The following are the top stories in the local and international press today.
All national newspapers lead with yesterday’s Sliema stabbing which left two men, including the father of baby twins dead.
The Times says the incident is shrouded in mystery and the police are still trying to establish what happened.
l-Orizzont leads with a photo of victim Duncan Zammit’s parents coming out of their son’s apartment. In another story it says that Nationalist MP Franco Debono was absent from yesterday's New Year greetings.
In-Nazzjon says that two people died in stabbing incident. It also leads with the President’s message for the New Year saying he called on the people to be courageous and optimistic.
The President’s message was also highlighted in The Independent, which also has the stabbing story saying that the father of baby twins died fighting off an intruder.
The international news
The commander of the Triploli’s Revolutionist Council has claimed his militia had captured nine supporters of Colonel Gaddafi who had been plotting to blow up Tripoli's power grid on New Year's Eve. Sky News quotes Abdullah Naker saying the men, who had bought explosives on the black market, had been funded by a group of businessmen affiliated to the former leader. Naker also accused the nine and their supporters of trying to relaunch the former leader's official television station Al Jamahiriya.
A Greece devastated by the debt crisis would have to deal with “a real nightmare” if it returned to the drachma. The head of the central bank, George Provopoulos, told Kathimerini, that if Greece were to return to its old currency, “a decade's worth of progress would be wiped out”.
Al Jazeera says the Arab Parliament has called for Arab League monitors to be withdrawn from Syria. The advisory body, made up of 88 lawmakers and advisors from 22 Arab states. said Damascus was clearly violating the terms of an Arab League peace plan meant to end the bloodshed. Its recommendations are not binding. Despite the ongoing crackdown, pro-democracy protesters took to the streets in a number of Syrian cities on Sunday, including Homs, Daraa, Idlib and Aleppo.
Al Khaleej reports that police in Bahrain have used tear gas to break up demonstrations following the funeral of a 15-year-old protester. The opposition says the teenager was killed when he was struck on the head by a tear-gas canister on Saturday. State media say he suffered burns after taking part in a petrol bomb attack against security forces.
Israeli and Palestinian peace negotiators will meet in Jordan tomorrow for the first time in over one year. The Jordanian News Agency Petra says the negotiators are expected to discuss the main obstacles hindering the resumption of peace talks between the two countries, including security, Israeli settlements and borders. Delegations from Israel and Palestine last met in September 2010, when Israel refused to extend a 10-month freeze of new construction in West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements. .
Al Ahram says that the Egyptian military government announced it has brought forward the date of the last round of parliamentary elections from March 12 to Feb. 22, effectively speeding up steps towards drafting a new constitution. According to the decree by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, parliament would meet for the first time on February 28, nearly a month earlier than previously expected.
Abrar reports Tehran has announced that it has tested its first domestically-produced nuclear fuel rod. The Iranian Atomic Energy Organization did not specify the level of enrichment of the fuel rod, but the Tehran reactor, which is said to be used for producing isotopes for medical treatment, requires uranium enriched to 20 percent.
The news came just a day after reports that Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, hoped to re-open EU-led talks aimed at allaying Western fears over Tehran's nuclear programme. The semi-official Mehr news agency quoted the Iranian ambassador to Germany as saying Jalili would soon send a letter to Catherine Ashton over the format of negotiations and then fresh talks would take place with major powers,".
Also on Sunday, the official IRNA news agency reported that Iran had test fired a new medium range missile. This came as Iran's navy was winding down a 10 days of exercises in the Gulf.
Lagos’ Business Day says the Nigerian authorities have announced the start of a controversial plan to scrap fuel subsidies – a move expected to push up petrol prices. The government has spent more than €6.2 billion on the subsidies in the past year and aid it would use some of the money to improve infrastructure. Labour unions have called for "mass protests". Many Nigerians regard cheap fuel as the only benefit they get from the nation's oil wealth.
Afghan Daily quotes President Hamid Karzai saying Afghan police would arrest members of a family accused of torturing and illegally detaining their son's teenage wife for the past six months while trying to force her into prostitution. According to police in north-eastern Baghlan province, 15-year-old Sahar Gul's in-laws kept her in a basement for six months, ripped her hair out and broke her fingers.