The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press
The Sunday Times says the possibility of an early election appears to be receding. It also says the banks have been hit by a drop in home loans.
The Malta Independent reports the Maltese shipping registry is Europe’s largest, and the one most prone to illegalities. It also says Maltese cancer cases are expected to rise 49% by 2030.
MaltaToday says a majority wants a general election now. It says that Labour is leading the PN by 13 points. It also says that Tonio Fenech’s former secretary has confirmed he received tips and donations from the Montebellos after he intervened on their behalf over fines imposed on them.
Illum reports that election uncertainty has affected bookings for holidays
It-Torca says the Sliema mayor may be ‘forced’ to contest the council election. It also reports on major investment which is at risk because of political uncertainty.
KullHadd says bishop Mario Grech is expected be made Auxiliary Bishop of Malta, succeeding the late Mgr Anetto Deasquale.
Il-Mument highlights record figures in record tourism and jobs. It also says that MEP Edward Scicluna wants to question well known facts on his views on stipends.
The overseas press
Le Soir reports that EU's internal market commissioner Michel Barnier has dismissed warning by Australia's foreign minister Kevin Rudd that Europe ran “the risk of talking itself into an early economic and therefore globally political grave”. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Rudd said Europe was so preoccupied with its own financial problems it was missing out on the debate about Asia's rise. Barnier retorted that Europe would "emerge stronger and better organised from this crisis".
Kathimerini quotes Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos saying that negotiations with international partners and private investors in Athens over a bailout deal were at a "very crucial stage". He said Athens had 24 hours to come up with a solution that would enable the payout of a €130-billion package of emergency loans. Greece needs the money to avoid defaulting on existing debts. The country faces bankruptcy if it misses a bond repayment for €14.5 billion due on March 20. Venizelos had a telephone conference with eurozone finance ministers and resumed talks with debt inspectors from the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund
The New York Times says that US and European ambassadors to the UN have lambasted Russia and China for blocking a Security Council resolution, backed by the Arab League, which would have called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down from office. All remaining 13 members of the council approved the proposed resolution. The vote followed one of the worst days of violence in the Syrian uprising, with opposition activists saying that at least 260 people were killed in the dissident province of Homs..
Pravda report that tens of thousands of Russians opposing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin rallied in Moscow on Saturday, as their pro-Kremlin rivals gathered just a short distance away. Saturday's march for fair elections was the third mass anti-Putin rally in less than two months. Police said 36,000 people attended the anti-Putin rally, but opposition leaders said their numbers exceeded 120,000. On the other hand, the police said up to 138,000 took part in the pro-Putin rally just a few kilometers away. The temperature in Moscow plunged to minus 17 degrees Celsius.
Euronews reports that snow and freezing temperatures across Europe have claimed more than 200 lives in the past week. Eastern Europe is the worst affected with the recorded temperature of minus 38 Celsius in Ukraine and the Czech Republic. Most of the deaths have occurred in Ukraine, where the authorities have set up shelters for the homeless. In Bosnia, huge snowfalls have trapped many in their homes. London’s Heathrow Airport has cancelled around a third of today’s fights. In Italy, seven people died and more than 1120,000 residences do not have electricity supply. Schools will remain closed tomorrow.
Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney has coasted to victory in the latest of the party presidential contests, the Nevada primary. CNN projected that Romney had won the state after the caucuses closed. Nevada brings his tally to three, on top of New Hampshire and Florida. Rivals Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have one each: South Carolina and Iowa. The candidates are fighting for the Republican nomination to take on Barack Obama for the White House in November.
Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has made a rare public appearance to launch his memoirs. Granma said the book, “Guerrilla of Time”, is almost 1,000 pages long and relates his childhood and rise to power in the Cuban Revolution. The two-volume memoir is based on conversations between Fidel Castro and journalist Katiuska Blanco.
Abrar says Iran has begun the planned military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz as the West sent more warships to the region amid on-going tensions over Iran's nuclear programme. Tehran has threatened to blockade the route for one-fifth of the world's crude oil in response to EU and US sanctions against its oil exports. Iran's oil minister said on Saturday that his country would retaliate against "some" European countries for the EU oil embargo. The EU accounted for 25 percent of Iranian crude oil sales in the third quarter of 2011.
Al Ahram quotes Egyptian authorities saying saboteurs have blown up a pipeline that supplies gas to Israel, the twelfth such attack in a year. They say masked gunmen planted explosives under the pipeline near the town of El-Arish in the north of the Sinai Peninsula. Witnesses reported hearing a very loud explosion before a large fire broke out. Emergency services have been rushed to the scene to try to control the blaze. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
ERTU, the State TV in Egypt, has shown the tax authority building in central Cairo on fire after a third day of street protests against the ruling army council. Smoke and flames could be coming from parts of the building. For the last three days police have clashed with demonstrators trying to attack the Interior Ministry nearby. The protestors blame the authorities for failing to prevent an outbreak of football violence on Wednesdays.