The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Sunday Times reports that Labour's gas deal is possible, but prices may go down during that period.
The Malta Independent reports that the PN and the PL have dodged questions on campaign finances.
MaltaToday says an official involved in Enemalta oil purchases received commissions paid into a Swiss Bank account.
KullHadd quotes Joseph Muscat questioning who has an interest in retaining Malta's dependence on oil.
Il-Mument says succession duty is being completely removed.
Illum says the publication of the OLAF report may hinder the case against John Dalli.
It-Torca says Qatari officials visited Delimara when they proposed an LNG plant. It also says that gas terminals may be built within two years.
The overseas press
Associated Press quotes President Barack Obama saying the US stood ready to provide whatever assistance Algerian officials needed in the aftermath of the deadly terrorist attack at a natural gas complex in the Sahara. The four-day standoff appeared to end on Saturday after Algerian special forces stormed the complex. The Algerian government said the clash left at least 23 hostages dead and killed all 32 militants involved. With few details emerging from the remote site in eastern Algeria, it was unclear whether anyone was rescued in the final operation, but the number of hostages killed on Saturday – seven – was how many the militants had said that morning they still had. The government described the toll as “provisional” and some foreigners remained unaccounted for.
AFP reports that extreme winter weather sweeping across Western Europe has left thousands of passengers stranded at London's main international airport and claiming several lives in Spain, Portugal, Scotland and France. The frigid temperatures also caused delays and cancellations on major railway lines including the Eurostar train service, and transport authorities warned of further traffic disruptions with more blizzards forecast for Sunday.
The Sunday Telegraph says thousands of passengers were forced to camp out on the floor at Heathrow Airport overnight, many after spending up to six hours on aircraft waiting for clearance to take off, only to have their flights cancelled. Many complained that they were given little or no information, left to find hotels for themselves, and not given back checked baggage. For Sunday, the snow is expected to reduce traffic at Heathrow by 20 per cent.
According to Euronews French air traffic authorities have ordered a 40 percent cut in takeoffs and landings at Paris' Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports. In total, six people were killed on the slippery French roads Saturday, and the nation's weather services have forecast more snow across the northern and southeastern parts of the country over the weekend.
The Sunday Mirror reports that in the Scottish Highlands on Saturday, an avalanche killed four climbers and seriously injured one, while a sixth survived, police said.
In southern Europe, SET Times says “the beast from the east” claimed several lives, killing two men in Spain as the force of winds whipping the country's southeastern coast caused a wall to collapse on them in the city of Cartagena. In Portugal, an elderly man was killed after strong winds hurled him into a door in the central municipality of Abrantes, leaving him with deadly head injuries. Two teenagers were hospitalised after a chimney collapsed in Agualva, in the Lisbon suburbs.
According to BalkanWeb, heavy snow also fell in Poland, and freezing rain has made roads treacherous even when the snow has not been as dense. Croatia has been struggling with a blizzard all week, affecting 11 major cities and causing transport chaos, but there the forecast is improving with precipitation being replaced by blue skies in the coming days.
But some welcomed the icy spell... Moscow Times reports thousands of Orthodox devotees in Russia, braved the cold weather and plunged into holes cut into frozen rivers and ponds to celebrate the Orthodox Epiphany. By bathing on this day, believers symbolically wash off their sins, but many also think the cold water is good for their health.
Bulgaria’s Focus News Agency says a man carrying a gas pistol threatened Ahmed Logan, the leader of an ethnic Turkish party, while he spoke at a conference on Saturday in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The assailant was wrestled to the ground before he could pull the trigger. Police arrested the attacker, a 25-year-old from the Black Sea town of Burgas, who was also carrying two knives.
Kathemerini reports judges and prosecutors in Greece have decided to suspend their go-slow protest over pay cuts and take their grievance to court. Constitutionally barred from striking, the judges and prosecutors decided in mid-September to leave the bench at 10.30am each day and take no cases after that time of day. Many Greeks are facing pay cuts during the country's economic crisis, but the judges and prosecutors were angered by their latest ones, which were imposed late last year, retroactive to August.
CBS News says hundreds of US gun owners have rallied in state capitals, days after President Barack Obama unveiled a sweeping package of federal gun-control proposals. The Guns Across America rallies also followed New York Gov Andrew Cuomo's signing this week of the nation's toughest assault weapon and magazine restrictions. Demonstrators urged state and federal authorities not to introduce new restrictions on gun ownership.
Sky News reports British local councils paid out more than £22 million in compensation last year to drivers whose cars were damaged by potholes. Consumer group Which? said the northwest of England was the worst affected region with £8 milliom handed out in damages. The government allocated an extra £200 million to local highway authorities after a review in 2011 revealed a "significant increase in the number of potholes". Local authorities have estimated that it would cost £12.93 billion to clear the entire road maintenance backlog in the UK.