LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu succumbed to the pressure of tens of thousands of protestors and announced that his government will be postponing the judiciary reform to find a comprise with those objecting to the controversial reform. “When therès an opportunity to avoid civil war through dialogue, I, as prime minister, am taking a timeout for dialogue,” Netanyahu said.
Earlier Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he had agreed with Netanyahu to the delay until the Israeli parliament reconvened for its summer session on April 30.
Following the prime minister’s announcement, the trade unions ended a nationwide strike. 700,000 workers in health, transit and banking, among other sectors, stopped working for hours.
Tens of thousands of Israelis protested against the reforms outside parliament following the firing of the defense minister who urged a halt to the reforms.
(ITALPRESS).
-photo credit agenziafotogramma.it-

Source: medNews

TUNIS (TUNISIA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The President of Tunisia Kais Saied has cancelled a scheduled meeting with the EU’s economic affairs commissioner, Paolo Gentiloni, who arrived in Tunis on Monday on an official visit.

No reasons have been given yet, neither by the EU’s delegation in Tunis nor by the Tunisian Presidency.

However, Gentiloni met with the foreign minister, Nabil Ammar, while talks were scheduled with the Economics Minister Samir Said and the central bank chief, Marouane Abassi,

The visit was expected conclude on Monday after a meeting with Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri Nemsia and talks with Prime Minister Najla Bouden.

Gentiloni is discussing the economic reforms and potential new financial assistance for Tunisia, which the European Commission said it could consider if “specific preconditions are met”.

Tunisia continues to face a worsening economic situation and urgently needs to enact a package of reforms to secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund. The agreement of 1.9 billion dollars, could facilitate the obtaining of other loans and aid through bilateral agreements between Tunisia and European and Arab countries.

– photo Agenziafotogramma.it –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

TEL AVIV (ISRAEL) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The largest trade union in Israel ordered a strike across various sectors in a sign of support for the ongoing protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahùs plan to overhaul the judiciary.

The strike was ordered by the Histadrut group, which represents nearly 800,000 workers in the health and banking sectors among others, and is expected to paralyze large parts of Israel’s economy.

Thousands of travelers were affected as departing flights out of Israel’s main international airport were grounded in protest. Local governments, which manage pre-schools and other essential services, and a main doctors union confirmed their participation in the strike against the government.

The growing resistance to the plan came hours after tens of thousands of people burst into the streets around Israel in a spontaneous show of anger at Netanyahùs decision to fire his defense minister after he called for a pause to the overhaul of the judiciary system.

Chanting “the country is on fire,” they lit bonfires on Tel Aviv’s main highway, closing the throughway and many others throughout the country for hours. Thousands of protesters were gathering on Monday outside the Knesset to put more pressure on the government.

Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, and his allies in Israel’s most right-wing government ever, has plummeted Israel into one of its worst domestic crises. It has sparked a sustained and intensifying protest movement including its military, who have come out publicly to say they will not serve a country veering toward autocracy.

– photo Agenziafotogramma.it –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The majority of the Maltese electorate is against the introduction of abortion. According to a new independent public survey, three out of five people declared that they will not vote for their preferred political party if it proposes to introduce abortion. One-third said they would vote for another party, while another one-third said they will not vote at all. The remaining one-third said that they would not vote for their preferred party. Only one in five said they will vote for their preferred political party if it proposed introducing abortion in Malta. Last December, the Maltese Parliament voted in favour of an amendment that will allow abortions when a woman’s life or health is at serious risk. The Nationalist Opposition is against the proposed law. The proposed legislation is being scrutinized at the committee stage and the final vote is expected to be held this year. Meanwhile, the Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela admitted that the Labour government should have carried out public consultation before proposing the legal amendments. However, he reiterated the government’s commitment to change the law and confirmed that a process of consultations is taking place with stakeholders in the medical field. “Everyone agrees that the mother’s life should not be put in danger; there is agreement that where a fetus can be born it should be birthed; there is also agreement that the mother’s health should be protected”.
(ITALPRESS).
-photo credit agenziafotogramma.it-

Source: medNews

The international credit rating agency Fitch in its report declared that the Maltese financial banks are not in any immediate risk following the recent international turmoil in the banking sector. It emphasized the “exceptionally strong” level of liquidity, remarking also that by the end of the thrd quarter of 2022, Malta had the highest liquidity ratio. The ratio measures the share of assets held by financial institutions that can be sold quickly with little or no loss to their value. Malta’s A+ credit rating was confirmed by Fitch with a stable outlook, saying the country’s high per-capita income and track record of growth and debt reduction stand it to prosper. It said that Malta will be well positioned to reduce public debt in the medium- to long-term without slashing expenditure or hiking taxes, if it can grow the economy at a steady 3-4% per year. Malta’s economy grew by 6.9% in real terms last year, mainly through  the importation of aircraft material.cOnline gaming, information and technology and professional services were key sectors driving economic growth in 2022. By contrast, the construction sector contracted quite sharply. Inflation levels remained relatively under control when compared to other EU countries while unemployment “reached a new record low of 2.9%”. Fitch believes the Maltese economy will grow by 3.5% this year, rising to 3.7% in 2024. Fitch is of the opinion that the Maltese government achieved a 5.8% deficit in 2022, down from 7.5% the previous year, and expects the government to close 2023 with a 5.4% deficit. While Malta has been cushioned from the impact of energy inflation due to government subisidies on electricity and fuel prices, the agency declared its concern that the lack of a “clear exit strategy” for the government to end energy and fuel subsidies creates fiscal risks for the government, as it is at the mercy of international energy prices. Debt has risen by around 15 percentage points since 2019 and Fitch expects it to peak at just below 60% of GDP by 2024. The agency said that it would consider downgrading Malta if government debt continued on a clear upward trend or if it found evidence of further deterioration in governance or banking supervision, or concerns of a lack of transparency across the broader financial sector.

 

Photo Credits: www.agenziafotogramma.it

Source: medNews

TA’ QALI (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – In a press conference, the Italian national coach Roberto Mancini declared that he has maximum respect for the Maltese as their opponents for tomorrow’s game. He reiterated that he followed the match against Macedonia and even though the Maltese were defeated with a score of 2-1, he had words of praise for the Maltese team, and without mentioning specific names he claimed that several players attracted his interest. He also reiterated that the Maltese were compact and showed discipline in their performance especially in defense where the opponents found it difficult to penetrate. Mancini added that the national team is focusing on Sunday’s game following Thursday’s defeat against England. Meanwhile, he also said that there will be some changes from the last match.
– foto Image –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – At least two more tragedies occured in the Maltese search and rescue zone with at least seven Sub-Saharan migrants confirmed dead. The bodies were lifted by the Italian Coast Guard who managed to rescue tens of others. Meanwhile, a Tunisian fishing boat rescued a group of migrants and it is reported that on board there are three bodies being escorted to Lampedusa.

More migrants are leaving the Tunisian port city of Sfax by boat in search of reaching Italy. Between last Friday and Saturday, over 2,000 Sub-Saharan migrants arrived in Lampedusa which is 180 nautical miles away.

Around 78 migrants onboard a 12-metre rubber dinghy were rescued by the Emergency’s Life Support ship in the Maltese Search and Rescue area. The rubber dinghy was overcrowded and adrift, with no possibility of using the engine because it had run out of petrol. The dinghy was already damaged and they were all exhausted and dehydrated.

“The rescued people traveled for more than 20 hours without food and water,” said a nurse on board the Life Support research vessel. “The vessel was in international waters in the Maltese search and rescue area. Malta, despite having been informed immediately, did not coordinate the rescue activities or offer a safe port of disembarkation,” said Emanuele Nannini from the NGO Emergency.

While the Italian authorities instructed the NGO to proceed to the port of Brindisi as a place of safety, many other boats in distress, south of Lampedusa have been left without any other support intervention.

Ngo Sea Watch said that its reconnaissance aircraft found 17 boats in distress in the central Mediterranean. Many are built of sheet metal, some of them unable to maneuver without a running engine. Sea Watch added that all the boats location were forwarded to the Maltese rescue coordination center but have not received any response so far. It also said that contact was made with the Libyan rescue coordination center, but no one was able to speak English.

Ngo Alarm Phone declared that vast rescue efforts are needed as tens of boats with migrants on board are leaving from Tunisia. The Ngo said that it is unable to reach the majority of boats while trying to establish which arrived, been intercepted, or capsized.

– photo Agenziafotogramma.it –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

TA’ QALI (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta is set to play Italy at the National Stadium Tà Qali on Sunday in the UEFA Euro Qualifiers. The 16,000 seats at Tà Qali National Stadium have all been sold. Michele Marcolini, Maltàs national team coach, confirmed that of the 24 players selected for these first two games, everyone is available except maybe some players are still a little tired from the match against North Macedonia. He said that the risk of the Italian team in such matches is that they sometimes take it slowly but after suffering a defeat against England in the first game, “we are expecting a reaction against Malta”. Marcolini also said that although the opponent is a strong one, the Maltese team will not be completely defending. “However, when you play with a team of this caliber you automatically find yourself closing the spaces”. Asked about Retegui, Marcolini said that if he continues at this rate he should give a helping hand to the Italian team, but he hopes that he won’t do that tomorrow. Regarding Maltàs previous matches against Italy, Marcolini said that he hopes that the Maltese team will be tough for the Azzurri.
Marcolini concluded that he thinks that the Italian team will be creating chances and therefore the defense should be careful and close all the spaces.
Maltese midfielder Matthew Guillaumier said that the the national team is expecting a very difficult game and therefore it is important that the players play with the same attitude with which they came out against North Macedonia
After the press conference the Maltese team had a training session at the National Stadium with the local and international media being able to follow 15 minutes of this session.
In 17 head-to-head encounters between the two sides, Italy have won 14 games and drawn three.
Malta come into this game on the back of a 2-1 loss to North Macedonia. Italy, on the other hand, lost 2-1 to 10-man England in their most recent game. Before losing to England on Thursday, Italy had won each of their previous 14 qualification games and were unbeaten in 40. Having also beaten Malta in all four past meetings without conceding a goal, Italy will expect to get off the mark with a first win of the campaign.
– photo: LivePhotoSport –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

ALGIERS (ALGERIA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The police in Algeria has dismanteled an international group of smugglers who were trafficking illegal immigrants to Europe from Syria and Lebanon, via the city of Benghazi in eastern Libya. 15 people were arrested – nine Syrians and six Algerians following five months of investigation with the participation of anti-organized crime teams.

The cross-border criminal network was condsidered by the investigators as “specialised in smuggling immigrants”. During the operation, the police seized more than $11,000 along with almost 9,000 euros.

The immigrants were being transported from Syria and Lebanon to Benghazi airport, and then they travel to the northwestern Libyan city of Ghadames, after which they are sent through the border of Debdab in Algeria, as they take the desert route towards the city port of Oran in Algeria to prepare for illegal sea crossings to Europe. Such crossing attempts which migrants have to pay exorbitant amount of money in foreign currency to reach Europe, claim the lives of thousands of migrants each year.

– photo Freepik –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

MILANO (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The first Tunisian nurses from a group of 76 have arrived in Italy and will fill the hospital postitions made available by the GSD (San Donato Group) in support of the important initiative carried out in collaboration with the Italian Foreign and Home Affairs Ministries.
“Bilateral cooperation in health training must be encouraged, and the arrival of these nurses from Tunisia will mark the beginning of a cooperation that will see nurses be trained in the Italian language and culture to bring added value to both Italy and their country,” said the President of GKSD Kamel Ghribi declaring “it is also a legal and forward-looking response to the migration challenge which is a big issue for both Italy and Tunisia. It is proof that legal emigration can work.”
Ghribi, who is the promoter of this initiative, thanked all the Italian Government officials that contributed to realizing the project.

– foto ufficio stampa Gruppo San Donato –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews