LATEST UPDATE Updated 1745- News Portal Briefing
Times of Malta reports that the country is considering Covid-19 vaccination documents.
MaltaToday reports that in a rowdy parliamentary committee meeting, Auditor General Charles Deguara told MPs that the Electrogas controversies “should be a lesson for the future”.
Newsbook reports that the Former Head of News at PBS, Reno Bugeja, said that PBS is not the government’s noticeboard
TVM reports that Cabinet has approved changes to the divorce law.
Updated 1245
Three new Covid-deaths
Coronavirus resulted in three new fatalities in Malta, health authorities said. Two of the victims, a man and a woman, passed away aged 90, with the third victim being an 83-year-old man. These deaths take the toll to 160. The number of active cases remained unchanged today at 1898 after 79 new cases were balanced out by 79 recoveries. 2,909 swab tests took place yesterday, a public holiday.
Malta bucks EU trend and registers growth in employment
Malta registered the fifth highest level of growth among its EU peers, according to Eurostat figures.
France (+18.7%), Spain (+16.7%) and Italy (+15.9%) recorded the sharpest increases of GDP compared to the
previous quarter. Portugal was the only other country with a higher level of growth than Malta, which achieved a growth rate of 12.7% on the previous quarter. However, the level of growth remains 9.2% lower than that registered in the same quarter in 2019.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment decreased by 2.3% in the euro area and by
2.0% in the EU in the third quarter of 2020, after -3.1% and -2.9% respectively in the second quarter of 2020. Malta bucked this trend with an increase of 2.4%.
Updated 0900 – Newspaper Review
Malta Today quotes the rapporteur for the Council of Europe’s resolution on rule of law in Malta, Dutch MP Peter Peter Omtzigt, who told the parliamentary assembly that the country’s progress in this department has so far achieved ‘mixed results’.
In-Nazzjon follows the report by the Council of Europe on the rule of law recommendations for Malta. Rapporteur Peter Omtzigt said that implementation of the reform programme has not been satisfactory.
The Independent speaks to Finance Minister Clyde Caruana who said that the financial services authority acting CEO, Christopher Buttigieg, will remain in place until the government ‘takes stock of the situation’ at the MFSA.
The Times reveals that the financial crimes investigators are questioning an Italian man suspected of planning to launder millions of euros for the mafia. Roberto Recordare is named as the owner of Malta-based companies operating in the software sector.
L-Orizzont says that six in ten inmates at the Corradino Correctional Facilities are non-Maltese nationals, and women make around seven percent of the total prison population. Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri provided the information in parliament.
The Independent reports on a series of concerns raised by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage about a planning application proposing the building of additional floors to properties in Valletta. The decision by the Planning Authority board will be taken on Thursday.
Malta Today reports that independent MEP candidate Arnold Cassola has filed a report with the police cybercrime unit to take down a video posted by zookeeper Anton Cutajar, following comments about Animal Welfare Commissioner Alison Bezzina.
The Times says that 40 new Covid-19 cases were registered on Tuesday, the lowest number in a single in more than two months. There were also less swab tests conducted, but the rate of positive results was still lower than in the last weeks.
In-Nazzjon reports the death of two Covid-19 patients at Mater Dei hospital on Tuesday, a 77-year old man and an 89-year-old woman. The number of casualties has now risen to 157 since the start of the pandemic.
L-Orizzont carries an interview with non-binary person Reb Sciberras who said that laws should be made to make life better for everyone and appealed for respect for each other, rather than tolerance.
Morning Briefing
Council of Europe describes Malta’s criminal justice system as unfit for purpose, Govt reacts
Malta’s implementation of recommendations by the Council of Europe to strengthen the rule of law was described as “unsatisfactory” by its Legal Affairs Committee.
Last year, the Assembly made a series of recommendations to the Maltese authorities on achieving justice for Daphne, strengthening the rule of law and ending impunity for high-level corruption. In a report published yesterday, the committee said implementation of the recommendations on ensuring justice for Daphne remain “fundamentally unsatisfactory, with no final results”.
It went on to say that Malta’s criminal justice system as being “unfit for purpose”, highlighting how magisterial inquiries tend to conclude late or not at all in high-profile cases, and how the compilation of evidence stage preceding a trial can cause “delay and confusion”.
The rapporteur also noted how none of the high-profile corruption and money laundering scandals had been resolved.
The Maltese Government contested the report, saying that the resolution fails to provide a clear picture of all the work undertaken by the government. In a statement yesterday evening, it referred to two fundamental Constitutional amendments, the method of appointment of the President of the Republic, as well as, of the Chief Justice respectively, both of whom now require a two-thirds parliamentary majority.
This process has also led to a change in the method of appointments for Judges and Magistrates. Together with a constitutional change concerning the discipline of the same Members of the Judiciary, the latter is no longer under Parliamentary scrutiny but now falls within the responsibility of the Commission for the Administration of Justice.
Covid-19 Update
Health authorities reported 40 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, the lowest number for the past two months. A total of 1,766 swab tests were carried out – well below the number carried out in recent weeks, which regularly reached 3,000.
A total of 144 patients recovered from the virus over the past 24 hours, lowering the number of active cases to 1,901.
CDE News
