LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta is registering an increase in Covid-19 cases and in respiratory infections this summer. This was confirmed by the local health authorities saying that positive cases of coronavirus continued to be detected.
According to the local health authorities, between June 5 and August 6, an average of 12 positive cases of Covid-19 were reported daily. Between July 31 and August 6, one person died while COVID positive and 151 new cases were registered.
Breaking down the ages of reported COVID-19 cases from June 5 to August 6, most positive cases (169) were over the age of 80 and those aged between 50-69. Another 163 cases were reported between the ages of 30 to 49 and 147 cases aged between 70-79.
There is no longer a legal requirement to report positive cases to health authorities. This means that the number of COVID-19 cases in the community could be much more than what is being reported.
Local doctors reported that this summer more patients are turning up with coughs, sore throats and nose infections, which is all very unusual for this time of year.
Patients who have COVID-like symptoms are advised to take a rapid medical test and, if found positive, should isolate and retest on the seventh day.
This spike is not a local phenomenon. In recent weeks, US public health officials have warned of a “mild summer surge” of COVID-19 while the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention noticed that hospitalisations for COVID were up 12 per cent for the week ending July 22. According to studies, the new coronavirus variant – EG.5 – is causing 17 per cent of new COVID-19 cases in the US.
Symptoms associated with this variant are a sore throat, runny nose, fever, cough, fatigue, muscle aches and headaches.
According to the local health authorities no new variants have so far been detected in Malta and herd immunity remains high in Malta, thus, most cases are mild.

– Foto: Agenzia Fotogramma –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Three individuals, two Italian and an Albanian have been arrested on suspicions that they form part of an organised crime group and were involved in drug trafficking.
The police said that the Italians aged 44 and 40, and the Albanian aged 40, were arrested following an investigation into an alleged drug transfer.
On Saturday morning, the police monitored the vehicle being used by the 44-year-old Italian man. He was later stopped, and the police found ten kilos of substance believed to be cocaine in ten packets with an estimated street value of €1.3 million.
The two other individuals who were also under police surveillance were arrested some time later in Hal Qormi.
The three men are expected to be arraigned over the coming days.
Photo: CMRU
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – World-renowned Italian singer and songwriter Gianni Morandi gave a beautiful, energetic show in front of thousands of people who were present last night at Forti Manoel on Manoel Island, in Gzira. Morandi continued with his ‘GoGiannigò summer tour in Malta where he was given a warm welcome four years after his last concert in Malta. Against the backdrop of the capital, Valletta, Gianni Morandi interpreted and sang some of his best songs of all time. Among these “Occhi di ragazza” and “Scendi la pioggia” where those present danced to the rhythm of the songs. His electrifying performance captivated the audience and this tour was no exception. Those present sang along to classics like “C’era un ragazzo che come me amava i Beatles e i Rolling Stones” e “In ginocchio da te”. Morandi also interpreted his iconic song “Fatti mandare dalla mamma”. Introducing this song, Morandi said he imagines that when God calls him, televisions and newscasts will be at the forefront to broadcast excerpts from this song. During the concert he did not fail to pay homage to the late Lucio Dalla, a great friend of Morandi, where he performed “Caruso”, which was very well received by the audience. The concert was organized in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Malta. The President of Malta George Vella and the Italian Ambassador to Malta Fabrizio Romano were present at the concert.

foto: xf3/Italpress

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Dozens of migrants and foreign workers were arrested in recent days and weeks by the Maltese authorities during raids and inspections in various localities around Malta and Gozo. During the inspections, the police are targeting third-country nationals suspected that they are living or working in Malta without the necessary permits.
Upon arrest, the people are escorted on a police bus, taken to a detention centre, and following further investigations, they will be deported from Malta. Most of them are being rounded up in streets and on public transport.
The mass arrests of people from African and Asian countries are being carried out by the Policès Immigration Squad, assisted by the Detention Services. However, other joint inspections involving two government agencies; Identity Malta and Jobplus are targeting construction sites on suspicion of employing third-country nationals without the required working documents.
Identity Malta urged Maltese employers to take the required steps to determine their employees’ legal status, adding that “foreign workers, particularly those from countries outside the European Union, should have a Residence Permit that includes the employer’s information as well as the role for which he or she is employed.”
The police confirmed the raids and inspections will continue in the coming days and weeks.

– foto: CMRU – Polizia di Malta

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The legendary Italian singer and songwriter Gianni Morandi returned to Malta as part of his Summer 2023 tour ‘Go Gianni Gò when on Saturday night he will take the stage at the iconic venue of Fort Manoel on Manoel island in Gzira.
The last time Gianni Morandi visited Malta was in 2019. “I love music, I love to be surrounded by people, I love what I do,” Italian pop culture icon Gianni Morandi told journalists at the Italian Cultural Institute in Valletta.
Asked about his relationship with the younger generations especially younger fans, Morandi explained that he continues to be himself, and to keep himself updated with contemporary music by listening to a lot of it. He does not only look back on his past hits but also works on new things. “I like to experiment. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” he said.
“I don’t make any efforts or try to become someone else. I try to give people courage and hope and send positive messages through my music,” he added.
The Italian Ambassador to Malta Fabrizio Romano, observed that having Morandi in Malta is a great asset for the embassy’s work, highlighting the importance of culture in bringing the two nations together.
Maltese Culture minister Owen Bonnici also spoke about the concert as an opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations between Malta and Italy.
During the press conference, Morandi also proceeded to call Pupo, who is in Malta for Notte Italiana with Pupo, which was held on Thursday.
In 2022, Morandi placed third at Sanremo with Apri tutte le porte. He also bagged the press room’s Lucio Dalla award.

– foto: Doi

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The employment rate in Malta for young people following their graduation from tertiary level is one of the highest amongst the EU countries. This results from a report published by the the European Union’s statistics office; Eurostat. According to Eurostat figures, last year 91% of all new Maltese graduated were in employment. The highest rates were registered in Germany (92%) and the Netherlands (93%). On the other hand, Italy, Romania, and Greece are the three countries whose graduates struggle the most to penetrate the job market. During 2022, 82% of European young people aged between 20 and 34 who graduated, found employment. Eurostat said that the rate for this group of individuals increased by 7% between 2014 and 2022, with the pandemic being the only stumbling block. However, the figures also show that last year Europe registered a new record, surpassing the 81% figure registered in 2018. The rate of male graduates in employment around Europe was slightly higher than that of females with just over two percentage points. This is also due to the demand in the job market, and the trends in subject choice, where more men than women tend to graduate in sciences and technology. However, it was also observed that this difference was the smallest on in the last 8 years. In Malta, the difference between the gender is minimal, with young women graduates in employment standing at 0.3% more than their male counterparts, at a rate of 90.9%.

– Photo: Agenzia Fotogramma –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The international NGO Alarm Phone accused Malta, Italy, and Greece of refusing to assign a port of safety to a group of 24 migrants, including nine children, despite the group being in distress. Alarm Phone added that the migrants were pushed back to Libya while they were in Maltàs search and rescue zone.
The NGO confirmed that it was alerted by the migrants about the difficulties they were facing due to very bad weather. Their boat had lost its direction due to a storm and was later discovered by a merchant vessel.
The merchant vessel PGE TORNADO rescued the people, said Alarm Phone, adding that the Maltese, Italian and Greek authorities refused to assign a port of safety, and the merchant vessel was ordered to return the migrants to Libya.
Alarm Phone confirmed that the group is now in Misrata, separately imprisoned in two centres. Some of them are sick and they fear deportation to Syria and Egypt. There are 9 children among them. Alarm Phone called on the authorities to immediately release them.
Meanwhile, another international NGO, Sea-Watch, criticized the European authorities for ignoring the recently widely predicted bad weather and abandoned dozens of boats to their fate. Sea-Watch said that another group of migrants went missing due to bad weather. Sea-Watch also confirmed that 49 migrants were saved by the NGO Doctors Without Borders. They have been for six days adrift facing a storm. While the vessel GeoBarents operated by Doctors Without Borders found two migrants who were part of this group following an over 3 hours search, another migrant is still missing, believed dead.
According to Sea-Watch, the number of dead and missing in the Mediterranean has risen to 2,063 this year alone.

– Photo: Agenzia Fotogramma –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A report published by Eurofound and the European Environment Agency (EEA) stated that Malta has not yet exploited its potential to generate and consume renewable and clean energy. The report found that Malta and the Netherlands are lagging behind in renewable energy consumption, even as the country’s circumstances give room to generate more clean energy. “As an island, Malta has not exploited the possibility of generating energy from wind, sun and waves. As it has no natural resources of fossil fuels, it has to import natural gas and oil,” the report said. Despite this, the report confirmed that Malta has significantly improved its renewable energy consumption as in 2008 it was generating only 0.2% of renewable energy and in 2020 it generated 10.7%. However, it remained one of the countries in the European Union that generates the least renewable energy. Last June, the NGO Friends of the Earth Malta (FoE Malta) said that while Malta is facing the climate problem, it should develop an ambitious energy policy and switch from the use of fossil fuels to investments in renewable energies. The Maltese were the most in the EU with 29.3% reporting environmental problems or pollution. It was also noted that Malta is the country in the EU that has recycled the least waste even though it has improved this rate over the past decade.

– Photo: Agenzia Fotogramma –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A group of 27 asylum seekers were brought to Malta after they were rescued by two commercial vessels. Oil tanker NS Lion and commercial vessel Seastar Victory were instructed to rescue the 27 individuals in distress. Non-governmental organisation Alarm Phone said 63 individuals who were on two different vessels had been rescued and taken to Malta and Catania. However, there was no news about three more boats that left from Libya and 18 boats that had left from Tunisia. Meanwhile, Amnesty International is urging Malta to launch an independent public inquiry into violations of the rights of migrants and refugees at sea in its search-and-rescue area, amid strong concerns about Maltàs failure to safeguard such rights. The international NGO made its call for a public inquiry “with terms of reference and members able to command the trust of civil society,” as it made its submissions for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Malta set to take place in January-February 2024. In its submissions, it emphasised the need for prompt action as it observed that that “the scale and gravity of the human rights violations against refugees and migrants documented in the period under review indicate that there was a marked regression in the level of respect for their rights.”
foto: Agenzia Fotogramma

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta has registered for the third consecutive year a strong sea heatwave that exceeded 30 degrees and which was longer and more intense. This was confirmed by the use of satellite data and numerical models to measure the tempretaure situation at sea.
Aldro Drago, an oceanography professor was quoted by the Times of Malta that the sea surface teperature marked a 5°C rise over the average 25.5°C of the past three decades. The sea water hit its warmest temperature at the beginning of the last week of July, remaining at almost 31°C for the entire day.
The lecturer at the Institute of Engineering and Transport of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology confirmed the warmenst tempretures were mostly in the south of Malta. “Measured at Marsaxlokk, the high temperatures were not consistent around the island due to a number of variables including currents.”
The phenomenon was also recorded in the Tyrrhenian Sea between Sicily and mainland Italy, and off the Tunisian coast, where temperatures rose to 32°C, according to the satellite data.
Among its impacts on marine life was the higher exposure of fish that do not move – such as those in farms – to illness, if not death. Their metabolism is faster in warmer water, meaning they need more oxygen, but this declines in higher temperatures. Coastal species and immobile creatures on the seabed in shallower waters also suffered the same effects. Reproduction could also be impacted, with autumn spawning being retarded if the sea was warmer in summer.

foto: Agenzia Fotogramma

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews