Updated 1745 – News Portal Review
TVM says the Ministry of Health has confirmed 37 new cases of Covid-19 in Malta in the last 24 hours, after 1,640 swab tests were carried out. The tests also showed that another 63 people had recovered, bringing the total number of active cases to 372.
MaltaToday reports Maltese fishers have been let down by the authorities after promised patrols by the Armed Forces of Malta to act as a deterrent for Tunisian vessels plundering their lampuki catch, failed to materialise.
Times of Malta says Nationalist Party leadership contender Bernard Grech on Monday settled almost €30,000 in tax dues, as part of a plan to bring his affairs in order, Times of Malta understands.
The Malta Independent reports dead animals continue to be dumped in waste recycling bags on a daily basis, Wasteserve said. The grey bags should not be used for such purposes but only for materials that can be recycled such as cardboard or plastic.
Newsbook reports preliminary data shows that August 2020 has been the best month for the property industry when compared to similar months in the past four years, with more than 1,300 promises of sales finalised and registered with the authorities, with a combined value of over €300 million, said the Malta Developers Association, MDA.
ONE News says Prime Minister Robert Abela inaugurates an investment of €2.1 million to Bonnici Brothers, in new construction machinery. This investment, which is partly financed from a scheme by Malta Enterprise with European funds, is part of a project with an investment of more than €9 million.
Updated 1245 – Covid-19 Update
Health authorities have reported 37 new cases of coronavirus in Malta over the past 24 hours, resulting from 1,640 swab tests. Sunday saw a significant increase in recoveries, 63, lowering the tally of active cases to 372.
The authorities said that from 30 new cases yesterday, only 11 were traced to specific clusters.
The number of cases in Malta has reached 2,076, with 203,777 total swabs being carried out.
Updated 0821 – Newspaper Review
The Times leads with a court decision to annul a prison sentence for a couple accused of human trafficking and send the case back to the first court. Madame Justice Consuelo Scerrri Herrera ruled that the defence had not been allowed to cross-examine the witnesses.
The Independent publishes an interview with the Commissioner for Domestic Violence Audrey Farrugia who said that Malta has the expertise to reform prostitution law that matches its particular context.
L-Orizzont quotes Prime Minister Robert Abela who said that both PN leadership candidates ‘lack authenticity’. He said that tax authorities appear to apply different standards to politicians than they do to citizens.
In-Nazzjon says that WasteServ management ordered employees to take skips used at the swabbing centre in Xewkija to the ferry crossing to Malta without the necessary precautions for potential Covid-19 contamination. One employee filed a police report.
The Independent says that the government has not replied to questions about the White Rocks development. A plan to build a mixed-use complex on the site was launched in January 2018 but the project never took off.
The Times reports that three migrants kept aboard the oil tanker Maersk Etienne jumped overboard after weeks stranded at Hurd’s bank. The crew of the vessel acted quickly to rescue them and bring them back to safety.
L-Orizzont speaks to the director of the Abandoned Animals Association, Rosalind Agius, who called for the criminalisation of bestiality. She said that the act is nothing short of rape of another species.
Morning Briefing
Covid-19 in Malta
The Health Ministry reported yesterday that 30 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed in Malta following 1,703 swab tests. 36 other persons have been declared as recovered, with the total number of active cases now at 399.
Malta’s Covid-19 reproduction number has dropped below 1 for the first time in a month, now standing at 0.86, according to statistician Vincent Marmara.
An election will happen when country needs it – Abela
Prime Minister Robert Abela insisted during his Sunday interview that the date of the coming general election will not be determined by the outcome of the Nationalist Party’s leadership race.
Speaking on ONE, Abela said: “The decision to call a general election will come at a time when the country needs it.”
A MaltaToday survey showed that candidate Bernard Grech could reduce the trust gap with Abela should he become PN leader by around half. The trust barometer shows that Grech could receive a score of 32.1% against Abela’s 51.7%, a gap of almost 20 points.
Turing on the coronavirus pandemic, Dr Abela stated that the impact on the labour market had been restrained, including through the extension of wage supplements for workers up to the end of October, and the rate of unemployment and inflation is currenly below that experienced in 2013.
Court orders re-hearing of human trafficking case
The Maltese court decided that two human traffickers sentenced for a 12-year prison term have had this decision annuled after the court declared that they were not given a fair hearing.
The Times of Malta reports this morning that the Court concluded that the judge hearing the Hungarian couple’s appeal ruled that the magistrate who heard the case should have allowed the defence to cross-examine witnesses – two women who were allegedly brought to Malta for prostitution purposes.
As a result, the judge sent the proceedings back to the first court to hear the case again from the cross-examination stage.
CDE News
