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Malta, new government proposals to solve traffic and parking problems

Malta, new government proposals to solve traffic and parking problems

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government has announced a set of proposals to ease the traffic situation on the island. The proposals will be subject to consultation with the public and stakeholders as confirmed by the Transport Minister Chris Bonett. He added that the measures will start to be implemented in the second quarter of 2025, and end in the third quarter of 2026.
Among the proposals unveiled by the government to ease traffic congestion, Minister Bonett announced off-peak service provision, revised bus routes, increased parking in public spaces, and better coordination on road works.
The government’s proposals are based on six pillars: a 24-hour economy, incentives to limit the use of vehicles, parking, public transport, road works coordination, and sustainable mobility.
The government is expected to lead by example, proposing services such as waste collection, cleansing, landscaping and driving licence lessons should not be carried out during peak hours. The government will also discuss with the private sector minimise the 60,000 commercial vehicles during peak hours.
The Transport Minister referred to the proposal to limit the use of passenger vehicles by introducing incentives for people to surrender their driving licence and convincing youths to refrain from obtaining their licences. He added that the finance ministry has already allocated €5 million to such incentives.
Meanwhile, more park-and-ride facilities, open spaces that can be used as parking facilities such as schools and technology-based solutions to improve the parking situation in localities are being proposed to solve parking problems.
The Maltese government is proposing a complete overhaul of the public transport system. This measure would take place in the medium term. The changes to take place in short term include new bus routes to industrial estates, circular bus routes within big localities, and new bus routes that have fewer stops.
Meanwhile, a new committee will be created to improve coordination on roadworks.
There are over 225,000 car owners in Malta, with over 55,000 individuals having more than one car to their name. Transport Minister said he does not believe the number of vehicles is the main problem, but the biggest issue concerning traffic is the fact that they are being used at the same time.
– photo Doi –
(ITALPRESS).


Source: medNews

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to visit Malta next month

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to visit Malta next month

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (MNA/ITALPRESS) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to visit Malta next month to represent Russia in a meeting for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which Malta currently chairs.

This means that Malta will be the first European Union country to host Lavrov since Russia invaded Ukraine.

When Russian media asked the Maltese embassy in Russia, it replied that every member of the OSCE is invited to the organisation’s meetings. According to Russian media, the information was also confirmed by the official representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. The meeting in Malta will take place between 5th and 6th December.

Lavrov has been serving in this position since 2004. In recent years, he has strongly defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, alleging that the Ukrainian people needed to be freed from the “tyranny” of the Ukrainian government.

Despite the invasion, Lavrov maintained that Russia did not attack Ukraine and that it had a mission to free Ukraine from a “Nazi regime”. Last year, during a meeting of the G20 nations in India, various delegates were unimpressed by his claims that Ukraine attacked Russia, not the other way around.

Lavrov, together with the remainder of Vladimir Putin’s Cabinet, is under European Union sanctions in connection with the illegal invasion. Despite this, this does not mean that Lavrov is completely barred from entering the EU.

The last time Lavrov visited an EU country was a trip to Stockholm for an OSCE gathering in December 2021, according to the Russian foreign ministry.

In 2023, Lavrov traveled to North Macedonia for an OSCE ministerial, after Bulgaria gave permission for his plane to cross its airspace en route to Skopje. The move sparked criticism from Kyiv, with several countries including Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania choosing to boycott the meeting over Lavrov’s participation.

(ITALPRESS).

Foto: Agenzia Fotogramma


Source: medNews

Malta, Ivorian was planning terror attacks in France

Malta, Ivorian was planning terror attacks in France

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – An Ivorian national, 32, holding an Italian identity card was arrested by the police in Malta, and charged with multiple terrorism-related charges.
Facebook Messenger chats involving the suspect appeared to indicate that Mouhamadou Dosso was encouraging third parties to travel to France to carry out suicide bomb attacks.
The Ivorian was arrested on Thursday morning at approximately 5am on Triq Giovanni Barbara, Hamrun, after weeks of surveillance and intelligence analysis conducted across multiple police departments. The raid stemmed from information received by the police anti-terrorism unit.
The police surrounded two neighbouring properties associated with the suspect, confiscating several electronic devices, including servers, believed to be used in the distribution of extremist content. He was subsequently taken to the Police Headquarters in Floriana for further questioning.
Upon arraignment, he pleaded not guilty to various terrorist offences, including knowingly instigating terrorist acts and participating in an organisation to promote some political object by the use or display of physical force.
His legal aid lawyer did not request bail at the arraignment stage. The Magistrate remanded the Ivorian in custody.

– Photo Malta Police –

(ITALPRESS).


Source: medNews

Malta, government announced tax cuts to low income earners and the middle class

Malta, government announced tax cuts to low income earners and the middle class

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government announced a significant revamp of Maltàs tax system for 2025, promising to put “€550 million back in peoplès pockets” while simultaneously reducing energy subsidies. While presenting the Budget speech for 2025, Finance minister Clyde Caruana announced a comprehensive tax reform raises the zero-tax threshold to €12,000 for single taxpayers, while married couples will now enjoy tax-free earnings up to €15,000. Parents will benefit from a new €13,000 threshold. During the Budget speech, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said other EU countries are introducing more taxes. He showed an online article quoting Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, Italian Minister of Economy and Finance declaring that the Italians will be asked to do more sacrifices in 2025. However, these tax adjustments, that will cost the Maltese government 140 million, come alongside a significant reduction in energy support measures. Government spending on energy subsidies will decrease from €300 million to €175 million in 2025, despite ongoing cost-of-living pressures faced by ordinary households. The budget presentation was notably interrupted by Moviment Graffitti protesters, accusing the government of “dancing to the tune of developers.” They raised concerns about the influence of property developers on government policy. Their dramatic demonstration inside the Parliament Chamber, highlighted growing public anger about the direction of Maltàs economic development.
The government’s economic strategy appears firmly focused on meeting EU fiscal targets, with plans to reduce the deficit to below 3% of GDP by 2026 – a year ahead of schedule. This achievement, however, comes as public debt is projected to reach €13.5 billion by 2027.
GDP growth is expected to remain robust at 4.3-4.5% over the next three years, significantly above EU averages. Yet questions remain about how this prosperity will be distributed, particularly as the gap between government revenue and expenditure is set to widen, with recurrent expenditure dropping to 27.5% of GDP by 2027 while revenue holds at 31.5%.
As part of a broader strategy aimed at balancing the growing demands on the pension fund with long-term sustainability, the government will be extending the required years of contributions for full pension eligibility from 41 to 42 years for individuals born in 1976 or later.
Addressing a press conference following the Budget speech, Prime Minister Robert Abela pledged to follow up the 2025 Budget with a series of “action plans” which, he said, would address the “major challenges that our country is facing.” Among other issues, he said, these would aim to address Maltàs tourism sector, pledging that Malta would no longer measure success by the volume of tourists that reach the country every year.
Abela insisted that the government would be implementing a number of short-term and medium-term solutions to traffic.
He said that Maltàs growing population and its impact on infrastructure was now the most important concern for the Maltese public, and insisted that the budget “was the start of an action plan to address and solve these challenges.” He also rejected suggestions that transforming Maltàs economy should “close the door to the construction sector.” Meanwhile, Opposition leader Bernard Grech said the Budget was an attempt by Robert Abela to save his political career in the shadow of Labour’s poor electoral result in last Junès European Parliament election. “The government knows what the peoplès problems are – the quality of life, infrastructure, over population, services, power cuts, drainage problems – the Budget fails to address these problems,” he said.
The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry said that while the Government has recognised the importance of quality over quantity, the Budget 2025 still lacks the necessary measures and economic vision to drive a major quality leap and a tangible improvement in the well-being of society.

– Photo Agenzia Fotogramma –

(ITALPRESS).


Source: medNews

Meloni “Libya is a major economic partner”

Meloni “Libya is a major economic partner”

ROME (ITALY) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – “Our goal is on the one hand to relaunch collaborations that have been at a standstill for a long time and on the other to expand collaborations that have always continued and above all to explore together new forms of cooperation. I wanted to be here in Tripoli today to reiterate the commitment of Italy and the Italian Government to be alongside Libya and its people in this new reconstruction and development phase. Libya represents a major economic partner for Italy, our excellent trade relations are proof of this”. This was stated by the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, at the Italy-Libya Business Forum in Tripoli. “We consider the relationship with Libya a priority for Italy and Europe. We are convinced that the deep cooperation that binds us has not yet expressed its full potential. The relationships between our companies have never been interrupted and there is a common interest in leaping in quality, even compared to what we have done so far”, Meloni explained. Furthermore, “Italy is for Libya the privileged gateway to one of the largest energy markets in the world, the European one, made up of 500 million consumers. This offers us a double opportunity: to work to become a hub for energy flows between Italy, Africa, and Europe, a true supply and distribution hub and to be a pivot for the conjunction and connection of new interconnections, which must be infrastructural and economic, to which we are also giving voice through the Mattei Plan for Africa”, concluded the Prime Minister.
(ITALPRESS).
-Photo credit: Palazzo Chigi-


Source: medNews

Maltàs debt exceeds 10 billion euros

Maltàs debt exceeds 10 billion euros

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Maltàs government debt has exceeded €10 billion for the first time, reaching €10.01 billion by September 2024. According to figures released by the National Statistics Office, the debt represents a substantial increase of €653.8 million compared to 2023, primarily driven by a €779.8 million rise in Malta Government Stocks. Additional increases were noted in Foreign Loans (€71.8 million) and Euro coins issued by the Treasury (€3.8 million). The government simultaneously reported a surplus of €142.3 million in its Consolidated Fund, painting a complex picture of the nation’s fiscal health ahead of today’s budget speech. Malta was placed under the EU’s Excessive Deficit Procedure in July 2024, alongside seven other member states. The Malta Fiscal Advisory Council (MFAC) added its voice to these concerns, particularly regarding the government’s energy subsidy policy. Finance minister Clyde Caruana recently indicated that energy subsidies are expected to cost €160 million in 2025, equivalent to 0.7% of GDP-a reduction from 1.4% in 2023.
Despite this, the government’s revenue collection saw substantial growth, with Recurrent Revenue reaching €5.49 billion, marking a €747.8 million increase from the previous year. The primary sources were: Income Tax: Up by €381.2 million, Value Added Tax: Increased by €158.4 million and Social Security: Rose by €106.7 million.
(ITALPRESS).
-. Photo credit: Malta Tourism Office-


Source: medNews

Malta’s population increased by 4% in a year

Malta’s population increased by 4% in a year

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (MNA/ITALPRESS) – Malta’s population is now up to over 563,000 people, according to the latest national statistics.

The number of people in Malta has shot up by almost 21,000, or 4 per cent, in a year to reach 563,443 by the end of 2023. This figure stood at 542,051 a year earlier. This increase was mostly driven by immigration, which reached its highest ever level, with over 42,000 people moving to Malta throughout 2023.

Some 33,000 were third-country nationals including UK citizens, with almost 7,000 EU nationals also coming to live in Malta. Some 2,200 Maltese citizens also returned to Malta in 2023, after a spell living abroad.

Meanwhile, emigration has almost doubled from 13,000 in 2022 to over 21,000 the following year. Most people who left the country were third-country nationals, with 13,500 leaving the country throughout the year, along with 6,000 EU citizens and 1,700 Maltese.

Malta’s migration has also had an effect on the gender balance across Malta’s population. Women in Malta outnumbered men until 2013. Today there are 34,000 more men in Malta than there are women.

Much of this difference can be found amongst working age people between the ages of 20 and 50, which make up roughly half the population. In this group, there are 35,000 more men than women.

People over 60 now make up a just under a quarter of Malta’s total population.

4,462 babies were born in 2023, more than during any other year since 2016. Last year’s tally was 153 more than the previous year. In almost half of all births, the parent who gave birth was between the ages of 30 to 34, with a further one in five between 35 and 39, suggesting that fewer people are choosing to have children throughout their 20s.

Deaths throughout the year topped the 4,000 mark, but were lower than at any point since 2019, with Malta registering 200 fewer deaths last year compared to 2022.

Seven out of every ten deaths were among people over the age of 75.

Meanwhile, infant mortality has dipped to its lowest levels in the past 15 years, with just 16 deaths amongst infants under the age of one. This is half the high of 34 registered in 2008.

(ITALPRESS).

Foto; Agenzia Fotogramma


Source: medNews

Middle East, plan to evacuate the Maltese soldiers in case the conflict intensifies

Middle East, plan to evacuate the Maltese soldiers in case the conflict intensifies

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (MNA/ITALPRESS) -The Maltese government confirmed that an evacuation plan is in place for the Maltese soldiers stationed in Lebanon, in case the present conflict intensifies.

Seven Maltese soldiers stationed in Lebanon, who voluntarily signed up for the six-month peacekeeping mission, are stationed close to the Israeli border. They are currently in Camp Shamrock together with Irish, Polish and Hungarian troops. The Maltese soldiers are part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission known as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) which has around 10,500 peacekeepers from 50 contributing countries.

The Home Affairs ministry stated it is in close contact with the Maltese soldiers and

is ensuring that they are given the support and assistance they need, as well as ensuring their safety.

The Home Affairs ministry announced that Malta adopted a joint declaration which was signed by 14 other EU Member States that are participating in UNIFIL.

Home affairs ministers of the EU member states that are also part of UNIFIL held a meeting on 16 October in which the situation along the Israel-Lebanon border was discussed.

The ministry said Malta insisted on the importance of prioritising the safety of UNIFIL soldiers. After the meeting, Malta together with Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Holland, Poland and Spain, adopted a declaration condemning the targeting of all UNIFIL peacekeepers and reminded that this was against the fundamental principles of international law.

In their declaration, the defence ministers of the member states of the EU contributing troops to UNIFIL expressed their grave concern regarding the escalation of violence along the blue line and the recent incidents targeting UNIFIL personnel and installations.

They also recalled that all actors have an obligation to take necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times.

Malta as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council is working closely with the EU and the international community to safeguard UNIFIL’s mandate.

Maltese soldiers have been participating in the peacekeeping mission since November 2018.

(ITALPRESS).

Foto: Agenzia Fotogramma


Source: medNews

Libya, EU urged to strengthen collaboration to uphold the arms embargo

Libya, EU urged to strengthen collaboration to uphold the arms embargo

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (MNA/ITALPRESS) – The Commander of Operation Irini, Admiral Valentino Rinaldi, held key meetings in Brussels with senior EU representatives and ambassadors from the Political and Security Committee to discuss reinforcing the enforcement of the UN arms embargo on Libya.

Operation Irini, an EU-led mission launched in 2020, plays a critical role in preventing the flow of weapons into Libya. The mission operates in the central Mediterranean and conducts inspections of vessels suspected of carrying weapons. This arms embargo is critical to preventing further destabilization in Libya, where the flow of weapons has fueled conflict between rival factions. Despite several peace initiatives, weapons continue to reach Libyan factions, undermining efforts to build lasting peace.

Admiral Rinaldi also met with Daniel Markic, Director of the EU Intelligence and Operations Center, to improve cooperation between intelligence networks and enforcement agencies.

During his meetings, Admiral Rinaldi emphasized the need to focus on integrating real-time intelligence and satellite data into Irini’s operations, making arms enforcement more efficient and precise. This increased coordination aims to close loopholes and prevent smuggled arms from reaching Libya by air or sea.

While Operation Irini has achieved significant progress, it faces several challenges, including limited enforcement capabilities and persistent violations through land and air routes. Admiral Rinaldi reaffirmed the importance of EU unity and collaboration to overcome these challenges and ensure the mission’s effectiveness.

(ITALPRESS).

Foto: Agenzia Fotogramma


Source: medNews

Santanchè meets Egyptian counterpart Fathy “Tourism as builder of peace”

Santanchè meets Egyptian counterpart Fathy “Tourism as builder of peace”

ROME (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanchè met in Hurghada with Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt, to reaffirm the long-standing cooperation between Egypt and Italy in the tourism sector.
During the meeting, both ministers underlined the importance of tourism as a key driver for social and economic development. They highlighted the need for vocational training and skills development to improve employment opportunities and support the growth of their respective tourism industries.
They also expressed their satisfaction with the inauguration of the Italian School of Hospitality in Hurghada, which aims to provide young Egyptians with world-class training in the tourism and hospitality sector. This initiative was developed in collaboration with Federturismo Confindustria, the Italian School of Hospitality and the Pickalbatros Group.
The two ministers welcomed this innovative model of collaboration between the private sector and public institutions of both countries, based on mutual benefit, and expressed their intention to explore ways to replicate it in other projects.
Highlighting the importance of tourism as a tool for peacebuilding, the two ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation between the ministries of tourism of Egypt and Italy through the exchange of information, expertise and best practices in tourism policies, in order to promote sustainable and high-quality growth in the tourism sector, identifying areas of joint action to fully exploit the potential of the tourism industry of both countries and fostering opportunities for collaboration between the tourism industries of Egypt and Italy.

– Photo Ministry of Tourism press office –

(ITALPRESS).


Source: medNews

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