Good morning
The impasse about Brexit, the extradition of the suspect of murdering Bulgarian journalist Marinova, the gruelling details of the Khashoggi’s murder and the withdrawal of the US from a UN postal service agreement are amongst the main news from around the world.
Your morning briefing provides you with the latest and a review of Malta’s newspaper front-pages to help you start your day informed.
The Latest
44 migrants who were picked up by a merchant vessel on Monday will be disembarked in Malta after Italy’s ‘refusal’ to take them in, the government said. The Malta Independent
Germany has extradited a man suspected of murdering Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova. Severin Krasimirov was arrested last week in the German town of Stade, near Hamburg. BBC
With negotiations over Britain’s withdrawal from the EU at an impasse, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May arrived at what was supposed to be a climactic EU leaders’ summit with no new proposals to unlock the vexed Irish border question. Politico
For all the latest on the EU Council and Brexit follow here.
The U.S. has asked Turkey for a recording that could reveal gruesome details of what happened to Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, President Donald Trump said Wednesday. But he’s not confirming there is any such recording, as reported by Turkish media, and he’s continuing to urge patience while Saudi Arabia says it’s investigating.
European Council President Donald Tusk has reacted to reports that Polish officials removed a plaque bearing his name, saying it was more important they did not “unscrew” Poland from the EU. Euronews
The Trump administration will begin withdrawing from a United Nations treaty that offered low rates for foreign postal deliveries of small packages in the US – the latest move to challenge practices it sees as unfairly advantageous to China. The Guardian
The interim chief of the EU’s beleaguered asylum agency EASO says it will take just six months to turn things around. Politico
Singapore has announced stricter guidelines on the maximum number of units in new blocks of private flats and condominiums in a move to tackle what authorities have called “excessive development of shoebox units” in the island-state. Reuters
More than 10m tweets sent by state actors attempting to influence US politics have been released to the public, forming one of the largest archives of political misinformation ever collated. Guardian
The Review
The Malta Business Weekly reveals that the European Central Bank has decided to revoke the licence of Pilatus Bank. The report says the ECB regulatory board has already agreed on the move, but some legal issues remain to be resolved before action can be taken.
The Malta Independent reports that million of euros are reported to have been laundered through Malta in a particularly brazen insurance car insurance scam that has seen 18 lawyers arrested in Naples. The scam involved nearly 3,000 false insurance claims, with bogus witnesses having been paid to provide false witness. The proceeds of the crimes were then sent to a company based in Malta, where the ill-gotten gains were laundered, according to Italian prosecutors.
In-Nazzjon carries a story about findings about child development in Malta published by the World Bank in the Human Capital Index. The paper says that the country ranks among the last five in the EU in a scale that measures children’s health and education.
The Times reports that Malta is failing to live up to its obligations under Maltese and international law to guarantee and safeguard freedom of expression, according to international press freedom organisations.
In another story we read that four out of every five children of Sub-Saharan African origin living in Malta are at risk of poverty, according to a report by the EU’s human rights agency.
The Times and the Independent also carry a photo story about the new recruits which joined the Maltese army.
L-Orizzont leads with a story about a measure that Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia said will give disciplined forces more protection. The Minister says the amendment will be revealed in the budget speech on Monday. A separate story in the newspaper says 79 percent of the measures announced for the 2018 Budget were successfully implemented.
The Malta Independent reports that Planning Authority has poured cold water over a €250 million sports village project that Valletta FC and their new investors from Dubai want to carry out.
L-Orizzont reports on the reduction in prices for 23 labelled medicines and 15 generic ones. The paper says that, over the past five years, the price of 230 medicines was reduced.
In-Nazzjon says that 900 students are still on the waiting list to be provided free school transport by the government system.
