THE TIMES
The government unveiled a new ICT strategy yesterday, aiming to create 4,000 new jobs in the sector.
Pakistan was suspended from the Commonwealth late yesterday in view of its political turmoil.
THE MALTA INDEPENDENT
The seat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean was inaugurated yesterday at Palazzo Spinola, The Speaker of the Maltese Parliament, Anton Tabone, urged the assembly to work for Mediterranean unity.
IT Minister Austin Gatt has urged ISPs to lower the cost of broadband.
IN-NAZZJON
MLP electoral promises, if implemented, would raise the financial deficit to Lm100m, create unemployment and lead the government to raise taxes, Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech has warned.
L-ORIZZONT
Plans were afoot for the sole survivor of the Egyptair hijack 22 years ago to be killed at the hospital's ITU said Joe Mifsud, a journalist writing a book on the subject.
The contractor who won the contract to rebuild Manwel Dimech bridge was given the plans for the bridge after winning the tender.
A Chinese worker abandoned at St Luke's Hospital is set to return to China, but a Lm20,000 hospital bill remains unpaid.
The Press in Britain...
The aftermath of England's failure to qualify for next year's European football Championships and the sacking of coach Steve McClaren dominate the sports pages of the British media.
The Daily Mail is "outraged" about McClaren's bumper ₤2.5m pay-off "after 18 months of failure" and asks "Why should he get a penny?" The Sun saves its anger for the head of the FA, Brian Barwick, telling him to either sort out the mess or go.
The Financial Times says a number of major sporting firms have warned that England's failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 tournament will have a damaging effect on trading. England kit maker Umbro lost 4p on its share value as it said revenues would be hit by weaker demand for replica strips. And Sports World owner Sports Direct International's shares fell 16½p to 96p, a record low, as it warned annual profits will be less than last year.
The Times reveals voters have lost confidence in Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his government's ability to run the British economy.
The Daily Telegraph's front page claims Chancellor Alistair Darling's blaming of a junior official for the lost data crisis is a front.
The DailyExpress claims employers could break race relations laws if they refuse to consider foreigners for jobs.
The Independent says the battle against identity theft has moved on to social networking sites, like Facebook and warns millions to be careful what they reveal.
The Guardian reveals "fresh doubts" about Northern Rock's ability to repay the ₤23bn of taxpayers' money loaned by the Bank of England.
The Daily Mirror claims Portugal's leading investigator believes the search for Madeleine McCann is futile, claiming she's dead. But the devastated McCanns insist the search must go on.
The Metro leads with the wrongly-freed prisoner who stabbed a man to death on the top deck of a London bus.
The Herald reports "decades of abuse, neglect and suffering" among Scottish children in care.
The Scotsman says hundreds of criminal law firms face financial meltdown due to a shake-up in the way solicitors are paid and crimes are prosecuted.
The Belfast Gazette says Northern Ireland residents have been named and shamed as the biggest energy wasters in the UK in a survey by the Energy Saving Trust.
... and elsewhere
Uganda's government-controlled broadsheet The New Vision leads with Pakistan's suspension from the Commonwealth "pending restoration of democracy and rule of law". The decision was taken by foreign ministers at the Commonwealth summit in Kampala. President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency measures this month, claiming it was necessary due to the threat of militants and an unruly judiciary.
Pakistan Times reports that President Musharraf has cleared the final obstacle against his remaining in office, with the last legal objection to his nomination rejected by judges. The re-constituted Supreme Court, now more amenable to him, ruled that his victory in October could stand. It paves the way for him to quit the army, and become a civilian leader, and go ahead with parliamentary elections in the New Year. The opposition is now considering whether to take part.
Warsaw's Gazeta Polska says that Poland wants to be the first to ratify the new European Treaty. Meeting a group of Brussels correspondents, Parliamentary Speaker Bronislav Komorowski said that it would be a wise symbolic gesture "for the reconciliation of our country with the European Union" and ensuring that "Poland takes its rightful place in the European integration process".
Les Echos of Paris focuses on the fact that public transport workers across France have been voting to suspend their strike. It comes on day nine of a walkout that has caused chaos for commuters. But disruption has been gradually diminishing with more staff opting to end their industrial action. Rail operator SNCF predicts further improvement today with things virtually back to normal by the weekend.
Gulf Times reports the strong criticism by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer of a European think-tank report that said the Taliban were installed in more than half of Afghanistan. The report called for Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to be doubled in size to 80,000. ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Carlos Branco said the report was "sensationalist". Karzai was also dismissive, saying there had been clear progress in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001.
The cultural world is in mourning as the Lausanne-based 24 Heures reports the death of one of the greats of contemporary dance, French choreographer Maurice Bejart. He was 80. A former dancer with the Royal Swedish Ballet and the Ballet de l'Etoile, Bejart formed his own company in 1957. Thirty years on, he and most of his dancers moved to Switzerland where he founded the Bejart Ballet Lausanne, which he was still directing at the time of his death.
Italy's La Republica reveals that the latest man arrested over the murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher did have sex with her on the night she was killed. The newspaper quotes Italian police saying DNA taken from the toothbrush of Rudy Hermann Guede, 20, matched that found on her body and on toilet paper in the Perugia house. Guede, who has dual Ivorian and Italian nationality, was held in Germany after police had issued an arrest warrant
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