The following are the top stories in the national and international press today.
The terror attack on the office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is one of the features on all national newspapers today.
Hooded gunmen stormed the Paris offices of the weekly publication killing four of its well-known cartoonists, including its editor Stephane Charbonnier, aged 47, two policemen and six other people.
Times of Malta says the Prime Minister and Opposition leader yesterday joined international leaders and organisations in condemning the attack.
The Malta Independent says Opposition leader Simon Busuttil is set for a significant reshuffle of his shadow cabinet.
In-Nazzjon says that as it had forecast three months ago Labour Party activist George Mercieca placed first in the interviews for administrative officer with Malta Libraries in spite of not having any qualifications in the field.
L-Orizzont says that the contract of an employee with the Valletta Gateway Terminals was not renewed for no valid reason. It also says that the GWU has met with the management of the Autobuses de Leon.
International press
The attack is also the lead story across the international media. Thousands of people have attended vigils across European cities, including Paris, Brussels, Berlin, London, Madrid, Geneva and Lyons, to express their support for the victims. Le Parisien says today will be a national day of mourning in France and a minute’s silence at mid-day would be observed in public buildings and schools.
El Mundo says the headquarters of a Spanish media group in Madrid were evacuated due to a suspect package, which was later found to be harmless. Prisa owns the Madrid daily El Pais, Spain’s oldest financial paper Cinco Dias, the popular sports daily AS and the Spanish version of The Huffington Post website.
The Daily Telegraph reports German Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed British Prime Minister David Cameron’s bid to reform the welfare system but refused to endorse the “full-on treaty change” he had demanded. During a joint news conference in Downing Street, Merkel said Germany was prepared to “work together” with Britain on securing changes to the benefits system, but insisted that the principle of freedom of movement cannot be questioned “in any way”.
Surabaya Post says the tail section of the AirAsia passenger jet that crashed late last month is upside down and partially buried in the sea floor, and experts were trying to figure out how to remove the plane’s black boxes from it. Meanwhile, The Straits Times reports AirNav Indonesia, the country’s navigation operator, has denied officials took bribes to allow airlines to alter their flight schedules amid allegations some were paid to approve unscheduled take-offs. Three AirNav Indonesia officials were suspended over suspected links to unapproved schedules, including AirAsia’s fatal flight.
The Washington Post quotes the Pentagon saying US-led aircraft have dropped some 5,000 bombs in the air war against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria, damaging or destroying more than 3,000 targets. Since coalition air raids started in Iraq in August and in Syria in late September, US and allied aircraft have struck 58 tanks, 184 Humvee armoured vehicles, 303 pickup trucks, 26 armoured vehicles and 394 other vehicles.
The Daily Express says two “ferocious weather systems” are tearing in from the Atlantic, dragged by a freakishly strong jet stream hurtling towards the UK at 270mph. Torrential downpours will dump twice the average amount of rainfall in parts of the country while 50ft waves threaten to crash over sea defences. Worst hit will be the North where gusts of up to 100mph are expected over high ground. Tonight will see gales strong enough to topple trees and damage buildings.
Asian Tribute reports brisk voting in Sri Lanka’s presidential election, where Mahindra Rajapaksa faces a fierce political battle after a one time ally, former Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, suddenly defected from the ruling party to run against him. While Rajapaksa’s campaign centred on his military victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009 and his work rebuilding the country’s infrastructure and economy, Sirisena’s focuses on reining in the president’s expanding powers. He also accuses Rajapaksa of corruption, a charge the president denies.
Clarin says Argentine officials have raided the offices of the HSBC Bank in Buenos Aires as part of an investigation on tax evasion. Prosecutors believe HSBC helped more than 4,000 clients transfer their money to secret Swiss accounts.
A Lebanese-American porn star has received death threats after being ranked the number one actress on the adult website Pornhub. The Lebanese Examiner reports that various Beirut-based newspapers wrote critical reports about Khalifa in response to her ranking. One Twitter user threatened her head “will be cut soon” while another warned Khalifa would be the “the first person in Hellfire”, to which she quipped: “I’ve been meaning to get a little tan recently”.
The Warsaw Voice says Poland has received a formal US request to extradite film director Roman Polanski over a child sex conviction from the late 1970s. The 81-year-old maker of “The Pianist” and “Chinatown” was accused of raping then 13-year-old Samantha Geimer after a photo shoot in 1977 when he was 43. He pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor, avoiding a trial, but then fled the country fearing a hefty sentence. US officials have pressed for his extradition regularly to no avail.
Convicted rapist Ched Evans is on the brink of returning to professional football today as MailOnline reported it could exclusively reveal his move to Oldham Athletic would be announced later today. Oldham Athletic owner Simon Corney has defended the decision, saying he believed the convicted rapist had “served his time” and that people need to “keep their views in check”.