Tag Archives: Top News

Malta, Government urged to stop the energy subsidies

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Although the credit agency DBRS Morningstar has confirmed the highest classification it had given to the Maltese economy, which is A (high) with a stable outlook, the agency denounced the Maltese government for the lack of strategy to reduce or stop the energy subsidies. The agency added that should energy prices remain higher for longer globally, this could prove a challenge to balancing Maltàs financial sustainability.
Maltàs economic outlook for 2023 remains less favourable, with growth expected to slow down due to a continent-wide decline and higher inflation. Despite this, Maltàs “still-moderate” levels of public debt and positive indicators for growth partly limit the risks associated with these factors, DBRS said.
The agency’s report added that Malta recorded one of the quickest recoveries in the EU with GDP growth rates of 11.8% in 2021 and 6.9% in 2022. The labour market registered a strong job growth over the last three years and the unemployment rate is at 3.0% (February 2023).”
The agency referred to the encouraging factors for Maltàs economy with special reference to the strong financial position enjoyed by Maltese households and the removal of Malta from the FATF greylist in June. It made special reference to the improvement with regards to the anti-money laundering measures and approach to good governance, which the agency notes should reduce the greylisting’s damage to Maltàs reputation and as a destination for investment.
DBRS Morningstar also explained that the impact of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine on the Maltese economy was a modest one. It said that this was due to the limited ties with Russia in the fields of energy and the economy, as well as the decision by the Government to freeze retail prices on electricity and fuel.
credit photo agenziafotogramma.it
(ITALPRESS).


Source: medNews

Malta considering the use of hydrogen to produce energy

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Maltàs Minister for Energy, Miriam Dalli said that the government is exploring possibilities of using hydrogen to produce energy. She confirmed the government’s targets to move towards decarbonization and to reach the European environmental targets. Hydrogen is a cheap source and pollutes the least, and according to foreign experts, Malta is even able to create the hydrogen it potentially uses itself.
Minister Dalli, who was addressing a conference that dealt with renewable energy and ESG criteria, urged the business community to invest more in renewable energy while using more sustainable models by taking measures to lower pollution, CO2 output, and reduce waste. However, she mentioned how businesses are following the Government’s strategy to switch to clean energy, with a drastic reduction in costs and resulting in more profits.
By 2030, it is predicted that the price of hydrogen will be very cheap, and it would cost Malta much less to generate energy. Serbian climate change expert Dr Srdjan Sokolovic said that the price of hydrogen will be around $3 per kilogram, adding “in the future, Malta could start its own production of hydrogen, or it could import it to use with the LNG ship or a pipeline between Malta and Sicily, the hydrogen could be used in the production of electricity, at the beginning with a mixture of gas, maybe 5%, or it could go in the future even 100%.”

foto: DOI

(ITALPRESS).


Source: medNews

Rome, the Iftar dinner an occasion for dialogue between religions

ROMA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Iftar dinner was held in Palazzo Brancaccio, the last residence of the Roman Patrician, built in 1880 in the heart of the Eternal City. An evening meal part of the Islamic tradition which breaks the fast during the month of Ramadan. The dinner is an important occasion for inter-religious dialogue, inspired by the principles of human solidarity and peaceful coexistence among peoples. Fraternity and social friendship are also the ways indicated by Pope Francis to build a better world, in his 2020 Encyclical “Fratelli tutti”, in which the Pontiff, retracing the words of Saint Francis of Assisi, invited everyone to a love capable of overcoming distances and geographical barriers and of going beyond the place in the world where one was born and where one lives.
The event was held in the presence of Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia, Archbishop of Rome, Nader Akkad, Imam of the Rome Mosque and Badri Khalfallah, Imam of the Palermo Mosque. Doing the honours was Kamel Ghribi, financier and philanthropist, President of GKSD Investment Holding, Vice President of the San Donato Group and President of the European Corporate Council on Africa and the Middle East.
During the event, the creations of the young Tunisian fashion designer Ali Karoui, much loved by celebrities, including the Spanish influencer and model Georgina Rodriguez, wife of the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, took part during a catwalk show. The aim was to raise awareness on the Tunisian culture, a country facing economic and health emergency and inflicted by social tensions, but strong in a millenary tradition which, as the result of the multi-ethnic influx of civilizations that have crossed it, constitutes, today more than ever, a heritage to be made known and valued.

– foto ufficio stampa Image Building –
(ITALPRESS).


Source: medNews

Migration, deaths in the Med reached highest levels in 6 years

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The first three months of 2023 were the deadliest first quarter in six years for migrants crossing the central Mediterranean Sea in smugglers’ boats. This was declared by the United Nations migration agency, citing delays by nations in initiating rescues as a contributing factor.
The International Organization for Migration documented 441 migrant deaths along the dangerous sea route between northern Africa and Europe’s southern shores during January, February and March. In 2017, 742 known deaths were documented in the same period, while 446 were recorded in the first three months of 2015. “The persisting humanitarian crisis in the central Mediterranean is intolerable,” IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino said with reference to present situation. “With more than 20,000 deaths recorded on this route since 2014, I fear that these deaths have been normalized,” Vitorino said. “States must respond. Delays and gaps in state-led search and rescue areas are costing human lives”. The true number of lives lost among migrants who set out on smugglers’ unseaworthy rubber dinghies or decrepit fishing boats is unknown because the bodies of people who perish at sea often are never recovered. Many deaths only come to light when survivors recount that their vessel set out with more passengers than the number who ultimately make it to safety. According to the Italian Interior Ministry, 31,192 migrants had arrived in Italy by sea this year as of Tuesday. The figure didn’t include about 700 migrants crowded aboard a smuggler’s boat that apparently ran out of fuel and was towed Wednesday morning to a port in Sicily under an Italian coast guard escort. Under current EU rules, the country where asylum-seekers first arrive is responsible for them. “The situation in the Mediterranean has been a humanitarian crisis for over a decade now,” IOM spokesperson Safa Msehli said. “And the fact that deaths continue on its own is very alarming, but the fact that that’s increased is extremely alarming because it means that very little concrete action was taken to address the issue.”
(ITALPRESS).

Photo Credits: www.agenziafotogramma.it


Source: medNews

Malta exceeds pre-Covid levels in passenger air traffic

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – According to the latest statistics, the passenger traffic at the Malta International Airport for the first three months of this year has exceeded the pre-Covid levels. Over 1,245,000 passengers have used Malta’s international airport as from January to March, considered as the busiest since the coronavirus pandemic with a 2% increase. Malta International Airport said that the increase reflects the demand for more travelling abroad. It added that with an increase of 2.2% on March 2019, 83.5% of the seats available on flights from and to Malta were full. Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Poland remained the most popular markets, accounting for 63 percent of March traffic. The UK and the German markets have not yet reached the pre-2019 levels. The other markets recorded different levels of growth. Although the German market had not yet reached pre-pandemic levels, the connectivity between Malta and Germany will be strengthened next summer with an increase of three routes that are expected to increase the demand for this market.

(ITALPRESS).

Photo Credits: www.agenziafotogramma.it


Source: medNews

Flight from Bergamo to Malta makes an emergency landing in Fiumicino

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A flight from Bergamo to Malta was forced to make an emergency landing in Fiumicino, Rome due to a medical emergency involving an Italian passenger.
The Ryanair flight FR7324 departed from Bergamòs airport at 08.20 this morning and landed at around 10 am at Fiumicino airport. The passenger who was in need of medical intervention was escorted from the aircraft and was taken directly to an ambulance, accompanied by another three passengers. The plane is expected to resume its journey later on today.

Foto: agenziafotogramma.it

(ITALPRESS).


Source: medNews

Malta with the safest tap water for drinking in Europe

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta is amongst ten European countries declared with the safest tap water for drinking and contains no harmful elements, while African countries are at the bottom of the list with the quality of potable water very low. According to an international study by the University of Yale in the United States, Malta is at the top of the list for the safest drinking water, along with nine other countries, scoring 100 points. The other countries with equal safe drinking water are Austria, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. However, in order to be fit for drinking, water needs to be treated for microbes, pollution, and parasites, which can be very harmful to humans if ingested, before being good for drinking. The majority of the countries which obtained excellent results like Malta are in northern Europe, where temperatures are lower and water is sourced from the mountains. By contrast, Malta is in the middle of the Mediterranean, and despite having temperatures between Europe and Africa, it still ensures safe tap water.
Water in Malta is delivered to homes through a piping network of around 2,500 km under the streets and is made from a mixture of reverse osmosis water (65%) and groundwater (35%). The Maltese authorities have ensured that there is enough supply to meet the demand and that the water is of high quality, however, now they are working to improve the taste of the water.

foto: DOI

(ITALPRESS).


Source: medNews

Ukraine, video of beheaded soldiers, Zelensky “Everyone must react”

KIEV (ITALPRESS) – “There is something that no one in the world can ignore: how easily these beasts kill. We will not forget. Nor will we pardon the murderers,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while commenting, in a video message on Twitter referring to the videos circulating on the social networks of Ukrainian soldiers beheaded by Russian forces. “This is a video showing Russia as it is,” he continued, while adding “this also shows the kind of people they are. This is not an accident, this is not an isolated episode. It was like that before. Everyone has to react”.
-photo agenziafotogramma.it-
(ITALPRESS).


Source: medNews

Malta resumes commercial collaboration with Libya

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta and Libya resumed their collaboration in the maritime sector, as a large commercial ship docked at the port of Misrata Free Zone, northwest Libya, after leaving from Malta. The ship was the first of its kind to enter Libyan territorial waters and commercial ports, through its shipping agent, Amwaj Company. The CMA CGM VOLTAIRE ship is 270.7 meters long, 42.2 meters wide, and has a cargo of 1859 TEU.
In September, the Head of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohamed Al-Mnifi held talks with Maltàs Prime Minister, Robert Abela during their visit to New York at the United Nations General Assembly. During that meeting, Maltàs Prime Minister expressed his desire to establish direct sea and air links between Libya and Malta.
(ITALPRESS).
-photo credit agenziafotogramma.it-


Source: medNews

Malta SAR region, another group of 400 migrants in distress

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) (ITALPRESS) – The international NGO Sea Watch said that another boat with about 400 people on board was spotted in the Maltese search and rescue area by the aircraft Seabird 2 crew. Sea Watch confirmed that it has launched a mayday relay while it is monitoring the scene together with an Italian Air Force aircraft. The NGO added that a rescue operation is needed immediately. On Monday evening, the Italia coast guard escorted another fishing boat, with around 400 migrants, after it spent days drifting in the Mediterranean. The Armed Forces of Malted have said that the migrants aboard the fishing boat which was drifting between Malta, Italy and Greecès Search and Rescue Zone did not request to be rescued. “Written communication received by the AFM from the ship captain providing duty of care confirms that no rescue was requested by the people on board,” a spokesperson said. However, the rescue NGO Sea Watch claimed Malta ordered a merchant vessel not to rescue a group of 400 migrants, and just supply them with fuel.
(ITALPRESS).
-photo credit agenziafotogramma.it-


Source: medNews

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