At the end of an emergency meeting of the Malta Labour Parliamentary group, there was
no indication that the Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat will resign immediately as indicated before in relation to the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. This led to thousands of protesters taken out to the streets of the capital Valletta demanding justice for Daphne and insisting with the resignation of Muscat from Prime Minister.

In the morning, the Labour Parliamentary Group has agreed to leave Muscat to decide any political decision and has reaffirmed confidence in him, despite there were ministers and parliamentary secretaries in recent days who had wanted Muscat’s resignation immediately.

A statement released by the Labour Party this afternoon confirmed that the Maltese parliament will discuss the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galicia as a result of yesterday’s developemnts when entrepreneur Jorgen Fenech was accused of having planned and organized the assassination of Caruana Galizia with the help of a criminal group.

Muscat has decided that after all these developments, he reinstated Chris Cardona as minister of the economy but Konrad Mizzi’s resignation is still in force.

These developments have caused more anger and disappointment within the nationalist opposition and the civil society. Late this afternoon another national protest was organised in front of the Prime Minister’s office in Valletta. Thousands were present calling for the Prime Minister to resign and to ensure justice into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. This Sunday was the eight time in 12 days that the people have protested over the killing of the Maltese journalist two years ago.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

L’articolo MALTA, ANGER AND DISAPPOINTMENT AFTER MUSCAT DECIDED NOT TO RESIGN proviene da Italpress.

Source: medNews

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this morning called for an emergency meeting of his cabinet to discuss and decide on the future of the country after yesterday evening entrepreneur Yorgen Fenech was accused with the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Muscat is under pressure to resign, not only from the nationalist opposition and the civil society, but also from within his parliamentary group and from sections of the Labour party.

A group of Labour MPs is disappointed and angry and is insisting with Muscat to quit immediately and they want the President of Malta George Vella to appoint the deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne as an interim prime minister until the Labour leadership elections take place on 8 and 18, January 2020.

Muscat is also under pressure for another reason. The majority of Labour MPs want the Maltese police to re-arrest Keith Schembri, the former head of the prime minister’s office in connection with the assassination of Caruana Galizia. There are doubts that Schembri has written a letter that was distributed by the investigators. The letter seems to have the intention of blaming former economic minister Chris Cardona who was interrogated by the police and then, decided to suspend himself from the parliamentary group.

The meeting of the Labour cabinet is taking place in the prime minister’s summer residence in Girgenti.

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Prominent Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech, 38 years was charged this evening in relation to the assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. He was accused of promoting or financing a criminal organisation, participating in criminal activities organised by this criminal organisation, with the complicity in the murder, conspiring with people with the intention of committing a crime and being an accomplice to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The assassination of Caruana Galizia took place on 16th October 2017. Fenech pleaded not guilty. Fenech’s lawyers did not request bail for their client but asked the court to explain the police’s request to freeze Fenech’s assets. The court has accepted the prosecution’s request.
Fenech was taken away from court in a police van straing to the Corradino prison.
Replying to a question by Fenech’s lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curren, the prosecution confirmed that Keith Schembri, the ex-Chief of Staff at the Prime Minister’s office did feature during the investigations. Thursday evening, the Police freed Keith Schembri who was under interrogation for several days.
All the family members of Daphne Caruana Galizia were present in court including her husband, her three children together with Caruana Galizia’s brothers, sisters and parents.
Outside court, Corinne Vella, one of Daphne’s sister said “we now expect the Prime Minister to leave office and parliament with immediate effect to allow free and full investigation into his and Keith Schembri’s role in Daphne’s assassintion”.
Yorgen Fenech was arrested by the Maltese police on 20 November, when he was trying to escape from Malta with his yacht and was intercepted by the Armed Forces of Malta as soon as he left the Portomaso marina in St Julians. His arrest was among others in connection with the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Inspector Keith Arnaud confirmed before court that Fenech’s movements were being noticed before he was arrested 10 days ago.
(ITALPRESS/MNA)

L’articolo YORGEN FENECH ACCUSED WITH CARUANA GALIZIA’S MURDER proviene da Italpress.

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A new Labour leader in Malta will be elected on the 18th of January 2020. The Labour Party Electoral Commission has met this morning to discuss the way forward after yesterday it was made public that Joseph Muscat will resign imminently as Labour Leader and Prime Minister of Malta.
The Labour delegates will be asked to vote on the 8th of January if there will be more than two candidates, and a final vote will take place ten days later.
According to reports, Joseph Muscat will keep on hanging to his post as Labour Leader and Prime Minister after the final vote as scheduled by the Labour Party Electoral Commission.
Meanwhile, the civil society is calling Muscat to resign immediately. Tomorrow is scheduled another national protest infront of the Prime Minister’s office.
(ITALPRESS/MNA)

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During a press conference, after a long cabinet meeting that took six hours, the Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat said he is not ready to quit, despite the protesters’ calls outside his office in Valletta to leave the office. In fact, another demonstration is scheduled for this evening in front of the Prime Minister’s office. Muscat reaffirmed that his obligation is to see justice will be done with the Caruana Galicia family.

Also present during the cabinet meeting were the Maltese Police Commissioner and the Attorney General who gave the Labour Government Ministers advice not to recommend the presidential pardon to entrepreneur Yorgen Fenech. Fenech is under arrest for the murder of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in October 16 of two years ago. However, the legal advisers representing Fenech, declared that their client is ready to reveal all the truth about the alleged involvement of Keith Schembri and two ex-Labour Ministers Konrad Mizzi and Chris Cardona.

Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar and Attorney General Peter Agius declared with the Government Ministers that there was no valid reason after the interrogations, for the approval of a presidential pardon to Fenech. After this official declaration, the Ministers decided to approve the recommendation. By this time, Muscat was not present and left his ministers to decide freely.

Meanwhile, during the Cabinet meeting, the Maltese police released an official statement in which it was declared that Keith Schembri was a free man because there is no connection with the murder of Daphne Caruana Galicia. One of the sons of Caruana Galizia, Matthew, reiterated that the institutions are still protecting Schembri and this situation is completely outrageous. During the press conference, the Prime Minister confirmed that Keith Schembri will not be asked to head his office at Auberge de Castille.
(ITALPRESS/MNA)

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“The Alpine crown, seen from space, appears as one of the largest water reserves in Europe, a unique and extremely important territory for all of us. We must decide now to act, all together, to make a difference “. This is stated by Paolo Nespoli, an astronaut who has three space missions and who takes part in the 3RD EUSALP ANNUAL FORUM in the panel ‘Shaping. Future. Toghether. With the next generation ‘meeting dedicated to the relationship between new generations and the environment. “From space we see how we human beings are in every corner of the globe and how our presence is now highly impacting on the environment” says the astronaut on the eve of this meeting. “Measuring, understanding and modifying this impact is fundamental to being able to make informed and responsible choices, in order to coexist in harmony precisely with that environment that allows us to exist on this planet”. And the message he is sending is very clear: “We must decide to become aware and act, all together now, to make the difference”

L’articolo EUSALP, NESPOLI “THE ALPS ARE EUROPEAN WATER RESERVES” proviene da Italpress.

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The Opposition in Malta led by the Nationalist Party left the Parliament building for the second time this week after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat refused to assume his political responsibility. The opposition is accusing Muscat who had protected his Chief of StaffKeith Schembri, who is under arrest in relation to the assasination of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galicia. Opposition leader Adrian Delia said the government led by Muscat has lost his legittimacy of governing the country. The business community in Malta has also referred to the difficult situation that the country is experiencing and has called for greater political responsibility and immediate solutions to the serious problems the nation is facing.

There are reports that during the questioning, Maltese entrepreneur Yorgen Fenech mentioned the name of Keith Schembri as the person who planned the murder of journalist Caruana Galizia on 16 October 2017. During the questioning, Fenech said that the original plan of his escape with his yacht before his arrest took place, was to sail from Malta to Tunisia, and then he will travel to Dubai. Fenech stated that this plan was discussed in the residence of his private doctor in the presence of Schembri in Gozo. Adrian Vella was also questioned twice by the investigators today. There is also confirmation from the telephone system that Fenech and Schembri were in regular contact.

According to a local report, Melvin Theuma who is considered as the mediator in the assassination of Caruana Galizia presented a recorded conversation to the investigators about abet between Theuma and Fenech that the Labour Party will win the 2017 general election with a large majority. Theuma, who is known for his involvement in gambling, accepted the 50,000 euro challenge and that election result indeed increased the winning by 150,000 euros. This amount was transferred to a kitty aimed to the financing of the  murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Yorgen Fenech also formally submitted a request for a presidential pardon in exchange for immunity from prosecution and stated that he had information linking Keith Schembri to criminal activity.

Meanwhile, the Maltese police had barricaded the parliament area and the streets leading to the Office of the Prime Minister to block access to the demonstrators. On Wednesday evening, the civil society with the support of the Opposition organized the fifth protest in a week. The protesters blocked the main street that from Floriana leads to Valletta, and gathered in front of the War Monument, chanting slogans ‘Joseph out’ referring to Joseph Muscat to resign immediately as Prime Minister of Malta.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

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Tourism Minister of Malta Konrad Mizzi has confirmed that he has presented his resignation and Economy Minister Chris Cardona has suspended himself.
Addressing the journalists at the end of an urgent cabinet meeting, Minister Mizzi said that it was his duty to resign in these circumstances.

Even the Chief of Staff of the Maltese Prime Minister’s Office Joseph Muscat presented his resignation. The Maltese police are questioning Keith Schembri about the possibility of his involvement in the case of the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galicia. The interrogation is also about corruption cases in connection with the secret company 17 Black owned by entrepreneur Yorgen Fenech who is also under arrest.

Last night Keith Schembri met with the Maltese Prime Minister in the Prime Minister’s residential home in Burmarrad.
Yesterday the President of the Republic of Malta George Vella signed an official degree guaranteeing a presidential pardon to Melvin Theuma – the first suspect in the murder of Caruana Galizia. He was arrested last week. Theuma is obliged to give every detail on the assasination of the Maltese journalist.
Meanwhile, the civil society with the support of the Nationalist opposition continued with their protests in front of the Parliament building and the Office of the Prime Minister calling for the resignation of Joseph Muscat and the Minister for Economy Chris Cardona who was also questioned by the Police about the murder of Caruana Galizia.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

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The 23 thousand hectares of woods and pastures that the Lombardy Region manages in its territory through ERSAF (Agency for Agricultural Services and Forests) and in particular the 20 forest complexes, will have a New Map of the Forests that will regulate their everyday life, for the coming years, . During the Annual Forum of EUSALP (the European Alpine Region) scheduled in Milan on 28 and 29 November, the president of the Region Attilio Fontana, the councilor for Agriculture Fabio Rolfi and the president of ERSAF Alessandro Fede Pellone will sign with 35 mayors in the Alps, and communities with environmental associations, this important document.
The main element of this Charter will be the extension of the Forest Contract: a formal agreement between the public and the private sector for the best possible management of this fundamental environmental heritage extending from the Alps to the Prealps, from the lakes to the mountain peaks, from the Po Valley to the border with Switzerland, and which constitutes an important mosaic of natural ecosystems, inhabited by an extraordinary variety of fauna and flora. The agreements will allow not only a conservation of flora and fauna, but also a substantial flywheel so that the economic resources that the forest produces remain in the territory and feed this conservation work.

In addition to performing the “ordinary” functions of the forest, forests are a privileged place for teaching, recreation, ecotourism and hiking. And this is why Fabio Rolfi, the Councilor for Agriculture, Food and Green Systems, announced that he is pursuing policies for the recognition of the so-called ‘educational forest’, especially for the youngest, for an essential education in the environment and safeguarding the values of the territory.
“Fifteen years after the signing of the first Charter – explains ERSAF President Alessandro Fede Pellone – I would like to support the same concept. On the one hand, because there has been a substantial continuity between those who managed the heritage. On the other hand, because those who frequent our forests today – for work, for passion, for fun, for sports, in the research for spirituality … -, finds a well-guarded treasure. The Lombardy Forests continue to offer incomparable ecosystem services to their patrons: air, water, wood, animals, fruits … A valuable environment, which is constantly valued “.
(ITALPRESS/MNA).

L’articolo EUSALP, THE NEW CHARTER OF LOMBARD FORESTS AT THE REGION’S FORUM proviene da Italpress.

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Health expenditures posted an annual increase of 17,5% to 165,2 billion Turkish liras ($28.5 billion) in 2018, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) revealed on Tuesday. “The proportion of current health expenditure to total health expenditure was 93,1% for 2017 and 93,8% for 2018,” the TurkStat said. It added the ratio of government health expenditure-to-total health expenditure was 77,5% in 2018, down from 78% in 2017. “The proportion of total health expenditure to GDP was 4,4% last year. This ratio for general government was 3,4%,” it indicated. It also reported that the number of hospitals in Turkey surged by 11.065 year-on-year to reach 80.701 last year, of which 65.373 were public hospitals while 15.328 were private sector hospitals. The institute said out of pocket health expenditures made by households for treatment, pharmaceuticals, etc. reached to 28,7 billion liras with an increase of 19,4% in 2018. The proportion of household out of pocket health expenditure to total health expenditure was 17,3% last year. “Health spending per capita was 1.751 Turkish liras ($480) in 2017 and then it reached to 2.030 liras ($430) with an increase of 15,9% in 2018,” it said. Health expenditure statistics were presented according to financing agents and service providers. Source: Anadolu Agency.
(ITALPRESS/MNA).

L’articolo TURKEY, HEALTH SPENDING SEES 17,5% proviene da Italpress.

Source: medNews