The latest developments in the Middle East, a part of the world that has been in the limelight for decades, are a matter of serious concern.

Hundreds have already died in an escalation of events that started last Saturday when Hamas launched a terror attack on Israel killing hundreds of civilians. The conflict continued in the following days as Israel retaliated with devastating bombardments and Hamas launched rockets. The war has already left too many victims – Palestinians and Israelis alike, and too much destruction.

And, from what is being said and reported, it is unlikely that the situation will calm down anytime soon. The sensation is that matters will become worse before they can get better. While the world is used to seeing the Middle East in the news, what has happened in the past days is unprecedented, and it will have a lasting effect for years to come.

The events have affected many other countries too. Among the dead are people of different nationalities who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and this has meant that other nations have been directly involved in the issue. Many other foreigners who were in the zone where the conflict broke have had to be hastily repatriated. The experience they spoke about with the media exposed how volatile and dangerous the situation is, and how lucky they were to leave unscathed. Civilians have also been taken as hostages.

The world is in a difficult situation. The war in the Ukraine after Russia’s invasion still lingers on, with all its effect on trade and commerce. Thousands have died here too, and many more thousands have been displaced as they moved away in search of a more peaceful setting. Inevitably, this has exacerbated the migration issue even further, as neighbouring countries have had to contend with the thousands of people crossing the borders into safer land.

In the meantime, hundreds more migrants continue to flock into Europe from North Africa, risking their lives on rickety boats in an attempt to seek greener pastures. Southern European states, as well as North African states, are busy dealing with this influx, as they have been doing for the past 25-30 years. With all that is now happening in the Middle East, it is likely that the surge of people who want to move towards Europe increases.

All this is happening as the world attempts to recover from more than two years of a global pandemic, which in itself has had a negative effect on people’s lives not only from a medical point of view, but also in terms of the economy, as inflation has hit hard and is still hitting hard. Again, the situation in the Middle East will only help to make matters worse.

There are countries that are openly supporting Israel and others who are backing the Palestinians. Unfortunately, very few seem to be talking about peace in the region. We are sure that, behind the scenes, there are efforts to bring the two sides to some kind of negotiating table in the hope that some solution can be found. Whether this is possible, at present, is very much in doubt.

The  Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry is asking the government for a six-month advance notice before the government reduces or removes the subsidies on energy, CEO Marthese Portelli said. She said that there is a lack of awareness about the true cost of the energy crisis and climate change, which is impacting consumer behaviour.

The prices of electricity and fuel have been kept stable over the past years, and in particular since the start of the war in Ukraine, as the government aimed to keep inflation as low as possible. The rising cost of products and services in the past two years has raised inflation up to unprecedented levels, with the government’s argument being that if the price of energy goes up too, then inflation would sky-rocket even higher. But this subsidisation, one day, has to stop, and the European Commission is already pushing the government to take this decision.

In a wide-ranging interview with this media house, parts of which were published on Sunday and Monday, Portelli was asked about the impact of gradually removing energy subsidies. The interview dealt with various aspects regarding the chamber’s proposals before the government presents its budget for 2024. The chamber has presented 250 proposals for the government’s consideration. “Real-time data on consumption patterns, tariff bands, and real-time cost, supplemented by data analytics, can help service users control their energy use and reduce consumption,” Portelli said.

“Businesses and people are not aware of the real price of energy, since it is being heavily subsidized. The reality is that we cannot keep depending on blanket subsidies for everyone forever.  Such subsidies promote inefficient energy consumption at unrealistically low prices and hinder the allocation of financial assistance to those struggling to afford necessities. In our pre-budget proposals, we are insisting that subsidies need to be directed to businesses that are economically viable and that are investing in energy efficient solutions, particularly given that as a country we need to attain the green targets that we have committed to,” she said.

She explained that the chamber believes that the distribution network should be made accessible to other operators after 2027, as there is the possibility of alternative energy sources. Without such liberalization, private companies could have wind turbines or solar farms but are unable to use the energy they generate except for feeding the national grid at a predetermined price.

She said that the country needs a substantially large investment in the distribution network to ensure reliable energy supply and operational efficiency, particularly to adequately support the country’s transition towards greener energy and mobility targets. “Key upgrades need to be completed by summer 2024. A modernized grid will enhance energy efficiency and have lower maintenance costs. It should also prevent blackouts, thereby supporting commercial operations and improving competitiveness,” Portelli said.

“We also have a number of proposals which will help to accelerate faster towards the green transition. These benefit both businesses and domestic households,” Portelli said.

One of them, which is already being implemented in some other Member States, is zero taxation on the installation and procurement of photovoltaic panels. Another proposal incentivizes consumers to replace appliances that are inefficient by getting a reduced VAT on these purchases in a tiered approach where the highest energy rating receives the highest VAT reduction.

“We need to stop depending on government subsidies for everything. Everyone needs to do their part to try and be sustainable. Ultimately the subsidy the government is forking out is coming from taxes collected from businesses and people and it would make more sense to invest that money in systems that help better our quality of life,” Portelli said.

One subject that always attracts attention when the budget is presented is the Cost of Living Adjustment, by which salaries are raised depending on the inflation registered in the previous year. For 2023, the weekly increase was €9.90 per week, and given that inflation was again high this year, the wage increase for 2024 is likely to be around €13 per week.

When, last year, it became clear that the COLA would have been the highest ever, there was talk of a possible revision of the mechanism which establishes the salary adjustment. But a year has passed and we are nowhere near such a revision.

The chamber said that with the current COLA mechanism, it is very likely that inflation will remain high (significantly above the 2% target), making Malta’s exports including manufactured goods, tourism and financial services less competitive. Lower economic growth and higher wage costs would continue squeezing business margins. The chamber also highlighted that employees ending paying more tax and moving into higher tax bands because of inflation and the resulting wage rises.

With respect to the forthcoming COLA, Portelli said that the chamber is insisting that the COLA increase should not be taxed. The COLA is a means of compensation for inflation experienced, and this is why it should not be taxed. We are also saying that any planned tax refunds by cheque should be incorporated into the revised tax bands to eliminate the administrative burden of the issue of these cheques and to improve the monthly take-home-pay of employees. ”

Government should be looking at ways to improve the purchasing power of lower income groups while minimising increases in labour costs to slow down the wage-inflation spiral.

Portelli said that another sore point for the local domestic business community is corporate taxation. It is set at 35% and is one of the highest in Europe. However, there is bias which favours foreign companies. This creates an uneven playing field and leads to a competitive disadvantage for domestic businesses burdening the latter higher tax rates which ultimately impacts their profitability and ability to invest and grow. The chamber is proposing a revised tax structure which is conducive to a shift in our economic model to more value-added, by offering lower tax rates or targeted tax incentives for high-potential companies (both foreign and local companies) in specific sectors.

“The most important issues that need to be addressed are the areas which will ensure that we remain competitive and that help us to better our productivity,” Portelli said.

She said that the country’s heritage, culture and identity needs to be protected as these are crucial for the tourism industry to thrive.

“Our pre-budget document is not a simple wish-list. We have put a lot of thought in it to ensure that our proposals set out the direction that the country needs to take.” She explained that The Malta Chamber’s pre-budget proposals offer the framework needed in order to move away from the current economic model based to a well-being economy which is based on value added.  

Some of the chamber’s proposals have been proposed before, and Portelli was asked if government truly listens to constituted bodies when they come up with their suggestions.

“The chamber believes in constant dialogue and we hold regular meetings both with Government and the Opposition as well as with authorities, agencies and departments, to discuss challenges, and explain the rationale behind our proposals, on behalf of the business community as a whole,” Portelli said. She said that admittedly, there are some entities and ministries that engage with The chamber more than others.  

“We would like all members of parliament and all policy makers to look at our pre-budget proposals and take them up. All of them are doable and will help to bring out the much required change in direction,” Portelli said. She closed off by saying that for a government to be successful, it needs to listen to the genuine business community and the genuine public, insisting on the words 'genuine' and people who work in an ethical way.

The Israeli government is under intense public pressure to topple Hamas after its militants stormed through a border fence Saturday and killed hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival.

In the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, residents are facing ever-growing uncertainty after the territory's only power plant ran out of fuel and shut down Wednesday. Without power, communication is limited and information is scarce.

Egypt has engaged in intensive talks with Israel and the United States to allow the delivery of aid and fuel through its Rafah crossing point, which remained closed on both sides Thursday. However, Egypt pushed back against proposals to establish corridors out of Gaza, saying an an exodus of Palestinians from the enclave would have grave consequences on the Palestinian cause.

The war, which has claimed more than 2,500 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate.

Here's what's happening on Day 6 of the latest Israel-Palestinian war:

MEDIA REPORTS: ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES ON AIRPORTS IN SYRIA

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s pro-government media reports that Israeli airstrikes have targeted the airports of the capital city Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, damaging their runways.

Al-Watan Daily and Dama Post did not give further details other than both airports are out of service.

They were the first Israeli strikes on Syria since the militant Palestinian group Hamas carried out its deadly attacks in southern Israel.

Earlier this year, the airports of Damascus and Aleppo were hit several times.

NETANYAHU PRAISES BLINKEN'S VISIT TO ISRAEL

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed journalists on Thursday in Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu praised Blinken’s visit as a “tangible example of America’s unequivocable support of Israel.”

“President Biden was absolutely correct in calling this ‘sheer evil,’” Netanyahu said, referring to Hamas' unprecedented attack Saturday on Israel.

They shook hands after Netanyahu’s remarks.

Blinken said that he came before journalists “not just as secretary of state, but also a Jew” while recounting his own family’s history of surviving the Holocaust.

“So prime minister, I understand on a personal level, the harrowing echoes that Hamas’ massacres carry for Israeli Jews, as well as Jews everywhere,” Blinken said.

ISLAMIC GROUP CONDEMNS ISRAEL'S AIRSTRIKES IN GAZA

JERUSALEM — The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Thursday strongly condemned what it called the “ongoing Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”

“The OIC considers this brutal aggression against the Palestinian people a blatant international and humanitarian law violation and a war crime,” it said in a statement. It cited the killing and wounding of women and children, the destruction of civilian buildings and other locations.

The OIC said it held Israel “fully responsible” for the “repercussions of the continuation of this sinful aggression."

The OIC, based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, broadly aligns itself with the thinking of Saudi Arabia’s rulers. That suggests the ongoing war likely will affect the ongoing efforts by the United States to broker a deal that could see Saudi Arabia diplomatically recognize Israel.

ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES HAVE BLOCKED THE OPERATION OF THE RAFAH CROSSING, EGYPT SAYS

CAIRO — Egypt’s Foreign Ministry denied Thursday it had officially closed the Rafah crossing and said Israeli airstrikes have prevented it from operating.

In the statement, the ministry called on all countries and international organizations wishing to provide humanitarian aid to deliver supplies to el-Arish International Airport, in Egypt’s northern Sinai. Hamas’ border authorities said Tuesday that an Israel airstrike hit the no-man’s land between Gaza and Egypt, blocking the road with a large crater.

ICRC SAYS IT'S IN TOUCH WITH HAMAS, ISRAELI AUTHORITIES ABOUT ISRAELI HOSTAGES

The International Committee of the Red Cross on Thursday said it was in touch with Hamas and Israeli authorities as part of efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages who are believed to be held in the Gaza Strip.

“As a neutral intermediary we stand ready to conduct humanitarian visits, facilitate communication between hostages and family members and to facilitate any eventual release,” said Fabrizio Carboni, the group’s Middle East regional director.

The Mideast emirate of Qatar, a frequent mediator between Israel and Hamas, has also confirmed its involvement in the negotiations.

Carboni appealed to Israel to allow badly needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza as Palestinians face staggering supply shortages following Israel’s decision to impose a siege on the crowded territory.

CZECH GOVERNMENT TO ALLOW ISRAELIS TO RETURN HOME ON CZECH PLANES

PRAGUE — The Czech Foreign Ministry said it has agreed with a request from Israel to allow Israeli citizens to fly home on Czech government planes evacuating Czech citizens from Israel. The ministry said the Israeli nationals need to return home for humanitarian and family reasons, or to join the military following the attacks by Hamas.

An unspecified number of Israel’s citizens were aboard a Czech plane that took off from Prague on Thursday. Another such plane is scheduled to fly to Israel later in the day.

INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS WORKING TO MOBILIZE SUPPLIES, STAFF ALREADY IN GAZA

CAIRO — Fabrizio Carboni, the International Committee of the Red Cross's regional director, said the aid group's first aim is to mobilize the medical supplies, fuel and staff already within Gaza — particularly those that could support medical facilities.

Speaking to journalists at an online presser, he said that aid delivery through the Rafah crossing requires both a political agreement and also a security deal so that needed supplies can safely reach affected areas.

“I fear that what’s coming next is going to be at least as challenging as what we’re seeing now.” Carboni said.

SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM X REMOVES HUNDREDS OF HAMAS-LINKED ACCOUNTS

LONDON — The head of Elon Musk’s social media platform X says it has removed hundreds of Hamas-linked accounts and taken down or labeled thousands of pieces of content since the militant group’s attack on Israel.

CEO Linda Yaccarino on Thursday outlined efforts by X, formerly known as Twitter, to get a handle on illegal content flourishing on the platform following a warning from a top European Union official, who requested information on how X is complying during the Israel-Hamas war with tough new EU digital rules aimed at cleaning up social media platforms.

The new Digital Services Act mandates social media companies step up policing of their platforms for illegal content, under threat of hefty fines.

2 PALESTINIANS ARE GUNNED DOWN AT A FUNERAL IN THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK

ISRAEL — The Palestinian Health Ministry reported Thursday that two Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank when Israeli settlers sprayed bullets at a funeral for three Palestinians who had been killed in a settler rampage the day before. Footage showed Jewish settlers in their cars swerving into the funeral procession and cutting off the road to the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, before stopping and opening fire.

Health authorities identified the two men killed as a father and son: 62-year-old Ibrahim al-Wadi, a local official in the secular nationalist Fatah party; and 25-year-old Ahmed al-Wadi, an off-duty Palestinian security officer.

Residents near the northern West Bank city of Nablus and north of Ramallah reported that armed settlers have rampaged through villages and hurled stones at passing Palestinian cars after the unprecedented Hamas militant attack on Israel on Saturday.

220 EVACUEES ARRIVE IN MADRID FROM TEL AVIV

MADRID — Spain’s foreign ministry says a plane evacuating 220 people from Tel Aviv landed in Madrid late Wednesday, bringing to 429 the number of people flown out of the city on Spanish flights in two days.

The Wednesday flight included 149 Spaniards, 15 people from other European Union countries, 36 from Latin America and 20 from other countries, a foreign ministry statement said.

The previous day’s flight brought out 209 people, 185 of them Spaniards.

FRANCE MAKES 24 ARRESTS FOR ANTISEMITIC ACTS SINCE HAMAS ATTACKED ISRAEL

PARIS — France’s interior minister is reporting 24 arrests for antisemitic acts in the country since Hamas attacked Israel and says that online hate is surging.

“Since the end of the day Saturday, since the terrorist massacres in Israel, there have been more than 100 antisemitic acts, essentially graffiti — swastikas, ‘death to Jews,’ calls for an intifada against Israel,” said the minister, Gerald Darmanin. Speaking Thursday on France Inter radio, he said there have also been people caught with knives near Jewish schools and synagogues and a drone equipped with a camera that was spotted flying over a Jewish cultural center. Because of stepped-up police security around Jewish sites, “we were able to detain a large proportion of these people" with 24 arrests, he said.

Online, “hatred is surging,” he added, with more than 2,000 cases of antisemitic speech reported to a French online watchdog force, he said.

ISRAEL IS TRYING TO IDENTIFY THOSE MISSING SINCE SATURDAY'S ATTACK

JERUSALEM — The Israeli official overseeing the effort to return hostages taken by Hamas says the government is still trying to identify all of those missing or taken captive in Saturday’s attack.

In a statement, Gal Hirsch said his office is working “to formulate an assessment of the situation” and to assist the families of the captives and missing. “The searches in the field are continuing and the difficult work of identifying the bodies continues,” said Hirsch, a former general who was appointed after the incursion by Hamas on Saturday.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson, said Thursday that the army has notified the families of 97 Israelis believed to be in Hamas captivity.

CAIRO — The Egyptian government has rejected any proposal to establish corridors out of Gaza for Palestinians fleeing Israel’s bombardment in Gaza, a senior Egyptian official said early Thursday.

The official said they were talking with Israel and the United States about establishing safe corridors inside Gaza and the allowance of humanitarian aid to besieged Palestinians.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media, was responding to White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby, who said that the Biden administration is in active conversations to achieve safe passage out of Gaza for civilians.

Egypt's state-run media reported that Israel's offensive is part of a scheme to empty the enclave.

Palestinians in Gaza lined up outside bakeries on Thursday after spending the night in pitch darkness surrounded by the ruins of pulverized neighborhoods, as Israel launched new airstrikes and said it was preparing for a possible ground invasion.

International aid groups warned that deaths in Gaza could accelerate as Israel prevents delivery of supplies. The war, which was ignited by a bloody and wide-ranging Hamas attack into Israel, has already claimed at least 2,400 lives on both sides.

Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman, told reporters Thursday that forces “are preparing for a ground maneuver if decided," but that the political leadership has not yet ordered one. A ground offensive in Gaza, the first since the 2014 war, would likely bring even higher casualties on both sides in brutal house-to-house fighting.

In Gaza, Palestinians fleeing airstrikes can be seen running through the streets, carrying their belongings and looking for a safe place. Hundreds of thousands have crowded into U.N.-run schools while others are staying with relatives or even strangers who let them in.

Lines form outside bakeries and grocery stores during the few hours they dare to open, and the bakeries could soon shut down for lack of fuel or power.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush and destroy” Hamas with the support of a new war cabinet formed Wednesday that includes a longtime opposition critic. “Every Hamas member is a dead man,” Netanyahu said in a televised address.

The U.S. has pledged unwavering support for Israel's response, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Thursday to meet with Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders.

The Israeli military said overnight strikes targeted Hamas' elite Nukhba forces, including command centers used by the fighters who attacked Israel on Saturday, and the home of a senior Hamas naval operative that it said was used to store unspecified weapons.

Another airstrike killed a commander with the Islamic Jihad armed group in his family home in the northern town of Beit Lahia, according to media linked to the group's armed wing.

“Right now we are focused on taking out their senior leadership,” Hecht, the military spokesman, said. "Not only the military leadership, but also the governmental leadership, all the way up to (top Hamas leader Yehiyeh) Sinwar. They were directly connected."

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said Israeli strikes demolished two multi-story houses on top of residents without warning, killing and wounding “a large number” of people, mainly civilians. Hamas has threatened to kill Israeli hostages if Israel strikes Palestinian civilians without warning.

Israel has halted the entry of food, water, fuel and medicine into the territory. On Tuesday, Gaza’s only power station ran out of fuel and shut down, leaving only lights powered by scattered private generators. Those will shut off as well if fuel is not allowed in.

A senior official with the the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that lack of electricity could cripple hospitals, as he called for Hamas to release hostages.

“As Gaza loses power, hospitals lose power, putting newborns in incubators and elderly patients on oxygen at risk. Kidney dialysis stops, and X-rays can’t be taken," said Fabrizio Carboni, ICRC’s regional director. “Without electricity, hospitals risk turning into morgues.”

In Israel, opposition leader Benny Gantz, a former defense minister and political opponent of Netanyahu, joined a new wartime cabinet. Israel has mobilized 360,000 reservists, massed additional forces near Gaza and evacuated tens of thousands of residents from nearby communities.

The Israeli government is under intense public pressure to topple Hamas after its militants stormed through a border fence Saturday and massacred hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival.

Netanyahu alleged that the attackers engaged in atrocities, including binding boys and girls and shooting them in the head, burning people alive, raping women and beheading soldiers.

The prime minister’s allegations could not be independently confirmed, and authorities did not immediately offer further details. Rescue workers and witnesses have described horrifying scenes, including the slaughter of elderly people and finding bloody rooms crowded with massacred civilians.

Militants in Gaza are holding an estimated 150 people taken hostage from Israel — soldiers, men, women, children and older adults — and they have fired thousands of rockets into Israel over the past five days.

Israel’s increasingly destructive airstrikes in Gaza have flattened entire city blocks and left unknown numbers of bodies beneath debris. A ground offensive in Gaza, whose 2.3 million residents are densely packed into a strip of land only 40 kilometers (25 miles) long, would likely result in a surge of casualties on both sides.

The UN said late Wednesday the number of people displaced by the airstrikes had soared 30 percent within 24 hours, to 339,000, two-thirds of them crowding into U.N. schools. Others sought shelter in the shrinking number of safe neighborhoods.

The Egyptian government rejected an American proposal to allow Palestinians fleeing Israel’s bombardment to leave Gaza, a senior Egyptian official said early Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press. Egypt believes that Palestinians leaving Gaza would harm the Palestinian cause, and its state-run media reported that the Israeli offensive is part of a scheme to empty the enclave.

Convoys stood loaded with fuel and food Wednesday on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, but were unable to enter Gaza, the official said. The only crossing point between Egypt and Gaza was shut down Tuesday following nearby Israeli airstrikes.

The official said Egypt was talking with Israel and the U.S. on establishing safe corridors inside Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinians, and with Israel and other foreign governments to evacuate foreigners through the Rafah crossing point.

The risk of the war spreading was evident Wednesday after the Iranian-backed 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.

The death toll in Gaza rose to 1,200 early Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The Gaza Strip’s biggest hospital, Al-Shifa, has only enough fuel to keep power on for three days, said Matthias Kannes, a Gaza-based official for Doctors Without Borders. The group said the two hospitals it runs in Gaza were running out of surgical equipment, antibiotics, fuel and other supplies.

Ghassan Abu Sitta, a reconstructive surgeon at al-Shifa, said he had 50 patients waiting to go to the operating room.

“We’re already beyond the capacity of the system to cope,” he said. The health system “has the rest of the week before it collapses, not just because of the diesel. All supplies are running short.”

The Palestinian Red Crescent said other hospitals’ generators will run out in five days. Residential buildings, unable to store as much diesel, likely will go dark sooner.

Shock, grief and demands for vengeance against Hamas are running high in Israel.

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked a village south of Nablus, opening fire on Palestinians and killing three, the territory's health ministry said. More than two dozen Palestinians have died in fighting in the West Bank since the weekend.

In a new tactic, Israel is warning civilians to evacuate whole Gaza neighborhoods, rather than just individual buildings, then leveling large swaths in waves of airstrikes.

Israel’s tone has changed as well. In past conflicts, its military insisted on the precision of strikes in Gaza, trying to ward off criticism over civilian deaths. This time, military briefings emphasize the destruction being wreaked.

Even with the evacuation warnings, Palestinians say some are unable to escape or have nowhere to go, and that entire families have been crushed under rubble.

Other times, strikes come with no notice, survivors say.

“There was no warning or anything,” said Hashem Abu Manea, 58, who lost his 15-year-old daughter, Joanna, when a strike late Tuesday leveled his home in Gaza City.

The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 189 soldiers, have been killed in Israel, a staggering toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria that lasted weeks.

Israel says roughly 1,500 Hamas militants were killed inside Israel, and that hundreds of the dead inside Gaza are Hamas members.

September was the third consecutive month during which Malta International Airport saw more than 800,000 passengers, the MIA said in a statement. Traffic for September totalled 812,176 passenger movements, translating into an increase of 6.5 per cent over 2019 figures.

This growth was registered on the back of an increase of 3.0 per cent in seat capacity compared to 2019. Despite this increase, at 89.2 per cent, the monthly seat load factor (SLF) remained high, indicating that travel demand did not wane.

 There were no surprises in the top five markets, with Italy remaining at the top, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain. Cumulatively, the top five markets accounted for 66 per cent of September’s total traffic.

While Italy (+48.7 per cent) and France (+46.4 per cent) registered significant growth over 2019, the United Kingdom (-19.1 per cent) and Germany (-23.8 per cent) fared worse than they had in 2019, and Spain registered a minimal drop of 0.1%.

WINTER (NOVEMBER 23 - MARCH 24) FLIGHT SCHEDULE

October is the last summer month for the aviation industry, and Malta International Airport has just published its new flight schedule for the upcoming winter season here. The schedule features direct flights to 30 different markets, and several already-popular routes, including Vienna, Marseille, Edinburgh, Warsaw and Zagreb, will benefit from increased flight frequencies.

Air Malta has engaged a consultancy firm based in Abu Dhabi, paying them €200,000 per month, as the government transitions from closing down the airline, and launching a new national airline in its stead.

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana tabled the contract with Knighthood Global in Parliament on Wednesday, in reply to a parliamentary question made by PN MP Paula Mifsud Bonnici, where she asked about the services the company is giving to Air Malta.

Caruana said that Knighthood Global is a global consultancy firm specialised in aviation, and that it was engaged on a temporary contract to provide financial and strategic advice.

The company is assisting the airline’s management in the implementation of the new business plan of the new airline and was also providing a person with experience in the aviation sector in a temporary role.

The contract was signed in June 2022 by Knighthood Global executive chairman James Hogan and Air Malta chairman David Curmi. It was extended in January and signed by Knighthood’s CEO James Rigney. It expires at the end of 2023.

Knighthood Global has been tasked with, according to the tabled contract, ensuring economic discontinuity between the old and new airline, supporting discussions with the European Commission, help with the formulation of a five-year business plan, supporting the development of a network and fleet plan, review the funding required by the new airline, developing a communications strategy, changing work practices to bring them in line with industry standards and configuring a finance accounting system.

The news comes after government decided to shut down Air Malta in favour of a new national airline, after the company had been losing millions for decades. Discussions with the European Commission resulted with a refusal to accept a government request for fresh state aid for the carrier.

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.

The lawyer representing the heirs of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia emphasised the gulf in resources between the slain journalist and the State funded Egrant inquiry.

Lawyer Therese Comodini Cachia made submissions this morning in the human rights case filed by the family, who are arguing they cannot prepare a defence against an ongoing libel case filed by former prime minister Joseph Muscat against the slain journalist, because only she knew the names of her sources.

Comodini Cachia told Madam Justice Miriam Hayman that Caruana Galizia had multiple sources for her Egrant story, because she followed the rules of responsible journalism.

“In this case Muscat is resting on evidence that was gathered in a million-euro investigation and which the defendant, not having a million euro to spend, relied on the rules of responsible journalism. This causes prejudice to the defendants,” the lawyer said.

Comodini Cachia stressed that Caruana Galizia’s assessment of the evidence that she had access to could not be compared to that gathered in the lengthy magisterial inquiry, which cost millions and utilised resources that were not available to the journalist.

“If the source reveals herself, that is the source’s decision, but responsible journalism does not rely on a single source,” Comodini Cachia argued.

One of the lawyers representing the State Advocate dictated a note to the court, arguing the untimeliness of the constitutional case and the plaintiffs’ failure to exhaust ordinary legal remedies before filing the constitutional case.

Lawyers Pawlu Lia and Charlon Gouder, appearing for the Muscats, seconded the State Advocate's submissions and asked that the court give a decision as to whether a deceased person can be a party to judicial proceedings, and not the heirs.

“This is a case per excellence where the other party is admitting that they have an ordinary remedy,” Lia said.

The judge asked what they considered to be the ordinary remedy that should have been exhausted.

“There is already an ongoing case today,” Lia said. “The present plaintiffs were not the original plaintiffs, but joined at a later stage and are insisting on certain pleas. They intended to summons a particular witness, but for some reason could not, after that the applicant and his son testified...”

“What is the remedy?” repeated the judge.

“They are saying there was no fair hearing,” Lia replied. “We are before a constitutional court, that is presumably impartial. What is the point of the constitutional case? The other case is still ongoing after the plaintiffs substituted themselves into the position of the defendant. So, they have a remedy.”

State Advocate lawyer Maurizio Cordina added that the libel case is still ongoing and the parties to it also still have the opportunity to appeal an unfavourable outcome.

Comodini Cachia replied that the point of filing the constitutional case was that the applicants are facing allegations before another court but are precluded from exhibiting evidence in their defence.

“The personality of the person murdered is a particular one. All information about her sources died with her. Even if still alive, she would have to protect her sources. Luckily, Daphne Caruana Galizia was diligent enough to immediately file a reply to the libel and, in fact, was murdered three days later. As the heirs are obliged to have the acts transferred on to them, they are in a position where they cannot bring this evidence because they don’t know who these sources are and still have an obligation to protect them.

“It is not a case of winning or losing a libel, but the magistrate hearing the libel needs to hear evidence which I cannot produce. Am I supposed to summons every Tom, Dick and Harry and ask them 'are you the source?'?” Comodini Cachia said, adding that if the Muscats suspected someone, “they can summons them themselves.”

The lawyer explained that she needed this witness to testify about how Caruana Galizia protected her sources.

Lia hit back, telling the judge that Caruana Galizia had testified before the Egrant inquiry three times “and was obliged to say everything she knew and so she did.”

“The source she indicated was [Maria] Efimova and [then magistrate] Aaron Bugeja reached his conclusions.”

Efimova subsequently fled Malta and could not be produced as a witness.

“Are we saying that every case where the defendants cannot bring their witnesses because someone is abroad should be decided in their favour?”

The inquiry had already been exhibited in the libel case in digital form, Lia said, adding it was also published by the AG and is available in the newspapers and so must be physically exhibited in this case.

Before adjourning the case to December, the judge ordered that the legal copy of the libel proceedings exhibited in the constitutional case must also include “every exhibit and annex in any format.”

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

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.

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.

annastewart99 posted a photo:

annastewart99 posted a photo:

feliciaolney posted a photo:

garydhiggins posted a photo:

garydhiggins posted a photo:

gatek67 posted a photo:

gatek67 posted a photo:

gatek67 posted a photo:

gatek67 posted a photo:

gatek67 posted a photo:

gatek67 posted a photo:

gatek67 posted a photo:

gatek67 posted a photo: