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VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – On the same day the Vatican announced that Pope Francis, 84 had to cancel his travel trips for a period of time due to his acute gonalgia, the Vatican published the details of the Popès planned visit to Malta between Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 April
Pope Francis will arrive in Malta on Saturday 2 April at 10am, and following the arrival ceremony at the Malta International Airport he will driven to the President’s Palace in Valletta, to meet President George Vella.
A meeting is also scheduled with the Maltese Prime Minister who will be known after the 26 March general election. Pope Francis will also be meeting with the highest authorities of the country and the diplomatic corps.
An activity for young people organised by The Malta Catholic Youth Network will organise an activity for young people in St. Georgès Square, Valletta.
On Saturday afternoon, the Pope will depart the Grand Harbour aboard a fast ferry to Gozo where he will lead a prayer meeting at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Tà Pinu. Afterwards, the Pope will return to Malta.
On Sunday morning, after a private meeting with the Jesuits at the Apostolic Nunciature, the Pope will visit St. Paul’s Grotto in St. Paul’s Basilica, Rabat.
At 10:15am the Pope will celebrate Mass in Floriana which will also include the Angelus prayers.
Before leaving Malta, Pope Francis will visit migrants at the Peace Laboratory run Father Dionysius Mintoff in Hal Far. The visit is taking place upon the Popès own request to meet migrants during his visit to Malta.
Pope Francis will then be driven to the Malta International Airport where a departure ceremony will be held before the Pontiff will fly back to Rome.
During this Apostolic visit, the Pope is expected to give two speeches and two homilies during which he will deliver his message to Catholics and to the people of Malta and Gozo.
(ITALPRESS).

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta has condemned the Russian military attacks on Ukraine. The President of Malta George Vella described the attacks as “worrying” and expressed his support for the Ukrainian government and its people. He remarked that this is a threat not only to the Ukrainian people but also to stability in Europe and the world. The President of Malta called for an immediate end to the attacks and for the withdrawal of the Russian forces from Ukraine. He stressed that Ukrainès integrity, sovereignty and independence must be respected. Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela has described the scenes in Ukraine as “heartbreaking”. Abela added that the attempt to invade parts of Eastern Ukraine, and which are being reported close to Western Kiev, is something we did not wish to see. Robert Abela had to skip the electoral campaign in Malta to travel to Brussels for an urgent European Council meeting on the ongoing Ukraine crises convened by President Charles Michel.
The Maltese Prime Minister added that while Malta will continue to condemn every aggression or threat on the integrity and territorial sovereignty of Ukraine, Malta will keep supporting and showing solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
He said that Malta has always worked towards diplomacy to reach a political solution and to achieve peace through dialogue.
Even the Speaker of the Maltese Parliament Anglu Farrugia condemned the Russian attack while expressing solidarity with the Ukrainian parliament and its people.
(ITALPRESS).

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government condemned the decision of the Russian Federation to formally recognise the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk territories.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement that the decision breached Ukrainès territorial integrity and sovereignty and is inconsistent with the Principles of the United Nations Charter, while it also breaches the Minsk Agreement and undermines the possibility of a diplomatic solution.
It said that, together with the European Union, Malta reiterated its support towards Ukrainès sovereignty and territorial integrity within recognised international borders, and also the sovereign right to choose its own foreign and security policy.
The Foreign Ministry stated that Malta is also concerned on the increase of bombs reported around the contact line, thus leading to an increase in victims and the number of ceasefire breaches registered by the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
Malta strongly reiterated that dialogue and diplomacy should prevail and followed by all sides, while the ministry added that in this critical moment, Malta is also having contacts with European partners.
Once more, Malta called for a peaceful solution to the Eastern Ukraine conflict, according to the Minsk Agreement approved by the UN Security Council resolution 2202 (2015), and invited all parties to sustain their engagements, respect international law and return to discussions within the Normandy Format and the Group of Trilateral Contact.
(ITALPRESS).

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A delegation from the Vatican was recently in Malta for three days of meetings to discuss Popès Francis visit with the Maltese civil and church authorities. Pope Francis will be visiting Malta between 2 and 3 April.

It is being proposed that Pope Francis arrives in Malta on Saturday morning, 2nd April and not in the afternoon as planned in the 2020 programme which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the first day of the visit, the Pope will have official talks with Maltàs highest authorities in Valletta and following some rest, he will travel to Gozo in the afternoon. 32 years since the visit of Pope John Paul II, the Madonna tà Pinu National Sanctuary will once again receive the head of the Catholic Church. It is being proposed that the Pope meets the elderly, diseased and vulnerable persons at the Madonna tà Pinu sanctuary. It is also proposed that in the square outside the sanctuary, the Pope will lead a moment of prayers with Marian themes in the presence of the public.

On his second day in Malta, Pope Francis will visit St Paul’s grotto in Rabat, celebrates Sunday Mass at the Floriana Granaries; and meets migrants at ?al Far’s Peace Laboratory.

The delegation from the Popès voyages office visited the places and routes proposed in the programme. The programme will be official when it is announced by the Vatican following the Popès approval.

Pope Francis visit to Malta will coincide a week after Malta votes to elect a new parliament and a new government.
(ITALPRESS).

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A group of 68 migrants amongst whom are several women and three children are in danger in the Maltese search and rescue area. This was confirmed by the non-governmental organisation Alarm Phone.
The NGO said that a boat, which had left from Libya, sent out a distress call. Alarm Phone informed the authorities that the boat was adrift in the Maltese search and rescue region.
Alarm Phone is urging the Maltese authorities to intervene.
(ITALPRESS).

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta will held its general election on 26 March. This was announced this morning by Maltese Prime Minister and Labour leader Robert Abela. Addressing party supporters in Floriana, Abela recalled that he always said that the general election would be held when it is in the national interest. “The future is bright because we are strong in the present,” Abela declared. He remarked that despite the global pandemic, “lives and the economy were saved and now political stability has been re-established”.
(ITALPRESS).

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A 50-year-old Italian man who had arrived in Malta in 2011 and lived in Madrid was sentenced to six years and six months in prison by the Maltese judiciary after admitting instead of standing a trial, that he imported more than half a kilo of cocaine that was not for his personal use.
The man had arrived in Malta carrying 66 capsules in his stomach. He was also fined € 7,000. On May 9, 2011, the Italian decided to seek medical attention at St. James Hospital due to intestinal problems and consistent severe stomach pain.
The Maltese police searched the hotel room where he was staying, where among other things, 18 capsules were found.
The amount of cocaine found totals to 658.91 grams with a purity of about 28%.
(ITALPRESS).

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Maltese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne declared that the local health authorities would not need to give the fourth dose against COVID-19 as he announced that 79% of adults in Malta have been given a booster dose. “It is a very high rate which give us peace of mind to cautiously remove all restrictions,” declared Minister Fearne. 1,233,948 vaccine doses have been administered to date, 339,312 of which are booster doses. Minister Fearne said that as from March 14, the wearing of mask will no longer remain mandatory in outdoor public spaces. However, mask wearing will still remain obligatory for indoor spaces such as offices and shops, and for mass events. He added that by the beginning of the summer season almost all measures will be removed. “This will be done cautiously as other countries like Sweden who have removed all measures at once are now giving a fourth dose after seeing a spike in new cases,” rremarked Fearne. He added that the removing of mandatory vaccination to access restaurants, bars, gyms, and other public spaces, did not increase the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, quarantine periods will be reduced for fully vaccinated people. From February 21, primary contacts who are fully vaccinated will see their quarantine period go down from seven to five days. From March 7, the quarantine period will be completely removed for primary contacts if Covid cases remain under control and whoever tests positive and their household contacts will also see their quarantine period go down to seven days from the current 10. Fully vaccinated children can go back to school after five days. Fully vaccinated travellers entering Malta from red listed countries will also see their quarantine period reduced to seven days from 7 March. Meanwhile, the health authorities confirmed that 109 new Covid-19 cases were found. With 292 recoveries, the number of active cases is 1,197. 45 patients are being treated for Covid-19 in hospital, three of whom are in intensive care. No new deaths were announced, with the number of people who died since the beginning of the pandemic in Malta is 594.
(ITALPRESS).