Thursday newspaper round-up: Facebook, Johnston Press, steel industry

Other EU leaders are ready to copy David Cameron’s referendum tactics for their own “egotistic goals”, the European Council president has said, as he sounded the alarm over populist politics bringing the bloc to the brink of “suicide”. Donald Tusk’s forthright warning on Wednesday came as he announced he was clearing his diary next week to concentrate on the “very fragile” talks on a “new settlement” for Britain, which will be discussed at an EU summit next week. – Financial Times

Mark Zuckerberg has clashed with Marc Andreessen, a longstanding Facebook investor and board member, over what the social network’s founder called “deeply upsetting” remarks about India’s colonial history by the venture capitalist. The unusually public spat between the Facebook chief executive and one of his most prominent backers follows a significant setback earlier this week for the social network’s plan to bring free mobile internet access to India. – Financial Times

Johnston Press is in advanced talks with the Lebedev family to buy the i newspaper in a deal that will raise questions over the future of its stable mate, The Independent. It is understood both sides are brokering the sale of the tabloid, with talks expected to run into the night. Sources confirmed the i, which was launched in October 2010 at a cover price of 20p, is the only subject under discussion between the two parties. – Telegraph

David Cameron has hailed Britain's technology sector as "extraordinary", after a report revealed companies are generating £161bn for the economy. According to the Tech Nation report, now in its second year, the digital economy grew 32pc faster than the rest of the economy between 2011 and 2014, and is creating new jobs at an unprecedented rate. – Telegraph

David Cameron has been accused of failing the British steel industry after the government confirmed it was blocking proposals from other EU members to tackle dumping of cheap product by China. Sajid Javid, the business secretary, said it would not be right for the EU to scrap regulations known as the “lesser duty rule”, which some countries want to end in order to allow higher tariffs on Chinese steel. - Guardian

The Bank of England and Paul Tucker have been drawn back into the Libor scandal amid claims that Barclays used what it believed was a confidential instruction from a former deputy governor to lower rates to buy billions of pounds of debt in rival British lenders at the height of the financial crisis. – The Times

The outgoing boss of Waitrose who didn’t get the job he originally wanted — the chairmanship of Channel 4 — is to be elevated to the peerage and become Her Majesty’s minister for trade and investment. Mark Price, the self-proclaimed “chubby grocer”, was scheduled to retire from Waitrose in April and it had become common knowledge that he coveted the job at Channel 4. – The Times