July 2022

Malta’s Public Service has been certified first in Europe in terms of eGovernment services. Malta obtained first place with an average score of 96%, followed by Estonia (90%) and Luxembourg (87%), as emerged from the ‘eGovernment Benchmark Reports 2022’ released by the European Commission, in which it analyses online government services of 35 European countries. The Maltese Public Service ranked first in this study, after coming first in all the criteria of this exercise. Malta’s score was 28% higher than the average. Head of the Maltese Public Service Tony Sultana said this result certifies the high level of the public

The European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, on Friday estimated inflation is expected to reach a record 8.9% in July, while the Eurozone and EU economy overall continued to grow during the first quarter of 2022. In its report, Eurostat indicated inflation in July was driven largely by the energy sector with 39.7% growth, down from 42% in June. The food, alcohol and tobacco sector follows, with a rise of 9.8%, compared with 8.9% in June. The non-energy industrial goods sector grew 4.5% compared with 4.3% in June, and the services sector grew 3.7%, compared with 3.4% in June. For months,

A huge video panel fell on the stage during a concert by popular Hong Kong boy band Mirror on Thursday, crushing one performer and trapping others, prompting a government investigation and the suspension of future shows. At least two dancers were injured, with one in a serious condition and the other stable, local broadcaster RTHK reported. Three members of the audience were also injured, local media reported, with many fans emotional after the harrowing scenes. “I am shocked by the incident. I express sympathy to those who were injured and hope that they would recover soon,” Hong Kong Chief Executive

In the last few days, a false report called ‘SPECIAL REPORT: President Calls This Maltese Lucky “Economic Support Payment 2.0″‘ has started circulating on the internet using the image of and quoting the President of Malta George Vella in the most misleading way. The Office of the President draws the attention of the public that this report is false, and that President Vella never gave this interview. Regarding this report, the Office of the President filed a report with the Cyber Crime Unit of the Malta Police Force and is being investigated. Source: Office of the Prime Minister

In the last few days, a false report called ‘SPECIAL REPORT: President Calls This Maltese Lucky “Economic Support Payment 2.0″‘ has started circulating on the internet using the image of and quoting the President of Malta George Vella in the most misleading way. The Office of the President draws the attention of the public that this report is false, and that President Vella never gave this interview. Regarding this report, the Office of the President filed a report with the Cyber Crime Unit of the Malta Police Force and is being investigated. Source: Office of the Prime Minister

Los Angeles County dropped a plan to impose a universal indoor mask mandate this week as COVID-19 infections and rates of hospitalizations have stabilized, a top health official said Thursday. Health director Barbara Ferrer said two weeks ago that the nation’s most populous county could again require face coverings if trends in hospital admissions continued under criteria set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Thursday, she said the county had dodged imposition of the broad mask rule. The county remains at the “high” CDC level of community transmission, but it could drop to “medium” in coming