Times of Malta says a court has ordered the arrest and immediate investigation of a star prosecution witness in the 2010 HSBC heist case.
MaltaToday says Government will adopt its own route for its charity marathon, despite safety concerns flagged by the original organisers.
Newsbook says statistics published on Thursday showing that an average of 29 new cars were added to Maltese roads on a daily basis underlined the pressing need for a mass transportation system, Nationalist Party MP Toni Bezzina said.
TVM says that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne has announced that the Government will reimburse between five hundred euros and two thousand and five hundred euros for medicines bought by individuals and couples who are undergoing the IVF process at Mater Dei Hospital.
Mid-Day Briiefing
Covid-19 rules relaxed further: Government has announced the relaxation of further Covid-19 restrictions, particularly with regard to quarantine. In an announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister, quarantine for primary contacts in the same household will go down from 10 days to five days. The measure will come into effect from Monday. From March 7, quarantine for primary contacts will be completely removed, as long as these persons have received two doses. Masks in public spaces will no longer be required in open public spaces.
Rescue mission coordinator was instructed to push back migrants: A search and rescue mission coordinator in the Armed Forces told the court his superiors asked him to push back a boatload of people to Libya in April 2020. 52 asylum seekers are suing the Maltese state for allegedly breaching their rights by forcing them to Libya. NGO Alarm Phone had alerted the Maltese authorities to a dinghy carrying migrants heading towards the Maltese search and rescue area. Days later, on Easter Sunday, the migrants were rescued by a private Libyan-registered fishing vessel, the Dar Al Salam, engaged by Maltese authorities, and returned to Libya where they were placed in a detention centre.
Former OPM chief of staff snapped smiling with alleged kidnapper: Former chief of staff at the Office of the Prime Minister Keith Schembri was pictured with alleged kidnapper Christian Borg at the Auberge de Castille in 2018. Schembri said he had no memory of meeting Borg or of what may have been discussed when they met at the Prime Minister’s Office. “I must have taken hundreds of similar photos with the countless visitors to the OPM during my years there,” he said. Borg and his associates were arraigned after being charged with the violent kidnapping of another man.
Covid-19 Update: 109 new cases were found in the last 24 hours, with 292 new recoveries. No deaths have been reported for the first time in a month.
Morning Briefing
Transport Malta and LESA cancelled money launderer’s fine – Jason Azzopardi
Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi said in Parliament that a suspected money launderer used insiders at Transport Malta and LESA to cancel up to €3 million in traffic contraventions that his car hire company owed. The MP aslo claimed that Christian Borg and the two insiders ran the Goldcar racket for six years, starting in 2014, while also raising questions about Borg’s ties to Prime Minister Robert Abela. Azzopardi listed number plates of cars that allegedly had traffic tickets erased and said he could name the insiders to the police, if asked to. Borg is facing charges of kidnapping a man last month. (Times of Malta)
No decision yet on link between Mrieħel bypass and industrial estate
Infrastracture Malta CEO Frederick Azzopardi said a proposed flyover linking the Mrieħel bypass to the industrial estate remains the “preferred option” although an alternative suggested by the Qormi council is being considered. IM had put forward plans to create a flyover structure on the Mrieħel bypass to provide safer access to and from the industrial estate. However, the proposal was unanimously opposed by the Qormi local council, who urged the agency to drop the plans entirely, while proposing its own alternative. Transport Minister Ian Borg said no decision was taken yet on the flyover project, with both the option of the Qormi council and that of Infrastracture Malta being considered. “Last weekend I spoke to the Qormi mayor and we are collaborating very well. Once a decision has been taken, we will be communicating it accordingly,” Borg said. (Maltatoday)
Covid-19 Update: 117 new cases were reported on Wednesday, while 301 recovered. An 86-year-old woman passed away overnight.
