Budget cuts expected to target capital projects
The Times of Malta reports that several planned infrastructural projects which were to be entirely financed by national funds are expected be frozen as the government attempts to cushion the spiralling cost of energy. The decision could impact certain planned road upgrades, schools and other projects, top civil servants told Times of Malta.
Homeless should not be allowed to refuse shelter
Homeless people should not be allowed to refuse shelter when offered, Marsa mayor Josef Azzopardi told The Malta Independent on Sunday. “It is not the first time that help was offered to these people, but they have refused seeking shelter,” Azzopardi said. Sliema deputy mayor Anton Debono acknowledged that homelessness is in fact on the rise in Sliema.
Vitals and Steward deal under the scrutiny as company turns bankable
Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne has said Steward’s claims of the hospital concession not being “bankable” are no longer true after they turned a profit. “The accounts they presented showed the concession is indeed bankable, because they turned a profit, and so this week I requested the permanent secretary write to Steward and told them that now that the concession can indeed turn a profit,” he said. (Malta Today)
SOCAR secret energy agreement with Malta published
A secret energy agreement being revealed for the first time shows that the Maltese government gave what is effectively an unconditional guarantee to SOCAR Trading that it would step in to cover any of Electrogas’ debts. The long-hidden LNG Security of Supply Agreement (GoM LNG SSA) that former minister Konrad Mizzi signed in April 2015 is being described as in effect, an open cheque to SOCAR Trading – a Swiss subsidiary of Azerbaijan’s government-owned SOCAR – that was kept hidden from the European Commission. (Shift News)
Degiorgio Brothers likely to represent themselves in Caruana Galizia’s murder case
Brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio are likely to represent themselves in their impending trial over the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, after they failed to secure a new lawyer to defend them. The brothers ended up without someone to represent them in court after their lawyer, William Cuschieri, notified Judge Edwina Grima that he would no longer be acting for them in the murder case. Sources close to the case told Times of Malta that the Degiorgios then approached numerous lawyers, among them top criminal lawyers, who all turned them down. (Times of Malta)
Five men arrested after thefts from Marsa warehouse
Five men were arrested on Saturday morning, after they were found by Police officials in a Marsa warehouse after what appears to be an attempt of theft. The Police were informed of a number of suspicious men in the vicinity of some warehouses in the area of Moll tal-Ħatab in Marsa. (Newsbook)
Man in danger after Valletta car fire
A 41-year-old man from Ta’ Xbiex is in danger of dying after extensive burns in a car fire, in Valletta on Saturday morning. The incident happened in Marsamxett. While the police said that the victim was found lying on the ground near the car, they also revealed that a caller from Sliema Creek had heard an explosion. (Times of Malta)
Flamingo shot during Channel crossing
Birdlife said that a flamingo was illegally shot by a hunter on Saturday morning, as the bird was making its way across the islands.
In a video, the NGO said that when the adult flamingo was found, it was badly wounded, having blood dripping from its wings. The flamingo was recovered on Saturday by a fisherman from the sea off the coast of Gozo, marking the third illegal hunting casualty since the start of the autumn hunting season on 1 September. (Newsbook)
English language schools struggling to find teachers
English Language Schools are struggling to recruit qualified teachers, the Union of Professional Educators said. It attributed the challenge to the fact that many qualified English language teachers left the industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. It added that unstable and unreliable working conditions found in many schools precipitated a mass exodus. (Independent)
