Latest Update: News Portal Update
Times of Malta says that Sliema homicide victims Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski owned at least €119,000 in jewellery, most of which was found on the body of one of the men, a court was told on Friday.
MaltaToday says that a design submitted for the Greenserv urban greening projects proposed a more natural look for the Mosta Ċikku Fenech garden
Newsbook says that three years after former tourism minister Konrad Mizzi proposed the extension of Għadira beach, the Planning Authority has approved a smaller extension as part of a pilot study.
TVM says that results have started being received this morning for the SEC and MATSEC exams, with thousands of students receiving their results through an SMS on their mobiles.
Updated 0830 – Newspaper Review
The Independent reports on a fire that broke out at the Eden Cinemas complex on Thursday, causing extensive damage to movie theatres. No one was injured in the incident and the fires were brought under control by the Civil Protection Department.
The Times says that Malta is sending 40,000 Covid-19 vaccines as well as test kits to Libya. Only around 765,000 people in the North African country had been inoculated by Monday from a population of seven million.
L-Orizzont says that a medical research lab in Tel Aviv claims to have developed medicines that are 93 per cent effective in the cure against Covid-19. Doctors in Malta said that progress has been reported in this area but appealed for caution.
In-Nazzjon quotes President George Vella that he is following his conscience and that not all his actions can be made public. The President was responding to questions on whether he should step down following the Caruana Galizia inquiry conclusions.
The Times says that the International Monetary Fund advised Malta to gradually start scaling down its Covid-19 financial support. Representatives of the UN body met with government officials this week to review the country’s finances.
The Independent follows the testimony of Matthew Caruana Galizia in the compilation of evidence against Yorgen Fenech. He said that he was helping his mother with the investigation into the Electrogas deal because she was not tech-savvy.
The Independent says that 400,000 people have now had a double dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, equivalent to 86 per cent of the population. This sets the highest rate of vaccinations in Europe.
In-Nazzjon says Mosta mayor and PL election candidate Romilda Zarb was displeased with recent projects in the locality announced by parliamentary secretary Alex Muscat, leaving out the local council.
L-Orizzont reports on a statement by online activist group CSN calling the Nationalist Party a weak opposition and launching a poll on whether a new party should be set up. The statement drew criticism from several PN candidates.
Morning Briefing
Mark Camilleri removed from Chairmanship of Book Council
The Executive Chairman of the National Book Council Mark Camilleri will no longer occupy this position after his contract with the entity was not renewed. In a Facebook post, Camilleri said that his contract had expired and that he was simply asked by Education Minister Justyne Caruana to hand over the keys to the Book Council’s employees. In recent months, Camilleri has spoken out against the Labour Administration on various occasions.
Malta to accept Australian Covid certificates
From today, Maltese Authorities will start accepting the Covid-19 vaccine certificate issued by Australian authorities.
This was announced by Deputy PM and Health Minister Chris Fearne. The Australian certificate is thus added to certificates issued by EU countries, the UK, Jersey and Guernsey, US, Gibraltar, Serbia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Albania and Turkey.
€3.6 million investment to convert construction machinery to more sustainable machinery
Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development Miriam Dalli announced that through an investment of €3.6million, the construction industry can invest in more sustainable and clean energy machinery. This scheme was launched back in 2020, when 69 applications were approved.
Through this scheme, successful applicants were able to invest in new sustainable machinery which produces less emissions, such as heavy-duty trucks, forklifts and excavators, amongst others. This more modern and less polluting machinery will lead to a reduction of about 51% in emissions, compared to the old machinery that these businesses had. Older machinery produced about 7,000 tonnes of CO2, while following this change, emissions will drop to 3,400 tonnes of CO2.
Covid-19 Update
51 new cases were reported on Thursday. Malta registered 118 recoveries as active cases stood at 741. 3,417 swab tests were taken. 42 Covid positive patients are currently hospitalised, four of whom are in the ITU.
CDE News
