France

World Cup: Why Croatia can, must and will win the World Cup

FIFA.COM: The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ Final is just around the corner, as 1998 winners France prepare to face first-time finalists Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Ahead of…

Read More Here

Who will win the cup? Why France must win it? Why Croatia can? Why both will it?

Why should France or Croatia win the World Cup? Will it be France’s solidity which will beat the Croatian mental strength and character? Will it be Croatia’s miraculous collective which…

Read More Here

Sunday Morning Briefing

Good morning Wishing everyone a good Sunday. Here's our morning briefing. In an official statement, the government of Malta said that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat pledged to participate in…

Read More Here

Security tightened in France as it celebrates Bastille day and hopes for World Cup final victory

Security has been tightened ahead of a weekend that France hopes will bring back-to-back celebrations of Bastille Day on July 14 and a victory in the 2018 World Cup final,…

Read More Here

France midfielder Paul Pogba dedicates semi-final win to rescued Thai boys

Reuters: France midfielder Paul Pogba dedicated his side’s World Cup 1-0 semi-final win over Belgium to the 12 Thai boys who were rescued from a flooded cave along with their coach…

Read More Here

The Wednesday Morning Briefing

Good morning The successful rescue operation in Thailand ended successfully, highlighting a number of 'human traits' that at times are overshadowed by the dullness of other happenings around us. This…

Read More Here

World Cup : France first finalists after beating Belgium

FIFA.COM : Samuel Umtiti's headed winner has returned France to the FIFA World Cup™ Final for the third time in 20 years, sealing a 1-0 win over Belgium in Saint Petersburg.…

Read More Here

Salvini prepares for political-football mission to Russia as he indicates his hope that France won’t make it to the World Cup final

The Local: Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini says he plans to go to Moscow this weekend to combine a visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin with the World Cup final. Salvini…

Read More Here

Tuesday Morning Briefing

Good morning An eventful 36 hours for Theresa May and the UK. But not only. Trump's nomination for the Supreme Court, Libya's deal with Italy on migration and the rescue…

Read More Here

Macron unveils his Presidency’s second year plan

Euronews / Reuters: President Emmanuel Macron declared himself “humbled” by his first year of governing on Monday, but said he was determined to push ahead with his ambitious agenda and reform…

Read More Here

Russia beats France to win FIVB Nations League

FIVB: Russia brought France's brilliant run throughout the season to an abrupt end Sunday night in this northern France city, shutting out their opponents in the final, silencing the 10,000-strong…

Read More Here

Who’s the kits’ winner?

Only 4 teams are left. No one seem to put in dispute their position as top 4 teams of the World Cup. What about their shirts? Which one do you…

Read More Here

EasyJet passenger head-buts steward while being removed from flight to Mallorca

AirLive: An EasyJet passenger was pinned to the ground at Paris CDG after head-butting an air steward while being removed from a delayed flight to Mallorca. Shocking footage shows the man lying on…

Read More Here

World Cup – France vs Uruguay

Fifa.com: France won through to the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 12 years after seeing off a combative Uruguay side that struggled in the absence of the injured…

Read More Here

‘Le Spider-Man’ who saved young boy in Paris has his first day in city’s Fire Brigade

The Mali immigrant dubbed “Le Spider-Man,” who saved a young boy dangling from a Paris balcony in May, just had his first day on the job with the city’s Fire…

Read More Here

Monday Morning Briefing

Good morning The human, the diplomatic and the political impact of migration dominate the latest developments reported in our Morning Briefing. German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has confirmed his offer…

Read More Here

Notorious French criminal escapes from prison in Paris by helicopter

France 24: A notorious career thief who was once France's most-wanted man pulled off a daring jailbreak on Sunday, fleeing a prison in the Paris area by helicopter, officials said. Redoine…

Read More Here

Trump suggests ‘France should leave the EU’ to Macron

The Independent (UK) Donald Trump suggested to Emmanuel Macron he should pull France out of the European Union to get a better trade deal with the US, according to reports. The outlandish proposal came in a private meeting during…

Read More Here

Sunday Morning Briefing

Good morning Sunday's morning briefing follows. Spain said that Barcelona will be the docking port for an aid boat that rescued 60 migrants in waters near Libya but was not…

Read More Here

World Cup: France 4 Argentina 3

France 4 vs Argentina 3 In the first of the Round of 16 encounters at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, France defeated Argentina 4-3 in a spectacular game to…

Read More Here

France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States state that Libyan vital oil resources should remain under exclusive control of National Oil Corporation

Libya Observer: France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States have issued a joint statement demanding keeping the Libyan vital oil resources, facilities and terminals under the exclusive control of…

Read More Here

Friday Morning Briefing

Good morning, Our morning briefing for Friday 29th June follows: News about an agreement between European Leaders on migration during the European Council meeting broke at dawn. It was…

Read More Here

French government plan to bring back national service

BBC: The French government has introduced a plan to bring back national service for all 16-year-olds. It was an idea put forward by Emmanuel Macron in his presidential campaign, to…

Read More Here

Thursday’s Morning Briefing

Good morning, The arrival of MV Lifeline in Malta, the agreement for a Putin-Trump summit and the elimination of Germany from the World Cup are among the most salient news…

Read More Here

INSIGHT: Italy vs France – How oil interests and territorial control are fuelling the migration disputes and stand offs

Il Fatto Quotidiano reports that it is not all as it seems in the very tough clash between Italy and France, between Matteo Salvini and Emmanuel Macron on immigration; a real diplomatic…

Read More Here

Wednesday’s Morning Briefing

Good morning, Here is our Wednesday's morning briefing. The Malta Independent and The Times report the latest developments about the MV Lifeline. The Independent focuses on the fact Malta yesterday signalled its willingness…

Read More Here

Macron and Conte meet to defuse tension between the two over immigration

A report on Financial Times says that Giuseppe Conte and Emmanuel Macron held an unscheduled dinner this week to defuse tension over immigration — the issue convulsing European politics and which threatens…

Read More Here

French butchers issue plea for police protection against vegans

The Telegraph / EuroNews French butchers have issued a plea for police protection against vegans, whom they blame for a series of attacks designed to “spread terror” among meat-lovers. The butchers…

Read More Here

Eu Migration Summit

An emergency mini summit Sunday of EU leaders seeking a common solution on migration yielded a breakthrough, of sorts: a general agreement to stop seeking an overall, common solution. It…

Read More Here

Sunday Morning Briefing

Good morning, Our Morning Briefing follows. We start off highlighting comments given by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat that"Malta will stick to its position on migration" Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said…

Read More Here

Macron in favour of sanctions against EU countries which refuse to accept migrants

France 24: French President Emmanuel Macron came out Saturday in support of financial sanctions against EU countries which refuse to accept migrants. "We can not have countries that benefit hugely from EU solidarity…

Read More Here

France’s and Germany’s proposal for common eurozone budget faces resistance from other countries

The Financial Times reports that France and Germany are facing a growing backlash from other Eurozone governments against their plans for a common eurozone budget, dealing a blow to the two countries’…

Read More Here

Italy’s government in fresh rows with France and Spain

A new day, a new controversy. Italy said it will seize two migrant rescue ships in the Mediterranean, amid a deepening row over migrants. Two German NGO ships carrying migrants…

Read More Here

World Cup Round Up Day 8

Denmark 1 Australia 1 Denmark and Australia played in an evenly-fought, intense contest, ending in a 1-1 draw in their second match in Group C at the 2018 FIFA World…

Read More Here

French President gives youth a lesson on how to behave with respect

France24 A floppy-haired French teenager asked, “Ca va, Manu?” (How’s it going, Manu?) to Macron as he greeted the crowds at an event to honour World War II Resistance fighters near Paris on Monday. Even before calling…

Read More Here

Asylum seeking applications in Europe down by 44% compared to 2016. Approximately 15% of asylum seekers come from Syria – EASO

The total number of asylum applications throughout all of the EU, plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, last year, was 728,470, or some 44 percent less when compared to 2016,…

Read More Here

Almost half of those rescued aboard Aquarius seek asylum

RFI: Almost half of the 630 migrants that were rescued from the Mediterranean who arrived in Spain's port of Valencia at the weekend want to seek asylum in France, the Spanish…

Read More Here

World Cup Round Up Day 3

Today's calendar reserver four matches which saw the debut of France and Argentina, amongst the favourites to proceed in the knock-out stage and the debut of Iceland in a World…

Read More Here

New Anti-Terrorist barricades around the iconic Eiffel Tower

Euronews: Paris is erecting bulletproof walls and metal fences around the Eiffel Tower in a move aimed at protecting the famous monument from terrorist attacks. Glass walls measuring 6.5 centimetres thick…

Read More Here

Saturday’s Morning Briefing – 16th June 2018

Good morning, Here's our morning briefing of the most salient news in the last hours as reported around the world. Have a good day. The Malta Independent reports that Italy’s…

Read More Here

Thursday Morning Briefing

Good morning, Here's a our morning briefing for today. The Maltese newspapers dedicate ample coverage to the Aquarius saga and Malta's position, which you can read further down. In other…

Read More Here

Diplomatic rift between Italy and France deepens

Italy postponed high-level talks with France Wednesday after Paris blasted Rome for its "nauseating" refusal to take in a migrant rescue ship, in a major diplomatic spat. Italy's new economy…

Read More Here

Wednesday’s Morning Briefing

Good morning, From Malta to Singapore, via UK; the Aquarius issue; the diplomatic rifts between Malta, Italy and France (so far), the USA-North Korea summit are some of the things…

Read More Here

Malta and France Prime Ministers discuss latest developments in the Mediterranean

Malta Today: Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Tuesday evening that he had discussed the latest developments in the Mediterranean with French President Emmanuel Macron. In a tweet, the Prime…

Read More Here

Hostage situation in Paris ends without bloodshed

The Guardian: A four-hour stand-off between an armed man who took hostages at a building in a northern district of Paris and police has ended without bloodshed. French special forces negotiated with the…

Read More Here

Italy threatens to cancel summit with France after Macron’s comments on Aquarius saga

Politico: Italy on Tuesday threatened to cancel a summit with France after Paris strongly criticized an Italian decision to close its ports to a vessel carrying more than 600 migrants, according…

Read More Here

Macron accuses Italy of “cynicism and irresponsibility”

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday accused Italy of "cynicism and irresponsibility" over its refusal to take in hundreds of migrants stranded on a rescue ship in the Mediterranean. Macron…

Read More Here

G7’s media reports show the different currents and converging points reflecting global political uncertain times

Sky News and The Guardian said that G7 countries have agreed to a "rapid and unified" response to hostile actions by Russia in the wake of the nerve agent attack in Salisbury. Sky…

Read More Here

Jerusalem Embassy Move Led to People Dying, Didn’t Promote Peace – Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that the relocation of the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem led to “people dying” and did not advance peace. At a joint press…

Read More Here

European Union, Canada and US businesses express their dismay and concern following Trump’s decision to impose trade tariffs

The Financial Times reports that European Union has vowed to respond to Donald Trump’s new tariffs with measures of its own instead of returning to the negotiating table, as transatlantic trade…

Read More Here

France’s Officier de la Légion d’honneur Presented to Joseph Bugeja, Maltese-French Chamber of Commerce President

French President Emanuel Macron has bestowed the very prestigious Officier de la Légion d’honneur to Joseph Bugeja, President of the Maltese French Chamber of Commerce. The honour was presented by the…

Read More Here

Morning Briefing – 1st June ’18

Good morning, Unfortunately today’s morning briefing starts on a sad note as all media portals in Malta report the news of a male cyclist who was killed after he was…

Read More Here

France won’t allow public screening of World Cup matches

Euronews reports that France has banned the showing of World Cup football matches in public spaces. The only exception will be then where there is adequate security. The country's interior ministry…

Read More Here

Netanyahu to meet Macron and Merkel

The Israeli's Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu will fly to Germany on June 4 to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, before traveling later that day to France for talks with…

Read More Here

JCPOA remaining partners convene after US withdrawal from Iranian Nuclear deal. They welcome the fact that the (IAEA) has again confirmed the continued adherence by Iran to its nuclear-related commitments

China, Russia, France, the UK and Germany have expressed their commitment to maintain the Iranian nuclear deal, but a solution has not yet been found on how to diffuse and…

Read More Here

France proposes 2018 elections plan to end Libya political stalemate

France has proposed an initiative to end Libya’s political impasse by holding parliamentary and presidential elections by the end of 2018 as per a United National timeline. “Political solution plus a…

Read More Here

Platini admits use of tricks to manipulate 1998 World Cup draws

Former Uefa president Michel Platini has claimed "a little trickery" was used in the 1998 World Cup draw to increase the chances of France and Brazil meeting in the final. The former…

Read More Here