Good evening,
What follows are the main highlights of the Maltese news, as reported by the Maltese portals, which as expected are dominated by this morning’s fire at the Wasteserv’s Magħtab’s site. But it’s not the only thing that happened today.
The Times reports that Italy’s government has apologised to Malta after an Italian policeman called Malta’s ambassador to Italy a “whore” on Facebook. In a statement, the Italian embassy in Malta said that foreign minister Moavero Milanesi had called his Maltese counterpart Carmelo Abela to apologise for the “unspeakable” insults. An Italian police officer took umbrage at Ambassador Frazier’s comments and wrote on his Facebook profile that Italy was being “taken for a ride by a woman who used to be a bar whore in Malta.” The Times adds that the comment sparked a diplomatic incident and an official apology from Italy. Aside from an apology from minister Milanesi, Italy’s ambassador to Malta Mario Sammartino has also expressed solidarity with ambassador Frazier.
MaltaToday reports that Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) requested, and were provided with, information from its Latvian counterpart regarding the ownership of the Dubai registered company 17 Black. Socialist MEP Ana Gomes said in a tweet that the FIAU requested the information from Latvia’s FIU in February 2018. A reply containing details including the company’s owners, accounts held and transfers made was passed on three days later.
The Malta Independent reports that the fire that broke out at the Wasteserv complex in Maghtab on Friday morning is now completely under control, Chairman of Wasteserv Board David Borg said in a press conference. He said that there were no injuries in the incident and that no part of the complex itself had been damaged. The fire started from an area where around 30,000 tonnes of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) is stored, explained Wasteserv CEO Tonio Montebello. RDF is essentially waste that cannot be recycled, such as dirty cardboard or plastic wrappers. It is not clear yet as to how much of the waste stored caught fire on Friday morning.
Net News, like other portals reported that in a press conference on Friday afternoon, Nationalist Party Leader Adrian Delia said that it was his and the party’s fear that the fire at the Wasteserv Complex in Maghtab was a direct result of a lack of responsibility and poor leadership in how recycling is handled in Malta.
TVM reports that the first of 12 Georgians was arraigned in Court today after a lengthy Police investigation into a series of thefts from various localities. Elguja Bzikadze (30) was arraigned before Magistrate Monica Vella and accused of having plotted the theft of jewels from various residences in Balzan, St Paul’s Bay and Mosta. He entered a plea of not guilty and was remanded under arrest.
The Times reports that by the end of July 2018, Central Government Debt stood at €5,355.5 million, down by €192.5 million over the corresponding month last year, however with expenditure outstripping revenue, the deficit reached €117.2 million.
One News reports that Manolo Fulvio Trevison , an Italian who used to work at a Casino, was arraigned after misappropriation of funds from his work place. He was given a suspended sentence.
Newsbook followed up the announcement of a tax rebate which will be sent to workers in Malta. The portal analysis who is eligible for this tax rebate.
