Good evening,
Malta’s news portals are dominated by the Sea-Watch saga and statements on the matter made by the Prime Minister, Interior Minister and the Pope on the Sea-Watch saga and the situation related to the Nationalist Party’s leader Adrian Delia.
Your evening Malta News roundup follows:
Lovin Malta leads with the warning the Nationalist Party’s executive president Mark Anthony Sammut expressed to The Sunday Times, that the PN is being damaged by domestic violence accusations against the Opposition leader and a subsequent leak of private data, including from his personal phone. “The allegations made, including sworn allegations, and footage circulating are very disturbing and some of the allegations are of a criminal nature,” Sammut told The Sunday Times of Malta. “The party should not be dragged into quarrels which are definitely harming it and which are outside of its control.”
During the day, while speaking on the Nationalist Party’s NetFM, Dr Delia said some sections of the media were harming the country, Opposition leader Adrian Delia said on Sunday, standing by his decision to sue a media organisation that reported details about his marital breakdown and the ensuing political fallout. Delia said a “small part of the media” seemed to be engaged in a coordinated attack against him which coincided with him climbing in the polls. (The Times, Independent, Net FM, MaltaToday)
The Malta Independent reports that following a story published by The Malta Independent on Sunday last week, former PN leadership candidate and PN executive member Alex Perici Calascione has confirmed that he set up a meeting between the Corinthia Group and Opposition Leader Adrian Delia. This was following a request made by the Chairman of the Corinthia Group, who wished to present details of this project to Delia, Perici Calascione said.
MaltaToday reports that the Prime Minister has stressed that he is not going to allow that Malta become a centre in the Mediterranean for migrants who were saved by humanitarian vessels and that no other countries want to allow to enter their ports. Joseph Muscat said on Sunday, during a One Radio interview, that it was his responsibility to avoid setting precedent by accepting to take in the 49 migrants who are currently stranded off Malta’s coast on two NGO ships. He said that the government had to “find a balance between safeguarding people’s lives and not bringing Malta and its national security under threat”. The Prime Minister’s speech is also reported on all other main news portals. (ONE News report)
Speaking to Television Malta, Minister for Internal Affairs and National Security, Michael Farrugia, said the case has exposed a number of shortcomings of NGOs and a lack of solidarity between EU Member States.
He said a number of important matters are involved. To begin with, NGOs cannot just decide for themselves where they want to land the immigrants; the landing place has to be secure and has to be the nearest locality and therefore a place of disembarkation. On the other hand it is becoming more apparent that solidarity between EU Member States is not such an existing reality.
Newsbook reports that MCAST lecturers have not yet received funds allocated to buy resources for their work, a clause which was meant to come into force on the 1st January this year. A source close to MCAST spoke to Newsbook.com.mt explaining that last July saw the signing of a new collective agreement between MCAST and the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) which should cover the period of three years between 2017 and 2020. The agreement says that from January, MCAST Assistant Lecturers, Lecturers and Senior Lecturers will be given a credit card called the MCAST Work Resource Card.
TVM reports that the man who escaped from Police custody two days ago when being detained at Qormi Police station has been arraigned in Court. Libyan national Abdulsalam Ben Hamed, aged 45 years, was arrested just over 24 hours after his escape. He was apprehended by the Police at the Qormi Park and Ride.
The Shift News leads with an opinion piece by Ranier Fsadni, who emphasises that the meaning of every crisis borrows from others looming in the wings. Right now the attention is quite properly on the existential crisis of the Nationalist Party. But the issue of the PN’s leadership needs to be considered alongside another crisis – that linked to the leadership succession in the Labour Party.
