Malta’s COVID-19 death rate is the second highest in EU | Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 5 July 2022

1745- Latest News update

Times of Malta says congestion, noise and air pollution from traffic are costing Malta some €400 million annually, the European Commission said in a report

MaltaToday says In a decision expected to have a strong ripple effect on consumers, a judge has declared that the method used by national utilities company ARMS to bill consumers for their electricity consumption was not only incorrect, but illegal.

Newsbook says The government’s fiscal deficit rose to €402.1 million in the first three months of 2022, figures published on Tuesday by the National Statistics Office show.

TVM says in a Ministerial Statement in Parliament, Prime Minister Robert Abela emphasised on the continual monitoring of increases in food prices.

Updated 12pm

NGOs plan legal action over Portelli’s ODZ pool in Marsalforn valley: Five organizations have started a crowdfunding effort before filing a lawsuit against the Planning Authority’s decision to allow plans for a swimming pool in an ODZ off Marsalforn Valley. A business founded by construction tycoon Joseph Portelli filed the plans. A sizable housing complex will include the pool at the valley’s edge. “The approval of a swimming pool in a valley, in addition to destroying the sensitive nature of the site, sets a dangerous precedent for subsequent approvals of similar projects. The Planning Authority has opened the flood gates to the destruction of our valleys to appease Portelli,” NGOs Għawdix, Wirt Għawdex, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar and Moviment Graffitti said.

Court blocks Serie A, La Liga for thousands of IPTV users: Thousands of IP addresses which were identified as having been illegally broadcasting Italian and Spanish league matches via IPTV service subscriptions last season will be blocked from continuing to provide content when the new season begins, a judge has ruled. Mr Justice Ian Spiteri Bailey ordered telecommunications companies Epic, Melita and Go to block illegal and unlicensed broadcasts of Italian and Spanish league matches.

Morning Briefing

IVF vote divides PN: No one in the Nationalist Party parliamentary group demanded a free vote during the 10 hours of internal debate on the in-vitro fertilization law revisions, according to Mark Anthony Sammut. The party statute clearly states that any decision about a free vote must be made by the parliamentary group, according to the president of the PN General Council. “The statute clearly indicates that the parliamentary group can opt to grant its members a free vote in parliament on grounds of conscience and belief,” Sammut added.

Malta’s COVID-19 death rate is the second highest in EU

According to recent data, Malta has the second highest COVID-19 fatality rate in Europe as the number of people infected with the virus keeps rising. Malta had a mortality rate of 17.4 fatalities per one million inhabitants for the week ending June 26, according to weekly data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The only country with a higher rate was Portugal, with 39.5 deaths per million people.