Новости за 11.10.2021

Prime Minister Robert Abela on Monday refused to be drawn into speculating about a potential November election, in comments following the Budget 2022 speech.   He brushed off multiple questions about whether he would call an election several months early, after the finance minister presented the last budget of the legislature.   The prime minister said a number of months were left in the current legislature and the government’s focus was on implementing the budget. Speaking after the budget speech... Читать дальше...

The government has pledged to continue investing in new sports infrastructure as during Monday’s Budget speech it was announced two innovative projects for the Maltese sporting fraternity, namely a rowing tank and an outdoor velodrome. In his speech, Clyde Caruana, the Minister of Finance, announced that SportMalta will continue to embark on new infrastructure projects and announced that a rowing tank facility will be built. For those who are not familiar with this facility, the rowing tank is... Читать дальше...

Four Maltese are among 28 artists across multiple disciplines taking part in an international group exhibition in New York. They are Mariella Cassar-Cordina, Tricia Dawn Williams, Aaron Bezzina and Alex Camilleri. Un/mute is the culmination of an 18-month-long project that was launched in 2020 to provide European and NYC-based artists an opportunity for critical exchange and collaboration during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Curated by Daina Mattis and Melinda Wang, the exhibition is the physical... Читать дальше...

Economy No new taxes for the fifth consecutive year Additional cost-of-living increases for low-income families Tax refund cheques increased to between €60 and €140, with the highest amounts being paid out to people in lower income brackets Budget deficit to be halved to 5.6% next year as economic recovery picks up after the COVID-19 pandemic blow Tax arrears crackdown from June 1 2022 with pledge to end regular amnesties on penalties and interest on unpaid tax increased to 7.2% The cost-of-living... Читать дальше...

The 2022 budget is short-sighted and lacks any vision for the future, Opposition leader Bernard Grech said on Monday.  In his first reaction to the budget speech, Grech said it lacked foresight and left people with very little in their pockets. He admitted that there were some good measures, such as free medicines for IVF treatments, but he said the  Nationalist Party has been calling for this for months. The budget. he said, lacked a vision for important sectors such as manufacturing and financial services. Читать дальше...

The political movement of Iraq's influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr on Monday said it had retained the biggest share of seats in the country's parliament, after elections with a record low voter turnout. A Sadrist official who asked not to be named told AFP that the movement had won around 73 of the parliament's 329 seats in Sunday's election. "The people should celebrate this victory of the biggest bloc... without causing any inconvenience," Sadr, a former militia leader who opposes all foreign influence in Iraq... Читать дальше...

Corradino Correctional Facility will get its first rehabilitation centre within its boundary walls to help inmates The facility will host 140 inmates and was announced amid concerns about how prisoners with drug addiction are being treated. While prison director Colonel Alexander Dalli has frequently assured that drugs have been “eradicated” from CCF, the facility has nonetheless been plagued by scandal, from the number of inmates who have committed suicide while behind bars, to the frequent accusations of inhumane treatment. Читать дальше...

A new income tax rate of 7.5% for artists will be introduced from basis year 2022,  Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced in the budget speech on Monday.  He said that the government was introducing a package of measures to support and encourage artists, producers and promoters in the field of art and culture. Fout the purposes of income tax, a mechanism will be introduced to establish the income of artists over an average of three years. A €1 million guarantee fund will be set up for artistic... Читать дальше...

A revision to the way energy bills are calculated will allow for unused ‘cheap’ units to be saved for later use, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has announced. He said the new system will prevent consumers being faced with “surprises” on their bills at the end of the year. Caruana did not provide a timeline for the revision process.  The ARMS billing system has long been criticised for overcharging consumers. A draft report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that consumers could have... Читать дальше...

The maximum grant to buy a new electric vehicles and scrap a combustion engine car that it at least 10 years old has been increased to €12,000, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced. This amounts to an increase of €3,000 over the previous grant. As part of a policy drive to increase the use of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, Caruana said the new grants will come into effect from tomorrow.  The subsidy to purchase a new electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle without scrapping an older car has also been raised to €11,000. Читать дальше...

CYPRUS           2 Papoulis 6; Sotiriou 80  MALTA             2 Muscat 54; Degabriele 90 CYPRUS N. Michael, S. Andreou (78 I Pittas), C. Soteriou, M. Antoniades, M. Demetriou (85 P. Psaltis), G. Kastanos, C. Kyriakou (79 A. Gogic), N. Ioannou, F. Papoulis (85 N. Panagiotou), P. Sotiriou, L. Loizou (60 A, Kakoulli). MALTA H. Bonello (82 J. Galea), Z. Muscat, E. Pepe, S. Borg (57 K. Shaw), R. Camenzuli, T. Teuma, T. Caruana, C. Attard, P. Mbong (70 S. Dimech), J. Grech (70 J. Degabriele), L. Montebello. Читать дальше...

Malta's bus service will become free of charge for all residents from October 1 next year, in a move to encourage better use of public transport and reduce congestion on the roads. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said the measure will apply to all residents and holders of the Tallinja card, meaning tourists will still need to pay for the fare. The major national policy is one of the flagship announcements of Budget 2022. Public transport is currently already free for those aged 14 to 20, students aged 21 and over... Читать дальше...

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced the extension of a previous scheme whereby the transfer of family businesses from parents to their children will be taxed at 1.5 per cent instead of five per cent. The measure is aimed at helping the continuation of family businesses. The government also announced measures to encourage entrepreneurs to invest in their business, including tax breaks on the amounts invested. Caruana said businesses had already invested extensively to create more jobs. To... Читать дальше...

Marsascala is set to get a woodland “bigger than Buskett” as Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced a large afforestation project for the Inwadar national park in his budget speech. It signals the government has backed a proposal by a group of architects and civil engineers for over 40,000 indigenous trees in the park, which takes up 315,000 square metres of land between Żonqor Point in Marsascala and Xgħajra. Some €20 million will be invested over a period of five years to bring the project... Читать дальше...

The government will provide €10,000 per year to heads of state primary and secondary schools to spend on food and other basic resources for vulnerable children from disadvantaged backgrounds.  Caruana said the government will never ignore children in such circumstances.  The scheme will cost €1 million and the cost will increase if necessary, he said. Principals of state schools, from kindergarten to secondary will receive the fund to cover costs of basic resources for school and food.  In 2018... Читать дальше...

Tax waivers will be available for people who buy residential properties built more than 20 years ago but have been vacant for seven years as well as properties in Urban Conservation Areas and new properties built in 'typical Maltese' style. The scheme is capped up to the first €750,000 of the value of the properties, on which no duties or capital gains tax will be charged. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said in the budget speech that the measure also applies for properties which are still under  promise of sale agreements. Читать дальше...

The government will be investing €470 million on the modernisation of various industrial zones and the creation of new ones which will not take up ODZ land, the finance minister said on Monday. Delivering his budget speech, Clyde Caruana said space was needed for new investment which Malta was attracting. The Life Sciences Park; Kordin Business Incubation Centre (KBIC); Ħal Far, Bulebel, Marsa, Corradino, San Ġwann and  Luqa industrial zones will benefit from the investment. A new car park will also be set up near Park 4 at the airport. Читать дальше...

Amnesties on penalties for unpaid income tax and VAT rates will no longer be the norm as the government has pledged a crackdown on tax cheats. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said on Monday that as of June 2022, interests on unpaid tax and VAT will be hiked to 7.2%. Caruana said the country's achievements could only be safeguarded if everyone paid their taxes. The finance minister said that while the government would continue to help those who felt behind on their tax payments due to economic and fiscal hardship... Читать дальше...

A new Christian political party, ABBA, has filed a judicial protest against the Electoral Commission, which is refusing to register it as a party that would allow it to contest the forthcoming general elections. The party is claiming that the commission is discriminating against over its refusal to register it according to law because its name cannot be shortened. It said the commission is insisting on an acronym when it could not have one because its name is already short. The judicial protest... Читать дальше...

World oil prices vaulted on Monday to fresh multi-year pinnacles on strong demand and tight supplies, sparking inflation woes and weighing on most European stock markets. London Brent oil jumped to a three-year high at $84.38 per barrel, while New York’s WTI crude leapt to a seven-year peak $81.72. The recent decision by OPEC and other major producers not to ramp up output has further strained global supplies. “Nerves are still clearly apparent in the markets,” OANDA analyst Craig Erlam told AFP. Читать дальше...

Greenpeace activists put up an oil-splattered statue of Boris Johnson outside Downing Street on Monday, urging the prime minister to block the proposed development of a huge new oilfield off the Scottish coast. The UK government is expected to approve the development of the Cambo oilfield off the Shetland Islands, despite opposition from environmentalists. Greenpeace warns that the oil extracted from Cambo in its first phase would “produce emissions equivalent of up to 18 coal plants running for... Читать дальше...

Maltese match officials have been appointed to control the European U21 Championships 2023 qualifying match between Netherlands vs Wales, at Nijmegen (Netherlands). The match to be contested on Tuesday at the Goffert stadion in Nijmegen (NED) will kick off at 20:00. FIFA referee Philip Farrugia has been assigned to officiate this match and he will be joined in the Dutch city by Alan Camilleri as first assistant referee, whereas Mitchell Scerri has been tasked with the role of the second assistant referee. Читать дальше...

Six cars that were reported stolen in Canada have been found hidden inside 40-foot containers at the Malta Freeport. Three Ford F450 pick-ups, a Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV, a Jaguar F-Pace and a Ford Expedition SUV were all intercepted as they made their way to Abu Dhabi.  The vehicles, which Customs officials described as "luxury cars", were intercepted following scans of the containers, raised suspicions and triggered a manual search of the shipping containers. Paperwork for the container shipments did not tally with their contents. Читать дальше...

Barriers around the closed Comino Hotel and bungalows site have continued to advance, blocking off more public access on the island both from land and sea, according to Moviment Graffitti. The pressure group described the situation as “more theft of public spaces” on the besieged island that should not be privatised. The result is that the public can no longer enjoy San Niklaw Bay, where the hotel is located, awaiting permits for demolition and redevelopment, and the advancing gates continue to... Читать дальше...

The wait is finally over for Maltese Futsal fans as the 2021-22 season kicks off this week with the first matches of the season. Eleven teams will contest this year’s FMA league with Luxol, Valletta, Marsaskala, University of Malta, Żurrieq, Mellieħa, Naxxar Lions, Qormi, St George’s, Ta’ Xbiex and Siġġiewi hoping to have a good season. The matches are being played at the National Sport School Pavillion in Pembroke between Wednesday and Sunday with one team being awarded a bye in each match day. Читать дальше...