Updated 1600 – New vouchers scheme announced
Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that a new round of consumer vouchers will soon be mailed to all residents aged over 16. He said all residents will receive vouchers for a value of €100, of which €60 can be used in restaurants and tourist establishments with the remaining amount being allocated for use in retail and beauty outlets.
Abela said that the government was proceeding with caution in its easing of the COVID-19 restrictions to safeguard public health and good economic activity, particularly during the upcoming Summer season. The vouchers can be used from 7th June, a public holiday.
Economy Minister Silvio Schembri said that people will either be able to receive their vouchers by post or download them digitally. The vouchers can be downloaded digitally from the website wallet.vouchersmimcol.com up until 4 June.
Updated 1250
Covid-19: Active cases have gone down to 100 on Thursday, after 22 persons recovered while only 2 new patients were reported as positive. These were identified through 2,234 swab tests carried out yesterday. No deaths were reported in the past 24 hours.
Builder injured in roof collapse: A construction worker who has not been named yet, was admitted to hospital after a roof collapsed at a construction site in Fgura. TVM reported that the accident happened at around 11am when for some reason the roof of a garage collapsed at a construction site on the corner of Triq il-Liedna and Triq il-Ġiżi.
More Maltese are buying online: 53% of the Maltese who shop on the internet are also purchasing from Maltese outlets that also sell online. This emerges from a recent study by the Malta Communications Authority, which found that Amazon is the most popular site for Maltese shoppers. The Authority will accordingly continue to boost its support for initiatives by Maltese businesses to be able to spread out more for online purchases.
Beyond Malta’s shores, the survey found that Amazon is the most popular electronic site used by the Maltese, with nearly 60%, followed by eBay with 53%. The popular ASOS fashion site is the third most popular with the Maltese, with one-quarter of digital purchasers stating they had purchased from this electronic site last year.
Newspaper Review
The Independent reports that Progress Press has filed judicial protests against former chief of staff Keith Schembri and managing directors Adrian Hillman and Vincent Buhagiar to recover around €4 million lost in a deal to invest in new machinery.
In-Nazzjon quotes a statement by Progress Press which said that it learnt from evidence presented in court that an agreement presented to the board of directors to purchase equipment from Kasco Engineering was illicit and abusive.
Business Today reports that Malta International Airport registered a €2.1 million loss after tax in the first quarter of the year, with revenues falling by 60 per cent compared to the same period last year.
The Malta Business weekly carries an interview with the director-general of the Customs Department Joseph Chetcuti who reported an increase in fraudulent health and safety gear during the pandemic, such as fake swab tests or ventilators.
L-Orizzont quotes parliamentary secretary for housing, Roderick Galdes, who hailed the unanimous vote in parliament on the amendments regulating pre-1995 rent laws an historic step. The law impacts directly around 10,000 properties.
The Times says that Minister Carmelo Abela was summoned by the police for questioning on Wednesday in relation to an attempted heist on a bank in 2010. Confirming the questioning, the minister said he had nothing to hide.
In-Nazzjon reports that the Criminal Investigations Department called in Minister Carmelo Abela for questioning on Wednesday, who was accompanied by his lawyer Pawlu Lia. The interrogation lasted for about an hour and a half.
L-Orizzont reports that a 42-year-old man was arrested in connection with a murder investigation. The victim, 43-year-old Walid Salah was found dead with two bullet holes in his neck and chest in Għarb in 2018.
The Independent says that a Serbian man suspected of killing an Egyptian man in 2018 pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned on Wednesday. Magistrate Simone Grech ordered the freezing of the accused’s assets.
Business Today speaks to PB Group CEO David Raphael Busuttil who predicts increasing demands for energy infrastructure in the Mediterranean region, opening new opportunities for Malta in the sector.
The Times reports that a press conference to launch the Cinema City in Valletta was cancelled at the last minute while a Facebook page promoting the event was taken offline. The open-air film screening was due to take place in the first week of June.
The Malta Business weekly quotes Deputy British High Commissioner Fiona Maxton who explained that decisions on the UK government’s safe travel list is informed by scientific data and advice by the public health experts.
Morning Briefing
Tax morality is paramount, Finance Ministry insists
Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has denied press reports that an agreement had been reached with the Polidano Group regarding a reduction on tax due to the Government by this group. In a statement, Government said that it had embarked on an exercise to collect tax arrears which have remained uncollected for decades, giving all taxpayers fair and equal treatment to regularise themselves within the parameters of the law.
Minister Clyde Caruana is on record saying that while taxes will not be increased or new taxes introduced, the Government will ensure that tax dues are collected and tax evasion curbed. This principle of fiscal morality has not and will not change no matter who the individual or company is. Not only that, but the Ministry and its entities will ensure the proper collection of tax.
Progress Press sues Schembri and former MDs
Progress Press, the printing unit of Allied Newspapers, has filed judicial protests in Court against former chief of staff to the Prime Minister Keith Schembri and two of its former managing directors after discovering from criminal proceedings against them that it was deprived of around $5 million when it purchased printing machinery in 2008.
The Company said that Keith Schembri, Adrian Hillman, Vincent Buhagiar, Malcolm Scerri, Alfio Schembri and Kasco Engineering pocketed a total of $5 million from a $13.5 million deal that was approved in good faith by the board of directors which was presented with the relevant bids by the then chairman and managing director.
Revolutionary projects in aerospace technology launched
Two major projects that the Institute of Aerospace Technologies and QuAero Ltd are working on are ‘SmartAP’ and ‘TOUCH-FLIGHT’. ‘TOUCH-FLIGHT’ is a concept that allows the pilot to control the aircraft through a single tablet-like touch-screen device and by voice command, allowing quicker and easier control of the aircraft’s systems. This innovative concept has already been granted a patent in the United States.
‘SmartAP’ builds upon the ‘TOUCH-FLIGHT’ concept, so now the University of Malta and QuAero Ltd are collaborating to develop a package of concepts that can introduce a major change in the way pilots control aircraft and in operational safety.
This project uses artificial intelligence to assist pilots in decision-making during flight. While this concept is applicable to all categories of flight, it is specifically designed for application on large passenger aircraft. The work focuses on providing a computer system that monitors what is happening in the cockpit, how the aircraft is maneuvering and what is going on outside, what the pilots are doing and what air traffic control is requesting the pilots to do, in order to provide advice and guidance to the pilots as required. If needed, the system can also engage autopilot directly.
These projects were made possible thanks to around €400,000 in funds from the Fusion programme within MCST.
Covid-19 Update
Covid-19 Update: Three new COVID-19 cases were reported on Wednesday, while 11 persons recovered. No deaths were reported. The active case tally has gone down to 120. 1,875 swab tests were held the day before.
