The following are the top stories in Malta's newspapers on Friday.

Times of Malta leads with news that former minister Konrad Mizzi has indicated he will not cooperate with the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry, describing it as a “charade” that has been politicised.

In a separate article, the newspaper refers to fresh projections by the European Centre for Disease, which show that the number of new COVID-19 cases registered daily in Malta is expected to remain in the triple digits all the way to Christmas.

The Malta Independent leads with comments by Tumas Group's chair Ray Fenech who is insisting that Yorgen Fenech, the business tycoon accused of complicity in Caruana Galizia's murder, could not have signed off freebies for Joseph Muscat and Edward Zammit Lewis. 

L-orizzont refers to figures dating back to 2014 showing that the number of patients kept involuntarily at Mount Carmel hospital has dropped.

In-Nazzjon also leads with news about how Mizzi said he will not cooperate with the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry. In another article, it reports on how Bishop Mario Grech will be addressing Pope Francis on Saturday on behalf of the elect-cardinals.