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The Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced that he will resign as soon as a new Labour leader is elected in the coming weeks. This development was triggered by the political and constitutional crisis caused by the revelations about the murder of Daphne Caruana Galiza and after more than half of his ministers lost their trust in his leadership. This morning, Joseph Muscat met with the President of Malta George Vella where he communicated his intentions to quit. A new Maltese Premier is expected next January.

More than half of the Labour government ministers have asked Joseph Muscat to resign from Prime Minister during an urgent meeting of the Council of Ministers called last night. According to several local sources, there was a lot of tension during the meeting, and 14 from 22 Ministers or parliamentary secretaries asked Muscat to resign and showed their disagreement and anger over the decision to release his ex-Chief of Staff Keith Schembri from arrest.

The sentiment amongst the Maltese population is of sadness, pain and discomfort. This morning, a group of students and staff members from the University of Malta blocked one of the main roads in the center of the country in a spontaneous demonstration against the government. Students and academics have addressed the Maltese government as “mafia”, “murderers” and that “Daphne was right”. They also had a banner with the message “Muscat is a criminal”.

During last night several demonstrators were mugged by thugs who were close to ministerial cars while the cabinet was meeting in Valletta. The Nationalist Opposition also asked the Police Commissioner to investigate people who were without official identity inside the Prime Minister’s office and locked up all journalists, even after the cabinet meeting had already ended.

Three men are being accused as the executioners of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and Yorgen Fenech is considered as the mastermind of the assassination. Melvin Theuma who was arrested last week, was granted the presidential pardon to reveal all the truth. The lawyers of Yorgen Fenech presented a case before court asking the removal of Inspector Keith Arnaud as the leader of the investigation into the death of Caruana Galizia because of his strong ties with Keith Schembri, the ex-Chief of Staff of Joseph Muscat. Before court, one of Fenech’s legal advisers said that there are recordings referring directly to Schembri, and a photo of Schembri hugging Melvin Theuma in Auberge de Castille, the Prime Minister’s office. There is also a letter mentioning Keith Schembri as the person who paid Theuma to commission the crime. Confronted by journalists outside the court, Yorgen Fenech declared “I fear for my life. I’m ready to go all the way for justice to prevail and the truth to come out.” Unconfirmed sources said that Keith Schembri already left to Dubai with his family with a private jet reg A6-RTS Falcon 900 operated by Lux Aviation.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna and former Labour ministers Chris Cardona and Konrad Mizzi are under criminal investigation concerning negotiations with the Vitals Global Healthcare that the Muscat government has concluded for the transfer of three public hospitals to the private sector.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

“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”

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)

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)

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).

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).

Cyprus is among the top three EU states for recycling plastic packaging with a rate of 62% well above the European average of 42%.In the EU, an estimated 42% of plastic packaging waste was recycled in 2017. In seven EU Member States, more than half of the plastic packaging waste generated was recycled. The highest recycling rate of plastic packaging waste was recorded in Lithuania (74%), ahead of Bulgaria (65%), Cyprus (62%, 2016 data), Slovenia (60%), Czechia (59%), Slovakia (52%) and the Netherlands (50%).In contrast, less than one third of plastic packaging waste was recycled in Malta (24%, 2016 data), Estonia, France and Finland (each 27%), Ireland (31%), Hungary (32%), Luxembourg and Austria (33%). Compared with 2005, the recycling rate of plastic packaging waste increased by 18 percentage points (pp) in the EU (from 24% in 2005 to 42% in 2017). This increasing trend is observed at varied levels in all EU Member States, except Croatia.
(ITALPRESS/MNA)