1745- Latest News update
Times of Malta says Infrastructure Malta CEO Fredrick Azzopardi has resigned as head of the roads agency after four years.
MaltaToday says a 28-year-old man from Bormla has pleaded not guilty after being arraigned under arrest, accused of beating his pregnant partner with a broom handle.
Newsbook says Pope Francis’ apostolic visit to Malta can help spur Malta to strengthen its efforts to put the vulnerable at the heart of the choices the country makes going forward, according to the bishops within the Archdiocese of Malta.
TVM says 67-year old Francis Vassallo from Ħal Għaxaq was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for three years, after he was found guilty of electricity theft from a hair salon leased to a couple, seventeen years ago.
Updated 1340 – Man found dead in car
A dead body of a man was found in a car booth in Qormi Valley, NET News reports. A big presence of police officials are on site. They were called to the scene after there was a strong smell coming out of the same vehicle.
Updated 1240 – Mid-Day Briefing
The country needs healing – Archbishop: Archbishop Charles Scicluna said that the country needs “healing” on the issue of migration, after a strong backlash to Pope Francis’s message calling on the Maltese to embrace migrants and asylum seekers with charity. The pope’s visit to migrants and asylum seekers in Ħal Far has sparked outrage on social media, with many users suggesting the Pope takes back migrants “back with him to the Vatican”. Scicluna likened the rejection of the pope’s message on migrants to the rejection of Jesus Christ on Good Friday.
PN to tackle leadership issue after casual elections: The Nationalist Party executive has not yet come up with a timeframe for the leadership election process and will be waiting for the completion of the casual election process. PN Executive President Joseph Grech said that “the appointment of the MPs with voting rights can only be done when the full composition of the parliamentary group is known after the casual elections are completed”. The PN statute makes it clear that a contest for the posts of leader and deputy leaders has to take place after an election defeat. Casual elections are expected to take place next week.
Unemployment falls in February: In February, the number of persons registering for work stood at 1,125, the NSO said today. This figure means that persons looking for work decreased by 1,460 when compared to the corresponding month in 2021. Registered unemployment levels decreased across all age groups for both males and females.
Covid-19 Update: Malta has reported 719 new cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, a spike deemed reflective of activities just before and after the general election. This has taken the active case tally to 7,537. Five persons passed away during the same timeframe.
Morning Briefing
Health Ministry denies Mater Dei struggling to keep up with Covid cases
The health authorities have denied claim by the nurses’ union that Mater Dei Hospital is in a desperate situation because of the number of COVID-19 patients. The MUMN had on Monday warned that staff cannot keep up with the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases at Mater Dei. A Health Ministry spokesperson said that while the number of COVID-19 patients has increased, the number of patients in intensive care stands at four, which she said is one of the lowest rates in the EU. “Contrary to what is being alleged, the hospital is not in a ‘desperate’ situation, but is working hard to ensure the smooth running of all services, which is however being impacted by a series of directives imposed by MUMN itself, amongst other restrictions”, the spokesperson said. 530 new cases were reported on Monday. [Times of Malta]
Tourism industry welcomes further lifting of restrictions
The Malta International Airport and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Associations have expressed support towards government’s announcement on the lifting of more COVID-19 restrictions. “Malta International Airport (MIA) welcomes the government’s announcement that persons travelling from a red country will be allowed entry into Malta with a negative PCR test or a recovery certificate as of next week, as the first step towards the complete lifting of the country’s COVID-19 restrictions on travel,” it said. On the other hand, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Associations (MHRA) welcomed the lifting of restrictions, calling for the removal of remaining restrictions. “MHRA however states that not enough and clear information was presented to better understand how the tourism stakeholders need to react in relation to this policy statement,” it said. On Monday, Health Minister Chris Fearne revealed that persons travelling to Malta from a country on the red list will be allowed in with a negative PCR test or a recovery certificate. [Maltatoday]
Woman dies after falling from a balcony
A 75-year-old woman has died after falling from a balcony in Birżebbuġa. According to media reports the woman fell to her death after sections of a balcony collapsed. The accident happened in Triq is-Sebħ at around 7:15pm on Monday evening. Police and paramedics were on onsite of the accident, where the woman was certified dead.
