The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Sunday Times of Malta interviews Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and says she initially refused the presidency. It also quotes an overseas expert saying a gas leak at the power station would be disastrous, although the chance of it happening are small.
MaltaToday says Godfrey Farrugia is to get the social policy portfolio in a mid-March Cabinet reshuffle.
The Malta Independent on Sunday says Joseph Muscat has hinted at a major initiative for the heath sector.
It-Torca says a €2m 'gift' to a maritime navigation company is being investigated.
Il-Mument reports that Labour delegates are angry over Delimara gas storage plans.
In contrast, KullHadd says residents of Msrsaxlokk are angry at PN comments which are undermining the value of their properties.
Illum says that after complaining, lawyers are requesting €70,000 for each new citizen.
The overseas press
The hunt for the missing Malaysian Air jetliner intensified as daylight bathed a search area off the Vietnamese coast Sunday morning. Vietnam Globe reports ships searched overnight for the Boeing 777 jumbo jet carrying 239 passengers and crew on a flight bound for Beijing from Kaula Lumpur. An air search over the South China Sea resumed today after it was suspended at nightfall Saturday.
Libya Herald says Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has threatened to sink the ‘Morning Glory’, an oil tanker flying the North Korean flag. Speaking on the TV network ABB, Zeidan said the tanker would be bombed if it did not leave the port. It has openly defied the Libyan government by loading oil at the Es Sider terminal, which has been under the control of the Cyrenaica rebels since last August. Armed protesters controlling ports in eastern Libya say they have started exporting oil independently, bypassing the government.
Novaya Gazeta announces that pro-Russian forces have started planning mines around Crimea, staring from an open field near Thsongar – one of the two arteries that connect the Crimea to the Ukrainian mainland. On Friday access to the observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was denied in Thsongar. Warning shots against the 50 OSCE observers from 28 countries were fired, forcing them to turn back to the base of Kherson.
Meanwhile, Russia is considering responding to US sanctions by suspending the reception of Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) Treaty inspectors, the Defense Ministry said. Interfax quotes Russian Defence Ministry sources saying the inspections require a level of trust that has been put into crisis by “unfriendly gestures” from “groundless threats from NATO and the United States”.
In other news...
Al Bawaba says Syrian forces have captured a rebel-held town near a famed Crusader castle in the strategic province of Homs, after nearly a month of fighting, the army said. The military said the town is strategic because of its location on the road linking central Syria to the Mediterranean coast.
El Tiempo reports armed with cooking pots in a potent symbol of Venezuela’s chronic food shortage, thousands took to the streets Saturday in the latest public rally against the government of President Nicolas Maduro. The protest, which fell on International Women’s Day, consisted mostly of female demonstrators who noisily clanged their cookware to show their discontent over scarcity of basic goods and insecurity they say has become a part of daily life.
Ansa reports Italy’s Cultural Heritage Minister Dario Franceschini has said US weapon manufacturer Armalite Inc’s publicity with Michelangelo’s statue of David holding a rifle violates the law and has threatened legal action.
Angelia Jolie will undergo breast surgery again, after the double mastectomy she had last year to prevent suffering a breast cancer. Interviewed by the magazine Entertainment Weekly, the 38-year-old actress said she must undergo surgery again. She also said she is glad she decided to opt for surgery. . .