1745 update
Times of Malta says that former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi hit it out Speaker Anġlu Farrugia over a stern letterhe sent to the son of slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
MaltaToday says that European Medicines Agency approves Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children between 5 and 11
Newsbook says that rescue workers have been deployed to assist a motorist trapped in a vehicle in Burmarrad as heavy rain flooded the roads in Malta.
TVM says that today’s storm over the Maltese Islands can be considered as one of the worst ever to hit Malta.
Morning Briefing
5-11 year-olds to get jab in December if EMA approves- Fearne
Government has no plans to introduce further COVID-19 restrictions, Health Minister Chris Fearne confirmed. Speaking during a press event on Wednesday, Fearne said that ITU cases remain stable, and thus, “unlike other countries, we’re not seeing the need to introduce more restriction,” Fearne said. However, he revealed that the plans that the COVID-19 booster dose schedule is being accelerated while, pending EMA approval, from mid-December, Malta will be in a position to start offering the vaccine to children between the ages of five and 11 years.
Metsola secures EPP candidature
Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola has been chosen among her centre-right EPP peers as the party’s sole candidate for the election to the post of European Parliament President. She won the contest against Austrian MEP Othmar Karas, 63, and Dutch MEP Esther de Lange, 46. Metsola’s victory was resounding, securing a strong 112 votes, with de Lange at 44 and Karas third on 18.
Speaker, Caruana Galizia trade hard words on Rosianne Cutajar case
Speaker Anġlu Farrugia and activist Matthew Caruana Galizia exchange hard words on Wednesday in the aftermath of the handling of MP Rosianne Cutajar’s ethics breach. Caruana Galizia called on the Speaker to resign with Farrugia’s lawyer replying on Wednesday that the Caruana Galizia seemed to not understand parliamentary procedure or the laws of Malta. The dispute arose after the Speaker appeared to let off Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar lightly last week after she was found to have breached ethical standards. Caruana Galizia accused Farrugia of making an “extraordinary effort to protect an MP who accepted a bribe from a person on track to be prosecuted for high-level corruption”. In his reply, Farrugia said that he should have not been the recipient of the journalist’s complaints, adding that “Ttis may be attributable to a lack of knowledge of parliamentary practice and the laws of Malta on your part.”
Konrad Mizzi dismissed from hospital
Former Labour minister Konrad Mizzi has been discharged from hospital tafter being admitted last week with peritonitis. In a Facebook psot, the now-Independent MP thanked God, the public for support and the staff at Mater Dei.
Covid-19 Update
86 new cases were reported on Wednesday, while 39 recovered. Active cases have reached 954, with 17 patients in hospital. Meanwhile, health authorities announced that more than 100,000 booster jabs were given.
