Good morning
The Philippines vowed to destroy those behind twin bombings that killed 27 people during a Sunday church service in the country’s restive south, six days after a referendum on autonomy for the mainly Muslim region returned an overwhelming “yes” vote.
In an unprecedented move, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday said he had fired his ambassador to China, who prompted a political furor with comments about Huawei’s high-profile extradition case.
Britain’s Duke of Edinburgh has told a mother-of-two who was injured in a car crash he was involved in that he is “deeply sorry”.
These are the main stories on Malta’s newspapers.
MaltaToday reports that just under 13,000 building permits were issued by the Planning Authority in 2018, making it the highest-ever figure. The paper says that the number of dwelling permits have also been consistently rising year-on-year since 2013, from just over 2,700 permits granted.
The Sunday Times says that half of Satabank’s transaction were considered high-risk after investigators discovered a complex web of cases involving laundering of monies linked to fuel smuggling, drug-trafficking, the Mafia and black listed companies.
The Malta Independent reveals that four names are currently in the running to succeed Karmenu Vella as EU Commissioner after his term comes to an end in October. The apepr says that the government is considering Minister Edward Scicluna, Minister Helena Dalli, MEP Miriam Dalli, and Cabinet Adviser Louis Grech.
The Sunday Times compares the agreements the government negotiated with hoteliers db Group and The Corinthia Group and says that the latter obtained a much better deal. While db Group acquired concessions to commercialise the former ITS site in Pembroke valued at €400 million for a €15 million premium, The Corinthia Group is paying €17 million to commercialise the St George’s Bay peninsula with an estimated value of €700 million.
It-Torċa says that in 2015 the Nationalist Party was in favour of a deal granting the Corinthia Group ‘more concessions for less’. The paper says that a memorandum of understanding was, at the time, signed between the government and the company.
The Malta Independent quotes PN MP David Stellini who said that parliament should be a full-time job and cites his own experience of how, having to balance between his duties as MP and private work, a part-time parliament results in less time devoted to the House.
MaltaToday says that about 90 Bank of Valletta employees are suing the bank over changes to the pensions scheme in the 1970s that reduced their pension funds. The employees, most of whom are now retired, a claiming damages that could reach €20 million.
Illum says that while Health Minister Chris Fearne was critical of the €3 million deal between Vitals Health Care and Technoline, the company is being awarded a €3.2 million contract for medical supplies at the Paola Hub.
Kulħadd says that the Nationalist Party is ‘against everything’ with leader Adrian Delia this weekend criticising traffic congestion just when plans for investments for new residential roads were announced by the government.
Kulħadd carries a story about outspoken auditor Godfrey Leone Ganado, who the paper says has links to an American currently under investigation by the FBI for money-laundering activities.
It-Torċa reports on stories in Italian media saying that Mafia-linked Beneditto Nini Bacchi had some €6 million stashed away in four Malta-based companies. Another story in It-Torċa says that the General workers Union has instructed workers in the care sector to refuse from perform any duties with patients unless accompanied by others.
Il-Mument says that the photo of the government cabinet celebrating the Prime Minister’s birthday on Tuesday shows the division within the group. The paper says that Deputy Prime Minister enjoys the strongest support while Minister Konrad Mizzi is ‘at the bottom of the table’.
