These are the stories from Malta’s newspaper front pages.
The Malta Business weekly reveals that gaming licences of 12 companies were revoked or suspended by the Malta Gaming Authority in 2018. New laws published in August gave greater enforcement and compliance powers to the MGA.
The Malta Independent speaks to sources within the pilots’ association who said that they were neither approached by Air Malta nor the Tourism Ministry to resolve the pending issues since filing an industrial issue.
L-Orizzont, meanwhile, speaks to Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi who insisted that Air Malta will not be held hostage and ‘throw away money to guarantee the impossible’. The Minister said that pilots should keep their feet on the ground in their demands.
The Times of Malta follows the compilation of evidence against two former AFM soldiers accused of killing Ivorian Lassana Cisse in April. The paper says that witnesses gave conflicting accounts of who fired the fatal shot between Lorin Scicluna, 22, and Francesco Fenech, 21.
The Malta Independent also reports on the story and says that Fenech’s cousin told the court that Scicluna had confessed shooting ‘rounds at black people’. The witness said that he only first met Scicluna this year and that he noticed how his words verged on the racist.
The Malta Business weekly announces that Ryanair has registered six aircraft under its new Malta-based subsidiary Malta Air. The company revealed plans to build repair facilities in Malta for the general maintenance of its fleet.
The Times of Malta says that people close to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat are urging him to stay on a fight another general election. The paper says that Castille insiders played down the possibility of Muscat nominating himself as Malta’s next EU Commissioner.
L-Orizzont quotes Joseph Muscat who said he will continue his duty as Prime Minister with more ‘energy and enthusiasm’. The paper says Muscat was being seriously considered by EU leaders for the post of European Council president.
In-Nazzjon says that the Prime Minister’s failure to land the job he ‘spent years lobbying for’ is creating uncertainty within the Labour Party leadership. The paper says Muscat lobbied hard in Brussels and Strasbourg for his nomination to the European Council presidency.
L-Orizzont announces the nomination of Riccarda Darmanin for the role of section secretary of Professional, Financial, and Services Sector within the General Workers Union. Darmanin currently serves on the executive committee of the same section.
In-Nazzjon says that a petition demanding greater unity in the PN was signed by 4,330 card-carrying supporters and 530 General Council members. The letter argues that the electoral results cannot be blamed on the leadership alone.
