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The Labour Party in Government won the local council elections by a majority of 47,116. While the Labour Party of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat obtained 150,514 votes or 57.96%; the Nationalist Party led by Adrian Delia obtained 103,398 or 39.82%. The other parties and independent candidates got 5,762 or 2.22% of the electorate.

459 councilors were elected in these elections; 268 on behalf of the Labour Party, 192 on the Nationalist ticket, two independent candidates and another two on behalf of Gharb First in Gozo.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Leader of the Labour Party in a tweet thanked all voters and candidates for the resounding 58% success in the local elections exceeding the europarliamentary elections result of last week. Muscat said he is thrilled at the resounding success of young, talented women elected on the Labour Party ticket.

This electoral defeat fueled more calls for the resignation of Adrain Delia from Leader of the Nationalist Party and for the resignation of the top officials.

After three days of counting, the Labour Party won the majority in 47 localities and the Nationalist Party obtained the majority in 19 localities including the old city of Mdina where no election took place because there were only 5 candidates contesting the election; the exact amount of candidates needed to form the new local council.

The Labour Party won the Mosta Local Council, Siggiewi, Valletta, St Paul’s Bay and San Gwann from the Nationalist Party. The Nationalist Party won the Munxar Local Council from the Labour Party.

273 780, or 63.1% voted in these elections from those who were registered to vote.There were 14,106 or 5.2% Invalid votes.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

The 234 migrants on board the MV Lifeline will be distributed among eight European Union member states. This was confirmed by the Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat while addressing a press conference in Valletta. The countries are Malta, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal. The agreement was reached last Sunday during an informal summit in Brussels.

The Maltese Prime Minister said that the number of migrants to be taken by the eight European countries will be determined once all investigations were done, including the right to apply for asylum. Those who would not qualify for protection, will be send to their country of origin with the assistance of EU institutions.

The MV Lifeline is expected to arrive in Malta late this evening. The Prime Minister of Malta confirmed that the Maltese authorities will also investigate the crew on board and the vessel will be impounded after the ship’s captain ignored orders from the Maltese and Italian authorities to hand over the migrants to the Libyan coast guards. The Maltese Prime Minister said that the ship should not have been involved in sea rescues because the MV Lifeline is registered as a pleasure boat.

Joseph Muscat said that despite Malta having no legal obligation or responsibility in this matter and despite the fact that events took place in the Libyan Search and Rescue Area between Libya and Lampedusa – where it was neither the competent nor the coordinating authority – the Maltese government took the lead to seek a two-facet solution before the situation escalated to a humanitarian crisis.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

National Geographic has included Lebanon on its list of the best summer trips in 2018, particularly due to its food and beverages.

“Often overlooked as a culinary destination, Lebanon crafts the ideal summer mezze table in an equally ideal temperate climate”, said National Geographic.

In 2016, Travel and Leisure ranked Beirut as the best international city for food.

“Selecting the country as one of the best summer trips will boost tourism to a large extent, and will attract more Europeans,” said Wadih Kenaan, Secretary General of the Syndicate of Hotel Owners. The delicious and varied local cuisine is one of the top attributes that attract tourists, said Kenaan.

The number of European tourists is increasing, with 565,000 visiting Lebanon last year. 

Besides the delicious food, the country boasts several touristic destinations, such as the open air markets of Byblos, one of the world’s oldest cities, and the Baatara Gorge Waterfall in Tannourine, National Geographic said. The country is full of history, with several cultural and religious sites. The magazine declared that Lebanon is one of the world’s oldest countries last year.

The Ministry of Tourism and the private sector’s efforts to promote the country abroad are paying off, Kenaan said. Videos promoting the country, shared on social media, also boost tourism. 

“Sometimes tourists ask hotel staff how to visit locations that they saw on social media”, he said.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

The ministerial committee for privatization approved the privatization of Israel Post. Under the scheme presented by the Authority for Governmental Companies, 20% of the shares will initially be auctioned to an Israeli or foreign strategic investor. This was announced by the Globes business newspaper. In the second phase, after two years, an additional 20% of the shares will be offered to the public, and Israel Post will become a public company listed on the Tel Aviv stock exchange. The offer will help the company to become transparent, efficient and profitable in the long run. However, the participation of the state in the company will not fall below 60%. Private investors who buy shares in the initial privatization phase will be guaranteed preferential rights. An agreement will be signed between the state and the buyer that grants the latter a say over the selection of the CEO. The buyer agrees to maintain his participation in the company for seven years. The proposal includes the possibility of selling to the public 40% of the company in the event that the sale to a private investor does not materialize.

The president of Israel Post, Hezi Zaieg, said: “We welcome the great confidence that has been given to us by the ministerial committee, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and Labor, the Ministry of Communications and the Administration of government companies From the signing of the collective agreement with employees in 2015, which defined the road to privatization, we have worked tirelessly to improve our service and improve the financial performance of the company. In the last three years we proved that Israel Post has moved from an organization that delivers letters to a logistics giant with a substantial presence in the online trading market, providing services to international trading platforms”.

The Algerian Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security, Mourad Zemali, has evoked the imbalances affecting the Algerian National Pension Fund (CNR), stating that without the intervention of the Government, which has transferred 500 billion dinar to the CNR, pensioners were not able to collect their pension in the last two months. Zemali has specified that the expenses of the CNR are estimated at 1200 billion dinars while the contributions do not exceed 600 billion dinars, with a deficit of 50%. The Minister complains that the annual evolution of the rate of social security contributions is only 2%. The deficit is due to the failure to submit the declaration or submission or a reduced declaration of employees by employers. The Director General of Social Security at the Algerian Ministry of Labor, Djaouad Bourkaib, admitted that if all the Social Security departments are currently “in equilibrium”, those of the pension go through financial difficulties. Explaining this situation with a “world trend” characterized by a difficult economic situation, demographic change and a higher probability of life, Bourkaib said that in the face of the deficit in this sector, the Government established “the grant of exceptional balance” and the contribution of solidarity levied for 1% on imports of goods.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

From Beirut to Tangier, from Venice to Tripoli, the Mediterranean has returned to the center of history. A social laboratory that includes 26 countries with a population that in 2050 will be 650 million people, triple the 214 million in 1950. Stopping the boats of desperate people is a political solution. Intervening to improve the social entrepreneurship of this area is an opportunity, in which Italy already excels. Since 2012, the Crt Foundation of Turin and the United Nations Agency for Industrial Development (Unido) have in fact developed the Entrepreneurs for Social Change (E4SC) program, which through an international selection forms and supports 25 under 35 social entrepreneurs in their countries of origin.

The call for the 2018 edition will close on July 1st, and is open to all 26 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean area. At the center of the program the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which include food security, water management, waste treatment, access to clean energy systems, quality education, fight against climate change, promotion of a dignified employment for all. In six years the Entrepreneurs for Social Change program has selected over 2,000 applications and trained 85 social entrepreneurs.

Among the winners of 2017 is the Alep Studio of the Syrian architect Yanal Wattar, who aims to grow startups and innovative companies in his country. The Egyptian Alyaa Nour Abdelgawad, on the other hand, founded Jereed, which converts waste wood palms with low environmental impact. The Tunisian Ayadi Radhouan with his Biofire focused on alternative energy sources. The Italian Danilo Mirabile founded Beentouch, which aims to improve the communication possibilities between inhabitants of the areas with low quality internet connections and low performance devices.

As in previous years, the winners of the 2018 call will participate in ten days of intensive training in Turin next October, through a unique learning experience, rooted in the values of peer exchange and the construction of a community. Subsequently, and for a year, the 25 participants will be provided with the most effective tools to open or expand their business through experts and tutors at various levels. Focus on training, oriented not only to technology, but also to personal growth, through social business, fundraising, marketing, leadership and intercultural dialogue.

In addition to developing their businesses, real ambassadors and promoters of positive change are formed, combating the set of factors that are also at the root of the migratory waves and social tensions in the Euro-Mediterranean area. A mission that belongs to the rich countries of the Mediterranean to develop. “Millennials want to be protagonists of change and want to create sustainable and decent jobs for themselves and for other young people. With Entrepreneurs for Social Change, Unido provides them with the right platform to succeed”, explains Unido’s director of Agri-Business’s department, Dejene Tezera. “It is our duty to train a new generation of entrepreneurs able to interface with colleagues all over the world, looking at the Sustainable Development Goals as a compass”, adds the president of EFC-European Foundation Center and general secretary of the Crt Foundation, Massimo Lapucci.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Maltese Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion Carmelo Abela was hosted at the Italian Foreign Ministry by his counterpart Minister Enzo Moaveri Milanesi. The two ministers reaffirmed their strong commitment to intensify the excellent and historical bilateral ties on various levels between the two countries. They underscored the opportunities for the further strengthening of such relations, in particular with regard to close coordination in the field of migration, both on a bilateral and well as a European level, in the context of the revision of the Dublin Regulation.Malta and Italy also reaffirmed their common will to deepen collaboration on matters of mutual and longstanding interest.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

The diplomatic standoff between Malta and Italy on migration escalated and has worsened in the last hours as the Maltese government has accused the Italian authorities of creating a dangerous situation for the 629 migrants stranded on the vessel Aquarius. Amongst the rescued there are 123 unaccompanied minors, 11 children and seven pregnant women.

The Maltese government also showed concerns at the Italian authorities’ directions given to the crew aboard Aquarius and insisted these go against the international rules. The ship is now some 27 miles east of Malta.

In a telephone communication with the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, the Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat reiterated that Malta will not take the said vessel in its ports. Muscat insisted that his government is acting in full conformity with its international obligations.

The Maltese Premier said that without prejudice to its position, and in conformity with its policy throughout the past years, Malta has always been willing, where possible, to carry out emergency medical evacuations of persons requiring urgent medical care for humanitarian reasons.

The migrants were rescued by various vessels in the Libyan rescue zone and then transferred to the Aquarius. The Italian island of Lampedusa was the closest port of the rescue area, but the newly-elected right-wing Interior Minister Matteo Salvini declared all the Italian ports closed and demanded Malta to take the migrants.

 (ITALPRESS/MNA)