Good morning
New Year brings with it a new improved morning briefing service. In our briefing we review main global portals and agencies, the local newspapers front page stories and a roundup of the main stories in Malta’s portals to make sure you start your day informed.
The Latest
UPDATE- The man who was seriously injured when he fell off a ladder at the Delimara ower station died in hospital today, the police said. The accident had taken place on Boxing Day. The man fell a height of a metre and a half, the police said, and was taken to hospital with serious injuries. He succumbed to his injuries today.
A record sum of €1,275,442 was raised during the New Year’s day Feast of Generosity organised by Id-Dar tal-Providenza.
Xi Jinping called on Taiwan to reject independence and embrace “peaceful reunification” with China, in a conciliatory speech that nevertheless took a hard line on the self-governing island’s political sovereignty and freedoms.
Mitt Romney, the former Republican presidential candidate and incoming US senator, has sharply criticised Donald Trump both personally and professionally, accusing him of deserting the nation’s allies and lacking the character to lead a “divided” nation.
Labour members are significantly more opposed to Brexit than Jeremy Corbyn is, with 72% of them thinking their leader should fully support a second referendum, according to a study of attitudes in the party.
The United States and Israel officially quit the U.N.’s educational, scientific and cultural agency at the stroke of midnight, the culmination of a process triggered more than a year ago amid concerns that the organization fosters anti-Israel bias.
Jair Bolsonaro, who has vowed to crack down on political corruption, violent crime and ignite a moribund economy with deregulation and fiscal discipline, was sworn in as Brazil’s president on Tuesday.
Nasa’s New Horizons spacecraft has survived humanity’s most distant exploration of another world. Ten hours after the middle-of-the-night encounter four billion miles away, flight controllers in Laurel, Maryland, received word from the spacecraft that it had successfully completed its latest mission.
A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a police station in Libya’s southwestern town of Ghadwa, a local security source said Tuesday.
The Newspapers
The Times publishes a story on a report by the EU drugs agency which says that the use of cocaine in Malta has increased by four times in recent years. A police officer told the paper that the party drug is widely available and currently enjoying a ‘boom’.
The Times says that meteorological data shows that 2018 was stormier, wetter, and warmer than the average years. Heavy downpours in February and October accounted for two-thirds of the total rainfall over the twelve months, at 596.6 millimetres.
In-Nazzjon says that PN Deputy Leaders David Agius and Robert Arrigo led a delegation to the Generosity Fest at Dar tal-Providenza on Tuesday, presenting two donations amounting to €1,740.
In-Nazzjon reports on a statement by the police that three drivers were found drink-driving over New Years Eve, with more than 550 inspections carried out at roadblocks. No traffic accidents were reported during the night.
L-Orizzont leads with a story on Air Malta and how the operations in IT department are transformed into a profitable cost centre.
In another photo story, L-Orizzont reports that 32 migrants are out at sea while another 72 are missing.
The Portals
Popular youtuber Nas Daily had arranged to spend New Year’s Eve in Malta when he and his girlfriend were blocked from boarding the flight from Barcelona airport last night. LovinMalta said the incident was sparked by unprovoked security guards who inexplicably made it her mission to disrupt the couple’s plans. Nas is preparing for his 1,000 video, which he had decided to shoot in Malta.
A photograph taken in Malta became The Economist’s second-most popular image in 2018. The Times publishes the pictures showing a quote sprayed over a brick boundary wall: ‘Speak the truth even if your voice shakes – 16.10.2017’. The picture was taken by Dan Kitwood and is credited to Getty Images.
Traffic police made conducted more than 550 inspection on drivers over New Year’s Eve, with road blocks at various locations. TVM reports that three people were found drink-driving while other motorists were flagged from breaches to the highway code. One News says that one of the caught drink-drivers was so intoxicated that he did not even realise he was being stopped by the police.
The Shift News looks at five major events it expects to shape the international news this year. The websites names the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Brexit, The European Parliament elections, the Trump Presidency, and the world financial system.
The World Day of Peace was marked by Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square this morning. Net News covers the Pope’s message who called on politicians around the world to do their bit in seeking and securing world peace.
A man has attempted a series of anti-immigrant attacks in Germany, leaving several people seriously injured. MaltaToday says that the 50-year-old attacker drove his car into pedestrians in what German authorities are considering to be intentional targeting of migrants.
Temperatures are set to drop significantly over the coming days and rain is expected until Sunday. The Malta Independent warns that the cold snap will go as low as 5 degrees celsius on Thursday while a hurricane is forming in the east Mediterranean.
