An emergency diesel power plant is set to begin operations if any of Malta’s primary energy sources fail, Enemalta executive chairman Ryan Fava announced on Tuesday. The installation of the 60-megawatt diesel-powered generation plant was completed on Monday. Costing taxpayers €37 million, the plant is expected to remain in use until a second undersea interconnector connecting Malta to the European power grid is finished, a project anticipated to be completed by late 2026 or early 2027. (Times of Malta)
US not satisfied with Malta’s efforts on human trafficking
The recent arrests of an organised crime ring involved in human trafficking followed yet another downgrade by the United States government regarding Malta’s efforts to meet minimum standards for combating trafficking. Malta remains on the U.S. Department of State’s ‘Tier 2 Watch List’ in its 2023 annual report—a position it has held since 2012. The report once again concluded that, despite “significant efforts,” the government is still falling short of the minimum anti-trafficking standards. The U.S. report says sex traffickers exploit foreign national and Maltese women and also children, and labour traffickers exploit foreign men and women. (Maltatoday)
Magistrate Agius Bonnici to lead ID-cards inquity
Magistrate Antoine Agius Bonnici has been appointed to lead an inquiry into the alleged fraudulent issuance of identity and residence cards by the state agency Identita. Former PN MP Jason Azzopardi, who requested the magisterial inquiry into the alleged racket—which Azzopardi claims involved the fraudulent issuance of over 18,000 identity cards—shared the news on his social media. Magistrate Agius Bonnici, one of the more recent appointees to the bench, was sworn in as a magistrate in January 2024, after serving as a senior lawyer in the Office of the Attorney General. (The Malta independent)_
