Pope Francis in Malta today/ Malta News Briefing – Saturday 2 April 2022
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Pope lands in Malta today
Pope Francis will land at Malta’s international airport on Saturday morning at around 10am and, after the welcome ceremony, will head to the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta. The speech in the Great Council Hall to the Maltese authorities and the diplomatic corps will close the first part of the day which, after a stop at the Apostolic Nunciature, will continue with a visit to the Marian shrine of Ta’ Pinu in Gozo. Tomorrow he will celebrate Mass in front of 12,000 people at the Granaries.
Russian to be stripped of Maltese citizenship after being sanctioned by US
A person who gained Maltese citizenship through the IIP scheme will be stripped of their citizenship after the US added her to its sanctions list, saying she has ties to Russian intelligence services. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Thursday added 21 entities and 13 individuals to its sanctions list, saying they are “operators in the Russian technology sector” that helped Russia illicitly procure dual-use equipment and technology for its defence sector. (Times of Malta)
Casual elections scheduled for Thursday and Friday
Casual elections to fill seats vacated by Labour MPs elected on two districts will be held on Thursday 7 April, Chief Electoral Commissioner Joseph Camilleri said. Nationalist MPs elected on two districts notified the Speaker on Friday morning, which seats they will vacate and the casual elections are expected on Friday 8 April. (Maltatoday)
Covid-19 update: Malta has recorded 659 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths, according to public health data published on an online repository. It marks a slight dip on the 760 cases reported the previous day, which had been an 11-week high.
