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Small Business Lifestyle

Paternal leave to be extended to the self-employed, Abela says [Video]

State-funded paternity leave is being extended to self-employed fathers or the second parent, Robert Abela announced on Sunday morning.

His announcement came days after he announced 100 days of state-funded leave to self-employed parents undergoing IVF treatment.

Speaking in St Paul’s Bay, the prime minister also hinted at potential amendments to IVF legislation.  

Without giving much away, he suggested that despite important reforms introduced by his government, certain restrictions remain in place and need addressing because the law as it stands does not reach all couples.

In 2022 parliament enacted reforms allowing doctors to perform genetic testing on embryos and indefinitely freeze those carrying rare and severe diseases.  The law passed with only three MPs voting against. 

In announcing the extension of paternity leave, he said such initiatives were further steps in the government’s efforts to support all families, ensuring that no parent was left behind.

The prime minister also announced that the competence of the Commercial Court, the re-establishment of which was announced a few days ago, …

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Small Business Lifestyle

Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead new 'Department of Government Efficiency' [Video]

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency" which is not, despite the name, a government agency.The acronym DOGE is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House advice and guidance and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before. He added that the move would shock government systems.It's not clear how the organization will operate. It could come under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which dictates how external groups that advise the government must operate and be accountable to the public.Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets and entanglements to ward off any potential conflicts of interest, and to divest significant holdings relating to their work. Because Musk and Ramaswamy would not be formal federal workers, they would not face those requirements or ethical limitations.Musk posted on X: Department of Government Efficiency. The merch will be (fire emojis). Later he added: Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!Musk has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election.The president-elect has often said he would give Musk a formal role overseeing a group akin to a blue-ribbon commission that would recommend ways to slash spending and make the federal government more efficient. Musk at one point suggested he could find more than $2 trillion in savings nearly a third of total annual government spending.Trump had made clear that Musk would likely not hold any kind of full-time position, given his other commitments.I dont think I can get him full-time because hes a little bit busy sending rockets up and all the things he does, Trump said at a rally in Michigan in September. He said the waste in this country is crazy. And were going to get Elon Musk to be our cost cutter.Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump.Trump said in his statement the two will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."