Updated 1745 – News Portal Briefing
The Times reports that former prime minister Joseph Muscat plans to work as an “economic consultant” now that he has formally left politics, according to sources close to him.
MaltaToday reports that new Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech was today sworn in as a member of parliament.
Newsbook says that Pope Francis’s third Encyclical Letter “Fratelli tutti” on fraternity and social friendship opens by a brief introduction followed by eight chapters.
TVM reports that couples who were constrained to postpone their wedding due to the pandemic will now have the chance to receive a refund on the extra expenses they made for the wedding.
Updated 1234 – 47 new cases of coronavirus
47 new cases of coronavirus were reported by the authorities in the past 24 hours, while 42 patients have recovered. As a result, active cases increased slightly to 522.
Updated 1201 – 40th Covid-19 victim in Malta
The Health Ministry announced the death of a 90-year old woman following infection by coronavirus.
She had been hospitalised on 30th August, a month after being diagnosed as positive to the virus. The Ministry said she had underlying conditions.
The woman is the 40th victim of coronavirus in Malta.
Updated 1137 – Refund for couples that had to cancel wedding plans
Couples that had to cancel their wedding plans this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic can now secure the return of some of their expenses by applying for a refund on deposits paid for their wedding.
The refund scheme was launched today by Economy Minister Silvio Schembri and applies to all wedding which were due between 8th March and 30th September, to a maximum value of 2000 euro.
The grant allocations seeks to cover all unrefundable deposits which couples paid and did not recoup because their wedding was postponed, including catering services, hairdressers and photographers.
Updated 0944 – MCAST administration and staff disagree on notification of Covid cases
Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) staff said that they were not immediately informed about the occurrence of COVID-19 positive cases at the college and only found out through media reports, according to a report on The Malta Independent. The college administration, however, said that this was not the case.
Last Friday, the Union of Professional Educators (UPE) said that two staff members had tested positive in MCAST’s premises in Paola.
Updated 0900 – Newspaper Review
Morning Briefing
The Times leads with the resignation of Joseph Muscat from parliament. The former Prime Minister announced his decision in a brief adjourned speech and said that he had not informed his colleagues beforehand.
L-Orizzont reports on Joseph Muscat’s resignation speech in parliament, who expressed pride in contributing to a ‘stronger country’. He said he always wanted to bring about more and better changes.
The Independent says that House Speaker Anġlu Farrugia was ‘visibly shocked’ by Joseph Muscat’s announcement to resign as MP on Monday. The Speaker thanked the former Prime Minister and wished him well.
In-Nazzjon reports on the unanimous decision by the PN Executive Committee to co-opt newly elected leader Bernard Grech to parliament. Earlier, Adrian Delia handed Grech the keys to the leader’s office in a symbolic ceremony.
The Independent speaks to PN secretary general Francis Zammit Dimech about a string of resignations from party officials following last weekend’s election results. Zammit Dimech said he received 10 resignation letters and urged members and councillors to reconsider.
L-Orizzont quotes General Workers Union secretary general Josef Bugeja who proposed an obligatory fund by the private sector to support employees in times of economic crises. The union celebrated its 77th anniversary on Monday.
The Times reports that the Social Care Standards Authority has launched separate investigations into two private nursery homes for the elderly after outbreaks of Covid-19 claimed the lives of 13 residents.
L-Orizzont says that students and the Institute of Tourism Studies have increased by 136 percent in the past three years. Tourism Minister Julia Farrugia visited the school on the start of the academic year on Monday.
Budget scheduled for 19th October
The Budget for 2021 will be presented on 19 October, the government announced during a meeting of the House Business Committee on Monday.
This year’s budget will be the first for Robert Abela’s administration. The Prime Minister argued during in the past few days that this budget will seek a balance between economic growth and ensuring that the most vulnerable groups, particularly vulnerable, are not left behind.
Concurrently, it will also be a first for newly-elected PN leader Bernard Grech. The latter is expected to make his way into Parliament following the resignation of PN MP Ivan J Bartolo.
The Opposition leader will deliver his reaction to the budget on 26 October with the Prime Minister replying a day later.
Former PM Muscat resigns from Parliament
Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has announced his resignation as member of parliament yesterday evening.
Muscat announced his resignation on Monday, as parliament convened after the summer recess. The former PM said that he is proud of the accomplishments as leader of the country, and with the responsibilities he shouldered.
While recalling the successful electoral returns achieved during this tenure, he insisted that he did not like farewells and as such did not inform his fellow MPs of the intention to make the announcement during the first session after Summer recess.
Covid-19 Update
Health authorities registered 57 new cases of coronavirus in Malta tin the previous 24 hours. With only 12 patients recovering, the number of active cases is back above the 500-mark, standing at 518.
From the 30 cases which have been traced, seven cases were identified at St Vincent de Paule while seven cases were of educators, the daily update said.
CDE News
