LA VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Russian oil is still being shipped by Maltese companies
Malta is one of three European Union member States with local shipping companies interested and involved in the transport shipment of Russian oil.
According to an investigation by international non-governmental organisation ‘Global Witness’ – shipping companies in Malta, Greece and Cyprus have practically doubled their shipments of Russian oil since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
The conclusions of the report were published by the UK weekly newspaper The Independent on Sunday. Louis Goddard, the senior data investigations adviser at Global Witness told the newspaper that ships linked to Greece, Cyprus and Malta are making a mockery of the EU effort to sanction Putin’s war machine. He said that in order to close this “gaping loophole”, the EU must “stand firm” against lobbying from all member states with vested interests in the Russian oil trade, as well as put restrictions on shipping at the heart of its sanctions regime.
An analysis by Global Witness of the shipping data gathered by Refinitiv confirms that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine – Malta, Greece and Cyprus have constanly increased the amount of oil transported from Russia.
The report also shows that shipments gave a huge financial boost to the Russian government by billions of dollars in oil revenue.
In February, when Russian troops invaded Ukraine, companies and vessels linked to the three Mediterranean countries shifted 31 million barrels of Russian oil. In May, that amount had increased to 58 million barrels. As from last February, ships linked to Greece, Malta and Cyprus have transported 178 million barrels, worth $17.3bn (€16.10bn) at current prices for Russian crude oil
In an address to the Maltese Parliament in May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Malta to not allow itself to be abused by Russia and to stop allowing privileges to Russian nationals.
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(ITALPRESS)

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese Home Affairs Minister ordered an investigation to establish why a former employee at the Malta Gaming Authority was arrested in Italy and not in Malta following a European Warrant Arrest issued by the German authorities on tax evasion. Iosif Galea, 40 was arrested on May 14 during the night in Brindisi on his arrival for a holiday at Cellino San Marco. He was with a group of friends including former Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Muscat said that he did not known that a European Arrest Warrant was issued against Galea who happens to be also the boyfriend of an old friend of the Muscat family. Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri who was answering questions in Parliament put forward by the Nationalist Opposition confirmed that he spoke to the Police Commissioner and was informed that investigations are being carried out. “If there is an indication of wrong doing, the necessary steps will be taken” declared Minister Camilleri.
Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà refused to comment so far on why the police failed to arrest Iosif Galea while in Malta when the European Arrest Warrant was already issued by the German authorities early last year and why he was allowed to travel abroad at least two times without any notice. Although Galea was already arrested by the Italian police, the Maltese police issued a European Arrest Warrant against him on May, 25. He is wanted by the Maltese authorities over an alleged case involving sensitive information leaked tp third parties from the Malta Gaming Authorty.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees declared that so far this year, Malta has only saved one migrant. According to statistics and information collected by the UNHCR, the migrant who was brought to Malta was air-lifted by the Armed Forces of Malta from a non-govermental organisation rescue ship last March.
International humanitarian organisations have repeatedly accused the Maltese government of not honouring its international obligations to coordinate and rescue migrants in distress at sea in Maltàs search and rescue area. However, the Ministry for Home Affairs confirmed that the Armed Forces of Malta are responsible for rescuing people in distress but insisted that the Maltese government and its authorities will never collaborate with human traffickers and will not permit Malta will become a regional hub for migrants.
According to the UNHCR, until 22 May, 30,347 migrants crossed the Mediterranean sea and reached Italy, Greece, Spain and Cyprus.

Foto: Agenziafotogramma.it

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – GRECO, the Group of States against Corruption within the Council of Europe declared that the Maltese government has not yet put into practice a national strategy to fight corruption in Malta. On a positive note, it was noted that the Maltese govornment has embarked on reforms in law-enforcement, including the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy, the Police Code of Ethics, and new procedures in the appointment of the Police Commissioner although urged the government to introduce new mechanisims for more transparency in recruitment, transfers, and promotions of police officers.
The report published on Tuesday confirmed that only two out of 23 proposals recommended in 2009 were implemented by the Maltese government while 12 recommendations were partially put into effect and 9 others were not effected at all.
GRECO warned about “the lack of special investigation techniques for revealing corruption offences remains a serious drawback”, adding that “the development of an over-arching anti-corruption strategy, built on a risk assessment in respect of the government and its top executive officials has not yet been initiated.”
GRECO also emphasised that the Maltese government should limit to the minimum number of appointment of “persons of trust” in governmental entities, and such positions should reflect the same integrity requirments and supervision as established in the public service sector.
The anti-corruption body remarked that “no measures have been taken to introduce ad hoc disclosure when conflicts of interest occur in respect of top executive officials and there are no procedures to manage such situations. In addition, regulation of lobbying and the disclosure of contacts between top executives and third parties is yet to be accomplished, and plans to establish an Integrity Unit to support public office-holders in solving ethical dilemmas have not materialised”.
The report referred to the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, and noticed that it has not been given power to impose additional sanctions for uncovered violations.
GRECO declared that police officers reporting possible corruption from with the Police Force should “benefit from the protection measures as set out in the Protection of Whistle-Blowers Act”.

– foto agenziafotogramma.it –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta will face procedures before the European Court of Justice for taxing used imported cars from other European Union Member States more heavily than used cars purchased on the Maltese market.
This was confirmed by the European Commission saying that the Maltese car taxation system is discriminatory with respect to second-hand vehicles purchased from other Member States. The Commission gave two months to the Maltese government to do the necessary legislative amendments however Maltàs reply was not considered satisfactory by the European Commission.
Article 110 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union requires each Member State to select and arrange car taxes in such a way that they do not have the effect of promoting sales of domestic second-hand cars and so discourage the transfer of similar second-hand cars from other Member States.
-foto agenziafotogramma.it-
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese governement rebutted accusations made by non-governmental organisations that Malta is refusing to rescue hundreds of migrants in distress and instead accused the NGOs of “attacking” the Armed Forces of Malta. 470 migrants on board the rescue ship Geo Barents are still waiting permission to disembark. A crew member confirmed that in 72 hours they have made seven rescues, two of them in the Maltese search and rescue area. The organisation Doctors without Borders (MSF) said it is “appalled by the fact that the Maltese Armed Forces who were primarily responsible for the rescues in the area were informed but remained silent and inactive, negleting their legal obligation to provide or coordinate assistance”.
On Tuesday, another group of 500 migrants who were adrift onboard a wooden fishing boat in the Maltese search and rescue region, were escorted by Italian authorities to the port of Pozzallo in Sicily. The Maltese authorities were accused of having refused to intervene in the rescue by Alarm Phone and Sea-Eye.
The Maltese Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri denied that Malta was refusing to rescue migrants, and claimed that the migrants who disembarked in Sicily on Tuesday were not in distress “as they reached Sicily autonomously”. He added that “over the years the AFM always carried out its duties in the best way possible and this attack on the AFM is unjust and coming from who expects Malta to become a migration hub in the Mediterranean.” He reafformed that this situation will never happen.”
Minister Camilleri also denied that Malta has a secret agreement with Italy to accept migrants rescued in the Maltese search and rescue area and to be taken to Italian ports.
The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) 2021 country report on Malta published this week gives a damming review of the asylum procedures and reception conditions in Malta. The report mentioned that in 2021 the AFM continued to drastically decrease rescue operations at sea and described the situation in open reception centres as “challenging”.
In January Malta was charged with supporting crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) by coordinating pushbacks of asylum seekers at sea.
– foto xf3/ItalpressMna –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – For the seventh consecutive year, the LGBT lobby group ILGA has confirmed Maltàs first place with the maximum score for LBGT rights.
Malta scored 92% in seven crucial areas including law and policies in equality, family rights, legal gender recognition, freedom of expression and asylum rights.
Malta has the most progressive gay rights following the introduction of civil unions, adoption and cohabitation rights for same-sex couples and inclusive education. Gay men are also allowed to donate blood after the National Blood Transfusion Service acquired advanced testing equipment.
However, ILGA called on the Maltese government to invest more in the country’s sexual health service which is under-staffed. In view of the growing number of sexual transmitted diseases, the Malta Gay Rights Movement and HIV Malta have also spoken out against the lack of improvements at Maltàs GU Clinics, despite the Health Ministry’s promise to double personnel by September 2019 and described the situation as “an extremely serious issue”.
ILGA also called on the Maltese government to revamp Maltàs sexual health policy which remains in an uncertain state following timelines to update the outdated document not being met.
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(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The authorities at the Malta Freeport have intercepted a record 1,494kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of around 300 million euros.

The 50 bags with 1,494 1kg blocks of cocaine were intercepted at the Freeport Scanning Facility in a container which was transporting bananas from Colombia, en-route to the Slovenian port of Koper. The port of Koper, located on the North Adriatic, is a potential transit point for South American cocaine and North African cannabis destined for Western Europe.

The Drug Squad of the Malta Police Force has launched an investigation, and a magesterial inquiry has been opened.

Malta Customs has repeatedly broken its cocaine seizure records in recent years: having seized 750kg of cocaine in 13 separate operations in 2019. One seizure took place in 2020, though it alone saw the confiscation of 612kg of cocaine, and another seizure last year saw the confiscation of 740kg. A new record had been set last month, with the interception and seizure of 800kg of cocaine at the Freeport.

– photo xf3/Italpress-Mna –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Maltese Parliament on Tuesday afternoon and called the Maltese government to freeze the assets of Russians who bought the Maltese citizenship through the sale of passports scheme. He called on Malta to confiscate Russian property and yachts, warning the Maltese government not to let Russian oligarchs hiding them in Malta. “Do not allow your island be abused. Carry out the necessary checks to prevent the Russians from hiding in Malta”, insisted Zelensky. Also called on the Maltese government to intercept all vessels under the Maltese flag from transporting Russian oil. The Ukrainian president likened the war in Ukraine to what happened in Malta 80 years ago. “Your country has stopped the tyranny of the enemy and defined the future of Europe.” He said Ukraine also needs planes, helicopters and weapons to “destroy the ambitions of the current aggressor, accusing Russia of targeting civilians in Ukraine” and to “stop the tyranny that is happening in Ucraine”.
His video address was followed by brief interventions from the Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition leader Bernard Grech. The Maltese Prime Minister declared that altough the conflict is geographically far from Malta, the Maltese will continue to welcome more refugees and will also provide more medical assistance. He added Malta will continue to encouarge all parties to reach a ceasefire agreement and stated that the withdrawel of the Russian troops from the Ukrainian territory is the key to resolving the conflict, followed by dialogue and effective peace talks. On the issue of golden passports, Abela said his government froze applications for Russian and Belarussian citizens, and had also revoked citizenship for a Russian individual who was eventually impacted by the sanctions.
The leader of the Opposition spoke favourably on the issue of the EU membership and declared that when that happens, Ukraine will return home after a long absence. He added “during that absence you will be supported by friends and allies, and consider us one of your friends and allies.” On behalf of the Nationalist Party, Bernard Grech expressed solidarity and declared that this war is a concern to the whole world and not only to Ukraine. He referred to Roberta Metsolàs visit, as European Parliament president, who was the first politician to visit Ukraine and meet with Zelenskyy to show solidarity on behalf of the European Parliament.
(ITALPRESS).
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Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – As from today, travellers coming to Malta from any country will no longer need a period of quarantine and they would no longer require to seek authorization from the Maltese health authorities to travel to Malta when arriving from a country was previosly on Maltàs dark red list.
However, those travelling to Malta still need to present a valid vaccine certificate, Covid recovery certificate, or a negative PCR test taken 72 hours before arrival or a negative rapid test taken 24 hours before arrival. In case a person fails to present any of these documents upon arrival, the individual will have to undergo a ten-day mandatory quarantine which is reduced to seven days if a negative test is presented. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne said that Malta is returing to ‘normality’ with responsiblee decisions while urging those aged 65 and over to get their fourth booster shot. According to the Malta Tourism Authority, 1.8 million tourists are expected to visit Malta this year. The prospects for summer are good despite the fact that in the first four months of this year, the Omicron variant led to 400,000 less tourists. The Polish tourism market was the only one which continued to grow during the pandemic. Recently, the Malta Tourism Authority embarked on a new initiative to attract more tourist from Italy by signing a new partnership with EOLO-Kometa, a team of cyclists, who are participating in the Giro d’Italia which finishes at the end of the month in Verona. Through a three-year agreement, the VisitMalta logo will appear on the team’s T-shirts and their means of transport. While in 2019, 440,000 Italian tourists visited Malta, the Malta Tourism Authority is aiming to bring at least 300,000 tourists from Italy.
(ITALPRESS).
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Source: medNews