Morning Briefing – 1st June ’18

Good morning,

Unfortunately today’s morning briefing starts on a sad note as all media portals in Malta report the news of a male cyclist who was killed after he was hit early on Friday morning by a driver just past the new Kappara flyover.

The local newspapers report that two libel suits filed over stories that exposed Economy Minister Chris Cardona’s alleged visit to a brothel in Germany have been struck off the list. We also read that Pilatus Bank owner Seyed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad set up a Maltese company for “social and mass housing projects”. Other news refer to some important appointments in Maltese authorities and the unveilling of a monument to commemorate former Maltese Prime Minister Dom Mintoff.

Unless anything extraordinary happens, this afternoon, Italy will have a new government, after 89 days since last elections. A report on comments given by Juncker on Italy stirred controversy and harsh criticism against the EU commission President.

Again if nothing extraordinary happens, Spain’s Prime Minister will be voted out, unless he resigns before a vote of confidence.

The first ‘shots’ in a trade war between the US and those who traditionally are called ‘allies’, were fired as Trump’s administration announced the imposition of trade tariffs. The EU, in its reaction, described the decision a ‘bad day for world trade’.

New medical research has led the American Cancer Society to invite people to start screening tests for colon and rectal cancers at age 45, rather than waiting for age 50.

Big businesses warned Theresa May that time is running out for Brexit and things aren’t clear yet. In the meantime, the former chairman of the Vote for Leave campaign applied for residence permit in France.

Luca Montezemolo, Mark Ball Cramer and Silvano Cassano are under investigation for the bankruptcy of Alitalia.

The European Court of Human Rights found Lithuania and Romania guilty of breaching ban on torture as they ‘willingly’ accepted CIA prisons.

The Pope gave a new mission to Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Jordi Bertomeu in Chile, as he also denounced culture of abuse and coverup in the Catholic church.

Denmark voted to ban the Burka and Niqab, as France announced it will not allow public screening of World Cup matches.

We also learnt about how black-and-white photos from Auschwitz Nazi camps were given colour and ‘life’ after research by artist Marina Amara.

Jesmond Saliba

Managing Editor