Updated 1745 – News Portal Briefing
Times of Malta reports that Lombard Bank to contest ‘each and every’ FIAU finding which led to fine.
MaltaToday reports that Government broke the law when appointing new Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit Chairman Jesmon Gatt, the opposition has said.
TVM reports that Prime Minister Robert Abela has inaugurated Indis Malta that has replaced Malta Industrial Parks and over the coming eight years will carry out projects worth €470 million, with new spaces for industries to attract greater investment and create thousands of new job opportunities.
Newsbook reports that Customs officials seized 217,460 contraband cigarettes from Zurrieq and Mqabba during a 15 hours operation, on Wednesday. The endangered taxes; Import Duty, Excise Duty and VAT, amount to €51,652.
Updated 1355 – 54 year old man beomes 71st victim
A 54-year-old man became Malta’s second youngest victim. In a statement on Thursday, the Health Ministry said the man was admitted to hospital on October 25 and tested positive to the virus on the same day.
The authorities said he suffered from other chronic illnesses and died at the Intensive Therapy Unit on Thursday.
Update 1311 – PM Abela says no lockdown to be announced
PM Robert Abela has excluded a lockdown. In comments to the press, the PM rejected social media rumours that the country is on the verge of severe COVID-19 restrictions.
The prime minister said that he had no idea where a supposed list of measures that would put the country into a state close to a lockdown had come from.
“I don’t know from where this came but I can confirm that we are not heading towards a total lockdown.”
Updated 1151- Engerer elected as MEP
Timesofmalta.com reports that Cyrus Engerer has been elected to replace Miriam Dalli as MEP with 32,918 votes in the casual election held on Thursday.
In his first comments, he said he hoped to continue working in his predecessor’s footsteps, and listed the environment, climate change and public health among his priority areas. The casual election took place after Dalli resigned her seat in the European Parliament to be coopted to the Maltese Parliament, filling the seat vacated by former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
Update 1234 – Covid-19 Update
The Health Department reported 174 new cases of coronavirus in the previous 24 hours, with 93 recovering. The number of active cases has reached 1929. 2842 swab tests were carried out in the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Malta registered its 70th death linked to Covid-19 since the outbreak started in March. The 75-year-old man was admitted to Mater Dei hospital on Tuesday and tested positive a day later. The man, who suffered from other chronic conditions, died that same day.
Updated 1124 – Malta’s 70th death
A 75-year old man is Malta’s 70th Covid-19 related death, the Health Ministry reported this morning. He was hospitalised last Tuesday and diagnosed with the virus yesterday.
The Ministry noted that the man had other chronic conditions.
Morning Briefing
Prison escape thwarted
Daniel Muka, one of the men accused of murdering Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski in a Sliema apartment last Summer, was planning to escape from prison but was found out by guards.
Muka had been caught in possession of several illicit items. A home affairs ministry spokesperson has said that Muka was found in possession of material which was shaped into a tool or weapon.
The incident happened last month and a magisterial inquiry is under way.
Four die with Covid-19
Four men died of Covid-19 throughout Wednesday. Three of them were in their 80s while one of the victims was 63. This takes the death tally to one short of 70.
Health authorities reported 84 new cases in the previous 24 hours, with 167 recoveries, bringing the number of active cases down to 1853.
The new infections were identified through 3044 swab tests.
CDE News
