Good morning
Your Morning Briefing for today covers some of the headlines covered by Malta’s Newspapers, the latest update from around the world and other stories which hit the headlines in the past 24 hours.
We wish you a good day.
Jonathan Ferris will today face police questioning about his testimony during the Egrant inquiry, the Times of Malta has learnt. Sources said Mr Ferris, a for- mer manager of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit and a former police inspector, would probably be questioned in connection with perjury. When contacted by the Times of Malta, Mr Ferris confirmed that he received a call yesterday instructing him to turn up for questioning at the police headquarters in Floriana this afternoon.
MaltaToday leads with the story that the contract to build an extension at St Vincent de Paul was listed as a direct order in the Government Gazette but the authorities now contend otherwise. Worth €274 million, the con- tract was awarded to JCL & MHC Consortium, a company formed between James Caterers and a subsidiary of the dbGroup. On the same theme L-Orizzont reports that the bank guarantee from operators might be increased.
The Malta Independent quotes sources in the fish farming industry saying that Mare Blu Tuna Farm Ltd, a subsidiary of a Spanish company, has not yet signed the self-regulating agreement with the other fish farm operators, for cleaner seas around the island.
The Times report that a medical clinic could soon be set up in Paceville to handle the drunk revellers who normally crowd the hospital’s emergency unit on weekends, Health Minister Chris Fearne said yesterday.
A relative of a St Vincent De Paul Residence carer suspended following allegations of abuse has told The Malta Independent that the injuries suffered by an elderly patient were the result of an accident.
Archbishop Charles J Scicluna, will be personally celebrating Ella Agius’s Holy Communion at her residence next Sunday, Ella Agius’s father has told MaltaToday.
L-Orizzont quotes Fr Mark Montebello speaking about the division within the PN is painful as a Government without an Opposition is not good for the democracy.
In-Nazzjon reports that the accidents at the workplace went up by 3.8%.
In another story, In-Nazzjon quotes MUT President Mario Bonnici saying that there is no information from the Government side, about the free transport for school children which is intended to start as from the next scholastic year.
L-Orizzont leads with the investigations that the police are doing in connection with the alleged case of ‘attempted adduction’ at the Għadira beach.
L-Orizzont reports that a number of experts expressed their concern about comments done by the partner of former PN Leader about bullying.
>> A fighter Eurofighter of the Spanish Air Force deployed in Lithuania has accidentally fired an air-to-air missile on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Defence. (El Pais)
> Italy’s parliament on Tuesday passed a labor reform law, Its passage with 155-125 votes in the senate with one abstention fulfills a major campaign promise from Di Maio to reverse the use of short-term labor contracts and make laying off workers more expensive. The law already passed the lower house so it now becomes law. (DW)
>> Boris Johnson has rejected calls to apologise for his comments about Muslim women wearing burkas as Theresa May said they had “offended people”.The former Foreign Secretary accused his critics of mounting “ridiculous” attacks and attempting to “shut down” legitimate debate. However the Prime Minister said in Scotland that politicians have to be “very careful” about the language they use as she called on him to apologise. (The Telegraph)
>> Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer and fixer, is being investigated by federal prosecutors in New York for tax fraud. (Wall Street Journal
>> The West Hollywood City Council has unanimously approved a resolution seeking to remove President Donald Trump’s star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (Politico)
>> Saudi Arabia says it will withdraw all of its students studying in Canada in an intensifying rift between the two countries over the kingdom’s human-rights record. (Various)
>> Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has pleaded not guilty to three charges of money laundering on Wednesday (Aug 8). He was charged with receiving a total of RM42 million (S$14.1 million) as proceeds of illegal activities between December 2014 and February 2015. (The Strait News)
>> Republicans appeared to have held off a Democratic surge on Tuesday in a traditionally conservative Ohio district many Democrats had hoped would serve up an unlikely victory and boost their chances of sweeping wins in November’s midterm elections. (The Guardian)
The food at the funeral appears to have contained a group of chemicals used in pesticides, according to a health official. (Sky)
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte visited the Bufalini hospital where he met two of the people who suffered from extensive burns after the explosion in Bologna on Monday. He also met migrant workers in the wake of the traffic accident which killed 12 on Monday in Foggia. >>
In what investigators say is one of the most horrific child abuse cases they’ve ever seen a German mother and her partner were convicted Tuesday over the repeated rape of the woman’s young son and for selling him for sex on the internet. They were sentenced to prison in a case that has horrified the country. >>
European firms that stop doing business with Iran due to reimposed U.S. sanctions could in turn sanctioned by the E.U., a special adviser to the 28-country bloc’s top diplomat has warned.”If E.U. companies abide by U.S. secondary sanctions they will, in turn, be sanctioned by the E.U.” >>
President Donald Trump has been urged to stop tweeting about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump’s top advisers and several Russian. >>
Two weeks after a deadly wildfire in Greece claimed at least 90 lives, relatives of the victims are demanding answers from the authorities about why a new evacuation plan was not implemented. The minister responsible for the police and fire services resigned on Friday and the heads of both branches have since been replaced. >>
Parts of Frankfurt Airport were evacuated for several hours on Tuesday, following a security scare involving a French family, federal police said. >>
105 dead, 236 injured and 20,000 displaced – The balance of Lombok’s earthquake which hit Indonesia on Sunday. >>
Germany is to increase its powers to block foreign investments by significantly lowering the threshold for deals that can be subject to ministerial veto. >>
William Hague hopes for French help for a credible Brexit deal. >>
The Financial Times reports that the information factories for the cloud computing age are about to get caught in the crossfire of the US-China trade war. >>
A woman who once ran an upscale New York City escort service will appear on Friday before a federal grand jury that is hearing evidence in the wide-ranging inquiry into ties between Russia and President Trump’s 2016 election campaign, according to a person familiar with the matter. >>
A 40 year old British National from Naples was arrested and fined over € 1,000 after being caught stealing sand from a beach in Sardegna. >>
