President of Malta George Vella left Malta for a visit to Australia on Wednesday afternoon. 

The main objective of this visit will be meeting with the Maltese communities in Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra and Sydney.

President Vella will also have a series of official meetings, among others, with the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia David Hurley, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, with the Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton, as well as with the Governors of the states he will be visiting.

The delegation of the President of Malta in Australia includes the Minister for Public Works and Planning, Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi.

For the duration of President Vella’s engagements in Australia, Professor Frank Bezzina will serve as Acting President.

The President will return to Malta on Monday 23rd October 2023.

Top EU officials gathered outside the European Parliament in Brussels for a solemn moment in solidarity with the victims of terror attacks in Israel.

EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola delivered a speech.

"Our presence here - outside the European Parliament - is significant. Our gathering held in the Simone Veil Agora is symbolic. Our voice is important. And our strong stand against terrorism is crucial. October 7th is a day that will go down in global infamy. The world has witnessed Jews being murdered simply because they were Jewish. Again. In Israel. We are here with the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and all of you - as one - to express our solidarity, to condemn the appalling acts of terror and murder and to demand the immediate release of hostages."

Europe, she said, "stands ready to help broker resolutions, but I have said it before and it bears repeating - There is no justification for terrorism. Hamas is a terrorist organisation. They do not represent the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. They do not offer solutions. They offer bloodshed."

"It helps to speak plainly. On October 7th Hamas murdered more than a thousand innocent babies, children, women and men and still hold close to 100 more hostage. They opened fire on hundreds of young people at a music event, killing indiscriminately - including EU nationals. They abducted young girls and boys. They took elderly Holocaust survivors and dragged them out of their homes. They paraded dead people through the streets like trophies."

"This is not a time for whataboutism. We have to be clear about what we are talking about: this is terror in its worst form."

Photo: EU Parliament

The Life Network Foundation has taken exception with a statement made by Studenti Graffitti, the student arm of Moviment Graffitti.

"Graffiti claims that we spread misinformation. This is a complete lie," the Foundation said.

"At Freshers week, we provide services and information to help students pregnant on campus. So much so that this year we had students who came to thank us for the help received. One student was a past resident at our maternity shelter. Two males, one a brother, and another a friend, know of girls who sought and availed themselves of help for themselves and their babies, through the pregnancy and after."

"Our organisation contrary to the claims made by Graffiti presents information in line with the laws of Malta and that protect women and their unborn child. It is those who promote abortion that present the misleading information encouraging mothers in crisis to opt for the killing of their child rather than seeking support that offers a variety of services to mothers facing a challenging pregnancy. "

"An educational institution such as the University of Malta should encourage support for students pregnant on campus. It should promote such values as solidarity , and the protection of life including the promotion of values protected by the laws of this land."

"It is a shame that through such articles, Graffiti try to mislead and tarnish the good work of the staff, volunteers and teachers that work with so much love and dedication to help families including women and children," the Foundation said.

On the 18 March 2021, in the case of ‘Naico Limited v Rosa Limited et.’, the Civil Court (Commercial Section), presided over by Judge Joseph Zammit McKeon, delved into the standard of proof required for ‘unfair prejudice remedy’ actions under Article 402 of the Companies Act (Chapter 386 of the Laws of Malta) (“the Act”) to be successful.

Facts of the Case

The shareholders of Rosa Limited (“the defendant company”) were Naico Limited (“the plaintiff”) and Piccinino Franchising International Venture Limited (“Piccinino”) as minority shareholders and A. Hamruni as majority shareholder. Hamruni was also a director of the defendant company, together with his sister. The defendant company was created to operate as a joint venture between Piccinino and Clothes Import Company. These three companies would make contributions to open a number of shops in Libya.

Consequently, the defendant company started to rent a property in Tripoli, to be used as a shop. This property was suggested by Hamruni. A few weeks after the shop opened, the shop had to close temporarily due to instability in the country. The shop eventually re-opened for business but had to face a number of operational issues, including lost stock, discrepancies in bank balances, as well as a lack of sales.  In February 2017 the situation continued to deteriorate, and it was therefore decided that the defendant company would be dissolved. The defendant directors insisted that the company had not done well due to the type and the price of the stock, and that the location of the shop did not have a bearing on the low sales numbers. It was in this context that the plaintiff company found out that the property which was rented out belonged to Hamruni’s spouse. Hamruni had not informed the plaintiff company about this fact, despite  the plaintiff company’s repeated queries   about the ownership of the property. The plaintiff company believed that this caused prejudice and hence decided to utilize the ‘unfair prejudice remedy’ under Article 402 of the Act. The plaintiff company sued the defendant company and the defendant’s company’s directors, A Hamruni and F. Hamruni, and claimed that the affairs of the defendant company had been conducted in a manner that was oppressive and unfairly prejudicial to the plaintiff company, as a minority shareholder of the defendant company. The plaintiff company also requested for the Court to give appropriate orders, under Article 402 of the Act, for the unfairly prejudicial and oppressive acts to be remedied.

The Court’s Considerations

In its considerations, the Court described the standard of proof required in unfair prejudice remedy actions. The Court provided that for it to give orders under Article 402 of the Act, it is pertinent that the plaintiff proves that the acts challenged have the effect of being:

1.      unfairly prejudicial, or;

2.      oppressive, or;

3.      unfairly discriminatory.

The Court explained that if the acts challenged have the effect of satisfying one or more of the criteria of Article 402(1), the Court may then give orders under Article 402(3), (4) and (5).The Court also clarified that proving one of these effects is sufficient, and therefore it is not necessary for the plaintiff to prove that the act challenged creates all these three effects. Nonetheless, if none of these effects are proven, then the Court cannot give orders under sub-articles 402(3) - 402(5). Therefore, in simple terms, the proof of unfairly prejudicial, or unfairly discriminatory, or oppressive acts against the plaintiff is crucial for the continuation of the action under Article 402 of the Act. The Court proceeded to quote the case of ‘Cutajar pro et noe v S.C. & Company Limited et’, wherein the Court had explained that since the terms ‘unfairly prejudicial’, ‘oppressive’, and ‘unfairly discriminatory’ are not defined under Maltese company law, it was at the Court’s discretion to intervene as appropriate and grant any relevant remedies on a case-by-case basis. As part of its considerations, the Court also referred to a number of local and UK court judgements as well as legal doctrine on Article 402.

Ruling of the Court

The Court then moved on to analyse whether the plaintiff company managed to satisfy the standard of proof required in unfair prejudice remedy actions. The Court observed that the shop was opened at a time of great instability in Libya. Therefore, the shareholders of the defendant company took a big risk, and the failure of the defendant company could not be blamed on the fact that the shareholders did not know that the shop was being rented from Hamruni’s spouse. The Court noted that representatives of the plaintiff had travelled to Tripoli in search of an adequate and central site for their shop, however, they had ultimately decided to trust their Libyan partners due to their better understanding of the Libyan market. The Court also noted that the plaintiff had not insisted to see the rental agreement of the shop, and that furthermore, no searches had been carried out on the site. Consequently, the Court ruled that the rental situation was not the reason why the shop failed and does not fulfil the requirements of Article 402. On the basis of the proof presented, the Court stated that plaintiff company failed to satisfy the requisites of an unfair prejudice action in terms of Article 402, and accordingly the Court decided not to give an order under Article 402(3).

Disclaimer: Ganado Advocates is responsible for contributing this law report but was not in any way involved as legal advisor for the parties in the judgement being covered in this law report.

Nico Fauser is an Advocate at Ganado Advocates

This article was co-authored with Roberta Attard, a Trainee Advocate at Ganado Advocates.

Car dealer and alleged kidnapper Christian Borg has been fined €3,000 over health and safety violations at a construction site he was developing, in which Prime Minister Robert Abela and his wife also held a stake.

In June 2018, Abela and his wife Lydia had signed a deal to purchase a plot of land in Triq il-Karmnu, Żabbar.

That same day, Borg received Planning Authority permission to build nine apartments and garages on that plot of land - despite having no apparent connection to the property at the time.

Borg then acquired the site for €315,000 on 29 November, 2018.

Borg had been granted planning permission to build an apartment and garage complex on the same day that he bought the plot co-owned by the Abelas in Żabbar.

The Abelas later sold their stake to Borg, making a €45,000 profit. Abela had been providing legal advice to both Borg and the Planning Authority at the time the deal took place.

Borg found guilty of health and safety violations

Borg, in his capacity as project supervisor, was prosecuted in 2022 over the failure to comply with occupational health and safety regulations which stipulate the minimum health and safety requirements that must be in place at construction sites.

He was charged after an OHSA site inspection in September 2022, which revealed a number of dangerous health and safety violations. Several balconies had no barriers set up to prevent workers from falling off and workers had to access the site by walking over some narrow wooden planks laid across a ditch.

In addition to this, Borg had not attempted to control access to the construction site. The rear portion of the site was easily accessible to the public and the front gate was a simple wooden plank that could easily be bypassed.

Delivering judgement in the criminal case, Magistrate Rachel Montebello noted that the September 2022 inspection had been the site’s fourth. The risks had already been repeatedly flagged by inspections in July 2020, January 2021 and October 2021.

Finding Borg guilty of the charges, the court fined him €3,000.

A draft bill allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to become mayors and deputy mayors has been approved by Cabinet, Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government Alison Zerafa Civelli said on Wednesday.

During a press conference held in the Parliament building, Zerafa Civelli said that the bill will be now presented in parliament for discussion.

She said that now, anyone elected with the most votes, coming from the party with the majority of votes can be elected as mayor or deputy mayor, irrespective of age. Until now, 16- and 17-year-olds could contest but could not be appointed mayors even if they are the candidates who obtain the highest number of votes.

Local Government Minister Owen Bonnici said “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”, when referring to the government’s confidence in the country’s youth, adding that Malta is set to become the first country where 16-year-olds are given the opportunity to become mayors.

“We believe that we have to continue strengthening our confidencein young people,” he said, adding that this event is going in the “the history books of this country’s democracy”.

Going on a personal note, he said that when his political career took off at the age of 20 years old, it was seen as something strange as there weren’t many his age.

“I had decided that this needs to change,” he said adding that this new draft law shall bring new ‘blood’ into politics.

The minister was also asked about the maturity level needed for a 16-year-old to administer public funds.

He said that, back in 2019, 16-year-old showed a lot of enthusiasm as they were given the right to vote. Moreover, he said that from results of the last local council elections, there were many under 18-year-olds who “got very good results”.

“I have no doubt that history is going to look back at this as a step towards the completion of democracy for this country,” he said.

Bonnici was also asked about the removal of powers from local councils, with mayors contending that councils had lost much of their autonomy in the past years.

The minister denied this and said that this is another invention by the opposition.

On the contrary, he said that the government has given more powers along the years, with the most recent one being on deciding whether to give permission for caravan placing.

Moreover he also said that the government has also given more powers thanks to the launch of the regional local council.

Gender Equality mechanism to be studied before local council elections implementation - Minister

The Gender equality mechanism needs to be studied and analysed in detail before government commits itself to implementing it in the next local council elections, he said.

Last May, the same minister announced the National Strategic Vision for Local Governments from 2023-2030 proposing the implementation of the gender equality mechanism, in efforts to ensure equality in the representation of genders in local governments.

He had also said that a study will be carried out on this, which will be concluded in time for this to be implemented for the 2024 local council elections. The strategy mentioned how this will be similar to the gender quota which was implemented in parliament where both PN and PL had to have six women MPs, however, there may be some differences to make it suitable for local governments.

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana does not seem to have an idyllic relationship with the Prime Minister. Earlier this summer, there were reports that the two exchanged heated words during a Cabinet meeting.

It is clear that the two are not on the same page on important matters.

When, in April this year, Caruana said that the economy must rest on everything except construction, Abela did not repeat these words. This means that the government is not on board with Caruana’s idea.

When, two months later in June, Caruana said that Malta needs to change its economic model as otherwise it would need a population of 800,000 by 2040 if it is to sustain itself as it is, Abela must have winced.

Caruana had touched on two subjects, linked to each other, about which there in an increasing concern among the people.

The ever expanding construction industry has come about as a result of the population growth policy that the Labour government has endorsed since 2013, first with Joseph Muscat as Prime Minister, and later with Robert Abela.

Malta’s population has jumped to 550,000 from the 425,000 there were 10 years ago, which meant more confusion, more traffic problems, more environmental issues, more energy difficulties, more education trouble, more infrastructure struggles and so on and so forth.

Muscat first, and Abela now, deny, or at least ignore, that there is a population density problem in Malta. But it is evident to all those who want to see that the situation is not sustainable.

Caruana appears to be the only one in the Cabinet of Ministers who sees it as it is. The other ministers and parliamentary secretaries have not said anything about it, except for Silvio Schembri who had reportedly said that the model needs to be adjusted to reflect the country’s needs, but not changed. They may be grumbling among themselves, or else making their points in closed Cabinet and parliamentary group meetings, but Caruana is the only minister to have openly and publicly highlighted the matter.

But he has a huge mountain to climb, and this takes the shape of his chief, Robert Abela, who is not inclined to accept that there is a need to change Malta’s economic model.

Caruana has the backing of constituted bodies, in particular employers, who have expressed their concern about Malta’s current economic model, and are pushing for changes which only the government, as the country’s administrator, can implement.

The latest intervention came from the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce, Marthese Portelli who, in an interview with this media house, said the economic model must be changed from one which is input-driven to one which is growth-driven, and more based on value-added.

The economic model, she insisted, needs to be put on a more sustainable footing. Economic growth based on less labour input will help improve the quality of life and rein in the stress on Malta’s infrastructure at all levels.

For Caruana to have it his way, and in the way that is being advocated by entities like the Chamber of Commerce, he must first convince his own leader and Prime Minister.

The government is in the process of compiling its plans for next year, in what is commonly known as Budget Day. We will learn more about the government’s intentions when Caruana reads his speech on 30 October.

A nine-year-old girl suffered serious injuries when she fell onto a glass door which shattered, the police said.

The accident took place at 6.30pm on Wednesday in Guzeppi Bajada Street, Xaghra.

The girl, of Spanish nationality, was taken to Gozo Hospital with serious injuries.

Magistrate Brigitte Sultana is leading an inquiry.

An elderly man has died after he found himself in difficulty while swimming in Marsascala on Tuesday, the police said Wednesday.

The man, aged 80, of Zejtun, was swimming in St Thomas Bay.

He was certified dead on site.

Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace is leading an inquiry.

Residents in Gaza are facing ever-growing uncertainty after the territory's only power plant ran out of fuel and shut down Wednesday. Israeli airstrikes further demolished entire neighborhoods and sent people scrambling to find safety. And hospitals in the Gaza Strip are struggling to treat the injured with dwindling medical supplies.

The war, which has claimed more than 2,200 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate. The weekend attack that Hamas said was retribution for worsening conditions for Palestinians under Israeli occupation has inflamed Israel’s determination to crush the group’s hold in Gaza.

The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 155 soldiers, have died in Israel since Saturday’s incursion. In Gaza, the health ministry says more than 1,050 have been killed and over 5,100 injured. The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency says 250,000 people have been displaced in Gaza.

Here's what's happening on Day 5 of the latest Israel-Palestinian war:

CZECH GOVERNMENT TO EVACUATE CZECH NATIONALS FROM ISRAEL ON WEDNESDAY

PRAGUE — A Czech government plane will fly to Israel on Wednesday to evacuate Czech nationals from the country which is at war with Hamas, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.

Fiala said other flights will follow through the end of the week, but gave no further details.

The announcement came after a plane with Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky landed in Prague early Wednesday with 34 other Czechs onboard who returned from Israel with the minister.

Lipavsky was the first foreign minister to visit Israel after Saturday’s attacks, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on X, formerly known as Twitter, after their meeting.

There are still at least 181 Czechs in Israel, Lipavsky said Wednesday.

PROMINENT MOSQUE CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO WAR CRIMES BY ISRAEL

CAIRO — Al-Azhar al-Sharif, the Sunni world’s foremost seat of religious learning, on Wednesday called for an international investigation into allegations of war crimes by Israel against civilian Palestinians in Gaza.

In a strong worded statement, the Cairo-based religious institution called for Arab and Islamic countries to take “a serious and unified position against the West’s inhuman rally” behind Israel’s attacks against “innocent Palestinian civilians.”

It said Israel’s “inhuman siege,” which included cutting off electricity and water, and preventing the delivery of food and humanitarian aid to the strip, is a “genocide and war crimes.”

The statement urged Arab and Islamic countries to quickly provide humanitarian aid and “ensure its crossing” to the Palestinians in Gaza.

BRITAIN'S FOREIGN SECRETARY ARRIVES IN ISRAEL, WILL MEET WITH SENIOR OFFICIALS

LONDON — Britain’s top diplomat has arrived in Israel to express “unwavering solidarity” with the country following the attacks by Hamas.

The government says Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will meet survivors and senior Israeli officials “to outline U.K. support for Israel’s right to defend itself.”

The U.K.’s Conservative government and the opposition Labour Party have both strongly backed Israel’s right to retaliate for the attacks that killed more than 1,200 Israelis.

The British government has said 10 or more U.K. citizens are dead or missing after the attacks on southern Israel.

AUSTRIA SAYS AUSTRIAN-ISRAELI CITIZEN DEAD, 2 OTHERS STILL MISSING

BERLIN — The Austrian government has confirmed that one of three Austrian-Israeli citizens who had been missing after Hamas’ attack on Israel, has been found dead.

The Austria foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday that “he was a victim of the brutal large-scale attack on Israel by the terrorist organization Hamas. The family of the deceased informed us about this today.”

The Austrian government did not release the victim’s name and said that out of respect for the victims and their families, no further details would be released.

The ministry added that “we strongly condemn the barbaric terror of Hamas. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends."

GAZA'S SOLE POWER PLANT RUNS OUT OF FUEL

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza’s only power plant ran out of fuel Wednesday afternoon, forcing it to shut down after Israel cut off supplies, the Energy Ministry said. That leaves only generators to power the territory — but they also run on fuel that is in short supply.

1 SPANIARD DIES AFTER HAMAS ATTACKS, SPANISH GOVERNMENT SAYS

MADRID — Spain’s Foreign Ministry says one of two Spaniards affected by the Hamas attacks in Israel has died.

The ministry named the woman as Spanish-Israeli citizen Maya Villalobo Sinvany. The ministry condemned the attacks and expressed its condolences to her family. It gave no further details about the woman.

Spain’s state news agency Efe and other outlets have reported that Villalobo was on military service at an Israeli miliary base at the time of the attacks.

The ministry earlier this week reported that another Spaniard was also affected in the attacks but gave no other details. Efe said the person was a Spanish man who lived in a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip.

GERMAN PARLIAMENT HOLDS MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR ISRAELI VICTIMS

BERLIN — The German government held a minute of silence for the Israeli victims of the Hamas terror attacks in parliament.

The president of parliament, Baerbel Bas, vowed Wednesday that Germany will stand univocally on the side of Israel and support the country’s right to defend itself and protect its people.

“In these dark hours, our thoughts are with the families of all the victims, with the injured and with the abducted hostages who are being abused as human shields, and with the family members and friends who fear for them. Their anguish, unimaginable to us, cannot be put into words,” Bas said.

Bas stressed that Germany will not accept any kind of anti-Israeli or antisemitic protests in Germany.

The Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, who also attended the minute of silence in parliament, received long, standing ovations by Germany’s government ministers and lawmakers.

MEDIA REPORTS: 3 CIVILIANS INJURED AND 10 HOMES DAMAGED IN LEBANON BY ISRAELI SHELLING

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says Israeli shelling of southern Lebanese villages has wounded three civilians and damaged about 10 homes.

The agency said the shelling hit the villages of Marwaheen and Duhaira.

The Israeli shelling came after the militant Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli army position.

CONSERVATIVE MUSLIMS IN INDONESIA PROTEST US SUPPORT OF ISRAEL

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Hundreds of conservative Muslims marched to the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy in Indonesia’s capital on Wednesday to protest the U.S.'s staunch support of Israel and to demand an end to Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

More than 500 pro-Palestinian protesters, many wearing white Islamic robes, gathered along a major street in Jakarta that runs outside the embassy. They chanted “God is Great” and “Save Palestinians” as they marched. Their banners and placards slammed the airstrikes in Gaza and some protesters expressed their anger by burning the U.S. and Israeli flags.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday said in a televised comments that the occupation of the Palestinian territories by Israel must be resolved and urged an end to the war.

PALESTINIAN FACTIONS IN SYRIA EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR FIGHTERS IN GAZA

DAMASCUS, Syria — Top officials from Palestinian factions based in the Syrian capital have expressed their support to fighters in Gaza saying their aim is to liberate their land.

The officials did not comment on a rocket attack late Tuesday from southern Syria that hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

There have been concerns that the heightened escalation in Gaza and southern Lebanon could escalate into Syrian territories, sparking a regional war.

The officials from factions including the "Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command said Arab Foreign ministers meeting in Cairo later Wednesday should come out with a clear stance supporting the Palestinian people.

KING OF JORDAN CALLS AGAIN FOR ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN TALKS

BEIRUT — The King of Jordan renewed calls for Israeli-Palestinian talks as the ongoing war between Gaza and Israel continues, as it threatens regional security.

“There will be no security, no peace, no stability without just and total peace that comes through a two-state solution,” King Abdullah II said in an address to Jordanian parliament Wednesday, calling for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital based along on its pre-1967 borders.

Abdullah II Tuesday called to dispatch medical and humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip through Egypt.

FATE OF RUSSIAN CITIZENS AND OPEN DIALOGUE WITH BOTH SIDES ARE TOP PRIORITIES, KREMLIN SAYS

MOSCOW — The Kremlin said that Russia needs to maintain a dialogue with both sides amid the Israeli-Palestinian war.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that “it’s important for us to maintain a balanced approach and remain in contact with both parties to the conflict.”

He said that Russia has “long historic ties” with both Israel and the Palestinians, adding that millions of Russians have moved to live in Israel and Moscow is concerned about their security.

“The fate of Russian citizens is our No. 1 priority,” Peskov said. “We need to maintain an equal distance — only that will give us the right to participate in a settlement process."

Peskov added that “acts that can only be described as terrorist must be undoubtedly condemned, but the roots of the situation mustn’t be forgotten.”

A PROMINENT MILITIA THREATENS TO ATTACK US BASES IF THE COUNTRY INTERVENES IN THE LATEST GAZA WAR

BAGHDAD — The leader of a prominent Iranian-backed militia in Iraq threatened Wednesday to attack American bases in retaliation if the United States intervenes in the latest war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.

“Our missiles, drones, and special forces are ready to direct qualitative strikes at the American enemy in its bases and disrupt its interests if it intervenes in this battle,” Ahmad “Abu Hussein” al-Hamidawi, head of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, said in a statement. He also threatened to launch missiles at Israeli targets.

Al-Hamidawi called on Iraqis to demonstrate and collect donations in support of the Hamas military campaign.

9 UN STAFFERS ARE KILLED IN AIRSTRIKES IN GAZA SINCE SATURDAY

JERUSALEM — The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees told the AP on Wednesday that nine of its staffers have been killed in airstrikes since the the start of the Israeli bombardment on Gaza on Saturday, with several killed late Tuesday.

“The protection of civilians is paramount, including in times of conflict,” said Juliette Touma, director of communications of the agency, known as UNRWA. “They should be protected in accordance with the laws of war.”

Touma said the strikes killed the U.N. staffers at their homes across the territory. She also said that 18 UNRWA schools-turned-shelters were damaged in the bombing, and that its headquarters in Gaza City was also damaged, without causing casualties.

POPE FRANCIS CALLS ON HAMAS TO RELEASE HOSTAGES IMMEDIATELY

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Wednesday called for the immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas fighters in the most serious assault on Israel in half a century.

Francis said during a weekly audience that he is following events in Israel and the occupied territories with “pain and apprehension,” with “many dead and injured,’’ and said he is praying for those who saw “a day of celebration transformed into a day of mourning.”

The pope said that “whoever is attacked has the right to defend himself. But I am very worried about the total siege under which the Palestinians in Gaza are living, where there are also many innocent victims.”

GERMAN DEFENSE MINISTER OFFERS HIS ISRAELI COUNTERPART SUPPORT

BERLIN — Germany’s defense minister has offered his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Galant, support from Germany following the major attack by Hamas.

The German government made that offer also to the Israeli military attaché in Berlin, Boris Pistorius told reporters on Wednesday. “Both have said so far that they do not need support of a military or technical nature. It is about political support,” the German defense minister said, adding that Germany’s political support for Israel was self-evident.

Pistorius also said that “as soon as we can help in a humanitarian way, the offer is there, too, but so far it has not been asked for.”

RAFAH BORDER CROSSING IS STILL CLOSED, EGYPT SAYS

CAIRO — The Rafah border crossing remains closed on both sides as of Wednesday morning, according to an Egyptian security official.

The official told The Associated Press that a number of Egyptian aid convoys loaded with fuel, construction materials and food were unable to enter the Gaza Strip through Rafah on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, dozens of Palestinian families remain stranded in the Sinai city of el-Arish. No other details were immediately available. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not briefed to speak.

A plane carrying advanced armaments “designed to facilitate significant military operations” landed Tuesday evening at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said.

“We are grateful for the US backing and assistance to the IDF, and to the State of Israel in general, during this challenging period. Our common enemies know that the cooperation between our militaries is stronger than ever, and is a key part in ensuring regional security and stability,” the IDF said in a statement.

Palestinians in the sealed-off Gaza Strip struggled to find any safe area Wednesday, as Israeli strikes demolished entire neighborhoods, hospitals ran low on supplies and the territory's only power plant ran out of fuel, deepening the misery of a war sparked by a stunning and deadly assault by Hamas militants.

Airstrikes smashed entire city blocks to rubble in the tiny coastal enclave and left unknown numbers of bodies beneath mounds of debris. The bombardment raged on even though militants are holding an estimated 150 people snatched from Israel — soldiers, men, women, children and older adults.

Israel has vowed unprecedented retaliation against the Hamas militant group ruling the Palestinian territory after its fighters stormed through the border fence Saturday and gunned down hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival. Since then, militants have continued to fire rockets at Israel, including a heavy barrage at the southern town of Ashkelon on Wednesday.

The war, which has already claimed at least 2,200 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate — and compound the misery of people living in Gaza, where basic necessities and electricity were already in short supply.

After the attack, Israel stopped the entry of food, water, fuel and medicine into the territory — a 40-kilometer-long (25-mile) strip of land wedged among Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians. The sole remaining access from Egypt was shut down Tuesday after airstrikes hit near the border crossing.

As Palestinians crowded into U.N. schools and a shrinking number of safe neighborhoods, humanitarian groups pleaded for the creation of corridors to get aid in, warning that hospitals overwhelmed with wounded people were running out of supplies.

“There is no safe place in Gaza right now,” journalist Hasan Jabar said after three Palestinian journalists were killed in the bombardment of a downtown neighborhood home to government ministries, media offices and hotels. “I am genuinely afraid for my life.”

Gaza’s only power plant ran out of fuel Wednesday afternoon, forcing it to shut down after Israel cut off supplies, the Energy Ministry said. That leaves only generators to power the territory — but they also run on fuel that is in short supply.

The U.N.’s World Health Organization said that supplies it had pre-positioned for seven hospitals have already run out amid the flood of wounded. Doctors Without Borders said surgical equipment, antibiotics, fuel and other supplies were running out at two hospitals it runs in Gaza.

In one, “we consumed three weeks worth of emergency stock in three days, partly due to 50 patients coming in at once,” Matthias Kannes, the aid group’s head of mission in Gaza, said Wednesday. He said the territory's biggest hospital, Al-Shifa, only has enough fuel for three days.

Israel has mobilized 360,000 reservists and appears increasingly likely to launch a ground offensive into Gaza, with its government under intense public pressure to topple Hamas, which has ruled the territory since 2007 and remained firmly in control through four previous wars.

That would likely require a prolonged ground assault and reoccupying Gaza, at least temporarily. Even then, Hamas has a long history of operating as an underground insurgency in areas controlled by Israel.

“We will not allow a reality in which Israeli children are murdered,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a meeting with soldiers near the southern border on Tuesday. “I have removed every restriction — we will eliminate anyone who fights us, and use every measure at our disposal.”

Israeli airstrikes late Tuesday struck the family house of Mohammed Deif, the shadowy leader of Hamas’ military wing, killing his father, brother and at least two other relatives in the southern town of Khan Younis, senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told The Associated Press.

Deif has never been seen in public and his whereabouts are unknown.

Exchanges of fire over Israel’s northern borders with militants in Lebanon and Syria, meanwhile, pointed to the risk of an expanded regional conflict.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned other countries and armed groups against entering the war. The U.S. is already rushing munitions and military equipment to Israel and has deployed a carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean as deterrence.

On Wednesday, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles at an Israeli military position and claimed to have killed and wounded troops. The Israeli military confirmed the attack but did not comment on possible casualties. The Israeli army shelled the area in southern Lebanon where the attack was launched.

In a new tactic, Israel is warning civilians to evacuate whole neighborhoods —rather than just individual buildings — then inflicting devastation, in what could be a prelude to a ground offensive.

“The objective is for this war to end very differently from all of the previous rounds. There has to be a clear victory,” said Chuck Freilich, a former deputy national security adviser in Israel. “Whatever has to be done to fundamentally change the situation will have to be done.”

Hamas officials have said they planned for all possibilities, including punishing Israeli escalation. Desperation has grown among Palestinians, many of whom see nothing to lose under unending Israeli military occupation and increasing settlements in the West Bank, a 16-year-long blockade in Gaza and what they see as the world’s apathy.

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said Israeli airstrikes destroyed the entire al-Karama neighborhood in Gaza City, with a “large number” of people killed or wounded. It said medical teams were unable to reach the area because all roads to it were destroyed. Rescue officials say they have struggled to enter other areas as well.

In another neighborhood on Tuesday, Palestinian Civil Defense forces pulled Abdullah Musleh out of his basement together with 30 others after their apartment building was flattened.

“I sell toys, not missiles,’’ the 46-year-old said, weeping. “I want to leave Gaza. Why do I have to stay here? I lost my home and my job.”

On Wednesday, an AP reporter witnessed waves of rockets rain down on Ashkelon, with shrapnel slamming into the street and Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system intercepting at least one overhead. Residents screamed and wept as they heard the explosions.

On Tuesday night, a group of militants entered an industrial zone in Ashkelon, sparking a gunbattle with Israeli troops, the military said. Three militants were killed, and troops were searching the area for others.

The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 155 soldiers, have been killed in Israel, a staggering toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria that lasted weeks. In Gaza, 1,055 people have been killed, according to authorities there; Israel says hundreds of Hamas fighters are among them. Thousands have been wounded on both sides.

The bodies of roughly 1,500 Hamas militants were found on Israeli territory, the military said. It wasn’t clear whether those numbers overlapped with deaths reported by Palestinian authorities.

Days of clashes between rock-throwing Palestinians and Israeli forces in the West Bank have left 15 Palestinians dead. The violence also spread into east Jerusalem, where Israeli police said they killed two Palestinians who hurled stones at police late Tuesday.

In Gaza, more than 250,000 people have fled their homes, the U.N. said, the most since a 2014 air and ground offensive by Israel uprooted about 400,000. The vast majority are sheltering in schools run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Damage to three water and sanitation sites have cut off services to 400,000 people, the U.N. said.

Tens of thousands of people in southern Israel have been evacuated since Sunday.

The Planning Authority (PA) has established the planning parameters for the Australia Hall site in Pembroke, the PA said in a statement.

While the Grade 2 scheduled Australia Hall will be restored to its former glory and potentially be used as an exhibition center, the approved scheme allows the creation of three new standalone buildings along the west side of the protected property.

The PA’s executive council said that the area that will be taken up for development from the area zoned as formal gardens is largely being compensated for in the new approved scheme through public open spaces. Both ERA and the SCH agreed with this proposal as it will safeguard the visual integrity of the Australia Hall.

The height of these buildings will range between 13.9m and 10.6m so as not to dominate the scheduled building and will be separated by public open space. The site is entirely within the development boundary, the PA said.

The military latrines which is a Grade 3 scheduled structure located to the west of Australia Hall may be dismantled and incorporated in one of the buildings. Issues of design including mitigation measures to ensure the visual integrity of the Australia Hall will be discussed and evaluated at the full application stage. The approval of this planning control application does not mean that the landowner can commence any works.

For development to take place on site, the landowner must first submit a development planning application. This application will then be evaluated against the established planning policies and parameters outlined in the local plan and the planning control permit. 

Two juvenile turtles, called Nadia and Mari,a have been released back into the wild on Tuesday morning after almost 2 months of treatment at the Wildlife Rehab Centre project, the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has said.

The Wildlife Rehab Centre Project is operated by Nature Trust Malta - FEE, with the financial support of the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), which sponsors the rehabilitation of injured wildlife. ERA also works closely with the eNGO on several other environmental initiatives.

"The turtle named Nadia was rescued on the 4^th August 2023 when she was found floating on the surface with a hook in its mouth, while the turtle named Maria was rescued on 20^th August 2023 after ingesting lots of plastics - she also had several old scars from past injuries. "

NTM President CEO Vince Attard once again appealed to the public to keep beaches clean and plastic free. Attard said: "Plastic pollution is on the increase and is badly effecting us and marine life. Disposing of Waste in the appropriate bins even on land is of utmost importance and crucial to reduce plastic waste at sea."

ERA CEO, Kevin Mercieca, said that the Authority is developing policies intended to reduce as much plastic waste as possible through updated legislation - namely the ban on the importation and sale of single use plastics on the local market and a number of other measures covered under the Single Use Plastic Strategy for Malta 2020-2030. "This also goes hand in hand with other waste related initiatives intended to reduce waste in general, such as the mandatory waste separation regulations introduced in April.  All these policy initiatives help reduce the amounts of waste plastic ending up in the sea putting the life of marine biodiversity at risk".

Fines for incorrect Waste separation come into force on the 15^th of October 2023.

Customs Malta intercepted 30 blocks of cocaine in a 40-foot-long container en-route to Valencia, it said in a statement.

During the day-to-day operational risk analysis at the Freeport, Customs officials intercepted around 30kg of cocaine hidden in a container carrying a shipment of peanuts jumbo packs, it said.

The container, which was en-route from Nicaragua to Valencia, was found to be carrying 30 blocks of the illicit substance amounting to around 30kg.

The case was handed over to the Malta Police Drug Force for further investigation. Duty Magistrate Nadine Lia is leading the inquiry.

A vernacular farmhouse in Gozo is set to be saved from partial demolition after a decision by a Planning board, the Times of Malta reports.

The PA's executive council told the applicant to submit fresh re-zoning plans.

The building in Victoria, which is known as the Razzett ta' San Ġużepp, was going to be partially removed to make way for a road, however the PA's executive council has proposed that the alley near the farmhouse be upgraded to allow pedestrian access instead, and that a road on the other side of the site proposed for rezoning will be rebuilt, the report read.

The applicant was asked to publish new plans to this effect, the report read.

The site plan showing the area for a planned new acute psychiatric facility was tabled in Parliament by Health Minister Chris Fearne.

The hospital would be located just off the Birkirkara bypass, but is not exactly adjacent to Mater Dei Hospital as was mentioned in the Mental Health Strategy.

In reply to a parliamentary question by PN MP Ian Vassallo, the health minister submitted a site plan.

Back in 2021, the government had said that a new mental health hospital was on track to open by 2025.

Following this announcement, a call for tenders was issued for an eight ward facility with a capacity of 120 beds.

The International Monetary Fund has slightly revised up Malta's forecast Real GDP growth for this year, and slightly revised down the forecast for next year.

In April 2023, the IMF's World Economic Outlook had forecast Malta's Real GDP growth to be 3.5% this year, and 3.5% next year. In October's edition of the World Economic Outlook, the projection for Malta this year rose to 3.8%, the highest percentage in the EU, but next year's forecast dropped to 3.3%, although it would still be the highest percentage in the EU alongside Ireland.

Prime Minister Robert Abela, on the platform X (formerly known as Twitter), wrote: "Despite weakening international conditions the IMF has revised up its GDP forecast for Malta to 3.8% and sees us as the fastest growing EU economy this year and the next, with the lowest unemployment rate in both years. Budget 2024 will see us strengthen our economy further."

Despite weakening international conditions the IMF has revised up its GDP forecast for Malta to 3.8% and sees us as the fastest growing EU economy this year and the next, with the lowest unemployment rate in both years. Budget 2024 will see us strengthen our economy further. - RA

— Robert Abela (@RobertAbela_MT) October 10, 2023

Israeli warplanes pounded downtown Gaza City, home to Hamas' centers of government, with relentless bombardments into early Tuesday, after Israel’s prime minister vowed retaliation against the Islamic militant group that would “reverberate for generations.”

The 4-day-old war has already claimed at least 1,600 lives, as Israel saw gun battles in the streets of its own towns for the first time in decades and neighborhoods in Gaza were reduced to rubble. Hamas also escalated the conflict, pledging to kill captured Israelis if strikes targeted civilians without warning.

Israel said that Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza are holding more than 150 soldiers and civilians snatched from inside Israel after the attack caught its vaunted military and intelligence apparatus completely off guard.

The Israeli military said it had largely gained control in the south and “restored full control” over the border. Spokesperson Richard Hecht said no Hamas fighters have crossed into Israel since last night, although infiltrations could still be possible.

As the Israeli military activated 300,000 reservists in a massive mobilization, a major question was whether it will launch a ground assault into the tiny Mediterranean coastal territory. The last ground assault was in 2014.

Thousands of Israelis were evacuated from more than a dozen towns near Gaza, and tanks and drones were deployed to guard breaches in the Gaza border fence against new incursions. In Gaza, tens of thousands fled their homes as airstrikes leveled buildings.

The moves, along with Israel’s formal declaration of war on Sunday, pointed to Israel increasingly shifting to the offensive against Hamas, threatening greater destruction in the densely populated, impoverished Gaza Strip.

“We have only started striking Hamas,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a nationally televised address. “What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations.”

The Israeli military said it struck hundreds of Hamas targets in Gaza’s City Rimal neighborhood, which is home to Hamas’ ministries and governing buildings, overnight.

Hecht said Gazans were being told to evacuate “over social media” before strikes, but did not give details.

On Monday, Israel found more bodies from Hamas’ stunning weekend attack into southern Israeli towns. Rescue workers found 100 bodies in the tiny farming community of Be’eri — around 10% of its population — after a long hostage standoff with gunmen.

The Israeli military said more than 900 people already have been killed in Israel. In Gaza and the West Bank, 704 people have been killed, according to authorities there; Israel says hundreds of Hamas fighters are among them. Thousands have been wounded on both sides.

In response to Israel's aerial attacks, the spokesman of Hamas' armed wing, Abu Obeida, said Monday night that the group will kill one Israeli civilian captive any time Israel targets civilians in their homes in Gaza “without prior warning.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen warned Hamas against harming any of the hostages, saying, “This war crime will not be forgiven.” Netanyahu appointed a former military commander to manage the hostage and missing persons crisis.

Israel and Hamas have had repeated conflicts in past years, often sparked by tensions around a Jerusalem holy site. This time, the context has become potentially more explosive. Both sides talk of shattering with violence a yearslong Israeli-Palestinian deadlock left by the moribund peace process.

The surprise weekend attack by Hamas left a death toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria. That fomented calls to crush Hamas no matter the cost, rather than continuing to try to bottle it up in Gaza. Israel is run by its most hard-right government ever, dominated by ministers who adamantly reject Palestinian statehood.

Hamas, in turn, says it is ready for a long battle to end an Israeli occupation it says is no longer tolerable. Desperation has grown among Palestinians, many of whom see nothing to lose under unending Israeli control and increasing settler depredations in the West Bank, the blockade in Gaza and what they see as the world’s apathy.

Attacks by both sides created more scenes of devastation Monday. In Israel's southern coastal city of Ashkelon, a man holding a crutch with one hand and an older boy with the other joined evacuees being shepherded from a street after a rocket blew out the front of a house.

In Gaza, Palestinians passed the bodies of the dead through dense crowds of men in the rubble in the Jebaliya refugee camp.

Early Monday evening, the sound of explosions echoed over Jerusalem when a volley of rockets fired from Gaza hit two neighborhoods — a sign of Hamas’s reach. Israeli media said seven were wounded.

Israeli warplanes carried out an intense bombardment of Rimal, a residential and commercial district of central Gaza City, after issuing warnings for residents to evacuate. Amid continuous explosions, the building housing the headquarters of the Palestinian Telecommunications Company was destroyed.

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have razed 790 housing units and severely damaged 5,330, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said early Tuesday. Damage to three water and sanitation sites have cut off services to 400,000.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza, saying authorities would cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel.

Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council aid group, warned that Israel’s siege would spell “utter disaster” for Gazans.

“There is no doubt that collective punishment is in violation of international law,” he told The Associated Press. “If and when it would lead to wounded children dying in hospitals because of lack of energy, electricity and supplies, it could amount to war crimes.”

The Israeli siege will leave Gaza almost entirely dependent on its crossing into neighboring Egypt at Rafah, where cargo capacities are lower than other crossings into Israel.

An Egyptian military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press, said more than 2 tons of medical supplies from the Egyptian Red Crescent were sent to Gaza and efforts were underway to organize food and other deliveries.

Tens of thousands of Gaza residents continued to flee. The U.N. said Tuesday that more than 187,000 of Gaza's 2.3 million people have left their homes — the most since a 2014 air and ground offensive by Israel uprooted about 400,000.

UNRWA, the U.N. agencies for Palestinian refugees, is sheltering more than 137,000 people in schools across the territory. Families have taken in some 41,000 others.

In the southern Gaza city of Rafah, an Israeli airstrike early Monday killed 19 people, including women and children, said Talat Barhoum, a doctor at the local Al-Najjar Hospital.

Hundreds of Hamas militants were buried under rubble of buildings destroyed by Israel in the past 48 hours, according to Israeli Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari. His claims could not be confirmed.

New exchanges on Israel’s northern border Monday raised worries that the war could spread to a new front.

Palestinian militants from the Islamic Jihad group slipped from Lebanon into Israel, sparking Israeli shelling into southern Lebanon. Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group said five of its members were killed, and it retaliated with a volley of rockets and mortars at two Israeli army bases across the border.

After breaking through Israeli barriers with explosives at daybreak Saturday, an estimated 1,000 Hamas gunmen rampaged for hours, gunning down civilians and snatching people in towns, along highways and at a techno music festival attended by thousands in the desert. Palestinian militants have also launched around 4,400 rockets at Israel, according to the military.

Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua told the AP that the group’s fighters continued to battle outside Gaza and had captured more Israelis as recently as Monday morning.

He said the group aims to free all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, which in the past has agreed to lopsided exchange deals in which it released large numbers of prisoners for individual captives or even the remains of soldiers.

Among the captives are soldiers and civilians, including women, children and older adults, mostly Israelis but also some people of other nationalities.

Hamas has ruled Gaza since driving out forces loyal to the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority in 2007, and its rule has gone unchallenged through the blockade and four previous wars with Israel.

Meanwhile in the West Bank, Palestinians entered a fourth day under severe movement restrictions. Israeli authorities have sealed off crossings to the occupied territory and closed checkpoints, blocking movement between cities and towns. Clashes between rock-throwing Palestinians and Israeli forces in the territory since the start of the incursion have left 15 Palestinians dead, according to the U.N.

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This was shot at sunrise from Sliema, in Malta.

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This Mercedes Benz Sprinter of Malta Public Transport is seen waiting to depart from Valletta Bus Station on Route 133 which goes all around Valletta every 30 minutes. The route leaves Valletta Terminus and passes through Castille Square, St Paul Street, Marsamxett, Saint Elmo, MCC, Lower Barrakka Gardens, Ta Liesse, the Valletta Waterfront and goes up to the terminus via Kurcifiss Hill and Florianas Centre. It currently is the shortest bus route by Malta Public Transport.

The bus has a Valletta 2018 livery as it came in service in occasion of Valletta European Capital of Culture in 2018 as to promote a cleaner mode of transport within Valletta.

teatringestazione posted a photo:

Altofest Malta
April - May 2018

Altofest special edition
in the frame of Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture

ph. ©ValentinaQuintano
altofest maltas official photographer

teatringestazione posted a photo:

Altofest Malta
April - May 2018

Altofest special edition
in the frame of Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture

ph. ©ValentinaQuintano
altofest maltas official photographer

teatringestazione posted a photo:

Altofest Malta
April - May 2018

Altofest special edition
in the frame of Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture

ph. ©ValentinaQuintano
altofest maltas official photographer

teatringestazione posted a photo:

Altofest Malta
April - May 2018

Altofest special edition
in the frame of Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture

ph. ©ValentinaQuintano
altofest maltas official photographer

teatringestazione posted a photo:

Altofest Malta
April - May 2018

Altofest special edition
in the frame of Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture

ph. ©ValentinaQuintano
altofest maltas official photographer