News

Ruling conservatives win Croatia election

The Croatian Democratic Union won parliamentary elections on Wednesday, however they will need support from the far right to stay in power. Croatia's governing conservatives won a sharply competitive election…

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Jurors selected for Trump historic criminal trial

Lawyers in Donald Trump's historic criminal trial on Thursday selected 12 jurors who will assess his guilt or innocence over the coming weeks in a case stemming from a hush-money…

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US blocks UN resolution on granting Palestine full membership

The United States blocked a widely endorsed U.N. resolution that aimed to facilitate Palestine's full membership in the United Nations, a goal long pursued by Palestinians but opposed by Israel.…

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Modi seeks third term in India’s election

India’s Hindu nationalist leader Narendra Modi is set to win his third term in a row as prime minister, Rupam Jain and Krishna N. Das report. Virtually all opinion polls say the 73-year-old will become the…

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Malta News Briefing – Friday 19 April 2024

Single Market should consider smaller states' needs - PM Prime Minister Robert Abela stressed at an EU leaders' meeting that the Single Market should not be uniform and should factor…

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What caused Dubai floods? Experts cite climate change, not cloud seeding

A storm hit the United Arab Emirates and Oman this week bringing record rainfall that flooded highways, inundated houses, grid-locked traffic and trapped people in their homes. At least 20…

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Ukrainian prime minister cautions of third world war if Ukraine loses war

Speaking to the BBC, the Ukrainian prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, warned of the possibility of a third world war. Addressing the issue of US security assistance, he said: “We need…

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EU leaders to hear shake-up needed to match global rivals

European Union leaders will hear on Thursday how the bloc could act to catch up to the United States, China and other rivals in a global race in new green…

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Poland’s president becomes the latest leader to visit Donald Trump as allies eye a possible return

Former President Donald Trump met Wednesday in New York with Polish President Andrzej Duda, the latest in a series of meetings with foreign leaders as Europe braces for the possibility…

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Germany arrests two for alleged military sabotage plot on behalf of Russia

Two German-Russian nationals have been arrested in Germany on suspicion of plotting sabotage attacks, including on U.S. military facilities, in an effort to undermine military support for Ukraine, prosecutors said…

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Biden says uncle shot down over area populated by cannibals in World War Two

President Joe Biden raised the possibility that an uncle who served in the Pacific campaign during World War Two might have fallen victim to cannibals after his plane was shot…

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Germany sending more anti-air missiles to Ukraine helps, but EU must do more, Zelenskiy says

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday said Germany's recent push to send more Patriot air defence missiles - a key need in the country's war against Russia - were helpful,…

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National defense to be compulsory subject in Latvian schools

From September this year, national defense will be a compulsory subject in schools, according to the amendments to the general secondary education standard approved by the government on Tuesday April 16.…

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Netanyahu insists: Israel will defend itself

Israel will make its own decisions about how to defend itself, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, as Western countries pleaded for restraint in responding to a volley of…

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Dubai airport chaos as UAE and Oman reel from deadly storms

Heavy rain has continued to batter Gulf states, causing deadly flash floods and disrupting flights at the world's second-busiest airport. Dubai International Airport warned of "very challenging conditions" and advised…

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UN Security Council to vote Friday on Palestinian UN membership

The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to vote Friday on a Palestinian request for full U.N. membership, said diplomats, a move that Israel ally the United States is expected…

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Croatian ruling party wins election without majority

Croatia's ruling HDZ party won Wednesday's parliamentary election but with fewer seats than before and without a majority, according to preliminary results. The HDZ was won 60 seats in the…

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Malta News Briefing – Thursday 18 April 2024

Morning Briefing Government proposes to cut the time crimes are shown on conduct sheets The government is proposing that individuals imprisoned for various offences would have their records expunged in…

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International police operation, including Malta’s, bust global cyber gang accused of industrial-scale fraud

Law enforcement from 19 countries, including Malta, severely disrupted one of the world’s largest phishing-as-a-service platform, known as LabHost. This year-long operation, coordinated at the international level by Europol, resulted…

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Slovakia will not implement new EU migration rules

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico refused to implement the European Union's new migration system in his country, a sign that tensions around the matter are set to remain high despite…

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Dutch deliver three more F-16s for training Ukrainian pilots in Romania

The Netherlands on Wednesday will hand over another three F-16 fighter jets to a training facility in Romania, where Ukrainian pilots and ground staff are being taught how to fly…

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Iranian army chief commander warns of “regret-inducing response”

Iranian army chief commander, Maj Gen Abdolrahim Mousavi, has said that any aggression against Iran’s interests will be met with a “firm and regret-inducing response”. “We are ready to fight…

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Bavaria bans smoking cannabis at Oktoberfest beer festival

Authorities in Germany's southeastern state of Bavaria announced that they will ban smoking cannabis at the popular Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich. It comes after Germany's federal government partially legalized marijuana for…

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Messina bridge work to start by summer

Work on the Messina Bridge linking Sicily to mainland Italy will start this summer, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini said Wednesday after the environment ministry on Tuesday asked the…

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Croatia votes in popularity test for the long-ruling HDZ

Croats cast their votes on Wednesday in a parliamentary vote that will test the popularity of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and his ruling conservative HDZ party, accused by opponents of…

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Powerful earthquake hits South Australia

A magnitude-4.1 earthquake has struck Jamestown in South Australia's Mid North, with the tremor felt as far south as Adelaide, about 200 kilometres away. The quake hit an area north-east…

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US and allies plan more Iran sanctions; Israel war cabinet to meet again

The U.S. and its allies planned fresh sanctions against Iran over its unprecedented attack on Israel, seeking to dissuade Israel from a major escalation as its war cabinet was set…

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Putin tells the Middle East to pull back from a catastrophic clash

Russian President Vladimir Putin urged all sides in the Middle East to refrain from action that would trigger a new confrontation which he warned would be fraught with catastrophic consequences…

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British MPs back smoking ban for those born after 2009

British MPs have backed a plan to ban anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes, effectively ensuring it will become law. The measures, championed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, survived…

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Myanmar’s detained ex-leader Suu Kyi moved to house arrest

Myanmar's detained former leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, a spokesperson for the military government told media. "Since the weather…

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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy signs new army draft law to reinforce exhausted troops

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has signed into law a bill overhauling army mobilisation rules, according to the parliamentary website, as Ukraine seeks to address acute troop shortages in its fight against…

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Malta News Briefing – Wednesday 17 April 2024

Morning Briefing Court expert could not identify who tampered with car odometers A digital forensics expert assigned to investigate odometer tampering in imported Japanese used cars testified that he could…

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Microsoft to invest $1.5 billion in Emirati AI firm G42 for minority stake

Microsoft is investing $1.5 billion in United Arab Emirates-based artificial intelligence firm G42, giving the U.S. giant a minority stake and a board seat, allowing the two to deepen ties…

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Armenia asks World Court to pursue ethnic cleansing case against Azerbaijan

Armenia on Tuesday urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hold Azerbaijan responsible for what it said was the ethnic cleansing of Armenians from the Nagorno-Karabakh region. "After threatening…

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China’s foreign minister says Iran able to ‘handle situation’ and spare Middle East more tension

China said it believed Iran could "handle the situation well and spare the region further turmoil" while safeguarding its sovereignty and dignity, referring to an attack on Iran's embassy in…

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Ukraine says says it ‘ran out of missiles’ to stop Russian strike on power plant

A lack of air defense missiles prevented Ukraine from thwarting a Russian missile attack last week that destroyed the biggest power plant in the region around the capital Kyiv, President…

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Israel pushing for more sanctions against Iran

Israel's foreign minister said on Tuesday he was urging countries to place sanctions on Iran's missile programme and proscribe its Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation after Iran's first-ever…

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Technical outage crippled Dutch air traffic for hours

Dutch airspace was almost completely closed for nearly three hours late on Monday and early on Tuesday due to a technical outage of air traffic control systems, local authorities said.…

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UPDATED: Copenhagen’s historic stock exchange in flames

Denmark's historic old stock exchange building in the centre of Copenhagen has been engulfed by fire. The 17th Century Børsen is one of the city's oldest buildings and onlookers gasped…

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UNHCR warns Sudanese refugees may head to Europe if aid not provided

The United Nations refugee chief said on Friday that Sudanese refugees could be making their way to Europe if humanitarian aid was not adequately provided to the people of the…

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Italy on maximum alert after Iran’s attacks on Israel

Italian Interior Ministry sources, quoted by Italian national news agency ANSA, said after a national public safety and security committee meeting in the wake of Iran's attack on Israel that…

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Portuguese PM not as keen as Spain’s leader on Palestine statehood

Portugal's new prime minister told his Spanish counterpart his country will "not go as far" as Spain in its plan to recognise a Palestinian state without a concerted European Union…

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Liz Truss endorses Donald Trump to win US presidential election

Liz Truss has endorsed Donald Trump to win this year's US presidential election, saying the "world was safer" when he was in the White House. The UK's shortest-serving prime minster…

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Israeli military vows response to Iran attack

Israelis awaited word on how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would respond to Iran's first-ever direct attack as international pressure for restraint grew amid fears of an escalation of the conflict…

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Jury selection under way in historic Trump criminal trial

The judge in Donald Trump's trial dismissed dozens of potential New York City jurors on Monday who said they could not fairly decide whether the 2024 Republican presidential candidate illegally…

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Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 16 April 2024

Morning Briefing Government appeals NBM decision, says shares had no value The government has lodged an appeal against court rulings instructing it to compensate shareholders of the now-defunct National Bank…

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In a historic first, Trump’s criminal hush money trial kicks off in New York

Donald Trump arrived at a Manhattan court for a historic criminal trial stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star that could keep him in court for weeks and complicate…

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WATCH: Lawmakers brawl as Georgian parliament considers ‘foreign agent’ bill

Georgian lawmakers came to blows in parliament on Monday as ruling party legislators looked set to advance a controversial bill on "foreign agents" that has been criticised by Western countries…

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NATO expert says Israel will see Iran attack as an ‘act of war’

Former NATO analyst Dr. Patrick Bury spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live regarding Iran's drone and missile attacks on Israel over the weekend. According to Bury, Israel typically responds to…

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UPDATED: Australia says Assyrian church stabbing was terrorist act

Australian police said a knife attack on an Assyrian church bishop and some followers in Sydney was a terrorist act motivated by suspected religious extremism, as the country reeled from…

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Iran warns of bigger attack if Israel retaliates, Israel’s war cabinet convened

CNN reports that Israel's war cabinet will meet today at 2:00 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET) to discuss its response to Iran's unprecedented attack on Saturday night, an Israeli official has…

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Sustainability Practices…. In Practice

Three Maltese Companies Who Are Walking The Talk Green Marketing promotes genuine environmentally friendly products and practices. Then there is ‘greenwashing’ - an over-marketing of green initiatives and deceptive tactics…

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Malta, Ireland and Cyprus Demand Fair Treatment in EU Transport Policy Overhaul

The Association of Tractors and Trailer Operators (ATTO), the Malta Chamber, the Malta Business Bureau, the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) and the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry are…

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EU marks anniversary of Sudan war with funding push

Top diplomats from the European Union were set to push for more funding for Sudan on Monday at a meeting in Paris to mark the first anniversary of a war…

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The Sofia Public Inquiry Report – “A landmark event with serious lessons to be learnt”

by DAVID FABRI LL.D., Ph.D. (Melit) “…standards of regulators and regulation in Malta have generally plummeted. No amount of conferences, optimistic sound bites and vague roadmaps will easily resolve what is…

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U.S. news organisations urge Biden, Trump to commit to debates

A dozen leading U.S. news organisations collectively urged U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Sunday to publicly commit to debating each other during the run-up to…

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Expectations On Financial Sector’s Resilience To ICT Risk

“Digital transformation is essential and provides opportunities for the financial services sector and consumers alike. Its fast and nonrhythmic pace needs to be embraced with an open mind, but adaptation…

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