1745- Latest News update
Times of Malta says a government ploy to hand out cheques prior to the March general election does not conform to international standards and good practice, an international election monitoring body has ruled.
MaltaToday says the drug baron Jordan Azzopardi, accused of running a secret factory in Wardija, has been arrested by police again after a police car chase that ended in Madliena today, Friday, at around 4pm.
Newsbook says the anonymous whistleblower behind the 2016 Panama Papers data leak has spoken out, stating that the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 affected him deeply.
TVM says the Police Anti-Drugs Squad Unit is investigating at least two deaths of young foreign women after they allegedly took ecstasy pills.
Updated 1235
NGOs lament bare-minimum work-life balance implementation: Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from various fields joined forces to take Malta’s major unions to task after accepting the bare minimum criteria introduced by government when implementing EU laws on work-life balance. The organisations expressed dismay that unions agreed to a weak transposition of the EU law, without considering the needs of workers who have family and care responsibilities. They noted how the right to request flexible working arrangements from the employer, as introduced by the Legal Notice, will also have almost no impact because there is no obligation to meet these demands in certain circumstances or under certain conditions.
Malta might not have enough workers for certain investments – PM: Prime Minister Robert Abela warned that Malta’s labour market might not have enough workers to complete certain investments, posing a challenge to the country’s economic growth. Abela said the country was going through a strong economic recovery, quoting growth and employment figures, but said that this revival comes with its own challenges, especially when it comes to finding the resources for new investments. “We’re at full employment but still in a situation where we might not have enough workers to carry out certain investments,” Abela said.
PN says Govt letting inflation increase unchecked: Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has accused Prime Minister Robert Abela of allowing certain businesses to hike prices, by blaming inflation on the war in Ukraine. Grech said that inflation was affecting everyone and not just those on the lower income bracket. “The time of excuses for Robert Abela is over. He has blamed past PN administrations, COVID and the war in Ukraine. Those that are suffering are not interested in those excuses, but want solutions,” Grech said.
Covid-19 Update: Three people with Covid-19 have died overnight, bringing the number of deaths linked to the pandemic in Malta to 783. 150 new cases were reported on Friday, while 537 recoveries have taken the active case tally down to 4,395.
Morning Briefing
Malta might not have enough workers for certain investments – PM
Prime Minister Robert Abela warned that Malta’s labour market might not have enough workers to fulfill certain investments, posing a challenge to the country’s economic growth. Abela said the country was going through a strong economic recovery, quoting growth and employment figures, but said that this revival comes with its own challengers, especially when it comes to finding the resources for new investments. “We’re at full employment but still in a situation where we might not have enough workers to carry out certain investments,” Abela said.
Court hears details on two separate incidents
A busy day in Court with two high-profile cases. The first concerned Keith Cremona, the man who was chased by the police in a dramatic incident on Wednesday. He faced a string of 18 charges when he was taken to court, including injuring a police officer. The Valletta man did not request bail and was remanded in custody when he was charged on Thursday. In a separate case, lawyers for a British youth arraigned in court in connection with an assault on a taxi driver in which brass knuckles were allegedly used, have cast doubt on the accuracy of the charges against him, saying that the weapon alleged to have been used had not been found and pointing out that the accused had also been injured. (Times of Malta)
Covid-19 Update: The health authorities reported 204 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, with two more patients dying. The active case tally has dropped to 4,785.
