Updated 1730 – Newspaper Review
Times of Malta reports that Steward Health Care Malta had said that it has no objection in principle to government employees working at Gozo General Hospital, Karin Grech Hospital and St Luke’s Hospital being given the same meal allowance as their counterparts in other hospitals, but it said this is up to the government.
Malta Today has said that police have made a number of arrests over the double murder which took place in Sliema last week.
Newsbook reports that the “amber list” of countries from which visitors are asked to produce a negative swab test for Covid-19 now comprises four countries and a small portion of a fifth after the government agreed to update it today.
The Malta Independent reports that the Minister for Gozo Clint Camilleri together with Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi launched a €2.2 million project whereby three kilometres of rubble walls will be restored and rebuilt around the fields that overlook Ramla Valley, Gozo.
TVM says that 38 new Covid-19 cases have emerged in Malta during the past 24 hours following 2,048 swab tests.
One News says that in the coming days, the Ministry of Education will be publishing guidelines for school’s reopening on September 28.
Net News says that Albanian Daniel Muka, 29, was arrested in connection with the double murder in Sliema that left Chris Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski dead.
Updated 1636 – Amber Travel List
Malta has announced the addition of the Czech Republic and Tunisia in its amber travel list. As of Friday 28th, Passengers arriving from these destinations will be required to present a negative result of a swab test carried out within the last 72 hours. This ‘amber list’ will be updated regularly.
The list is Bulgaria, Romania, Czech Republic, Barcelona, Girona and Madrid in Spain and Tunisia
Updated 1335 – Sliema murder: arrests made – reports
Timesofmalta.com reports that police have arrested a number of people suspected to be behind a double murder in Sliema last week.
A huge raid was conducted in Floriana this afternoon, police told the portal while inspectors from the homicide squad are on site.
Media reports say that the main suspect arrested this afternoon is Begtash Muka, a 29-year-old Albanian allegedly involved in a previous violent robbery.
Story here.
Updated 1244 – 38 new cases, 52 recoveries reported by Health Ministry
38 new cases of coronavirus were reported today by the Health Ministry, with 52 patients recovering. The larger increase in recoveries has pushed down the total number of active cases to 666, while the number of infections on the Maltese islands since the onset of the pandemic has now excedded the 1,700 mark.
2,048 swab tests were carried out. The Department also said that a majority of yesterday’s cases, over 30, were related to existent clusters.
Updated 1206 – Sliema murder suspects caught on CCTV
Timesofmalta.com has revealed that the police have a “clear image” of a group of men believed to have murdered a couple in their Sliema home last week, following analysis of CCTV footage from the scene.
The portal quotes police sources that said that that multiple clips from security camera footage lifted from the Tigné neighbourhood had given investigators a clear image of the faces of three suspects. The article says that allegedly the men are foreign nationals forming part of an organised crime syndicate.
Updated 1045 – Government still committed to open schools
Government remains on track to open schools in September and will be publishing plans within the next week, according to Education Minister Owen Bonnici.
He said that the Education Ministry is in close contact with Prof Charmaine Gauci about the proposals, but the intention is to have pupils back to their benches next month.
“We cannot make our students face another year of remote learning, children especially need to have a community around them to foster learning,” Bonnici said.
Owen Bonnici expressed confidence that these guidelines will reassure teachers who expressed worries about re-opening of schools. Last week, a UPE survey found that 87% of educators opposed returning to class.
In a statement, the MUT has lambasted Government for what it called as “sudden haste” in drawing up these health protocols.
Updated 0819 – Newspaper Review
The Times follows the compilation of evidence against former Consul to Shanghai Aldo Cutajar. The prosecution says that Cutajar may have profited from illegal sales of Chinese visas, an accusation he and his wife reject.
The Independent quotes Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri who said that allegations about a cocaine party at the Armed Forces barracks were ‘inflated’ and that an internal inquiry found no evidence of substance abuse.
L-Orizzont reports that a woman was handed a suspended jail sentence for withdrawing €5,000 from her mother’s bank account without her consent. The Judge admonished people who abuse their parents.
In-Nazzjon says that Covid-19 figures released by the government does not show the situation in Gozo and it is not officially known how many Gozitans have been infected. The paper says that the government does not want to discourage travel from Malta.
The Independent reports that five guards at the Corradino Correctional Facility are self-isolating in their homes after testing positive for Covid-19. Over 600 swab tests have been conducted on inmates and prison employees.
The Times says that investigators believe that the murder of Chris Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejovski a week ago could have been a target assassination carried out by foreign professional criminals.
In-Nazzjon says that the car thought to have been used by the hitmen on the Sliema double murder was found in a Gwardamangia car park. The police are investigating links with businesses that the murdered couple may have had.
L-Orizzont says that the police are combing through the electronic devices found on the site of the double murder in Sliema last week, to determine whether the victims had had any contact in the final hours.
In-Nazzjon reports that 55 new Covid-19 cases were registered on Monday, among them two tourists from Barcelona. The paper says that Malta now surpassed New Zealand with a total case count of 1,772.
Morning Briefing
Sliema double murder developments
In further developments on the Sliema double murder, the national broadcaster reported that a white SUV believed to have been used as the getaway car by three men involved in last week’s double murder in Sliema is being examined by the police.
It is understood that police officers towed the car away from the car park near St Luke’s Hospital on Thursday. TVM also said that equipment which may be used to interfere with police messages and phone transmissions was found inside along with other items connected to the murders.
The vehicle, a VW Tiguan, was reportedly stolen a couple of year back, but carried number plates stolen more recently. The Police are combing dozens of recordings elevated from CCTV cameras installed across the Tigné streetscape, where Chris Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski were murdered in cold blood in their Locker Street home.
Muscat publishes resignation letter
Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has published his resignation letter, sent to the President last January. The former Labour leader had for months refused to publish this letter, despite repeated demands by civil society organisations.
The letter is a short one, in which Muscat tells President George Vella that he would be making way to the new leader of the Labour Party to assume the post of Prime Minister, while confirming his intention to keep his place in Parliament.
The letter is dated 13 January 2020 – the day after Robert Abela was elected as the Labour Party’s new leader. He thanksed the President for his cooperation and the Maltese people for for the “opportunity and privilege to serve them as leader of this country for two consecutive mandates with unprecedented majorities, one larger than the other.”
Coronavirus in Malta
55 new cases were reported yesterday by the Health Department from just under 2,200 swabs. With 43 recoveries, the number of active cases has edged up again to 680. Malta has now seen a total of 1,667 cases.
It was also reported that two women who arrived from Barcelona early yesterday morning tested positive for Covid-19 after random testing was carried out at the airports arrival terminal.
Meanwhile, education authorities kicked off a series of meetings with teachers to discuss the reopening of schools in just over a month. At the same time, nurses’ lobby President Paul Pace lambasted the Union of Professional Educators for reporting that 87% of educators had expressed a preference not to return to the classrooms this coming September.
CDE News
