reduced
l-orizzont says the gap between gas and electricity costs for consumers has been eroded by 18% although the former remains cheaper. It also says that former PN treasurer Peter Darmanin has disagreed with the salary increases given to PN ministers.
The overseas press
Voice of America says President Obama has appealed to his opponents to put politics aside and help breathe life into the country’s faltering economy. Returning from his Christmas holiday in Hawaii, Mr Obama asked the Republicans to recognise that his job was to govern, ensure delivering jobs for the American people and creating a competitive economy for the 21st century. The new Congress will take the oath of office today with the Republicans back in charge in the House of Representatives and their numbers – while still a minority – significantly increased in the Senate.
The European Union looks poised to propose new rules next week which would force lenders to banks to share the costs of their winding up. A senior EU official has told Reuters that the European Commission is keen to break the status quo, where bank bond holders have typically enjoyed protection while shareholder investments crumble. According to the official, one option being considered would be to transform a bank bond into shares should the institution run into difficulty.
Coptic Christians across Europe are reported to be on high alert as they continued receiving terror threats in the run up to their Christmas celebrations on the night of January 7. Deutsche Welle quotes the German Office of Criminal Investigation saying there was a general threat on the internet against Coptic Churches, including those in Germany. Around 6,000 Coptic Christians live in communities in Frankfurt, Munich, Bitburg and Hanover in Germany.
Threats against Copts have also been reported in France, where around 45,000 Coptic Christians live. A senior Parisian police officer told Le Figaro that the authorities were taking the threat “very seriously”. Der Kurier quotes Austrian Interior Minister Rudolf Gollia speaking of a "death list" containing the names of 150 Copts from different countries. He said this was published on the internet website for the terror organization "Islamic State of Iraq" before the attack in Egypt.
Meanwhile, Al Ahram says Coptic Christians in Egypt clashed with police for a third consecutive day. The unrest erupted as police in Egypt went on high alert as investigators hunted the perpetrators of the church bombing. The number of victims of the bomb on New Year's Day in a church in Alexandria, has now risen to 23. More than 75 people wee injured.
The BBC reports there has been strong international condemnation of the assassination in Islamabad of Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab province, who was shot dead by one of his bodyguards angered over the governor's opposition to blasphemy laws. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said his death was "a loss for Pakistan". US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regretted the slaying, saying he had promoted tolerance. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was "shocked" by the killing.
Fox News reports the remains of a five- to six-month-old male fetus has been found in the bathroom of an Etihad Airways plane that arrived in Manila from Abu Dhabi. The gruesome discovery comes months after a woman gave birth on another flight to Manila and dumped the live infant in an airplane trash bag. The Filipino worker claimed she had been raped by her employer.
The New Musical Express reports that Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty has died at the age of 63 after suffering a long illness. His career high came in the 1970s and included the anthemic “Baker Street” and “Stuck in the Middle with You”, recorded with his band Stealers Wheel. Rafferty had battled a drink problem and spent time in hospital in Bournemouth with liver failure.
USA Today says a man in the US state of Texas has had his robbery conviction overturned after serving 30 years in jail – longer than anyone in Texas cleared by DNA. Cornelius Dupree Jr was jailed from 1979 to 2010 as part of a 75-year sentence having been found guilty of being one of two men who raped and robbed a 26-year-old woman. The 51-year-old was freed on parole last July. DNA test results proved his innocence a week later and a judge has now officially overturned Mr Dupree's conviction.
A leading psychic has predicted that there might be new force to be reckoned with in the White House this year – a baby for the Obamas. Canadian soothsayer Nikki has revealed in her 2011 predictions to the Toronto Sun and says not only is a baby on the way, but the American 'first couple' may even have twins as siblings for their daughters. Nikki, who claims to have predicted the collapse of Tiger Woods’s marriage and the mine disaster in Chile, also says former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin would be heading for a ‘messy’ divorce.