Update 1745 – News Portal Briefing update
TVM reports that the General Workers’ Union has presented its pre-budget proposals to Prime Minister Robert Abela.
Times of Malta reports the government has signed off management of the Miżieb and Aħrax woodlands in Mellieħa to the hunters’ lobby group on Friday, bringing forward a signing ceremony that was initially planned for Sunday.
Newsbook reports that minister Chris Fearne said that the government is analyzing how the current measures in place for funerals can be relaxed but at the same time public health needs to be observed.
MaltaToday says that the Venice Commission has given a positive opinion of legal and constitutional reforms enacted this year but criticised government for rushing them through.
Updated 1231 – Covid-19 Update
The Health Ministry reported 75 new cases of coronavirus, identified from 2,732 swab tests. 31 persons have recovered over the same period, taking the number of active cases to 625. The average age of the cases identified this past week stood at 39.
In her weekly press briefing, Prof Charmaine Gauci said that 56 patients are currently hospitalised, nine of them in ITU.
Newspaper Review
The Times reports that the Caruana Galizia public inquiry intends to go on with the process even if it is not concluded by the December deadline imposed by the Prime Minister. The board referred to a clause requiring ‘proper fulfilment’ of the terms of reference.
The Independent leads with pre-budget proposals by the UĦM union which is demanding a reduction in household utility bills and a bonus for front-liners in the healthcare industry in response to the pandemic.
L-Orizzont follows a ‘rowdy’ hearing in court on Thursday in a case filed by minister Owen Bonnici against opposition MP Jason Azzopardi over Facebook comments. The minister said he can never accept being called a criminal, as Azzopardi has.
In-Nazzjon says that the chairman of the European Popular Party, Manfred Weber, called PN Leader Bernard Grech to congratulate him and assure him of the group’s backing to help renew the party.
The Independent sent questions to the curia about a video from inside a church by Mosta priest Fr David Muscat in reaction to Joseph Muscat’s resignation from parliament. A spokesperson said that the sacrament should not be used to pass political comments.
The Times quotes Prime Minister Robert Abela who encourages businesses to engage with Libya as a trading opportunity. Abela made the comments before a meeting with the Chamber of SMEs.
L-Orizzont reports on the funeral of Maria Grech from Xagħra who had been in a state of coma from a car crash 12 years ago. Grech, who was 15 years old at the time, had suffered a 100 percent disability in the accident.
Morning Briefing
Airport traffic down again in September
September traffic through Malta International Airport registered a drop of 83.1 per cent when compared to the same month in 2019, with passenger movements totalling 128,664.
It has registered a slight improvement in August.
Aircraft movements and seat capacity for the month of September decreased by 57.9 per cent and 59.9 per cent respectively. Seat load factor (SLF) for the month registered a drop of 49.9 percentage points to stand at 36.3 per cent.
The top markets for the month of September were Germany (-71.4 per cent), Italy (-83.1 per cent), the United Kingdom (-89.2 per cent), France (-73.1 per cent) and Austria (-55.4 per cent).
Govt confirms plans to hand Miżieb and Aħrax to the FKNK
Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg on Thursday has defended government plans to formally hand over the management of the woodlands at Miżieb and Aħrax to the FKNK hunters’ federation.
The FKNK will not receive any monetary compensation for its management of the two sites.
Both sides faced a significant backlash from civil society, with a petition called by some 60 NGOs receiving over 17,000 signatures.
Govt, PN clash on business register
The Opposition took a swipe against Government decision to delete thousand of inactive companies from the country’s business register, saying that while it is good for the registry to clean up the registry from those no longer active, it must not occur to the detriment of transparency obligations and information accessibility”
“The information regarding inactive companies removed by the registry serve to ensure transparency in the creation and administration of companies, and is also used so that entities and business people take informed decisions. The removal of this information is also a major problem for journalists who play an important role in their search for truth and in uncovering abuse.”
The Economy Ministry denied these claims replied that “all information remains physically stored in the MBR building and anyone can request company information, as a physical document or by email.”
Covid-19 active cases back over 600 mark
Health authorities reported 64 new cases of coronavirus in Malta, with 19 persons recovering the past 24 hours.
The number of active cases has gone up to 622, the first time the 600-mark was exceeded since the last week of September.
Meanwhile, the Malta Union of Teachers said it was concerned about “false information” being issued about coronavirus cases in schools, noting that some parents were rushing to pick up their children from schools due to false rumours making the rounds.
The Union said that it expects the government to have its communication procedures in place to inform affected educators, students and parents immediately and to ensure that all respective health measures are taken right away.
CDE News
