The following are the main stories in Friday’s newspapers.

Times of Malta says members of the European Parliament on Thursday vociferously called for an outright ban on the sale of golden passports and visas that, they argued, give criminals and their organisations a back-door entry to the European Union. In another story, the newspaper says pandemic restrictions need to be carefully lifted while sheltering the vulnerable, lest economic decline ultimately kills more people than COVID-19 itself.

The Malta Independent says that according to Caritas the Budget has a strong social foundation but an unclear roadmap past March.

L-Orizzont says an elderly woman died as a result of a fire at her home in Rabat.

In-Nazzjon reports that another two people have succumbed to COVID-19.