These are the main news from Malta, as reported by the Maltese portals.
A four-year old boy died in hospital after contracting a rare virus some days ago. The Times says that the child died of bacterial meningitis, having first displayed the symptoms some days before. Health authorities said that the virus does not spread, and TVM reassures that those who were in contact with the boy are not in danger of contagion.
The owner of Palumbo Shipyard has been handed a prison sentence by a Court in Messina, Sicily, found guilty of offences involving the disposal of hazardous waste material. The Malta Independent says that another six people, including the man’s son, were implicated. Antonio and Raffaele Palumbo are to appeal the sentence.
A strike by fuel station owners could come into effect on Tuesday as operators enter crunch talks with Energy Minister Joe Mizzi. LovinMalta says a ‘tense’ meeting is scheduled for 19:00 this evening, with the fuel stations representative GRTU warning that industrial actions are not excluded. MaltaToday says that operators are seeking financial help to upgrade service stations to match standards imposed by law.
Half-yearly examinations in Math and Maltese may be cancelled as directives issued by the Malta Union of Teachers have not been lifted. Newsbook speaks to the union which says that the problem of lack of teachers has not been resolved yet, and instructions to teachers of the two subjects are still in force.
Malta registered the biggest decrease in debt to GDP ratio among EU member states, comparing the third quarter of 2018 with the second. One News says that Eurostat figures also show that Malta showed the highest surplus over the period.
A man assigned to the care of the prison management was transferred to the hospital ITU hours after, suffering from an overdose. Net News reports that the 31-year-old was handed over by the police after escaping from custody, only to be sent to the Forensic Ward at Mount Carmel hospital, and later rushed to Mater Dei fighting for his life.
The Shift News features a comment by website editor Caroline Muscat arguing that Minister Konrad Mizzi cannot disown the VGH-Technoline deal because it was the privatisation of the hospitals involved was negotiated by him. The piece comes after the website published a series of investigative articles into agreements made by Vitals Global Healthcare.
