The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.

The Sunday Times of Malta reports how Michael Falzon yesterday admitted to having had a Swiss bank account and suspended himself from the PN. It also says that Mepa chairman Vince Cassar said he was not involved in plans for an amnesty.

MaltaToday says oil trader George Farrugia's pump businesses depended on the green light of a director at the Malta Resources Authority.

The Malta Independent says former Parliamentary Secretary Ninu Zammit, now retired, has not denied that he had a Swiss bank account.

Il-Mument quotes Simon Busuttil saying that those who held a Swiss account had to assume responsibility, whoever they were.

It-Torca and Illum say a complaint has been made to the Data Protection Commissioner after Opposition leader Simon Busuttil wrote to Enemalta's workers. 

KullHadd says there are problems within the Shadow Cabinet. 

The overseas press

The Saudi-owned London Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat quotes Libyan military sources saying Libyan militias are thought to have come into possession of chemical weapons – mainly mustard gas and nerve gas Sarin –in the central and southern provinces of Libya. On condition of anonymity, the sources said the militias were using the weapons against the Libyan army and fear has been expressed that these could now end up in the hands of the Islamic State.

AFP reports unknown assailants fired four rockets at the international airport just outside Labraq, from which General Khalifa Haftar’s forces launch raids against Islamist positions in the east. There were no casualties or damage. The airport, which has civilian and military terminals, has been targeted repeatedly in recent months.

Ansa says the Islamic Sate militants continue to taunt Europe – and Italy in particular – that they are on the doorstep to overtake the continent. Their latest Twitter post show an armed jihadist facing the Mediterranean looking at the ISIS black flag flying over the Coliseum in the background. An inscription reads: “Libya is coming to Rome”. Observers noted that it is the first time in jihadist propaganda that the black flag is hoisted on the Coliseum rather than on the Vatican, the traditional ISIS target.

France 24 reports Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve asked representatives of tech giants Google, Facebook and Twitter to fight online terrorist propaganda. He urged them to work directly with French officials during investigations and to immediately remove terrorist propaganda when authorities alert them to it. The rapid circulation of gruesome videos of beheadings by the ISIS militants has put pressure on Internet firms to root out Islamist propaganda on the Web.

Dagbladet says more than 1,000 people have taken part in a peace vigil in Oslo in a show of solidarity with the Jewish community. This came a week after a Muslim gunman killed two people, including a Jewish guard in Denmark. 

Kathimerini reports Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a national broadcast that a conditional deal reached with the country’s European creditors on Friday was an “important success” for his new left-wing, anti-austerity government but warned “We won a battle, not the war. The difficulties, the real difficulties ...are ahead of us.” Athens now has until tomorrow evening to submit a list of economic reforms deemed acceptable by the other 18 eurozone countries and the European Union to unlock up to €7.2 billion still left in its €240-billion bailout.

USA Today quotes US Secretary of State John Kerry confirming Washington was considering fresh sanctions against Russia for undermining a European-brokered truce in eastern Ukraine. Kerry said the most “egregious violation” of the ceasefire was an assault on the city of Debaltseve and military supplies sent by Moscow to separatists.

Meanwhile, Kyiv Post says the Ukrainian government and rebel forces have exchanged dozens of prisoners as part of the February 15 ceasefire agreement. The move comes after Kiev pulled the military out of the strategic city of Debaltseve earlier this week. 

Le Journal du Dimanche reports French President François Hollande has called for “responsibility” and “lucidity” from his Socialist lawmakers, days after his government was forced to ram an economic reforms package through parliament without a vote.  It was the first time in nearly a decade that a French government had taken such a risk to pass legislation.

Times of Oman says 10 children and five women were among at least 48 people killed in a Syrian village this week when regime forces executed six families of rebel fighters. Tuesday's executions took place in Rityan, north of Aleppo, after regime forces entered during an offensive aimed at cutting rebel supply lines to the Turkish border.

Assudan reports an armed group has seized 90 young boys in South Sudan. UNICEF says the boys were kidnapped while they sat for an exam after gunmen surrounded the village, carried house-to-house searches and forcibly took the boys over the age of 12. The warring factions in the country are accused of recruiting child soldiers.

Reuters reports dark showbiz satire “Birdman,” and coming-of-age tale “Boyhood,” took the top honours at the Independent Spirit Awards yesterday – a day before Hollywood’s biggest night when both will face off in the top Oscars categories. “Birdman” nominated for nine Oscars on early tomorrow (Malta time), won three awards, including the top prize of best feature.  “Boyhood”, nominated for six Oscars, won the best director award for Richard Linklater and best supporting actress for Patricia Arquette.

Meanwhile, La Tribune says “Timbuktu” triumphed at the 40th edition of the Cesar, the Oscars of French cinema. Applauded but not awarded at Cannes, it won seven Cesar statuettes including best director which went to Abderrahmane Sissako, the Franco-Mauritanian who became the first African director to win this award.

Researchers at McGill University in Canada suggest men with ring fingers longer than their index fingers are more likely to be kind and caring than those whose second digit is longer. The Telegraph says the study found such men were more likely to laugh, compromise, compliment others and smile.

The BBC reports dismayed cricket fans in Pakistan have reacted in an unusual way to their team’s crashing defeat by the West Indies in the world cup, taking to the streets in the central city of Multan. Some of them smashed up their TV sets and beat the devices with sticks while others held a mock funeral for Pakistani cricket. Some said they should “bury” cricket and turn, instead, to hockey and football.

 

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