The front pages of the local newspapers this morning report:
Times of Malta reports Prime Minister Joseph Muscat saying that so far, there was no proof the two Malta-bound Syrians arrested with false documents in Italy had ulterior motives.
The Malta Independent quotes an EU scoreboard released yesterday which concludes that Maltese motorists spend over 70 hours stuck in traffic every year.
L-Orizzont says that a report by economist Gordon Cordina concludes that a bridge between Malta and Gozo would plough tens of millions into the economy.
In-Nazzjon quotes an Italian 'expert' claiming that Malta had turned into a Jihadist destination.
The major international media reports:
Fox News says the UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a French-sponsored counter-terrorism resolution calling on all UN member-states “to redouble and coordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist acts”. The resolution stresses the importance of eradicating the “safe haven” established by ISIL radicals in Iraq and Syria.
AP says that a week after the terrorists attacks on France, Parisians honoured the 130 victims with candles and songs Friday, knowing that at least one suspect is still at large and fearing that other militants could be slipping through Europe's porous borders. Prosecutors have said they had determined through fingerprint checks that two of the seven attackers who died in the bloodshed had entered Europe through Greece last month.
At least 36 people were killed yesterday in a battery of airstrikes by Russian and Syrian jets on Islamic State-controlled Deir Ezzor province. Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, told AFP the raids were “the worst bombardment of the region since the start of the uprising in 2011”. Saudi Arabia will host a meeting next month that will see Syrian armed factions join the political opposition to build a common platform ahead of peace talks. Staffan de Mistura, the UN’s Syria envoy, said in an interview with Al-Hayat that Riyadh was “very well-placed” to bring together not only political actors but military groups fighting the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter has announced that the Pentagon was also expanding its “rules of engagement” during airstrikes against IS.
According to The Washington Times, this change in approach means that the US will now target fuel trucks involved in the terrorist group’s illegal oil industry. One Syrian rebel commander told the Financial Times the move could drive people struggling to survive even closer to the terrorist group.
Moscow Times says Russia has decided to send a puppy to replace Diesel, the French police dog that was killed during a police raid in Paris on Wednesday as a sign of solidarity. Thelittle German Shepherd puppy is called named Dobrynya after one of the most popular folk heroes in Russian culture.
ABC News reports Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has declared a 10-day state of emergency after the attack at Radisson Blu Hotel in the country’s capital of Bamako. According to the United Nations, which has condemned the “heinous attack”, 29 people, including five militants, were killed and seven were injured during the siege. Chinese security forces have killed 28 people allegedly responsible for a deadly attack on a coal mine in Xinjiang. The deaths took place over a 56-day operation in which one person was detained, Xinjiang government’s web portal Tianshan reported.
CNN announces former US navy analyst Jonathan Pollard, jailed for life in 1987 for passing classified information to Israel, has been released. The 61-year-old was freed on Friday, ending one of the longest-running and most contentious issues between the US and Israel. Mr Pollard’s parole conditions require him to remain in the US for five years.
The Wall Street Journal reports the US Congress is expected to enact a new law in January which would allow the US government to deny or revoke passports to those with serious tax debt. The IRS will be in charge of compiling the list of those affected, and will use a threshold of $50,000 in unpaid federal taxes, including penalties and interest.
Sky News reports Benjamin Clementine, the experimental singer and poet with deep roots in Paris, on Friday won Britain’s Mercury Prize and dedicated the award to the attack-stricken city. The 26-year-old, who was born in London but spent years in the French capital as a street musician, beat out veteran artists with his debut album “At Least For Now”.
Blesk reports Paris’ push to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games will not be derailed by the bloody terrorist assault on the city on November 13, co-president of the country’s Olympics bid, Tony Estanguet, told the general assembly of European Olympic Committees in Prague. Officials from rival cities – Los Angeles, Rome, Budapest, Hungary, and Hamburg – delivered goodwill messages to Paris in its attempt to win the right to hold the high-profile competition.