The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
Times of Malta says a new housing scheme is a bureaucratic mess.
The Malta Independent says the prime minister avoided questions on Ninu Zammit's hidden millions.
In-Nazzjon quotes Simon Busuttil saying the PN is a marathon run and will reach the finish line.
l-orizzont says Wied Ghollieq near Kappara risks ruin because of a development approved in 2009.
The overseas press
Greek Finance Minister Varoufakis has told Corriere della Sera that Athens could call a referendum or early elections if the eurozone rejected its debt plans. Varoufakis’ statement comes as eurozone finance ministers are due to meet later today for crucial talks to evaluate Athens’ plans to streamline bureaucracy, raise revenue from online gambling and hire tax sleuths to clamp down on tax evasion.
Meanwhile, AGI quotes Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem telling Athens that the list of reforms that Greece had submitted the EU was “not complete”’ and for the measurers to be implemented would require “a long time” – as much as 70 years. Bloomberg says Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras yesterday called ECB President Mario Draghi asking him not to be subjected to political pressures.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has advocated a combined EU military force, suggesting two major benefits: to improve the bloc’s standing on the world stage, and to send a message to Moscow. He told Welt am Sonntag that forming an EU army would be one of the best ways for the bloc to defend its values, as well as its borders.
ABC reports a UN report has found Australia to be in breach of the international convention against torture in its treatment of some asylum seekers. The report, which will tabled at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today, says Australia had failed to provide adequate detention conditions and that it should end the detention of children.
RT says Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has said that Zaur Dadaev, a suspect in the murder of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, was a “deep believer” who was shocked by Charlie Hebdo cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. Dadaev, a former deputy commander for the Chechen police, has confessed to his involvement in the killing. Earlier on Sunday, Dadaev and another suspect, Anzor Gubashev, were charged with organising and carrying out Nemtsov’s murder.
French Prime Minister Manuel Vals has told French TV channel iTele that as many as 10,000 Europeans could join ISIS by the end of this year with as many as 5,000 by this summer. Affirming EU officials’ concerns, Vals said there were now 3,000 Europeans in Iraq and Syria.
Meanwhile, AFP reports a young Belgian woman was detained at the country’s Charleroi airport on Sunday after being intercepted by Turkish authorities as she sought to return from Syria with her four-year-old son.
Sky News reports that the three British girls who ran away from their London homes are now believed to be in the city of Raqqa, a city in northern Syria that serves as ISIL’s headquarters. Four other pupils are being monitored by local police amid fears that they may try to join ISIL.
Al Jazeera reports Chad and Niger have launched a joint army operation against Boko Haram in Nigeria, intensifying a regional offensive designed to defeat the Islamic group. The news came as a US-led coalition air strike in Syria hit an oil refinery run by the Islamic State militants near the border with Turkey, killing 30 people.
Fox News says Democrats and Republicans sparred on Sunday over congressional involvement in the Iran nuclear agreement, as President Obama told CBS’ “Sunday Morning” that the US would “walk away” from nuclear talks with Iran if there’s no acceptable deal and that any agreement must allow Western powers to verify that Tehran isn’t going to obtain an atomic weapon. The debate intensified as the United States and five other world powers are set to resume negotiations next week with the Iranians who say their programme is only to produce energy for civilian use.
Il Messaggero reveals the Vatican has received a ransom demand for €100,000 for the return of two rare documents written by Renaissance master Michelangelo that were stolen from its archives nearly 20 years ago. The theft of the two documents had not been made public before now. Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said the offer was “naturally refused because these are stolen documents”.
USA Today says a baby survived a car crash in a freezing Utah river after being strapped in a car seat upside-down for about 14 hours before being found by a fisherman. Police said the 18-month-old girl’s condition was “stable but critical”. The infant was found hanging upside down above the river water that flowed through the car while her 25-year-old mother was found dead.
Ansa reports two American women have been caught defacing the Colosseum in Rome by carving their initials – eight-centimeter high letters “J” and “N”- and later took a selfie with their workmanship. The two women, who are 21 and 25, will face a judge and, possibly, jail time and large fines. Five persons were arrested last year for vandalising the Colosseum last year. They came from Russia, Australia, Brazil and Canada.
Under the heading “Murder at Crufts”, The Sun says a three-year-old Irish setter collapsed and died after returning to Belgium from the London dog show. Its owners told the Dog World website a post-mortem examination had showed that it had been poisoned. The organisers of Crufts said they were “shocked and saddened” to learn one of the dog’s death.