The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
The Times speaks to former PN general secretary Joe Saliba who says that an election is not the solution to the decision Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has to face following MP’s Franco Debono’s demand for a split in the Home Affairs and Justice Ministry. The newspaper also reports on the arraignment yesterday of CID Police Inspector Jeffrey Cilia and his friend Christopher Farrugia. Insp. Cilia was charged with seriously injuring one of three brothers in Paceville on Thursday.
The Malta Independent also leads with a report on Inspector Cilia’s arraignment. In another story it says that civil service employees are still waiting for their collective agreement.
l-Orizzont says that two months after a baby was abandoned in front of the Ursuline Creche in Rabat, the child’s mother has still not been identified. It also reports on the situation within the Nationalist Party following Dr Debono’s demands.
In-Nazzjon leads with a report of a 52-year-old man who was seriously injured following a two-storey fall in Hamrun yesterday.
The foreign press
The Jerusalem Post reports that thousands of Christian pilgrims from all over the world have arrived in Bethlehem and Jerusalem to participate in Christmas celebrations as local Christians expressed concern over the fate of communities in the region after attacks on Christians in Egypt and Iraq. This afternoon, pilgrims in Bethlehem will welcome Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, who will walk the short distance from Jerusalem’s Old City. And in the evening worshippers will celebrate midnight mass in Bethlehem’s Basilica of the Nativity, with a large crowd expected to attend the open-air service in Nativity Square in front of the church. Jerusalem’s church of the Holy Sepulchre was packed yesterday as worshippers gathered in every available space reciting prayers in a myriad of languages.
Moscow Times says that as western Europeans gather with their families for Christmas Eve, more than 30,000 Russians are expected once again in the streets of Moscow to protest against the alleged fraud in parliamentary elections earlier this month. The first demonstration on December 10 was the biggest in Moscow for a decade. In a major speech on Thursday, President Dimitry Medvedev promised reforms that would ease the Kremlin's grip on power, saying he had heard the "call for change".
According toBudapest’s Duna TV, the police in Hungary have released lawmakers arrested in a protest against changes in electoral and taxation laws which the opposition has labeled undemocratic. Among the 26 people taken into custody was former Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany. He was removed by force along with several party colleagues and lawmakers from the green-liberal opposition party as Parliament was sitting for a marathon session on laws tabled by Prime Minister Prime Minister Viktor Orban's conservative government.
Kyiv Post says the Ukainian appeals court has defied pressure from the EU, keeping Ukraine opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko behind bars after it upheld a lower court's guilty verdict and seven year sentence. Tymoshenko, once one of the leaders of the Orange Revolution, was convicted in October of abuse of power in relation to 2009 negotiations for a natural gas contract with Russia. From her jail cell, Tymoshenko condemned the latest decision and said she would take her case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Turkey has responded to French genocide allegations with a charge of its own – accusing France of committing genocide during its colonial occupation of Algeria. In what AFP calls “a heavily personal speech laced with criticism of French President Nicolas Sarkozy”, Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan alleged that in 1945, about 15 per cent of the population of Algeria was massacred by the French. The Turkish leader said the French Bill's passage as “a clear example of how racism, discrimination and anti-Muslim sentiment have reached new heights in France and in Europe”.
Cezky Noviny says world leaders and Czech citizens alike have gathered in Prague for the funeral of former President Vaclav Havel. The former dissident playwright is credited with leading the 'Velvet Revolution' that brought down the Communist regime.
The Syrian opposition has blamed the government for the suicide attacks that killed 40 people in Damascus. One of the groups told the BBC that the authorities wanted to convince Arab League observers that armed groups were active in Syria. The state media suggested that the blast had been carried out by Al Qaida.
The Daily Mail says the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, has been successfully treated for a blocked coronary artery after he was submitted to hospital with chest pains. The Buckingham Palace said he would remain under observation for a short period. The 90-year-old and Queen Elizabeth have a busy year ahead of them with events to mark the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne.
Le Monde reports that Interpol was seeking the founder of the now-defunct French firm involved in the sub-standard breast implants scandal. The international police agency listed Jean-Claude Mas, aged 72, as being being sought in Costa Rica for offences concerning "life and health". Earlier, France advised 30,000 women to remove faulty breast implants made by Mr Mas' firm. It said there was no proven cancer risk but they could rupture dangerously.
The Irish Times says a letter to Santa Claus, written 100 years ago, has been discovered in a Dublin fireplace. On Christmas Eve 1911, a brother and sister penned their personally designed letter to Santa with their requests for gifts and a good luck message. They placed it in the chimney of the fireplace in the front bedroom so that Santa would see it as he made his way into the household in the early hours of the morning. Ownership of the house changed over the decades but the letter survived. According to the 1911 census there were three children living at the address in the year in which the letter was written.