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LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Another group of migrants is at risk in Maltàs search and rescue area, with the international NGO Alarm Phone urging the Maltese authorities to intervene and not to organize a pushback to Libya as it happened a few days ago with a group of 500 migrants.
Alarm Phone confirmed that 400 migrants onboard a large boat are in distress, and declared that the Maltese authorities were alerted, however, “the authorities keep silent if they will launch a rescue operation to bring people to safety,” and even though several merchant ships were close the migrants, the vessels did not stop.
While declaring that it was unable to reconnect with the 400 migrants in distress, Alarm Phone confirmed that the international NGO Seawatch found the boat. Seabird, an aircraft operated by Seawatch located the migrants, and it was confirmed that merchant ships nearby are waiting for governmental instructions to rescue the migrants.
However, Seawatch accused the Maltese rescue and coordination centre that it is ignoring the emergency and refuses to cooperate while migrants are in severe danger. “Malta must act now!” declared Seawatch in its appeal to the Maltese authorities.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of Malta refused all claims made by international NGOs that it forcibly returned a boat carrying 500 migrants to Libya, saying no such boat was found in the position flagged by activists. The Armed Forces confirmed that multiple searches of the boat, based on multiple verifications of its location were carried out but “no boat was sighted in the reported position,” adding that “Maltese authorities have no jurisdiction over any autonomous actions conducted in International waters.”
Alarm Phone has said that the boat was carrying men, women, and children from Syria, Egypt, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and its engine stopped working after it entered Maltàs search and rescue zone last Tuesday and that it then started taking in water.

foto: agenziafotogramma.it

(ITALPRESS).

ROME (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The units of the Italian Army who intervened with the other forces of the KFOR (Kosovo Force) and the Kosovar Police to restore order and protect public infrastructures in Zvecan (North Kosovo) have returned to the Italian military base ‘Villaggio Italià this morning after giving way to another KFOR unit.

According to the Defense Ministry, 14 Italian soldiers (9th Alpine Regiment) were injured during the clashes with the troublesome demonstrators. They were transported to various KFOR health facilities in the region.

In particular, one of the soldiers was taken to the specialist NATO military hospital in Skopje, another to the NATO military hospital in Pristina for treatment and necessary medical examinations. All the other soldiers involved, were assisted at the dressing station of the Italian base of Villaggio Italia in Pec. Three of the soldiers involved have already been medically treated and have resumed regular service.

Yesterday evening General C.A. Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, Commander of the Operational Command of the Joint Forces, went to Kosovo where he conveyed greetings and best wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded soldiers. from the Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto,

Minister Crosetto remained until late yesterday in contact with the Defense Ministers of the countries contributing to the KFOR mission, including the United Kingdom Secretary for Defence, Ben Wallace. “The objective was to exert maximum pressure on the authorities of Serbia and Kosovo, to mitigate tensions and bring the parties back to a constructive and peaceful dialogue”, the ministry explained.

– photo Agenziafotogramma.it –

(ITALPRESS).

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The participation of former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in a national conference held in Malta last April cost the Maltese taxpayers 20,000 euros.
This was confirmed in Parliament by Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon. Renzi was invited to address a national conference ‘The Welfare State and Welfare Services: Present Challenges, Future Needs’ organized by the Foundation for Social Welfare Services to commemorate its 25th anniversary.
Renzi, who led Italy as Prime Minister between 2014 and 2016, is a close friend of former Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. He visited in 2015 for the inauguration of the energy interconnector between Sicily and Malta, and addressed a Labour Party mass meeting at the close of the local council election campaign in 2015, and again in 2017 for the general election.

– photo Foundation for Social Welfare Services –

(ITALPRESS).

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – 900 athletes, 200 of whom are Maltese are competing in ten different sports disciplines as the official ceremony of the Games of the Small States of Europe held late last night, kicked off the small nations games that will come to an end next Saturday.
Eight other countries; Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, and San Marino are competing with the Maltese team in Athletics, Basketball, Judo, Rugby Sevens, Sailing, Shooting, Squash, Swimming, Table Tennis, and Tennis in 11 different facilities which have undergone restructuring and embellishment works in recent months.
These games are hosted every two years. This is third-time Malta is hosting the small nations games that bring together athletes from Europès nine smallest countries, including Malta.
Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela addressed the opening ceremony and said that Malta is ready to welcome this international sports event, the first occasion of this kind after the pandemic. He noted that the Government had made a record number of investments in the best facilities and for the training of athletes. The Prime Minister said that this infrastructure will be a legacy of facilities that serve the needs of all sportsmen.
However, the Maltese government came under fire for not completing €16 million pool in Gozo, a €14 million indoor pool in Cottonera Sports Complex, a €3 million tennis complex in Pembroke, and a €9 million indoor squash and weightlifting complex in Marsa for use during these games.
In his address, while encouraging the Maltese athletes, the Maltese Prime Minister described them as an inspiration to all athletes and said that these games were an opportunity for the small nations to show their shared values and talents, including peace. Abela told the foreign athletes that they were in a country that believed in diversity and inclusion.
The President of the European Olympic Committee Spyros Capralos, said that passion in sports unites everyone and builds bridges.
– foto uff.st. Congresso di Stato Repubblica di San Marino –
(ITALPRESS).

ROME (ITALPRESS/MNA) – After the results of the municipal and regional elections in which the governing Socialist Party suffered a defeat, the Spanish premier Pedro Sanchez has unexpectedly called an early election for next July 23rd.
Sanchez said he had communicated to the head of state, King Felipe VI, his decision to “dissolve Parliament and proceed with the general elections for Sunday, July 23”.
Sanchez added, “we need to clarify the will of the Spanish people, a clarification of the policies that the national government must implement and a clarification on which of the political forces must guide the country throughout this term. I think the best thing is that the Spaniards express themselves without delay to define the political direction of the country”.
In fact, the Spanish Peoplès Party won the municipal elections with 31.53% of the votes, over 7.4 million preferences, about 800,000 more than the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, winning 23,267 municipal councilors. In addition to Madrid, the PP has secured an absolute majority in Malaga, Almeria, Cadiz, Cordoba, Granada, Murcia, Oviedo, Santander, Teruel, Logrono, Badajoz and Salamanca. Valencia, one of the most disputed cities, went to the party of Alberto Nunez Feijoo, even though it lacks four seats to reach an absolute majority.
The leader of the PP underlined that his party “clearly” won the municipal and regional elections and took the “first step towards a new political cycle” which will start “in the coming months”.
(ITALPRESS).

-photo agenziafotogramma.it-

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS / MNA) – The Tunisian authorities have arrested a man suspected of being the organizer of a smuggling of migrants across the Mediterranean. The man, wanted for 24 cases and sentenced to 79 years in prison, was arrested in Sfax. The national guard has announced that the man is also responsible for the deaths of 20 migrants who boarded a boat from Chebba in September, subsequently drowning when the boat sank. In the first four months of the year, the number of irregular crossings to Europe from the central Mediterranean increased by almost 300% compared to the same period last year, with almost 42,200 migrants reaching Italy, according to data of Frontex. Also noted was a 1,100% increase over last year in sea voyages from Tunisia alone. The Tunisian National Guard said it intercepted or rescued 14,406 migrants in the first three months of 2023, of which just over 1,200 were Tunisians and the rest were from other parts of Africa. Meanwhile, in Libya, the Air Force carried out additional airstrikes to eliminate smuggling gangs in Zawiya, west of Tripoli. The latest attacks have targeted the Al-Kabwat militia and an ammunition depot belonging to Muhamed Sifaw, one of the biggest drug traffickers in the western region. A hideout of illegal immigrants in the Harsha area was also attacked. Several Sifaw militants, including African mercenaries, were reportedly killed in the airstrike. Reconnaissance flights were also carried out over the cities of Sabratha and Surman in search of hideouts of gangs of illegal immigrants. The Defense Ministry has promised that military operations will continue until all objectives are achieved.
(ITALPRESS).
-photo credit agenziafotogramma.it-

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A group of around 500 migrants is believed that has finished in detention following a pushback operation to Libya. Two humanitarian organizations, the international NGO Alarm Phone, and the Italian NGO Emergency confirmed the disappearance of a boat in the Central Mediterranean that was carrying about 500 asylum seekers, including a newborn baby and pregnant women. Alarm Phone confirmed that it had lost contact with the boat since last Wednesday morning. At the time, the boat was in distress with no working engine in the high seas about 320km north of the Libyan port of Benghazi and more than 400km away from Malta and Sicily.
Italian NGO Emergency said on Thursday that its Life Support ship and the Ocean Viking, another charity vessel, had looked for the missing boat for 24 hours but found no sign of it or any shipwreck. In a separate incident, the German charity SOS Humanity said 27 people were picked up at sea by an oil tanker and illegally taken back to Libya. The oil tanker ‘P long Beach’ allegedly involved in this case is owned by the Greek company Performance Shipping. Under international humanitarian law, asylum seekers cannot be forcibly returned to countries where they risk harsh treatment, and widespread refugee abuse has been extensively documented in Libya. More than 47,000 refugees have arrived by boat in Italy so far this year, up from about 18,000 in the same period of 2022. (ITALPRESS).

Photo Credits: www.agenziafotogramma.it

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A recent report published by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and healthcare consultants (IQVIA) classified Malta with the lowest access to new innovative medicines approved in the European Union between 2018 and the end of 2021. Out of the 168 pharmaceuticals approved by the European Commission, only 10 were available in Malta, four were freely available in the public health service while six were accessible without cost on a case-by-case basis. However, the number of new medicines only available in private healthcare was four times as much that number, with 24% (40 products).   In total, more than two-thirds of the 168 new pharmaceutical products were completely unavailable in Malta; equivalent to 70%, or 118 products. Medicines used for cancer treatment were mostly unavailble, with only one out of the 46 new products to be found in Malta this year. This is the lowest out of all 37 countries surveyed, including all 27 EU states and 10 other European countries, with Bosnia and Albania ranking the second and third lowest respectively. Only one new cancer drug was accessible in public health service, while 20 were only available in the private medical sector and 25 were entirely inaccessible.  However, Malta fared slightlu better when it comes to Orphan pharmaceuticals which are used to treat, diagnose or prevent rare life-threatening or chronically debilitating diseases or those seen as commercially unviable by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Out of the 61 new authorized Orphan drugs, four were widely available in Malta at the start of this year, representing one-sixth of the EU average, the report said.  A further 15 were only available privately. Germany ranked top of the classification, enjoying a higher level of access to medicines in all and the shortest time between approval and availability. However, Malta consistently was listed among the bottom three EU countries surveyed.ast April, the European Commission remarked about the lack of equal access to new medicines across the European bloc and delays in reaching patients.

Photo Credits: www.agenziafotogramma.it