Malta press digest

The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press today:

The Sunday Times says the IVF lab at Mater Dei Hospital has everything, but patients. It also reports that Joe Borg is eying a second term at EU Commissioner.

The Malta Independent on Sunday says PN grassroots are against the nomination of George Abela as President.

MaltaToday discusses George Abela’s political 'skeletons' and says that in 1987 he wanted to keep electoral boundaries unchanged despite anomalies. It also says that Joseph Muscat enjoys more popularity among the people than Lawrence Gonzi, but says the PL leader's popularity has dropped by 9% in four months.

Illum says the Prime Minister nominated George Abela to the presidency to drive a wedge in the Labour Party.

Il-Mument reports that foreign investors are showing keen interest in Malta, and delegations from the Czech Republic and Germany are due in the coming days. It also says that the choice of a Labour politician for the presidency has promoted unity.

KullHadd says the Speaker, Louis Galea, was angered by George Abela's nomination to the presidency. It also reports that a person from Swieqi is to be taken to court and accused of corrupt practices in the election.

It-Torca reports the fatal fall of a construction worker in Rabat yesterday, and also focuses on the environmental record of Nationalist MEPs.

The Press in Britain…

The Independent On Sunday devotes its front page to Barack Obama and his inauguration as President of the United States on Tuesday.

The Sunday Express claims hard-pressed television companies are planning to save money by switching off some channels at midnight.

According to the Sunday Mirror, Boy George fears he could be attacked by other prisoners during his time in prison.

Jade Goody's cancer battle is the News of the World's front page lead in which the TV star opens her heart about survival, marriage and losing her hair.

The Sunday Times says one of its photographers has been beaten up by Robert Mugabe's wife outside her luxury Hong Kong hotel.

The Sunday Telegraph warns that the taxpayer will be bearing the cost of the failure of the banks for many years to come.

Star on Sunday says Gordon Brown was branded a hypocrite for refusing to pass on his own VAT cut at No.10's souvenir shop.

Scotland on Sunday says Scottish couples are being offered a revolutionary screening service to create "designer babies" free of deadly genetic diseases.

And elsewhere…

Al Ahram says an Israeli-Hamas International truce summit is being held at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh, led by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and France's Nicolas Sarkozy. Britain’s Gordon Brown and Germany’s Angela Merkel are also expected to take part in the international talks on Gaza after Israel declared a ceasefire. However, Isreali prime Minister Ehuid Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will be absent.

Artuz Sheva says the unilateral cease-fire in the Gaza Strip was announced by Mr Olmert who said that his troops would however remain in the Palestinian territory and respond to any fire from Hamas militants. He said the three-week Israeli military operation had achieved gains “beyond expectations”: Hamas rocket fire had been reduced and that most of the group's long-range arsenal had been wiped out.

Falesteen reported earlier Hamas has said it will not accept a ceasefire deal agreed by Israeli ministers if troops remained in Gaza. It repeated its threat to disregard the ceasefire as long as Israel remains inside Gaza, and said it would fight until its demands were met.

The Jerusalem Post says that minutes after Olmert spoke, Hamas attacked the Be'er Sheva area with a rocket that exploded in an open area. Several minutes before the cease-fire announcement, Hamas carried out its threat not to halt attacks and fired on Ashkelon and Ashdod.

The Washington Post says US President-elect Barack Obama has arrived in Washington ahead of Tuesday's historic inauguration ceremony, retracing the steps of Abraham Lincoln by travelling from Philadelphia. His day-long train trip took him through towns and stations packed with cheering supporters. He told a crowd in Baltimore that America was facing very serious times.

Russian news agencies say that the prime ministers of Russia and Ukraine have reached an agreement that would allow shipments of natural gas to European Union countries to resume. Russia's Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko, had been involved in a day of talks in Moscow aimed at ending a bilateral price dispute.

Welt-am-Sonntag eports German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has condemned a suicide car bomb attack outside of the German embassy in Kabul that killed five people and injured dozens of others as an act of cowardly barbarism. Almost 3,400 German troops are stationed in the north of the country as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

Yemen’s Al-Thawra reports that a dozen bodies have washed ashore after boats believed to be carrying about 400 African migrants capsized in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

Los Angeles Times reports actor Patrick Swayze, who has pancreatic cancer, has been released from hospital where he was treated for pneumonia. Swayze, 56, was admitted hours before he was to appear at a gathering of TV critics to promote his new crime drama, “The Beast”.

The Times of India reports a herd of 150 elephants rampaged through a village in India’s remote northeast, trampling to death a farmer, his wife and their daughter. Four homes were also destroyed.

Avvenire announces Pope Benedict is to get his own channel on Google. It quotes the Vatican saying texts and video of his speeches as well as news about the pontiff would be posted directly on to the channel. The Vatican already has a website for the Pope’s teachings.