News

Hungary’s anti-corruption authority wants stronger powers for prosecutions

Hungary's anti-corruption body, tasked with stamping out fraud in the spending of billions of euros of European Union funds, has requested greater powers including for prosecutions, raids and sanctions, a…

Read More Here

Good governance is a priority for the MDB and the NAO

The MDB Chairman Mr Leo Brincat welcomed the Auditor General Mr Charles Deguara and the Deputy Auditor General Mr Noel Camilleri, at the MDB offices, stating that the bond that…

Read More Here

EU ready to make ‘full use’ of trade defence tools against China, von der Leyen warns Xi

European Commission chief von der Leyen issued a strong warning on CHina, stating that the European Union is prepared to take decisive action against its aggressive trade practices. This comes…

Read More Here

UK’s Lib Dems to submit motion of no-confidence in Rishi Sunak’s government

Britain's Liberal Democrat party said that it would submit a parliamentary motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government to try to force a June general election after…

Read More Here

Israel rejects ceasefire deal, talks continue

Israel has rejected a ceasefire deal with Hamas with one official criticising it as 'watered-down'. According to a copy of the proposal that Hamas says it has agreed to, there will be…

Read More Here

Falklands dispute may last decades – Argentina president

Argentina’s President Javier Milei has acknowledges that the Falkland Islands are currently under UK control. In an interview with the BBC, the right-wing leader expressed his intention to pursue diplomatic…

Read More Here

Ukraine accuses Russia of ‘nuclear blackmail’ over weapons drills

Ukraine’s military spy agency spokesperson has expressed anger at Russia’s recent announcement of tactical nuclear drills as part of its ongoing nuclear coercion tactics. Andriy Yusov stated on Monday that…

Read More Here

Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 7 May 2024

Morning Briefing PN wants immediate publication of Vitals inquiry Opposition leader Bernard Grech has urged the Attorney General to provide him with a copy of the hospitals inquiry report, highlighting…

Read More Here

Belgian ship joins EU Aspides mission in Red Sea

The Belgian frigate Louise-Marie has joined the European operation Aspides in the Red Sea. The Louise-Marie will participate in the Aspides mission for “just over five weeks” before moving onto…

Read More Here

Mladic defence seeks his release to Serbia on health grounds

Defence lawyers for Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, who is serving a life sentence for his role in the bloody 1992-95 war in Bosnia, are seeking his urgent release to…

Read More Here

Finland is stockpiling military equipment in Norway and Sweden

Finland has started storing military equipment in neighbouring Norway and will soon begin doing the same in Sweden, the Financial Times has reported. Lieutenant General Mikko Heiskanen, deputy chief of…

Read More Here

Hezbollah says its drone hits northern Israeli town, casualties reported

Hezbollah said on Monday it carried out a drone attack on an Israeli military position near the northern Israeli town of Metula that left several dead and injured. Israel's military…

Read More Here

Scholz pledges Germany’s steadfast backing for the Baltic states

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Berlin is firm in its resolve to defend the Baltic states against Russian aggression. His comments came on a visit to Lithuania, where German troops…

Read More Here

Updated – Malta News Briefing – Monday 6 May 2024

Updated 1300 National Bank shareholders want €1.4 billion in compensation Shareholders of the former National Bankof Malta are seeking €1.4 billion in compensation, challenging a court decision that awarded them…

Read More Here

Single-sex toilets mandatory in new bars, restaurants and offices in England under proposed laws

Single-sex toilets are set to become a legal requirement for all new bars, restaurants, offices and shopping centres under new laws proposed by the government. Self-contained toilets for both sexes…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Russia to practice tactical nuclear weapon scenario to deter West

Russia on Monday said it would hold a military exercise that will include practice for the use of tactical nuclear weapons after what the defence ministry said were provocative threats…

Read More Here

Italy calls for Ukraine truce, peace talks with Putin

Italy's Defence Minister said on Monday economic sanctions against Russia had failed and called on the West to try harder to negotiate a diplomatic solution with President Vladimir Putin to…

Read More Here

Condemnation and concern in Germany after a series of assaults on politicians

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Union leaders denounced on Saturday a recent spate of attacks on politicians in Germany, including one that sent a member of the European Parliament…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Israel begins evacuating part of Rafah, Hamas decries ‘dangerous escalation’

Israel told Palestinians to evacuate parts of Rafah on Monday in what appeared to be preparation for a long-threatened assault on Hamas holdouts in the southern Gaza city where more…

Read More Here

Moscow blames Baltic states ‘confrontational’ actions

Moscow is determined to respond to what it labelled as confrontational actions by Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia with asymmetric measures. Russia blamed the "hostility" of Baltic states for them severing…

Read More Here

05

May

Israel shuts Al Jazeera’s transmissions

Netanyahu announced that the government had "unanimously decided: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel". The announcement came through X. The order is initially valid for 45…

Read More Here

17-year-old admits attack on German EP

A 17-year-old has turned himself in to police in the German state of Saxony, after an attack left a center-left member of the European Parliament in need of surgery, according…

Read More Here

Italy won’t send soldiers to Ukraine – Tajani

The Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that his country will not send soldiers to Ukraine after French President Emmanuel Macron said NATO should send ground troops if the Russian…

Read More Here

Over 220 persons die from floods in Kenya

The number of people killed by flooding and other impacts of the heavy rains battering Kenya has risen to 228, the interior ministry said on Sunday. The torrential rains that have…

Read More Here

Malta News Briefing – Sunday 5 May 2024

UPDATE: Who is the establishment? Both party leaders refer to the 'establishment' in their Sunday speeches Prime Minister Robert Abela said that the people in Malta's south know exactly who…

Read More Here

Intelligence shows Russia is plotting sabotage across Europe – FT

The Financial Times reports that according to a number European intelligence agencies warned their governments that Russia is plotting what it calls "violent acts of sabotage" across the continent as…

Read More Here

Zelenskyy added to Russia’s wanted list

Russian news agencies on Saturday reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been added to a Kremlin wanted list. Though the Russian Interior Ministry provided no details about the charges leveled against Zelenskyy, it said that…

Read More Here

UPDATE: Talks resume for difficult truce in Gaza’s war

Update: The families of Israeli captives in Gaza have urged Netanyahu to ignore political pressure and secure a deal that would bring their relatives home, according to the Channel Seven…

Read More Here

War’s new territory – GPS jamming for aircraft

Several NATO members accuse Moscow of deliberately jamming positioning signals in the Baltic. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, GPS interference has been recurring in Estonia, Latvia and…

Read More Here

Sadiq Khan wins landmark third term as mayor of London

Labour's Sadiq Khan has won a landmark third successive term as mayor of London. Khan, who was first elected in May 2016, beat his Conservative rival Susan Hall by more…

Read More Here

German EP ‘seriously injured’ in Dresden assault

POLITICO reports that a leading Socialist member of the European Parliament was left ‘seriously injured’ and in need of surgery after being attacked by a group of four young men…

Read More Here

Village of Ocheretyne decimated in clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces

Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces has decimated the village of Ocheretyne in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Drone footage obtained by AP shows most houses and apartment buildings in Ocheretyne damaged…

Read More Here

Northern Gaza in full-blown famine – WFP

A further 54 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces between Wednesday and Friday afternoon in the Gaza Strip and more than 100 were injured, according to the latest UN flash assessment, which…

Read More Here

UK’s Boris Johnson, who introduced voter ID rule, forgets his while voting

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson, who introduced a contentious requirement for voters to show photo ID while voting, was turned away from a polling station on Thursday for forgetting…

Read More Here

Malta News Briefing – Saturday 4 May 2024

Morning Briefing Former PM requests questioning by Police Commissioner on Vitals scandal Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has reached out to Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa, requesting to be summoned for…

Read More Here

Russian defence minister says Russian troops captured 547 sq km of Ukrainian territory this year

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday that Russian troops had captured 547 sq km of territory in Ukraine this year. Shoigu said Ukrainian forces were retreating all along…

Read More Here

Skeletons missing hands and feet found in Hitler’s Wolf’s Lair

Five human skeletons - all missing their hands and feet - have been discovered at Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s eastern front military headquarters in present-day Poland, buried inside the villa…

Read More Here

Malta News Briefing – Friday 3 May 2024

Updated 1300 MDA reports 14% increase in value of promise of sale agreements in April The Malta DevelopersAssociation (MDA) reported a notable 14% increase in the value of promised property…

Read More Here

Germany: Births, marriages hit lowest level since 2013

The number of births and weddings in Germany last year fell to its lowest level in years, according to preliminary figures released by the Federal Statistics Office, known as Destatis.…

Read More Here

Cameron: Ukraine has ‘right’ to strike Russia using British-supplied weapons

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron was in Kyiv Thursday, where he promised £3bn of annual military aid for Ukraine for "as long as it takes". He added Ukraine had a right…

Read More Here

US battalion to stay in Lithuania indefinitely

Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas, who is on a visit to the US, says he has been assured that the American battalion in Lithuania will stay in the country indefinitely,…

Read More Here

Israel confirms death of hostage held in Gaza

An Israeli man held hostage in Gaza since the 7 October Hamas attack has been confirmed dead, the government said Friday. Dror Or, 49, was killed and his body was…

Read More Here

Israel issues Sweden Eurovision travel warning amid planned protests

By Jacob Gronholt-pedersen Planned protests against Israel taking part in this year's Eurovision Song Contest have made members of the Jewish community in Swedish host city Malmo anxious and prompted…

Read More Here

Russian troops enter base housing US military in Niger

Russian military personnel have entered an air base in Niger that is hosting U.S. troops, a senior U.S. defense told Reuters, a move that follows a decision by Niger's junta…

Read More Here

Ukraine may have talks eventually with Russia, intelligence officer says

Ukraine will at some point have to enter into talks with Russia to bring an end to their more than two-year-old war, a senior Ukrainian intelligence official said in an…

Read More Here

EU, US urge Georgia to halt ‘foreign agents’ bill as protests continue

The European Union and U.S. condemned legislation making its way through Georgia's parliament on "foreign agents" and thousands of protesters snarled traffic in the capital with a peaceful protest against…

Read More Here

Taiwan says Chinese planes crossed median line, China carries out landing drills

Taiwan's defence ministry said on Friday it had detected a renewed incursion by Chinese military aircraft across the sensitive Taiwan Strait, as China reported its navy had carried out combat…

Read More Here

Macron reaffirms possibility of sending troops to Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed he did not rule out sending troops to Ukraine, saying the issue would "legitimately" arise if Russia broke through Ukrainian front lines and Kyiv made…

Read More Here

Turkey halts all trade with Israel

Turkey stopped all exports and imports to and from Israel as of Thursday, the Turkish trade ministry said, citing "worsening humanitarian tragedy" in the Palestinian territories. "Export and import transactions…

Read More Here

UPDATED: UK’s Labour claim big early win over PM Sunak’s Conservatives

Britain's opposition Labour Party won a parliamentary seat in northern England on Friday, inflicting a heavy loss on the governing Conservatives at the start of what could be a bruising…

Read More Here

How historic Valletta aims to hit net zero by cutting pollution from cruise ships and cars

By Ben Payton Few European cities can match Valletta for architectural splendour. The capital of Malta was built in the 16th century by the Knights of St John, the Catholic…

Read More Here

Updated – Malta News Briefing – Thursday 2 May 2024

Updated 1300 Charles Michel on shipping tax's impact: Look at how much EU has helped Malta European Councilpresident Charles Michel addressed concerns regarding the impact of a new EU shipping…

Read More Here

Switzerland says Russia not invited ‘at this stage’ to Ukraine peace talks

The Swiss government said on Thursday that "at this stage" Russia is not among the 160 delegations invited to talks to be held in Switzerland in mid-June aimed at helping…

Read More Here

UK begins detaining migrants set to be deported to Rwanda

British authorities have started to detain migrants in preparation for them to be sent to Rwanda in the next nine to 11 weeks, the government said, laying the groundwork for…

Read More Here

US official urges China, Russia to declare only humans, not AI, control nuclear weapons

A senior U.S. official on Thursday urged China and Russia to match declarations by the United States and others that only humans, and never artificial intelligence, would make decisions on…

Read More Here

Kenya flood toll rises to 181 as homes and roads are destroyed

Floods and landslides across Kenya have killed 181 people since March, with hundreds of thousands forced to leave their homes, the government and Red Cross said, as dozens more were…

Read More Here

Russia breached global chemical weapons ban in Ukraine war, US says

The United States accused Russia of violating the international chemical weapons ban by deploying the choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops and using riot control agents "as a method of…

Read More Here