LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Maltàs national airline, Air Malta, will be liquidated “by the end of the year” and a new airline will take its place and start managing Air Maltàs operations. This was confirmed by the Chairman of Air Malta David Curmi in a report published by The Times of Malta. He explained that the transition will be without any extra obstacles. Curmi said that the European Commission is expected to reject the request made by the Maltese Government to inject €300 million to prevent Air Malta from bankruptcy. He added that the European Commission does not want a “photocopy” of Air Malta. The Maltese government presented to the European Commission a five-year plan which, according to Curmi, would lead to an airline that could profit. In October last year, the Minister for Finance Clyde Caruana had said in Parliament that the European Commission was not positive about the viability of Air Malta “because many promises in the past were not kept”. He admitted that the new airline which will replace Air Malta, will not operate like the airlines that offer cheap prices but that it will be offering great service. Regarding the future of the workers who are still with Air Malta, Curmi said that they will end up unemployed but they will be able to apply with this new airline. Minister Caruana had confirmed in Parliament that 351 former Air Malta workers chose to take the Early Retirement Scheme or the Voluntary Redundancy Scheme and were given a sum of money.
Curmi explained that ground handling, which was one of Air Maltàs problems, is now being handled by an Italian company Aviation Services SpA. However, this decision led to other problems because hundreds of Air Malta workers who were working in the ground handling operation ended up unemployed after the work started to be done by this company.
(ITALPRESS).
-photo credit Air Malta-

Source: medNews

MILAN (ITALPRESS) – “Tunisia is not a problem, but an extraordinary opportunity for Italy and the European Union, if both take a holistic approach towards a relationship based on cooperation. There is not only the issue of immigration, but there is culture, rural development, energy, infrastructure and agriculture”, declared Kamel Ghribi, President of GKSD Holding, adding that “the Mediterranean Sea should unite instead of dividing”.
While explaining that the inter-religious dialogue ensures peace, security, stability and prosperity, Ghribi added that this was the reason for organizing the Iftar dinner in Rome in the presence of the Imam of Palermo, that of Rome and with the participation of Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia. “You have to be committed and believe. This is the secret of cooperation between Italy and the European Union with Tunisia. As far as I’m concerned, I believe it,” he declared.
– photo Gksd –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A 45-year-old Sicilian man is facing trial accused of importing over 500,000 dollars worth of cannabis in October 2018. D.B. stands is being charged over a secret plan to traffic narcotics, importing the drugs and aggravated possession of cannabis. He was arrested by the police, together with two other men during a raid in a garage in Sliema. The raid led to a discovery of over 25kg of cannabis hidden inside the premises. The drugs, which had arrived in Malta from Sicily in a shipping container, had been packed in tissue packets and declared as “food goods”. D.B. had signed for the consignment himself.
foto Malta Police Force
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Alarm Phone has confirmed that around 60 migrants will be transferred to Malta after being rescued by a merchant vessel after the two boats they were traveling on ran into difficulties in the Maltese search and rescue area. The two boats, each with about 30 people on board, were sailing southeast of Malta. The Alarm Phone said on Sunday evening that a nearby cargo vessel had offered support, as had the Life Support salvage vessel operated by NGO Emergency. However, Malta reportedly refused to order a salvage informing the merchant vessel not to intervene, prompting Alarm Phone to contact the Maltese authorities urging them to “end the cruel salvage prevention”. This morning the turning point, with Alarm Phone reporting that it had learned that the people on the two boats “were rescued by merchant ships which Malta finally ordered to intervene”. The rescued people are expected to reach Malta in the afternoon. The rescue comes amid growing tensions between Malta and some NGOs, according to which the Maltese authorities are pressing not to rescue people in distress in the relevant Sar area in the hope that they will push themselves into Italian waters.
(ITALPRESS).
-photo credit agenziafotogramma.it-

Source: medNews

WARSAW (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Italy and Poland “have a common position on EU enlargement. We would both like the Western Balkans to join and Ukraine to become part of the European Union as well”. Polish President Andrzej Duda said this during a joint address with the President of Italy Sergio Mattarella in Warsaw. “The fact that Ukraine wants to be part of the EU is one of the reasons for the Russian aggression,” ha said, adding “the Russians want to oust it from the European community.”
Mattarella underlined, “this friendship is very important to me, there is a great collaboration with Poland. Last year’s exchanges were on the increase, and we hope the collaboration between various entities and companies will continue to develop more and more”.
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(ITALPRESS)

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government is working on plans to start projects related to land reclamation. This was confirmed by the Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela while addressing a political activity organised by the Labour Party. Abela admitted that such projects would attract criticism and controversy, however, he said that his government wwould not be stopped by the disapproval of other sectors and will not retract from taking the necessary decisions. Without giving any details, he confirmed that preparatory works for land reclamation are ongoing. Maltàs Labour government has been proposing the idea of land reclamation for several years, with former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in 2018 describing it as a “very large environmental priority” seeing Malta was running out of space where to dump construction waste and considering it is a small island with limited land. The Environment and Resources Authority has confirmed that its draft report on land reclamation has been passed over to the government and that “a cross-government consultation” is still underway. However, it is still unclear which sites will be earmarked for land reclamation projects. Back in 2019, the ERA was tasked by the government with identifying potential sites for land reclamation projects.
-photo credit gov.mt-
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

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

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

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

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