LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – In the yearly report compiled by the US Department of State on human trafficking, Malta’s position remained almost the same as it was in the last five years. While sex traffickers take advantage on locals and foreign citizens, those involved in various industries exploit others from Eastern Europe, Central America, China, and Southeast Asia mainly the Philippines. According to the United States, Malta is still failing to satisfy its minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. The report noted that Malta failed to convict any traffickers, even though significant efforts were noted during 2022, including investigations and prosecutions of more suspected traffickers, increase in funds for victim assistance, and an extensive awareness campaign on human trafficking. Moreover, the Maltese government did not report identifying any Maltese, children, asylum seekers, or undocumented migrants as trafficking victims and lacked coordination among ministries, and it had never awarded restitution or compensation to any trafficking victims. The report added, “the government did not effectively enforce labour regulations to prevent recruitment fees charged to workers, which increase workers’ vulnerability to trafficking, or make concrete efforts to increase oversight and regulation of massage parlours where there was a higher incidence of trafficking indicators”. Many women from Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Ukraine are mostly found working in nightclubs, while Asian women are recruited in massage parlours. The Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking and NGOs reported a lack of oversight and regulation on the licensing of massage parlours. The report also noted that with approximately 9,000 refugees and 4,000 asylum seekers residing in Malta, these are vulnerable to trafficking in Malta’s informal job market, specifically in the construction, hospitality, and domestic work sectors. Malta’s penalties for trafficking – six to 12 years imprisonment – are said to be sufficiently stringent. In 2022, the police vice squad opened 12 new investigations; seven for sex trafficking and five for labour trafficking. This is a slight increase compared with nine investigations initiated in 2021, but less than the 16 new investigations initiated in 2020. Prosecutors from the Attorney General’s office initiated criminal proceedings against six suspects for sex trafficking, an increase compared with zero prosecutions in 2021, two in 2020, and none in 2019. Ten prosecutions remained ongoing from prior years, including six for sex trafficking and four for labour trafficking. But for the second consecutive year, the government did not report convicting any traffickers; this compared with the convictions of three traffickers in both 2019 and 2020, which included significant prison sentences. Greta has criticized Malta for not appointing specialized judges for trafficking cases and did not pursue financial crime investigations related to human trafficking cases. However, the Maltese government provided training to the police vice squad and officials working with asylum-seekers; including welfare officers, social workers, and psychologists – on victim identification, communication approaches, ethics while working with survivors, and mental health issues. Law enforcement officers have conducted discreet interviews with potential victims to protect their identities and ensure their safety. To avoid re-traumatization, the government provided victims with protective support, including the option to testify via video. Foreign victims who assist police in prosecuting trafficking cases were entitled to a renewable six-month temporary residence permit, police protection, legal assistance, and the right to obtain flexible work permits. However, the government did not report whether it provided these protections to any victim during the reporting period. The government could grant refugee status to victims as an alternative to removal to countries where they may face hardship or persecution; however, the government did not report providing this status to any victims either. In July 2022, the government established a new coordinating body, the Anti-Human Trafficking Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), which met for the first time in October 2022 and once more in January 2023.

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Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government underlined the urgent need for effective measures to ensure sustainability in the fishing industry within the Mediterranean region. The Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries Alicia Bugeja Said who was addressing an EU ministerial meeting in Luxembourg declared that non-EU countries should also be encouraged to adopt the same sustainability measures as fishermen in the EU countries. Bugeja Said added that there should be equality among all countries of the region. “It is a fact that third countries are fishing in the Mediterranean without implementing or enforcing the same laws being followed by fishermen in Malta and other EU countries. There is a need for regional equality,” she insisted.The ministerial meeting discussed aspects of the Common Fisheries Policy, with Malta insisting that the focus should be on regeneration, particularly by attracting young people to the sector.

– photo agenziaFotogramma.it –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The bill amending Maltàs criminal provisions on abortion which went through the longest and most controversial debates concluded its parliamentary process, with MPs unanimously approving the bill in its third and final reading without the need for a vote.
However, the discussion concerning abortion in Malta is not over yet, declared the Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela who described the vote as “a historic day for our country.” He added, “people are discussing it anyway, and no politician, Opposition party, or Church can stop that in a democratic society.”
The bill was only made possible following substantial amendments to address the concerns of those who feared that the bill would effectively legalize abortion by stealth and by association.
The bill will now become law as soon as it is signed by the President of Malta: a formality that had been far from a foregone conclusion at the start of the debate. President George Vella had repeatedly asserted that he rather resign than give his assent to a bill liberalizing Maltàs abortion law, and recently sources close to Vella, said that it was Vellàs no that forced the government to change its direction.
The bill allows doctors to carry out an abortion if a woman’s life is at immediate risk or her health is in “grave jeopardy which may lead to her death”. Terminations can only take place once all other treatments have been exhausted and the decision must be taken by three specialists except in emergency cases. Interventions can only take place in licensed clinics and if the fetus can live outside the womb, the doctors must help the mother give birth. Even once the bill is enacted into law, Malta will still have among the strictest abortion laws in the world and abortion will remain illegal under all other circumstances including rape, incest, and severe fetal abnormalities.
(ITALPRESS).
-photo credit agenziafotogramma.it-

Source: medNews

TUNISI (TUNISIA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Tunisia-Italy electricity interconnector received a US$268 million (245.4 million euros) loan from the World Bank Group to fund the project that will connect power grids between Tunisia and Europe. The project will position Tunisia country as a regional hub for renewable energy through a 600-megawatt undersea cable. The Tunisia-Italy power line project “ELMED” is estimated at around 850 million euros.
Funding from the World Bank Group will cover part of the total investment for the construction of a main converter station and associated substations on the Tunisian side, including support for the implementation of the interconnector. The World Bank Group’s technical assistance includes support for the establishment of a Renewable Energy Center of Excellence to position Tunisia as a training center for renewable energy projects in the North African region. Tunisiàs 600-megawatt power line interconnection project will connect Capo Bon to Sicily. It is being carried out by Terna of Italy and Steg of Tunisia and is due to be completed by 2028. The agreement, signed by Tunisian Economy and Planning Minister Samir Said, falls within the framework of the partnership between Tunisia and the World Bank for the period 2023-2027, which was suspended on March 6th. Italy’s goal of being a European energy hub and connecting with Africa to import electricity from renewable energy sources is part of its strategy to eliminate its dependence on Russian gas via the Tunisian power line with Italy.

– photo agenziafotogramma.it –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

PALERMO (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The focus of the XVI session of Cotec Europa, which this year focuses on the theme “Innovation in financial sustainability”embraced aspects of great importance. First of all, the importance of innovation in the relationship between finance and sustainability, and how it is necessary to identify new forms of financing that can guarantee investors a transparent use of resources (ESG, Environment, Social, Governance criteria), therefore providing solutions aimed to also encourage the private sector to achieve the objectives of sustainability. The President of Italy Sergio Mattarella, the King of Spain Felipe VI, the President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, with the participation of the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, and in the presence of the local authorities and others met at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, to discuss one single aim: the achievement of the 17 stability objectives from Agenda 2030 (SDGs, sustainable development objectives) and from the Paris Climate Agreement, aimed at controlling the rise in global average temperature, reduce global climate-change emissions, develop and disseminate technologies aimed at achieving climate neutrality (zero net emissions).
The proceedings, moderated by journalist Gianni Riotta, were opened by the mayor of Palermo, Roberto Lagalla, who welcomed the guests emphasizing the importance of the city and of Sicily for the development of the Mediterranean: “Palermo becomes today, for one day, a privileged point of observation and synthesis for policies on financial sustainability and technical-scientific integration of three of the most important European countries”, said the mayor. “Sicily and Palermo,” he continued, “are a dynamic and propulsive link between the European continent and the expected development of the countries on the other side of the Mediterranean. Palermo and Sicily as a gateway to and from Europe, a plan that can be reached and not impossible”.
Following the speech by the President of Sicilian Regional Assembly, Gaetano Galvagno, the President of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, took the floor, emphasizing the path already taken by the island in terms of sustainability and digital innovation: “The eco-digital transition requires investments, this great transformation will change the way of working for millions of people, it is an inevitable challenge that only responsible institutions can carry forward,”explained the Governor. “Sicily is doing and will do its part on digital and sustainable innovation. The Mediterranean serves to carry out development projects”, added the Sicilian Governor.
“It is necessary to focus on increasing investments in environmental sustainability, on a policy that decreases the progress of the global average temperature, that aims at climate neutrality, which concentrates development and cohesion proposals on innovation”. “Since 2020, our region has already shown decline in sustainable development. It is one of the first Italian regions in this sense”, Schifani highlighted. “It is the task of today’s meeting to find new solutions”, he added. “I am sure that a clear message will be sent from Palermo to identify new forms of financing that can guarantee a correct use of resources”.
During the morning session, from the greetings of the Cotec general managers of the three countries to two panels discussing innovation in financial sustainability at the center of the debate with the participation of the public and private participation, it was time for a musical interval presented by the Kids Orchestra. As the national anthems of the three countries were sung, it was the turn of the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni to deliver his speech. “The pandemic or the Russian invasion of Ukraine could have forced us to put the sustainability agenda in the background. This was not the case. These crises led us to redouble our efforts”, declared the former Italian Prime Minister, adding that “the message from Palermo and Sicily, which so many occasions development opportunities they may have in the global transition, is that Europe will continue to lead the transition towards climate sustainability, making it inclusive and just, because it is part of our DNA”. He remarked “with the European Green Deal and our Fit for 55 package, we have set new ambitious targets for emissions and placed the green transition at the centre. The stakes are truly enormous. It is a question of ushering in a new season in which we will have a more modern and responsible capitalism towards the destiny of our country”.
The three Heads of State who were greeted by a long applause during the symposium closed the event with their respective speech. previously greeted by a long applause. “Many years have passed since my first visit here, a precious bilateral relationship has been established” began his speech the King of Spain, Felipe VI. “I am sure we agree on the fact that over time our relationship has made us stronger, with greater in-depth analysis of the themes, also in the light of the problems linked to the Mediterranean. Italy, Spain and Portugal have common objectives and these last 18 years have been very fruitful, they have marked the positive evolution of our synergy in tackling the problems and carry on the challenge of sustainable technology. The performance of a country also depends on this and the efforts made to date are many. Investments can be used in different ways, bring long-range benefits, be opportunities for growth and innovation within a virtuous circle between administrators and investors to increase human and technological capital globally”.
“Here in Palermo we find ourselves at the center of the themes of climate change, sustainable development, innovation and sustainable finance,” explained the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa. “This meeting demonstrates how COTEC is an alliance of visions that for almost twenty years has launched new topics such as circular economy, sustainable development, the importance of financing standards at European and global level. We are united in a European alliance, without political, regional or sectoral divisions. Here in Sicily, in Palermo, in this land of past and future, we don’t want anything to change so that everything stays the same. We want everything to really change, for the better, for the Spanish, Portuguese, Italians and for the citizens of Europe and the world.”
The sixteenth session of the Symposium ended with the speech of the President of Italy Sergio Mattarella: “Today’s meeting is a renewed opportunity to discuss issues at the heart of the international agenda. Sustainability, finance and innovation,” said the head of the Italian State, adding “these are the three key words of this meeting that challenge governments. The commitment is that of transition towards a new structure and sustainable growth, in comparison with climate change and social sustainability. Vital is, then, the creation of a virtuous process with the involvement of the private sector in partnerships that multiply spending capacity, promote the transfer of technology and the free circulation of talents, to relaunch growth, to contribute to the global objectives of sustainable development. The prosperity of the entire planet is at stake. On all of these issues; Spain, Portugal, Italy, with the European Union, can play an important role. The responsibility lies with everyone”.

– photo press office Quirinale –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Maltàs Foreign Minister Ian Borg urged the European Union to increase its focus on the Mediterranean, particularly with regard to the situation in Tunisia. Tunisia is going through economic and political turmoil which has seen thousands of migrants leaving its shores towards Italy. Borg who was addressing the EU foreign ministers’ meeting said the latest exchanges between the EU and Tunisia sent a good signal, but the time had come for the EU to refocus on the region. “Tunisia, in particular, needed to be helped so that solutions could be found that were satisfactory both to the country as well as the International Monetary Fund”, he said.
He added political and institutional relations with Tunisia could be strengthened through the Association Council, and Tunisia should also be assisted by the EU in capacity building to deal with the migration problem. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen earlier this month offered €105 million to Tunisia for border management and combatting human trafficking.
(ITALPRESS).
-photo credit Department of Information Malta-

Source: medNews

ATHENS (GREECE) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Kyriakos Mitsotakis was sworn in for his second term as Greek Prime Minister, after the electoral victory of his party, New Democracy. “No opposition, absolute domination by Mitsotakis,” read the headline of the centrist newspaper Ta Nea. Hailing the “strong mandate”, Mitsotakis said “major reforms would proceed rapidly,” adding that he had “ambitious” goals for his next four years in power that could “transform” Greece.
His pledges include boosting funding to the country’s public health system – which has been strained by the COVID-19 pandemic – and improving rail safety after 57 people died in a train collision last February which was Greecès worst train disaster.
Congratulations came quickly from world leaders after Mitsotakis’ victory. “I look forward to continuing our close cooperation on shared priorities to promote regional prosperity and security,” said US President Joe Biden. French President Emmanuel Macron has also promised cooperation for “a stronger and more sovereign Europe”. The Italian Premier sent her congratulations too. “I congratulated Mitsotakis on his electoral success. I sent him warm wishes for a good job. Italy and Greece together can achieve important results for the benefit of our peoples, our nations and our continent”, wrote Giorgia Meloni in a tweet, while the Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani defined the re-election by Mitsotakis “a sign of political stability that is good for all of Europe”.
The 55-year-old former McKinsey consultant and Harvard graduate had already achieved a resounding victory in the May elections following two consecutive years of strong economic growth but having failed to form a majority of one-party government for only five seats in parliament. He refused to try to form a coalition, effectively forcing 9.8 million Greek voters back to the polls. The gamble paid off, with his New Democracy party consolidating its victory following the 21 May vote, while its closest rival, the left-wing Syriza party of former premier Alexis Tsipras, lost dozens of thousands of voters compared to just a month ago.

– photo Agenziafotogramma.it –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – While several boats packed with migrants left the Tunisian shores towards Italy during the last days, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirmed that about 40 people are feared dead after their boat capsized in strong winds. The international NGO Alarm Phone confirmed that lately several boats left from Tunisia and were facing difficulties, but could not be reached. However, around 140 African migrants were rescued successfully by the Tunisian Coast Guard and Naval Units. The migrants were saved off the coast of Sfax in southern Tunisian coast.
Meanwhile, 22 migrants who fled from Libya are also in distress. The group is on a rubber boat south of Lampedusa. According to Alarm Phone who made contact with the migrants, there are two sick pregnant women and are asking for urgent help. Alarm Phone informed both the Italian and Maltese authorities but so far nobody launched a rescue mission. However, it is being reported that the Maltese authorities requested a cargo ship MANTA ZUHAL to rescue those on board and take them to Libya.
-photo agenziafotogramma.it-
(ITALPRESS)

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A 48-year-old man of Catania but living in St Paul’s Bay has been held in custody after pleading not guilty to a charge of possession of about 54 kg of cannabis with a street value of around 880,000 euros.
The accused was also charged with trafficking of cannabis. The drug was found in circumstances indicating it was not for his exclusive use.
Prosecuting Inspector Mark Anthony Mercieca explained that in recent weeks the Police had been carrying out inspections in a building in St Paul’s Bay. When the officers went there, they found the accused with his family, and a search resulted in various sizeable packages, allegedly containing cannabis.
The Court upheld a request by the Prosecution for freezing of the accused’s assets and confiscated all financial assets and property belonging to the accused.

– foto: agenziafotogramma.it

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government will present to the Parliament significant amendments to the controversial bill amending Maltàs criminal provisions on abortion with the intention to address the key concerns of those fearing it could legalize abortion.
Both Health Minister Chris Fearne and Justice Minister Jonathan Attard emphasized the necessity of the bill to amend Maltàs existing criminal provisions on abortion which are “over 150 years old”. The Maltese government felt the need to introduce the amendments after 38-year-old American citizen Andrea Prudente was denied a request for abortion in Malta after suffering the symptoms of a miscarriage.
The new amendments specify that Maltàs criminal provisions on abortion do not apply when a woman’s health is in “grave jeopardy which can lead to death,” a change that legalizes the current situation faced by medical practitioners and alters the scope and wording of the original bill presented in Parliament.
The original wording had been a key concern for pro-life activists and others opposed to the legal provision of abortion, leading a group of academics to propose an amendment that removed references to “grave jeopardy” entirely.
The new amendments have been welcomed by pro-life activists even though Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela, initially said that his government will not take up their proposal. However, pro-choice group Doctors For Choice said the bill went “from a law that would have protected women’s health to a law that could cost women their lives”. The Archdiocese of Malta has welcomed the government’s decision describing it as a “positive outcome that promotes right to life.”
In cases where a complication places the health of a woman in “grave jeopardy which may lead to death,” but not in imminent risk of loss of life, the decision whether to terminate a pregnancy would be taken by a team of three medical practitioners that would include two obstetricians or gynecologists – including the obstetrician that would carry out the intervention – and a specialist in the condition which the pregnant woman is suffering from. No timelines are specified in the bill.
The bill clarifies that the termination of a pregnancy is only considered in the case of fetuses that are not “capable of living outside the uterus according to current medical practices;” any that are would have to be delivered before any medical intervention is carried out.
It also specifies that procedures that may lead to the termination of a pregnancy may only be carried out in a licensed hospital.
The new amendments will now be discussed in a parliamentary committee session before it is voted upon in its third and final reading.

foto: DOI
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews