1745- Latest News update
Times of Malta says Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo could not give a timeline on a long-promised zoo legislation, even as a new national strategy for animal welfare was opened for consultation on Thursday.
MaltaToday says the Maltese government will be deploying artificial intelligence in six different automation processes for traffic management, out-of-stock medicines and energy, amongst others.
Newsbook says 120 asylum seekers are currently adrift in the Maltese search and rescue region.
TVM says Tyron Fenech, 37, from Paola was not found guilty of trafficking ecstasy when he was 19 years old.
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EU takes Malta to Court on tax on imported cars: The European Commission has referred Malta to the Court of Justice for taxing used cars imported from other Member States more heavily than used cars purchased on the Maltese market. The Maltese car taxation system does not take into account the date of the first registration of the vehicle, where registration took place in another Member State, but rather the date of registration in Malta. As a result, vehicles registered in other Member States before 1 January 2009 and brought to Malta after that date are subject to a higher annual registration tax than similar vehicles already registered in Malta before that date.The European Commission said in a statement today that this system is not compatible with EU legislation.
British relic era still at minister’s house: A British-era stone marker is still in Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo’s home, he confirmed on Thursday, while remaining evasive on how it was acquired. The minister has come under fire after photos on Facebook emerged showing the historic artefact in his house, raising questions as to whether such an item could be privately owned. Refalo is a former chair of Heritage Malta and a known art collector. “The stone marker is still at my place near the pool,” he said. “I invited the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage to see it, he did and it’s still there. I don’t think I would do anything to it that wasn’t under instruction from the Superintendence.”
Covid-19 Update: 85 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Thursday, while 151 recovered. This brings the active case tally down to 2,082. 151 people meanwhile have recovered from the virus, meaning that the number of active cases currently stands at 2,082.
Morning Briefing
EU approves Malta grain price subsidy
The European Commission approved a Maltese proposal on Wednesday to mitigate the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on grain prices. The €30 million subsidy program will benefit enterprises who import, manufacture, and distribute grains and other comparable products. The program was approved under the Temporary Crisis Framework for State Aid, which was adopted by the Commission on March 23 and recognizes that the EU economy is undergoing significant disruption.
Yorgen Fenech associate charged in France
According to a court hearing on Wednesday, a business colleague of Yorgen Fenech, who is facing money laundering charges in Malta, was arrested in Italy and sent to France, where he is being questioned by police. The reason for the arrest has not been revealed. The case against Nicholas Cachia was set to start on Wednesday morning, but has been postponed indefinitely owing to events overseas. Last August, Cachia, 47, and his father Joseph, as well as a number of other Fenech business colleagues with ties to a Maltese gaming company named Glimmer Ltd, were charged with money laundering.
Covid-19 Update
Health authorities reported 74 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, while 160 patients recovered. The active case tally stands at 2,148.
Two new deaths were registered in the past 24 hours, taking the death tally to 716.
