The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times reports comments by Tonio Fenech that George Farrugia never said he gave the minister a €5000 clock.
The Malta Independent reports how Tonio Fenech denied receiving a clock from George Farrugia. It also says that Maltese economic growth in the second highest in the EU.
In-Nazzjon says the Labour Party is lying over the oil procurement scandal.
l-orizzont reports how Finance Minister Tonio Fenech admitted receiving a gift. It also reports that the national debt rose by €322 million.
The overseas press
Britain's most senior Roman Catholic, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, has spoken out on the issue of celibacy, saying priests should be allowed to marry and have children. In a wide-ranging interview with BBC Scotland, he said the current policy could be changed because the principle did not come directly from Jesus Christ. He said many priests “struggle to cope with celibacy”. The issue of women's place in the church could also be revisited but he says other issues, such as abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage are not negotiable as they are basic dogmatic beliefs of the Church. The cardinal, who will be part of the conclave that will elect the next pope, suggested it could be time for a younger pontiff, possibly from the developing world.
Moody's has downgraded Britain's credit rating one notch from top-grade AAA to AA1, citing slow growth and a rising debt burden as reasons for the demotion. Sky News quotes Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne saying Moody's decision was a "stark reminder" of Britain's debt problems, adding that the country must face the issue head-on.
Italy's political leaders have made their final pitches ahead of Sunday and Monday's general election, the outcome of which is highly uncertain. Ansa says Pier Luigi Bersani's centre-left coalition is favourite to win, but experts predict his margin of victory will not give him a working majority in parliament. One of the reasons for the uncertainty is that comedian Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) is expected to win lots of seats in parliament. Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right alliance was second and outgoing Premier Mario Monti was fourth. The Wall Street Journal said the elections risk producing potentially “chaotic results”.
Kathimerini reports a young woman trapped in her car in flooded Athens has died shortly after being pulled out by motorists and taken to a hospital. The torrential rainfall has caused extensive flooding in Greece’s capital, swamping basements and forcing authorities to close major roads and a central subway station in Athens. In Parliament, a worker clearing water from the roof of the main assembly hall during a session tripped and went through a glass skylight, but was pulled to safety by a policeman. The accident occurred as Cabinet members were preparing to answer questions.
Tunis Radio says Interior Minister Ali Larayedh has pledged to form a "government of all Tunisians". The country has been suffering a political crisis that reached fever pitch on earlier this month with the assassination of leftist politician Chokri Belaid. Thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets outside the Interior Ministry to condemn his killing, accusing Larayedh of failing to protect Belaid and curb Islamist violence.
Kyiv Post reports that the health ministry in Ukraine has declared former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was fit enough to leave a civilian hospital, where she has been fpr the past nine months undergoing back treatment, and return to prison. Tymoshenko, a key figure in Ukraine's "Orange Revolution" of 2004, was convicted of abuse of power in 2011 and sentenced to seven years in prison. A main political rival to President Viktor Yanukovych for years, Tymoshenko faces separate charges of fraud and tax evasion.
Al Ahram says Syrian opposition leaders meeting in Cairo have agreed to form a government in the rebel-held areas of their war-torn country. They pledged to name a symbolic "prime minister" for regions they control.
CNN reports US President Barack Obama and Japan's new leader Prime Minister Shinzo have pledged with to take a firm line on a defiant North Korea but the two sides also tried to calm rising tensions. Meeting in the Oval Offrice, Obama promised to work closely with the conservative leader, whose Liberal Democratic Party swept back into power in December on a platform that includes boosting defence spending and aggressively stimulating a long-flaccid economy.
Mail & Guardian says Oscar Pistorius’ supporters could be heard saying “Yes!” and members of the athlete’s family wept and appeared to pray after Chief Magistrate Nair announced his decision to release him on bail following a 90-minute speech to the court in Pretoria. The decision came after four days of often startling testimony that foreshadowed a dramatic trial in the Valentine's Day slaying of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Ottawa Citizen quotes Canada's former ambassador to Iran, who protected Americans at great personal risk during the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, says if “Argo” wins the Oscar for best picture on Sunday there would be something wrong with director Ben Affleck if he didn't mention Canada. Ken Taylor he continues to feel slighted by a movie that he says makes Canada look like a meek observer to CIA heroics in the rescue of six U. citizens caught in the crisis. He says there would be no movie if the Canadian embassy didn't take in the Americans.
Fox Sports says the US Department of Justice has joined a lawsuit seeking more than $30 million (€22.79 million) paid to cyclist Lance Armstrong. The case alleges the disgraced cyclist defrauded former sponsor, the US Postal Service, by doping. The US Anti-Doping Agency stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles last year after uncovering evidence, with testimony from 26 witnesses, that he was at the heart of a major doping conspiracy.