Updated 1745: News Portal Review
TVM says 32 new cases of the coronavirus have been identified over the past 24 hours after 2,109 swab tests were carried out, with 624 active cases.
MaltaToday reports a sharp drop in revenue and an increase in expenditure have pushed the deficit beyond the €1 billion mark. Between January and July government revenue dropped by 20% to reach €2.1 billion, while expenditure shot up to €3.1 billion, a 14% increase.
Times of Malta says Viktor Dragomanski, a 36-year-old who lives in Sliema, is the second suspect to be charged with the murders of Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski. Dragomanski pleaded not guilty.
The Malta Independent reports how discussions are currently on-going for plans on a financial package for airlines which are passing through a difficult period and which will help them to move forward, as said by Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses Silvio Schembri.
Newsbook says how Alfred Camilleri, the permanent secretary at the Finance Ministry, highlighted that he was highly concerned with the issuing of the bank guarantee to the Electrogas consortium.
Updated 1236: Trend in new cases going down again – Prof Charmaine Gauci
The trend in coronavirus cases in Malta has started to go down again, said Health Superintendent Prof Charmaine Gauci, as a result of new restrictive measures implemented earlier this month. She recalled that stand-up events have been banned as from today. In particular, she noted a decrease in cluster-related new cases.
The authorities today reported 32 new cases and 65 recoveries, bring the number of active cases down to 624. In all, Malta has seen 1,820 cases.
Prof Gauci noted that the average age of current active cases is 40.
Updated 1219 – Second arraignment in Sliema murder case
Viktor Dragomanski, a 36-year-old who lives in Sliema, is the second person to be charged with the murders of Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski, who were shot dead inside their Sliema residence last week.
Timesofmalta.com reports that Dragomanski appeared in court this morning, pleading not guilty to murder, theft and a raft of other charges including possessing an unlicensed firearm and stealing a car and two sets of number plates.
Updated 1144 – Deficit baloons in first even months
Malta’s deficit levels have balooned in the first seven months of the year, with Government’s consolidated fund exceeding one billion euro in the red (€1,051.8 m) between January and July.
In data published this morning, the NSO said that revenue registered a 20% drop, with the largest decrease coming from less income tax. Between January and July 2020, total expenditure amounted to €3,158 million, 14.2% higher than the corresponding period in 2019.
Additional drops were also witnessed under Value Added Tax (€115.3 million), Grants (€78.1 million), Social Security (€61.9 million), Customs and Excise Duties (€56.3 million), Licences, Taxes and Fines (€55.9 million), Rents (€9.5 million) and Reimbursements (€7.0 million)
Updated 0822: Newspaper Review
The Times leads with the testimony of inspector Kurt Zahra who said that, under interrogation last November, Yorgen Fenech revealed that Keith Schembri had asked him to find someone to assassinate Daphne Caruana Galizia as far back as 2014.
The Independent reports on the compilation of evidence against Yorgen Fenech who had told investigators that Keith Schembri had paid €80,000 for the murder to be committed. Insector Keith Arnaud told the court that Schembri was twice questioned under arrest.
In-Nazzjon follows the cross-examination of inspector Kurt Zahra in court who said that Yorgen Fenech had pointed his finger at Keith Schembri and that it was the former chief of staff who instructed him to move on with the plan to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The Independent reports that Daniel Muka has been formally charged with the murder of Chris Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejovski in their home in Sliema last week. The 25-year-old pleaded not guilty.
L-Orizzont says that the defence in the Sliema double murder case has not requested bail for suspect Daniel Muka, but it has asked for him to be seen by a psychiatrist to assess his mental state.
In-Nazzjon reports that that the suspect in the Sliema double murder last week, Daniel Muka, was met by an angry crowd shouting ‘assassin’ as he was escorted into court on Thursday. Magistrate Nadine Lia ordered a freeze on his assets.
L-Orizzont reports on the first registered case of Covid-19 re-infection after a patient in Hong Kong tested positive for a second time after he had recovered from the disease in March. The incident is raising questions about immunisation.
In-Nazzjon quotes PN Leader Adrian Delia who said that the country wants to return to a state of normalcy and peace of mind where justice is served to those who break the law. Delia was reacting to revelations that emerged in the Caruana Galizia case.
Morning Briefing
PN Leadership race
The Nationalist Party’s leadership election is unlikely to be held in September, with early October looking to be the likeliest option as the Electoral Commission is looking into use the full six weeks available to it to carry out a due diligence process on Adrian Delia and his challenger Bernard Grech.
The Times of Malta reports this morning that PN sources said the commission vetting the two candidates, which started its job a fortnight ago, could take its full six weeks allocated by the statute.
The election will take an entire week as voting will be spread over six days.
Caruana Galizia case developments
The day in Court was characterised by shocking testimony emerging from police investigator Kurt Zahra in the compilation against Yorgen Fenech, the alleged Caruana Galizia murder mastermind. Zahra said that Fenech told police that Keith Schembri had paid up to €80,000 to Melvin Theuma to fund the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Former Joseph Muscat had told Fenech to make sure that “he controlled” Melvin Theuma, Fenech told police. Muscat contacted Fenech twice, once calling him to Castille, then at Girgenti party.
“In Yorgen Fenech’s chats we found that he was invited to the party at Girgenti. In one message the prime minister asked if Yorgen Fenech had enjoyed the event,” Inspector Kurt Zahra testified.
Reacting to this news, Muscat said in a statement that “while it is clear that I was in no way advised about this murder from beforehand, I never discussed it with the person who is the alleged mastermind.”
Covid-19 in Malta
The Health Department reported 37 new cases and 44 new recoveries yesterday, taking Malta’s active tally to 657. The Medical Association of Malta and the Association of Public Health Medicine said they are seriously concerned about the current situation and have written to the superintendent of public health requesting more measures to bring numbers down.
The Association said that at 46 cases per day Malta now has the second highest rate of new cases (14-day average) in the entire EU. As a result, at least 16 EU countries have introduced travel restrictions to/from Malta, and arrivals have decreased significantly, with serious and long term sustained economic consequences on the tourism sector. It therefore called for further restrictive measures to be taken to bring this number to under 10 per day as soon as possible.
Electricity refund for businesses
Government has announced that that all businesses benefitting from the Covid Wage Supplement will be reimbursed 50% of the electrical power bills for any bill which partially or fully covers the months of July, August and September.
A business with one outlet may claim a grant of up to €1500. On the other hand, businesses with multiple outlets and which employ a substantial number of employees who are benefitting from the Covid Wage Supplement can be eligible for a maximum support of up to €7500.
CDE News
