The longest day of the year reserved a number of points through the happenings that took place in the past 24 hours. Here’s our briefing for today which hopefully presents you a ‘bigger picture’ to all that is relevant and took place.
The main news from Malta focus on the declaration done by the President after signing the Embryo Protection Act “solely out of loyalty” to the Constitution. In a statement, the President said she holds strong to her belief that human beings should be respected from conception. Malta’s moral fibre was at risk of disintegrating if we disrespected human life at any stage of development, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca warned in a statement yesterday.
A landmark judgment, the European Court of Justice has ruled against Malta’s decision to reintroduce finch trapping in 2014, saying such move was in breach of the Birds Directive. Consequently, the Maltese government must immediately comply with this ruling, or else face infringement procedures from Brussels and hefty fines.
The rain that swamped parts of Malta, on the first day of summer also made it to the front pages of Malta’s Newspapers.
Eurozone governments have brokered a long-awaited debt relief deal for Greece, pushing back repayment deadlines on almost €100bn of bailout loans as the country prepares to exit its era of financial rescue programmes. Finance ministers hammered out the final points of an agreement in more than six hours of talks that stretched into the night in Luxembourg on Thursday.
The European Union (EU) has introduced retaliatory tariffs on US goods as a top official launched a fresh attack on President Donald Trump’s trade policy. The duties on €2.8bn (£2.4bn) worth of US goods came into force on Friday.
Draft for Sunday’s Migration Summit conclusion shelved after Conte informs Merkel that it was unacceptable for him to attend for Migration summit with a ‘pre-packaged’ text.
The UK Home Office has published much-awaited details of the settlement scheme for EU citizens after Britain exits the EU in March 2019. Under the deal, outlined on Thursday, EU citizens living in the UK and their family members will need to apply to obtain a new UK immigration status. UK immigration minister Caroline Nokes confirmed that those applying under the scheme will only need to complete three key steps. They will need to prove their identity, show that that they live in the UK, and declare that they have no serious criminal convictions, she said.
Melania Trump took a surprise trip to Texas to speak to children and officials at a shelter for migrant children. But her message and the carefully crafted visuals showing a first lady rushing to the scene of a crisis touching the lives of children were soon obliterated by other words and images. Moments after her tour began, photos started circulating online of the first lady boarding the plane for takeoff at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Although the back of the coat was partly obscured in the photos, people online quickly identified it as a $39 Zara jacket emblazoned on back with the phrase: “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?”
The Honduran toddler pictured sobbing in a pink jacket before U.S. President Donald Trump on an upcoming cover of Time magazine was not separated from her mother at the U.S. border, according to a man who says he is the girl’s father.
East Libyan forces took full control of Ras Lanuf oil terminal and the surrounding area on Thursday as they rapidly advanced against rivals who seized the port a week ago, a spokesman said.
The President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, declared his intention to visit Libya and Niger in the coming period to discuss the illegal immigration file.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, was charged on Thursday with fraud for allegedly misusing state funds in ordering catered meals at their official residence, a court spokesperson said.
Following the recent launch of its operation in Malta, Bravo Aircraft Technical Services Limited (BATS) announced that it has received AMO validation for the airline register Guernsey. In practice, this means that the company’s maintenance personnel may now formally sign for maintenance of ‘2-Reg’ aircraft.
The head of Germany’s domestic security agency has publicly blamed the Russian government for a large-scale cyberattack that has targeted German energy providers.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has given birth to her first child, a baby girl, weighing 3.31kg (7.3lb). This makes her the second elected leader in history to give birth while in office. The announcement came through the Prime Minister’s own facebook page.
Croatia advanced to the Round of 16 for the second time in their history after cruising to victory over Argentina. With Lionel Messi lacking in inspiration, *La Albiceleste *paid for their defensive frailties on a dark night and are now on the verge of exiting the competition.
