VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government has granted the Maltese citizenship to a total of 1,532 foreign main applicants who have registered under the Individual Investor programme, also known as the Golden Passport Scheme. The amount of applicants registered over a period of eight years, exclude relatives and dependents.
Minister for National Security Byron Camilleri said the citizenship issued to applicants coming from various regions including Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Middle East, the Gulf, Africa, the Oceana and the Caribbean – has generated millions of euros which were invested in various initiatives including social and medical projects.
In 2015, a National Development and Social Fund was established by the Maltese government to administer a percentage of the funds generated through the selling of the Maltese passport.
According to the last financial statements dated to 2020, the National Development and Social Fund received €27.8 million from the passports programme, taking the total amount of proceeds since its inception to €598 million.
The Henley Passport Index for 2022 classified the Maltese passport as the eighth strongest in the world.
-photo agenziafotogramma.it-
(ITALPRESS)

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Athletes from 70 nations will be competing in the 2023 MC Adventure Malta Marathon on Sunday 26 February. The favourite is Moroccan Hicham Boufars, who is fresh from his win in the Murcia Marathon, Spain with a time of 2h15’35”. The North African athlete, who holds a record of 2h12’16” set in 2018 in Florence, ran the Turin Marathon in November last year in 2h13’49”. Boufars, therefore, has a concrete chance of chasing the race record set in 2013 by his compatriot Mohammed Hajjy with 2h16’06”.
Among the Maltese athletes at the start in Mdina on Sunday 26 in the Marathon there will also be Andrew Grech in the men’s category (6th overall in 2017 in 2h28’16”) and Josann Attard Pulis in the women’s category. On the other hand, during the Half Marathon the spotlights will be on Shaun Galea and Lisa Bezzina.
The most represented foreign nation at the start will be Italy with 246 athletes. The Italian Embassy in Malta will award a prize to the first “azzurri” (men and women) in both the Marathon and the Half Marathon.
– photo Malta Marathon Press –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A charity evening of Maltese and Italian excellence. Sports, culture and fashion will be the protagonists of NOMA 2023, an event scheduled for Friday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m., at Spinola Suite at Hilton Portomaso.
The initiative, under the patronage of the Italian Embassy in Malta, is promoted and organized by Italians Abroad Committee (Com.It.Es) Malta in collaboration with Malta Chamber of Fashion Foundation and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Malta.
“We are about to experience a particularly significant day for the entire Italian community in Malta”, as stated by Vincenzo Catalano, president of the local Com.It.Es, “the charity event on February 24 will be an opportunity to bring to the fore the excellence of music, culture and sports, but above all it will be the best way to thank the Maltese people and the institutions of the Island for the hospitality and affection they have always reserved for Italians”.
“It will be a moment of celebration, to reflect on the opportunities, certainties, safety and dignity that, with true and genuine enthusiasm and affection, the entire Maltese community has been able to offer us and keeps offering us. On this evening – Catalano added – the Comites, an elective institutional body representing the entire Italian community living in Malta and part of the ‘Sistema Italià, wants to give a concrete signal of its presence by involving, in the name of solidarity, real excellence, both Maltese and Italian ones”.
“A special thanks goes to the Italian Ambassador to Malta, Fabrizio Romano, for granting Patronage to the event. A further, dutiful thank you – Catalano concluded – goes to the sponsors who, with their support, made it possible to organize the event”.
Part of the proceeds from NOMA 2023 will be donated to Dar Merhba Bik, an association for women victims of domestic violence, and to the St. Catherine of Italy Parish Charity Group in Malta.
The event will be presented by deputy director of Italy’s TGR Rai, Roberto Gueli, and Moria Chetcuti, Chamber of Fashion Malta Foundation events director.
Italpress Press Agency and Malta News Agency are the Media Partners of the event.

– photo press office NOMA 2023 –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Storm Helios left its effect of weather conditions in the past hours across Malta and Gozo.
A search and rescue operation resumed on Saturday morning after a person fell into rough seas in Valletta on Friday. The Armed Forces of Malta dispatched an aircraft in the area, while the police and a medical team are onsite. The operation was suspended on Friday evening due to poor visibility and weather conditions.
The Civil Protection intervened to save 17 people who were trapped in their vehicles, buildings sustained structural damage and several stones were dislodged and at risk of crashing down.
Malta registered the highest ever recorded rainfall in February with 140.4mm recorded on Friday. This amount is also more than double the average for this month.
The effects of the storm are still very evident with several areas and services having been affected.
The strong waves that battered Maltàs shores smashed through the newly-built Gozo fast ferry terminal in Valletta, leaving destruction.
A 17th-century watch tower in Ghajn Tuffieha has partially collapsed due to the powerful winds.
The damage is widespread, including other historic locations such as Cittadella ditch in Gozo and the Bighi peninsula wall which has collapsed.

– photo Clean Malta –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Storm Helios continues to batter Malta and Gozo on Thursday as various incidents were reported with the Civil Protection Department issuing a warning for the public to stay indoors.
A person was slightly injured after part of the ceiling at the VIP lounge of Malta International Airport collapsed. A spokesperson for MIA said that this happened because of the strong storm that has gripped the Maltese Islands in recent hours. The Airport advised that the hall is currently closed and that the necessary repairs will be made for the safety of the passengers.
Six cars were severely damaged after a parapet wall collapsed in Gharb, Gozo. No one was injured while members of the Civil Protection were on site to clear the debris.
Easterly gale force winds have seen many people encounter difficulties on roads. A number of roads are experiencing severe flooding while boats have been damaged as the rough seas and gale force winds hit the Maltese coast. This also led to a number of disruptions, including the suspension of voyages from Malta to Gozo.
The gale-force winds and strong seas caused serious flooding in coastal areas with people warned to stay away from these areas.
Due to the bad weather all outdoor activities planned for the feast of St Paul’s Shipwreck today and Friday have been canceled.
Satellite images show the extent of the storm hitting the central Mediterranean with thick clouds covering the whole stretch from Rome all the way down to Malta, with the south of Sicily taking the brunt of the storm.
The Meteorological Office at Malta International Airport has meanwhile issued an Orange warning as the weather is expected to get worse.
– photo by Enry di Giacomo –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

ROMA (ITALPRESS) – The San Donato International Hospital Group has expressed its willingness to the Farnesina to send twelve doctors, four pallets of medicines and four ambulances to Syria, after the devastating earthquake that claimed thousands of lives in the night between 5 and 6 February. All assistance will be transported by aircrafts provided by the Foreign Ministry.
“We feel the duty to be present in Syria in these dramatic hours for the affected populations. We have decided to donate 4 ambulances and send 12 doctors to give our contribution by providing resources and assistance. We requested the support of the Farnesina and Minister Tajani whom we really thank for the commitment in these hours to allow us realize the proposed assistance”, said Kamel Ghribi, Vice-President of the San Donato Group.
In a speech on Mosaique FM, the main private Tunisian radio station, Ghribi made an appeal not to abandon the Syrian people who are experiencing the same tragedy as Turkey. And he contacted the President of the Syrian Red Cross to ascertain what are the most urgent needs of the population at the moment.
Ghribi pointed out that he had also contacted some Italian and Arab officials, to work with them on the organization of medical and logistical aid and rescue operations.
The President of the Syrian Arab Red Cross, Khaled Hboubati, noted that relief efforts in Syria are currently facing a number of obstacles, the first of which is the lack of adequate equipment to locate people under the rubble. For this reason, the Syrian Arab Red Cross has appealed to the European Union to lift economic sanctions against Syria.

Immagine uff stampa GKSD
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta gone down in the corruption index, ranking 54th according to a report published by the Transparency International.
Transparency International released the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in which Malta recorded its worst ever score. Losing three points from the previous year, Malta’s score is well below the average of Western European and European Union countries.
Countries are ranked on a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). The Western Europe and EU average is 66. Denmark (90) tops the region and the world, with Finland (87) and followed by Norway (84).
Transparency International said that recommendations from the public inquiry into the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia are yet to be implemented in legislation, with continued concerns for media freedom and political interference in public media and for the fight against organised crime.
The report also added that a state of impunity is still persisting, and it remarked that there were no convictions in cases related to high-level corruption.
The report about Malta said that great independence and resourcing of the Maltese justice system is needed to uphold the rule of law.
– photo agenziafotogramma.it-
(ITALPRESS)

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government has outlined its priorities as Malta will hold the Presidency of the United Nations Security Council from today.
Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg confirmed that Malta will convene four important meetings in the United Nations headquarters in New York, including one on the anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine.
The first meeting scheduled for this month will be held on 13 February, through a debate about the precarious situation of children in conflicts. A meeting about the increase in sea levels is scheduled for 14 February, and on 23 February Malta will host an annual meeting about relations between the European Union and the United Nations, which will be attended by the European Union High Representative on Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell. The last meeting, on 24 February, marks the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Malta will organise this debate with the participation not only of members of the UN Security Council but also of others affected by the war.
Minister Borg explained “these priorities are an integral part of Malta’s policies in regard to foreign affairs; being safeguarding of children, whether it is in the interests of people and the vulnerable when we speak about peace and security, climate change, and also the aspects of education and literacy.” He added these are themes related to ongoing international situation just as much as conflicts, particularly the war in Ukraine that will be an absolute priority for Malta. Minister Borg said attention will also be given to Israel and Palestine, Somalia and Iraq.
During Malta’s two years as member of the Council, it will also hold the Presidency in April of next year.
-photo agenziafotogramma.it-
(ITALPRESS)

Source: medNews

PALERMO (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Guardia di Finanza in Palermo is carrying out a preventive seizure order of over €7 million requested by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Palermo. The suspects had obtained funds from the Sicilian rural development programme (PSR Sicilia) to construct a livestock farming complex with an attached slaughterhouse. They issued invoices with a higher price than the actual price of their expenses, which led to inflated invoices of over €12 million (VAT incl.).
The officials of the Sicilian Region, who were misled by the supposed over-invoicing, consequently attributed undue public contributions over €5 million to the company. In addition, the estimated damage of the tax fraud is of almost €2 million. Hence, a preventive seizure order of over €7 million was issued to recover the damages.
The European contribution to the Sicilian rural development programme (PSR Sicilia) amounts to 45% and is financed by the European agricultural fund for rural development (EAFRD).
The suspects used multiple contractual arrangements and related invoices between companies formally distinct from each other, but indeed attributable to a single business group, aimed at increasing the cost of the assets reported to the Sicilian Region for obtaining public subsidies.
The supplies subject to public contribution would have undergone purely paper-based “handovers” between several companies owned by the suspects with the aim to artificially increase the final investment costs submitted to the Sicilian Region.
foto Guardia di finanza
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government has launched the operational programs of the European funds for Malta for the seven years between 2021 and 2027. The financial allocation exceeds the sum of €2.25 billion. It was negotiated by the Maltese Government and agreed at the European Council in June 2020. The Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela said that this largest allocation of European funds for Malta will change Malta in a tangible way for the next decade through more investment in people. The main objectives of the operational programs is for Malta to become more sustainable, resilient and digital in the future. Abela also referred to the need for more investment from European funds in Gozo, in the public health and mental health, as well as in the improvement of the touristic product and in farming and fisheries. He added that his government would invest from the European funding in more Natura 2000 sites, in natural parks and gardens, in water management and in measures that would secure less pollution including a new interconnector with Sicily.
The European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said that the European Commission was partnering with the Maltese Government so that with these funds Malta becomes more modern and more competitive with the participation of everyone in a safer, greener environment, with an economy built on wisdom that leaves no one behind thanks to investment in education, research and innovation. She said that the ultimate goal was to make the Maltese economy more innovative. From 0.7 percent, this must rise to 2.3 percent of the GDP to reach the European average.
(ITALPRESS).
-photo credit xf3-

Source: medNews