The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta reports that the brothers of oil trader George Farrugia are to be arraigned in connection with the oil procurement scandal.
The Malta Independent quotes Michael Cassar, the new police commissioner, who said restoring discipline was a priority in the police force.
In-Nazzjon says action against Mepa is to be taken in court over the granting of permits to Kevin Decesare for a washroom at his home in Bahar ic-Caghaq.
l-orizzont leads with the 'shocking' state of migrant detention facilities when Carm Mifsud Bonnici was minister, according to an inquiry published two days ago.
The overseas press
Police in Greece are investigating reports of gunfire early today outside the Israeli embassy in Athens. Kathmerini reports the shots were apparently fired from a motorcycle passing in front of the embassy. The incident came two days after a Palestinian official died following a confrontation with Israel soldiers in the West Bank.
VOA News says calls for the prosecution of officials involved in the CIA’s use of extreme interrogation methods on suspected terrorists have intensified. Ben Emmerson, the UN special envoy on human rights and counterterrorism, said the US Senate report on the CIA’s actions after the September 11 attacks “reinforces the need for criminal accountability”. The Signatories to the UN’s Convention against Torture and Inhuman Treatment needed to prosecute those who commit torture or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports CIA director John Brennan and the head of the US Senate Intelligence Committee Dianne Feinstein have traded verbal blows over the report accusing the CIA of using brutal interrogation techniques. At a rare news conference, Brennan insisted that some detainees subjected to the interrogation programme did give useful leads which saved lives. But Feinstein said torture should now be outlawed through legislation.
Fox News says the US House of Representatives has passed a $1.1trillion budget hours before the government was due to shut down at midnight on Thursday. The Republican measure was passed by 219 votes to 206 after President Barack Obama had urged Democrats to support the measure. It will fund most of the government until September 2015, but some areas will only receive emergency funding.
CNN reports dozens of congressional staff staged a walkout on Thursday to protest decisions by grand juries not to charge white police officers in the killings of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City. The action was the latest in a series of demonstrations over concerns about the policing of black communities. Some have turned violent, including this week’s protests in northern California.
According to ABC, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has vowed to “sweat blood” to secure constitutional recognition for indigenous people, saying he wants a referendum in 2017. The constitution currently does not recognise Aboriginal Australians, who represent about 2.5 per cent of Australia’s 24 million people. Generations of discrimination and disadvantage have left them with poor health and low levels of education and employment.
Avvenire reports Pope Francis has called a consistory on February 14 and 15 to name new cardinals. Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said the pope was likely to disclose the list of names a month ahead of the meeting of the college of cardinals.
Ansa says Rome Chief Prosector Giuseppe Pignatone has told the parliamentary anti-mafia commission that more operations were in the works in his Rome mob probe, which has led to dozens of arrests. Pignatone’s hearing came after Carabinieri earlier on Thursday arrested two more people as part of his massive probe.
A measure of the World Wide Web’s contribution to social, economic and political progress has ranked Denmark first out of 86 countries around the world. Metro reports it was followed in second place by Finland and in third by Norway. The Web index is produced by the World Wide Web Foundation, the organisation founded by the inventor of the Web, Tim Berners-Lee. He has called on social networks to do more to tackle gender inequality online.
O Globo says a man arrested by police in Rio de Janeiro on suspicion of murder has confessed to killing 42 people over the past decade, making him potentially one of the country’s most prolific serial killers. Sailson Jose das Gracas, 26, said he killed for pleasure and the accompanying adrenaline rush. He said his preferred victims were white females, whom he strangled. Among the 42 victims, 39 are thought to be women.
Hollywood Reporter reports Birdman leads the Golden Globe Awards film nominations with seven nods. It will compete in the best comedy or musical category with The Grand Budapest Hotel, Into the Woods, Pride and St Vincent. Coming-of-age drama Boyhood and World War II biopic The Imitation Game landed five nominations each and will square off in the coveted best drama category against Foxcatcher, Selma and The Theory of Everything.