President says he tried to influence MPs ‘in the right direction’ on IVF law / Malta News Briefing – Saturday 9th July 2022

Updated 1230

President says he tried to influence MPs ‘in the right direction’ on IVF law

President George Vella said that he did all he could within his power to influence MPs in the right direction when passing the new IVF law but gave no further details. Interviewed by Andrew Azzopardi on 103 Malta’s Heart Vella refused to indicate whether he would sign the law.”It’s difficult to publicly say on a station like this what was done before the law was passed – what was discussed and said. This is a very delicate subject and it was necessary for MPs to be informed,” Vella told Azzopardi. George Vella said he doesn’t have the authority to send back an approved law to Parliament when asked whether he will sign the recently amended IVF legislation.(Times of Malta / Maltatoday)

Transport Malta increases presence of enforcement officers ‘to ensure road safety’

Over the past few days, Transport Malta officials have conducted a number of roadside inspections on major roads and in different locations around our country, the agency said in a statement. During these inspections, 207 cars were stopped and underwent a basic or full inspection. 179 fines were issued on the grounds that some aspects of the car did not comply with the law or that do not guarantee the health and safety of road users. 15 cars were also towed. (The Malta Independent)

Covid-19 Update
Malta registered 471 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, as the recent surge in cases continued. With 518 recoveries, the number of known active cases went down to 7,890. (Newsbook)

Morning Briefing

House prices rise 6.7%
In the first quarter of 2022, house prices in Malta, as measured by the House Price Index, rose by 6.7% on the same quarter last year. According to data revealed by the National Statistics Office, this increase was mainly driven by developments in the Maisonettes Price Index which stood at 135.95, registering an annual increase of 9.5%. This was followed by the Apartments Price Index which stood at 139.44, recording a rise of 6.1% over the first quarter of 2021. In the first quarter of 2021, the PPI registered a rise of 4.6 per cent when compared to the same quarter of the preceding year

LESA directives suspended

The General Workers’ union temporarily suspended its directives to LESA members since negotiations on a better financial package have resumed.
“In recent hours, we were informed that the agency is ready to offer a much more advantageous financial package than previously offered,” the GWU said.

Incentives for Gozo tourism launched

Two incentives have been unveiled by the government to promote Gozo’s tourism industry. The two programs—one for marketing efforts and the other for “adventurous tourism”—will be open until December 2023. Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri revealed the programs and stated that even if the tourism business is doing well and recovering from the pandemic, more help is still required to keep it growing on the island.
The applicants will get reimbursement for capital costs associated with marketing campaigns for the Gozo lodging industry as well as costs associated with the hire of equipment for adventure tourism.