Latest Update- News Portal Briefing
Times of Malta says the man suspected of having shot a man in his right shoulder on Thursday confronted the victim over a personal matter that has been dragging on after he allegedly defrauded him of €7,000.
MaltaToday reports that two men have been remanded in custody after they were charged with setting a shop on fire in August.
Newsbook reports that presenter and activist Peppi Azzopardi has called for Pope Francis to pay a visit to the Corradino Correctional Facility when he makes his long-planned visit to Malta.
TVM says that Prime Minister Robert Abela this morning held talks with the Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah at the Auberge de Castille.
Updated 1235 – Mid-Day Briefing
Covid-19 Update: 38 new cases were reported on Friday, as 43 patients recovered. This brought a slight drop in active cases to 740. 28 patients remain in hospital, two in intensive care.
Climate change tops Maltese concerns: According to a Eurobarometer survey, Maltese want MEPs to address climate change with urgency. The Maltese were broadly in line with European perspectives when putting climate change as the top priority for the European Parliament’s agenda (64%, EU-27 43%). Maltese respondents were also strongly in favour to the notion that EU funds should only be provided to member states that respect the rule of law and democratic values. The survey has also shown that 41% of respondents believe Malta “is going in the wrong direction” against 26% who said it was going in the right direction, and 31% who chose “neither one, nor the other”.
18 months needed for Malta to exit grey-list: Malta has to comply with all requirements listed by the FATF in order to exit the grey-list. Speaking on TVM, FIAU director Kenneth Farrugia projected up to 18 months before Malta is white-listed again. Farrugia said that the country needs to be proactive and encourage the sectors we monitor, to grow, by investing in private-public partnership; we want to fight money laundering and terrorist financing together with the sector. He insisted that tax evasion remains a priority: “Malta has to address serious tax evasion cases; not petty cases. Our action plan is to strengthen the fight against serious evasion. We have strengthened our risk assessment framework on how to investigate these cases, for example the structures employed by foreign subjects who remit their money here to evade their taxes,” Farrugia said.
Updated 0845 – Newspaper Review
The Times of Malta reports that the Prime Minister evaded questions on Labour’s tax issues saying he could only comment on matters since January 2020.
The Malta Independent says that the PN wants a national fund to tackle difficulties caused by insularity
In-Nazzjon warns that Government needs to acknowledge the issue of increasing cost of living if it truly wants to address it
L-Orizzont leads with the arrest of a young man following a shooting in Iklin
The Independent reports that a consultation process has been launched on the next EU Funding package allocated to Malta, which will reach EUR 971m.
The Times of Malta reports that a man was injured in a shooting in Iklin.
L-Orizzont shares details of a new scheme supporting businesses which shelved investment during the pandemic
In-Nazzjon reports on the traffic accident which ended up in a shooting in Iklin
L-Orizzont recounts the harrowing story of a New York resident who experienced the 9/11 tragedy first hand
Morning Briefing
18 months to get off grey-list – FIAU
The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) is aiming to get Malta off the grey list in 18 months, or less.
Kenneth Farrugia, Director General of FIAU, who was speaking on the national broadcaster, made this commitment, but cautioned that this was no easy task considering that all recommendations had to be implemented to achieve such a result.
Soft loan scheme launched
In a bid to further support the manufacturing and services industry to invest in projects that will help them further expand their business, Malta Enterprise will be relaunching the ‘soft loan’ scheme. The Soft Loan scheme will allow businesses to benefit from a maximum loan of €1 million, to implement projects over 18 months, where Malta Enterprise will be covering up to 75% of the expenses. The other part of the investment can be covered either through the company reserves or a loan from commercial banks.
Malta Enterprise will be assisting those businesses who want to invest in new products or tap into international markets or who want to improve their digital performance. Other projects include waste reduction, efficient use of water and other projects related to sustainable operations.
Man shot in Naxxar
A 55-year-old man from Naxxar was shot during an argument in Iklin on Thursday. The man, who has been hospitalised, appears to be the victim of an argument which developed after a car crash. He was shot in the shoulder – with the aggressor, a 24-year old, being arrested.
The incident took place shortly before 4pm on Triq il-Wied, the main road in the town.
The police said an argument developed after a car crash and the victim was shot three times. He was found several metres down the road from where the two cars – a Toyota Tercel and a Peugeot 208 – had collided.
Magistrate Nadine Lia is overseeing the inquiry on the case.
Covid-19 Update: There were 30 new cases and 28 new recoveries. 32 patients are currently being treated in Mater Dei, 3 of whom are in the ITU. Active cases stand at 745.
CDE News
