The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta reports that Malta's Muslim leaders have condemned the Paris attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. It also reports that childcare centres may be affected by an exodus of workers
The Malta Independent gives prominence to the solidarity shown yesterday by local journalists with French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo following the attack on its offices.
In-Nazzjon leads with the reshuffle of the shadow cabinet by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil. It also reports on the national mourning in France after the massacre in Paris two days ago.
l-orizzont says Simon Busuttil showed no confidence in former ministers by removing them from the front bench in yesterday's reshuffle of the shadow cabinet.
The overseas press
France 24 reports a massive manhunt for two brothers wanted in a terrorist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly is ongoing in the countryside of Picardy some 60 kms from Paris. France has mobilized 88,000 units in the manhunt.
Le Parisien says Paris went dark for Charlie Hebdo as the Eiffel Tower’s lights were turned off for five minutes in a sombre tribute as thousands gathered for a second night of vigil at Placfe de la Republique. French President François Hollande led the nation’s mourning while the bell of Notre-Dame cathedral tolled. Fellow journalists held their press cards aloft outside the magazine’s Paris office during a minute's silence.
Meanwhile, Europe 1 quotes France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve saying there was no link “at this stage” between the attack at Charlie Hebdo and the shooting yesterday morning in the south of Paris. A policewoman was killed in a shooting in Montrouge while a city employee was wounded.
The Times leads with the warning by MI5director Andrew Parker that a group of core al-Qaeda terrorists in Syria was planning “mass casualty attacks” against the West. Parker said transport networks and iconic landmarks were among Western targets of “complex and ambitious plots”.
Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano has told TG5 News there were 3,000 foreign fighters in Europe, of whom 53 were in Italy. He also referred to next Sunday’s anti-terrorism summit in Paris. The talks between EU and US ministers and security officials will focus on terror threats, the security risks of people returning from foreign battlefields (fighting for ISIS or Al Qaeda in Syria or Iraq), and on possible measures against Islamic extremism.
According to sources quoted by the BBC, Nigerian Boko Haram Islamist terrorists have massacred some 2,000 people in the town of Baga, one of 16 towns and villages attacked in recent days. Thousands of residents fled by boat to neighbouring Chad.
AFP reports the Libyan branch of the Islamic State (IS) group has claimed to have executed two Tunisian journalists who went missing in September. An online statement that sparked outrage in Tunis, the group accused the two Tunisians of having worked for “a satellite channel that fights religion”.
VOA News says US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has confirmed the US will close 15 military bases across Europe. The Pentagon says the move will save around $500 million (€424 million) a year, and comes as the US military seeks to shift its attention towards Asia. The US currently has more than 60,000 troops stationed in Europe, mostly in Germany, Italy and the UK.
Kathimerini reports a new opinion poll released showed that three quarters of Greeks want to remain “at any price” in the eurozone. Fears of a Greek exit from the eurozone resurfaced as the country has called a snap election for January 25 in which the leftist anti-austerity Syriza party is leading in the polls with 28.5 percent support, compared with 25.3 per cent for Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s party.
The Washington Times says the United States and Cuba will hold their first meeting on January 21 in Havana on normalising diplomatic relations. Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America Roberta Jacobson will represent the US side.
Avvenire reports American actress and filmmaker Angelina Jolie met briefly with Pope Francis at the Vatican yesterday, following a Vatican screening of her war drama “Unbroken,” about Louis Zamperini, the Olympic runner-turned-US Air Force bombardier who spent 47 days lost at sea and more than two years as a prisoner of the Japanese military during World War Two. The Pontiff did not see the film, but met with Jolie in private shortly after the screening and was reportedly interested in the uplifting spiritual message of the picture in which Zamperini gets over post-traumatic stress thanks to his faith.
The Daily Express says the wife of a Second World War veteran who went absent from his care home to attend last year’s 70th anniversary D-Day commemorations has died – just days after her husband’s death. Irene Jordan, 88, died on Tuesday evening, just seven days after her husband Bernard.
Metro reports Russia has listed transsexual and transgender people among those who will no longer qualify for driving licences. Fetishism, exhibitionism and voyeurism are also included as “mental disorders” now barring people from driving. The government says it is tightening medical controls for drivers because Russia has too many road accidents.