Updated 1745- News Portal Briefing
Times of Malta reports that Europol experts are testifying on Monday about emails, texts and audio messages extracted from devices linked to Yorgen Fenech.
MaltaToday reports that recent months have seen an increase in domestic violence reports handled by the police, according to top cop Angelo Gafa.
Newsbook reports that The public inquiry into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia heared the evidence of Silvio Debono, chairman of the db Group.
TVM reports that A delicate operation which was carried out by the Police from the Major Crimes unit, the Vice Squad, the Msida Police station and from the Rapid Intervention Unit (RIU), led to a 50-year-old woman from Lebanon being found safe and sound in an apartment in Bugibba after she was kidnapped from her Msida residence
Updated 1300 – Covid-19 Update
There were 121 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, health authorities said. With 108 persons being declared COVID-free on Sunday, the active case tally has gone up again, to 2071. 3,091 swab tests were carried out yesterday.
Updated 1130 – Unemployment in October stable
The unemployment rate for October 2020 stood at 3.9 per cent, at par with the previous month and up by 0.3 percentage points when compared to October 2019. This was revealed this morning by the NSO.
During October 2020, the number of unemployed persons was 10,681 with the unemployed males and the 25 to 74 age group being the major contributors to the overall level of unemployment.
Unemployment stood at 9,705 a year ago.
Updated – Four more deaths from Covid-19
Four COVID-19 patients died yesterday, taking Malta’s death toll linked to the pandemic to 137. The fatalities include two men and two women.
Updated 0830 – Newspaper Review
The Times quotes Prime Minister Robert Abela who said that the Covid-19 vaccine will start being administered in January. Abela said he expects the country to go back to ‘business as usual’ by May.
The Independent follows a political event on Sunday in which Prime Minister Robert Abela vowed to make Malta the first country to recover from the pandemic. He said that he wants to regenerate business, investment, and tourism.
In-Nazzjon leads with the arraignment in court of former PL secretary general Jimmy Magro accused of demanding a 10 percent cut on a waste management contract issued by the Local Councils Association. The case was reported by the suppliers in 2014.
L-Orizzont carries an interview with former politician and businessman Edgar Bonnici Cachia who tested as an asymptomatic Covid-19 carrier. He called for tougher enforcement of safety rules to help contain the spread.
In-Nazzjon quotes PN Leader Bernard Grech who called for greater autonomy for Gozo with the creation of a Regional Council and a specific socio-economic plan for the island. Grech said the party favours a referendum for Gozitans on the proposed tunnel.
The Independent speaks to former PN MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando who confirmed his intention to contest the casual election for the seat in parliament vacated by Edward Scicluna when he resigned from finance minister.
The Times reports on a case in court about a man who was blackmailed by two private investigators he had engaged. Mr Justice Francesco Depasquale ruled that the victim had been defrauded and ordered the accused to repay over €230,000.
L-Orizzont speaks to a woman who says her daughter is paid less than her colleagues because of her physical disability. The mother says that her daughter enjoys her work but called for fairer remuneration.
In-Nazzjon reports that the number of Covid-19 infections rose to a total 9,969 since the beginning of the outbreak in March. On Sunday, 143 new cases were reported while there we
Morning Briefing
Covid-19 Update
Malta ended the week with 2,062 active cases of coronavirus, after 143 new infections were reported by health authorities on Sunday. Another 139 patients recovered. The new cases were detected following 3,033 swab tests.
These figures takes Malta’s tally to 9,752 COVID-19 cases. 133 patients have died while infected with the virus while 7,557 have recovered.
PM Abela targets business as usual by May
Prime Minister Robert Abela has said that he is targeting May to see the country back to normal business. During a party event on Sunday, he said that while the vaccine is expected to be available in January, this will not mean that all the Covid-19 restrictions will be lifted by then.
“By March I want to see that our economy would be recovering well and by May I want to see us as in a position of business as usual and speaking about Covid-19 as something of the past.”
Abela promised that Malta will be the first country to recuperate from the pandemic. “We will start January with a vaccine in hand and vouchers for people to spend”, adding that by Summer he wished to see the country filled with tourism and companies investing in Malta.
On the extension of measures to keep bars and clubs closed, Dr Abela said that he was sorry about this decision which was taken together with the Health authorities. Dr Abela assured the owners of the clubs and bars that they would also start receiving the wage supplement with effect from the beginning of November.
PN proposes regional autonomy for Gozo
The Nationalist Party is committing itself to giving more autonomy to Gozitans through an elected regional Council which has executive powers and adeguate funding. During a political event in Gozo, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech expressed confidence in young Gozitans saying that they had the necessary skills to run the island allowing them to continue to live there and appealed to the politicians not to be afraid to entrust them with Gozitan leadership.
On the accessibility between the two islands, Dr Grech took the Labour Government to task for failing to establish a ferry service to provide service to Gozitan workers who, on a daily basis, have to cross the channel to work in Malta.
He added that the PN wanted studies on the tunnel to be carried out between the two islands but warned about the economic, social and environmental impact that such project could have.
Grech insisted that the voice of Gozitans should be prioritised and proposed a referendum among Gozitans to decide about the matter. He argued that this should be done in the context of a master plan framework.
CDE News
