Corporate Dispatch Morning Briefing and Newspaper Review Saturday April 27th

Good morning

These are the morning headlines for Saturday in your daily morning briefing, based on a review of the main news outlets around the world.

The Latest

Malta Fire tore through a Floriana street early on Saturday morning, burning down a triumphal arch used for its yearly feast and extensively damaging four parked cars in the process. Read More Here 

Sri Lanka The Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Ranjith announced that the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has cancelled all Sunday Mass until further notice following the Easter Sunday bombings. The Archbishop said the decisions was taken after he had seen a leaked security document warning of further attacks and added he had felt “betrayed” by the government’s failure to act on warnings of the bombings. The bodies of 15 people, including six children, were discovered at the site of a fierce overnight gun battle on the east coast of Sri Lanka.

UK The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister have confirmed the establishment of talks involving the main political parties in Northern Ireland in an effort to restore power-sharing. In a statement Leo Varadkar and Theresa May said they heard the unmistakable message to all political leaders that people across Northern Ireland want to see a new momentum for political progress.

Italy An earthquake measuring 3.3 on the Richter scale hit the north-east of the Catania province in Sicily, Italy, overnight. According to the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), the tremor was registered at 2.44 am with it’s epicenter at less then 1 km of depth in the area of Linguaglossa.

UK Ratings agencies S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings kept open the possibility of a further cut to Britain’s credit status because of the continued risk of a no-deal Brexit, despite a recent delay to the deadline for Britain’s departure from the European Union.

Maltese News Papers

The Times reports that Malta has the second-highest rate of early school leavers in the EU, according to European data. One in six students leave school in their teenage years, although the rate decreased by half over the period 2006-2018.

The Malta Independent reveals that several caravans are illegally occupying an area reserved for campers in Mellieħa. Mayor John Buttigieg confirmed local council byelaws prohibiting caravans and said that this was an enforcement issue.

The Times carries a story about acts of vandalism in Mqabba where engine oil was thrown at two historic buildings. The police are investigating links between the vandalism and complaints by residents against construction drivers abuse.

The Malta Independent speaks to Malta Road Safety Council executive chairman Pierre Vella who said that a motorsports racetrack could lead to more responsible driving on the roads. Vella said that a track could teach drivers how to handle cars in a safe environment.

In-Nazzjon leads with a story that the government bought medical equipment for Vitals Global Healthcare, before the contracts were signed. The paper says that €1.8 million were being spentannually on the three hospitals sold.

L-Orizzont quotes General Workers Union general Secretary Josef Bugeja who said that the 1958 general strike deserves greater recognition. The union held a commemoration for the 60^th anniversary since the events, on Friday.

In-Nazzjon says that Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne failed to condemn MEP Alfred Sant’s choice of words at a political rally and instead said they were ‘relevant’. Sant said on Thursday that it was time to exact “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

L-Orizzont says that trust in the judiciary in Malta stands at 52 percent, an increase of 11 percent in a year. In another story the paper quotes Family Minister Michael Falzon who said that adopted children should automatically be granted citizenship.

Other headlines 

Rome’s mayor vowed to defend the Italian capital from criminals following a fire at an illegal landfill. Read More Here

The Italian government dampened hopes that Alitalia could soon be rescued after denying media speculation that it had sought to tempt infrastructure group Toto Holding, which invested in a previous Alitalia rescue in 2008, to invest in loss-making airline. Read more here

The animal rights party Pacma, founded 16 years ago to put an end to bullfighting, could win two seats in the congress of deputies, according to the most recent poll by the country’s Centre for Sociological Studies (CIS). Read more here 

The Canadian city of Montreal declared a state of emergency over the threat of flooding following a similar decision by the capital Ottawa. Mayor Valerie Plante told reporters the state of emergency was issued after consultations with emergency services as water continued to rise. Read More Here 

Forensic police are searching a popular park in Melbourne’s inner south after a man was shot and killed on Friday night. The murder happened at Fawkner Park in South Yarra. No information has so far been released on the identity of the victim. Read More Here 

Corporate Dispatch