Good morning,
The events to commemorate Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, the cabinet reshuffle in France, the legalisation of cannabis for recreational purposes in Canada and the important summit about Brexit dominate the headlines from the main news outlets we review in our morning briefing.
The Latest
Malta, on Tuesday, commemorated the first anniversary since the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The chair of a United Nations inquiry that accused Myanmar’s military of genocide is likely to brief the Security Council this month after Britain, France, the United States and six other members requested the meeting, diplomats said on Tuesday. Reuters
A Saudi mission to interrogate and possibly abduct journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul was organized by a high-ranking officer with the General Intelligence Presidency, Saudi Arabia’s main intelligence service, three sources familiar with the case told CNN.
Canada has become the second country after Uruguay to legalise possession and use of recreational cannabis. BBC
French President Emmanuel Macron reshuffled his government on Tuesday, naming loyalist and head of his ruling party Christophe Castaner to the sensitive post of interior minister. France 24
Ahead of a Brexit summit on Wednesday, the EU has urged the UK to make “concrete proposals” to break a stalemate in negotiations. German Chancellor Angela Merkel compared any solution to “squaring a circle.” DW
The US has said it intends to negotiate three separate trade agreements with Japan, the UK and the EU. It could take several months before the negotiations begin, it said. BBC
France is making urgent preparations for Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal, including imposing checks at the Channel Tunnel, a senior minister warned Tuesday. France 24
The Pentagon’s Africa Command said on Tuesday that it had carried out the deadliest attack against the Islamist extremist group Shabab in nearly a year, killing about 60 fighters in central Somalia. New York Times
The European Commission will provide funding of €172,5 million from the EU agricultural budget to promote EU agri-food products in Europe and across the world. 79 campaigns, covering a wide range of products such as dairy products, olives and olive oil, and fruit and vegetables, will be rolled out over the next three years. EU
Facial recognition will soon be used in British shops for the first time to judge how old customers are at self-checkout machines when they buy age restricted items, it is understood following a deal with the company that makes the tills for Tesco and Asda. The Telegraph
A rocket was fired into Israel from the Gaza strip on Wednesday causing unspecified damage in a southern city. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Al Jazeera
France came from behind to end Germany’s Finals ambitions while Ukraine and Georgia sealed promotion. UEFA
The Paper Review
The Malta Independent covers a protest march held yesterday in Valletta to commemorate Daphne Caruana Galizia on the first anniversary since her assassination. Several activist organisations participated in the event while four student bodies released a statement saying they too were joining the protest.
The protest also features in MaltaToday which says that thousands of people marched down Republic Street in Valletta shouting ‘justice, justice’. The paper says that several speakers addressing the crowd warned of a return to the political violence of the 1980s.
In-Nazzjon says that PN Leader Adrian Delia and Secretary General Clyde Puli laid wreaths on the Great Siege memorial in Valletta to mark a year since the death of Caruana Galizia. In a statement, the Nationalist Party said the country is still waiting for justice to be served.
MaltaToday reveals a report by the Organisation for Economic and Social Development (OECD) that marks Malta’s sale-of-citizenship scheme among the ‘potentially high-risk’. The Organisation says that the low tax rate on income from foreign financial assets and lax regulation on the length of stay of buyers place the country’s scheme in this class.
In-Nazzjon covers the story, too, and adds that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Finance Minister Edward Scicluna were formally warned by the OECD in a formal letter.
The Times says that Malta has reached a formal agreement with the European Commission over the re-opening of the trapping season. The paper says that the deal allows the trapping of two species: the song thrush and the golden plover.
Another story in The Malta Independent speaks to Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia who denies claims made in the PN media that Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar will be replaced.
L-Orizzont quotes figures from the National Statistics office which say that employment increased by 5.7 percent in a year, with 232,169 people in employment.
L-Orizzont also covers the launch of a national awareness campaign on cyber security by MITA. In another story the paper says that MEP David Casa avoided L-Orizzont journalists who were present at an event in honour of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The Times says that Valletta FC have made a bid to secure the services of Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, who has turned to football after retiring from athletics.
