These are the main news stories from the front pages of Malta’s newspapers.
The Times leads with the government’s nomination of George Vella as President of the Republic. The incumbent President, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, tweeted that she is convinced the former minister is the ideal choice for the office.
MaltaToday quotes Prime Minister Joseph Muscat who said the decision to appoint George Vella is unanimously backed by the cabinet of ministers and the Labour parliamentary group. Muscat said ‘constitutional consultations’ were made before the nomination.
L-Orizzont, too, carries the nomination of George Vella for the 10th President of Malta and echoes the Prime Minister who said that the former minister is a man of integrity with great experience in international affairs.
In-Nazzjon publishes the PN’s reaction to the choice for President of the Republic and says that government missed an opportunity to show that it wants to bring credibility back to the institutions. The party had insisted for a nomination with a two-thirds parliamentary majority.
The Malta Independent speaks to European Commission vice-president Jyrki Katainen about the hundreds of workers imported by international construction company TACA. The vice-president said that work conditions must be equal and fair for both EU and third-country citizens.
The Times says that Bank of Valletta has recovered €3 million that were stolen in a cyberattack in February. A large share of the other funds are currently frozen in other jurisdictions including the UK, Czech Republic, the US and Hong Kong.
MaltaToday says that a court decision revealed that landlords cannot evict tenants from rent-controlled properties before a means-test is conducted by the Rent Regulation Board. The paper says this adds a ‘layer of protection’ for occupants.
The Malta Independent quotes an Energy Ministry spokesperson who played down safety concerns of gas cylinders despite three separate incidents in the space of a few days. The Civil Protection Department said that the cause for each case has yet to be established.
