Corporate Dispatch Morning Briefing – Sunday 19th May 2019
5353 Mins Read
Good morning
The developments in relation to the murder of Lassana Cisse and the polls related to next Saturday”s elections dominate the front pages of today’s newspapers in Malta. In the international news, we read about Australia’s elections, the situation in Syria, Austria’s former Vice-Chancellor scandal, Brexit and the Netherlands’ victory in the Eurovision,
These are the headlines from Malta’s newspapers.
The Sunday Times leads with the arrest of two soldiers expected to be charged today with the killing of Lassana Cisse in a drive-by shooting in April. One of the suspects has reportedly admitted that the shooting was racially motivated.
The Malta Independent on Sunday also reports on what it says is the first racially motivated murder in Malta. One of the accused told investigators that the victims were targeted “because they were black”.
MaltaToday says that police have information about the involvement of an AFM soldier last March in a deliberate hit-and-run on a migrant teen in the same road where the drive-by shooting took place.
Illum carries a special editorial describing news of soldiers targeting migrants ‘a black day for Malta’. The paper says that the killing leaves no doubt about the spread of racial hatred in our country.
Kulħadd quotes President George Vella who said the Ħal Far shooting case must bring us all closer together. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that the soldiers involved do not represent the Armed Forces.
The Sunday Times publishes results of a voting-intentions survey by Misco indicating a 15-point gap between the two main parties ahead of the elections. PL stands at 55 percent, down from 59 percent last month, and PN at 40 percent, up from 47.
MaltaToday also publishes results of its monthly election survey, with its findings fiving the PL a lead of 13 points over the PN. The paper says that PN Leader Adrian Delia is ‘facing defeat in the face’.
It-Torċa places the Labour Party at just under 57 percent of the vote, trailed by the Nationalist Party with 37 percent. The survey shows Alternattiva Demokratika in third place. at a distant 2 percent.
The Malta Independent on Sunday carries interviews with the leaders of the PL and PN. Joseph Muscat says he does not expect a fourth seat for Labour, while Adrian Delia insists his mandate is to lead the party until the general election.
It-Torċa says that investigators traced the weapon used in the shooting to one of the suspected soldiers, who then admitted. The firearm was his own and registered in his name.
Il-Mument says that Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne took part in a debate on Xarabank against instructions from Castille. The paper says the rivalry between Fearne and co-debater Miriam Dalli was apparent for all to see on the programme.
Illum says that the PN parliamentary group has not met in the last two months, except for a hurried 30-minute session. The party’s leadership did not deny the report but said that the electoral campaign takes precedence.
Il-Mument reports on the Eurovision Song Contest in which Malta representative Michela placed 16th among the 26 finalists. The contest was won by Duncan Laurence from the Netherlands.
These are the headlines from around the world. (Click the headlines for more).
