Paris attacks dominate the Sunday newspapers

Today’s newspapers were dominated by the horrifying Paris attack that left 128 people and scores critically injured. All newspapers dedicated their front pages and carried pictures of the bloodbath that has been described as an ‘act of war’ by France President Francois Hollande.

MaltaToday carries a special nine-page supplement detailing the timeline of the attacks and reports how France President Francois Hollande has vowed to pursue mercilessly the Islamic State, while Prime Minister Joseph Muscat says the indiscriminate acts in Paris were not only targeting France but also tantamount to an attack on "Europe and the civilised world.”

MaltaToday 15 November 2015

On the frontpage, MaltaToday also reports that Wisam al Zubaidi, a top ISIS operative in Libya, was yesterday killed in a series of US airstrikes on Islamic State strongholds in coastal cities of Derna and Sirte.

Similarly, Sunday newspaper Illum carries a front-page headline saying the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) is behind the attack that left scores dead. The newspaper also reports statements of several witnesses recounting how a man armed with a Kalashnikov started firing into the crowd indiscriminately, killing several in the process. Illum also says the upcoming CHOGM may be cancelled if any sign of credible threat is known.

In other stories, MaltaToday’s survey shows how 61% of respondents intend to cut down on processed foods like ham, bacon and sausages following a World Health Organisation report linking regular eating of processed meats to colorectal cancer. The newspaper also reports that BOV chief executive Charles Borg will get a tax-free, early retirement payment of €270,000 after withdrawing his application to be reconfirmed as CEO.

On the backpage, Jurgen Balzan reports how Maltese economist Joe FX Zahra has inadvertently found himself in the eye of a storm which had engulfed the Vatican and seen a Spanish priest and a PR expert arrested after being accused of leaking sensitive information.

The Sunday Times of Malta says extensive cracks in the concreted ceiling of Mater Dei Hospital’s car park were discovered this week, further exposing weak structures that will send compensation claims rocketing. It also reports that the police and the government approved the secondment of a police inspector to work full-time with a newly formed police union under the auspices of the GWU, eight months before the same union was registered.

The Malta Independent on Sunday says security has been beefed up as a precautionary measure in the wake of the Paris attacks, and in another story, it reports that the European Commission is investigating the issuance of 7,000 visas by the Maltese consulate in Algeria.

It-Torca quotes home affairs minister Carmelo Abela in saying that the government is not hiding anything, and that there is nothing illegal in Malta’s collaboration with Italy on asylum-seekers.

Nationalist news organ il-mument says the Malta police force was left ‘humiliated’ by the government after it opted to entrust the Valletta Summit security to foreign officials.