These are the main stories from Malta’s news portals.
Nationalist Party MP Hermann Schiavone suspended himself from the parliamentary group after it emerged that he held a meeting with businessman Yorgen Fenech. Net News publishes the letter by the MP who insists his intentions were honest.
Friends and colleagues of Ivorian Souleymane Lassine Cisse, killed in a drive-by shooting in Birżebbuġa on Saturday, said they were shocked at the loss. TVM speaks to acquaintances who described the victim as a polite a good man.
Meanwhile, MaltaToday picks up a series of posts on Facebook slamming the media for suggesting that the shooting was motivated by racial hate. A post by Moviment Patrijotti Maltin leader Henry Battistino was followed by several others accusing media in Malta of driving a leftist agenda.
Drug kingpin Jordan Azzopardi rented a villa in Madliena worth €3,500 every month. The Malta Independent follows the compilation of evidence against the 29-year-old who appeared in court today under heavy security.
Parliamentary Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud said that the House of Representatives is dragging its feet on the implementation of recommendations made by his Office. The Times says that the Ombudsman has not received any feedback from parliament on concerns it raised in a report.
The government is issuing tax arrears cheques totalling €11.5 million, reports One News. Finance Minister Edward Scicluna announced in a press conference that 200,000 people are eligible for the refund, which will range between €40 and €68.
The Malta International Airport has been named one of the best ten airports in its size category by airlines ratings firm Skytrax. Newsbook says that the MIA is the only airport in the EU to make it among the top ten.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton is in Malta to research the period spent here by the Queen. LovinMalta says that the author is inviting anyone with “pictures, videos and memories” of the royal couple between 1949 and 1951 to come forward.
The Caruana Galizia family filed a judicial letter in the First Hall of the Civil Court on Tuesday, demanding a public inquiry into the assassination of their mother and wife Daphne. The Shift News says the family is prepared to take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights.
