DIARY OF EVENTS 2005 JANUARY - Doi-archived.gov.mt

DIARY OF EVENTS2005JANUARY• 1 January 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said that Malta and Libya had agreed toissue three-month multiple-entry visas to frequent visitors to the two countries. Dr Frendo said that, asa sign of goodwill, the Maltese Consulate in Tripoli has been authorised to issue six-month multipleentryvisas where it feels that this is necessary. The Minister was addressing a news conference.• 1 January 2005 Flags at all government ministries were flown at half mast in solidarity with thevictims of the South East Asia tsunami disaster, following a prime ministerial directive.• 1 January 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said that all the Maltese nationals known tohave been in the areas affected by the tsunami have been accounted for. Dr Frendo said that two of thefive who were in Thai hospitals had been released, and one was expected in Malta shortly.• 1 January 2005 The Central Bank of Malta advised that, under Legal Notice 463 of 2004, CashMovement Regulations oblige any person entering or leaving Malta and carrying any cash or othermonetary instruments equivalent to Lm5,000 or over to declare the sum to the Comptroller of Customson the appropriate declaration. The bank said that the regulations will contribute to strengthen existingmeasures aimed at combating money-laundering and the channelling of funds for terrorist activities.• 1 January 2005 The National Statistics Office announced that recurrent revenue between last Januaryand November amounted to Lm668.1 million and made up 79.3 per cent of last year's budget forecast.At the same time, total expenditure amounted to Lm797.3 million, an increase of Lm34.9 million over2003's Lm762.4 million. The structural deficit amounted to Lm129.1 million compared to Lm141.7million reported in the January-November 2003 period.• 2 January 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi exchanged New Year greetings with PresidentEdward Fenech-Adami. Dr Gonzi urged all those who held any leadership position to shoulder theirresponsibility and not to bend like a reed in the wind. "I also augur that 2005 will be a year where thevalues of the family and solidarity will continue being put at the forefront," he said.• 2 January 2005 Replying, President Fenech-Adami said that 2004 had ended on a sorrowful note asthe number of dead in the South East Asia tragedy continued to rise. Dr Fenech-Adami stressed theimportance of retaining and cherishing family values, and the need to strike a chord of harmony andconsensus for the common good.• 3 January 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi left Malta for a private visit to Italy. Deputy PrimeMinister Tonio Borg was appointed acting Prime Minister in his absence.• 3 January 2005 The Maltese Cultural Movement in the UK threw a farewell party in honour ofoutgoing Maltese High Commissioner George Bonello Dupuis. Dr Dupuis's term of office ends onJanuary 31 st .• 3 January 2005 The sum of Lm491,809 was raised during a special edition of the TV charitymarathon L-Istrina in aid of the South East Asia disaster. Meanwhile, volunteers laboured away at twostate schools, packing supplies in boxes destined for the region. Civil Protection Department head PeterCordina later announced that the supplies collected were enough to fill 20 containers.• 3 January 2005 Acting President George Hyzler, who is a doctor by profession, appealed to doctors todonate promotional medicines they might have received towards the needs of the tsunami victims.Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg labelled the donations "a tsunami of generosity". Thetwo personages were speaking while on a visit to Maria Regina School, which served as one of twocentres for the collection of donations.

• 3 January 2005 The Institute of Maltese Journalists, affiliate of the International Federation ofJournalists, joined the world-wide appeal launched by the IFJ for humanitarian assistance to thefamilies of journalists and media staff caught up in the South East Asia disaster. In view of this, theIGM made a symbolic donation of Lm100 to the Asia Disaster Relief for Journalists and Media Stafffund.• 4 January 2005 Four Maltese observers left for Jerusalem to monitor the Palestinian presidentialelections. Nationalist MP Mario Galea, Labour MP Anglu Farrugia, observer Joe Borg, and diplomatAlan Bugeja were nominated by the Government to act as EU observers for the election. Led by formerFrench Prime Minister Michel Rocard, the observers will be deployed in all voting districts in the WestBank and the Gaza Strip.• 4 January 2005 Enemalta Corporation announced new diesel and kerosene prices. It said it wasadjusting the price of fuel with immediate effect in view of movements in the prices on theinternational fuel market. Enemalta said the price adjustment had been calculated according to theformula through which the prices of petroleum products are made to reflect the fluctuations in priceson the international oil market.• 5 January 2005 The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Michael Frendo, set up a committee to advise theMinistry on how best to utilise the Lm491,000 collected during the TV marathon for victims of thetsunami. President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici is heading the committee, which includes formerCabinet Minister Daniel Micallef and University Chancellor John Rizzo Naudi. The Tsunami ReliefFund will be administered by the Foreign Ministry.• 5 January 2005 Employment and Training Corporation Chairman Robert Tufigno announced thatprojects to provide training for the unemployed, at a cost of more than 7.2 million euro, are to beimplemented by ETC over the next two years with substantial funding from the EU. The main projectis the Training and Employment Exposure Scheme, commonly known as TEES, which aims tointegrate the registered unemployed who are over 40 in the labour market. The scheme is planned tocater for 400 participants.• 6 January 2005 The Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Tonio Fenech, said that theGovernment is to go ahead with legislation to cut the number of public holidays after a five-and-a-halfhourlong meeting of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development failed to come up witha workable solution. Mr Fenech said that the Government had gone to the MCESD meeting willing toimplement the budget measure in the "least damaging way".• 6 January 2005 The Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, George Pullicino, said that, whenthe Government raised the cost of plastic bags up from just a few mils to about 7c, it wanted to imposea tax that would eliminate plastic bags rather than generate revenue. “Had we imposed a 1c tax, peoplewould have paid it and the bags would have remained in use. I hope sectors of industry will not absorbit but go back to paper, degradable and bio-degradable bags. It is positive not to use plastic.”• 6 January 2005 The Minister for Tourism and Culture, Francis Zammit Dimech, together with hisOpposition counterpart, Evarist Bartolo, was present at the launch of the charity concert ‘Malta forAsia’. The concert, featuring some of Malta’s top artistes, will be held on the 14 th January at theMediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta. All funds collected will go for the victims of thecatastrophe in South-East Asia.• 6 January 2005 The Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Tonio Fenech, announcedthat people who had inherited immovable property between 1992 and 2003 will be able to adjust itsvaluation. Mr Fenech said that this would allow them to fall in line with those who had inheritedproperty after the Government decreed in the 2004 Budget that the sale of immovable propertyderiving from an inheritance would be subject to capital gains tax.• 6 January 2005 The European Commission approved Malta's National Allocation Plan 2005-2007regarding the emissions of greenhouse gases from large installations. NAP is part of the obligationsarising from implementation of Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a scheme for emission allowancetrading and was prepared by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority together with consultantsfrom the UK and Belgium, on behalf of the Government of Malta.• 6 January 2005 Representatives of the Malta Association of Women in Business met GermanAmbassador Georg Merten to discuss how business women could work closer with German

usinesses. The Ambassador told the association's representatives that he was keen to see morebusiness between Malta and Germany.• 6 January 2005 Maltese photographer Joe P. Smith placed second in the UK Telegraph TravelPhotography Awards, part-time professionals section. The competition, which attracted no fewer than9,000 entries, was organised by The Daily Telegraph in conjunction with The Royal PhotographicSociety, and Jessops of the UK. Mr Smith's photograph shows youngsters having fun on the Sengleawaterfront.• 7 January 2005 The Minister for Investment, Industry and IT, Austin Gatt, said that the Governmentwill be seeking private and bank finance to push forward the refurbishment of factories and thebuilding of new ones at a quicker pace. Dr Gatt was speaking at the inauguration of an extension to thefactory Astracast Limited.• 7 January 2005 The Land Registry published an updated Quality Service Charter describing theservices it offers and standards which customers are entitled to expect. Through this charter, the LandRegistry is committed to specific standards of service.www.mjha.gov.mtland.registry@gov.mt• 7 January 2005 The Government and Banco di Sicilia SpA announced that they had appointedRothschild SpA as their financial advisor for the sale of their respective shareholding in Bank ofValletta plc.• 7 January 2005 The Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, George Pullicino, thanked theItalian Ambassador, Alvise Memmo, for the donation of 2,000 trees for the Torri l-Ahmar afforestationproject. Mr Pullicino said that the trees formed part of a larger donation of a batch of 8,000 trees.• 8 January 2005 The Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Tonio Borg, said that he was surprisedthat the Malta Labour Party had chosen to delay its decision on the ratification of the EuropeanConstitution until a yet unspecified date. "We are in favour of ratification but we're not going to doanything to give the impression that we're rushing the decision. We want to allow the Opposition toformulate its opinion. But there's a limit and we're determined to seal the ratification of the EUConstitution this year," Dr Borg said.• 8 January 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg, together with the Minister for theFamily and Social Solidarity, Dolores Cristina, launched a wide-ranging document on illegalimmigration. Dr Borg said that the aim of the document was to establish parameters to ensure theimpartial, fair and humane treatment of illegal immigrants and to introduce standard procedures andpractices. The document will be discussed during a national conference on illegal immigration at thebeginning of next month, following which a national policy document on the subject will be drawn up.• 8 January 2005 The Government announced that it would be amending the Eco-Contribution Act sothat the tax on plastic bags would be charged per item instead of per kilo. Under the amendment, bagsmade of normal plastic will be charged a tax of 6c each and degradable bags will have an eco-tax of 1cper item. Bio-degradable bags will not be taxed at all. Mr Pullicino added that plastic sheeting used byfarmers, as well as plastic used in industrial processes, would be exempt from the tax.• 8 January 2005 The National Statistics Office said that, according to the results of the Labour ForceSurvey for the period July-September last year, the total number of unemployed persons was estimatedat 11,781, with the unemployment rate standing at 7.3 per cent. The majority, or 47.7 per cent of thetotal unemployed persons, were between 15 and 24 years old. The survey is carried out using a randomsample of 2,500 private households based on ILO criteria.• 9 January 2005 The Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, George Pullicino, said that, withthe advancement in technology, Malta could probably start recovering energy from waste earlier,reducing the tonnage of waste earmarked for the controlled landfill. Mr Pullicino was addressing themedia.• 10 January 2005 The European Parliament will be sending to Malta two high officials to meet personswhose work puts them in close contact with EU institutions. The purpose of these meetings is to assistMPs and officials of the Maltese Parliament identify areas of common interest and methods to

consolidate cooperation and contacts among them. The meetings will be held with the participation ofthe Malta-EU Information Centre.• 11 January 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that there were 715 applications by foreignersfor the acquisition of immovable property permits between January 1 and November 30 last year. DrGonzi said that the applications had been made by 905 EU citizens and 122 non-EU citizens. All hadbeen accepted. The Prime Minister was replying to a parliamentary question.• 11 January 2005 Malta, Portugal, France and Greece have asked the EU to consider the idea ofcreating an early warning system against natural calamities similar to the one that hit South East Asiaon Boxing Day. The Portuguese Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Enriquede Freitas, raised the issue during an extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Ministers calledto discuss developments following the tsunami tragedy, in Brussels. Foreign Affairs Minister MichaelFrendo represented Malta at the meeting.• 11 January 2005 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the South East Asia tsunami hadclaimed the life of Maltese national Nancy Woolner, 54, of Rabat, who had suffered serious injurieswhen the raging waters tore apart a holiday bungalow she was sharing with her two daughters on theThai island of Phi Phi. Mrs Woolner succumbed to her injuries in a hospital in Germany.• 11 January 2005 The Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, George Pullicino, said that 52million plastic bags are used in Malta each year. "Unless we kill the use of plastic bags, they will killus," he said.• 11 January 2005 A government delegation attended a United Nations international meeting on thesustainable development of small island states, in Mauritius. The delegation was headed byGovernment MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and included Lino Briguglio, director of the Islands andSmall States Institute.• 11 January 2005 Telecommunications operator Maltacom plc announced that it will be embarking ona campaign to ensure that the amount of money owed to the company by subscribers does not continueto rise above the Lm10 million it is owed at present. Maltacom said that it will be penalising clientswho default on their payment, and rewarding those who pay their dues on time.• 12 January 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami exchanged New Year’s greetings with members ofthe Diplomatic Corps at the Palace, in Valletta. The President noted that, during the past year, Maltahad celebrated the 40th anniversary of Independence, the 30th anniversary as a Republic, and itsaccession to the EU. Looking forward to the New Year, Dr Fenech-Adami said that, in November2005, Malta will be hosting the 2005 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM),bringing together more than 50 Heads of State.• 12 January 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi exchanged New Year's Greetings with theDiplomatic Corps at the Auberge de Castille, in Valletta. On the occasion, Dr Gonzi said: “We hopethat our Mediterranean friends will agree to support Malta's offer to host the permanent administrativesecretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly for the Mediterranean."An audio broadcast of the Address read by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi can be acceded athttp://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/archive/PMaudio/audiobroadcast-11.01.05.asp• 12 January 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that, contrary to what was being implied, thecountry was not in crisis but was in need of renewal to become stronger. He said that social conscienceand social justice were still central to the party in office and his Government was guided by theseprinciples. Dr Gonzi was addressing a news conference to mark the 125 th anniversary of the NationalistParty.• 12 January 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced that the Government will be taking theenvironment into consideration in the tenders it awarded and the materials and services it bought. Theenvironmental aspect will also be one of the criteria in measuring performance targets of heads ofgovernment departments, he added. Dr Gonzi was speaking during the presentation of certificates ofappointment to the first 14 Green Leaders, in the presence of Rural Affairs and the EnvironmentMinister George Pullicino.• 12 January 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo told Parliament that the Government haddecided to donate Lm250,000 to help the victims of the Asian tsunami. He said that, in total, the

Maltese people were donating 8 million euro to the victims. "Despite our country's limitations, theMaltese people still felt the need to contribute generously to this cause, making Malta one of thebiggest per capita donors," Dr Frendo said.• 12 January 2005 Labour Foreign Affairs spokesman Leo Brincat said he wanted, on behalf of theOpposition, to praise the Foreign Ministry for the way it had handled the South East Asian tsunamicrisis and the immediate, proactive and coordinated reaction which had seen Malta come out withflying colours. Mr Brincat invited the Minister to consider the feasibility of retaining the crisis centreas a small unit that would spring to action whenever an incident that affected Maltese people orinterests abroad occurred.• 12 January 2005 The Minister for Investment, Industry and IT, Austin Gatt, visited Maltapost's mainoffice in Marsa. He said that Maltapost had delivered 50 million letters last year, three million less thanin the previous year. Dr Gatt said that the decline could be explained by the fact that traditional mailwas gradually being replaced by other means of communication such as e-mail and SMS.• 12 January 2005 According to the Auditor General's Report on the Public Accounts 2003, theGovernment had failed to put into place efficient procedures for the collection of its debt, enforcementprocedures for the settlement of fines or correct documentation for the settlement of debt. The reportstates that arrears of revenue totalled over Lm360.8 million on December 31, 2003, one-third of whichit considers "not collectible".• 12 January 2005 Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse received the members of SOSMalta’s humanitarian mission in aid of the victims of the tsunami, in Sri Lanka. Mr Rajapakseexpressed his gratitude for the generosity of the Maltese people.• 12 January 2005 Air Malta announced that last year it carried 1.4 million passengers on its scheduledservice, that is a 3% increase over the previous year. The national airline also saw a rise of 1% incharter traffic to and from Malta, carrying 194,00 passengers. Charter flights operating to other resortsfrom its UK base carried a further 261,400 passengers.• 13 January 2005 Maltese Honorary Consuls representing foreign governments called on PrimeMinister Lawrence Gonzi at Auberge de Castille to exchange New Year's Greetings. John A. Gauci-Maistré, Dean of the Consular Corps, led the delegation. The Maltese Consular Corps incorporates 55members representing 53 different countries around the globe.• 13 January 2005 Members of the European Parliament overwhelmingly endorsed the EuropeanUnion's first Constitution with 500 deputies voting in favour, 137 against and 40 abstaining.Nationalist MEPs Simon Busuttil and David Casa, voted in favour. Labour MEPs Joseph Muscat andLouis Grech abstained. The head of Labour's delegation, John Attard Montalto, was not present whenthe vote was taken.• 13 January 2005 The Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Tonio Fenech, said that theGovernment had accepted to waive amending the National Holidays Act to give the social partnerstime to meet and come up with new proposals at an MCESD meeting. Mr Fenech was speaking at ameeting of the social partners, called by the Government in a bid to find a way to increase the country'sproductivity.• 13 January 2005 Outgoing Indonesian Ambassador Freddy Numberi said that it would take at leastthree years for the countries affected by the Boxing Day tsunami to get back on their feet. He said thatthe Maltese response to the disaster had been ‘phenomenal’ and much appreciated by the affectedcountries. Mr Numberi was speaking to the press after a farewell call on President Edward Fenech-Adami.• 13 January 2005 The High Commissioner for Malta in London, George Bonello Dupuis, and the HighCommissioner for the Republic of Botswana, Roy Blackbeard, signed a joint declaration establishingdiplomatic relations between the two countries. The signing ceremony was held at the Malta HighCommission in London.• 13 January 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo announced that Italian President CarloAzeglio Ciampi and Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos would be making state visits to Malta inthe first half of this year. Dr Frendo was replying to parliamentary questions.

• 14 January 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said that the Government wants to furtherits participation in election-monitoring missions. He said that it is also seeking to create a centre ofexcellence for the training of election monitors. The Minister was addressing Ambassadors accreditedto Malta.• 14 January 2005 A number of irregular immigrants were injured following a protest at Safi Barrackswhich ended in a scuffle with Armed Forces of Malta soldiers after the immigrants failed to obeyorders. The incidents led Amnesty International to call for an investigation into what it described as‘deliberate and gratuitous violence” on the part of the Armed Forces.• 14 January 2005 The Government issued a statement saying that the Prime Minister had appointed MrJustice Franco Depasquale to conduct an inquiry into the Safi incidents.• 14 January 2005 Investment, Industry, and IT Minister Austin Gatt launched ‘Hello IT’, a programmethat aims to reduce the risk of leaving a minority of individuals lagging behind those who can usetechnology. Speaking during a visit to the Hamrun Junior Lyceum, Dr Gatt said: "Our country hasfought an 80-year long battle to overcome and eliminate illiteracy. The present effort to overcome thedigital divide is not very different."• 14 January 2005 MEP Simon Busuttil called upon the EU to step up its fight against fraud affectingits financial interest and that of national treasuries. Dr Busuttil made the call in an interview withEuronews.• 14 January 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami presented Caritas Malta Director Mgr VictorGrech with the Malta Society of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce gold medal in recognition of hisoutstanding initiatives in a number of areas.• 15 January 2005 The Foreign Ministry announced the appointment of Dr Michael Refalo as HighCommissioner to the UK. Dr Refalo succeeds George Bonello du Puis who is relinquishing hisdiplomatic posting in that country. The Ministry also announced the appointment of another three newambassadors: Vicky Ann Cremona has been appointed Ambassador to France, Tanya Vella to Tunisia,and Mario Costa to the Russian Federation.• 15 January 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg, who is responsible for local councils,said that under new amendments being proposed to the Local Councils Act, the candidate from theparty having the largest number of council seats who obtains the highest number of votes in a localelection will automatically become mayor. Mayors would also be exempt from jury service and begiven the authority to preside over civil marriage ceremonies.• 15 January 2005 The Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, George Pullicino, said in apress conference that he understood that residents of Marsascala were wary of the Sant’Antnin recyclingplant. He said that he could assure everyone that they were doing their best to mitigate thenegative impact as far as possible. "But our Island is small and everyone needs to bear a share of theburden," Mr Pullicino said.• 15 January 2005 The AFM reported further violent incidents between illegal immigrants and soldiers,just hours after a first protest that morning. The AFM said that three soldiers had been hit by stones.Two AFM vehicles and the Safi Barracks Guard Room were damaged in the attack.• 15 January 2005 Designer Mark Scicluna from Balzan won the Commonwealth Summit 2005 logocompetition. His design was chosen by the logo selection committee from among the 280 proposalssubmitted. Mr Scicluna is a Malta Council of Arts, Science and Technology graduate in Art andDesign.• 15 January 2005 Bargain Holidays director Nathaniel Borg launched Britishjet.com, a low-cost airlineoperating between Malta and the UK from May. Britishjet.com will be flying daily to London Gatwick,four times a week to Manchester, and once a week to East Midlands, Birmingham, Leeds, Bradfordand other UK airports.• 16 January 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced during a seminar in Gozo that theGovernment has decided to boost work on the building of a passenger terminal at Mgarr harbour sothat the project would be completed by next year. Dr Gonzi said that the project was one of severalwhich reflected the Government's commitment to Malta’s sister island.

• 16 January 2005 Rome-based Michele Manca di Nissa, head of the UNHCR's legal unit, described theincident at Safi barracks which left 26 detainees and two soldiers hospitalised as "deplorable". MrManca di Nissa said that the incident would be among the main items on the agenda during the week'sUNHCR press conference in Geneva.• 16 January 2005 The Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, George Pullicino, made thecase for the proposed Waste Recycling Plant at a public meeting in Marsascala. The Minister said thatthe new plant would have the capacity to treat around 250,000 tonnes of waste, but the plan was for thetreatment of 35,000 tonnes of compost and 36,000 tonnes of recycled waste. Mr Pullicino said that theplant would produce energy for 1,400 homes and the residents of Marsascala would benefit from this.• 16 January 2005 The Minister for Investment, Industry and IT, Austin Gatt, said that, thanks to aninitiative by the Ministry and Microsoft Corporation, Maltese students will be able to avail themselvesof a computer software package at Lm13.99 as opposed to Lm780, the commercial price of thepackage. The initiative is targeting 70,000 students and teachers, and is free for disabled people.• 16 January 2005 Dr Joe Borg, the EU Commissioner responsible for Fisheries and the MaritimeSector, made his first official visit outside the EU institutions in his capacity as EU Commissioner. Aspokesman for the Commission said that Dr Borg took the opportunity to meet representatives of thefishing sector in Spain and discussed ideas as to how the fisheries portfolio should be managed in thenext five years.• 17 January 2005 The Government signed an agreement with Spanish company Helicopteros delSureste for the provision of a Gozo-Malta helicopter service, to be offered from March 21 st . Theagreement was signed in Gozo by Louis Cilia and Frank Psaila, Permanent Secretaries within theMinistry for Competitiveness and Communications and the Ministry for Gozo respectively, and byLuis Minano Sanvalero and Antonio Martinez, managerial and commercial directors of Helicopterosdel Sureste.• 17 January 2005 The Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, Dolores Cristina, said that theneed to reform the pensions system was a rational conclusion that many shared. Ms Cristina explainedthat, with Malta's aging population and a falling birth rate, the current system where workers paid forpensioners would not be sustainable in the long run.• 17 January 2005 Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech announced that the EU willbe helping Malta in the rehabilitation of the city of Mdina and the Hagar Qim temples. He said that theEU had approved the sum of 4 million euro in assistance for cultural and tourism projects. The EUchose eight Maltese projects from a total of 233 submitted by all EU member states, the Minister said.• 17 January 2005 The Auditor General called on local councils to comply with financial regulations.The Public Accounts report published by the National Audit Office notes irregularities in the tenderingprocess, astronomical mobile phone-bills, and the donation of gifts worth hundreds of liri tocouncillors.• 17 January 2005 Dr George Vella MP, who is the Labour Party's spokesman for European Affairs,said that the sheer volume of draft European legislative acts and the six-week timeframe in which thesehave to be dealt with impose certain constraints. Dr Vella was speaking during a meeting withEuropean Parliament officials who were in Malta with the aim of identifying ways to strengthendialogue and cooperation between the European Parliament and its local counterpart.• 17 January 2005 The Malta Red Cross society, acting through the Sri Lanka Red Cross, signed amemorandum of understanding with the Hambantota District Tsunami Disaster Relief andDevelopment Programme (HDTDRDP) providing for the Maltese-funded construction of 65 houses inan area known as Ranna, close to the south coastal city of Hambantota. The Prime Minister of SriLanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, signed on behalf of the HDTDRDP.• 18 January 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami started a three-day state visit to the CzechRepublic. Dr Fenech-Adami was accompanied by the Minister for Investment, Industry and IT, AustinGatt, and a commercial delegation that included Malta Enterprise Chairman Joseph Zammit Tabona;the President of the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, Louis Apap Bologna; the Presidentof the Malta Federation of Industry, Anton Borg; and Pierre Fava, from the Employers' Association.

• 18 January 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi communicated to Judge Franco Depasquale theterms of reference in relation to the inquiry that he has been asked to conduct into the incidents thatoccurred at the Safi detention centre on Thursday 13 th January. A copy of the letter sent to the judgewas tabled in Parliament by Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg on behalf of the Prime Minister.• 18 January 2005 In its mission to transform Malta into an ICT centre of excellence, the Governmenthas joined forces with Oracle Corporation. Investment, Industry and IT Minister Austin Gatt describedthe vertical strategic alliance with Oracle as a commitment by another international ICT firm to theimplementation of the Government's national ICT strategy, which focuses on ICT education, the ICTindustry and the narrowing of the digital divide.• 18 January 2005 Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said in reply to aparliamentary question that five hotels are due to open this year, providing a total of 1,844 beds. DrZammit Dimech said that the hotels were the Cavalieri, with 500 beds; the Golden Sands, 642 beds; LeMeridien St Julians, 350; the Fortina extension, 300; and the Dragon, 52 beds.• 18 January 2005 Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Commissioner Joe Borg urged fishermen tocontribute to the debate on fine-tuning the proposed fisheries measures for the Mediterranean.Referring to questions on the proposed European Fisheries Fund for 2007-2013, Dr Borg said that aidwould be available for vessel modernisation to upgrade safety, hygiene and living conditions on board.He ruled out, however, a return to helping in the building of new vessels which contributed to fleetover-capacity and over-fishing.• 18 January 2005 Investment, Industry and IT Minister Austin Gatt announced that the Water ServicesCorporation was owed Lm5.6 million by 152,898 account holders up to the end of last November. DrGatt was replying to a parliamentary question.• 19 January 2005 EU Finance Ministers meeting in Brussels discussed a report presented by theCommission on the progress made by Malta last year in order to correct the Government's financialdeficit and agreed that the measures being taken are satisfactory. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, whoattended the meeting in his capacity as Minister of Finance, expressed satisfaction that the EcofinCouncil had declared that Malta is on the right track.• 19 January 2005 The Minister for Investment, Industry and IT, Austin Gatt, said that Malta and theCzech Republic need not have a competitive relationship within the EU but can work in synergy on amacrocosm level. Dr Gatt was addressing Czech and Maltese businessmen in Prague. Minister Gattformed part of a delegation accompanying President Edward Fenech-Adami on a state visit to theCzech Republic.• 19 January 2005 Representatives of 15 unions discussed proposals that should be tabled at the MaltaCouncil for Economic and Social Development. Prof Edward Zammit, who was appointed as anindependent chairman, told journalists that, "For the first time ever, unions have agreed on a commonstrategy. We have drafted a new set of proposals on what should be done to enhance the country'scompetitiveness and attract investment."• 19 January 2005 Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino said that he waswilling to consider other sites for a waste recycling plant but he would not consider the closure ofSant'Antnin. Mr Pullicino was speaking during a meeting with the Marsascala shop owners'association.• 19 January 2005 The Minister of Education, Youth and Employment, Louis Galea, launched theEuropass Mobility. Dr Galea said that students and workers who receive vocational training in Europewould shortly be able to record such an experience in a logbook and avail themselves of this Europeancredit transfer system.Europassmobility@etc.org.mtconsult:www.etc.gov.mt• 19 January 2005 The UNHCR's European Bureau Director, Raymond Hall, said that the UN agencywas "deeply concerned about the apparent use of excessive force by Maltese soldiers when breaking upa peaceful demonstration by asylum seekers and irregular immigrants last week". Mr Hall was quick tocommend, however, the speed with which the Government ordered an inquiry into the events and saidthat the UN will be awaiting the conclusions of this inquiry.

• 19 January 2005 The Malta Communications Authority, as the independent regulator of the postalsector in Malta, has published a consultation paper on the quality of service standards to be met byMaltapost plc. Copies of the consultative document Maltapost plc - Quality of Service Requirementscan be downloaded from the MCA's website at www.mca.org.mt• 20 January 2005 The Justice and Home Affairs Ministry said that, if Malta's detention policy is thestrictest in Europe, as the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR had said, it was worthy of note that,"Malta is the smallest and most densely populated country in Europe". The Ministry added that having1,680 migrants entering the country in 2002, 568 reaching Maltese shores in 2003, and 1,400 arrivinglast year was "like having 140,000 migrants entering Italy in one single year".• 20 January 2005 Judge Franco Depasquale started hearing evidence in relation to the incidents thattook place at Safi Barracks when 26 illegal immigrants and two soldiers were injured during a protest.Media representatives were asked to submit photographs and film footage of the incidents. Alsotestifying was the medical superintendent at St Luke's Hospital Frank Bartolo. The inquiry is beingheld behind closed doors.• 20 January 2005 The office of the Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, Franco Frattini, saidthat the European Commission is aware of the incidents that took place at Safi Barracks and is awaitingthe conclusions of the inquiry being held before deciding whether any steps should be taken.• 20 January 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami and Czech President Vaclav Klaus expressed theirwishes to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Both defined Dr Fenech-Adami’sthree-day state visit to the Czech Republic as a positive one.• 20 January 2005 The chairman of the House European and Foreign Affairs Committee, JasonAzzopardi, said that Libya shall be officially asking Maghreb countries to support Malta's bid to hostthe secretariat of the new Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly. Dr Azzopardi was giving theCommittee an overview of a recent visit to Libya.• 20 January 2005 A government statement announced that the first international arbitration case hadbeen filed with the Malta Arbitration Centre. The case involves a dispute between a Maltese companyand a foreign company, and the amount in dispute is over 4 million dollars.• 20 January 2005 A new website promoting Malta as a leisure and business destination allows visitorsto book their complete holiday online. The one-stop website, www.choosemalta.com, offers visitorsthe opportunity to plan their holiday from scratch, booking anything from flights and accommodationto tours and excursions.• 20 January 2005 The Institute of Maltese Journalists, formerly The Malta Press Club, announced that,during the Institute's annual general meeting, Malcolm J. Naudi had been confirmed Chairman. Joe A.Vella and Mario Schiavone were respectively appointed General Secretary and Treasurer; CharlotZahra was appointed Education and Information Secretary; and Roderick Agius, Joe Cordina and JuliaFarrugia, Members.• 21 January 2005 The country's social partners met under the umbrella of the Malta Council forEconomic and Social Development to discuss proposals that the trade unions agreed to, aimed atenhancing the country's competitiveness and productivity.• 21 January 2005 Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said that the increase intourism last year also brought about an increase in passengers carried by Air Malta and in passengertraffic between Malta and Gozo. Figures issued by Malta International Airport show that 2.8 millionpassengers passed through Malta's sole airport in 2004 - an increase of 137,945 passengers, or 5.2 %.Dr Zammit Dimech was speaking at San Gwann.• 22 January 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg launched a White Paper that aims toachieve a better and more expeditious administration of justice. The White Paper includes acomprehensive list of changes, among them a common procedure for all civil suits, a filtering systemto weed out frivolous appeals and a change in the competence of the inferior courts. The White Paperproposes changes in the Press Act to remove the possibility of media people found guilty in libel casesfrom being sent to jail.

• 22 January 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea announced that theMinistry of Education will be hosting the Commonwealth Youth Forum this November. The forumwill bring together over 100 delegates from 56 countries to discuss human rights, sustainabledevelopment, education, employment, and health issues, and will present a final communiqué to theCommonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting in Malta later this year.• 22 January 2005 The Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, Dolores Cristina, said that thereseemed to be an under-utilisation of women in the labour market. The Labour Force Survey estimatedthe number of female workers at 15 per cent of a total of 1,200 listed under computing and relatedactivities. Ms Cristina was speaking at a seminar on ‘Women and Men in the IT Labour Market’.• 22 January 2005 According to the EU's statistical arm Eurostat, Malta's total government debt up to2003 ranked among the highest within the EU. Statistics show that, at the end of 2003, the MalteseGovernment had debts amounting to 71.1 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product. The EU averagestood at 63.3 per cent or 7.8 per cent lower than Malta's.• 22 January 2005 Two experts from the UK's Immigration Office had talks in Malta aimed atstrengthening cooperation between the two countries in the fight against illegal migration. The experts,Graham Leese and David Ellis, came to Malta through the assistance of the British High Commission.The two met officials from the Home Affairs Ministry, the Police and the Army.• 22 January 2005 Green MEP Helene Flautre, who is President of the Human Rights sub-Committee ofthe European Parliament, raised the issue of the incidents at Safi Barracks in the European Parliamentand with the European Commission. In a parliamentary question, Ms Flautre asked the EUCommission if it was aware of the incidents.• 22 January 2005 The social partners met again at the Malta Council for Economic and SocialDevelopment to discuss the trade unions' proposals aimed at boosting competitiveness andproductivity, however the meeting proved inconclusive. Speaking to journalists at about 6 p.m., thePrincipal Permanent Secretary, Godwin Grima, said that the social partners had unanimously decidednot to make any statement as negotiations were not over yet.• 22 January 2005 The EU office responsible for recruitment, EPSO, announced competitions for therecruitment of personnel to fill 35 new posts, reserved exclusively to Maltese citizens. Newcompetitions, to be held later on this year, will cover the posts of administrators and assistants inEuropean administration and human resources, financial management and information technology. Fulldetails can be found in the notices of competition available on the EPSO websitehttp://europa.eu.int/epso• 23 January 2005 A government statement said that it was clear that the trade unions' proposal was notenough to yield the immediate results the country needed to boost its economy. It said that theGovernment had presented a new proposal which it was asking the social partners to consider. Themeeting was the third MCESD in a week. In all three meetings, the 19 registered unions wererepresented by the General Workers’ Union, the Union Haddiema Maghqudin and the Confederationof Malta Trade Unions.• 23 January 2005 President Emeritus Guido de Marco, in his capacity as Chairman of the LondonbasedCommonwealth Foundation, returned to Malta from a fact-finding and solidarity mission to thetsunami-stricken island of Sri Lanka. "We wanted to see how the Foundation, civil society and the SriLankan Government can act together and come up with solutions," Professor de Marco explained.• 23 January 2005 The Presidency of the EU expressed the view that the Union’s next budget shouldinclude funds to help Malta and other frontier states deal with the issue of illegal immigration. Thecomment was made by Nicolas Schmit, the Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, which holds the EUPresidency, in reply to Labour MEP Joseph Muscat.• 24 January 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi made it clear that he intended to forge ahead withthe controversial public holidays measures, pending an acceptable 11th hour alternative by the tradeunions. "We are prepared to make a big effort to find a solution this week but we have no time towaste. We will listen. We will explain and not impose. We will discuss but we can't discuss forever.It's time to decide." Dr Gonzi was speaking in Kalkara.

• 24 January 2005 Cuba's Ambassador to Malta, Maria Flores Prida, pledged her willingness to assist inthe organisation of cultural projects involving Cuban artists and musicians. Ms Flores Prida was inMalta to participate in the ceremony of the traditional Exchange of New Year greetings with PresidentEdward Fenech-Adami. She also held meetings with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and ForeignAffairs Minister Michael Frendo.• 24 January 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea launched two QualityService Charters, one for the Guidance and Counselling Unit and the other for Ghozza, a unit providingsupport service and education to unmarried pregnant minors. The aim of the charters is to ensure thatcitizens are given a quality service and are supplied with precise and updated information.• 24 January 2005 The Government announced the forthcoming issue on compact disc of the Acts ofParliament, Legal Notices and Bye-laws issued last year. The set of CDs is envisaged to be on sale atthe beginning of February. Further information can be obtained from the Department of Informationinfo.doi@gov.mt• 25 January 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi presided over a Malta Council for Economic andSocial Development meeting at Auberge de Castille. Later he had separate meetings with the unionsand the employers. “The meetings were cordial and constructive,” said Dr Gonzi, “and we agreed thatthese discussions should continue, probably tomorrow.”• 25 January 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg announced that the Civil ProtectionDepartment is planning to form a volunteer corps that will be trained to offer assistance inemergencies. Dr Borg said that the Department had drawn up contingency plans to cover floods andmajor fires as well as an explosion at the gas plant. The Civil Protection authorities had also made surethat the Department had available the material it would need in emergencies.• 25 January 2005 Investment, Industry and IT Minister Austin Gatt said that, while no one was beingexcluded, in the sale of the Government's equity in Bank of Valletta, he personally felt the selection ofthe partner bank should be based on the quality of the bank, its commitment to Malta, its internationalperspective, a strategic plan for further expansion of BoV, and the price for the shares. "We have tostrike a balance between what one wants and what is realisable in the commercial sector,” said Dr Gatt.The Minister was replying to a parliamentary question.• 25 January 2005 Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea said that the updatingof competition legislation in Malta would continue, with changes in merger and acquisition laws in thecoming months. Mr Galea was addressing a EuroMed seminar on competition policy attended byrepresentatives from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Turkey and Malta.• 25 January 2005 The National Statistics Office said that the number of cruise passengers who visitedMalta last year had dropped by 97,635 compared to the previous year and amounted to 291,821. Thelargest number of cruise passengers came from the British market (62,184), followed by the Spanish(61,009) and the US (36,549) markets. Last December, the number of cruise passengers decreased by60 over the same month in 2003, to 10,768 from 10,828.• 26 January 2005 The Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, Dolores Cristina, warned thatracist incitement was unlawful and would not be tolerated. The Minister was speaking following a visitto Barracks, where she heard three groups of immigrants expressing their various needs and concerns,especially with regard to Malta's detention policy.• 26 January 2005 The ETC launched a new scheme aimed at boosting the job prospects of jobseekers,aged 40 and over, who have been registering for employment for six months or more. The Training andEmployment Exposure Scheme (TEES) will also benefit employers, since it covers the cost of trainingand work placements for a 52-week period. Project leader Raphael Scerri said the scheme will befunded through the European Social Fund and the Government at a cost of 4.6 million euro.• 26 January 2005 The European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Joe Borg, listed theinitiatives that the EU will be taking in the coming weeks to help thousands of fishermen in South EastAsia re-enter the fishing industry, following the destruction brought about by the tsunami. Dr Borg saidthat following tourism, the fisheries industry was the sector most highly affected by the disaster.• 26 January 2005 The Minister for Urban Development and Roads, Jesmond Mugliett, announced thatthe 16-kilometre stretch of roads being financed by the Italian Financial Protocol would be completed

and opened to traffic by November this year. "There has never been so much road-works going on atthe same time," Mr Mugliett told reporters during a tour of the works in Luqa.• 26 January 2005 The Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Tonio Fenech, led adelegation to London where he was due to evaluate UK-based public-private partnership structures andprojects. The visit was organised with the collaboration of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,which hosted the delegation for the duration of the visit.• 26 January 2005 Labour MP Leo Brincat was appointed vice-President of the Middle East Affairssub-committee of the Political Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly.• 26 January 2005 The National Statistics Office said that occupancy trends in the tourism industry lastOctober reveal an overall increase in the use of bed-places when compared to the same month in 2003.This increase was evident across the five-star and four-star hotel categories and tourist villages. Thehighest net use level was recorded in the four-star hotel category at 75.8%, followed by the five-starhotel category at 63.6%.• 27 January 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, presented the unions and employers with a finaldraft document that takes into consideration the proposals and concerns brought forward so far. Thedocument proposes measures to improve the country's competitiveness and productivity, create moreand better jobs, attain a better standard of living, and achieve sustainability of health and socialservices.• 27 January 2005 Investment, Industry and IT Minister Austin Gatt said that, for a limited period,students would be able to buy one of three Hewlett-Packard computers (two desktop models and alaptop) at a reduced rate. Dr Gatt said that HP had agreed with the Government that it was no usesaying that everyone should have a computer at home if it was not affordable.• 27 January 2005 The Minister for Competitiveness and Communications, Censu Galea, said inParliament that the new helicopter service between Malta and Gozo was expected to start on March 21.Mr Galea said that the helicopter service could by no means be considered a social service, its mainpurpose being to attract high quality tourists to Gozo, as well as to meet the needs of overseastravellers.• 27 January 2005 The Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, Dolores Cristina, inaugurated Daris-Sliem, a residential facility for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, in Birkirkara. Ms Cristina saidthat the diversity of cultures and beliefs under one roof was an enriching experience for both theresidents and the staff working with them. The Birkirkara home is among refugee projects that willbenefit from financial aid from the EU.• 27 January 2005 The Government approved amendments to the legal notice on the eco contributionthat came into effect at the beginning of the year. The Government said that the amendments showedthat, while it was flexible on the details of the eco tax, it was intent on implementing a serious policyaimed at safeguarding the environment. The Government said that this could be seen from a number ofinitiatives and projects that were being launched for the people to enjoy a better quality of life througha cleaner environment.• 28 January 2005 The European Commission published its assessment on the state of Malta'seconomy. According to the Commission, Malta is making good progress in public finances but onlylimited progress in employment and competition. The assessment was published by the Commission aspart of its broad economic policy guidelines for 2003-2005, setting out the EU's medium-term strategyto make Europe more competitive. The report will be included in the forthcoming mid-term review ofthe EU Lisbon Strategy and the Commission's report to the spring European Council to be held inBrussels in March.• 28 January 2005 The European Commission recommended amongst others that Malta increase itsefforts to achieve a higher employment rate in particular of female and older workers. It said that Maltashould strive to reduce the high rate of early school-leavers and encourage higher education, inparticular in science and technical areas. It recommended that Malta take measures to safeguard thelong-term sustainability of public finances and reform the pension and health systems.• 28 January 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo wrote to his Israeli counterpart, SilvanShalom, to express his solidarity with the Jewish people on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the

Auschwitz-Birkenau death-camps. Dr Frendo wrote: "I join the Secretary General of the UnitedNations in voicing my concern that 'the evil that destroyed six million Jews and others in those campsis one that still threatens all of us today' and that we must all strive to 'ensure that such horror neveroccurs again'," Dr Frendo said.• 28 January 2005 Investment, Industry and IT Minister Austin Gatt said that 64 projects were approvedlast year, including 35 which involved foreign investment. Dr Gatt said that 23 of the projects involvednew investment and 41 were extensions. The 64 projects were projected to create 1,719 jobs in threeyears' time. The 23 new projects on their own would employ 940. The Minister was replying to aparliamentary question.• 28 January 2005 The Director General of the National Statistics Office, Alfred Camilleri, said that adialogue on pension reform should be tied to the productivity issue which the country's social partnersare currently grappling with. Data show that the number of people in the working force effectivelycontributing towards the pensions of "inactive" members of society has decreased and will continue todo so in the years to come. Mr Camilleri was addressing the Union Haddiema Maghqudin's generalconference on pension reform.• 28 January 2005 Maltacom shareholders paved the way for the company's privatisation process duringan extraordinary general meeting held at the Hilton Malta Conference Centre. Three resolutions - ondisclosure of information to a prospective investor, on removing the cap on share ownership, and oncorporate governance - were approved by a majority of over 75 per cent. Maltacom chairman SonnyPortelli said that the board was advising shareholders to approve the resolutions.• 28 January 2005 Air Malta's management met the unions representing the company's employees inthe first meeting of the airline's Works Council. Company chairman Lawrence Zammit said that,during the meetings, the management will inform the union representatives of its policies andstrategies, thus helping to create better communication between the company and the employees.• 28 January 2005 The Central Bank left the central intervention rate unchanged at three per cent. Thedecision was taken by the Governor at the end of the monetary policy advisory council meeting. Thenext meeting of the council is to be held on February 24.• 28 January 2005 The National Statistics Office announced that, last December, the unemployednumbered 8,103. Of these, 6,511, or 80.4 per cent, were men and 1,592 or, 19.6 per cent, were women.The number of registered unemployed dropped by 22 over the preceding month but went up by 72compared to the same month last year.• 28 January 2005 More than 1.7 million visits were last year made to www.visitmalta.com, the MaltaTourism Authority's destination website. This is an increase of nearly 20 per cent over the previousyear and works out to an average of 4,700 visitors a day.• 29 January 2005 In a last ditch attempt to reach a national agreement aimed at increasing thecountry’s competitiveness, the Government proposed a set of proposals to employers and unions.These include a reduction of 10 days vacation leave over four years balanced by a commitment not toraise income tax and VAT over the period 2005-2008. Employers were also asked to pay Lm5 for eachemployee every year to be re-directed into a training fund for workers.• 29 January 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg paid a visit to the Safi DetentionCentre, and was shown round by Brigadier Carmel Vassallo. In a statement, the Governmentreaffirmed its position in favour of a detention policy, and affirmed that the police had been given strictinstructions to institute criminal action against those violating the law dealing with racial hatred.• 29 January 2005 In its annual report, presented to Tourism and Culture Minister Francis ZammitDimech and Investment, Industry and IT Minister Austin Gatt, the editorial board of PublicBroadcasting Services noted that, while between October and December 2003 34% of the 8 p.m. newsbulletin items was dedicated to political and government events, the percentage had now gone down to27.7%. A full version of the report may be acquired from www.pbs.com.mt• 29 January 2005 Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea launched a consultationprocess on the new postal service regulations that will soon replace the existing set of rules. Mr Galeasaid that the exercise is the final step in the implementation of a legislative framework aimed atliberalising the postal sector and guaranteeing quality in the provision of the universal postal service.

• 29 January 2005 Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina launched an awarenesscampaign on the Social Policy Information Centre, known as SPIC. "The Government is investing insuch systems to make information easily available on a 24x7 basis to all Maltese citizens,” said MsCristina. The wide range of information, of a generic or personal nature, is obtained through automatedsystems by telephony or internet. SPIC also offers a back-up call centre.• 29 January 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo announced that the Public BroadcastingServices would be taking out a bank loan to be able to pass on to the Ministry the money that had beencollected in aid of the victims of the tsunami during L-Istrina. Dr Frendo said that PBS was makingthis arrangement for otherwise it would have to wait until September in order to retrieve the moneycollected through phone-ins.• 29 January 2005 A three-dimensional digital survey is being carried out by an Italian firm with theaim of garnering in-depth information on the state of the Ggantija Temples, in Gozo. The survey,costing Lm16,500, is financed by the EU solidarity fund. The money was provided in response to thedamage caused by the violent rainstorms of September 2003.• 30 January 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced that agreement on the social pact had notbeen reached with all the unions. He said that the Government will therefore implement the measureannounced in the Budget Speech and amend the Public Holidays Act so that no extra days of vacationleave would be given whenever public holidays fall on weekends. Dr Gonzi addressed a pressconference following a meeting with the Union Haddiema Maghqudin and the Confederation ofMaltese Trade Unions, in which he was briefed about the divergences within the trade union movementon the draft social pact.• 30 January 2005 The Department of Contracts published details of two local tenders for roadconstruction, worth Lm4 million. The tenders, published concurrently in The Malta GovernmentGazette and the Official Journal of the European Union, are the first-ever Europe-wide roadreconstruction tenders issued by the Maltese Government. The re-building of the two roads will start inJuly 2005 and are scheduled to be completed in November 2006.• 30 January 2005 According to the results of a new Eurobarometer survey announced in Brussels, only31% of the Maltese are in favour of the first Constitutional Treaty of the EU, with 13% against, and theabsolute majority (56%) still undecided. The Maltese survey was conducted by MISCO betweenOctober 25 and November 17 last year. Malta's approval rate of the Constitution is the fifth lowest inthe EU.• 30 January 2005 Standard & Poor's ratings service removed Enemalta Corporation from its ‘CreditWatch’ and affirmed its BBB+ long-term corporate credit rating. The outlook is stable, but the creditratingagency warned that the perceived weakening in the Government's support for Enemalta wouldlikely result in a downgrade, particularly if tariffs were not to become fully cost-reflective.• 31 January 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that he was amazed that the General Workers'Union had refused to make concessions when decisions needed to be made in order to raiseproductivity and competitiveness. Dr Gonzi was speaking at Zebbug flanked by Rural Affairs and theEnvironment Minister George Pullicino, and Urban Development and Roads Minister JesmondMugliett.• 31 January 2005 EU Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Commissioner Joe Borg ended his secondmission outside Brussels, touring fishing communities in the UK, particularly Scotland, and discussinghis plans for the next five years with top British policy makers. Dr Borg praised the active role playedby UK stakeholders in the creation of the North Sea Regional Advisory Council which brings togetherfishermen, scientists and other interested parties to prepare recommendations on measures for the areathey cover.• 31 January 2005 An analysis carried out by the European Commission as part of its preparations forthe EU summit due in March shows that, among the new member states, Malta made the biggest effortto transpose EU laws into its national legislation. The Commission noted that, since 1 st May 2004, theIsland had placed 522 directives on its statute book. It said that Malta had made the ‘biggest strideforward’ out of the 10 new member states in order to reduce their legal deficit.

• 31 January 2005 Government MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando was re-elected vice president of theCouncil of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly for a second year.FEBRUARY• 1 February 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo told a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers inBrussels that Malta would not be able to accept the financial perspectives proposals if it is no longerconsidered as a full convergence (Objective 1) region. To be eligible for such aid, a country must havea GDP not higher than 75 per cent of the EU GDP average.• 1 February 2005 Minister of Education, Youth and Employment Louis Galea said that the Ministrywas following the latest developments in the communication and broadcasting sectors so as to useevery opportunity to educate people. New programmes on the Education 22 channel are to belaunched as part of the education authorities' strategy on lifelong learning. Dr Galea was speakingduring a press conference at the Broadcasting Authority in Hamrun.• 1 February 2005 Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said four of the five hotelsopening this year were expected to bring over some 37,500 tourists, most of whom would consist of"new business". Dr Zammit Dimech who was addressing a conference in Swieqi, also said that 50,170beds would be available in the coming years, compared to the existing 39,825.• 1 February 2005 The National Statistics Office revealed that the turnover index of the capital goodsgroup in November 2004 increased by 19% over November 2003. For the same period, this groupregistered an increase in its employment index of 17.5%, from 110.6 to 129.9, and an increase in itswages and salaries index of 26.9%, from 127.3 in November 2003 to 161.5 in November 2004.• 2 February 2005 Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment George Pullicino said that Malta hascalled for a reconsideration of the funding of the Common Fisheries Policy because the proposedallocation for an enlarged Europe would only be slightly higher than it was for an EU of 15 memberstates. Mr Pullicino was addressing the European Parliament's fisheries committee.• 2 February 2005 Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea said information andcommunications technologies should serve as tools in achieving technological progress. Mr. Galeawas addressing delegates at the European Conference of Postal and TelecommunicationsAdministrations (CEPT) meeting, which is part of a series of discussions aimed at formulatingcommon European proposals which will then be submitted to the ITU plenipotentiary conference.• 2 February 2005 The International Telecommunications Union representative of the United Kingdom,Malcolm Johnson, said that despite its size Malta is one of the most active members in ITU and canmake a meaningful contribution to the evolution of the information society worldwide. Mr. Johnsonwas speaking after a CEPT meeting.• 2 February 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said that Malta joins EU in hailing Iraqipeople for the success of the election on Sunday which showed the world that the Iraqi people weredetermined to put the past behind them and start a new phase for their country. Dr Frendo was givinghis comments following a session of the External Relations Council of EU.2 February 2005 Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, Dolores Cristina, presented letters ofappointment to the seven members of Malta’s first Psychology Profession Board. The Board willregulate the practice of psychology in Malta and its work will include the setting up and theevaluating of professional development in the field of psychology among its many duties.• 2 February 2005 Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela said that the Maltese Customs have beenawarded certificates of merit by the World Customs Organisation in recognition of their "outstanding"achievements last year. Customs director John Mifsud said Malta's EU membership had greatlyaffected Customs. Dr Abela was speaking during a press conference at the Customs head office inValletta.• 2 February 2005 Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech thanked the husband ofJacqueline Ostrovidov upon the presentation of bookbinding equipment, tools, materials and bookscollected during her career as an amateur bookbinder, to the Malta Centre for Restoration in Bighi.

The Minister said the large collection of gilding tools was unique to Malta and would be a great aid tostudents studying book conservation.• 2 February 2005 St Luke's, Boffa and Mater Dei hospitals Chief Excecutive Officer (CEO) KennethGrech, outlined the new management's achievements for 2004, its specific organisational structure andplans for 2005 in preparation for the migration to Mater Dei Hospital in two years' time. Dr Grech wasspeaking at the launch of the new hospital logo which represents all three hospitals.• 2 February 2005 The National Statistics Office announced that a total of 862 men and 116 womenwere injured at their workplace between October and December 2004. This means that 88.1% ofoccupational injuries in the period under review affected men. Quoting administrative data of theSocial Security Department, the NSO's labour statistics unit said a large proportion of occupationalinjuries were reported in the manufacturing and construction sectors.• 3 February 2005 The government has identified 13 potential projects for arterial roads, which ifaccepted for EU funding between 2007 and 2013, would ease traffic flow problems. According toUrban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett, the estimated cost of the proposed projectsis €315 million, 75% of which can be EU funded.• 3 February 2005 According to the European Commission, Malta is on track to correct its excessivedeficit by 2006 but still needs to implement crucial structural reforms in the pension and healthcaresystems.• 3 February, 2005 The European Commission has insisted that Malta implement as soon as possible anEU directive on late payments in public contracts. According to this directive the credit period cannotexceed 60 days from the receipt of goods and service. If no date for payment is set in the contract,interest of at least 7%, becomes payable 30 days after the receipt of the goods and services.• 4 February 2005 Minister of Health, the Elderly and Community Care, Louis Deguara, said that theimplementation of the proposed new Working Time Directive of the European Union would mean anadded cost of between Lm2 million and Lm3 million for Malta for the employment of more doctors.The Minister was addressing the Foreign and EU Affairs committee.• 4 February 2005 Minister of Health, the Elderly and Community Care, Louis Deguara said theMinistry has set up a committee to monitor the situation in Asia, where the development of a new fluthat is highly resistant to medicines had raised the risk of a pandemic. The new flu strain as well as theWorking Time Directive were among the subjects discussed at an EU health ministers' meeting, whichDr Deguara attended.• 4 February 2005 Minister for Education, Youth and Employment, Louis Galea, said that thegovernment wants the good quality found in some schools to be extended to others which are facingparticular sometimes difficult challenges. The minister said there is also the intention to help extendthe curriculum's vision to more schools and classrooms via developments. Dr Galea was speakingduring a visit to the national curriculum centre.• 4 February 2005 Former ambassador and permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, MichaelBartolo, revealed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee that a proposal made by a high level UnitedNations (UN) panel for the setting up of a Peacebuilding Commission within the UN framework wasvery similar to the proposals made by Malta some time ago for a reformed Trusteeship Council. Themajor objection to Malta's proposals at the time had been financial because then the UN was goingthrough a financial crisis.• 4 February 2005 Archbishop Joseph Merciecea said that the Maltese population does not deserve thereputation of racist because it is not a quality that runs in Maltese blood. The Archbishop also spokeabout the generosity shown by the Maltese at the beginning of the year when they joined forces to helpthe victims of the Asian tsunami, during the Candlemas ceremony at St John's Co-Cathedral, inValletta.• 4 February 2005 Tributes poured in for Alfred Buhagiar, the president of the Confederation ofMaltese Trade Unions who died suddenly on February 2. Opposition Leader Dr. Alfred Sant, CMTU,Union Haddiema Maqghudin, the Malta Employers’ Association, the Malta Federation of Industry andthe Social Assistance Secretariat of the Catholic Action Movement were among the organisations whoexpressed their condolences and solidarity with Mr Buhagiar's family.

• 4 February 2005 A town in Malta will become a European Cultural Capital in 2018, following adecision by the EU Council which has just been approved by the culture and education committee ofthe European Parliament. A spokesman for the Commission said the EU awards financial grants to thechosen cities every year in order to be able to upgrade the infrastructure and organise activities.• 5 February 2005 According to the Rural Affairs and the Environment Ministry Malta became the firstnew member state to distribute EU agricultural funds. Farmers and herdsman have received almostLm4 million in cash subsidies.• 5 February 2005 A new high security unit was opened at Mount Carmel Hospital to cater for patientswho need psychiatric treatment. According to Health, the Elderly and Community Care Minister LouisDeguara and Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg people serving time in prison should begiven the same medical treatment as other patients.• 5 February 2005 Executive secretary of the National Folklore Commission Anton Miceli said that 23floats were taking part in this year’s carnival.• 6 February 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi answered reporters' questions on Malta's chances ofobtaining funds as an Objective 1 region, the fate of the drydocks, the failure to agree on a social pactand the recycling plant at Marsascala, among other subjects. The Prime Minister was addressing themedia during the monthly briefing which takes place at Castille. One can access the audiorecording ofthe briefing by clicking on the following link:http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/archive/Pmpressstatements/audiorecording%20-%2005.02.05%20pmpressbriefing.asp• 6 February 2005 Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech praised the collaborationthat exists between China and Malta. Malta has an Approved Destination Status (ADS) with Chinameaning that Malta is an authorised destination for the purpose of Chinese nationals opting to goabroad on vacation The Minister, who was visiting St James Cavalier where the Chinese New Yearwas being celebrated, exchanged greetings with the Chinese Ambassador Liu Zhengxiu.• 6 February 2005 A Malta Euromed Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) Platform co-ordinatedby Nature Trust has been launched to lobby on Maltese and EU Mediterranean policies. With 12founding members, the platform emerged from a closed NGO meeting after a civil society consultationabout the EuroMediterranean Partnership, which was organised on January 29 by Nature Trust at theEuroMediterranean Youth Platform's Valletta premises.• 8 February 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi wrote a letter to Pope John Paul II to express hissorrow at the Pontiff's recent illness and to wish him a speedy recovery. Dr Gonzi recalled with pridethe Pope's two visits to Malta and said that the Maltese people joined the rest of the Catholic world inpraying for him.• 8 February 2005 The Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology said thatgrooming, the technique used by paedophiles to entice minors into sexual relations, is to be made acriminal offence. Furthermore the Ministry has submitted a proposal to the Safer Internet Programme,an EU initiative, to set up a national hotline to address the abuse of children over the internet.• 8 February 2005 The office of the Commissioner of Data Protection in Malta has joined forces with anumber of similar offices in the EU in a project aimed at combating the proliferation of spam moreeffectively. Spam is the technical word used for unsolicited e-mails, often of a commercial nature, sentindiscriminately to multiple mailing lists, individuals or newsgroups.• 8 February 2005 President Edward Fenech Adami celebrated his 71st birthday with a normal day ofwork. In the afternoon he attended Mass at Dar tal-Providenza in Siggiewi together with his wife, asis his birthday custom and in the evening they attended a birthday dinner organised by his staff. Oldfriends, both in Malta and abroad, sent Dr Fenech Adami their birthday wishes.• 9 February 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi admitted there were no easy solutions to theproblem of immigration but the government was prepared to refine and readjust its own policy paperon migration to take on board some of the ideas given in the workshops. Dr Gonzi was speaking duringa national conference on illegal immigration.

• 9 February 2005 Speaking at the end of a fruitful national conference on illegal migration, Justice andHome Affairs Minister Tonio Borg pledged to rope in all players in the field to hammer out a nationalplan on migration.• 9 February 2005 Speakers taking part in the national conference on irregular migration underlined theimportance of stemming the growing racism before the situation spirals out of control. Politicians,NGOs and top officials teamed up in a chorus of disapproval towards the increasing xenophobia, aphenomenon seemingly being fuelled by irregular migration.• 9 February 2005 The Education, Youth and Employment Minister has set up a task force that willrecommend ways of improving school attendance rates. According to latest figures from the NationalStatistics Office, 2.75 days of unauthorised absences per pupil were registered in primary state schoolsbetween September 2002 and March 2003. Unauthorised absences in state area secondary schools inthe same period numbered 8.68 days.• 9 February 2005 According to MEP Simon Busuttil, Maltese MEPs were finding it difficult to keepup with the work in their own committees and there were other committees which they were not evencovering. Dr Busuttil said there were 20 committees to cover and only five Maltese MEPs.• 9 February 2005 The restoration work on the Wignacourt Aqueduct in Santa Venera is expected to becompleted by the end of this month, three months earlier than expected. Resources and InfrastructureMinister Ninu Zammit, who visited works on the aqueduct, said work will now start on the upgradingof Hastings Gardens, in Valletta.• 9 February 2005 The European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union, Laszlo Kovacsnamed Malta as one of the new EU member states doing its utmost in the fight against trade incounterfeit goods.• 10 February 2005 Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, Dolores Cristina, launched a bookletcontaining information on people's social security rights when moving to another EU country. MsCristina said this guide, which was published with the help of EU funds, should help a person going tolive in another EU country, even for a short time, know what they need to do. Copies of the bookletwill be distributed to households.• 10 February 2005 The measure for public holidays falling on weekends not to be added to vacationleave was approved through all stages in parliament. The debate on the controversial measure,announced in the budget, started late on February 8 and ended with a vote, when the opposition votedagainst. The Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Tonio Fenech spoke for thegovernment.• 10 February 2005 Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Tonio Fenech, said that Malteseworkers abroad who signed their work contract in Malta will be charged income tax at 15% instead ofthe current low flat rates. Mr Fenech was speaking in Parliament during the debate on the BudgetMeasures Implementation Bill.• 10 February 2005 The Parliamentary Secretary in the Competitiveness and Communications Ministry,Edwin Vassallo, said that the Trade Licensing Unit (TLU) received 1,958 applications for tradinglicences and issued 1,609 licences for commercial activities in 2004. Addressing a news conferenceMr Vassallo said this was an increase on 2003. The licences referred to wholesale and retailcommercial activities as well as manufacturing and services that required a TLU licence.• 10 February 2005 AirMalta's increase in passenger numbers last year was lower than the averagegrowth among European airlines, according to data released by the Association of European Airlines(AEA). While the number of passengers using Air Malta's scheduled services grew by 3.1 per cent, the31 member airlines of the AEA managed an average of 4.8 per cent growth, putting airline traffic backto the results achieved before the 9/11 terrorist attacks.• 10 February 2005 Both the Nationalist and the Labour parties have welcomed the truce declared byIsraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the summit inEgypt. Both agreed that it was without doubt one of the most important moments in the relationsbetween the two parties involved in the conflict and that the truce was a good basis for theestablishment of a Palestinian state living side by side with a secure Israel.

• 10 February 2005 The Nadur local council said this year's Nadur carnival was the weekend in whichthe highest number of Maltese and tourists crossed over to Gozo to enjoy the revelry according toGozo Channel figures. Meanwhile, the council is working on the organisation of the XXV conventionof cities that have carnival. The convention is expected to attract carnival organisers from around theworld.• 11 February 2005 The European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Joe Borgannounced a series of initiatives to be taken by the European Union aimed at re-building the fishingsector in the countries hit by the tsunami disaster.• 12 February 2005 The government has decided to close the Maltese embassy in Stockholm, Sweden,later on this year. Malta's embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark will now be accredited to Sweden. Theclosure was part of the government's "regionalisation" of diplomatic missions.• 12 February 2005 The Scott Wilson Report on the rehabilitation of the Maghtab, Qortin and WiedFulija landfills has been published and a summary is available on the Rural Affairs and theEnvironment Ministry's website, www.mrae.gov.mt The full version may be obtained on request fromWasteServ. The report details work to rehabilitate the landfills and which entail three maininterventions.• 12 February 2005 Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, George Pullicino said that theEurope-wide tender worth €8.4 million published a few days before the Scott Wilson report, wasissued after EU structural funds had been secured for the project outlined in the final part of the report.Mr Pullicino was speaking during a news conference launching the report.• 12 February 2005 Competitiveness and Communications Minister, Censu Galea called 2004 asuccessful year for the continued growth in the electronic communications sector, saying it proved thatthe government's liberalisation strategy and regulatory policy have paid off.• 12 February 2005 Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment,Francis Agius met wine producers and distributed financial aid for the restructuring of their wineries.Dr Agius said the aid will help the wine sector compete in a liberalised market. In total, thegovernment, together with the European Union, is giving local wine producers Lm165,448.34 for3,461.26 tons of grapes.• 12 February 2005 Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit announced that work on a newcamp site in Ghajn Tuffieha is in an advanced stage and the facility is expected to start receivingcampers after the end of May. The Minister who was visiting the site said the 64,000 square metre sitehad the capacity to accommodate 3,500 persons in tents and caravans.• 13 February 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo has won Britain's backing for Malta'sclaim to retain eligibility for Objective 1 status funds from the EU in the next budget. Dr Frendodiscussed the issue with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in London. Malta is at risk of losing thatstatus because its GDP rose above 75 % of the EU average in 2000-2003.• 13 February 2005 Julian and Andrew Lloyd Webber will be treating the Maltese to a concert at theMediterranean Conference Centre in September marking the 50th anniversary of the Malta Trade FairsCorporation. Speaking at a press conference Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, flanked byJulian Lloyd Webber, said these cultural events served as a catalyst to bring together the worlds ofbusiness and culture.• 13 February 2005 Environment Minister George Pullicino has launched a consultation processfollowing the call for tenders for the 8.4 million Euro rehabilitation of the waste dumps at Maghtab,Qortin and Wied Fulija. The minister met the local councils of Naxxar and Gharghur, where hediscussed the tender process, the rehabilitation project, and the findings of the Scott Wilson report onthe dumps’ state. The minister also met residents of Maghtab, with whom he discussed the report'sfindings.• 14 February 2005 The Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the main priority areas of hisgovernment - the economy, education and the environment - were on the right track and Malta'seconomy was in line with set targets, as the EU had pointed out. The government was also makinghefty investments in education and giving great importance to agriculture, afforestation and recreationfacilities. Dr Gonzi was speaking during a political activity in Mellieha.

• 14 February 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi left for Budapest as guest of the secretary generalof the International Labour Organisation. Dr Gonzi will be going to Brussels on February 15 in order topresent Malta's case for EU funds as an Objective 1 region.• 14 February 2005 The European Commission has just approved the allocation of 6.83 million Euro(about Lm3 million) to be used in common projects by Malta and seven regions in Sicily during thebudget period 2004 - 2006. The allocation forms part of a new EU cross-border programme betweenregions in the 10 new member states, accession countries and third countries known as Interreg.• 15 February 2005 According to Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea, thirteenfatal accidents at the place of work occurred in 2004 and so far this year, of which nine were onconstruction sites.• 15 February 2005 Anybody seeking information on the environment held by any Maltese authoritycan demand access to it thanks to a new EU directive. Data which Maltese citizens can demand toinspect may vary from emissions into the environment and their impact on public health to details onthe results of environmental impact assessments. The directive strengthens the existing EU rules in thisarea, aligning them with the environmental information requirements of the 1998 Aarhus Convention.• 15 February 2005 Minister for Investment, Industry and Information Technology Austin Gatt said thatmarket forces in the IT industry were competing in a bid to make attractive offers to the Maltese peopleand to put at their disposal the best equipment at better prices. Since the government launched aprogramme aimed at increasing the use of IT in 2000, the number of those using the internet hastripled.• 15 February 2005 The government is to take steps to collect the Lm21 million due in taxes from 6,600operators but is prepared to waive the Lm5.1 million they owe in penalties, as long as they regularisetheir position by the end of June. This is one of two schemes the government had announced in the lastbudget and which was launched by Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Tonio Fenech.• 15 February 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo announced that Malta is backing thecandidature of former EU Commissioner Pascal Lamy for the post of director-general of the WorldTrade Organisation.• 16 February 2005 The Prime Minister said Parliament will debate the European Constitution and takea vote by mid-July, before the House rises for the summer recess. Dr Lawrence Gonzi was speaking tothe press after a meeting in Brussels with the President of the European Parliament, Josep Borell, withwhom he discussed in detail the process of ratifying the Constitution in Malta.• 16 February 2005 Minister for Tourism and Culture, Francis Zammit Dimech, inaugurated a new webportal by the Malta Tourism Authority offering access to information about Malta to tour operators andtravel agents in Italy. The Minister was attending the annual BIT Fair in Milan, one of the largesttourism fairs in Europe and the largest in Italy. The portal is at www.quimalta.it• 16 February 2005 The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anton Tabone, received FrenchAmbassador Patrick Chrismant who presented him with a copy of a publication issued by the FrenchNational Assembly and the French Senate. The publication followed the Second Conference ofSpeakers of the Five Plus Five Group held in Paris last December 7 and 8 which Mr Tabone hadparticipated in. The Speaker solicited France's support for Malta's candidature to host the secretariat ofthe Parliamentary Assembly.• 16 February 2005 A report by leading European development NGOs Oxfam, Eurodad and ActionAid, which highlights the discrepancy between the defaulting countries and some generous aid donorssaid that Malta is among a large number of EU states whose aid commitments, trade and debt policiesare failing the poorest Third World countries. However Malta is excused for the moment because ofthe reforms it has had to undertake due to EU membership.• 17 February 2005 The European Commissioner for Regional Development, Danuta Hubner, was noncommittalabout Malta's bid for the highest level of funding in the next EU budget. Followingdiscussions she had with the Prime Minister in Brussels, it appeared evident that Malta is facing anuphill struggle to become eligible for Objective 1 funds between 2007 and 2013. After the meeting Dr

Gonzi told the press he was still optimistic that "a solution will be found". Dr Gonzi also had meetingswith Commissioners Lazio Kovacs and Joachim Alminia.• 17 February 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea met a group of studentsfrom St Augustine's College in Pietá who represented Malta in the Mediterranean Exposcience, whichtook place in France last July. The students won first prize for their environmental project entitled AirPollution, What's The Solution?• 17 February 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea stressed on theimportance of recognising the problems faced by dyslexic students and by those involved in educatingthem. He was addressing a seminar for educators aimed at increasing their knowledge of dyslexia andhelping students overcome their difficulties.• 17 February 2005 Malta disagrees with a German proposal to impose a new EU tax on airline fuel inorder to boost development funding for Third World countries. The proposal is set to be submittedformally by the German Finance Minister during a meeting of EU Finance Ministers in Brussels.• 17 February 2005 Malta needs to "trumpet its good qualities" and not hide its potential as a financialdestination, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Michael Savory, said. Mr Savory saidone of the reasons he was visiting Malta was to examine the country's financial services, an industrywhich was growing prosperously. He expressed his belief that this would grow much more rapidly inthe future.• 17 February 2005 The Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Agriculture and Fisheries, FrancisAgius, and the Minister for Gozo, Giovanna Debono, met Gozitan beef producers and distributedfinancial aid on behalf of the EU and the Maltese government. There are 297 eligible producers forsuch aid, which amounts to Lm 352,067.37 for Malta and Gozo.• 18 February 2005 The President of Malta stated that ‘finally, both Malta and Cyprus are now in‘harbour’, the ‘European Harbour’ as members of the European Union’ when addressing the Pressfollowing official talks at The Palace, with the President of Cyprus, H.E. Tassos Papadopoulus, who ison a three-day State Visit to Malta. During the meeting both Presidents discussed matters of commoninterest and current issues affecting the two Mediterranean islands.• 18 February 2005 Commission President José Manuel Durao Barroso described Malta's arguments infavour of being eligible for the best financial aid possible - Objective I - during the 2007-2013 budgetperiod as being very serious and of concern. He added that he would look into the matter and see howthe EU could deal with the issue. The Prime Minister met Mr José Manuel Durao Barroso for aworking lunch in Brussels.• 18 February 2005 US charge d’affairs William Grant said that Malta's European Union membership,which gave it a seat at "an important table" has changed the way the United States looks at the country.Also making Malta important in the eyes of the American authorities was the country's "strategiclocation and excellent ports" which were valuable for US navy ships. Mr Grant was addressing ameeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee.• 18 February 2005 Jaçques Barrot, European Commissioner for Transport said that all airlines fromnow on will have to pay compensation to passengers in case of flight delays or cancellations under newEuropean Union rules. The regulations cover passengers travelling on all domestic and internationalflights taking off from any airport within the European Union. Mr. Barrot was addressing a pressconference in Brussels.• 18 February 2005 A report drawn up by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of theWorld Health Organisation, shows that Maltese women are among the least likely in Europe to developlung cancer but the incidence among men is much higher. The report was compiled among 40European countries by Peter Boyle, director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer fromLyon, France, and Jacques Ferlay, from the Descriptive Epidemiology Group.• 19 February 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that he was prepared to offer Malta's helpwherever needed, especially in resolving the Cyprus-Turkey conflict. On the other hand CypriotPresident Tassos Papadopoulos said that Cyprus supported Turkey's accession to the EU, provided it"behaved" like other member states. The two leaders were giving comments to the press after a jointpress conference.

• 19 February 2005 The Valletta Alive Foundation was launched during a ceremony at the Chamber ofCommerce and Enterprise, in Valletta. The foundation, a lobby group consisting of representatives ofseven organisations, aims to promote public awareness on the historical, cultural, social, economic andcommercial importance of Valletta. The Minister for Urban Development and Roads, JesmondMugliett, noted with satisfaction the wide involvement of stakeholders interested in Valletta.• 19 February 2005 Malta and Cyprus can be a success if they both bank on technological developmentand create a knowledge-intensive industry, Cypriot Minister of Commerce, Industry and TourismYiorgos Lillakas told members of the Maltese business community. Speaking at the Malta Chamber ofCommerce and Enterprise, Mr Lillakas drew a parallel between Malta and Cyprus and spoke of theadvantages and challenges that accession to the EU had brought to the two Mediterranean island states.• 19 February 2005 Hastings Garden, named after a British Governor General, is being redesigned inItalian style. "Contrasting, different textures and materials such as smooth limestone and hard granitewill make the place richer and more beautiful. This garden is well frequented and hopefully it willattract even more Maltese and tourists," the Minister for Resources and Infrastructure, Ninu Zammit,said.• 19 February 2005 According to the National Statistics Office, the inflation rate in January stood at2.7%, down from 2.79% in December and up from 1.57% in the corresponding month of last year.• 20 February 2005 Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Frendo said that Malta was always consistentin its belief about a peace process which would lead to the two states - Palestine and Israel - to livetogether. The minister was in Palestine for a visit during which he had meetings with PalestinianPrime Minister Abou Ala and President Mahmoud Abbas. He also laid a wreath on the grave of formerPresident Yasser Arafat.• 20 February 2005 The Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech thanked Chineseartist Li Zijian for donating the funds from the sale of his paintings currently exhibited in Malta andGozo to the Caravaggio Foundation; the Pediatric Hospital in Gozo; the Cancer Foundation and otherorganisations. The Minister who was present during the inauguration of the exhibition augured thatrelations between Malta and China will be further strengthened through cultural exchanges.• 20 February 2005 A gender equality report, compiled by the European Commission, shows that, of all25 EU member states, Malta has the lowest difference in remuneration given to men and women fortheir jobs. However in other gender equality benchmarks, such as rate of employed females andwomen occupying managerial positions, Malta doesn't score that well. The report provides an annualinsight into gender equality in the EU and for the first time includes also data from the 10 new memberstates.• 22 February 2005 Minister for Tourism and Culture said that tourist arrivals last year grew for thefirst time after three years of decline, and airport movements last January rose 8% over January 2004.Those gains meant Malta had recovered from the losses made in 2003 and 2002 although it had still torecover the losses of 2001. The Minister was speaking in Parliament during the debate on the financialestimates of the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA).• 22 February 2005 43 Maltese NGOs, member organisations of the European Anti-Poverty Network(EAPN) involved in the fight against poverty and social exclusion, have set up six committees toinfluence the government's social and employment policies and the next National Action Plan forInclusion and Employment due next year. The committees will focus on illiteracy, disability, childrenat risk, mental health, domestic violence, and asylum seekers and human trafficking. More informationon EAPN Malta can be found on the website www.eapnmalta.org• 23 February 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi appealed to the US and the EU to seize on recentdevelopments in Libya, in both political and economic spheres, saying this would help to strengthenthe stability in a region vital both for the EU and Malta. Dr Gonzi was speaking about recentMediterranean and Middle East developments during a historic meeting between EU leaders and USPresident George W. Bush.• 23 February 2005 The European Commission is investigating Gozo Channel Co. Ltd and iscontemplating infringement procedures against the Maltese government over a practice used by the

state-owned company to protect its monopoly. Commission sources said the practice prima facieinfringes EU law.• 23 February 2005 Malta's economic growth is expected to be one of the lowest among advancednations in 2005, a published report has shown. Malta is envisaging growth of 1.5 per cent this year, justabove the lowest placed country, Germany (1.3 per cent), and on par with Japan, the United NationsEconomic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said.• 23 February 2005 During January there were 8,180 unemployed persons registering for work, theNational Statistics Office said. Of these, 6,523, or 79.7 per cent, were men and 1,657 or 20.3 per centwere women.• 23 February 2005 The Armed Forces of Malta spent Lm1.04 million on work related to illegalimmigrants last year, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said in reply to a parliamentaryquestion.• 24 February 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi congratulated his Spanish counterpart, José LuisRodríguez Zapatero, following the positive result of the referendum on the European ConstitutionalTreaty in Spain. Dr Gonzi called the result "an important and historic step" and said he was confidentthis would have a positive impact on the ratification processes that will take place in other EU memberstates in the coming months.• 24 February 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg discussed illegal immigration and itseffects on Malta in a 70-minute meeting with the EU Commissioner for Justice, Security andSolidarity, Franco Frattini in Brussels. Mr Frattini who appreciated the fact that although 1,400immigrants in Malta might not be a "big" problem to the EU, it is still a big problem for the Malteseauthorities promised to do his utmost to help Malta.• 24 February 2005 Minister for Education Youth and Employment Louis Galeas expressed his publicappreciation for the very valid contribution the faculty of education is making to Malta's educationaldevelopment and also stressed the importance of identifying the changes in the educational processneeded to ensure quality as well as internationally recognised standards. Dr. Galea was addressing ameeting during the inauguration of Trends: a Monograph Series in Education to "Promoting SchoolDevelopment through Environmental Education".• 24 February 2005 Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment George Pullicino announced thatthe Malta Environment and Planning Authority has launched two new services - MyPlanning andMobileplus. MyPlanning is an online service which informs the subscribed user of any changes to thestatus of an application via an e-mail notification. Mobileplus is a text message service that isavailable to Mepa customers who wish to know the status of an application through their mobilephone.• 24 February 2005 The House of Representatives unanimously gave a second reading to the Preventionof Financial Markets Abuse Act. Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Tonio Fenechsaid the bill transposed the Market Abuse Directive of the EU and was aimed at enhancing investorconfidence in Maltese and EU markets and because of its common legislative set-up across Europe itmade it easier for the authorities to cooperate and enforce the law.• 24 February 2005 EuroNews interviewed members of the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN)Malta and also met with various NGOs and with persons experiencing poverty and social exclusion.The interviews focused on the issues considered to be a priority by EAPN Malta such as mental health,disability, illiteracy, domestic violence, children at risk and refugees.• 25 February 2005 According to a report by American port experts International Maritime Associates,which was presented to the Government, it would not be viable for the Valletta ports to have more thanone cargo terminal operator. Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea has set theball rolling to overhaul the ports in an effort to make them more competitive and eliminate obsoletework practices.• 25 February 2005 WasteServ Malta Ltd has installed two high volume air samplers to monitorhazardous gases in the Maghtab dump and its surroundings. At a press conference at the entrance of thelandfill, Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino said WasteServ was following

the Scott Wilson report's suggestions to monitor hazardous emissions before and during theintervention on the landfill.• 25 February 2005 The Central Bank left the central intervention rate at 3%. The decision was taken bythe Bank governor, Michael C. Bonello, at the end of the monetary policy advisory council's meeting.• 25 February 2005 The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association said an agreement was reached withthe government over the capping of the fuel surcharge applied to water and electricity bills. Theagreement provides for a capping scaled in relation to the electricity bills of hotels of different sizes.The agreement was reached after negotiations between the MHRA and the Minister for Investment,Industry and Information Technology, Austin Gatt.• 25 February 2005 Malta has asked the United States to waive the need for travel visas for citizensfrom the new EU member states, a policy already being implemented in the case of the old 15members, bar Greece. The issue was raised by Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo on behalf ofthe new EU member states during a meeting between the 25 EU foreign ministers and US Secretary ofState Condoleezza Rice in Brussels.• 25 February 2005 The number of Maltese passengers departing by air last year reached 203,398, anincrease of 16.6 per cent over 2003, the National Statistics Office said.• 25 February 2005 The European Commission criticised Malta for complying in full with thetransposition into national law of all the European arrest warrant provisions. The Commission saidDenmark, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK have introduced motives for refusal, such asnational security considerations, which are not included in the framework decision.• 26 February 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi congratulated the newly elected president of theConfederation of Malta Trade Unions (CMTU), John Bencini on his appointment. Dr Gonzi said heappreciated the fact that in his first speech Mr Bencini spoke about the challenges the union faced,which, the Prime Minister added, were the same challenges the whole nation had to face with courageand determination.• 26 February 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo discussed Malta's Mediterraneandimension, Objective 1 funding, Finland's northern dimension, illegal immigration, the Middle East,Libya and EU-Russia relations with Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja during a visitto Finland. Dr. Frendo also addressed a seminar organised by Tampere Research Institute entitledWhat Malta Brings To The EU In The Mediterranean.• 26 February 2005 The Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech officially launchedthe 4 th edition of the Mediterranean Food Festival at the Eden Arena, Paceville. Dr Zammit Dimechsaid that food preparation was a prime ingredient of our tourism product so it was important that wenot only have the trained humans resources for our catering establishments but that these prepare localdishes that reflect our strategic position in the centre of the Mediterranean.• 26 February 2005 Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech said that there was noregulatory policy that established the necessary framework for digitisation in Malta. The Minister wasspeaking at the opening of a half-day seminar organised by Heritage Malta at the Aula Magna inValletta where discussions took place on a draft national policy on the digitisation of cultural heritage.• 26 February 2005 Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech together with Resources andInfrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit inaugurated a permanent exhibition of panels depicting thehistory of windmills in Malta at the Xarolla windmill in Zurrieq. The exhibition complements theheritage site project developed recently at the windmill environs. It follows the restoration of thewindmill itself, a chapel dedicated to St Andrew and catacombs in the area.• 26 February 2005 Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment urged more companies to comeforward and accept the government’s invitation to take part in projects such as the 34U (Tree For You)campaign launched by the same Ministry. Mr. Pullicino was speaking following the donation of twohundred oak trees by the Bank of Valletta and which have been planted at the Ta' Qali National Park.• 26 February 2005 Speaker of the House of Representatives Anton Tabone, received at his ChambersDr Silvano Pedrollo, Ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Mr Mohammed Kawu

Ibrahim, High Commissioner of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Mr Abdel Aziz Soumah,Ambassador of the Republic of Guinea.• 26 February 2005 The Malta Communications Authority published a comprehensive document givingdetails of the policy relating to each technology - third generation (3G) mobile telephony, broadbandwireless access and digital terrestrial television and radio. The report comments on the operationalprocesses and timelines involved. There are also recommendations that there is space for anothermobile phone operator and up to two new digital terrestrial television network operators.• 26 February 2005 The National Statistics Office announced that the total industry turnover index lastDecember increased by 19.5% from 95.4 in the same month of the previous year, to 111.4. The totalindustry's employment index decreased by 4.5%, from 99.7 to 95.2. The wages and salaries index andthe hours worked index increased by 3.4 and 2.1 per cent.• 27 February 2005 The Maltese and Kuwaiti governments signed an agreement in a drive to developrelations and co-operation between them in the fields of education, culture and science. Education,Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea said the two countries already enjoyed a goodrelationship and have worked together in the past.• 27 February 2005 A person's cultural experience of Malta would be more intense if the heritage sitesremained open during restoration and conservation works, according to Tourism and Culture MinisterFrancis Zammit Dimech. The Minister was speaking during the re-opening ceremony of DomusRomana in Rabat, wrongly referred to as the Roman Villa, which had been closed for three years for arehabilitation costing Lm180,000. Domux Romana was opened by the Prime Minister LawrenceGonzi.• 27 February 2005 In the latest Eurobarometer survey, the state of the economy was identified as themost important challenge for Malta at present. This was followed closely by the level ofunemployment and the inflation rate, which are both closely tied to the prevailing economic situation.• 27 February 2005 French President Jacques Chirac visited the Salon International de l'agriculture,which was opened in Paris, and was taken round the Malta stand, where he was welcomed by RuralAffairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino.• 28 February 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the country needs to make a big leap withregards women’s participation in the political field, the labour market, in NGOs and in local councils.Dr Gonzi also urged local councils to enter into a partnership with the government and to do thingstogether and make things simpler for the self-employed. The Prime Minister was speaking at theclosure of a political activity.• 28 February 2005 An EU-wide public opinion survey commissioned by the European Commissionrevealed that only 28% of the Maltese think the government is allocating enough money to helpdevelopment in poor countries. The survey asked European citizens about development aid and abouttheir awareness of the United Nations' millennium development goals, which include halving extremepoverty and achieving universal access to primary education by 2015.MARCH• 1 March 2005 Malta and the United States resumed talks to revise and formalise long outdatedextradition and mutual legal assistance agreements. The two countries have a mutual extraditionagreement dating back to 1931 when Malta was under British rule. The agreements are also beingrevised in view of an accord reached between the EU and the US in June 2003 in a concerted attemptto fight crime and, in particular, trans-national organised crime.• 1 March 2005 A Malta Tourism Authority training directory, aimed at promoting continuingprofessional development within the tourism industry, was launched by Tourism and Culture MinisterFrancis Zammit Dimech. The directory lists a series of training seminars and workshops which are ofparticular relevance to people working in tourism-related organisations including managers, sales andmarketing staff, front-liners as well as food and beverage personnel.• 1 March 2005 The Transport Authority (ADT) is considering new ways to improve efficiency in therenewal of vehicle licences, including the use of the Internet, Minister for Urban Development and

Roads Jesmond Mugliett told Parliament. Mr Mugliett said the Authority generated revenue of Lm36.5million, making it one of the government's three biggest revenue earners along with the InlandRevenue and VAT departments.• 1 March 2005 Minister for Urban Development and Roads Jesmond Mugliett said in a reply to aparliamentary question that a total of 4,632 driving tests were held between last May and the end oflast January. There were 2,536 failures. A new driving test compatible with that of the EU wasintroduced last May. It includes at least 25 minutes of road driving.• 2 March 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo discussed the changing economicenvironment in Libya and Malta and on the resulting opportunities for trade and investment withLibyan Prime Minister Shoukri Ghanem. Dr Frendo's efforts on behalf of the EU to consolidate andmove the Middle East peace process forward were also discussed. The Minister was on a visit to Libyawhere he also met his Libyan counterpart, Abdul Rahman Shalgam.• 2 March 2005 Ireland will be the next EU member state to open a permanent diplomatic mission inMalta. According to an announcement made by Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern during a speech inthe Irish Parliament the embassy will play an “important role in developing political, economic, socialand cultural relations with our new EU partners." Currently, all aspects of diplomatic relationsbetween Malta and Ireland are being followed from the Irish embassy in Rome.• 2 March 2005 The United Nations refugee agency has condemned the government's stand to bar themedia from detention centres, describing it as a "short-sighted" and "very worrying" decision. Thiscame as a result of the response of Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg to a petition signedby Maltese journalists who protested that the government's policy of refusing all requests for access tothe media was shackling them from fulfilling their duties.• 2 March 2005 In a report published by the UN High Commission for Refugees it was revealed thatMalta had the third highest number of asylum applications per capita in 2004, after Cyprus andLuxembourg and was among the countries "struggling to cope". A spokesman for the EU JusticeCommissioner told a news conference that the Commission agreed on the need to create more burdensharinginitiatives among all the EU member states in this area.• 2 March 2005 Minister for Investment, Industry and Information Technology Austin Gatt said thatfewer than one in three Maltese businesses offer online support to their customers or use the internetfor after-sales services or training of staff. Speaking at Momentum, a yearly IT conference organisedby Microsoft, Dr Gatt said there was a plan to set up an online business portal that would serve as acentral point for all relevant public services and offer tools and guidelines for planning and running abusiness.• 2 March 2005 Enemalta would have to spend close to Lm30 million over the coming three years onnew power generation and distribution facilities, Investment, Industry and Information TechnologyMinister Austin Gatt told Parliament. He was speaking at the opening of a two-day debate on theestimates of Enemalta. These new facilities would replace the old plant at the Marsa power stationwhile raising capacity by 50 megawatts and improving the power station's efficiency rating.• 2 March 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said that Malta wants to have "a closecollaboration" with Ireland, a like-minded European Union member state. The Minister was on a visitto Dublin, Ireland with the prime intention of engaging with the Irish and having as close acollaboration with them as possible.• 2 March 2005 The National Statistics Office launched its new website and e-services, whichInvestment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt described as a "machine" ofinformation. As a result of this website, information will be accessible as soon as it becomes availableand clients will now be able to play around with the variables and come up with their own tables anddata thus allowing industry to generate its own reports. http://www.nso.gov.mt• 2 March 2005 Judgments on parental responsibility handed down by the Maltese courts will berecognised throughout the European Union while Malta will start recognising judgments given in otherEU courts. This new procedure aims to create a common judicial area in the field of family law toensure that children can maintain regular contacts with both parents after a separation even if they livein different member states and also effectively solve the problem of parental child abduction within theEU.

• 2 March 2005 The government hit out at the Auditor General's report on the Foundation forTomorrow's Schools, tabled in Parliament. An official statement quoted Education, Youth andEmployment Minister Louis Galea as saying that the report "is not balanced or just as while ithighlighted known facts and issues that had been redressed it failed to highlight implementation ofrecommendations to ensure that financial regulations were observed".• 2 March 2005 The EU's Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou commended Malta's anti-smokingregulations during the launch of an unprecedented EU-wide anti-smoking campaign in Brussels andsaid that all EU countries should follow the lead of Malta and ban smoking in public places. TheEuropean Commission has earmarked €72 million for the new campaign between now and 2008.• 2 March 2005 Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt andCompetitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea launched a 35-page document onbroadband internet connections which details the government’s drive to encourage more people to useit. Malta's performance was among the best among the countries participating in eEurope+, the actionplan which set a number of objectives for the attainment of an information society and economy.• 3 March 2005 A number of measures to beat the gas shortage were announced by Investment, Industryand Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt following agreement reached in talks with the GWUand the GRTU. He also revealed that the chairman of Enemalta, Tancred Tabone, had offered to resignbecause of the shortage but the request was turned down because what had happened was not allEnemalta's fault.• 3 March 2005 European Commissioner Joe Borg announced the launch of a long consultation processon a future maritime policy for the EU. The announcement came following the presentation of a newcommunication during the weekly Commission meeting presented jointly by the Commission PresidentJosé Manuel Barroso and Dr Borg.• 3 March 2005 A total of 345 people died as a result of smoking last year, the Minister of Health, theElderly and Community Care Louis Deguara said, in reply to a parliamentary question. He said 246were men and 99 women.• 3 March 2005 The fisheries ministers of the member states of the EU have reached a politicalagreement in Brussels on plans proposed by Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg to send EU fishingboats to parts of Asia hit by the tsunami last December. The EU initiative still requires the go-ahead ofthe United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which meets on March 12 to reportback on its assessment of local needs in the fishing and aquaculture sectors.• 3 March 2005 The government and Malta Enterprise have approved a request by Dedicated Micros(Malta), a subsidiary of Manchester-based Dedicated Microcomputers Group Ltd producing videorecorders, to expand its operations in Malta and to relocate its plant from San Gwann to Bulebel,Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said during a visit to the plant.• 3 March 2005 The courts last year found 4,867 people guilty of a criminal offence, of which 2,905were crimes and 1,962 were contraventions, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said inreply to a parliamentary question.• 4 March 2005 Simonds Farsons Cisk announced a major investment totalling Lm14 million in threecapital projects during a press conference at the Farsons Brewery, in Mriehel, in the presence of thePrime Minister who expressed satisfaction at the decision to make such a large investment.Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt, Farsons Chairman Bryan Geraand senior company officials were also present.• 4 March 2005 During a tour of Valletta, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi welcomed the initiativestaken to enhance the capital city over the past three years including the Lm3 million invested in variousprojects. In recent months, several restoration projects were carried out and roads were built toimprove the localities around the island. Dr Gonzi said that this was why the government and localcouncils should team up as one when delivering projects.• 4 March 2005 Secretary General of the Commonwealth Don Mckinnon said he was very satisfied withthe government's commitment to make the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting inNovember a success. A total of 53 leaders from around the world will be flying into Malta for thebiennial meeting, between November 25 and 27. The dignitaries will include Queen Elizabeth II,British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Australian Premier John Howard.

• 4 March 2005 Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Tonio Fenech met the team from theCommonwealth Bank of Australia in Malta, to establish their structured finance operation here. Thebank is seeking to extend premium business services internationally and has selected Malta as a basestating among its reasons: the quality of Malta’s professional services base, the fact that Malta is an EUmember state, the economic, social and political stability of Malta, and the double taxation treaty withAustralia.• 4 March 2005 Chargé D'affaires William Grant presented the representatives of 26 charitableinstitutions with cheques totalling more than $27,000, at the US Ambassador's residence in Attard.The funds were raised by the American Foundation for Maltese Charities, which for more than 40years has helped Maltese citizens in need.• 4 March 2005 850 kilometres of wiring were removed as a result of a Lm2 million project.Furthermore a number of sub-stations were built to feed the digital system and underground chambersconstructed to take new wiring. Austin Gatt, the Minister for Investment, IT and Industry said theproject reflected Maltacom's commitment towards the national heritage and showed that partnershipswith local councils could work for the benefit of the country.• 4 March 2005 A study published by the Federation of European Employers which compares averagewages in 48 European countries, including the 25 member states of the EU revealed that the Malteseworkers' average take-home pay is far lower than that of most Europeans. The report notes howeverthat the gap in salaries across Europe is narrowing.• 4 March 2005 The restoration unit within the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry has startedrestoring Sarria church in Floriana. While visiting the church, Resources and Infrastructure MinisterNinu Zammit said the restoration was a "big challenge" as the building has serious structural damagesand the stone was deteriorating with some stones requiring treatment and others possibly replacement.• 4 March 2005 Romwald Lungaro-Mifsud was appointed designate executive chairman of the MaltaTourism Authority. He will officially assume the position when incumbent Chris Grech's term ofoffice expires at the end of March. Announcing the appointment, Tourism and Culture MinisterFrancis Zammit Dimech said it coincided with the start of the implementation phase of MTA'srestructuring, which was part of the government's drive to improve Malta's tourism performance.• 4 March 2005 The EU Programmes Unit (EUPU) which was located within the Ministry of Education,Youth and Employment in Floriana has been relocated to 36, Old Mint Street Valletta. The unitcomprises of three National Agencies for the European Commission Educational programmesLeonardo da Vinci (including Euroguidance Malta), Socrates and YOUTH, which focus on fundingvocational training, formal and informal education respectively.• 4 March 2005 Less meat was produced in 2004 in Malta and Gozo than in 2003 according to theNational Statistics Office. Total meat production in Malta amounted to 16,100 tonnes, down by 2,600tonnes (a drop of 13.8%) from 2003. In Gozo, total meat production last year amounted to 1,600tonnes, down from 2,400 tonnes. The producer value declined by 32.9%, from Lm1.7 million toLm1.1 million.• 5 March 2005 Overall investment in the manufacturing industry last year totalled Lm50.5 million, anet increase of Lm1.5 million or 3.1% over 2003, the National Statistics Office said.• 5 March 2005 Close to Lm300,000 have been invested to provide lifts for apartment blocks inValletta, in a Housing Authority project touted as being of particular benefit for the elderly. Speakingduring a visit by Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity Dolores Christina, Valletta Mayor PaulBorg Olivier said these measures were of particular importance in the city, where 60% of the residentsare elderly.• 5 March 2005 Malta and Ireland have agreed to forge closer relations within the EU and to collaborateon areas of common interest. The agreement was struck at a meeting in Dublin between the foreignministers of the two countries, Michael Frendo and Dermot Ahern.• 5 March 2005 Malta has seen one of the largest relative declines in unemployment rates among the 25EU members in the last year, according to Eurostat, the statistical arm of the European Union.• 6 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi tackled questions about joining the ERM II, working inpartnership with local councils, the Safi incidents, the differences in revenue and expenditure from

2004 to 2005, and on the report on the workings of the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools amongother topics during his regular monthly meeting with the media at the Auberge de Castille in Valletta.One can access the audiorecording of the briefing by clicking on the following link:http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/archive/Pmpressstatements/audiorecording%20-%2005.03.05%20pmpressbriefing.asp• 6 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi argued that while the Opposition was consistentlypainting a doom and gloom picture of the economic situation in the country, Ecofin has reported thatthe government finances are in line with projections. Dr Gonzi was speaking during his regularmonthly meeting with the media at the Auberge de Castille in Valletta.• 6 March 2005 WasteServ Malta Limited is planning to launch a pilot project for the collection of usedcooking oil from 16,400 households to turn it into biodiesel. Speaking at a conference organised byEdible Oil Refining Company Limited, WasteServ economics officer Carmen Vella said the projectwould prevent used cooking oil from ending in the sewage system. Rural Affairs and the EnvironmentMinister George Pullicino was present at the conference.• 6 March 2005 The fifth Biennale of Contemporary Christian Art - with 68 works of art by variousartists - was officially inaugurated by Archbishop Joseph Mercieca in the basement of the MdinaCathedral Museum. Museum chairman Mgr Prof. Vincent Borg said the aim of the biennale, whichhad been organised for the past 10 years, was to promote Christian art but this was the first time thatthe exhibition was being held during Lent.• 6 March 2005 The Malta Tourism Authority announced that the fourth edition of the Malta FireworksFestival will take place on April 29-30. There will be a 20-minute audio-visual show about theKnights of Malta and the Great Siege of 1565, as well as projections on Fort St Angelo, light effects,pageantry and special fireworks effects. More information may be obtained from the MTA via e-mail:events@visitmalta.com and the MTA's events Website: www.maltafestivals.com• 6 March 2005 The European Commission has adopted a draft regulation in order to improvebudgetary statistics. The Maltese National Statistics Office is already regarded by the EU as 'verysatisfactory', with Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, declaring themselves impressed with the level ofindependence, integrity and accountability of NSO. Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry ofFinance, Tonio Fenech will represent Malta during the first debate between member states on the newCommission proposals.• 7 March 2005 Zejtun local council has turned to EU institutions in its quest to halt the plannedupgrade of the waste recycling plant in Marsascala. The council has asked the EU to withhold the €17million (Lm7.3 million) in cohesion funds intended to upgrade the Sant' Antnin plant.• 7 March 2005 Tenders for the management of the new Institute for Tourism Studies (ITS) centre inGozo are being received after the green light was given to invest €1.3 million in the project. GozoMinister Giovanna Debono said the project made it possible for Gozitan workers and students whowished to pursue a career in the tourism industry to benefit from further training opportunities and awider selection of courses in Gozo.• 7 March 2005 About €700,000 in EU funds have been obtained to build Gozo's first CraftsDevelopment Centre, within the Wistin Camilleri Gozo Centre for Art and Crafts in Ghajnsielem.Minister for Gozo Giovanna Debono announced that the project includes construction of several unitsthat will be utilised by craftsmen who would like to set up a crafts-related shop.• 7 March 2005 Speaking at a political activity, Dr Gonzi said people were complaining because of thenumber of roads being dug up for resurfacing and indeed more roads would be dug up shortly becauseMalta was getting more EU funds. "It's like when you decorate or white wash your home. You willhave some upheaval and grumbling but when the furniture is back in place and everything is cleanedand dusted, one appreciates the results of the efforts made," Dr Gonzi said.• 8 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Urban Development and Roads Minister JesmondMugliett launched a development brief for the Lm12 million, Dock 1 project. Dr Gonzi hailed it asproof of the government's commitment towards regenerating the Cottonera region and improve thequality of life of its people, the environment and create new job opportunities through inwardinvestment. The Cabinet has opted for an international call for expressions of interest in the project.

• 8 March 2005 Women’s Day 2005 coincided with the presentation of the first Annual Report of theNational Commission for the Promotion of Equality for Men and Women [NCPE] to the PrimeMinister Lawrence Gonzi in the presence of Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, DoloresCristina. Dr Gonzi said that the NCPE was an important instrument for bringing about the challengingshift in mentality required to achieve gender equality.• 8 March 2005 Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity Dolores Cristina said that Malta’s EUaccession process has highlighted and accelerated the address of particular issues such as the lowparticipation rate of Maltese women in the labour market and in decision-making and representativepositions in comparison to the EU average in her statement to commemorate women’s day.• 8 March 2005 The National Council of Women, the General Workers' Union's female workers'committee, the Union Haddiema Maghqudin gender equality committee and support agency Appoggexpressed similar wishes for a culture change to take place that would allow women to succeed intaking a greater active part in the country's economic and social life in their individual messages tomark International Woman's Day.• 8 March 2005 The Malta Centre for Restoration will be merged with Heritage Malta on March 22,said Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech during the debate in Parliament on amotion for the approval of the financial estimates of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage,Heritage Malta and the Malta Centre for Restoration. Dr Zammit Dimech also spoke on theimportance of the cultural heritage as a factor which gave Malta its identity as well as being animportant element of the tourism industry.• 8 March 2005 The Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Tonio Fenech participated inthe formal meeting of the Council of Economic and Finance Ministers (ECOFIN) in Brussels. Thismeeting covered a number of EU economic and financial policy topics among them the developmentof Broad Economic Policy Guidelines to improve support for the Lisbon Strategy, approval of the 2006EU budget and of particular interest to Malta, the discussion on the Stability and Growth Pact.• 8 March 2005 The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Mission called on the ParliamentarySecretary for Agriculture and Fisheries in the Ministry of Environment and Rural Affairs FrancisAgius. Dr Agius was briefed on the Disaster mitigation, Climatolgy, Public Weather Services,including Marine and Agricultural Meteorology, and Technical Cooperation and ProfessionalTraining.• 8 March 2005 Following three years of incremental successes, a new upgraded version of the Ministryfor Gozo’s Website was launched. The official government website for Gozo, www.gozo.gov.mt wasput online on 31 st January 2002 and the latest upgrade is intended to make the website moreaesthetically attractive, graphically flexible for the operating staff and most of all, more accessible tousers especially those with special needs.• 9 March 2005 The House of Representatives started debating a Bill which creates a specific chapter onterrorism within the Criminal Code. Justice Minister Tonio Borg said this Bill was the fruit of an EUframework decision against terrorism taken in June 2002 as a reaction to the terrorist attacks ofSeptember 11, 2001. Its purpose was for all EU member states to harmonise their laws on the basicelements of terrorism.• 9 March 2005 Minister for Investment, Industry and Information Technology, Austin Gatt said that atotal of 124 households have received a refund on the installation of a new electricity meter afterhaving installed a solar water heater.• 9 March 2005 The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality for Men and Women dealtwith 52 complaints in its first year. This emerges from the commission's first annual report which waspresented to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Family and Social Solidarity Minister DoloresCristina.• 9 March 2005 Malta has joined the rest of the EU member states in backing the EuropeanCommission's recent proposals to review the Lisbon Strategy. Speaking at a meeting of the EU'sCompetitiveness Council in Brussels, Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galeasaid Malta agreed with the stress being placed on jobs and growth rather than spreading the emphasisequally on the three pillars of sustainable development - the economic, social and environmental.

• 10 March 2005 The European Commission has dismissed the objections being raised over theupgrading of the waste recycling plant in Marsascala, which is to be funded by the EU. TheCommission gave its opinion following a parliamentary question by MEP Philip Whitehead, a Britishmember of the Socialist group and of the European Parliament's environment committee.• 10 March 2005 Minister for Investment, Industry and Information Technology, Austin Gatt announcedthat by the end of next year practically all public services that in some form or other lend themselves toelectronic application will be available over the net. The Minister was giving a speech at the M-Government Conference on applications and benefits of wireless technology which took place at Q.E.IiConference Centre in London.• 10 March 2005 The structures of the Social Security Department are to be strengthened under atwinning project between Malta and the United Kingdom using European Union funds. Thedepartment qualifies to receive €218,000 in EU funds to strengthen its administrative capacity in orderto coordinate EU social security schemes efficiently and effectively. The Twinning Light Project, waslaunched by the Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, Dolores Cristina.• 10 March 2005 Almost two-thirds of catering establishments licensed with the Malta TourismAuthority are set to benefit from lower annual fees, following the announcement of a new paymentstructure. Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said that the amendments would alsoprovide for a redefinition of the present tourist areas and would bring the classification method more inline with international and European practices.• 10 March 2005 Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Tonio Fenech said that electric carsand solar water heaters can now be bought VAT free under schemes aimed at encouraging the use ofthese environment-friendly products. Buyers will benefit from a 15.25% refund on the value of theproduct. The schemes were published in the Government Gazette on March 1.• 10 March 2005 The Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Tonio Fenech visited theVAT Department in Birkirkara, which falls under the responsibility of the same Ministry. During hisvisit, Mr Fenech explained the new incentives to encourage the use of alternative energy andalternative energy products and to promote local talent.• 10 March 2005 The National Statistics Office said that early statistical indicators on the internationaleconomic and financial transactions of Malta with its world trading partners show a deterioration in thecurrent account balance of Lm58 million, from a net deficit of Lm42.2 million during the fourthquarter of 2003 to one of Lm100.2 million in the corresponding quarter last year.• 11 March 2005 Cars prices in Malta are among the highest in the EU, second only to Denmark andFinland which, however, are the richest countries among the 25 EU member states. A surveyconducted at the end of last year by the European Commission comparing car prices across the 25 EUmember states has revealed substantial differences in prices, although the Commission said the gap isclosing.• 11 March 2005 MEP Simon Busuttil said that new EU members needed EU support to undergo theprocess of reform and they should be made to feel they are not alone. He was addressing the plenarysession of the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg.• 11 March 2005 Sweden has the most advanced electronic government services in the EU, closelyfollowed by Austria and Malta ranking mid-way – 16 th position – in an EU compiled scoreboard. TheEuropean Commission published the results of a survey which examined 14,000 websites in 28countries, the 25 EU member states plus Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. The results show goodprogress in all the new member states including Malta.• 11 March 2005 Three new ambassadors accredited to Malta presented their letters of credence toPresident Edward Fenech-Adami. They are Saad A.E. Elshalmani, Secretary of the People's Bureau ofthe Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Cho Young-Jai, Ambassador of South Korea, andNgam Yahya, Ambassador of Mauritania.• 11 March 2005 Malta is still backing the opening of EU accession talks with Croatia despite recentdeclarations by the EU over the country's failure to hand over a suspected war criminal, casting doubtson whether negotiations will actually start as promised last December.

• 11 March 2005 The gross domestic product last year soared by Lm58 million to Lm1,854.3 million atcurrent prices, an increase of 3.2% over 2003, the National Statistics Office said. In real terms, theGDP rose by 1.5%, or Lm24.4 million, to Lm1,670.2 million. In the period under review, the grossnational income increased by 1.1% to Lm1,831.2 million.• 11 March 2005 The electoral campaign for local elections has ended. Elections are being held in 21localities - the biggest being Zebbug and St Paul's Bay, from where nine candidates each have to beelected. The other localities where an election is being held are Valletta, Mellieha, St Julians, StaVenera and Zurrieq - seven councillors each, and Senglea, Balzan, Dingli, Fontana, Ghajnsielem,Ghasri, Iklin, Kirkop, Mqabba, Nadur, Pembroke, Qrendi, Ta' Xbiex and Xewkija - five councillorseach.• 12 March 2005 Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said that tourism increased by7.8% in January over the same month last year, which showed the sector was recovering. The Ministerwas speaking at the inauguration of the Mediterranean Food Festival, which forms part of the MaltaTourism Authority's calendar of activities.• 12 March 2005 Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt announcedthree new schemes as well as plans to extend tax credit benefits to more Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) during a news conference. This comes as a result of an agreement drawn up between MaltaEnterprise and the European Investment Fund.• 12 March 2005 Minister of Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech inaugurated the EuropeanRegional Conference organised by the The Malta Cookery and Food Association (MCFA), an affiliateof The World Association of Cooks’ Society (WACS) – the global authority on food. Dr FrancisZammit Dimech augured that this Conference would further enhance the voice of the culinaryprofession.• 12 March 2005 Environment and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino discussed the preparationsfor the visit of European Environment Commissioner Stravos Dimas to Malta in May, during a shortmeeting with the Commissioner in Brussels. Mr Pullicino was taking part in the EU's EnvironmentCouncil during which agreement was reached over targets for greenhouse gas emissions to benegotiated for post-2012.• 12 March 2005 Certain debtors were defaulting on their payments because they knew creditors wouldhave to undergo a long legal process to recoup their debts said the Malta Chamber of Commerce andEnterprise during a meeting with Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry ofJustice and Home Affairs. Both sides discussed the White Paper entitled Towards A Better And MoreExpeditious Administration Of Justice, published in January.• 12 March 2005 Junior Chamber International - Malta held its first JCI European Presidents' Summitand European Development Council. About 100 delegates from all over Europe met to discuss anumber of issues and projects concerning JCI around Europe. JCI Malta is an organisation aimed toserve as the forum for the development of bold and stimulating leaders and also organises projects infour areas of opportunity: international, business, individual and community. http://www.jci.org.mt• 12 March 2005 The report - Smoke-Free Europe, Reviewing Progress, Prescribing Action - preparedby the UK's Tobacco Control Resource Centre lists Malta together with Ireland, Italy, Norway andSweden as one of the countries that have smoke-free enclosed public places and workplaces, with verylimited exemptions. Thousands of families are enjoying smoke-free public places for the first timethanks to new smoking regulations, doctors from all over Europe were told during the Oslo meeting.• 12 March 2005 The National Statistics Office said that the visible trade gap in January widened byLm12.6 million to Lm33.2 million from Lm20.6 million in the same period last year. Total importswere Lm10.9 million more than in January 2004 whereas the value of total exports showed a drop ofLm1.7 million from Lm70.8 million in the previous year. In the month under review, the EuropeanUnion remained Malta's main trading partner, with 73.3% of total imports.• 12 March 2005 Gozo Channel ferries carried 721,272 passengers in the last quarter of 2004, anincrease of 2.4% over the same period a year before according to the National Statistics Office. Incontrast fewer passenger vehicles made the crossing, down by 1.6 % over the corresponding period in2003. In the three months under review, Gozo Channel performed 4,264 trips between the two islands,an increase of 2.4% over the same period the year before.

• 12 March 2005 The British Broadcasting Corporation has contacted the Royal British Legion (Malta)along with the main organisations and bodies involved in commemorating the 60th anniversary of VEDay, to help in the production of a programme to mark the anniversary. The BBC is researching andlooking for people who have lost touch with friends and service colleagues since 1945, or unsungheroes from the war with interesting stories to tell. The production team can be contacted on 08705122 230 or wma@bbc.co.uk• 13 March 2005 67.5 % voted for the local council elections in 21 localities, a drop of 4.8 % comparedto three years ago. Shops and bars within 50 metres of the polling station were relieved as, for the firsttime, the regulations did not bar them from opening for business while voting was under way. Oneinnovation for this year's elections is the choice of mayor - the candidate of the majority party winningthe largest number of first preference votes will now fill the post.• 13 March 2005 Malta and India have agreed to increase political and trade co-operation in talks by apolitical and trade mission led by Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo in New Delhi, Mumbai(Bombay) and Bangalore later this year. Dr Frendo and his Indian counterpart K. Natwar Singh alsosigned a Memorandum of Understanding, which provides for yearly political consultations between thetwo countries on areas of mutual interest.• 13 March 2005 During his address to a ministerial meeting at the Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO), held in Rome, Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Agriculture and Fisheries within theMinistry for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Dr Francis Agius, said that the issue of illegal,unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Mediterranean was of serious and increasing concernas such activity seriously undermined efforts to conserve and manage fish stocks• 13 March 2005 Malta got a positive report on its record on human rights practices following athorough study of all aspects by the US State Department. The report for 2004 was recently submittedto the US Congress and the Committee of Foreign Relations of the US Senate as stipulated by law.These country reports are normally given much importance when it comes to deciding on US aid tovarious countries.• 13 March 2005 Green MEP Helene Flautre has raised the Maltese government's rejection of therequest by 100 Maltese journalists to be allowed to visit detention centres, in a question tabled in theEuropean Parliament. On the initiative of Alternattiva Demokratika's spokesman on EU Affairs,Arnold Cassola, Ms Flautre asked if the Commission was aware that the Maltese governmentconsistently denied media access to the closed detention centres for irregular immigrants.• 14 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the government was carrying out anambitious reform programme and making responsible decisions which could weaken the party'spopularity and the electoral loss suffered by the Nationalist party was a reflection of this. Dr Gonziwho was addressing a news conference said whichever way the result was analysed the governemntwas taking note of it. However one also had to keep in mind that the party was still in the second yearof its legislature and the general election was still a few years away.• 14 March 2005 "Knowledge-based economies are the key to future prosperity, and overcomingtechnological and other inequalities will be much in the minds of Commonwealth Heads ofGovernment when they meet in Malta in November” said the Queen in her message to markCommonwealth Day. The Queen also underlined the importance which the Commonwealth places oneducation.• 14 March 2005 Guzé Cassar Pullicino, one of the giants of Maltese literature, has passed away. MrCassar Pullicino is recognised as having been one of the leading researchers on Maltese folklore andthe Maltese language. He authored several studies on the Maltese language and its leading writers aswell as on folklore. In 1993 he received the degree of Master of Philosophy, honoris causa from theUniversity of Malta and the Midalja ghall-Qadi tar-Repubblika.• 14 March 2005 The government and the Local Councils Association have signed an agreement whichwill see IT facilities in all 68 councils upgraded and through which each council will be assigned twoor three former shipyard workers who are on the books of IPSL. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi saidthe agreement fitted perfectly into the government's plan to take all the initiatives which wouldimprove the public service.• 14 March 2005 A Journalists' Committee has been set up in order to continue pressing the governmentto grant media access to immigrants' detention centres. This is the follow up to a petition sent by the

same journalists to Justice and Home Affairs Minister, Tonio Borg on February 16, seeking access tothe centres.• 15 March 2005 Revenue from eco-contributions reached Lm370,844 between September andDecember last year and Lm26,741 in January, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in reply to aparliamentary question.• 15 March 2005 The EU launched a Green Paper with proposals on finding solutions for "internationalcouples" seeking divorce. The paper discusses the difficulties faced by couples of differentnationalities who need to know which member state's divorce law is applicable. Justice CommissionerFranco Frattini said that "although Malta does not permit divorce, its laws already recognise a divorceobtained in foreign courts and, therefore, this Green Paper also concerns Malta".• 16 March 2005 The Prime Minister presided over a prize-giving ceremony on the occasion ofCommonwealth Day, handing out prizes to sixth form students who took part in this year'sCommonwealth Day Essay Competition. Dr Gonzi asked for a collective effort with regards theCommonwealth summit which he described as the single-most important event for Malta this year.• 16 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi gave an account of events that led to his referring areport, alleging irregularities in the allocation of the Mater Dei Hospital tender, to the head of policefor investigation. Dr Gonzi was testifying before Magistrate Giovanni Grixti in the compilation ofevidence against private investigator Joseph Zahra, 50, of Marsascala, who is pleading not guilty tofiling a report against people he knew to be innocent and spreading false news that could alarm thepublic.• 16 March 2005 Last January saw a resurgence in travel abroad compared to the same month last year,with a total of 14,117 Maltese passengers departing by air - an increase of 17.6%. The NationalStatistics Office, which released the figures, said the increase was mainly due to an 8.1% rise in thenumber of Maltese travelling to the UK over January 2004. Maltese air departures to Britain made up29% of the total.• 16 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in reply to a parliamentary question that theInland Revenue Department paid out Lm13.8 million in refunds of income tax last year.• 16 March 2005 The fisheries ministers of the member states of the European Union have reached aunanimous political agreement on the proposal to set up the Community Fisheries Control Agency.The agency will have all the EU member states represented on its executive board and the EuropeanCommission will have six representatives on the agency, including Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg.• 16 March 2005 Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, George Pullicino, attended themeeting whereby the Community Fisheries Control Agency was set up. He said Malta welcomed thenew initiative as it will enhance the cooperation between member states in the fisheries sector as wellas benefit small states like Malta especially in the area of monitoring and protection in the case ofillegal fishing within EU waters.• 16 March 2005 The website of the Ministry for Urban Development and Roads was the first websitefalling under the gov.mt domain to get the approval of Foundation for Information TechnologyAccessibility (Malta). www.mudr.gov.mt was launched to give insight into and keep the publicabreast with the advancements on the upgrading of the country's land transport infrastructure and thefacilitation of capital projects undertaken by the Government of Malta directly or in partnership withthe private sector.• 17 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi asked his Finnish counterpart, Matti Vanhanen, toinclude illegal immigration in the programme of Finland's EU presidency in the latter half of 2006. DrGonzi and Mr Vanhanen addressed a joint press conference at Auberge de Castille, in Valletta at theconclusion of the Finnish Prime Minister's working visit to Malta.• 17 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the measure dealing with public holidays fallingon weekends was but one of the means through which the government aimed to enhance nationalcompetitiveness. He was speaking on the country's competitiveness when he met a delegation from theChamber of Commerce and Enterprise headed by chamber president Louis Apap-Bologna.

• 17 March 2005 A parliamentary delegation consisting of members of the foreign and European affairscommittee left Malta for a week-long visit to China at the invitation of the foreign affairs committee ofthe National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).• 17 March 2005 Maltese children aged between seven and 11 are the most obese and overweight in theEU, data published in Brussels shows. The data is included in a briefing paper prepared by theInternational Obesity Task Force (IOTF) in conjunction with the European Association for the Study ofObesity (EASO) as the EU launches a new initiative against obesity.• 17 March 2005 Ten new fishing boats bought by SOS Malta have been handed over to the fishingcommunity of Deruwela, a small tsunami-stricken village in the south of Sri Lanka. The boats werepresented by Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Rahinda Majapaksemet Dr Frendo in Colombo and thanked the Maltese for their generosity and assistance.• 18 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has written to his British counterpart, Tony Blair,congratulating him for publishing the Report of the Commission for Africa and supporting theCommission's work. Dr Gonzi said that should Mr Blair request the Commonwealth Secretary Generalto include the Commission's report in the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting to be held inMalta later this year, the Maltese government would lend its support to such a request.• 18 March 2005 Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment George Pullicino said that Malta isbenefiting, for the first time, from €350,000 worth of rice and pasta donated by the European Union.The products, coming from European surplus stocks, are distributed under the European AgricultureGuidance and Guarantee Fund to the more needy members of society. The Minister was speakingduring the distribution of the products.• 18 March 2005 Among the 10 new member states of the EU, Malta is the country with the highestnumber of people favouring harsher anti-immigration rules. This emerges from an EU-wideperceptions survey, included in a report by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism andXenophobia. Malta expressed the strongest support for the idea that the multicultural society hasreached its limits and was the most opposed to the granting of civil rights to legal migrants.• 18 March 2005 The European Commission has issued a letter of formal notice to Malta and 10 othermember states in the first step towards the commencement of infringement procedures over an airservices agreement with the United States.• 18 March 2005 The recent doubling of the departure tax for passengers flying out of Malta is stillbeing opposed by two Maltese MEPs even though the European Commission's stand is that the taxdoes not breach EU law. Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs, responsible for taxation, made it clear that thedeparture tax issue is up to the national government to decide as there is no community legislationcovering this area.• 19 March 2005 Malta Enterprise has extended a Lm1 million soft loan to money printers De La Ruetowards an investment of Lm1.5 million being made by the company this year in the upgrading ofmachinery. The cheque was presented to the management by Austin Gatt, Minister for Investments,Industry and Information Technology, during a visit to the plant.• 19 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi refused to rule out taking measures to restrict thepower of unions if they continued to adopt a "cowboy type" attitude but in the same breath made anappeal for "reason to prevail". Dr Gonzi said the General Workers' Union's action at Enemalta - whichcaused aircraft to be diverted for refuelling on Wednesday and Thursday - hurt the country " where itdoes not need to be hurt at this point in time".• 19 March 2005 Although Malta's structural deficit has been reduced drastically over the last year, it isstill considered very high by EU standards. According to the latest statistics published by the EU'sstatistical arm, Eurostat, Malta's deficit last year was 5.2% of GDP, the second highest among the 25member states, after Greece.• 19 March 2005 The inflation rate last month stood at 2.77%, up from 2.74 in January, the NationalStatistics Office said. The Retail Prices Index for February went up by 0.63% to 105.33 from 104.70.• 19 March 2005 Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Competitiveness and Communications,Edwin Vassallo has emphasised the need for local banks to improve their loan schemes to the selfemployedand owners of small business, particularly for investment in research and innovation.

Addressing a number of self-employed at a consultation meeting, Mr Vassallo praised the initiativetaken by HSBC and Malta Enterprise to offer schemes to assist SMEs.• 20 March 2005 Present defects and future prospects of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership were thedominant themes of a high-level closed conference entitled "The Enlarged EU and its SouthernNeighbours". The event was co-organised by the UK Foreign Office think-tank, Wilton Park, theMinistry of Foreign Affairs and the University of Malta's Mediterranean Academy for DiplomaticStudies.• 20 March 2005 Minister of Foreign Affairs, Michael Frendo, said that political stability and long-termsecurity in the Mediterranean can only be achieved through a revamped and revitalised Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The Minister was addressing the Wilton Park conference in a keynote onthe record but unscripted speech.• 20 March 2005 A cabinet meeting was held to evaluate the strategy that would lead to the introductionof the euro as Malta's currency. Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Tonio Fenech saidthat the Cabinet had made an economic evaluation of the situation and discussed the Central Bank'sreport but no decision was taken on the issue.• 20 March 2005 Over 50 researchers in ethnology and folklore convened in Malta for the firstinternational conference on ritual. The four-day meeting was held in association with SIEF, theInternational Society for Ethnology and Folklore. Dr Mifsud-Chircop, representative of Mediterraneanritual, said that “the conference represents a mine of research carried out during the past two years.”• 21 March 2005 EU Finance Ministers reached a compromise deal to reformulate EU budget deficitrules, a key element of the so-called Stability and Growth Pact - the rules underpinning the euro. All 25EU finance ministers, including Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, met for an 11-hour marathon FinanceMinisters' meeting (Ecofin), aimed at brokering a deal on the revision of the pact. Dr Gonzi confirmedthat a deal was reached and said Malta was extremely satisfied with the agreement.• 21 March 2005 The government has moved an important step closer to the legislation for non-profitmaking organisations. The Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity will simultaneously issue aWhite Paper and the draft of the Bill, for public consultation, after this has been presented to andapproved by Cabinet.• 21 March 2005 A "charge" of Lm2 levied by Gozo Channel on passengers taking private pleasuretrips to Gozo will be stopped in view of an investigation by the European Commission. The decisionwas taken unilaterally by Gozo Channel which used to levy the "charge" in order to protect itsmonopoly.• 22 March 2005 Malta has been placed at the bottom of a league table of EU member states' progresstowards meeting the goals of the Lisbon Strategy. The "scorecard", compiled by the highly reputableLondon-based think-tank CER (Centre for Economic Reform), compares the progress made since 1999and is based on an in-depth analysis of 17 "quantifiable" Lisbon goals, varying from employment,innovation and education, to the environment.• 22 March 2005 The Government said that both small and institutional investors reacted verypositively to the Government Stock issue with the Treasury receiving a total of 3,266 applicationsbetween March 14 and 17 with a total value exceeding Lm74.5 million, when the stock issuesamounted to Lm40 million. Applications from small investors amounted to over Lm16 million.• 22 March 2005 More than 200 literary experts and literature lovers from all over the world met inMalta for the opening of a conference of the European Association for Commonwealth Literature andLanguage Studies (EACLALS). The conference is being held in Malta for the second time since 1978because as declared by EACLALS chairman Geoffrey Davis it offered the ideal location being both a"respected member of the Commonwealth" and an EU member.• 22 March 2005 The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association in collaboration with the MaltaTourism Authority has launched the HOTSME, a project aimed at addressing the needs of smalleraccommodation establishments within the EU where there was lack of training opportunities. TheLeonardo da Vinci Community Vocational Training Action Programme is financing 72% of theproject.• 22 March 2005 Over Lm25,500 were spent on Good Friday processions last year when losses reachedalmost Lm9,000 more than that registered in 2003 according to the National Statistics Office.

Maintenance comprised the largest expenditure - 27.7% of the total. This was followed closely byexpenditure on outdoor activities, which showed quite a substantial increase - up from 17.9% in 2003to 24.2% in 2004.• 23 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, in Brussels for an EU summit, reiterated Malta'sopposition to the proposed services directive, arguing it could have a negative effect on the Malteseeconomy. Under the current proposals - which are opposed particularly by France and Germany - thedirective would make it possible for professionals such as lawyers and doctors to work withoutrestrictions in all 25 member states.• 23 March 2005 A Bell 412 EP helicopter left Malta International Airport for a 10-minute flightmarking the resumption of the Malta-Gozo air link. The inaugural flight was reserved for reporters andcameramen as well as personnel from the Ministry of Competitiveness and Communications and theMinistry for Gozo including ministers Censu Galea and Giovanna Debono.• 23 March 2005 EU Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Commissioner Joe Borg visited Boulogne-sur-Mer,in France at the invitation of the French Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Rural AffairsDominique Bussereau. Dr Borg said Boulogne and the surrounding area was proof of the contributionthe Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) made to the local economy.• 23 March 2005 Leaders of the European People's Party (EPP), including Maltese Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi, appealed for common sense to prevail in order for Croatia to solve the impasse it haswith the EU and start accession talks as soon as possible.• 24 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that now that the Lisbon Strategy has beenrelaunched, Malta will do its utmost to set its targets until 2010 and reach them. Dr Gonzi wasspeaking to the press at the conclusion of the EU summit in Brussels.• 24 March 2005 Maltacom plc signed an agreement with Ericsson to transform and upgrade its networkinto soft-switch technology. This means that the networks of Maltacom will be able to support anyinternet protocol-based system or product the continuously changing telecommunications environmentmay develop. Minister for Industry, Investment and Information Technology, Austin Gatt described it"an investment in the country's future".• 24 March 2005 The Ministry for Competitiveness and Communications, through the Consumer andIndustrial Goods Directorate of the Malta Standards Authority, has launched its first of a series ofInitial Consultation Documents (ICD 01/2005) on a Proposal for a Directive of the EuropeanParliament and of the Council laying down rules on nominal quantities for pre-packed products,repealing Council Directives 75/106/EEC and 80/232/EEC, whilst amending Council Directive76/211/EEC.• 24 March 2005 Children's Commissioner Sonia Camilleri said that her office still lacked a realisticbudget enabling her to do all the work set by law. Nevertheless both Family and Social SolidarityMinister Dolores Cristina and Labour MP Marie Louise Coleiro agreed that the work done during thecommissioner's first year in office was impressive especially because of the number of issues shemanaged to cover.• 24 March 2005 The tourism industry has shown signs of recovery in the last quarter of 2004, judgingby the latest hotel occupancy data. Results presented by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association(MHRA) in relation to occupancy, room rates and profit margins for the October to December periodshowed occupancy levels went up in three-, four- and five-star hotels.• 24 March 2005 The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts (MCCA) unveiled its website whichpresents up to date information about its activities and current cultural and artistic events taking placearound Malta and Gozo. Artists and organisations organising cultural events, exhibitions,competitions, productions or who have other news relevant to the MCCA website may e-mail details ofthe event in English or Maltese. www.maltaculture.com• 26 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said during an interview that in spite of recentelectoral results the mechanism within the party operated well during this campaign given all thecircumstances. Dr Gonzi also argued that the tough decisions taken are already bearing fruit and hepledged the government would be doing even more to stamp out abuse.• 26 March 2005 A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs said that Rome asked theMaltese government to look into the matter of the possibility of Maltese men bringing about the deaths

of at least six Chinese and Mongolian illegal immigrants during a human trafficking operation. TheMaltese police are in touch with their counterparts in Ragusa with the aim of shedding some light on acriminal ring thought to involve Chinese and Maltese persons.• 26 March 2005 A total of 8,094 unemployed persons were registering under Part 1 and Part 2 of theunemployment register last month according to the National Statistics Office. Of these, 6,419, or79.3% were men, and 1,675, or 20.7% were women. On an annual basis, there was a decrease of 736persons on the unemployment register.• 26 March 2005 Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Tonio Fenech said a committeeunder the auspices of the Ministry of Finance has been set up and is coordinating the project ofrefurbishment of Dar Malta in Brussels. At the moment, interior design details are being finalised.Once these are ready, an application for the issue of the necessary permits will be submitted to theBelgian authorities.• 26 March 2005 The Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise and the Confederation of IndianIndustries discussed potential avenues of cooperation to enable businesses in both countries tocollaborate and render the north African markets easier to penetrate for Indian products and services.The talks were held in India where the president of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Louis ApapBologna, accompanied the Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Frendo.• 26 March 2005 The National Statistics Office said that recurrent revenue in February totalled Lm97.9million and made up 10.9% of this year's budget forecast. Compared to the same period last year, thisrepresents a decrease of Lm3 million, or 3%. Total expenditure, excluding contributions to the sinkingfunds and direct loan repayments, amounted to Lm144.5 million, an increase of Lm12.4 millionexpended in the same period last year.• 26 March 2005 The Malta Tourism Authority said it issued 663 new licences last year, including onefor a hotel, 46 for bars and catering establishments, 175 for holiday premises, five for dive centres,three for travel operators and 433 for host families. The licences were issued after inspectionsconfirmed that the premises conform to regulations established for that sector.• 26 March 2005 Malta International Airport has again scored significant results in overall passengersatisfaction, according to the Global Monitor Report for 2004 compiled by AETRA’s which is theworld’s leading airport benchmarking programme. The report analyses the perceptions of over 84,000international travellers and provides an up-to-date marketing index to measure the quality of servicethe monitored airports provide.• 26 March 2005 Former Cabinet Minister Joe Fenech, who set up the infrastructure for Malta todevelop into a financial centre and helped to build a high profile for the island in ship registration,passed away. He was 73.• 26 March 2005 Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech said our country waswitnessing a great revival in the arts and culture. This revival was the product of all the differentstakeholders within this sector, whom he wished to thank. The Minister was presenting awards to thisyear’s scholarship dance students at St Agatha’s Auditorium, Rabat .• 26 March 2005 A group of Japanese students ended their tour in Malta with a brief meeting with DrFrancis Zammit Dimech, Minister for Tourism and Culture, at the Auberge d’Italie. The Minister saidthat he was pleased that students from Japan are choosing Malta for the study of the English languageand at the same time are taking great interest in our heritage. He augured that more Japanese students,and their parents, visit Malta to study English and for their holidays.• 26 March 2005 Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech said in his closing addressduring the First International Conference of the Working Group within the International Society ofEthnology and Folklore, that the conference was not only academically interesting but also had at leastthree more dimensions of significance – namely political, of particular interest to Malta andeconomical.• 27 March 2005 The Maltese Government has vowed to do its utmost to root out the traffickers thatallegedly forced nine illegal immigrants to jump to their death off the coast of Ragusa, Sicily onThursday. Both the government and the police strongly rebutted claims made by the Italian officialsand the media that Malta was lax in the immigration controls.

• 28 March 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is convinced that the difficult decisions being takenby the government today will lead to an improvement in people's quality of life. Dr Gonzi, who wasgiving an interview, also said that the turbulence within the Nationalist Party at present helps keep theparty on its toes.• 28 March 2005 The police in Malta have held a number of people in connection with last week'sdrowning of illegal immigrants off Sicily, said Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg. DrBorg said the local authorities were still awaiting further information about the survivors and that theItalian authorities had not yet submitted an official report giving the names and other details of theillegal immigrants.• 28 March 2005 Italian ambassador Alvise Memmo said the Italian government was "upset" that theMaltese authorities were resisting a request to take back 46 Chinese immigrants who, "evidenceproved", had left from Malta. Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Tonio Borg said Malta wouldaccept to bring the Chinese migrants back once it was satisfied they had indeed left from here.• 28 March 2005 Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt has written tothe general secretary of the European Trade Union Congress to explain that Enemalta employees hadbeen suspended because the General Workers' Union had acted in clear breach of the collectiveagreement.• 28 March 2005 The newly-elected president of the Federation of Industry, Adrian Bajada, has calledon all social partners to restart negotiations on a new social pact in view of the economic targets Maltawants to reach in line with the Lisbon Strategy. Mr Bajada was in Brussels last week to attend anextraordinary general meeting of Unice, the European business and industry umbrella organisation,which elected a new president.• 28 March 2005 Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment FrancisAgius announced the start of the exportation of potato to Holland, adding that this annual appointmenthad become more important now that the export quota had been lifted following Malta's EUmembership. Speaking to more than 500 farmers Dr Agius said that now that Malta was an EUmember, new markets to export potatoes should be found.• 28 March 2005 British author Andrea Levy has won the Commonwealth Writers' top prize for 2005with her fourth novel Small Island. President Emeritus Guido de Marco, chairman of theCommonwealth Foundation, announced the winners during the Association of CommonwealthLiterature's triennial conference dinner at the SAS Radisson.• 29 March 2005 Valletta Day was commemorated by the Valletta Alive Foundation with a receptionheld at the Malta Stock Exchange. In a speech, President Edward Fenech-Adami spoke about howmore and more Maltese were becoming aware of national heritage. Similarly, he said, there was anincreased consciousness of the historic and cultural importance of Valletta. The President also spokeabout the need to make Valletta a more liveable city by the appropriate re-adaptation of buildings• 29 March 2005 The Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs said that although local councils wereautonomous, no meeting of the Local Councils' Association or of the mayors can assume powers thelaw does not grant them. The ministry was replying to a statement issued by the Local Councils'Association insisting that any directive to councils had to be issued by the association after anagreement is reached by the mayors in a meeting called by the association.• 29 March 2005 According to the National Statistics Office, tourist departures by air in February wereestimated at 45,053, a drop of 11.5% when compared to the same month last year. Sea departures wereestimated at 84 tourists. As a result, total tourist departures amounted to 45,137. Minister for Tourismand Culture Dr Zammit Dimech said the decline was mainly due to seasonal factors such as this year'searly Easter.• 29 March 2005 A group of art journalists from the UK came to Malta on a short visit in order to viewthe Caravaggio paintings at St John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta. During their stay, the group met PhilipFarrugia Randon, author of two books on Caravaggio, and the Minister for Tourism and CultureFrancis Zammit Dimech• 30 March 2005 The Building Industry Consultative Council has published a document proposingconditions to be adhered to during the excavation of building sites, the demolition of buildings and thelaying of dividing walls between buildings belonging to different owners.

• 30 March 2005 A report on gender equality in science issued by the European Commission shows thatMalta has registered good progress in this area over the last few years, although more is expected asthe number of women graduates in scientific subjects is still lower than the EU average.• 30 March 2005 Nature Trust, the environmental NGO, has welcomed the fact that the first draft of theBill on NGOs has been approved by the Cabinet and will be available for public consultation in thecoming weeks.• 31 March 2005 According to the National Statistics Office, the main reason for inactivity amongwomen (62.9%) was personal and family responsibility, while only 3.1% of men were inactive for thatreason. More men (24.5%) were inactive due to education and training as opposed to women (11.5%).The major reason for men's inactivity was retirement, at 55.6%, and illness and disability kept moremen than women away from the labour market (12.8% and 4.2% respectively).• 31 March 2005 The Minister for Urban Development and Roads, Jesmond Mugliett has appealed tocar agents to explore the possibility of importing environment-friendly cars. These, he said, could workon electricity or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or could be hybrid vehicles which run on more thanone source of power, such as petrol-electric and diesel-electric. Mr Mugliett was speaking at theopening of the 16th edition of the Motor Fair at the Trade Fair Grounds in Naxxar.APRIL• 1 April 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami inspected the guard of honour and together with PrimeMinister Lawrence Gonzi, placed flowers at the foot of the monument during the commemoration ofFreedom Day - when the British Services left Malta on March 31, 1979. An Armed Forces of Maltaguard of honour and band assembled at Gavin Gulia Square, Cospicua and marched to the FreedomMonument, in Vittoriosa.• 1 April 2005 A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that two senior diplomats at Malta'sembassy in Beijing have been questioned by the police in Malta over suspected irregularities in theissue of visas.• 1 April 2005 The motor trade sector registered a decrease in its turnover index of 39.5% in the fourthquarter of last year when compared with the same quarter in 2003, from 184.5 in 2003 to 111.7 in2004. The supporting and auxiliary transport sector and the retail trade sector also recorded drops intheir turnover indices of 28.5% and 25.9% respectively. The hotels and restaurants sector index rosefrom 91 to 112.8, an increase of 24%. The air transport sector registered an increase of 22%.• 1 April 2005 Minister for Competitiveness and Communications Censu Galea said that the NewConsumer Credit Regulations recently published in the Government Gazette are intended to providefor better and more modern methods of carrying out credit transactions in Malta on the basis of the EUframework Directives for consumer credit. The Minister was addressing a seminar organised by theMalta Business Bureau on Consumer Credit.• 1 April 2005 Marsa won the open category of the Freedom Day regatta and Marsamxett won thereserves category, in an event dwindling in popularity. Those taking part in the regatta wereVittoriosa, Cospicua, Kalkara, Marsamxett, Marsa, Senglea and newcomers Birzebbuga. Trophies werepresented to the winners by Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech.• 1 April 2005 Thirteen international students of the Master of Landscape Architecture programme ofthe Anhalt University of Applied Sciences (Germany) have worked on ideas for incorporating morelandscape architecture on Gozo. Minister for Gozo Giovanna Debono who officially opened theexhibition of the students’ work expressed her hope that landscape and planning will be integrated inthe island’s immediate and future development.• 1 April 2005 Counterfeit cigarettes, auto parts and shoes were seized from three separate containers byCustoms officials at the Malta Freeport over the past few days. The Customs Department said that thefinds were made following checks by the vehicle and container inspection system known as VACIS.The inspections were part of the routine work to curb smuggling and the trafficking of illegalmerchandise.

• 1 April 2005 Around 9,000 ecstasy pills were seized from a Turkish passenger at the airport in asuccessful operation planned by drug squad police. It is the largest haul of ecstasy in Malta.• 1 April 2005 A British Socialist MEP has drawn the attention of the European Commission to a UKreport containing damaging claims about illegal hunting and trapping in Malta. Rural Affairs andEnvironment Minister George Pullicino stressed that the government was taking all the necessarymeasures to ensure that all laws, including those negotiated with the EU, are strictly adhered to.• 2 April 2005 Three former Presidents of Malta paid tribute to Pope John Paul II. President EdwardFenech-Adami described the Pope as a man of great humility whose death would be a big loss to theworld. President Emeritus Guido de Marco, heaped praise on the Pontiff he described as"revolutionary". President Emeritus Censu Tabone considers himself lucky that he met the Pope twice"He was a very special person and had a way of communicating with people. His words were a passageto God," Dr Tabone said.• 2 April 2005 Malta had one of the largest relative declines in unemployment among EU states inFebruary, marking its 13th consecutive fall in the jobless rate. The largest relative decreases wereobserved in Lithuania (11.6% to 8.9%), Estonia (9.9% to 8%), Malta (7.8% to 6.8%) and Slovakia(18.5% to 16.2%).• 3 April 2005 Roman Catholics in Malta joined other Catholics around the globe in praying for thePope who passed away yesterday. Prayers were topped by a Mass said by Archbishop JosephMercieca at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta. Pope John Paul II was the first pope ever to visit Maltaand he did this twice, once in 1990 and in 2001, when he declared Blessed three Maltese: Dun GorgPreca, Sr Adeodata Pisani and Nazju Falzon.• 3 April 2005 Dr Alfred Sant, leader of the Opposition, said Pope John Paul II's death left a great voidin our lives and great unhappiness. "He was a great hero of thought and action, recognising how tounite holiness with a clear and wide sense of how man has to continue to retain the values he believesin as a person," Dr Sant said.• 3 April 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami said that he believes the Constitution should beamended to enable holders of his office to send back legislation to Parliament for reconsideration, ifthey disagree with it. Dr Fenech Adami, who marks his first year as President tomorrow, also said it istime for new bishops to be appointed in Malta and Gozo.• 3 April 2005 The Italian police have accepted that a team of Maltese police officers visit Sicily toshare the information their Italian counterparts have on the tragic case of six Chinese and Mongolianillegal immigrants losing their lives in a human trafficking operation.• 3 April 2005 Another development dealing with the trafficking in humans and the treatment of illegalimmigrants is a task force which comes as a result of the national conference held on this problematicissue. The task force is made up of Minister of Justice and Home Affairs Tonio Borg; Gavin Gulia,shadow minister for the same Ministry; John Rizzo, Commissioner of Police; Dr Catherine Camillerifrom the Jesuit Refugee Services; and Dr Ruth Farrugia, from the Emigrants' Commission.• 3 April 2005 The Royal British Legion (Malta) has been informed that the British Governmentpensions and related allowances will be increased by 3.1% for this month, in line with the UK retailprice index.• 4 April 2005 Malta joined the rest of the world in mourning Pope John Paul II as the faithful tookstock of his legacy. Church bells tolled across the island, flags flew at half-mast and radio stationsplayed solemn music as a mark of respect. The government declared three days of national mourning.• 4 April 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami sent a letter of condolence to the Chamberlain of theHoly Roman Church, Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo. "Our Pope was a man of great humanitywitnessed not only by the Catholic Church but by all nations and faiths," Dr Fenech-Adami wrote.Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that although the Pope has died, people would treasure hismessages for many years.• 4 April 2005 A new wing of the Holy Family old people's home in Naxxar is to be called after PopeJohn Paul II. The foundation stone of the extension was laid by President Edward Fenech-Adami. Thehome is run by the Catholic Action Movement and the new wing will have 18 rooms. The homecurrently houses 66 persons.

• 4 April 2005 The departure tax increase for Maltese and Gozitans travelling to other countries and thetax on mobile telephony will be re-examined in detail by the European Commission, which will alsopresent its first draft of a new directive on vehicle registration tax. EU Taxation Commissioner LaszloKovacs made these commitments following a meeting with MEP Joseph Muscat during a meeting ofthe European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee.• 4 April 2005 Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino led an official delegation toTunisia for talks on cooperation in the areas of agriculture and the environment, particularly on theissues of animal husbandry, fisheries and waste management. Meetings were held with the Minister ofAgriculture and Hydraulic Resources, Habib Haddad who had invited Mr Pullicino, and NadhirHamada, Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development.• 5 April 2005 Hundreds of Maltese faithful are packing their bags in time to bid a personal farewell toPope John Paul II, as Rome expects to draw the greatest tide of pilgrims and heads of state in thelargest ever ceremony of its kind. The Maltese government will be represented by the PresidentEdward Fenech-Adami, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo.• 5 April 2005 Archbishop Joseph Mercieca will attend the Pope's funeral Mass at St Peter's Basilica, inRome on Friday, the Curia said. Malta's bishops led the islands' official tributes to the late Pope with amessage expressing their grief to Cardinal Edoardo Martinez Somalo, who is responsible for theadministration of the Holy See until a new Pope is elected.• 5 April 2005 The House of Representatives saluted the memory of Pope John Paul II in a specialcommemorative sitting. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the Pope had been an extraordinarybeacon of light for the world showing how one should preach and live Christian values in today's life.Speeches were also made by Leader of Opposition, Alfred Sant and Speaker of the House, AntonTabone. MPs then observed a minute's silence.• 5 April 2005 Minister for Justice and Home Affairs Tonio Borg said that the Maltese authoritiesreceived 2,452 applications for visas from Chinese citizens between July last year and March 30 thisyear in reply to a parliamentary question. The Minister revealed that 1,793 were accepted and 659were refused.• 5 April 2005 As from today no smoking is allowed in any entertainment establishment, irrespective ofits size, unless it has a smoking room that complies with a number of technical specifications. Ministerof Health, the Elderly and Community Care, Louis Deguara, said that before today certainestablishments could have abused the clause regarding size but from now on the rules applied to all.• 5 April 2005 At least 27 factories are expected to open during the rest of this year, Investment,Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt, said in reply to a parliamentary question.They are expected to employ 900 within three years.• 5 April 2005 The Maltese economy is recovering following a period of decline due to internalrestructuring and a negative international situation, according to a new report by the EuropeanCommission. The report, issued by the directorate general for economic and financial affairs, forecastsacceleration in real economic growth during the current year and in 2006.• 5 April 2005 The eurozone industrial producer price index rose by 0.4% in February compared withthe previous month, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Communities. EU25prices also increased by 0.4%. In January prices rose by 0.6% in the eurozone and by 0.7% in theEU25.• 5 April 2005 Chief Justice Vincent DeGaetano told 50 new lawyers and four new legal procuratorsduring a swearing-in ceremony at the law courts that as lawyers and legal procurators they were firstand foremost professionals bound by an oath and by ethical theory and that therefore they were notonly duty-bound towards their clients but also towards the courts and society.• 5 April 2005 Microsoft Eastern Mediterranean, in collaboration with the Malta College of Arts,Science and Technology, launched the .Net Club. The .Net Club programme is an initiative that aimsat helping bridge the gap between IT students and the IT industry, through the creation of student clubsthat develop relations with Microsoft and local partners.

• 5 April 2005 Assistant Commissioner Andrew Seychell, Immigration Inspector Sandro Zarb andHomicide Squad Inspector Christopher Pullicino left for Sicily to meet their Italian counterpartsinvestigating the death of Chinese immigrants off Sicily.• 6 April 2005 Tonio Fenech, Parliamentary Secretary in the Finance Ministry gave details of a newscheme where about 30,000 pensioners and students would not have to fill an income tax return. Thisdoes not mean that pensioners and students who engage in any kind of paid activity would not have toinform the IRD about it. The whole object of the exemption is for the department to become moreefficient in tax collection by releasing those pensioners and students whose income does not fall withina taxable band.• 6 April 2005 The Cleansing Services Department collected a staggering 3,677 tonnes of materialdumped in the countryside in the first three months of the year, underlining the ever-pressing problemof illegal dumping. All kinds of rubbish, was still being blatantly dumped everywhere, from valleys toindustrial estates and main roads, the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry lamented.• 6 April 2005 The ratio of exports of goods and services to the Gross Domestic Product dropped from94.3 % in 2000 to 75.5% last year, the National Statistics Office said.• 6 April 2005 Joe Borg, the Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, made a case for anintegrated European maritime policy involving a coordinated approach to all aspects of the oceans andseas in order to ensure their sustainable development. He said that as Europe sought to revitalise itseconomy, it was important for it to recognise the significance of its maritime dimension.• 7 April 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister, Louis Galea, said that the Ministry wasworking to bring about an increase in the number of students who are following science, technologyand mathematics subjects at all levels particularly the higher ones. He was speaking during a visit toone of the interactive sessions that form part of the Science Week programme of activities being heldat the St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity, in Valletta.• 7 April 2005 Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Tonio Fenech, said that Malta waskeen to contribute to the curbing of VAT fraud in the EU during the delivery of his opening address ofthe Malta/UK VAT fraud conference being held at the Corinthia San Gorg Hotel in St Julians. MrFenech also said that last year the VAT department netted about Lm150.5 million which is asignificant amount for an economy the size of Malta.• 7 April 2005 A delegation from the Foreign and European Affairs Committee has returned from avisit to the People’s Republic of China on the invitation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of theNational Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. During the variousmeetings, it was stressed that interparliamentary exchanges between the two countries play animportant role in the development of the excellent relations that exist between the two countries.• 7 April 2005 The Gender Equality Plan of the Employment and Training Corporation has beenfeatured as one of 25 good practices in an International Labour Organisation publication. The ILObureau said all the practices presented in the publication were practical initiatives which, it hoped,would give concrete guidance and suggestions to ILO constituents on ways to promote gender equalityin their own structures, policies and programmes.• 7 April 2005 The National Statistics Office announced that there were 8,125 registered as unemployedwith the Employment and Training Corporation in November of last year. The unemployment rate was5.6%. The unemployed in the previous month numbered 8,172.• 7 April 2005 The European Commission published its last set of proposals for EU expenditure from2007 to 2013. EU budgets for this period are currently subject to a political battle between Brusselsand several national governments on various issues. Malta which has its own share of objections,primarily connected to the allocation of funds under the structural and cohesion funds, is insisting thatit should be allocated the full Objective 1 funding.• 7 April 2005 The volume of retail trade in the eurozone in February grew by 1% compared to Februaryof last year and by 1.9% in the EU25, according to first estimates released by Eurostat, the statisticaloffice of the European Communities. Compared to January of this year, the retail sales index rose by0.3% in the eurozone and by 0.4% in the EU25.

• 8 April 2005 Malta will qualify for full funding from the EU between 2007 and 2013 after a recalculationof its GDP per capita carried out by Eurostat, the EU's statistical arm. Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi described the news as "very good". The government had been lobbying hard for thecountry to be given Objective 1 status under the next EU budget after earlier estimates of its GDP hadput the country at risk of losing out on a substantial amount of funding.• 8 April 2005 According to the National Statistics Office an overall rise of 35.3% was registered in thetotal industrial new orders index in January this year compared to the corresponding month last year.• 8 April 2005 George Hyzler assumed the office of Acting President and Tonio Borg that of ActingPrime Minister in the absence of President Edward Fenech-Adami and Lawrence Gonzi who attendedthe Pope's funeral in Rome. Dr Fenech-Adami, accompanied by Mrs Fenech-Adami, Dr and Mrs Gonziand Opposition Leader Alfred Sant left this morning to attend the funeral.• 8 April 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi sent a message of condolence to Prince Albert II ofMonaco following the demise of his father Prince Rainier III on Wednesday.• 9 April 2005 Pope John Paul II was finally laid to rest in an emotional service led by Cardinal JosephRatzinger. Dignitaries started to arrive for the pope’s funeral two hours before its 10 a.m. start. Amongthe first was the Maltese delegation headed by President Edward Fenech-Adami.• 9 April 2005 Similarly in Malta daily life was also subdued, with traffic conspicuously less chaotic,business slow and television sets working overtime as Malta joined the world to bid farewell to PopeJohn Paul II. Flags flew at half-mast, Church schools were shut, many people prayed and thousandstuned in to watch the service during a Friday morning like no other.• 9 April 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami sent a message of condolence to Albert II, Prince ofMonaco, on the demise of his father, Prince Rainier III.• 9 April 2005 Malta has been identified by the Directorate for Trade of the European Commission asone of a small group of member states that are not providing important statistical data to Brussels aboutthe importation of textiles, thus slowing the decision-making process of the EU in this sector. Thisinformation is considered as very important in view of repeated calls from member states for the EU tocontrol the importation of textile products from China.• 9 April 2005 Seven cruise liners, carrying more than 7,000 passengers, sailed into Grand Harbour andPinto Wharf was a hive of activity, underlining the positive start to cruise liner tourism this year. Oneof the vessels, the Minerva II, concluded its voyage in Malta and has now entered the Malta Drydocksfor maintenance before she welcomes on board a new set of passengers starting their cruise next week.• 9 April 2005 The European Commission has adopted a proposal by Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borgon financial assistance to implement the EU's Common Fisheries Policy for 2007-13. The plannedbudget is of €2.6 billion, funding which Dr Borg said would ensure the implementation of measures tomake fisheries sustainable.• 9 April 2005 Massive limestone blocks dating back to Roman times have been unearthed duringexcavation works meant to provide a channel for rainwater to avoid flooding, near Jetties Wharf andthe Galizia canal in Marsa. The Malta Environment and Planning Authority stopped the works as soonas its enforcement officers became aware of the discovery.• 9 April 2005 The Central Bank raised the central intervention rate by 25 basis points to 3.25%. Thedecision was taken by the Governor, Michael C. Bonello, at the end of a routine meeting of themonetary policy advisory council. The rate had been stuck at 3% since September 2003, when it waslowered by 25 basis points. This is the first hike in the rate for a number of years.• 10 April 2005 Malta is one of five countries that could be slapped with a hefty fine for allegedlyallowing speculative sugar hoarding in the run-up to EU membership last May. The EU is expected toannounce a decision on April 20 whether to fine Malta, Cyprus, Latvia, Slovakia and Estonia,according to an EC draft communication, which is going to be the basis for discussion.• 10 April 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo has returned from an intensive two-dayofficial visit to Tunisia intended to strengthen relations between the two countries, during which hewas received by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

• 10 April 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said Malta has guaranteed that if it isproved, as the Italian authorities are alleging, that the Chinese immigrants who landed in Sicily camedirectly from Malta, they would be repatriated here. From here, he added, they will then be repatriatedto China. The Chinese Embassy is helping in this regard.• 10 April 2005 Malta is expected to have one of the largest population increases in the European Unionover the next few decades, in contrast to an overall decrease being projected for the EU as a whole upto 2050. According to figures released by the EU's statistical arm, Eurostat, Malta's population isexpected to reach over 508,000 by 2050, one of the largest overall increases of the 25 current memberstates.• 11 April 2005 The Institute of Maltese Journalists has joined the International Federation ofJournalists in calling on the United States government to end all speculation over "targeted killings" ofjournalists and media staff by providing "credible and convincing" reports on incidents in which 14media staff have been killed since the invasion of the country in March 2003.• 11 April 2005 Childcare facilities for 600 children at places of work are to be created as a result of theEmployment and Training Corporation's participation in an EU project aimed at boosting femaleemployment. The project, of the European Social Fund, is called Increasing Female Participationthrough Childcare Services at the Workplace.• 11 April 2005 According to the National Statistics Office, 63% of all working mothers have a full-timejob while 37% work on a part-time basis. On the other hand, 99% of working fathers work full-timewith only 1% working part-time.• 12 April 2005 A report issued by the European Commission says that although Malta has made goodprogress in the education sector, much remains to be done. Compared to average EU levels in varioussectors of education, Malta is almost always classified at the lower end of the scale, even whencompared to the other nine new member states and to the three candidate countries.• 12 April 2005 Malta has joined 71 nations taking part in the Queen's Baton Relay Change in the runupto the Commonwealth Games to be held in Melbourne in March next year. The island is hosting thegames' baton for two days. Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea launched thelocal leg of the baton relay at Floriana. Young students then took the baton to Auberge de Castillewhere they met Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.• 12 April 2005 Bank of Valletta is to push up its interest rates by 0.25% from tomorrow, following adecision by the Central Bank to increase its central intervention rate by the same percentage. BOV saidinterest rates on all loans and overdrafts denominated in Maltese liri that are linked to the base rate willincrease by 0.25%.• 12 April 2005 The visible trade gap for the first two months of this year widened by Lm36.4 million toLm75.7 million from Lm39.3 million reported in the January - February period 2004. The NationalStatistics Office said the visible trade gap in February this year alone widened by Lm12.5 million toLm31.2 million from Lm18.7 million in the same month last year.• 13 April 2005 Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that it had affirmed Malta's A long-termforeign currency and A+ long-term local currency sovereign credit ratings. The A-1 short-term foreignand local currency ratings on Malta were also affirmed. The outlook is stable. The agency said thatdespite sluggish GDP growth, the general government deficit has started a turnaround since 2004 andwas expected to decline to 3.8% of GDP this year.• 13 April 2005 Two new proposals tabled by the Luxembourg presidency hold out the prospect of evenhigher funding for the island. These include a change in the "distribution key" used by the EU for theallocation of its cohesion funds and the need for island member states to be treated on the same basis asisland regions when it comes to the distribution of EU money for structural projects.• 13 April 2005 Speaking following his participation in the EU's economic and finance ministersmeeting, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Tonio Fenech described the newdevelopments as "more good news for Malta". "We consider this as a very important step and Maltawill definitely do its utmost to drive the point home further," he said.• 13 April 2005 The European Commission has decided to start infringement procedures against Maltafor failing to provide data on its greenhouse gases emissions in 2003. The Commission said that

without this data, it could not complete on time its own report covering the EU's greenhouse gasemissions in 2003 in order to meet its obligations under the United Nations framework convention onclimate change.• 13 April 2005 The first draft of the action plan for the Qawra/Dwejra Heritage Park project has beenpublished, thus opening a consultation process that will last six weeks. The draft includes proposalsfor 25 measures to be implemented for the area to achieve the desired levels of natural and culturalheritage protection. The project is being partly financed by the European Union's Life Third CountriesScheme.• 13 April 2005 The Malta Environment and Planning Authority has published an updated version of itspolicy and design guidelines for architects and those involved in the construction industry, seeking topromote "harmony between the built environment and the natural habitat". Minister for Rural Affairsand the Environment George Pullicino said that a leap in quality in this field would only be achieved ifeveryone shouldered their responsibility towards the community.• 13 April 2005 Minister of Education, Youth and Employment, Louis Galea announced the setting upof a working group on basic adult skills with the aim of drawing up a national strategic plan on thedevelopment of such skills. The Minister said it was the government's policy that the strategy for suchskills was particularly addressed at adults who did not attend secondary education and those who leftschool without obtaining the basic education level.• 13 April 2005 Fees requested for educational programmes for children and students aged between 3and 16 this summer will be exempt from VAT. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Employmentsaid the courses had to be offered by entities that were not already licensed as a school in terms of theEducation Act. These entities had to obtain a registration certificate from the Education Division.• 13 April 2005 Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech praised the initiative ofdirectors of Miranda Publishers, Tony Aquilina and Eddie Aquilina, upon their presentation of a copyof their book Welcome Malta To Europe 360° to Tourism. The Minister, who was one of thecontributors to the book, said that in the absence of people like them the country would not be inpossession of such high quality historical and photographic works.• 13 April 2005 Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anton Tabone and Russian Ambassador,Valentin S. Vlasov discussed the latest developments in the Euro-Mediterranean region, laying strongemphasis on the parliamentary dimension. The ambassador also expressed the hope that negotiationsunderway between Maltese and Russian business entities will result in a mutually successful outcome.• 13 April 2005 Dr Stephen C. Calleya, Deputy Director and Senior Lecturer in International Relationsat the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies at the University of Malta presented a copy of hislast publication entitled “Evaluating Euro-Mediterranean Relations” to the Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives, Anton Tabone.• 13 April 2005 Band clubs in Malta and Gozo made an overall loss of Lm62,805 last year, according tofigures released by the National Statistics Office. Their total income fell by 2% from the year before,from Lm854,963 to Lm837,800. On the other hand, their expenditure increased by 9.1%, fromLm825,422 to Lm900,605.• 13 April 2005 Scores of people turned up at the Archbishop's Curia in Floriana for the draw by lot ofchildren's names to be able to attend Church schools during the coming scholastic year. The Curia saidthat 3,436 children applied to join a Church school in September but there were only 1,018 places.• 14 April 2005 Only about 150 university students, out of the institution's 8,000-strong population,listened to a debate involving the three political party leaders on campus. The discussion, organised byAEGEE, the European Students' Forum, involved Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Opposition LeaderAlfred Sant and Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Harry Vassallo.• 14 April 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi spent close to two hours outlining the government'swork over the past year, the results of which he described as giving rise to cautious optimism.Speaking at a news conference marking the government's second year in office, Dr Gonzi said this washis first year as Prime Minister and the first year of Malta in the EU.• 14 April 2005 Malta and Libya are drawing up a common paper on illegal migration to be presented atthe 5+5 meeting of countries bordering the Mediterranean in June, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo

told the European and Foreign Affairs Committee. The 5+5 is being presided by Malta this year. DrFrendo said that Malta's relations with Libya were excellent and continuing to improve.• 14 April 2005 Foreign Minister Michael Frendo gave the following list of non-resident ambassadors ofMalta: Alex Agius Cesareo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia; Albert Borg Olivier de Puget, Mexico,Brazil; George Busuttil, Peru, Uruguay; George Buttigieg, SMOM; Francis Cachia, Slovakia; MariaCilia, Algeria; Henry Degabriele, Bulgaria, Croatia; Antonio Ganado, Vatican City; Eric GeradaAzzopardi, Argentina, Chile; Carmel Inguanez, Ghana, Nigeria; Michael Refalo, Pakistan, Bangladesh;Norman Rossignaud, Bolivia, Venezuela; Saviour Stellini, Portugal; Peter Toledo, Lebanon, Syria;Albert Vella, Turkey; Mark Miceli Farrugia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; Albert Muscat Inglott,Liechtenstein, Norway; John Rizzo Naudi, Malaysia, Singapore and Joe Psaila Savona, South Africa.• 15 April 2005 Two new ambassadors presented their letters of credence to President Edward FenechAdami at the Palace, in Valletta. They are Fredrik Vahlquist, Ambassador of Sweden, and Pavli Zeri,Ambassador of Albania. Mr Vahlquist has been Sweden's resident ambassador to the Holy See sinceDecember 2002.• 15 April 2005 The European Commission unveiled a wide-ranging programme of work intended toreinforce its commitment to the Euro-Med region. In a communication to the European Council andParliament, the Commission outlined proposals for concrete progress particularly in the areasconnected to education, sustainable economic growth, human rights and democracy. One of the maininitiatives of interest to Malta is the establishment of a free trade area in the Mediterranean by 2010.• 15 April 2005 Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment said that the challenges that face us arenumerous but not insurmountable provided that we manage to strike a balance between economy andthe environment. He was addressing the Chamber of Engineers’ Annual Engineering Conference withthe theme ‘Engineering: Clean & Green’.• 15 April 2005 Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity Dolores Cristina expressed the hope “thatwhile remaining proud of our cultural heritage, the appreciation of our roots can provide us with theself-confidence needed to allow us to accept and celebrate diversity”. She was speaking at the openingof a conference: Meeting The Challenges Of Racism And Xenophobia – Racism And Public Policy.• 15 April 2005 Malta will start filing an annual report on how European Union environment legislation,specifically the rules on hunting and trapping, is being enforced locally, according to Nicholas Hanley,head of the nature and biodiversity unit of the EU Commission's DG Environment. Mr Hanley wasleading a delegation from the Commission to Malta to assess enforcement of the Habitats and the Birdsdirectives.• 15 April 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister, Louis Galea launched the NationalCouncil for the Maltese Language, which will seek to further promote and develop the language. Thecouncil will also have an executive director and its own staff.• 15 April 2005 Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea said that for the first timeever, the small crafts register of the Malta Maritime Authority has exceeded 16,000 boats. Mr Galeawas speaking during the inauguration of the Boat and Fishing Fair organised by the Trade FairsCorporation at the Naxxar trade fair complex.• 15 April 2005 The Appogg Agency and the Ejjew Ghandi Commission have signed a protocolstandardising procedures for the admission of children to residential homes. Both organisationsrecognised the need to continue to consolidate the good working relationship in the best interest ofchildren, they said in a statement.• 15 April 2005 The Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech launched fish week, afestival of local fish and imported shellfish organised by Medina Restaurant. The Minister said thatactivities related to the catering industry are part of a wider process of promoting Malta as anexperience.• 15 April 2005 The Education Ministry held a musico-literary evening at the Robert Sammut Centre, inFloriana to pay tribute to Guze Cassar-Pullicino, a scholar of folklore and Maltese literature, who diedlast month. The ministry also mounted an exhibition of books and documents by Mr Cassar Pullicinoin collaboration with the National Library.

• 15 April 2005 The Consumer and Competition Division, in concurrence with the Market SurveillanceDirectorate, has warned that unsafe trailing sockets have been found on the market. The modelnumbers of the socket outlets are EK-03, EK-04, EK-05 and EK-06. The marking on both the multiplesockets and their packing is EMKAY Japan.• 15 April 2005 A number of Chinese and Columbian illegal immigrants who crossed from Malta toSicily on March 3 and March 12 arrived back to Malta after being sent back by the Italians under anagreement between the two countries. The immigrants are being questioned by immigration police,who want to establish whether they can identify the people who ferried them to Sicily and furnish otherdetails about the middlemen involved in organising such trips.• 16 April 2005 A government core group agreed to forge ahead with a strategy for the introduction oflow-cost airlines to Malta. A meeting held between Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Tourism andCulture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, Investment, Industry and Information Technology MinisterAustin Gatt and Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Tonio Fenech endorsed a plan toensure "sustainable air travel".• 16 April 2005 Malta has lost out to Poland in a bid to host the EU's new border control agency. EUJustice and Home Affairs Ministers meeting in Luxembourg decided that Poland, the largest of the 10new member states, should be given the task. Hungary, Slovenia and Latvia had also been lobbying tobe chosen as the agency's location.• 16 April 2005 According to the European and Foreign Affairs Committee the EU is getting to gripswith the problem of illegal immigration and Malta has started to feature among the countries sufferingfrom the problem.• 16 April 2005 The European Commission has announced the start of another infringement procedureagainst Malta following the country's failure to correctly transpose into national legislation EU laws onelectronic communications, particularly with regard to mobile phone services.• 16 April 2005 Malta is one of the EU countries that are not providing information on any racistviolence that may be taking place, a report by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism andXenophobia has shown.• 16 April 2005 Malta has kept up its opposition to an EU-wide tax on airline fuel or plane tickets asbeing proposed by the German government in order to fund development in Third World countries.• 16 April 2005 A total of 27,349 Maltese passengers went abroad by air in January and February, anincrease of 9.9% over the same period last year, according to the National Statistics Office. The mostpopular destination was the United Kingdom, which accounted for 27.4% of total Maltese departures, a9.4 % increase over the same two months last year.• 17 April 2005 During a workshop in Zabbar Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the pensions reformwas one of the government's biggest challenges. Referring to developments in the past 12 months, thePrime Minister said that the people had been asked to make sacrifices and the government could nowcautiously start to report certain positive indicators such as the country saving Lm8.5 million in oneyear as a result of the reform measures which were carried out.• 17 April 2005 Sir John Houghton, a former director of the British Meteorological Office said thatmajor international action on climate change is urgently needed and should be launched by this July'sG8 summit in Scotland. He was addressing a capacity audience at a public debate organised at theMCC by MEPA in its 'Green Window Talks' series. His presentation was entitled "Climate Change:Science, Impact and Politics."• 18 April 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi declared he would rather change things for the betterand lose elections than win them by deceiving the people. "We do not want to be in government for thesake of being in power. We want to be in government to improve the country for the benefit of one andall," he said during a political activity.• 19 April 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Frendo has urged the EU not to hold back from engaging withIslamic faith-based societies. Speaking during a two-day informal gathering of the EU's ForeignMinisters in Luxembourg, Dr Frendo argued that conducting exchanges with such societies was part ofthe general dialogue between religions and cultures. He underlined the importance of retaining theMediterranean and Middle East high on the EU's agenda.

• 19 April 2005 Malta registered a high inflation rate last month when compared to the EU average.According to figures published by Eurostat, the EU's statistical arm, Malta registered an annualinflation rate of 2.6%, 0.5% higher than the average rate in the EU. Malta's inflation rate in March was0.5 % points higher than that registered a year before. Compared to February 2005 it increased slightlyby 0.1%.• 19 April 2005 European Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg has made it clear he is not happy with theway the European Union decides its fishing quotas at the end of the year and wants a change in theEU's fishing calender. The fishing quotas are considered to be a very sensitive topic by member states,particularly due to their impact on the national political situation of the countries most affected.• 19 April 2005 As reports of illegal shooting of migratory birds continue to pour in, the British presshas again lambasted Malta as a trigger-happy nation of hunters. On a positive note, Alan Knight, chiefexecutive of International Animal Rescue, said that last October he went out on a sea patrol with theMaltese police and saw first-hand their determination to catch hunters who are flouting the law.• 19 April 2005 Parliamentary Secretary for Small Businesses and Self-Employed in the Ministry forCompetitiveness and Communications, Edwin Vassallo, said that the commercial sector that registereda steady rise in employment was wholesale and retail, particularly the sector which fell under “others”in the Private Market Service. The latter encompassed a variety of services, including private schools,private health services and other personal services. Mr Vassallo was commenting on figures releasedby the NSO.• 19 April 2005 Full-time staff employed with local councils, including voluntary staff, decreased byaround 15% from 611 in 2003 to 521 last year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said. On the otherhand, part-time employment with the councils increased by 14.3%. Female staff, both full-time andpart-time, accounted for 32.3% of the total staff employed with councils last year.• 19 April 2005 The Secretary of the General People's Committee of Libya Dr Shukri Ghanem hasexpressed his satisfaction at the presence of 25 Maltese companies at the Tripoli International Fair'sMalta Pavilion section, coordinated by Malta Enterprise. On the other hand Malta Enterprise chiefofficer Ray Muscat expressed his appreciation for the support shown to Malta Enterprise by both theMalta Embassy in Libya and the Libyan Embassy in Malta.• 20 April 2005 The government congratulated the new Pope, sending the Maltese people's warmestwishes within a few hours of the election. In a letter to Pope Benedict XVI, Prime Minister LawrenceGonzi said that the values of the Catholic Church are kept close at heart by the Maltese people.• 20 April 2005 Enemalta has applied to the Malta Resources Authority and Mepa for the go-ahead toextend the power station at Delimara to produce an additional 50 MW of power, Investment, Industryand Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said in reply to a parliamentary question.• 20 April 2005 Some 764,040 tourists are estimated to have visited Mdina and Rabat last year, Tourismand Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said in reply to a parliamentary question.• 21 April 2005 Malta is expected to avoid paying a hefty penalty, running into millions of euros, thathad been envisaged by the European Commission under a regulation designed to prevent speculativesugar hoarding in the run-up to EU membership. The Commission announced it will be extending thedeadline for the calculation and elimination of surplus sugar stocks built up prior to accession in Maylast year.• 21 April 2005 In a letter congratulating the new Pope, President of Malta Edward Fenech-Adami saidhe wanted to express his sense of profound joy, on behalf of the people of Malta, on his election asSupreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church. The President also wished Pope Benedict XVI every successfor the mission entrusted to him as head of the Catholic Church and askim him to bless Malta and itspeople.• 21 April 2005 The European Union's Savings Tax Directive, which regulates income earned fromsavings and other funds held abroad, will come into force on July 1 according to ParliamentarySecretary in the Ministry of Finance, Tonio Fenech. Mr Fenech was speaking at a news conference.• 21 April 2005 "Malta may be the smallest country in the European Union, but it is a pearl with afuture," was the opinion of independent members of the Stuttgart Regional Parliament who were on a

familiarisation visit to Malta organised in conjunction with Lufthansa German Airlines. The focalpoint in the five-day visit was meetings with members of the Maltese government and GermanAmbassador Georg Merten.• 21 April 2005 The need for a double taxation avoidance agreement between Malta and the US was themain thrust of intensive discussions held between Maltese MPs and senior US government officials inthe US. Members of the Maltese Parliament's Foreign and European Affairs Committee met officialsfrom the State Department and US Treasury.• 21 April 2005 Nature Trust (Malta), the environmental NGO, has welcomed the visit to Malta of theFisheries Committee of the European Parliament. According to studies by the General FishingCommission of the Mediterranean, 88% of commercial species in the Mediterranean are over fished.• 21 April 2005 The Public Transport Association (which operates the bus service) has since 1996 beengiven Lm11.9 million in subsidies, Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett said inreply to a parliamentary question. That included Lm4 million for new buses, Lm7.4 million onoperations and Lm466,371 on insurance.• 21 April 2005 The European Parliament's Fisheries Committee is to do its utmost to tackle problemshighlighted by Maltese fishermen including unfair competition in Mediterranean fishing. Addressing anews conference at the end of a visit to Malta by the committee, member David Casa, a Maltese MEP,said the aim of the visit was to allow the committee to meet Maltese and Gozitan fishermen. Twomeetings, one in Malta and one in Gozo, had been held.• 22 April 2005 Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said that thegovernment's policy towards low-cost airlines did not stem from the desire to protect the nationalairline but that the government would not give "subsidies" unless it was in the national interest to doso. Speaking at the opening of the Amitex travel fair in Naxxar, Dr Gatt stressed that nothing couldstop a company from setting up a flying operation and charging the prices that its competitivenessallowed it to.• 22 April 2005 Parastatal entities will have to start following public service financial regulations, undera three-year action plan drawn up by the Financial Management Monitoring Unit set up by the Ministryof Finance.• 22 April 2005 The first Maltese computer keyboard was launched at the Ministry for Investment,Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The keyboard is based on the UK layout but withadditional keys for the Maltese characters.• 22 April 2005 Malta and other EU member states, including the UK and Germany, are on a collisioncourse with the European Parliament over the much debated working-time directive, which is intendedto give more rights to workers particularly by choosing whether to work extra hours.• 23 April 2005 EU governments have hammered out a deal on European Commission plans toharmonise truck tolls after three previous failed attempts to reach agreement. If the proposed tolls areeventually adopted by the EU it would mean additional costs to transport goods to and from Malta. Theissue is still to be discussed in the European Parliament.• 23 April 2005 The inflation rate last month stood at 2.83%, up from 2.77% in the previous month andfrom 1.75% in the same month last year. Last month, the Retail Prices Index went up by 0.47% to105.82 from 105.33 in the previous month.• 23 April 2005 Kick-Start, a campaign to encourage small firms to take up information technologyalong with their traditional ways of doing business, was launched by Investment, Industry andInformation Technology Minister Austin Gatt. Kick-Start sets out three types of programmes -capacity building, knowledge of e-business and long-term support.• 23 April 2005 President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici lanuched the fifth cd of an anthology ofMaltese music as well as a dvd containing copies of 5,000 photographs found at the Maritime Museumand a website of local artefacts. Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, the foundation's president, stressed theimportance of conserving Malta's cultural heritage through the use of new information technology.www.memorja.org.mt

• 23 April 2005 Maltacom will be transferring the provision of maritime communication operations inMalta's coastal areas to the Armed Forces of Malta. As from May 1, the AFM will operate MaltaRadio vital services from their operations room at Luqa Barracks. These are the maritime safetyinformation transmissions and the maritime distress systems. Customers wishing to make contact arerequested to do so on 2124 9784 or telex 1317 MW.• 23 April 2005 Lawrence Zammit was re-appointed chairman of Air Malta by the government. EucharMizzi, Joe Fenech Conti, Michael Soler, Paul Bonello and Noel Radmilli were re-appointed directors.Industry, Investment and IT Minister Austin Gatt informed Ray Arpa that the post of worker-directorhad been abolished within Air Malta. Dr Gatt thanked Mr Arpa for his service to the national airline asa worker-director over the last 14 years.• 23 April 2005 A sedentary lifestyle is believed to be the major cause of weight problems in Maltesechildren as a new Canadian study on obesity in 34 countries confirms they rank among theheavyweights. The study is based on the World Health Organisation's 2001-2002 Health Behaviour inSchool-Aged Children, which had put Maltese children close to the top of the overweight and obesityrankings.• 23 April 2005 Public library membership has been on a downward trend in the last five years, dippingby 15% last year from 6,889 in 2000, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said. The NSO reportedhowever that there was a healthy rate of membership in the northern district, especially in Gozo wherethe ratio of new members to residents last year stood at 1:38. The NSO also said that during the pastfive years, nearly Lm15 million were invested in the publishing and printing industry.• 24 April 2005 The Libyan government declared the area of the Mediterranean north of Libyanterritorial waters extending 62 miles from the line of the regional sea, an area of fishing under Libya'ssovereignty. Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo admitted that the issue was concerning sinceMaltese fishermen used this zone. Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino saidthat efforts are being made to clarify matters and ensure a solution.• 25 April 2005 Pope Benedict XVI signalled he was prepared to suffer for upholding Church values ashe urged the assembled flock gathered in front of St Peter's Basilica to pray for him during hisinaugural sermon. Dignitaries from around the world gathered in front of St Peter's Basilica for theevent, with Malta's delegation headed by President Edward Fenech-Adami and Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi who took their seats around 90 minutes before the 10 a.m. start.• 25 April 2005 Malta's membership of the European Union - but not of the Nato military alliance - iscontributing to problems in EU-Nato cooperation. Meetings which are supposed to be held every twoweeks on security issues have been interrupted because Nato member Turkey is objecting to theinclusion of Cyprus and Malta, although it is the former country that is thought to be the majorstumbling block in resolving the situation.• 26 April 2005 Malta looks likely to retain its "less favoured area" status for the purposes of EUagricultural funding, making it eligible for a high level of assistance, even as controversy surrounds anew definition being proposed by the European Commission. Malta is the only country with a lessfavoured-areastatus, which is usually granted to mountainous regions. EU compensatory paymentsamount to €1,200 per hectare of agricultural land, or about Lm10 per tumolo.• 26 April 2005 EU transport ministers have agreed on new thresholds related to the funding of maritimeprojects under the EU's Marco Polo programme, following the insistence of Malta and other smallmember states. The agreement was reached at the end of an EU Transport Council held inLuxembourg.• 26 April 2005 The Edika Group, a well-known supermarket chain in Germany, launched the first bagof traditional Maltese spring potatoes, to be sold in Berlin. The launch by Francis Agius, ParliamentarySecretary for Agriculture and Fisheries, took place in front of the Brandenberg Gate in the presence ofthe chairman and the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Germany and other distinguishedguests.• 27 April 2005 The European Commission is to look into Libya's controversial decision to create a socalledLibyan Fishing Preservation Zone in the Mediterranean, which Maltese fishermen say will havecatastrophic consequences on the size of their catches. A spokesman for EU Fisheries CommissionerJoe Borg said the commissioner could not intervene in issues related to demarcation lines but wouldget involved in issues that ultimately affected fishing rights.

• 27 April 2005 The government's action plan for next year specifically targets children as a nationalpriority area, said Joe Gerada, chief executive officer of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services.He was addressing over 130 professionals from various fields, as well as representatives from localcouncils, non-governmental organisations and the Office of the Children's Commissioner, whoattended a two-day seminar on Giving Children A Voice.• 27 April 2005 The State of the Construction Industry Report 2004 - the first document of its kind inMalta that should start being published every year - has confirmed the perceived upward trend in theprices of maisonettes and terraced houses. Besides comparing property prices, the report delves intothe contribution of the construction industry to the Maltese gross domestic product and a review ofhow policies drawn up by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority affect the sector.www.bicc.gov.mt• 27 April 2005 Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt has directedEnemalta to reverse a decision which would have seen owners of large garages linked to residencescharged at commercial rates for their electricity consumption. The decision would also have consideredcommon areas of apartment blocks as being commercial.• 27 April 2005 Minister for Justice and Home Affairs Tonio Borg said that local wardens last yearissued 217,402 tickets in reply to a parliamentary question.• 27 April 2005 The Social Security Department last year received 230,223 certificates for sicknessbenefits, including first, intermediate and final certificates, Family and Social Solidarity MinisterDolores Cristina said in reply to a parliamentary question.• 27 April 2005 The Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs defended its policies towards asylum seekersfollowing a critical report drawn up by the Institute of Race Relations in London. The study, TheDeportation Machine - Europe, Asylum and Human Rights, criticised Malta's deportation policies andtreatment of asylum seekers, saying the island's detention conditions are "among the worst in Europe".• 27 April 2005 The Cabinet announced that the government is to sell 13,530,000 Ordinary "A" sharesin Malta International Airport plc on the Malta Stock Exchange. This represents half the 40%shareholding in MIA that the government currently owns. The other 40% are owned by a consortiumled by Vienna Airport while the remaining 20% are listed on the stock exchange.• 27 April 2005 The important role Malta can play in relations between Libya and the EU washighlighted by Libyan officials during a visit by Simon Busuttil and other MEPs. The thrust of theirtalks was how the benefits that accrue from Malta's excellent relations with the north African countrycould lead to a better understanding of Libya by the EU and vice versa. The MEPs represented fivepolitical groups and seven countries.• 27 April 2005 The Central Bank of Malta left the central intervention rate unchanged at 3.25%. Thedecision was taken by the Governor at the end of the Monetary Policy Advisory Council meeting.Explaining his decision, the Governor, Michael Bonello, noted that the increase in the centralintervention rate on April 8 had been duly transmitted to money market interest rates and to bankdeposit and lending rates, but that it was still too early to assess the full impact of the decision.• 27 April 2005 A total of 8,018 unemployed persons were registering under Part 1 and Part 2 of theunemployment register last month. Of these, 6,363 or 79.4% were men and 1,655 or 20.6% women,according to the National Statistics Office. The number of registered unemployed fell by 76 over thepreceding month. On an annual basis, there was a decrease of 402 persons on the unemploymentregister, the NSO added.• 27 April 2005 The National Statistics Office said that the number of cruise passengers last monthincreased by 5,597 over March last year to 7,997. Cruise passengers from the German market rose by2,571, to 3,410. Other increases were recorded, among others, from the French (+418); Italian (+946);Spanish (+1796); Swiss (+109) and US (+76) markets.• 27 April 2005 Some 30,000 people visited Air Malta's International Travel Exhibition (Amitex) 2005last weekend at the Trade Fair grounds in Naxxar, leading the airline to describe the event as anoutstanding success. Commenting on this year's Amitex, a spokesman for Air Malta said that “theexhibitors have expressed satisfaction with the turnout."

• 27 April 2005 Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and Fisheries within the Ministry for RuralAffairs and the Environment, Francis Agius said that, “this year, 2005, signifies the beginning of a newmarket for Maltese potatoes from the smallest EU nation – Malta – to the largest – Germany”. DrAgius made the launch in front of the Brandenberger Tor in the presence of the Chairman and thePresident of the Chamber of Commerce of Germany and other distinguished guests so versant in thepotato industry.• 28 April 2005 Malta and Libya have discussed the North African country's decision to declare a 62-mile fishing preservation zone. Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo spoke about the issue bytelephone with Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul Rahman Shalgam. The Libyan government hasdeclared that any kind of fishing, whether local or foreign, is forbidden in the zone unless authorisationis granted.• 28 April 2005 Maltese MEP Simon Busuttil has called on the European Commission to give greaterconsideration to Malta's high population density when determining how EU funds should bedistributed. Dr Busuttil was speaking at a meeting of the Regional Development Committee of theEuropean Parliament which discussed a report being prepared by Italian MEP Alfonso Andria on thenew Cohesion Fund for the years 2007 to 2013.• 28 April 2005 Investment in the manufacturing industry was a sign of confidence in the country and inthe opportunities that investors had to expand their operations and increase business, Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi said. Malta's manufacturing sector was surmounting the competition by undertakingthe necessary changes and investing heavily in equipment and human resources. Dr Gonzi wasspeaking during a visit to Playmobil, Trelleborg Dowty and Nylon Knitting as part of the activitiescommemorating Labour Day.• 28 April 2005 Gross income from tourism last year amounted to Lm269.1 million, which was 2.9%higher than in 2003, Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said. The improvement in the tourismindustry had a direct effect on employment in this sector where full-time and part-time employmentswelled from 15,842 in 2002 to 16,407 in 2003 and to 17,705 by November last year. The minister wasspeaking about new investment in the industry when he visited the Victoria Hotel in Sliema.• 29 April 2005 Malta signed the first of two agreements with three member countries of the EuropeanFree Trade Association (EFTA) which will grant the island a total of €3.6 million (Lm1.5 million) tobe used for projects related to the environment, conservation, health and research. The agreement is inthe form of a memorandum of understanding signed with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.• 29 April 2005 Queen Elizabeth II will pay a state visit to Malta ahead of the Commonwealth Heads ofGovernment Meeting due to start on November 25. British High Commissioner Vincent Feanpresented President Edward Fenech-Adami with a letter from the Queen accepting the President'sinvitation for such a visit.• 29 April 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi visited three factories - Toly Products, Actavis andMethode - to meet employees and managements to commemorate Worker's Day. Dr Gonzi saidinnovation, competitiveness and the workers' abilities were vital for the manufacturing industry'ssurvival, adding the government was committed to creating a good environment for the industry togrow.• 29 April 2005 The White House said US President George Bush intends to nominate Molly HeringBordonaro of Oregon - a political appointee - to be the next American ambassador to Malta. MsBordonaro is the fifth consecutive political appointment as US Ambassador to Malta. Previousappointments were career diplomats.• 29 April 2005 A former ambassador for Malta to several countries, including Australia and China,Joseph Leonard Forace, has died aged 78. Mr Forace died in Canberra on Wednesday after a longillness. He had retired in Canberra following a successful career, which had also been dotted withincidents.• 29 April 2005 The majority of mobile phone users have no idea how much they pay for a call, eventhough the general perception is that mobile calls are expensive, according to a survey commissionedby the Malta Communications Authority. The National Statistics Office carried out the MCA'sConsumer Perceptions Survey with 700 respondents taking part. It was done to help the authority drawup better regulatory measures.

• 30 April 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi continued his visits to businesses as part of politicalactivities related to Worker's Day. Spending a day in Gozo, Dr Gonzi toured San Lawrenz Hotel,Calypso Hotel in Marsalforn, Magro Brothers tomato processors at Xewkija industrial estate, GozoCottage, Gozo Agricultural Cooperative, Casa Funghi and Vella glasshouses.• 30 April 2005 Malta is embarking on the road that would eventually lead to the adoption of the euro,though this would not be possible before two years' time. The announcement was made in Brussels andconfirmed in Malta by the government.• 30 April 2005 The idea of setting up in Malta a sub-agency for the Mediterranean within the EU's newborder control organisation is gaining ground as Cyprus openly declared its support to the proposal.• 30 April 2005 Recurrent revenue in the first three months of this year totalled Lm164.1 million andmade up 18.2% of this year's budget forecast, the National Statistics Office said. Compared to the sameperiod last year, this represents an increase of Lm12.9 million, or 8.5%.MAYImportant Note: Dates hereunder do not denote the actual dates on which the respective events occur,but refer to the dates on which they are reported in the local print media, which is normally on themorrow.• 1 May 2005 The Prime Minister declared that the fact that the European Union had decided that Maltawas suitable for membership of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) II was further recognition thatthe Maltese economy and government finances were on the right track. Dr Lawrence Gonzi wasaddressing a press conference at the Auberge de Castille.• 1 May 2005 Malta progressed in the year since it joined the European Union, while remaining true toits identity, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in a message to mark the anniversary.• 1 May 2005 Archbishop Joseph Mercieca said he hoped the people would open their hearts wideenough to Christ so that Pope Benedict XVI would find genuine support and co-operation in his effortsto bring about unity among Christ's followers. Archbishop Mercieca was speaking during a Mass ofthanksgiving at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta following the election of the Pope.• 1 May 2005 Lawyers Josella Farrugia and Mariella Wettinger were nominated by the Archbishop toserve as judges on the Marriage Tribunal of the Church in Malta of first instance, the Curia said. Theywill be the first lay judges on the tribunal. The decision to appoint lay people was taken by the bishopsto enable the tribunal to keep up with its workload.• 2 May 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi encouraged people to be positive and have faith inthemselves and their country rather than heed the prophets of doom and gloom who painted everythingblack and tried to dishearten them. Dr Gonzi was speaking at a political activity at the Greek Theatre inTa' Qali.• 2 May 2005 According to the National Statistics Office 915 persons were involved in an accident atwork in the first three months this year. Between January and March this year three men lost their lifein industrial accidents. Many of the accidents at work took place in the manufacturing (38.5%),construction (16.6%) and transport, storage and communications (7.5%) sectors.• 3 May 2005 Maltese citizens will be able to enjoy rights of freedom of movement to Switzerland, inthe same way as they do in the European Union, as a result of an agreement which the EU is about tosign with the Swiss. Maltese and Cypriots are the only citizens from the new member states to obtainsuch rights, as citizens from the other eight will have certain restrictions applied to them.• 3 May 2005 There were 967 marriage separation cases pending before the Family Court in March,Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said in reply to a parliamentary question. The ministersaid that 89 new cases were presented in the first quarter of this year and 130 cases were struck off.

• 3 May 2005 The number of public sector employees fell by 4,500 to 45,777 between 1997 andNovember 2003, bringing the government's share of total employment down to 33% from the previous38%, Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said in Parliament.• 3 May 2005 Ombudsman Joe Sammut stressed that local councils should be guided by the principlesof good administrative behaviour in their relations with the public. He also put forward examples ofhow good public administration should be put in practice at a series of meetings last week with mayorsand executive secretaries of all local councils in Malta and Gozo.• 3 May 2005 The police caught 58 persons littering last year and so far this year, Justice and HomeAffairs Minister Tonio Borg said in reply to a parliamentary question. Local wardens issued 66 ticketsfor littering. A further 17 persons were booked for littering by their dogs last year and so far this yearanother 12 booked by wardens.• 3 May 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said in reply to a parliamentary questionthat the authorities refused entry into Malta to 83 persons, in the first quarter of this year. 7 had arrivedby sea and 76 by air.• 3 May 2005 The government's pharmaceutical service owed importers of medicines and medicalequipment Lm9 million as of March, Minister for Health, the Elderly and Community Care LouisDeguara said in reply to a parliamentary question. Lm4.5 million became due in 2004.• 3 May 2005 Malta and Tunisia are to sign a cooperation agreement later this year on the advancementof women, the family and childhood, which will allow for the exchange of specialised personnel,knowledge and experience in the field. The agreement was initialled in Tunisia by Dolores Cristina,Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, and Tunisia's Minister for Women, Family and ElderlyAffairs, Saloua Ayachi Labbene.• 3 May 2005 Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee admitted that convincing the Americans torevive a double taxation agreement abrogated by the US in 1997 could prove to be an uphill struggle.The committee was on a whirlwind tour of the US, holding 27 meetings in seven days, including at theWhite House, the State and Treasury departments and the Congress.• 3 May 2005 There is a global problem of overfishing that must be addressed without further delay,EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg said. Dr Borg was attending a five-day conference on theGovernance of High Seas Fisheries and the United Nations Fish Agreement being hosted by theCanadian government.• 3 May 2005 The Institute of Maltese Journalists joined fellow professional organisations and civilsociety groups worldwide in commemorating World Press Freedom Day. Media and Good Governancewas the theme of this year's World Press Freedom Day, which has been commemorated by UNESCO(the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) since 1994.• 3 May 2005 A European Commission document shows that Malta's target for the use of biofuelsinstead of petrol and diesel for the current year is not in line with EU law. According to the document,Malta has set a target of 0.3% 2005. However, EU legislation requires that an increasing proportion ofall diesel and petrol sold in the member states be biofuels, starting with 2% in 2005 and progressivelyincreasing so as to reach a minimum of 5.75% of fuels sold by 2010.• 3 May 2005 A free information service in Maltese offered by the European Union is being used byonly a handful of people, possibly because few know about its existence. The service is part of EuropeDirect, through which anyone who wishes to obtain "first-hand" information about the EU, its policiesor laws and their effects, or to obtain the latest information about his or her newly acquired rights, canphone Brussels free of charge or get an answer via e-mail.• 4 May 2005 International oil prices have already risen higher than projected by Enemalta in its budgetfor this year, Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said inParliament. The Minister said that in line with the practice established four years ago, local fuel priceswere reviewed every three months in view of oil price fluctuations.• 4 May 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said discussions were ongoing between theMaltese authorities and the San Marino pharmaceutical company interested in opening a plant here. DrFrendo was speaking at a joint press conference held with San Marino Foreign Minister Fabio Berardi,in Malta on an official visit.

• 4 May 2005 Heroin has been branded as "a major problem for a small country like Malta" and in 2003there were 1,450 persons receiving treatment for this drug, according to the first national report on thedrug situation. The report, compiled by the National Focal Point for Drugs and Drug Addiction waslaunched by Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity Dolores Cristina.• 4 May 2005 The prison population stood at 288, of whom 216 were sentenced prisoners and 72 wereawaiting the outcome of court proceedings, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said inreply to a parliamentary question.• 5 May 2005 A book in honour of scholar Joseph Muscat, entitled De Triremibus, Festschrift InHonour Of Joseph Muscat, was launched at the Maritime Museum under the auspices of PresidentEdward Fenech-Adami. Dr Fenech-Adami said that given Mr Muscat's amiable character he was notsurprised so many scholars agreed to contribute to a work in his honour.• 5 May 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi met members of the public at Castille in the first of aseries of meetings during which he plans to listen rather than talk. Among the salient points raised wasthe unacceptable state of the roads, and the need for non-governmental organisations to be involved inthe drafting of NGO legislation.• 5 May 2005 Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea has been appointed by thePrime Minister as chairman of the Cabinet competitiveness committee which has now been specificallyassigned to take charge of the monitoring and national coordination of the implementation of theLisbon Strategy.• 5 May 2005 Analysis of Malta's performance as compared to the Lisbon Agenda targets had toconsider the fact that Malta joined the EU five years after the EU set out this agenda, Competitivenessand Communications Minister Censu Galea has insisted. One had to see what had been achieved in thecontext of the time Malta had had, he said at a meeting of the European and Foreign AffairsCommittee.• 5 May 2005 An agreement signed between Malta and the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) on an additional protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty on nuclear weapons was ratified bythe House of Representatives. Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo explained that the protocolrequired participating states to inform the agency and grant access to sites where nuclear research oractivity was being carried out.• 5 May 2005 Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino said that the amount ofmaterial collected from bring-in sites has almost doubled over the last year, rising to 139,000 kilosfrom 77,000 kilos. The Minister was speaking at the distribution of waste separation bins to all theschools in Sliema by its local council. Smart Supermarket baskets made of cloth were also distributedto the students.• 5 May 2005 Edwin Vassallo, Parliamentary Secretary for Small business and the Self-Employed, saidthat a scheme through which trading licences can be paid at Maltapost branches is being re-introduced.Addressing a news conference, Mr Vassallo emphasised the government's commitment to ensure thatall those carrying out a commercial activity were properly licensed.• 5 May 2005 The Labour Force Survey for 2004 indicates there were 2,868 men (2.8% among allemployed men) and 2,524 women (5.6% among all employed women) engaged on temporary labourcontracts, the National Statistics Office said. Persons employed on temporary labour contracts tend tobe mostly found in the services sector, the NSO explained.• 5 May 2005 All members of the Malta Tourism Authority's staff complement have started utilising apalm reader time and attendance registration system. The aim of the measure is threefold: in case of anemergency, to send out the message to all stakeholders that the members of staff of the MTA, at alllevels, are accountable and to make the MTA more efficient and cost-effective in its operations.• 5 May 2005 The first anniversary of EU enlargement by 10 new countries and the signing of theaccession treaties with Bulgaria and Romania, due to join in 2007, was marked in Luxembourg by acultural event called Magic Of A Night. Malta was represented by the cultural artistic group Etnika andby Gozitan singer Miriam Christine Borg.

• 5 May 2005 Only 1% of the Maltese population who responded to a Eurobarometer survey think firstabout "protecting nature" when they talk about the environment. These findings are contained in aspecial Eurobarometer report published by the European Commission's DG Environment. It is entitledThe Attitudes of European Citizens Towards the Environment.• 6 May 2005 A four-strong career guidance working group was launched with the aim of givingindications as to which traits were being sought by the employment sector. Speaking during the launchof the working group, which is expected to finalise its report within a year, Education, Youth andEmployment Minister Louis Galea said it was vital for Malta to have a policy outlining qualitystandards for guidance and products.• 6 May 2005 Travellers to neighbouring Libya will be relieved to know they no longer need to havetheir passport translated into Arabic. In a note verbale this week, Tripoli advised the Maltesegovernment it had abolished the translation requirement whenever a person is travelling to the NorthAfrican country. The procedure came into effect on April 18.• 6 May 2005 The internet subscriptions index in the first quarter of this year rose by 8.2% from 256.1last year, according to the National Statistics Office. The rate of internet subscriptions per 100population reached 21.7, down from 21.9 per 100 population recorded in the previous period last year.• 7 May 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi queried the theme chosen by the Malta Business Bureaufor its conference on the first year since EU accession: Quo Vadis. He said it was a provocativequestion, insinuating that Malta did not know where it was going. "Far from lacking direction, I thinkwe have a clear vision," he told the audience at the Westin Dragonara Resort.• 7 May 2005 The Electoral Commission presented Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and OppositionLeader Alfred Sant with a report on the revision of the electoral boundaries. The report was signed byonly five members of the Commission, including the chairman; the other four members did not sign itand have drawn up a minority report. The commission has been working on the report - seen as the firststep towards a revision of boundaries - for the past weeks.• 7 May 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said that the government is proposing thatthe law prohibiting abortion in Malta be entrenched in the Constitution. Dr Borg said the governmenthas already been in touch with the opposition about the issue but emphasised that such a matter wasabove politics.• 7 May 2005 A staggering Lm1,200 is being spent every day to clear up illegal dumping, as statisticsreleased by the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry confirmed the scourge of a "nation-wide disease.Most of the rubbish was collected from the peripheries of villages and especially industrial estates.Two of the most littered places were Rinella, in Kalkara, and the Corradino industrial estate, close toPaola.• 7 May 2005 Archbishop Joseph Mercieca said the media played an important role in promotingsolidarity and social justice. Addressing journalists at the Curia, in Floriana on World SocialCommunication Day, Mgr Mercieca called for "truthful, fair and balanced" news reporting.• 8 May 2005 The President of Malta and Mrs Fenech-Adami paid a visit to the locality of Rabat,hearing Mass there, meeting people and calling at L'Isle Adam and Count Roger band clubs, CasaBernard and on sculptor Anton Agius.• 8 May 2005 Commemorations to mark the end of the war that cost at least 50 million lives worldwidetook place in the Netherlands, London, Paris, Belgium, Canada and Washington. Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi flew to Moscow for the 60th anniversary of the World War II victory celebrations.• 9 May 2005 The Labour Party's parliamentary group has decided to vote in favour of the EuropeanConstitution, its leader Alfred Sant, said. Speaking in Birzebbuga, Dr Sant said Labour MPs hadreached a common position on the new constitutional treaty after a series of internal discussions andthat the decision to vote in favour was based on the motion approved by the general conference in 2003when the party had accepted the people's decision to become an EU member.• 9 May 2005 A joint venture between the Resources and the Infrastructure Ministry and local councilssaved the councils' coffers over Lm110,000 last year. Through the scheme, the local councils couldavail themselves of ministry workers and in return pay only 20% of their salaries. The savings on thesalaries will be ploughed back as investment in new machinery and equipment for the workers.

• 10 May 2005 Drug and human trafficking and the transfer of sentenced prisoners were among thetopics discussed during high-level meetings between Malta and Libya. Justice and Home AffairsMinister Tonio Borg and Nassar El Mabrouk, Secretary of the Libyan People's Committee for PublicSecurity pledged to work together more closely in the fight against crime. Speaking during themeeting, Dr Borg said the two sides hoped to facilitate the free movement of nationals through a bettervisa system.• 10 May 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg has written to NGOs, constituted bodiesand other representatives of civil society urging them to support the government's proposal to entrenchthe prohibition of abortion within the Constitution. The Justice Ministry is sending letters toorganisations in an attempt to garner support for the proposal.• 10 May 2005 Over the next few years, the major swimming areas in Malta and Gozo will displaynotice boards giving precise details to swimmers as to the quality of the bathing water. Thisrequirement will become effective following a new EU directive being debated in the EuropeanParliament.• 10 May 2005 The government 's total expenditure on social security benefits last year rose by Lm6.5million, or 3.3%, over the previous year and totalled Lm207.5 million, the National Statistics Officesaid. Contributory benefits amounted to Lm151.3 million and made up 72.9% of the total benefits paidby the government under the social security vote.• 11 May 2005 Malta declared its support for the European Commission's proposals on the newframework programme on competitiveness and innovation. Speaking during a meeting of theCompetitiveness Council in Brussels, Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galeawelcomed the Commission's proposals which focus on further encouraging and assisting SMEs.• 11 May 2005 Enemalta is to sue the original supplier of a consignment of gas cylinders that did notmeet contract specifications, Investments, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gattsaid in Parliament. The case is due to be filed in Turkey, where the supplier is based. The Ministersaid the supplier had been paid promptly on delivery because he was covered by a letter of credit.• 11 May 2005 A quarter of the tourists who visit Malta do so on the positive recommendation offriends or relatives, according to research carried out by the Malta Tourism Authority. This emergedduring a seminar organised by the MTA focusing on continuous professional development, organisedby its human resource and support services directorate.• 11 May 2005 The Housing Authority has just completed the first sheltered housing project, consistingof eight one-bedroom apartments reserved for elderly people. Both blocks in question are located inFloriana, the finished one in 22 Capuchins Street and the one under construction in Argotti and LionStreet.• 11 May 2005 In the first quarter of this year Air Malta carried 15% more passengers when comparedto the same period last year, the airline said. Traffic on scheduled services dropped by 1% to 241,863passengers while charter traffic on Air Malta flights rose by 56%, reaching 30,900 passengers. Theairline said it has also improved its punctuality by 3% over the same period last year.• 11 May 2005 The completion of restoration works on the Santa Maria ta' Cwerra chapel, which hasbeen standing on the Siggiewi square since 1742, was marked by a ceremony. Ninu Zammit, Resourcesand Infrastructure Minister, explained that it is the duty of each and every one of us to cherish thearchitectural heritage inherited from our ancestors.• 12 May 2005 Malta's lobbying for EU assistance in its fight against illegal immigration received aboost as the European Commission unveiled unprecedented proposals aimed at combating thisphenomenon affecting mostly southern European member states. Announcing the Commission'sproposals on a five-year roadmap in the areas of freedom, justice and security, Commissioner FrancoFrattini said the Commission was proposing a drastic increase in the next EU budget to be spent onimmigration control.• 12 May 2005 The European Commission and food safety experts from the EU member statesincluding Malta discussed and agreed on a common approach to tackling recent contaminations ofspices and other foods by industrial dyes such as Para Red and dyes similar to Sudan 1. Commission

officials said that following the meeting, EU authorities have now set strict limits on a group of illegaldyes in food that may lead to an increased risk of cancer.• 12 May 2005 The overall visible trade gap for the first three months of this year widened by Lm32.1million to Lm109.2 million from Lm77.1 million in the January-March 2004 period, the NationalStatistics Office said.• 12 May 2005 The number of licensed motor vehicles at the end of March stood at 272,289, of which205,728, or 75.6%, were private vehicles and 44,704, or 16.4%, were commercial, the NationalStatistics Office said.• 13 May 2005 A new day ward was opened within the Oncology Department at Boffa Hospital to caterfor patients getting treatment for various types of cancer. Minister of Health, the Elderly andCommunity Care Louis Deguara said since more cancer patients were recovering or livingconsiderably longer because of the treatment they were receiving, the volume of work for thedepartment had increased which led to the need for a new day ward.• 13 May 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea launched this year's studiesscheme. Following consultations with the Employment and Training Corporation, and MaltaEnterprise, it was decided that the scheme would give priority to sectors like biotechnology, maritimetechnology, IT and communications, pharmacy practice, automotive technology, agriculture, medicalstudies, the film industry and the economy.• 13 May 2005 MedOil plc, the oil and gas exploration company, signed an agreement with the MalteseGovernment on 10 th May, for a one-year exploration study of Maltese waters. The application wassubmitted to the government in October but EU membership meant it had to be gazetted, delayingthings in the process.• 13 May 2005 The average Maltese worker last year spent 40 hours more at work than the averageEuropean worker, according to a survey carried out by the European Industrial Relations Observatory(EIRO). This figure excludes overtime, considered to be part and parcel of the working experience forthe majority of Maltese workers.• 13 May 2005 The Malta Environment and Planning Authority unanimously approved an applicationfor the construction of a sea passenger terminal for the Gozo ferry service and associated works atMgarr harbour. The designs will supersede those approved in a previous development application. Themain changes include a reorganisation of access routes, a reduction in size and height of the terminalbuilding and a change in its external appearance.• 13 May 2005 The website of the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity now incorporatesaccessibility features for persons with disabilities. The revamped websiteprovides a separate,alternative text-only site that can be accessed from all pages through quick links, which is very usefulfor people with visual impairment, dexterity problems and cognitive impairment.• 13 May 2005 Ratings agency Standards and Poor's said it had converged Malta's long-term local andforeign currency sovereign credit ratings at A. Previously, the long-term local and foreign currencyratings on Malta were A+ and A, respectively. Malta's A-1 short-term foreign and local currencyratings were affirmed. The outlook is stable.• 13 May 2005 The Kerygma sports solidarity campaign will not be held this year, the Kerygmamovement said, adding that it will be resumed in the years ahead in a new format. The movement hasbeen organising the annual volleyball marathon for the past 19 years and has collected Lm1,257,969,distributed to charitable institutions. The movement will this year be working out a plan to give thecampaign a new lease of life and make it more effective, Kerygma said.• 13 May 2005 Promotion and advertising in Malta could look very different in future after a recentmarketing forum paved the way for a "networking community of innovation". More than 150marketing and business leaders from a variety of sectors ranging from finance to NGOs to professionalservices gathered at the Westin Dragonara for this year's Malta Marketing Forum.• 14 May 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi underlined Malta's pivotal role in stabilising southernEurope when he met his Dutch counterpart at Castille. "The southern part of the EU needs to stabiliseitself and move forward because that would be in the interest of both the EU and the countries in theregion," Dr Gonzi said. Dr Gonzi and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende gave a short

statement to the press following their meeting.http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/News/newsitems/audiorecording%20-%2013.05.05%20pm-holland.asp• 14 May 2005 The government is issuing a call for sponsorships for November's Commonwealth Headsof Government meeting as Malta braces itself for an event of unprecedented magnitude. The meeting,to be held between November 25 and 27, will bring in some 3,000 officials from 53 countries. Thegovernment has allocated a budget of Lm1.5 million for the meeting and any sponsorship will be inaddition to this figure.• 14 May 2005 EU finance ministers in Luxembourg are discussing redesigning euro coins in order tomeet concerns from the 10 new EU member states that they are missing from the map of Europe shownon the coins. Although Malta's presence will not be more than a small dot, it will still be included inthe new design. The Ecofin meeting is being attended by Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.• 14 May 2005 A total of 45,506 Maltese passengers departed by air in the quarter of this year, anincrease of 16.2% over the same period last year, the National Statistics Office said.• 15 May 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, together with the other 24 finance ministers of theEuropean Union, discussed the latest EU budget proposals put forward by the Luxembourg Presidency.However, no agreement was reached. Following an informal meeting in Luxembourg discussingprimarily the next financial perspectives of the EU, Dr Gonzi said that a solution is still far away asdivergences between the net contributors and the other member states are still substantial.• 15 May 2005 Communications and Competitiveness Minister Censu Galea attended the thegraduation of 29 international students, including three from Malta from The International MaritimeLaw Institute. The Minister said that the government was continuously looking ahead and exploringnew ventures to ensure that the sector was developed further so that Malta remained in the forefront ofthe global maritime sector.• 15 May 2005 Car Registration taxes can no longer be seen as just a deterrent to control the number ofcars on the road, but should be looked at as a way to encourage the acquisition of new cars, UrbanDevelopment and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett said during the annual general meeting of theRent-A-Car Association at the Hilton.• 15 May 2005 When he addressed the Rent-A-Car Association conference, Tourism and CultureMinister Francis Zammit Dimech stressed the importance of offering tourists value for money, so thatthe country could be competitive. He said this was also relevant in the rental car industry, adding thatup to March there were over 5,300 registered rental cars in Malta.• 15 May 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi met Efrem J. Bilocca, general manager of HolidayMalta (Russia), when he was in Moscow last week to attend the 60th anniversary celebrations to markthe end of World War II. During the meeting discussion centred on ways to increase tourism fromRussia to Malta.• 15 May 2005 The First International Conference on the Ritual Year organised by the Department ofMaltese at the University of Malta Junior College, Msida, in March was attended by 52 foreign and 6Maltese scholars who also presented the results of their recent research on rituals in Europe, theMediterranean basin, and the United States. They came from 25 countries, including the US.• 16 May 2005 A new EU directive, just endorsed by the European Parliament, should facilitate accessto Maltese citizens wanting to work in another EU member state. Although in theory Maltese workersearned the right to work in other European countries following Malta's membership of the EU just overa year ago, in practice many are still facing bureaucratic obstacles. This happens to all EU citizens.• 17 May 2005 Malta will do its utmost for the irregular immigrants that find themselves on its shores,Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said while addressing the third summit of heads of state andgovernment of the Council of Europe in Warsaw. Dr Gonzi also said that Malta appreciated thesummit's action plan reference to the increasing importance of migration management.• 17 May 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi gave notice of a motion for Parliament to refer thereport on changes to the electoral boundaries back to the Electoral Commission. In terms of theconstitution, once the report is referred back, the Electoral Commission has two months within whichto come up with new proposals which will then come into effect at the next dissolution of Parliament.

• 17 May 2005 Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment George Pullicino launched a draft localplan for the south. The comprehensive 10-year plan is aimed at improving the quality of theenvironment for the population and ensuring sufficient provision of land to meet demand in terms ofhousing as well as community and recreational facilities.• 17 May 2005 Malta's workforce is the least educated in the European Union, according to a recentreport issued by the European Commission. In 2002, only 8.8% of Malta's working population - agedbetween 25 and 64 - had completed tertiary education. The paper benchmarks the performance ofhigher education systems in Europe against those of its main competitors by using selected indicatorsto identify strengths and weaknesses in European educational systems.• 17 May 2005 The number of reported traffic accidents in the first quarter this year reached 3,912, anincrease of 545 or 16.2% over the same quarter last year. In Gozo and Comino the number of accidentsincreased by 58 to 190 from 132 in the previous year. In the quarter under review, 127 driverssustained injuries as a result of traffic accidents. Of these, 95 suffered slight injuries.• 17 May 2005 Maltacom customers who settled their March bill in full, including any arrears, by the"payment due date" printed on the same bill, are being credited with a 3% discount and a 50creduction, if applicable, in the bill that is being processed and mailed during this month. Maltacom hadannounced the incentive as well as measures aimed at late payers earlier this year.• 18 May 2005 The third progress report on cohesion, published by the European Commission inBrussels, has confirmed that Malta will be entitled to the maximum amount of funds possible under thenext EU budget covering the period 2007-2013. This will effectively mean that during the seven-yearperiod, Malta will receive about €800 million (Lm359 million) in aid for various projects related to theinfrastructure, employment and for boosting its overall economic performance.• 18 May 2005 Malta ranks 43rd out of 58 countries on gender equality according to the WorldEconomic Forum's first ever Gender Gap Index. The study, Women's Empowerment: Measuring TheGlobal Gender Gap, attempts to measure the extent to which women have been able to achieve fullequality with men in a number of critical areas.• 18 May 2005 Malta's Euro-Med Movement has welcomed the treaty establishing a EuropeanConstitution, saying it was a historic landmark that aimed at providing a firmer foundation on whichEuropean citizens can build a Europe that is socially just, globally secure, environmentally sound andeconomically competitive.• 19 May 2005 Air Malta is to sell 60% of its shares in Air Supplies and Catering Ltd, Investment,Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said in reply to a parliamentary question.He said that the sale was expected to be completed next month. The relationship between the companyand the workers would continue according to existing agreements.• 19 May 2005 The government could soon have to invest millions of liri to either extend the existingJunior College or build a new one altogether because the place was full to capacity, Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi said. Speaking during the second in a series of meetings he is holding at his office inValletta to hear what the people have to say, Dr Gonzi also discussed tax evasion, the eco contribution,employment, public transport and port reform.• 19 May 2005 European Commission sources said that Malta's contribution to the EU coffers for thisyear will be €1 million (Lm434,000) less than expected. This is due to a downward revision maderecently by the EU in view of unspent EU funding across the EU last year. The sources said Maltashould be able to contribute about 2% less than the €57 million (Lm24.7 million) expected to be paidup this year as Malta's contribution to the EU coffers.• 19 May 2005 Malta's driving test is no longer an easy ride, with more than half of the applicantsfailing the test which became tougher last year in conformity with EU directives. A spokesman for theMalta Transport Authority said the pass rate now stood at a mere 42.5%, as against 98% in the past.The present pass rate will be good news for all those who hold that driving standards in Malta leave alot to be desired.• 19 May 2005 Dr Michael Refalo, Malta's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, attended thisyear's Institute of Directors convention at the Royal Albert Hall as the guest of James Satariano,chairman of the Malta branch. The institute's annual convention is the UK's premier business

conference and networking event as well as being the largest annual gathering of senior businessleaders in Europe.• 19 May 2005 The first phase of the maternity ward project at the Gozo General Hospital, whichincludes the setting up of the first Gynaecology Unit, has been completed. The modernisation projectof the ward and the setting up of a gynaecology unit are the result of an investment of about Lm80,000by the Ministry for Gozo.• 19 May 2005 The number of foreign students attending English language courses in the 37 Englishlanguage schools last year amounted to 55,578, an increase of 2,337 or 4.4% over the previous year,according to the National Statistics Office. Recently there were increases in students coming from anumber of other countries such as China (+455), Turkey (+168), Libya (+142) and Hungary (+74).• 19 May 2005 A team of four army divers from the explosive ordnance disposal unit trained withItalian navy divers for seven days in Augusta earlier this month. The training was organised inpreparation for the Canale 2005 exercise to be held next month. The team, who returned on Friday onboard the Italian navy patrol craft Comandante Foscari, practised search techniques, underwaterexplosive ordnance disposal and underwater search and rescue.• 19 May 2005 Malta Shipyards' commercial executive Christopher Bell has been appointed thecompany's chief executive officer. He succeeds Peter Moore who will relinquish his post in thecoming weeks after seven years of service, the company said yesterday. Mr Moore is expected to takeup a senior managerial post with a company involved in defence in the UK.• 20 May 2005 The Maltese flag has been taken off the black list of the Paris Memorandum ofUnderstanding on port state control, the result of Malta's entry into the EU and years of hard work bythe Maltese maritime authorities. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Paris MOU committee inHelsinki, after considering last year's inspection results. For the first time Malta was included in thegrey list.• 20 May 2005 Italy and Malta shared the objective of positioning the Mediterranean at the centre of theEU's priorities, said Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, during his two-day state visit to Malta. Hewas speaking after an official meeting with President Edward Fenech-Adami at the Palace in Valletta,which the latter described as "very cordial".http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/News/newsitems/audiorecording%20-%2019.05.05%20pres-italy.asp• 20 May 2005 Malta had the highest inflation rate in the EU last month, according to new statisticsissued by Eurostat, the EU's statistical arm. Malta's inflation rate in April amounted to 3.6%, a lothigher than the 0.4% average of the 25 member states.• 20 May 2005 A population and housing census will be carried out later this year, providing a snapshotof Maltese society. This will be the 16th housing and population census in Malta since 1842. It willcost some Lm400,000. Such a census is held every 10 years.• 20 May 2005 The all-property prices index reached 143.04 in the first quarter of this year, 13.48%higher than in the same period last year. At 132.49 in March 2005, the index for apartments increasedby 32.49% since December 2000. The National Statistics Office said that in the first quarter this year,apartment prices were, on average, estimated to have increased by 14.19 % when compared to thesame period in 2004.• 21 May 2005 Confirming their already existing agreement on cooperation against illegal immigration,Malta and Italy agreed to further strengthen their cooperation both at bilateral level and within theEuropean Union framework. This results from a joint communiqué issued at the end of a meetingbetween Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo and Roberto Antonione, the Italian Under Secretaryof State for Foreign Affairs.• 21 May 2005 Tobacco use regulations, banning smoking in public places, have received the seal ofapproval from Smoke Free Europe and Minister for Health the Elderly and Community Care LouisDeguara will be given the Europe Gold Award for the introduction of the new rules. Dr Deguara willbe presented with the award during a conference to be held in Luxembourg early next month.• 21 May 2005 A development brief for the area which currently houses the fuel depot in Birzebbugawas launched by the chairman of the Cabinet committee on national projects, Investment, Industry and

Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt, and committee member George Pullicino, Minister forRural Affairs and the Environment.• 21 May 2005 Austin Gatt, Minister for Investment, Industry and Information Technology, stressed theneed to improve the management of information networks, and other daily functions that serve the corebusiness of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, health monitoring and lifestyle management during aforum on healthcare organised by software company, Oracle.• 21 May 2005 The inflation rate in April stood at 2.83%, the same as in the previous month, theNational Statistics Office said. The highest inflation rate for April in the last five years was 3.65% in2002. The inflation rate in April 2004 stood at 1.86%. The NSO said the retail price index last monthwent up by 0.43% to 106.27, from 105.82 in the previous month.• 21 May 2005 The Malta Hospice Movement has drawn up a three-year plan designed to extend therespite care home service through care assistants selected and trained by the movement. The plan,which provides for an "on call" service, is also aimed at furthering the expertise of staff through moreformal, specialised training in palliative care.• 21 May 2005 President of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi said that Malta and Italy's tradecollaboration had turned into a mutually beneficial lasting partnership. Addressing businessmen at theMalta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, in Valletta on the second day of his state visit to Malta,Mr Ciampi said over 200 Italian companies were operating in Malta, which meant that Italianinvestments on the island amounted to about €600 million.• 21 May 2005 The Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise has expressed itself in agreement witha report by Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo. The report outlines the principles of a strategyenabling the private sector to prosper in a stable and business-friendly economic environment with aview to create new employment opportunities.• 21 May 2005 The Treasury has received 3,268 applications, for a total value exceeding Lm72 million,for the government stock issue amounting to Lm40 million. The government said both small andinstitutional investors reacted very positively to the issue for which applications were received by theTreasury between May 12 and 19.• 21 May 2005 Maltacom Chairman, Sonny Portelli announced during the annual general meeting thatMaltacom has lost its monopoly in the telecommunications sector together with a substantial share ofrevenue in a fierce and increasingly competitive market.• 21 May 2005 The Employment and Training Corporation has launched a training subsidy scheme foremployees in micro enterprises. The scheme, part of the National Action Plan For Employment, willassist persons employed in enterprises that employ nine or fewer persons to take part in off-the-jobvocational education and training.• 22 May 2005 Chiara realised her dream to break her personal record of 1998, by placing a welldeserved second place at the 50th Eurovision Song Contest and walking off with the Press Award forthe best song.• 22 May 2005 Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett urged road contractorsemployed on the various projects currently being undertaken to take a more professional approach,especially to manning of project sites and quality control. The road upgrade programme, funded underthe Fifth Italo-Maltese financial protocol, will see the reconstruction of 16 km of roads.• 23 May 2005 27 adult irregular migrants, including three women, were brought ashore after their7meter boat was sighted drifting some 40 nautical miles to the south east of Malta. Following thereport of the sighting, the Armed Forces of Malta carried out an extensive search and after the boat waslocated by an AFM aircraft, the immigrants were escorted by an AFM vessel to the army's maritimebase at Haywharf.• 23 May 2005 A number of hotels in Gozo are fully booked as hundreds of delegates from Europeanand other countries prepare to attend the silver jubilee convention of the Federation of EuropeanCarnival Cities taking place between next Sunday and June 5, Nadur mayor Chris Said said. CarnivalImpressions, a collective art exhibition to mark the occasion, will be held at the Ministry for Gozo'sExhibition Hall in Victoria. http://www.nadur.gov.mt/fecc

• 23 May 2005 Composer Albert Borg, artist Alfred Chircop and actress Karmen Azzopardi are thewinners of the Premju Gharfien Kulturali 2004. Culture and Tourism Minister Francis ZammitDimech presented the prizes to the winners during a ceremony held at St James Cavalier on Friday.• 24 May 2005 The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition revealed that the two had held talkson electoral reform and both said there was potential for a solution to long-standing issues. The twoleaders discussed reform when the House debated a motion by the Prime Minister asking the ElectoralCommission to reconsider changes to the electoral boundaries it proposed in a report on May 5.• 24 May 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea has signed the BergenCommuniqué, the latest in a series of declarations as part of the Bologna Process at a conferenceentitled ‘Realising The European Higher Education Area’, which took place in Bergen, Norway. TheBologna Process has set the stage for ministers of education in Europe to create a European educationmarket.• 24 May 2005 Malta was one of the first EU countries to offer help to Romania following heavy rainswhich hit the country over the last two months, according to the European Commission. The naturaldisaster led to floods and landslides which affected thousands of people and destroyed hundreds ofhouses.• 25 May 2005 Malta's rapid integration into the EU's economy was commended by the president of theEuropean Central Bank, Jean Claude Trichet, during his quarterly appearance before the Economic andMonetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament.• 25 May 2005 The Maltese and German governments are finalising a twinning agreement which willlead to the development of systems for the implementation of European directives on producerresponsibility in waste generation and management. Environment and Rural Affairs Minister GeorgePullicino announced this during the launch of a waste separation at source initiative by all 16companies at Mosta Technopark.• 25 May 2005 A bill which introduces tougher penalties for those who do not issue VAT receiptsstarted being debated in Parliament. Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Tonio Fenechsaid that the bill was aimed at improving the efficiency of tax collection while ensuring there wasbetter control and accountability in public spending.• 25 May 2005 According to a communication issued by the European Commission, Malta, togetherwith Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy and Sweden, are planning to be the first group ofmember states to switch to digital broadcasting. They have all declared 2010 as the cut-off date.• 25 May 2005 The Housing Authority has announced it has reviewed its rent subsidy and that themaximum annual subsidy has been increased by 33%. Commenting on the increase, the chairman ofthe Housing Authority, Marisa Micallef, said that this scheme and the increases aim to assist those whorent from the private sector.• 25 May 2005 A total of 264 new cases of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, were reportedover an 11-year period between 1993 and 2003, with an overall mortality rate of 19.3%, according tothe Maltese National Cancer Registry. The positive note is that the overall absolute five-year survivalrate is going up and while from 1998-2002 it was 74%, between 1998 and 2002 it was 92 %.• 26 May 2005 Revenue from income tax totalled Lm172 million in Malta and Lm4.6 million in Gozolast year, while revenue from VAT reached Lm137.9 million in Malta and Lm3.4 million in Gozo, thePrime Minister said in reply to a parliamentary question.• 26 May 2005 Girls perform better than boys in mathematics, the first national study on the subjectshows. The report launched by Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea, wascommended by Greg Brooks, of the University of Sheffield and research director at the London-basedUK National Centre for Literacy and Numeracy, for its "meticulous professionalism". According toProf. Brooks, the survey placed Malta in the front rank of countries compiling reliable and relevantdata on children's progress.• 26 May 2005 Turnover in the telecommunications sector last year exceeded Lm100 million,Communications and Competitiveness Minister Censu Galea said. Addressing a business breakfast onThird Generation Mobile Telephony, organised by the Malta Business and Financial Times at theRadisson Hotel, in St Julians, Mr Galea said such turnover is expected to grow this year as additional

investment in new technologies such as digital television, broadband wireless and 3G mobile telephonyenter the market.• 26 May 2005 A total of 7,716 unemployed persons were registering under part 1 and part 2 of theunemployment register last month, a drop of 302 over March, the National Statistics Office said.• 26 May 2005 Malta is preparing to apply for EU structural funds for the restoration of fortifications inValletta, Floriana, Cottonera and Mdina, Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit said.Speaking during a visit to Mdina, he said the application was being prepared now that Malta has beenassured of top funding under the EU budget until 2013.• 27 May 2005 The words "illegitimate father" are to be removed from civil status certificates in termsof a Bill currently before Parliament. Minister for Justice and Home Affairs Tonio Borg said thatcopies of birth, death or marriage certificates of children born out of wedlock before March 1, 2005would not have the word "illegitimate" reproduced on them. The original certificates would not beamended unless this was ordered by court.• 27 May 2005 The European Commission officially cleared Maltese importers of hoarding thousandsof tonnes of sugar prior to enlargement in order to take advantage of the changing scenario followingMay 1, 2004.• 27 May 2005 The first sexual health policy for Malta has just been drawn up by the Health Division,which will address sexual health in all sectors of the community. Speaking at the opening of the HealthBehaviour in School-Aged Children Study (HBSC) spring meeting in Gozo, Minister for Health, theElderly and Community Care Louis Deguara said the questionnaire that will accompany the study willinclude mandatory questions about sexual health.• 27 May 2005 Researchers from European countries, Canada and the United States are in Gozo todiscuss health behaviour among children. The report will focus mostly on obesity, since Malta had analarmingly high percentage of obese children. In fact, 16.9% of 13-year-old and 11.7% of 15-year-oldgirls and 13.5% of 13-year-old and 11.7% of 15-year-old boys are obese, the 2002 HBSC studyshowed.• 27 May 2005 The Parliamentary Secretary for Small Businesses and the Self-Employed, EdwinVassallo launched an implementation report detailing the work coordinated by the secretariat during2004/5. Called For Malta To Grow In The European Union, Together We Must Facilitate Business,the report will be discussed during a national conference on June 14.• 27 May 2005 Minister for Health, the Elderly and Community Care Louis Deguara, attended thelaunch of this year's Lifecycle challenge "Acropolis - The Hard Way", during which eight HomeChoice machines were presented to the Renal Unit. The Minister praised the initiative saying that whathad started as just an idea had now become an established event.• 27 May 2005 Malta's entry into ERM II on May 2 and the commitment of the monetary authorities tomaintain the exchange rate for the lira against the euro at the agreed central parity rate had proved to bea stabilising factor, the Central Bank said. Governor Michael C. Bonello, decided to leave the centralintervention rate unchanged at 3.25% taking into consideration that the current level of official interestrates provided adequate support to the exchange rate.• 28 May 2005 Recurrent revenue in the first four months of this year totalled Lm233.6 million andmade up 26% of this year's budget forecast. The National Statistics Office said that compared to thesame period last year, this represents an increase of Lm5.4 million, or 2.4%. At the same time, totalexpenditure amounted to Lm303.4 million, an increase of Lm15.4 million, or 5.3%, from the Lm288million expended in the same period in 2004.• 28 May 2005 The Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, George Pullicino, said five farmerorganisations have been granted recognition to receive EU aid. Two others have applied forrecognition, he said when addressing a seminar organised by the Malta Chamber of Commerce andEnterprise on agri-food online trade.• 29 May 2005 Five international consortia are in the running for an €8.4 million contract to removeemissions from the waste landfills. Environment and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said theawarding of the tender was a very important step to rehabilitate the landfills. "These works would not

have been possible if we were not members of the European Union," Mr Pullicino said, adding he waslooking forward to see the work started.• 29 May 2005 Malta compares favourably with other European Union member states in the field ofmental health well-being, Health, the Elderly and Community Care Minister Louis Deguara said."Malta was one of the foremost countries that formulated a National Mental Health Policy, which isoften referred to by other countries in the drafting of their national or regional mental health policies,"he said during a conference by the Richmond Foundation.• 29 May 2005 The Family and Social Solidarity Ministry does not believe that in vitro fertilisation(IVF) should be banned - although it should be regulated according to Minister Dolores Cristina. TheMinister said "The ministry's stand is that couples with infertility problems should be helped, as far aspossible, to have the children they long for," she said.• 29 May 2005 18 organisations called on the authorities to commit themselves to "rigorously fulfiltheir duty" of protecting the Bahrija area and the adjacent coast and countryside. In her statement,Annalise Falzon, on behalf of the organisations said they were all alarmed to note that a Website hadbeen set up to mislead potential buyers into thinking that permits were available in the Bahrija area forlarge-scale developments and projects - such as theme parks, five-star hotels and golf courses.• 29 May 2005 Air Malta has been appointed official airline of the Commonwealth Heads ofGovernment meeting (CHOGM) - a decision which will showcase the national airline during anunprecedented event for Malta. As from September, all Air Malta aircraft will be branded with theCHOGM logo, and all in-flight entertainment will be putting the spotlight on Malta and theCommonwealth.• 29 May 2005 Under the slogan Neqirdu l-faqar! STOPoverty! Malta's civil society campaign againstglobal poverty was launched by 25 environmental, social, development and religious NGOs. "Ourcampaign is one of over a hundred around the world under the Global Call to Action Against Poverty,"Vince Caruana, co-ordinator of the campaign, told a press conference.• 30 May 2005 Reacting to the French vote which rejected the ratification of the first-ever EUConstitution, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the vote, although expected, was verydisappointing. He said this was not the first time, however, that the same situation had cropped up butEurope has always found the way forward. Dr Gonzi said the French vote would not affect the Malteseratification process in any way. Foreign Minister Michael Frendo also expressed his disappointment.• 30 May 2005 Malta has agreed to boost its development aid budget to 0.17% of its Gross NationalIncome (GNI) by 2010 and to further increase it to 0.33% of GNI by 2013. The decision was taken inBrussels during a meeting of EU foreign ministers. Currently, Malta's budget to help the progress ofThird World countries is considered to be minimal, so much so that statistics of the present level of aiddo not even exist.• 30 May 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami, accompanied by Mrs Fenech-Adami, paid an officialvisit to Vittoriosa. The visit started off with Mass at the Santa Skolastika chapel situated in the conventof the cloistered nuns. The President visited the St Lawrence and Prince of Wales band clubs, theBenedictine nuns and the Dominican friars.• 31 May 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami and Bank of Valletta chairman Roderick Chalmersinaugurated the BOV retrospective sculpture exhibition of works by Anton Agius at the BOV Centre inHigh Street, Sliema. A total of 60 sculptures by Mr Agius feature in the exhibition which remainsopen until July 8. The sculptures are in wood, stone and other media.• 31 May 2005 A pilot project to collect used cooking oil from households and convert it into biodiesel,a cleaner fuel, was launched by the Rural Affairs and Environment Ministry in collaboration withWasteServ Malta Ltd. The project will also prevent used cooking oil from seeping into theenvironment through the sewage system. The scheme, launched at the Naxxar local council, marks thestart of environmental week in the run-up to World Environment Day on Sunday.• 31 May 2005 Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea said that consumers mustthink about the complete cost of a deal before deciding on it. Speaking during a seminar aboutconsumer credit regulations, the minister said such regulations were of interest to both consumers andtraders.

• 31 May 2005 Zhao Jinfang, deputy director general of the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau, a governmentorganisation working in the field of aging in Beijing, met Helen D'Amato, Parliamentary Secretary forthe Elderly and Community Care. Ms D'Amato and Ms Jinfang discussed the situation of elderlypersons in Malta and Beijing and agreed that this segment of the population is to be considered as aresource and not a burden.• 31 May 2005 The position of the Children's Commissioner on in-vitro fertilisation, which has drawnsevere criticism over the last few days, was essentially unchanged when she issued a statement sayingshe had not asked for IVF to be banned forever but rather that one should wait until there is a guaranteeof a healthy life for the baby.• 31 May 2005 A total of 56 illegal immigrants were brought ashore by the Armed Forces of Malta. Afirst group of 28 immigrants were found drifting on a boat without fuel about 60 nautical miles offMalta after a call for help. In a second operation another group which consisted of 24 males and fourfemales who claimed to be Eritreans were rescued.• 31 May 2005 Five Maltese charitable organisations have received cheques from the AmericanFoundation for Maltese Charities in a ceremony held at the US Ambassador's residence in Attard. Thecheques, for $7,000, were presented by Charge D'Affaires William Grant and Joseph Micallef, thefoundation's vice-chairman who serves as Malta's Honorary Consul in Minneapolis, Minnesota. MrGrant thanked the foundation for its generosity and Mr Micallef commended the recipientorganisations for their efforts.JUNE• 1 June 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi put across "in a very forceful way" what Malta expectsfrom the EU budget when he met Jean Claude Juncker, president of the European Council, inLuxembourg. The meeting was very fruitful and gave Malta the opportunity to present its case to theEU Presidency, Dr Gonzi said after emerging from the two-hour meeting. "I am sure our argumentshave been heard and noted."• 1 June 2005 An initiative to preserve more than 6,000 notarial deeds, some of which date back to the15th century, has reached an important stage as the Notarial Archives Resources Council inaugurated arevamped library to house these precious documents. Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borgsaid the documents formed part of a national patrimony which was not just of interest to notaries andresearchers.• 1 June 2005 One person dies in Malta every day from an illness that is directly related to tobacco, notto mention the damaging effects smoking has on other conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heartdisease, Minister of Health, the Elderly and Community Care, Louis Deguara said on World NoTobacco Day. National Statistics Office figures showed that just over one in four adults in Maltasmoked.• 1 June 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said that as long as the EU and itsMediterranean partners shared the common vision of a Euro-Mediterranean region - an area of freetrade and investment, of economic and political reform, of greater democratisation and an increasingcommunality of values - "there is a project to which we are all committed and for which we have tocarry on working together". He was speaking during a Euro-Med ministerial meeting in Luxembourg.• 2 June 2005 Malta is the only country in the EU totally dependent on crude oil and has a high numberof passenger cars per capita, according to Eurostat, the EU's statistical arm. The statistics, issued onthe occasion of the European Commission's Green Week being held in Brussels, show that all the othermember states have some kind of renewable energy sources, even though in some cases this amountsto only 1% of their energy supply.• 2 June 2005 The Prime Minister spoke about tourism, employment, the environment and the EU to afull house on the theme Gozo: Distinctive Needs... Unique Potential, the third in a series of dialoguemeetings between the Prime Minister and the public, this time held in Gozo. Minister for Gozo,Giovanna Debono, who was present at the meeting, together with other ministers, said the complaintslodged were justified, but that the fruits of the efforts made would soon be reaped, particularly asregards EU funding.

• 2 June 2005 The government-owned company Interprint Limited is expected to close down in a fewmonths, after honouring pending contracts. The company's cessation of operations was announced bythe Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology. It said the government will pay thetermination benefits to Interprint's 35 employees according to their collective agreement conditions.• 2 June 2005 Minister for Health, the Elderly and Community Care Louis Deguara announced that hisMinistry was looking into the possible outsourcing of catering for hospitals and homes for the elderly.Dr Deguara said that although there will not be a different caterer for every entity, there will be morethan one caterer involved.• 2 June 2005 The number of tourists departing by air in April dropped by 3.8% to 87,433, compared tothe same month last year, the National Statistics Office said. Germans accounted for 13.4% of thedepartures, an increase of 4.9%. Increases were also recorded in tourism from France, Belgium,Denmark, the Netherlands, Libya and Sweden. The number of UK air tourists, who made up 36.4% ofthe market, was down by 14%. Other drops were recorded from Italy, Austria, Norway, Switzerland,Russia, USA and a group of other markets.• 2 June 2005 The Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise launched an e-market network in theEuro-Med region in conjunction with 15 Mediterranean partners, Euro-Med TDS and the EuropeAidCo-operation Office of the European Union. The service which is meant at putting business, buyersand suppliers in contact will be initially dedicated to agri-food. It will be extended to other sectors indue course.• 2 June 2005 Gozo Channel Co. Ltd announced its summer schedule, which commences on June 20and will run until September 25. Access to Gozo is being enhanced by the fact that the service will beoperating round the clock and the frequency of trips between 6 a.m. and 9.45 p.m. will be every 45minutes.• 3 June 2005 Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina pledged a zero tolerance attitudetowards domestic violence when she visited Ghabex, the refugee centre for female victims run byAgenzija Appogg. The centre currently houses seven adults and 10 children. It sees an average of 10new cases a month, with most of the women having left everything behind them to escape the abuse.• 3 June 2005 Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali paid a state visit to Malta and had meetingswith President Edward Fenech-Adami and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. In a joint communiqué,President Ben Ali and Prime Minister Gonzi said they had agreed to consolidate the friendly and closerelations between Malta and Tunisia to strengthen bilateral cooperation in all spheres and to furthercooperate on regional and international issues of common interest.• 3 June 2005 Cooperation between Malta and Tunisia was still below the desired level and there waswork to be done by both sides to increase opportunities for cooperation in various areas, the TunisianMinister of Development and International Cooperation, Mohamed Nouri Jouini, told businessmen inValletta. The minister was giving a presentation at the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise onhow business was developing in Tunisia and on prospects for further cooperation with Malta.• 3 June 2005 Museums and historical sites registered a total deficit of just over Lm200,000 last year,the National Statistics Office said. Individual paid admissions to museums in the three-year period2002-4 increased by 419,515, or 73%, to 996,851. The most frequented museums were art museums,with 31.4% of the total. Archaeology and history museums were the next mostly frequented sites(29.2%), followed by military museums (12.4%) and monuments and sites (12.1%).• 4 June 2005 In a message to Archbishop Joseph Mercieca on the occasion of the conclusion of theEucharistic Congress held at the Granaries in Floriana, Pope Benedict XVI saluted the bishops, priests,members of the religious orders and lay people who took part in the congress. Among the sizeablecongregation were President Edward Fenech-Adami and Mrs Fenech-Adami, and Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi and Mrs Gonzi.• 4 June 2005 Speaking during the inauguration of the first phase of the Lm10 million VallettaWaterfront project, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that this project had hit the nail on the head inaddressing tourism. Furthermore it was a prime example as to how private-public partnerships couldwork, in this particular case, the government had provided an asset - the area – which was thendeveloped by a private enterprise.

• 4 June 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg emerged "highly satisfied" from an EUministers' meeting in which it was decided to start talks soon with Libya on a joint plan to stop illegalimmigrants from crossing the Mediterranean into Europe. Ambassador Richard Cachia Caruanaaccompanied Dr Borg during the Council meeting.• 4 June 2005 The Department of Public Health announced that it will update swimmers constantly onwhich bathing sites are fit for swimming, during a news conference. Water samples had started beingcollected on a weekly basis and tested in the lab. The process started in the last two weeks of May andwill continue till October. Updates of the site classification report are also available on the website ofthe Department of Public Health - www.health.gov.mt/dph/ehuhome.htm• 4 June 2005 The European news TV network Euronews this week excused itself with the Malteseauthorities and withdrew all references to Malta included in a television feature about the quality ofbathing water in the EU. In its report, Euronews had claimed that Maltese waters are contaminatedwith sewage and that "one in eight swimmers falls ill after a trip to the seaside". The Department ofInformation protested instantly with the TV station, informing its producers that the information aboutMalta was false.• 4 June 2005 An Mtahleb farmer has managed to increase profits - cutting on fertiliser costs andboosting his yield - thanks to a computerised system to control irrigation and apply fertiliser. TheMinister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, George Pullicino, who visited Mr Micallef's fields aspart of a series of activities in connection with Environment Week, stressed the growing importance ofrelating agriculture with education.• 4 June 2005 The amount of waste collected from bring-in sites increased by six times in just one year,according to the National Statistics Office. The largest amount of waste collected at bring-in sitesthroughout the year was composed of paper - 304,970 kg - followed by glass, plastic and metal. TheNSO released the figures to mark World Environment Day.• 4 June 2005 The Ministry for Resources and Infrastructure last year spent Lm500,000 just to collectwaste that was dumped illegally in various parts of the island said Minister Ninu Zammit. In the firstfive months of this year, over 7,000 tons of such waste, also dumped illegally, was collected fromvalleys, industrial zones and arterial roads at the cost of Lm200,000, he said.• 4 June 2005 The volume of retail trade last April fell by 0.9% in the euro-zone and by 0.3% in theEU25 when compared to the same month last year, according to first estimates released by Eurostat,the Statistical Office of the European Communities. Compared to March, the retail sales index fell by1.2% in the euro-zone and 0.7% in the EU25.• 5 June 2005 During his monthly media briefing Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced that thegovernment will publish a policy to enable land reclamation using construction waste. New, tougherfines for littering and dumping would also be published. "It is scandalous that in the first five monthsof this year some 6,700 tonnes of illegally dumped material was removed by government employeesand that some 1,600 signs that had been fixed illegally were removed in the same period," Dr Gonzisaid.http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/archive/Pmpressstatements/audiorecording%20-%2004.06.05%20pmpressbriefing.asp• 5 June 2005 The presence of good quality methane gas was detected for the first time at the engineeredlandfill at Ta' Zwejra. Tests for the presence of the gas were made during a visit by Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi to the engineered landfill. The first engineered landfill at Ta' Zwejra was built in sucha way as to enable it to produce gas.• 5 June 2005 Current uncertainties within Europe over the EU treaty's fate risk distracting the EU’sattention away from critical external issues, Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo warned. "It isimportant that the EU does not pass through a period in which all it does is contemplate its own navel.It needs to continue to function vigorously and with determination, not least with regard to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership." Dr Frendo was speaking at the 18th Euromed Diplomats' TrainingSeminar in St Julian's.• 5 June 2005 The Maltese monetary authorities and the EU are already working on the design of thenew Maltese euro coins when Malta changes over to the single European currency in a few years' time.However, no decision has yet been taken as to when the official changeover will take place as the

Government prefers to see how the situation develops in these two years before taking a formaldecision.• 6 June 2005 The Investment, Industry and Information Technology Ministry said in reply to astatement that the government's ICT operations were being consolidated in order to be made moreeffective and efficient. As part of this process, a number of scenarios were being considered ahead of areform that would include changes to financial models, organisation and human resources.• 6 June 2005 As part of World Environment Day Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono launched acampaign to clean up the seabed of the most popular bays in Gozo and Comino during the summer.The Minister praised the volunteers and said the campaign made Gozo's beaches more attractive fordivers and also helped instil stronger environmental awareness.• 6 June 2005 Minister for Gozo Giovanna Debono opened the fourth edtion of the Gozo Trade Fair. Inher speech the minister dwelt on the need for businesses to face the challenges of competition,particularly by offering better quality products as well as mentioning the various courses and schemesbeing held in Gozo thanks to EU funds, saying they were aimed at enabling industry and business tofind the skilled workers they needed.• 6 June 2005 Total sales by manufacturing enterprises in the first quarter of this year fell by Lm35.6million or 14% to Lm219.2 million, from Lm254.8 million a year earlier, according to the NationalStatistics Office. During the January - March quarter this year, overall investment in the manufacturingindustry decreased by Lm7.9 million, or 42.7%, to Lm10.6 million compared to Lm18.5 million for thesame period last year.• 6 June 2005 Several MPs took a dip at the Neptunes Pool to raise funds for an afforestation project aspart of Environment Week. The order of the day was 10 laps plus Lm100 from each MP who tookpart. The money collected will be used to finance the planting of trees as part of the 34U (tree for you)afforestation project. Lm3,000 were collected, but around 11 participants will be sending their chequethis week.• 7 June 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said Malta will press ahead with its parliamentary voteon the EU Constitution next month despite Britain's decision to shelve plans for a referendumfollowing French and Dutch rejections of the treaty.• 7 June 2005 Libya's recent controversial decision to declare a Fishing Conservation Zone was amongthe topics discussed between Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo and his Libyan counterparts inTripoli. In a statement, the Minister said both sides expressed their willingness to search for a solutionthat would benefit both parties.• 7 June 2005 Malta will unexpectedly save a further €5 million (Lm2.17 million) this year from itscontribution to the EU Budget, following a revision of data and adjustments by the EU Commission.This is the second cut for Malta in the last month following a reduction of €1 million in its contributionannounced in May. It brings the total savings to the Maltese Budget this year up to €6 million (Lm 2.6million).• 7 June 2005 A total of 206 illegal immigrants arrived in Malta this year up to the end of last month,Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said in reply to a parliamentary question. He said in reply toanother question that since January 1, 2002, 2,533 refugees had applied for refugee status. Of these,151 were recognised as refugees and 1,317 were given humanitarian protection. Applications by afurther 890 persons were refused and 69 applications were withdrawn.• 7 June 2005 The reserve assets of the country dropped by Lm36.4 million as opposed to a fall ofLm2.3 million during the same January to March period last year, the National Statistics Office said.Provisional figures on the international economic and financial transactions during the first quarter ofthis year reveal a deterioration in the current account balance of Lm35.3 million - from a net deficit ofLm25.4 million during the first quarter of last year to one of Lm60.8 million during the relative quarterthis year.• 8 June 2005 European Union finance ministers gave the green light to an EU savings tax to be appliedas of July 1. After attending a meeting on this issue in Luxembourg, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonziappealed to "foreign" account holders to take advantage of the registration and repatriation schemebeing offered by the government and which closes next week.

• 8 June 2005 Speaker of the House of Representatives Anton Tabone, called for the setting up of a"parliamentary service", which would work autonomously from the public service during the wreathlayingceremony to commemorate Sette Giugno at the Palace Square in Valletta.• 8 June 2005 Original plans to complete a two-year upgrading exercise of the MediterraneanConference Centre, in Valletta, by 2006 have been revised in order for the work to be ready byNovember, in time for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Tourism andCulture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, who visited the centre to inspect works, said such projectswere testimony to the centre's and the ministry's intention to further strengthen Malta's position in theconference and incentive market.• 8 June 2005 The CHOGM Task Force and the Microsoft Corporation announced they will sign asponsorship agreement to support the government's preparations for the summit which will take placein Malta between November 25 and 27.• 8 June 2005 Residents of Malta who own foreign assets not covered by the necessary exchangecontrol permits have until June 16 to regularise their position according to the Investment RegistrationScheme. The Central Bank said that in order to benefit from this scheme, assets must be registered onthe appropriate forms with registration agents appointed by the Central Bank. More information on thescheme is available on www.centralbankmalta.com• 8 June 2005 Minister for Health, the Elderly and Community Care Louis Deguara has been presentedwith the Smoke Free Europe 2005 Gold Award on behalf of the Maltese government during aconference organised by Smoke Free Europe in Luxembourg.• 8 June 2005 The total industrial new orders index for March this year registered an overall drop of13.1% compared to March 2004, the National Statistics Office said. The domestic new orders indexregistered a drop of 17.5% while new orders for export decreased by 14.4%.• 8 June 2005 The Chinese government on Monday donated the sum of Lm126,000 to the Maltesegovernment as a sign of goodwill. Malta and China reaffirmed their good relations during a meetingbetween Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg and the Chinese National Committee for theConsultative Political Conference.• 8 June 2005 Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech said in reply to aparliamentary question that a project to build a sandy beach at Bugibba is planned for completion justbefore summer next year. He said this was among the first initiatives approved by the Inter-MinisterialCommittee on Tourism in order to improve the tourist product in the Bugibba-Qawra area.• 8 June 2005 Tourist arrival figures in June and July were expected to be at least similar to last year'sbut there could be an improvement because of late bookings, Tourism and Culture Minister FrancisZammit Dimech said in reply to a parliamentary question.• 8 June 2005 Malta and Slovenia have put forward a joint proposal for an alternative and simplifiedapproach to planned EU chemicals legislation known as Reach. It is particularly aimed at lessening theimpact of the new legislation on SMEs that use very low volumes of chemicals, as is the case in Malta.• 8 June 2005 The Bank of Valletta will donate Lm10,000 to Caritas (Malta) over the next five years inrenewed support for the Church's secretariat for social and charitable action.• 9 June 2005 Malta has had its second "victory" during talks over the next EU budget, assuring itself ofa few more millions of euros in its final financial package. This became possible after the Luxembourgpresidency accepted Malta's plea to change the so-called distribution key connected to the cohesionfunds. The new distribution key takes into account the island's highly dense population and its smallsize.• 9 June 2005 The overall visible trade gap for the first four months of 2005 widened by Lm22 millionto hit Lm148.7 million. In contrast, the visible trade gap narrowed by Lm10.6 million to Lm38.9million this April when compared to the same month last year. In April, the value of total importsreached Lm104.5 million, a decrease of Lm21.5 million when compared to the same month last year.Meanwhile total exports dropped by Lm10.9 million in value to Lm65.6 million, the National StatisticsOffice said.

• 9 June 2005 The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta will focus onNetworking The Commonwealth For Development, Commonwealth secretary-general Don McKinnonand Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in a joint statement released in London and Malta.• 10 June 2005 The Ministry for Foreign Affairs said that a police investigation has found "noirregularities or criminal intent" in the way Maltese diplomats in China processed visas, however, allthe diplomatic staff at the Beijing embassy will be changed because the credibility of visa processinghas been "irreversibly prejudiced".• 10 June 2005 The Italian Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Senator Roberto Antonione,toured the road works being funded under the Fifth Italian-Maltese Financial Protocol accompanied byMinister for Urban Development and Roads Jesmond Mugliett. Senator Antonione said he was proudto see what has been achieved with the funds.• 10 June 2005 Bank of Valletta (BOV) Chief Executive Officer, Tonio Depasquale announced thatBOV is giving its business customers the opportunity to set up their own online shop throughwww.maltaexpo.com a portal which the bank says could become a major internet shopping mall forsmall businesses. The CEO was accompanied by Investment, Industry and Information TechnologyMinister Austin Gatt and Joe Zammit Tabona, chairman of Malta Enterprise.• 10 June 2005 The Gross Domestic Product edged up by Lm4.3 million to hit Lm441.7 million innominal terms in the first quarter of this year, a 1% increase over the corresponding quarter last year,the National Statistics Office said. In real terms the GDP dropped by 0.1%. In the quarter underreview, the Gross National Income went up by Lm11.4 million, or 2.6%, to Lm446.2 million.• 10 June 2005 Half the Maltese never think about the welfare of animals when buying meat products, asurvey has found. Only 17% think about animals when buying their poultry, beef, pork or fish, andanother 20% think about animal welfare only sometimes. These findings emerge from a Europe-widesurvey about consumers' perception of animal welfare, published in Brussels.• 11 June 2005 The number of mobile phone subscriptions increased by 18,499 last year over 2003, arise of 6.4%, while total turnover in the sector went up by 10.3%, according to figures published by theNational Statistics Office. The figures show that mobile phones have continued to take over from fixedline telephones, with the number of subscriptions to the fixed lines increasing by only 2,435, or 1.2%and turnover declining by 15.5%.• 11 June 2005 Malta's excellent telecommunications infrastructure provided great potential to attractnew business, especially in the services sector, Competitiveness and Communications Minister CensuGalea said. Mr Galea was speaking during a tour of the newly set up television company Multiplus,which will start operations at the Hilton Business Tower, in St Julians.• 12 June 2005 Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment George Pullicino said that the Malteseagricultural sector is benefiting from Lm4.6 million under the Marketing and Processing measure ofthe EU's Programming Complement. Mr Pullicino was speaking during a visit to Valle Del MieleLimited - the Burmarrad chicken processing company that has recently upgraded its plant and receivedthe European Union's approval for quality.• 12 June 2005 Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech inaugurated the 2005 MaltaInternational Art Biennale at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta. Dr Zammit Dimech wasaccompanied by Dame Françoise Tempra, the president of the Malta Biennale.• 12 June 2005 Malta Association of Dermatology and Venereology president Joseph Pace launched thesecond phase of the Gozo Melanoma Screening Study, which aims to scan every Gozitan over 16 yearsold through a computer-aided diagnostic examination. Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono highlightedthe importance of the study, adding that health was a priority and the healthier the population thebetter.• 13 June 2005 Malta, the smallest member of the EU and with a Gross Domestic Product that is 30%lower than the average, is paying nearly Lm2 million a year into the UK treasury as part of thecontroversial British rebate. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher won the rebate in 1984after she argued that the UK did not get much agricultural aid from the EU and that it raised morerevenue than most other countries through VAT.

• 14 June 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Peter Straub, president of the EU Committee ofRegions discussed issues related to the forthcoming EU summit, including the EU Constitution andBudget. Mr Straub congratulated the government for setting up local councils and for helping themdevelop over the past 12 years, urging the government to continue along these lines.• 14 June 2005 Maltese delegates in the EU's Committee of Regions were praised by its president, PeterStraub, who said their input could not be distinguished from those of the "old" member states eventhough Malta had only been in the EU for a year. Speaking during an interview Mr Straub said it wassignificant that Malta, with 400,000 people, had five representatives while Germany, with 80 million,had 24.• 14 June 2005 The government launched the National Euro Changeover Committee (NECC), amidpledges to police the switch from the Maltese lira to the euro in order to prevent abuse. The committeewill be required to formulate and implement a specific plan to handle all aspects pertaining to the finaladoption of the euro.• 14 June 2005 A delegation from the People's Republic of China had talks on a draft agreement onlegal assistance in criminal matters with officials from the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs. Thetalks consolidated the relationship between the two countries, which despite the difference ingeographical size, continue to find common ground to enhance bilateral cooperation especially in thefight against organised crime, the government said.• 14 June 2005 Belief in God and in the dignity of unborn human life is more widespread in Malta thanin any other European Union country, according to a survey published in Brussels. 95% of the Maltesebelieve that "there is a God". The survey forms part of a new Eurobarometer study on social values andethics.• 14 June 2005 The Armed Forces of Malta assisted a boat carrying about 27 irregular immigrants thatwas adrift about 10 nautical miles east of Malta. The migrants were taken to the Maritime Squadron, atHay Wharf, in Pietà, where they were given medical assistance and were handed over to theimmigration police for further investigation.• 15 June 2005 The government took a decisive step towards selling Sea Malta to Atlantica S.p.a. diNavigazione - a company forming part of the Italian Grimaldi Group - with the signing of amemorandum of understanding on the transfer of shares. The government owns 57% of the nationalshipping line.• 15 June 2005 According to the National Statistics Office, over the past five years, Gozo Channel hasrarely registered any drop in traffic. On the contrary, it had enjoyed steady increases from 737,782vehicles and 3,068,516 passengers in 2000 to 917,124 vehicles and 3,512,400 passengers in 2004. TheMalita, Gozo Channel's largest vessel, carried 271,895 passengers or 43.4% of the total in the firstquarter. The other two ferries, Gaudos and Ta'Pinu carried 211,238 and 142,865 passengersrespectively.• 15 June 2005 An agreement between Malta and China on cooperation in the health and medicalscience sectors up to 2008 has been signed by Minister of Health, the Elderly and Community Care,Louis Deguara and Chinese Deputy Minister Ma Xiaowei. The agreement covers assistance onimproving the quality of care in both countries.• 15 June 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami was presented with three books published by theMental Health Association in the presence of Catherine Gonzi, the Prime Minister's wife. The books,which were presented during a visit to the Palace, in Valletta, are called ‘Il-Mamà Spiss Ma Tiflahx’,‘Il-Papà Ghandu Problema’ and ‘Hija Jeremy’.• 15 June 2005 The Malta Environment and Planning Authority transferred close to Lm270,000 to theMalta Transport Authority (ADT) to help finance the cost of the Park and Ride scheme for Valletta andFloriana. Since this was to be the farthest car park from Valletta, it would also be the cheapest, UrbanDevelopment and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett said.• 15 June 2005 Students at the Luqa primary school in two years' time will have a modern Lm1 millionbuilding equipped with all amenities. With the exception of the façade, the 75-year-old school waspractically re-built from scratch. Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea, who paid avisit to the school, underlined the importance of creating a good ambiance for schoolchildren.

• 15 June 2005 A programme to provide ongoing training to teachers of ICT was launched during arecent open day held at the centre. The aim of the initiative is to ensure ICT teachers stay up to date byhelping them gain wider practical skills and develop an understanding of where the industry is going.Speaking at the event, Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea praised the initiativeof the Department of Technology in Education through which 24 secondary schools are integratingICT into their school development plans.• 16 June 2005 The Maltese government presented Lm134,292 and promised another Lm290,000 to sixvoluntary organisations to cover the funding of seven development projects in tsunami-wrecked areasin Sri Lanka. The total sum - Lm424,292 - was raised by the Maltese public during the televisionprogramme l-Istrina, organised by Public Broadcasting Services Ltd, just after the disaster on BoxingDay.• 16 June 2005 Malta, which has by far the smallest territory among the EU member states,nevertheless, registered the highest increase in construction production in the EU in the first threemonths of this year and is one of the countries with the biggest construction industry performances onan annual basis according to data published by the EU's statistical arm Eurostat.• 16 June 2005 The CT scanner at St Luke's Hospital's Radiology Department has been upgraded andnow offers faster, better quality results, therefore allowing for more scans to be made. Whereas beforea patient spent about 20 minutes in the scanner, thanks to the upgrade a scan would now only take aminute or two, Minister for Health, the Elderly and Community Care Louis Deguara said during theinauguration of the upgraded facility.• 16 June 2005 A group of computer hardware and training providers have joined forces with theInvestment, Industry and Information Technology Ministry to make IT more accessible to Maltesehouseholds. Speaking during a press conference, Dr Gatt said it was useless to try to attack the digitaldivide if there was still a financial divide with some people not able to afford computers.• 16 June 2005 The European Commission does not appear, at least for the time being, to have foundany Maltese candidate suitable to assume a director general or director post within its services. Thecurrent situation seems to be worrying the government, so much so that Foreign Affairs MinisterMichel Frendo this week met European Commissioner Sim Kallas, responsible for administration, toair Malta's concerns.• 16 June 2005 A group of 28 illegal immigrants, consisting of 26 males and two females, wereescorted ashore on board an Armed Forces of Malta patrol boat. The immigrants, who were landed atthe AFM maritime headquarters in Haywharf in Pietá, said that 23 of them hail from the Sudan whilethe remainder, including the two women, were from Ethiopia.• 17 June 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi reiterated that the Maltese Parliament would go aheadwith the European Constitution's ratification next month, despite a strong case being made by severalcountries that the process should be shelved given the lack of consensus among member states. DrGonzi, was attending the Brussels summit whose main focus were two crucial issues for the future ofthe EU - the European Constitution and a fresh Budget deal for the period 2007 - 2013.• 17 June 2005 More than 157,400 examinations were performed at the Radiology Department of StLuke's Hospital last year and the number could increase over the years following the acquisition of astate-of-the-art CT scan which was inaugurated earlier this week. The number of examinations went upfrom 109,881 in 1997 to 157,464 last year, statistics provided by the Health Ministry show.• 18 June 2005 Talks on the European Union's €900 billion financial package for 2007 - 2013 failedafter Britain and France failed to bridge differences after hours of deliberation at the EU summit. Newmember states, including Malta, were the most satisfied with the deal offered, pushing for anagreement to secure funds.• 18 June 2005 The government has drawn up a contingency plan that would come into operation if theisland were to face a mass influx of irregular immigrants, Minister for the Family and Social SolidarityDolores Cristina said. Ms Cristina was speaking at a press conference to mark World Refugee Day onMonday. She was accompanied by Walter Irvine, a top representative of the United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees for Italy, Malta, San Marino and the Holy See.• 18 June 2005 A pharmaceutical company operating from Malta is authorised to manufacture USpharmaceutical products. Speaking during a visit to the company's plant by Investments, Industry and

Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt, Arrow Pharm managing director Dr Paul Harrison saidthe pharmaceutical industry in Malta was getting stronger, adding that the US certificate was testimonyto the high quality of the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector in Malta.• 18 June 2005 Younger workers are less likely to be employed within the public administration thanolder workers, the National Statistics Office said. Only 6.7% of working people aged under 30 areemployed in the public administration, whereas the rate of workers aged over 55 in publicadministration is 12.1%. Age appeared to be a distinguishing factor that shaped the occupationalstructure, and tended to affect the wages and salaries of employees. The source of the data in thisrelease was the Labour Force Survey.• 18 June 2005 The MFSA warned that Prime Forestry Switzerland AG and its subsidiaries (sometimesalso known as the Prime Forestry Group) are not regulated under the relevant financial services andcompany legislation in Malta. The company in question has been sending unsolicited letters, colourfulbrochures and e-mails to Maltese consumers, enticing them with "investment opportunities". To findout whether a company is authorised by the MFSA, visit www.mfsa.com.mt• 18 June 2005 According to the National Statistics Office there has been a substantial increase in thenumber of women taking part in parish feast processions. The number of lay persons participating lastyear stood at 7,474, an 8.4% increase over 2003. But although participation was predominantly male(65.6%), the number of female participants increased by 21.4 % over 2003.• 19 June 2005 Malta has to put its plans for projects that require EU funding on the back burner aftertalks on the new seven-year budget failed during the summit in Brussels, despite great efforts by theLuxembourg presidency to hammer out a deal. Talks on the budget for 2007-2013 are now expected tobe resuscitated during the British presidency next month, even though Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzibelieves the obstacles and difficulties will have intensified by then, rather than diminished.• 19 June 2005 As the Malta summit of the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) enters itsfinal lap, key protagonists are already in top gear to provide meaningful input. The CommonwealthTelecommunications Organisation (CTO) is actively engaged in making an effective impact. It iscarefully seeking to implement its strategic direction and consolidating its role as the flag-bearer ofICT development in the Commonwealth environment and beyond.• 20 June 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami and Mrs Fenech Adami paid an official visit toGhaxaq. The President described the locality as a village that had managed to hold on to its heritageand was proud of its identity.• 20 June 2005 The European Commission has warned the government that unless more translators arefound, it would have to extend its three-year exemption from its obligation to translate all documentsinto Maltese.• 20 June 2005 The House European and Foreign Affairs Committee has proposed that Malta andTunisia set up a task force dealing with issues of common interest during a visit to Tunisia. The taskforce would deal with issues such as information technology, telecommunications and tourism and thecruise liner industry. The Tunisian Secretary of State at the Foreign Ministry, Hatem Ben Salem,welcomed the suggestion, a committee spokesman said.• 20 June 2005 Anton Tabone, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, on Monday met DennisTurner and his delegation from the UK Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. TheUK delegation spoke about the idea of convening a conference, under the chairmanship of the Speakerof the House of Commons, which groups together the Speakers of Parliaments of island states withinthe Commonwealth.• 21 June 2005 EU agriculture ministers' meeting in Luxembourg approved to retain the system of farmfunds for the "less favoured areas" until 2010. Speaking after the meeting, Environment and RuralAffairs Minister George Pullicino said Maltese farmers have been guaranteed the present level offunding from the EU for the next five years. "Malta was granted the status of a "less favoured area"prior to accession. This translates into an extra grant to our farmers of €250 (Lm109) a year for everyhectare of agricultural land.”• 21 June 2005 Malta's population of refugees and asylum seekers last year almost doubled from theyear before, according to figures published by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).According to the agency's annual year-end statistics for 2004, Malta is one of the most badly hit

countries in the world on a per capita basis. While at the beginning of last year the number of refugeesin Malta stood at 895, the figure shot up dramatically to 1,558 by last December.• 21 June 2005 In the first five months of this year, the Refugee Commissioner received 494applications, with about 70% being granted refugee or humanitarian protection status, according to theNational Office of Statistics. As millions marked World Refugee Day, the NSO released figures thatshow that of 3,576 illegal immigrants who arrived in Malta between 2002 and last year, an average of85% came from Africa.• 21 June 2005 Taxpayers can start to make their payments and send in their tax forms over the internetthanks to a new service launched. Speaking during a press briefing, Minister for Investment, Industryand Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said a total of 155,000 government services werebeing provided electronically every month. An electronic identity card was being used for the securityof clients.• 21 June 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced the government's intention to establish "aSilicon Valley" of pharmaceutical manufacturing. "My government is committed to enhance Malta'sposition as a hub of activity for the manufacturing and assembling of generic pharmaceuticals, as wellas a research and development scientific community," he told the participants, attending the conferenceof the International Generic Pharmaceutical Alliance in Malta.• 21 June 2005 The Prime Minister and George Vella, the opposition spokesman on EU affairs, agreedthat Malta should continue its process for the ratification of the European constitution. "Malta has aright and a duty to express its authentic view on the European constitution, mindful of the nationalinterest and the interest of the EU as a whole," Prime Minister Gonzi said in a statement to Parliamenton last weekend's EU summit.• 21 June 2005 Malta and Tunisia agreed to encourage three-point holidays in Malta, Sicily and Tunisia,in particular for long haul tourists. The agreement was made during the third session of the Malta-Tunisian Joint Commission on Tourism held at the Ministry for Tourism. The delegations were headedby the Tunisian Minister of Tourism, Tijani Haddad, and the Minister for Tourism and Culture, FrancisZammit Dimech.• 22 June 2005 The National Statistics Office announced that there were 7,245 unemployed peoplelisted on the unemployment register in May. Accordingly, the number of registered unemployeddropped by 471 over the preceding month. On an annual basis, there was a decrease of 859 persons onthe unemployment register.• 22 June 2005 Despite the natural close links between the two countries, many British companies stillappear to be shying away from finding Maltese partners when submitting applications for EU-fundedprojects. Malta Business Bureau's (MBB) director general, Leonard Mizzi, was speaking during a halfday seminar at the MBB's offices in Brussels organised in collaboration with the British HighCommission in Malta and aimed at encouraging more integration between UK regions and Maltesecounterparts.• 23 June 2005 The Freeport has launched a €40 million investment programme aimed at expandingfacilities and enhancing equipment. The investment follows the completion of the privatisationprogramme last October and, the Freeport said, will ensure it is geared to continue handling the largestcontainer vessels afloat, thus securing a larger share of the Mediterranean transhipment market.• 23 June 2005 Following the failure to agree on the next EU Budget, the UK has initiated a diplomaticcampaign on the new member states considered to be the most badly hit by the talks collapse. Thesestates, including Malta, are concerned over the late agreement on the financial perspective whichmeans less time to prepare the groundwork for the use of millions of euros in structural and cohesionfunds.• 23 June 2005 The EU's high profile Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, has accepted an invitationto take part in the Commonwealth Business Forum being held in Malta between November 22 and 24.Speaking at his office, the director general of the Commonwealth Business Council, Mohan Kaul, toldjournalists, 12 heads of government were also expected to take part in the meeting which will hostabout 600 business leaders.• 23 June 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that apart from shaping the future of children,education shapes the country's future. Speaking during his fifth meeting with the public, Dr Gonzi said

there are 69,341 students aged up to 16 in state and non-government schools. Education, Youth andEmployment Minister Louis Galea said the country spent 6.5% of the gross domestic product oneducation, more than the average of other EU countries where expenditure on education stood at 5.5%.• 23 June 2005 Malta was among the 80 countries that took part in a special Iraq conference held inBrussels. The joint EU-US event was held following President George W. Bush's trip to Europe inFebruary to mend ties after transatlantic rifts in 2003 over the US-led war on Iraq. Malta wasrepresented by Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo who said that this is an important time for Iraqand its people as they manage the transition to a post-conflict, market-oriented and, crucially, adiversified economy.• 23 June 2005 The number of cruise passengers in May went up by 5,352 over the same month lastyear to stand at 36,092, the National Statistics Office said. Cruise passengers arriving from the Italianmarket rose by 4,695, to 7,545, from 2,850 in May last year.• 24 June 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Tourism and Culture Minister Francis ZammitDimech visited the Hotel Fortina Spa Resort in Sliema. The hotel and spa have just undergone aninvestment of close to Lm10 million in refurbishment. Dr Gonzi said he was impressed with theinvestment at Fortina, an expression of confidence in the country's potential.• 24 June 2005 Over 4,300 signatures have been submitted to the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairsin support of a proposal for the law prohibiting abortion in Malta to be entrenched in the Constitution.A ministry spokesman said the signatures received so far included over 200 committees, 43 localcouncils and many individuals.• 24 June 2005 Controversy and speculation surrounding the privatisation of Sea Malta are endangeringthe national interest because detailed negotiations with the prospective buyers are still underway,announced the Ministry for Industry, Investments and Information Technology and therefore until thenegotiations are terminated it would not discuss the line's privatisation but will take note of remarksbeing made and answer them after the privatisation is complete.• 24 June 2005 The government is reorganising its information technology sector. Investments,Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said the reorganisation was aimed atremoving duplication, ensuring interoperability and reducing recurrent expenditure. The governmentinvested over Lm150 million in the civil service IT system over the past 15 years.• 24 June 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said that starting talks with Libya oncontrolling illegal migration had not been easy because too many EU countries wanted to impose toomany pre-conditions, based on democracy and human rights. The Minister was addressing a meeting ofthe European and Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.• 24 June 2005 Pakistan is to be invited to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Maltaeven though Commonwealth secretary general Don McKinnon underlined that a pronouncement wouldbe made in September on the situation in the country. The invitation to November's CHOGM, signedby Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, will be handed to the Pakistani High Commissioner in London inthe coming days, though it remains to be seen whether the country will accept.• 24 June 2005 The Central Bank left the central intervention rate unchanged at 3.25%. The decisionwas taken by the Governor, Michael Bonello, at the end of the Monetary Policy Advisory Council'smonthly meeting. The Governor observed that the improvement in financial market sentimentobserved in the immediate aftermath of the ERM II entry had been sustained.• 24 June 2005 The first issue of the new tourist magazine Guide Me, the official visitors' guide of theMalta Hotels and Restaurants Association, was presented to Tourism and Culture Minister FrancisZammit Dimech by MHRA president Justin Zammit Tabona. Guide Me gives visitors informationabout Malta and events taking place during their stay as well as carrying lifestyle features.• 24 June 2005 People with disabilities will be offered the opportunity to buy a subsidised residencethrough interest-free monthly instalments in a new sale issue to be launched by the Housing Authority.The new service will be open to disabled people in employment, with the usual conditions attached tothe sale of premises. Further details on eligibility criteria will be announced in the next sale issuewhich will be held this August.

• 24 June 2005 Minister for Health, the Elderly and Community Care Louis Deguara said thegovernment was offering nurses further opportunities to study and specialise in their area, enablingthem to offer a better service to patients. Dr Deguara was speaking while presenting certificates to 53enrolled nurses who have just finished a one-and-a-half year conversion course and who now havebecome staff nurses.• 24 June 2005 Social Solidarity and Family Minister Dolores Cristina said she will be proposing toCabinet a White Paper on legislation that would give non-governmental organisations a legal basis.The minister, who was speaking during the presentation of funds to NGOs, said the proposed law wasone of her ministry's priorities.• 24 June 2005 British High Commissioner to Malta Vincent Fean on Wednesday made a presentationto the Parliamentary Committee of European and Foreign Affairs on Britain's goals for its impendingsix-month presidency of the European Union. He spoke mainly of the aftermath of the negativereferenda on the EU Constitution Treaty in France and The Netherlands, the Union's future financing,the challenges facing the EU in the next six months and the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads ofGovernment Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta in November.• 24 June 2005 The first estimate for eurozone trade with the rest of the world last April showed asurplus of €1.3 billion, compared with +€6.8 billion in April 2004, Eurostat, the statistical office of theEuropean Communities, said.• 24 June 2005 The Consumer and Competition Division and the Market Surveillance Directoratewarned of unsafe toasters on the market. The toasters are being marketed under the brand nameSatellite and their model number is AJ-7082. They can take two slices of bread at a time. Anyone whohas bought such a toaster is requested to immediately stop using it and return it to the seller.• 24 June 2005 The number of nights spent in hotels and hostels in Malta and Gozo by both residentsand non-residents dropped by just over 14,000 in March when compared to the same month last year.In fact, figures issued by the National Statistics Office showed that total nights spent in Malta lastMarch were 518,405 as against 532,435 a year before. The NSO said average nights spent were 6.5both last March and in March 2004.• 25 June 2005 The Cabinet Committee on Social Policy is considering a proposal to ban theconsumption of alcohol by minors, Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina said. The proposal seeksto correct an anomaly in the statute book that only makes it illegal to sell alcohol to minors. Speakingduring the launch of the Sedqa Binge Drinking Awareness Campaign, Ms Cristina said a number ofother proposals had been presented to the committee. Tackling the problems of alcohol abuse rankedhigh on her agenda.• 25 June 2005 Forty years of untiring work to uphold the cause of cultural heritage in Malta by JudgeMaurice Caruana Curran, founder of the national trust Din l-Art Helwa in 1965, were crowned at thePalace in Valletta when President Edward Fenech-Adami presented him with a top European prize at alocal award ceremony. The award was given in recognition of his lifetime contribution to Malta'sheritage.• 25 June 2005 Four new zones reserved for swimmers, three at Marsascala and one in Gozo, wereannounced by Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea during the launch of the10th Safety at Sea campaign. The zones in Marsascala are those near the waterpolo pitch, leading up toand along the promenade towards the Jerma Hotel and in St Thomas Bay. The new Gozo zone is atMgarr ix-Xini. The number of such zones - where seacraft are prohibited - has now reached 24.• 25 June 2005 An official is being sent to London to deal with the deluge of visa applications expectedahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference, Foreign Affairs Minister MichaelFrendo said. Dr Frendo was responding to a comment made by the deputy director of theCommonwealth Foundation, Ruto Chitiga, who said that certain CHOGM participants risked beingtreated like "refugees" unless the government ensured they are granted visas.• 25 June 2005 A number of valleys will be cleared up during the summer months to prevent floodingwhen heavy downpours hit the island. Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit said suchworks had not been carried out for 30 years. The government wanted to tackle the problem as part ofits flood prevention programme. The valleys targeted are Wied Irmiedi, l/o of Attard; Wied il-Qlejja,l/o Mosta; Wied l-Isqof, l/o Buskett and Virtù; and Wied is-Sewda in Qormi.

• 26 June 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the Constitution would allow the EU, which hadbeen successful for 50 years, to consolidate and continue to progress and make a difference in peoples'lives. Dr Gonzi, who was speaking during a conference on the EU Constitution organised at LeMeridien Phoenicia, said the EU was once again at a crossroads; it was going through a difficult periodwith two negative referendum votes and a lack of agreement on the budget.• 26 June 2005 Speaking during a conference on the EU Constitution organised at Le MeridienPhoenicia, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said that, through its ratification of theconstitution, Malta was to be transformed from the most divided to the most united country in Europe.This, he said, was a victory for the country.• 26 June 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said the EU Constitution was not one whichhad forgotten social aspects and during the EU Convention it had been Malta which stressed theimportance of including solidarity as a European value. The Minister was making an address during aconference on the EU Constitution organised at Le Meridien Phoenicia.• 26 June 2005 Through its ratification of the EU Constitution, Malta - the smallest country in theEuropean Union - would be giving the rest of the Union a strong signal, according to Italian MEPAntonio Tajani, head of the Forza Italia group in the European Parliament and vice-president ofEuropean People's Party. He was speaking during a conference on the EU Constitution organised at LeMeridien Phoenicia.• 26 June 2005 The European Union should not be perceived as something from which Malta can onlyreceive but, it must be realised, that the EU is something we can be actively involved in, ForeignAffairs Minister Michael Frendo said. Dr Frendo was speaking during a presentation to mark thelaunch of a consultation process on the setting up the Forum Malta fl-Ewropa (Malta in EuropeForum).• 26 June 2005 Minister for Gozo, Giovanna Debono said that a lot has been done in recent years, andGovernment's plans for the island of Gozo include heavier investment across the board, adding that thisyear Government voted Lm5.7 million to continue in its plan for maintaining and upgrading facilitiesin all areas. The Minister was reacting to the findings of a newspaper survey in which 79.3% ofGozitans interviewed said the government was not giving enough importance to the island's affairs.• 26 June 2005 The percentage of passes in this year's examinations for entrance to the Junior Lyceumswere the highest since the examinations started being held, the Ministry of Education said. In astatement Minister of Education, Youth and Employment, Louis Galea welcomed the good resultsachieved in this year's examinations and pledged his continued commitment to ensure the besteducation for students.• 26 June 2005 Two important amendments to an EU proposal suggesting better regulation over thedismantling of ships were accepted by the EU member states and led to a unanimous decision by theEnvironmental Council over the issue. Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment GeorgePullicino, said that currently there are no regulations over the dismantling of ships and this is leading tofurther damage to the environment.• 26 June 2005 The number of illegal immigrants who landed in Malta so far this year reached 418 afteranother three groups arrived. Two groups of 27 and another of 26 migrants were brought to Malta inthe after the Armed Forces of Malta intervened.• 27 June 2005 Tonio Fenech, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, is in China's northernmunicipality of Tianjin for the Sixth Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) of Finance Ministers. The ASEMis a summit-level meeting to strengthen ties between Asia and Europe. The meeting was opened byChinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and was chaired by Jin Renqing, Finance Minister.• 27 June 2005 Maltese hotels had the best occupancy rates across the 25 EU member states in the threemonths to September last year. According to statistics issued by Eurostat, the EU's statistical arm,Maltese hotels and similar establishments reported an average occupancy rate of 74.9% in July 2004,84.4% in August and 67.8% in September.• 27 June 2005 Recurrent revenue in the first five months of 2005 totalled Lm304.3 million and madeup 33.8% of this year's Budget forecast, the National Statistics Office said. Compared to the sameperiod last year, this represents an increase of Lm18.7 million, or 6.6%.

• 27 June 2005 Cyclists will be able to ride without fear of being run over by motorists once a numberof cycle lanes are completed. The first cycle lane will be a 2.2km-stretch between Tal-Qlejja, l/oMosta, and Mgarr. Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett highlighted thegovernment's road plans and projects during the launch of the European Red Cross Road Safetycampaign.• 28 June 2005 Under new regulations coming into force next January, the fine for littering, now Lm10,will shoot up to between Lm25 to Lm50 - and undercover wardens will be on patrol ready to pounceon offenders. These measures were announced during a press conference by Minister for theEnvironment and Rural Affairs, George Pullicino, who described littering as a "disease" that had to beeradicated once and for all.• 28 June 2005 The Grimaldi Naples subsidiary that is negotiating to buy Sea Malta would invest €10million in the company but it has warned that it would take a dim view of any "artificial obstacles" atthis stage. Grimaldi Naples managing director Emanuele Grimaldi was reacting to a question on whythe company, Atlantica Spa di Navigazione, wanted to buy Sea Malta, with all the commitments thatwould entail, when they could merely wait for the company to go bankrupt and - literally - sail in.• 28 June 2005 The National Statistics Office announced that total government expenditure on socialsecurity benefits during the first quarter of this year increased by Lm3.2 million or by 6.1 per cent overthe first quarter of last year, and amounted to Lm55.4 million. Spending on retirement pensions, themain component of contributory benefits, increased by Lm1.9 million, mainly due to an increase ofLm1.6 million in the two-thirds pension.• 28 June 2005 Malta got another taste of what it means to be in the EU when, through signing anagreement with a country that is not an EU member, it was given €1.7 million. The funds were madeavailable after Malta and Norway signed a memorandum of understanding on the implementation ofthe Norwegian Financial Mechanism under the European Economic Area (EEA) EnlargementAgreement.• 28 June 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the government intended to appoint a projectmanager for Dar Malta in Brussels who would oversee works done by Belgian contractors. Dr Gonziwas speaking in reply to a parliamentary question.• 28 June 2005 The secretary of the Gozo Business Chamber, Joseph Borg will be steering GozoChannel Co. Ltd, operators of the Gozo ferries. Mr Borg, 45, occupies the chairman's post afterMaurice Zarb Adami asked not to be reappointed. Mr Borg will serve in this post from July 6 to July2007, after the Cabinet approved the Minister of Industry, Investment and Information Technology’srecommendation.• 28 June 2005 As one of its 40th anniversary objectives, Din l-Art Helwa has given its website anoverhaul. The website includes details of Din L-Art Helwa's council, photographs and history of thehistoric properties restored and held in trust by the heritage organisation which are of interest to bothvisitors and students, as well as reports on the new projects it is undertaking. www.dinlarthelwa.org• 29 June 2005 A stretch of land between Ghajn Tuffieha and Mellieha - known as Ix-Xaghra l-Hamra -has been earmarked by the government as "the ideal location" for the development of an 18-hole golfcourse, the Prime Minister said. Covering about 112 hectares, the site includes the former Hal FerhHoliday Complex behind Golden Bay, as well as the area behind the five-star hotel being built by theIsland Hotels Group, past Manikata and extending to the outskirts of Mellieha.• 29 June 2005 New places to house irregular immigrants are being identified and rescue officials arealready working overtime as Malta braces itself for an influx of irregular migrants over the summer.Already more than 350 immigrants have landed here this year, most of them in the last couple ofweeks. This is roughly double the figure of the same six-month period last year.• 29 June 2005 A new EU initiative aimed at reforming the protection offered to sugar growers acrossthe EU will have Malta's support during sensitive discussions due to start next month under the Britishpresidency. The European Commission last week proposed sweeping changes to its 40-year-old systemof protecting sugar growers in the EU. If they go ahead, the changes will prevent the consumer price ofsugar in Malta from rising steeply over the years.• 29 June 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said that the government is notconsidering reducing the age threshold for practice shooting beyond the limits in the Arms Bill which

provides that firearms licences may be given to people over 18. Minors between 16 and 18 would beable, under supervision, to practise target shooting with airguns, long firearms and smoothbore barrelsand muzzle-loading firearms on licensed ranges. Children aged between 14 and 16 will be able topractise shooting at ranges using airguns only.• 29 June 2005 The AFM up to May this year had made 18 finds of small amounts of drugs, the PrimeMinister Lawrence Gonzi said in reply to a parliamentary question. There were 19 drug finds last yearand 11 in 2003. He said the army mounted 26 vehicle check points this year when several smallamounts of drug, as well as weapons, were found.• 29 June 2005 The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting being held in November wouldexpose the island to about one billion people worldwide, Commonwealth Secretary General DonMcKinnon said. Speaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, on the first of a twodayvisit, Mr McKinnon said that at some point during CHOGM these people would "see something ofMalta on their television screens or hear about Malta".• 29 June 2005 Maltese passports will become biometric within 18 months according to an EU directiveaimed at ensuring greater security, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said. He wasspeaking at the launch of ePassports, an initiative through which one could apply and pay for a newpassport or renewal online.• 29 June 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea said a National CommissionFor Higher Education will be proposed to act as regulator. Speaking at the launch of the Malta Collegeof Arts, Science and Technology's prospectus, Dr Galea said the expansion of the post secondary levelof education meant the government could not continue to be both a provider and regulator. Thecommission had to ensure that people felt that the Lm30 million being spent on higher education eachyear was well spent.• 29 June 2005 Malta and Libya have agreed to present a joint "non-paper" on illegal immigration at the5 + 5 meeting. The 5 + 5 is a multilateral forum between 10 countries of the Western Mediterranean -EU members Malta, Spain, Portugal, France and Italy and the five North African states of Mauritania,Tunisia, Libya, Morocco and Algeria.• 30 June 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami presented trophies to the winners of the varioussections in the Mnarja agricultural festival. Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment GeorgePullicino who also presented trophies thanked the Agrarian Society for holding the event andencouraged the audience to buy local produce.• 30 June 2005 Foreign ministers or their representatives from the so-called 5 + 5 group of nationsarrived in Malta for the start of a conference, the first here since Malta joined in 1991.• 30 June 2005 Jonathan Faul, Director General for Justice, Security and Solidarity, said the EU hasallocated €1 million under the Argo programme to assist the countries most hit by the immigrationcrisis in the Mediterranean. He said the funds can be utilised by Malta, Italy and Libya to start jointpatrols or to develop other cooperation programmes in order to tackle the difficult situation.• 30 June 2005 Another group of 26 irregular migrants landed in Malta bringing the total of boat peoplewho landed on these shores this year up to 473. This influx was described by Justice and Home AffairsMinister Tonio Borg as no longer being just a problem but a situation that had now reached "crisisproportions". The Minister also said that the government has drawn up a contingency plan that wouldcome into operation if the island continues to face a mass influx of illegal immigrants.• 30 June 2005 The Malta Tourism Authority in collaboration with the Malta Hotels and RestaurantsAssociation has launched a CD entitled Malta: Hospitality At Its best. The CD features informationabout the Maltese Islands together with an interactive map, video clips, MTA contact details and weblinks to various properties. The layout and design of the CD are in line with those of the MTA'sdestination website: www.visitmalta.com• 30 June 2005 The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) has been approvedfunding for four new mobility projects through the Leonardo da Vinci Programme. Two of the projectsfocus on the multimedia aspect within the Institute of Art and Design, the third project focuses on theAgribusiness Institute and with the fourth project, Multiplier, 13 lecturers and assistant lecturers willspend a week working in the vocational area that they teach at the college.

• 30 June 2005 Restrictive measures have been introduced on the importation of a number of textileproducts from China on or after June 11, the Parliamentary Secretariat for Small Business and the SelfEmployed said. The move was agreed during negotiations between the European Commission and theMinistry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China. Quotas on footwear imported from Chinahave now been removed as well as quotas on ceramics and porcelain.• 30 June 2005 The number of tourist departures in May reached 112,559, an increase of 7,157, or6.8%, over the same month last year, according to the National Statistics Office. During the January-May period, tourist departures reached 369,632, an increase of 6,338, or 1.7%, over the same periodlast year. Tourists opting for Gozo as their main accommodation reached 10,810 and increased by4.8% when compared to last year.JULY• 1 July 2005 Malta has embarked on a consultation process for the drawing up of a national reformprogramme covering the period 2005 to 2008, to be integrated within the EU's Lisbon Strategy byOctober. Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea said that each EU country hadbeen requested to analyse its situation in view of the Lisbon Agenda targets midway through theprocess, with each drawing up its own reform programme and coming up with more realistic targets forthe country.• 1 July 2005 The reduction in asset value suffered by Sea Malta could have been avoided if remedialaction had been taken earlier, according to Investment, Industry and Information Technology MinisterAustin Gatt. In an interview Dr Gatt said "I would say it's a situation which should have been broughtunder control long before. And the only way to bring it under control was to either sell off the companywhen it was in a net asset position or change it drastically from year one".• 1 July 2005 Visitors to Mnajdra and Hagar Qim are likely to gain a better appreciation of key featuresof the world heritage sites thanks to interpretation panels that have been installed around the twomegalithic temples and on the pathway that joins them. Touring the temples, Tourism and CultureMinister Francis Zammit Dimech said the panels were very important information guides for the173,000 visitors to the temples each year.• 1 July 2005 Five European and five North African countries agreed on the need to adopt a holisticapproach to tackling the crisis of illegal migration in the Mediterranean. The so-called 5 + 5 countrieswill be writing to the EU urging it to tackle the issue of migration at once, after 10 foreign ministers ortheir representatives sealed a "successful" two-day conference in Malta.• 1 July 2005 French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy applauded Malta's decision to forge aheadwith the parliamentary ratification of the European Constitution. "I believe you will have a unanimousvote in favour of the European Constitution. I'm a convinced European and I'm happy to see theMaltese vote for Europe. This means that the government knew how to explain (the Constitution) to itspeople," he said. Mr Douste-Blazy was speaking during a joint news conference with Foreign AffairsMinister Michael Frendo to coincide with the 5+5 meeting.• 2 July 2005 The Ggantija temples received the first instalment of a much needed Lm87,000 cashinjection from the Vodafone Malta Foundation. Heritage Malta chairman Mario Tabone, who accepteda cheque of Lm35,000 from the foundation's chairman, Gemma Mifsud Bonnici, said the money willgo towards the restoration of the ancient temples, which is already underway though visitors can stillroam freely around the site.• 2 July 2005 The Prime Minister insisted on the need for private companies to develop a corporatesocial and heritage responsibility. He said the economic sector must understand that they were not justthere to make a profit but that they also had a social responsibility. He was speaking at thepresentation of Lm35,000 from Vodafone Malta Foundation to Heritage Malta at the Ggantija Templessite.• 2 July 2005 The British Presidency of the EU has pledged to take up the fight against illegalimmigration, with Prime Minister Tony Blair saying he wanted to reach repatriation agreements with anumber of countries which are considered to be the source of illegal immigration. Mr Blair wasspeaking at a press conference on the first day of the UK's European Union Presidency.

• 2 July 2005 Malta is asking the UK Presidency of the European Union to rope in all member states intackling the problem of human trafficking. Speaking at a public dialogue alongside British HighCommissioner Vincent Fean, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo said Britain was in the best position tounderstand the problems Malta was facing through the influx of illegal immigrants, as the country wasfast becoming a destination for Africans seeking a better life and was ceasing to be a transit area.• 2 July 2005 The government is in the process of ordering 300,000 doses of vaccine to prepare for anexpected influenza pandemic, a spokesman for the Health Division said. The World HealthOrganisation believes it is only a matter of time before the pandemic hits, likely to be caused by thehuman variant of avian flu spreading from Asia to other countries.• 2 July 2005 An exercise to identify streets which still needed to be built by the central governmentindicated that there are about 400 of them, Minister for Urban Development and Roads JesmondMugliett said. Mr Mugliett, who was visiting San Gwann on the invitation of the local council, saidthat in the coming days the government will be issuing 15 new calls for tenders for the construction ofstreets in residential zones.• 2 July 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea has appealed to all employers to"discover" the brains, talents and creativity that are to be found in Maltese and Gozitan youths studyingat the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology. He was speaking at the inauguration of thesecond MCAST exhibition by the students of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering.• 2 July 2005 Ombudsman Mr Joe Sammut presented the annual report for 2004, his last before endinghis term at the end of this month, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anton Tabone. Inhis suggestions, Mr Sammut, said there should be consistent, across-the-board application of redressfor maladministration in the public service as a whole based on a set of rules that laid down theauthority and the limits attached to the award of redress.• 2 July 2005 The Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) has launched a training subsidyscheme for employees in micro enterprises (employing nine or fewer workers) to participate in furtheroff-the-job vocational education and training. Assistance will be in the form of a training grantequivalent to 75% of the training costs up to a maximum of Lm200. This will be reimbursed to theindividual after successfully completing the training.• 2 July 2005 The price of lead replacement and unleaded petrol has increased by 2c5 per litre and thatof diesel by 2c1 due to a rise in the price of oil and a reversal in the favourable trend of a weaker USdollar, the government said.• 2 July 2005 Malta's Ambassador to Egypt, Richard Vella Laurenti presented his credentials toPresident Hosni Mubarak. The presentation ceremony took place at the Presidential Palace on theoutskirts of Cairo.• 2 July 2005 St John Evangelist chapel of Hal Millieri, a 17th century reconstruction of an earliermedieval wayside building, has been restored by Din l-Art Helwa, Malta's national trust, with thegenerous help of Maltapost.• 3 July 2005 Enemalta will wage war on electricity theft in the coming weeks, which is costing thecorporation Lm9 million per year. In an interview, Investments, Industry and Information TechnologyMinister Austin Gatt said: "The debtors strategy launched last year has brought in around Lm4.5million of outstanding debts within a short period. We are trying now to target theft." The campaign isexpected to save the company over Lm2 million by 2007.• 3 July 2005 Contractors will be blacklisted from any government contracts for three years if theyemploy foreigners without a work permit, the government announced as part of the strict butstreamlined laws aimed at regulating foreign workers. Speaking during a news conference, Justice andHome Affairs Minister Tonio Borg and Education, Youth, and Employment Minister Louis Galea saidthe new laws were intended to give a boost to hard-to-fill jobs and control illegal employment.• 3 July 2005 Statistics released by the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry show that the scourge oflittering and dumping is eating into the government's finances. No less than Lm750,000 has been spentto remove 23,800 tonnes of rubbish dumped illegally in valleys, industrial zones and arterial roads in18 months.

• 3 July 2005 The number of students who gained a minimum of upper secondary level educationincreased by 9% to 49.1% between 2001-2004, Education, Youth and Employment Minister LouisGalea said. Meanwhile, the number of early school leavers with lower secondary education or less hasdecreased by 11% to 42.6% during the same three-year period. Dr Galea was speaking during aconference on the national action plan for jobs and youth.• 3 July 2005 Malta will be taking the lead in drafting a letter to the European Commission and the UKPresidency of the EU underlining the urgency of dealing with the illegal immigration crisis. Tencountries participating in the 5+5 Meeting held in Malta have agreed on this collective action and havealso agreed to hold a high-level meeting in Tripoli next year and a preparatory meeting in Paris laterthis year on this subject.• 4 July 2005 Fares on all Air Malta scheduled flights are due to go up again after the airline announcedan €8 fuel surcharge from July 15 on all its scheduled routes with the exception of flights to Sicily.This is the third fuel surcharge imposed by the airline in just over a year, bringing it up to €16, as theprice of crude oil continues its inexorable rise. The fuel surcharge on tour operating fares will beapplied gradually from October, with the airline sensitive to the fact that this sector is the "main driver"of tourist traffic.• 4 July 2005 Environment and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino has ruled out restricting thepractice of hunting beyond the agreement reached with the European Union during accessionnegotiations. However, he insisted that illegal hunting must be curtailed in order to safeguard what hadbeen negotiated. The minister was speaking at a meeting with top officials of the European huntersassociation FACE.• 5 July 2005 Vicki Ann Cremona invited French President Jacques Chirac to visit Malta when shepresented her credentials to him at the Elysée Palace as the new ambassador to France. The twodiscussed relations between Malta and France, both on the bilateral front as well as in the context ofMalta's and France's regional and international frameworks.• 6 July 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi lauded the work being carried out by Din l-Art Helwa,the heritage trust, in a meeting with its representatives. "You have managed to stimulate culturalconscience, because we were previously not conscious of our treasures," he said, noting that theyounger generation was now more aware of the need to preserve the country's cultural heritage.• 6 July 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Family and Social Solidarity Minister DoloresCristina visited the urban renewal housing project in Valley Road, Msida. The five phases of thisextensive housing project comprise 194 units and are expected to be fully completed by 2010. Theproject involves a total capital outlay of over Lm4 million.• 6 July 2005 The House of Representatives gave a first reading to a Bill to amend the Malta TerritorialWaters and Contiguous Zone Act. Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg announced the Bill ata meeting of a parliamentary committee, when he said Malta may extend its exclusive fisheries zone inthe wake of similar action by Libya and Tunisia.• 6 July 2005 All furniture and fixtures making up the Malta Stand at the Malta International Tradefair,Naxxar, which bears the slogan "Inform yourself so you too can do your bit", have been constructedout of recycled materials. The government waste management agency, WasteServ, wants to convey themessage to all visitors that waste has value which can only be utilised if managed properly.• 6 July 2005 The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses celebrated the appointment of its presidentRudolph Cini as director in the International Council of Nurses. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi andLeader of the Opposition Alfred Sant congratulated the union and Mr Cini for their success.• 6 July 2005 Shooting of Steven Spielberg's untitled movie continued in Rabat's St Paul's Square,which took on the role of Piazza Cavur, while the capital city is also gearing up to act as the backdropto the world-renowned director's latest movie in the making. The movie is about the hunt for thePalestinian terrorists who murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.• 7 July 2005 The Maltese Parliament unanimously ratified the EU constitution even as the blocremained uncertain over the future of the treaty. "Through its vote Parliament is closing a long,controversial, divisive, chapter in its history and opening another where there is national support onEuropean policy. This new chapter offers many opportunities for the Maltese people and both sideswere going forward together" Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said.

• 7 July 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo described Malta's ratification of the EUConstitutional Treaty by unanimity in Parliament as a defining moment in Maltese political history.Speaking during the ratification debate, he defended Malta's decision to go ahead with the ratification,despite the no votes in France and Holland. Ratification, he said, was an exercise in sovereignty whichrespected the rights of all peoples to express their views.• 7 July 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea inaugurated a new library andresource centre at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST). The state of the artlibrary and resource centre is part of a Lm1.5 million investment programme in MCAST'sinfrastructure. So far, the college has invested over Lm526,000 and a further Lm110,000 will beobtained through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).• 7 July 2005 Malta welcomed the decision taken by the biggest five countries in the EU to start jointcharter flights to send home failed asylum seekers. The flights will operate from capital to capitalpicking up illegal migrants in an initiative agreed at a meeting of the home affairs ministers of Italy,the UK, France, Germany and Spain meeting in Evian, France. Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg saidthat Malta is interested in joining this initiative and is already holding talks with Germany to join thescheme.• 8 July 2005 A string of explosions ripped through the heart of the British capital city, climaxing witha bomb that ripped through a bus travelling in Woburn Place close to Russell Square. No Maltesenationals were reported missing or injured in the terrorist attacks in London, even if one of the attackstook place metres away from areas that are very popular with Maltese holidaymakers.• 8 July 2005 The Prime Minister, the Malta Labour Party, the Nationalist Party and AlternattivaDemokratika strongly condemned the series of coordinated terrorist attacks that struck London'stransport network. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi sent a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blairexpressing solidarity with the people at a time of grief.• 8 July 2005 Malta's ratification of the EU Constitution was given wide coverage in the internationalpress. Almost all the main European newspapers covered the decision, stressing the consensus reachedin the Parliament. German, British and Italian dailies quoted Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi sayingMalta's vote demonstrated that the division over the relations Malta should have with the EU was nowover.• 8 July 2005 Malta has proposed to hold a technical seminar involving experts in search and rescuefrom the European Union and Libya later this month. The proposal was put forward by Malta'spermanent representative to the EU, Richard Cachia Caruana, during the Meeting of the Committee ofPermanent Representatives held in Brussels on Wednesday. The meeting discussed dialogue andcooperation with Libya on migration issues.• 8 July 2005 Tug Malta will next year take delivery of two new tug boats at a cost of Lm4.5 million.During a news conference Investments, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gattexpressed the government's trust in Tug Malta and Mr Sullivan, adding that while it made a loss lastyear, it is expected to make a profit of Lm0.5 million this year, going up to Lm1 million by 2010.• 8 July 2005 A total of 340 police officers were awarded medals for long and efficient service byJustice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg in a ceremony at Police Headquarters in Floriana. Thelast time similar medals were awarded was in 1998. They are only awarded to serving members of theforce.• 8 July 2005 The government issued an internal call for applications for civil servants who would liketo take up additional duties when Malta hosts the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting(CHOGM) in November. Applications are invited from public officers for roles including liaisonofficers attached to particular delegations; providing clerical support work; acting as informationofficers at the various CHOGM-designated hotels and at the airport and assisting delegates.• 8 July 2005 European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Mariann Fischer Boelstarted her visit to Malta by touring the Malta Diary Products (MDP) premises in Hamrun. On herarrival, she said the purpose of her visit was to see how things were done in different member states.She spoke to local agricultural authorities and stakeholders in order to learn about their needs.

• 8 July 2005 The streamlining of Air Malta's outstations, which is part of the airline's bid to reducecosts, has saved it nearly Lm500,000 over the past year according to chief operating officer JoeCappello. The review of outstations was an integral part of the rescue plan agreement signed with thefour unions last year. The restructuring of outstations is expected to yield Lm1.35 million in costsavings over three years.• 8 July 2005 The first meeting of a new international scientific committee of fortifications and militaryheritage of Icomos was held at the office of the Valletta Rehabilitation Project within the Ministry forResources and Infrastructure. Icomos, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, is aconsultant to Unesco on world heritage matters.• 9 July 2005 The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mariann FischerBoel, said she understood the argument Malta was making to retain its status as a less favoured area inthe EU, which entitles the country to the highest level of agricultural funding. "Now I understand whyyour minister made a strong argument for Malta to be considered as a less favoured area. It isnecessary for the EU to support Malta's agricultural sector," Ms Fischer Boel said in a press conferenceduring her visit to Malta.• 9 July 2005 Rules protecting passengers were inherent in the law, the government said in reaction to awarning issued by the European Commission, which accused Malta of not following rules which laydown penalties to be imposed on airlines in case of infringements of passenger rights.• 9 July 2005 An overall drop of 2.2% was registered in the total industrial new orders index in Aprilthis year as compared to last April. The National Statistics Office said that the domestic new ordersindex registered a drop of 27.7% while new orders for export increased by 12.4%.• 9 July 2005 Malta has become the first country in Europe to have a mediation centre that offersmediation on a professional basis, Justice and Home Affairs Parliamentary Secretary Carmelo MifsudBonnici said. Launching the centre, he said that a code of ethics for mediation was being prepared.Once this was compiled, mediators would be asked to register with the centre so that it could starthearing cases by November. Dr Mifsud Bonnici said there were 40 to 50 qualified mediators in Malta.• 9 July 2005 The Government wants to take more educational initiatives to increase technologicalawareness and encourage an entrepreneurial community, Investment, Industry and InformationTechnology Minister Austin Gatt said at an Oracle conference. The leading software company lastJanuary announced a four-year vertical strategic alliance with the government.• 9 July 2005 Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt officiallyinaugurated Bavarian Technology Systems (BTS), a new factory at Mosta Technopark registered as apartnership in Malta in January last year. BTS is a subcontractor to industry, carrying out electronicassembly operations and testing for various sectors including engineering, toys and automotives.• 10 July 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi answered questions on the pensions reform,government spending on medicines, increase in oil prices, security for November’s CHOGM,immigration, fishing zones, the golf course and inflation among other topics during his monthly mediabriefing at the Auberge de Castille. An audio recording together with the transcript can be accessedon:http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/archive/Pmpressstatements/audiorecording%20-%2009.07.05%20pmpressbriefing.asp• 10 July 2005 The government has launched an extensive revamp of the education system, involvinggrouping state primary schools, area secondary schools and junior lyceums into autonomous regionalcolleges. Education, Youth and Employment Minister, Louis Galea said the concept would come intoeffect in September when the first three colleges - Cottonera, Karwija and Gozo - would startfunctioning.• 10 July 2005 The European Documentation and Research Centre of the University of Malta has justpublished a major Report on Anti-discrimination, Inclusion and Equality in Malta. The report is aground-breaking study carried out under the umbrella of the Civil Society Project conducted by thisrecognised European Centre of Excellence.• 10 July 2005 Major restoration works at Santa Maria Tower on Comino were formally concluded withthe raising of a Din l-Art Helwa (DLH) flag. The five-year restoration project of the 17th century towerwas completed in time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this non-governmental organisation, set up

on July 9, 1965. In a brief address Minister of Tourism and Culture, Dr Zammit Dimech,congratulated DLH for yet another "wonderful feat" for the organisation and for the nation.• 11 July 2005 Malta has proposed resettling a number of refugees to other EU member states, in anattempt to share the burden of illegal immigration. During a briefing at the Foreign Affairs Ministry,ambassadors of EU countries residing in Malta were presented with a 17-point document underliningthe unique and critical dimension faced by Malta in dealing with migration. While Malta is prepared toshoulder its share of responsibility, it cannot do so effectively alone, Foreign Affairs Minister MichaelFrendo said.• 11 July 2005 The Gozo General Hospital has it first gynaecology ward that should facilitate the livesof women requiring specialised care there. The ward, opened by Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono,forms part of an intensive modernisation project of the maternity ward and the doctors' quarters - aventure that cost about Lm80,000.• 12 July 2005 The government decided to extend a scheme to waive penalties for VAT arrears after thedeadline expired with defaulters having paid up just Lm2 million of the Lm21 million they owe. TheParliamentary Secretary in the Finance Ministry, Tonio Fenech, admitted he was disappointed that onlyrelatively few of the 6,600 operators who had defaulted on their VAT payments opted to takeadvantage of the scheme, introduced last February.• 12 July 2005 Over 100,000 people made use of the new beach at St George's Bay last summer,Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said during its official inauguration. Theproject, which involved turning a predominantly rocky area into a beach, cost around Lm550,000 andshould prove even more popular in its second summer now that it has become established.• 12 July 2005 The House of Representatives gave a first reading to a Bill "to establish fisheries zonesand extended maritime jurisdiction." The bill was moved by Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo.Last week the House also gave a first reading of a Bill to amend the Malta Territorial Waters andContiguous Zone Act. Both Bills were moved after Libya and Tunisia declared they intend to extendtheir own fisheries zones.• 12 July 2005 Port workers must be able to act quickly, in time and in the most appropriate manner tosecurity threats, Communication and Competitiveness Minister Censu Galea said. He was speaking atthe opening of a five-day workshop focusing on container terminal security and container vesselsecurity, organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Port Workers Pensions andContingencies Fund.• 12 July 2005 The Cottonera Sports Complex has been singled out for particular praise at the recentIOC/IAKS awards, the only international architecture prize for sports and leisure facilities. A recordnumber of 93 nominations from 25 countries were submitted for all categories, with the CottoneraSports Complex obtaining a special distinction for accessibility. The award recognises facilities thatgive opportunities for the disabled to practice and view sport freely and without barriers.• 12 July 2005 50.4% of the population are female, according to the National Statistics Office. Thetotal population at the end of 2004 stood at 402,668 persons - a 31.6% increase in about 60 years. In astatement issued to mark World Population Day, the NSO pointed out that between 1931 and 1948alone there was an increase of 26.6% in the population. Between 1931 and 2004, the populationdensity went up from 764 to 1,274 persons per square kilometer.• 12 July 2005 Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna has hosted more than 50 members from the Fortress StudyGroup (FSG), an international society based in Britain for the study, promotion and conservation ofhistoric military architecture. The group was highly impressed by the diversity and overall quality ofthe vast historic military architecture available in Malta. However, they also criticised the poor state ofconservation.• 13 July 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi urged the UK Presidency of the EU to work hard toreach a deal on the next EU budget in order to allow new member states to make the preparations theyneed to start using EU funds from the beginning of 2007. The Prime Minister was speaking at the firstmeeting of EU finance ministers under the UK Presidency, chaired by the British Chancellor of theExchequer Gordon Brown.• 13 July 2005 Valletta was busier than usual as the public joined in the commemoration of the 191stanniversary of the setting up of the Police Corps. A parade stretched all the way down Republic Street

and culminated in Palace Square in an event forming part of Police Week activities. The parade, whichwas attended by President Edward Fenech-Adami and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, included aGuard of Honour and a defilé by various sections of the police.• 13 July 2005 The government will be carrying out infrastructure works in more than 30 state schoolsduring the summer holidays, Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea said. Visitingworks at Maria Assunta girls' secondary school in Hamrun, Dr Galea said the Foundation forTomorrow's Schools, was building a new school in Karwija, limits of Kirkop, and had also started aworks programme to improve facilities in 20 other schools.• 14 July 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the government will be making proposals as tohow existing rent laws can be amended "in a just and fair manner". Dr Gonzi was addressing a publicmeeting at the Auberge de Castille, in Valletta - the sixth and last in a series of meetings with thepublic this year - during which the rent laws issue was brought up by members of the public.• 14 July 2005 A state-of-the-art office block in the middle of the European Union offices in Brussels,serving the needs of the Maltese business community, was officially inaugurated by Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi on Tuesday. The old three-storey maison de maitre, transformed into modern offices,was purchased by the Federation of Industries and the Chamber of Commerce two years ago.• 14 July 2005 EU Home Affairs Ministers met in an urgent meeting in Brussels and agreed to speed upthe passage and implementation of new security laws in the pipeline. The emergency meeting wascalled by the UK Presidency following last week's bomb attacks in London. Justice and Home AffairsMinister Tonio Borg said during the meeting that last week's attack on the UK was an attack on all theEU citizens.• 14 July 2005 Malta's accession to the European Union has been described as a positive step for theCommonwealth by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association's secretary general Denis Marshall.Speaking to journalists, Mr Marshall explained that the Commonwealth and the EU are very muchinvolved in assisting developing countries and this leads to collaboration between the twoorganisations.• 14 July 2005 The European Union has formally adopted rules aimed at combating ship-sourcepollution through a system of sanctions in case of intentional acts or serious negligence. The rules willput in place effective and dissuasive sanctions against ship-source pollution, including in the high seas.Malta, together with Greece and Cyprus, had strongly contested the Commission's original proposalsand managed to secure significant changes even if these are not completely to its satisfaction.• 14 July 2005 A total of 395 sports organisations were in operation in Malta in 2003/4, the NationalStatistics Office said. Total expenditure by these organisations decreased by 22.7%. The total incomealso dropped, from Lm4.4 million in 2003 to Lm4 million in 2004, a decrease of 9.3%. The greatestsource of income for sports organisations is by far revenue from membership fees, which last yearmade up 42.8% of the total.• 14 July 2005 Parliament approved a motion on the partial revision of the Structure Plan so that sixareas outside development zones may be used as industrial zones by garage industries. During theconcluding speeches, Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business and Self-Employed, Edwin Vassalloand Environment and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said the zones would be administered asprivate industrial parks under conditions laid down by the government which would ensure the zoneswould be developed quickly and would be well maintained.• 14 July 2005 Edwin Vassallo, Parliamentary Secretary for Small Businesses and The Self Employed,said he often heard businessmen saying they would have participated in EU programmes but theycould not afford to employ someone to do the research for them. He was speaking during a conferencecentred around the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), which was aimed at helping Europeanbusinesses find partners from other nations, enhance collaboration and improving their services andproducts.• 14 July 2005 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has revamped its website www.foreign.gov.mt and hasenhanced its capacity to handle "e-queries" sent by users directly from this site. The website can alsobe accessed on www.mfa.gov.mt

• 14 July 2005 Another group of 26 illegal immigrants landed at Wied Iz-Zurrieq. Preliminaryinvestigations showed that the immigrants were from Ivory Coast, Togo, Tunisia, Iraq, Palestine andEgypt. Police investigations are being conducted by the immigration section.• 14 July 2005 A major docu-drama for BBC1 was filmed in Malta over four weeks, spending anestimated Lm430,000 in labour, accommodation and allowances for the foreign crew, theMediterranean Film Studios, location fees, catering services, supplies and material and a variety ofancillary services. The two-hour factual drama, whose provisional title is Blackbeard: The Real PirateOf The Caribbean, is being produced by Dangerous Films of the UK.• 15 July 2005 Malta joined the rest of the world in a tribute to the victims of the bombings in London.President Edward Fenech-Adami, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Archbishop Joseph Mercieca,Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anton Tabone, Opposition leader Alfred Sant, British HighCommissioner Vincent Fean and the EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs JoaquinAlmunia came together to observe the two-minute silence at the Palace in Valletta.• 15 July 2005 At a public dialogue in Castille, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said an amendment tothe existing rent law was in the pipeline after the issue had been repeatedly brought up by members ofthe audience claiming they suffered because of "outdated" rent laws. Alternattiva Demokratikachairman Harry Vassallo expressed satisfaction that the government has promised to change theexisting rent laws.• 15 July 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi criticised new EU rules on ship pollution during ameeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels. Speaking just before the ministers approved a directive byqualified majority on Tuesday, the Prime Minister took the floor to say that "Malta believes the presentdirective is not in consonance with international maritime law". Dr Gonzi was later described byLloyd's List, the international maritime newspaper, as being the strongest critic of the new directive.• 15 July 2005 The European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Joaquin Almunia, saidinflation and public debt were the main challenges faced by Malta in reaching the Maastricht targetsand converging with the euro zone. Giving a positive assessment of the government's commitment toconsolidate public finances so far, Mr Almunia said the Commission was satisfied with the way Maltahad managed to fulfill its financial commitments during its first year as an EU member.• 15 July 2005 The Ramblers' Association presented a petition to President Edward Fenech-Adamicalling for a White Paper on the free use of public places by the Maltese people and visitors.Addressing a news conference just before calling on Dr Fenech-Adami, association president LinoBugeja said ramblers were frequently threatened and kicked off sites everyone should have access to.• 15 July 2005 The government has plans to change Malta from being a mere location for the filming ofmovies to having a movie industry, Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister AustinGatt said. The minister announced the entering into force of the law that regulates the setting up of theMalta Film Commission, as well as regulations aimed at offering incentives to invest in and boost thesector.• 15 July 2005 Government entities have been requested to cut down on water and electricityconsumption by 10% within five years as part of a series of initiatives to promote the environmentundertaken by the Investment, Industry and Information Technology Ministry. During a newsconference, Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt launched a greenpolicy for the 29 entities that fall under his responsibility.• 15 July 2005 The development of the cruise liner business between Malta and Croatia was amongtopics discussed by Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo and Croatian President Stejpan Mesic inZagreb. They also discussed the possibility of cooperating in order to further the growth of tourism inthe Mediterranean. Another topic of discussion was possible collaboration in transhipment operationsbetween Malta and the ports of Croatia, particularly Rijeka.• 15 July 2005 In the first quarter of this year, Malta registered the largest drop in its gross domesticproduct when compared with the other EU states. According to figures released by Eurostat, the EUstatistics office, between January and March Malta recorded a sharp decrease of 5.9%. In comparisonwith the same quarter of the previous year, GDP in Malta decreased by 0.1%.• 16 July 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea, met heads and assistant headsof government schools in Gozo to outline the government's proposals for reform of the education

system. The Government has proposed that Gozo primary state schools and two secondary schools inVictoria join forces to form one college that would offer education from kindergarten through tosecondary school.• 16 July 2005 The Malta Centre for Fisheries Sciences has successfully obtained fertilised eggs fromamberjack broodstock reared in captivity. The Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Agriculture andFisheries, Francis Agius, said it was vital for the industry to continue investing in diversification ofspecies under culture with the possibility to replenish the wild stocks and with obvious economicpotential for the fisheries sector.• 16 July 2005 Italian continued to be the most popular foreign language to study among secondaryschool students in 2003/4, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO). Just over 15,000, roughlyhalf the number of students studying foreign languages, took Italian as a first foreign language,although Italian was nearly twice as popular among boys than girls. The first preference among girlsstudying a foreign language was French, with nearly half, or 7,228, choosing it as their first.• 16 July 2005 The number of Maltese passengers departing by air from January to May this yearamounted to 70,820, an increase of 2.1% over the same period last year, the NSO said. Of these, 97.7%spent less than six months away from Malta. On the other hand, 0.4% of Maltese passengers travellingby air spent 12 months and over away from the islands.• 16 July 2005 Children from three Skolasajf will be visiting St Vincent de Paul residence for theelderly regularly to have discussions with the centres residents and share crafts and other skills underan initiative called Anzjani u Tfal ghal Xulxin, which was launched by the Parliamentary Secretary forthe Elderly and Community Care, Helen D'Amato.• 17 July 2005 Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, and Health Minister LouisDeguara launched the Fortina Medical Centre in Tigné for advanced rehabilitation. The place ofexcellence - which offers a physiotherapy clinic, musculo-skeletal health screening and athalassotherapy clinic - boasts a large range of state-of-the-art equipment used for the intensiverehabilitation of many different types of conditions.• 17 July 2005 Visitors to one of Brussels' most popular tourist attractions will be also able to admireone of Malta's finest prehistoric temples without even touching Maltese land. Foreign Affairs MinisterMichael Frendo, together with his Belgian counterpart Didier Donfut, inaugurated a highlyprofessionally made model of the Mnajdra temples at Mini-Europe, Brussels' leading pleasure park,located at the foot of the Atomium.• 18 July 2005 Joe Borg, the EU fisheries and maritime affairs commissioner, welcomed the"indispensable contribution" which Europe's regions are making to future marine policy during aspeech at The Sea Our Future conference held at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels. TheCommissioner stressed that future maritime strategy would be "people-centred" and would seek torespond to public concerns about depleting fish stocks and marine pollution.• 19 July 2005 Malta's support for EU membership has seen a sharp decline a year after accession.According to the results of a Eurobarometer survey conducted in Malta by Misco on behalf of the EU,support for membership stands at 40%, a decline of 10 percentage points compared to March 2004 and5% down from a similar survey completed in autumn last year.• 19 July 2005 Malta has launched an international campaign to raise awareness of the problems it isfacing with regard to illegal immigration. As a first step, Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendocalled on EU member states to offer concrete help to Malta in its efforts to solve these problems. DrFrendo raised the issue at a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels.• 19 July 2005 Malta has decided to allow food supplements excluded from the EU's "positive list" tocontinue being sold locally until 2009, provided the European Food Safety Authority finds noobjection to any particular substance. The European Court of Justice upheld the validity of the FoodSupplements Directive, which lists the vitamins and minerals that are allowed to be used in themanufacture of food supplements.• 19 July 2005 The Armed Forces spent Lm495,948 in the first half of this year on the detention ofirregular migrants, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in reply to a parliamentary question.

• 19 July 2005 The government still owes private owners Lm22 million for properties bought since the1950s, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said when replying to a parliamentary questionon expropriated properties. He said this figure may rise in view of pending cases before the ArbitrationBoard, payment of damages and revisions of valuations.• 20 July 2005 There is no indication that any irregular migrants who have landed in Malta wereinvolved in terrorism, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said in reply to a parliamentaryquestion during his report to the European and Foreign Affairs Committee.• 20 July 2005 The European Commission praised Malta for its efforts over the last year to transposeEU directives connected to the internal market. The latest edition of the Internal Market Scoreboardpublished in Brussels shows that Malta's deficit in transposing the directives now stands at just 1.2%,down from 40.4% last year.• 21 July 2005 Parliament unanimously approved a Bill empowering the Prime Minister to extendMalta's fishing waters and maritime jurisdiction. The Bill was moved in the wake of decisions byLibya and Tunisia to extend their fisheries zone by some 62 miles. MPs noted however that Maltesefishermen have so far not been stopped from fishing in the zones declared by Libya and Tunisia, andMalta should therefore act cautiously.• 21 July 2005 The European Commission is supporting Malta's proposal for EU member states to sharethe burden of irregular immigrants and refugees and will be doing its utmost to help the island securethe help it is seeking. This was stated by EU Justice, Security and Freedom Commissioner FrancoFrattini in an interview.• 21 July 2005 EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas has told the government trapping inMalta will not be allowed after December 2008, Arnold Cassola, Alternattiva Demokratika'sspokesman on EU affairs, said. He added that the Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment,George Pullicino, had received a letter from Mr Dimas to this effect on June 13.• 21 July 2005 The Cabinet has approved a White Paper containing legislative proposals "intended tohelp the voluntary sector to establish itself on a stronger footing". The proposals were made by Familyand Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina.• 21 July 2005 A Malta Enterprise-EU project to formulate Malta's Regional Innovation Strategy, Maris,was launched. Maris is aimed at evaluating the needs of local industrialists to be more innovative,innovation being an essential part of its industrial reality. Malta is joining over 200 regions from the 24EU countries that have already carried out at least one Regional Innovation Strategy.• 21 July 2005 Malta is supporting the European Commission's proposal for the reform of the EU sugarregime, Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment George Pullicino told a meeting of EUagriculture ministers in Brussels. Mr Pullicino said any initiative to reduce the gap between the price ofEU sugar and that coming from the rest of the world was welcomed by Malta, which was beingburdened with high sugar prices.• 22 July 2005 The Tigne Point and Manoel Island Development Project is on track, Midi Consortiumchairman Albert Mizzi said as he symbolically delivered the first completed block to Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi. Jesmond Mugliett, Minister for Urban Development and Roads, said the governmentwill soon be issuing a call for tenders for the remaining apartments.• 22 July 2005 More than Lm1 million have been invested by the Saint James Hospital Group in a fullyfledged private cardiac unit in one of its hospitals. During a visit to the hospital in Sliema, PrimeMinister Lawrence Gonzi spoke about the major steps forward that the country has made in the realmof cardiac surgery in the last decade with the result that Malta now had very high-level cardiacservices.• 22 July 2005 The friendship between Britain and Malta had been further strengthened by the island's"heart-warming" response to the "appalling" terrorist bombings in London, British Prime MinisterTony Blair said in an interview. Mr Blair also said he warmly welcomes Malta's ratification of thetreaty on the EU Constitution.• 22 July 2005 EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini acknowledged that the problem of illegalmigration in Malta had become "extremely dangerous" but took exception to claims that the EU wasfailing to take concrete action. Speaking during a joint news conference with Justice and Home Affairs

Minister Tonio Borg, Mr Frattini vowed to provide maximum help to an island facing an immigrationcrisis.• 22 July 2005 Air Malta has registered an operating loss of Lm4.8 million over the last (eight-month)financial year (August 2004-March 2005), down from Lm7.7 million in the same period the previousyear, its chairman, Lawrence Zammit, announced. Investment, Industry and Information TechnologyMinister Austin Gatt said there were no plans to privatise Air Malta next year but in the long term partof the company could be floated on the Stock Exchange.• 22 July 2005 BirdLife Malta and BirdLife International have lodged a formal complaint with theEuropean Commission about Malta's failure to adequately transpose the Birds Directive into nationallegislation and implement it. In a letter to Environment Commissioner Stavros C. Dimas, BirdLifeMalta asked the Commission to investigate and take steps to ensure that Malta complies with theacquis communautaire.• 22 July 2005 Enemalta Corporation has signed a €210 million, 10-year loan facility, guaranteed by thestate. The loan was signed with Banco Efisa of Portugal and Depfa Bank of Ireland (which acted asjoint mandated lead arrangers), together with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp of Japan. Enemalta hasalso successfully negotiated facilities of €90 million with Bank of Valletta and HSBC locally.Proceeds of both loans will be used to refinance existing debt.• 22 July 2005 The Social Security Department was not sufficiently prepared for European Unionaccession, a mid-year report by the Auditor General has said. The report said this happened becauseadequate upgrading of the infrastructure and training at the department did not take place before EUaccession.• 22 July 2005 Parliament's Social Affairs Committee has ended its discussion over the use ofbiotechnology in Malta and approved a series of recommendations for its regulation. The committeehad focused its discussion on the two sectors it felt needed urgent attention: genetic technology andassisted procreation.• 22 July 2005 At the end of June there were 6,930 unemployed persons registering for work, theNational Statistics Office said. This represents a decrease of 315 over the preceding month and 1,012on June last year.• 22 July 2005 Joseph Micallef has been appointed permanent secretary-designate in the Ministry forGozo. He will take up his appointment on October 16 on the retirement of the present incumbent,Frank Psaila.• 23 July 2005 A report which makes recommendations for the improvement of inclusive and specialeducation in Malta was launched. Among the working group's recommendations is the radical reviewof the facilitator system. Speaking during the launch, Education, Youth and Employment MinisterLouis Galea said he agreed with the major part of the recommendations and would be working togetherwith the authorities and education stakeholders to address them.• 23 July 2005 In June the Retail Price Index went down by 0.04% to 106.65 from 106.69 in theprevious month, the National Statistics Office said. The inflation rate stood at 2.94%.• 24 July 2005 No Maltese are believed to have been hurt by the bomb attacks in the Egyptian Red Searesort of Sharm al-Sheikh, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry. At least 88 people have beenkilled in a string of blasts and over 200 wounded in the popular tourist resort. An explosion in the OldMarket area was followed by two blasts in the Naama Bay area, where a car bomb tore off the front ofthe Ghazala Gardens Hotel.• 24 July 2005 The new Ambassador of Malta to Turkey, Alfred M. Mangion, presented his credentialsto President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in Ankara on Tuesday. The ceremony was followed by a privatemeeting in which the Turkish President welcomed Ambassador Mangion and wished him success inhis new duties. They then discussed issues of mutual interest to both countries.• 24 July 2005 Civil Protection Department director Peter Cordina officially launched this summer’sbeach patrol service at the CPD Xemxija station. Mr Cordina said the department's volunteers, togetherwith the St John Ambulance, St John Rescue Corps and the Malta Red Cross, were responsible forpatrolling the beaches on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, when beaches were most populated.

• 25 July 2005 Timeshare touts have restrained their "devious" tactics after the Tourism Ministry gavethem five days to "clean up their act or else get off the road". Tourism and Culture Minister FrancisZammit Dimech has warned that the next time the unacceptable behaviour resurfaces the governmentwill enact the necessary regulations to prohibit the street promotion of timeshare in whatever format.• 25 July 2005 The Resource and Infrastructure Ministry's Cleansing Services Department and the MaltaTourism Authority have started washing promenades in popular areas during the summer, Tourism andCulture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said at the opening of the clean up the seas campaign. DrZammit Dimech said the Tourism Ministry was responsible for the cleaning and upkeep of beaches. Insummer, in fact, more than 40 beaches were being cleaned on a daily basis.• 25 July 2005 A contingent of 15 Polish scouts, who have teamed up with St Aloysius College venturescouts for a project sponsored by the EU, met President Edward Fenech-Adami at The Palace inValletta. The visiting scouts are from the town of Bydgoszcz, north-west of Warsaw, and are led by FrMariusz Bigiel, a Jesuit.• 26 July 2005 The Cabinet approved a White Paper intended to reduce the enormous number of carsthat enter Floriana and Valletta every day. The government is proposing to impose parking fees onevery vehicle entering Valletta except those of residents and delivery vans, to pedestrianise more roadsand do away with reserved parking in an initiative set to bring about a drastic change to the way trafficis managed in and around the capital city.• 26 July 2005 The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anton Tabone, has written to thePresident of the Egyptian People's Assembly, Ahmed Fathi Sorour, to express his condemnation of theSharm el Sheikh bombing attacks and to offer his condolences to the families of the victims.• 26 July 2005 Over six kilos of cocaine - considered the biggest haul of the drug in one batch - wereseized by the police after they stopped and searched a container/freezer that had just arrived on a SeaMalta vessel, the police said.• 26 July 2005 According to a recent Eurobarometer survey, carried out last May, 43% of Malteserespondents stated that Turkey should become a member of the EU; 39%, said they opposed the ideaand the remaining 18% held no opinion on the matter. The survey was conducted among 500 peopleby Misco on behalf of the EU.• 26 July 2005 The number of cruise passengers who visited Malta last month went up by 31.3% overthe same month last year, to reach a total of 31,956, according to the National Statistics Office. Duringthe first six months, the number of cruise passengers went up by 38.2% to 106,381, an increase of29,428 over the same period last year.• 27 July 2005 The final version of the revised electoral boundaries was issued by the ElectoralCommission after having been unanimously agreed by the electoral commissioners. The newboundaries, which cannot be changed for at least two years, are significantly different from the originalproposals, published in May.• 27 July 2005 A White Paper launched by the Government proposes the pedestrianisation of variousstreets as well as the elimination of the V-licence and reserved parking places in Valletta as from nextyear. "The proposals are not carved in stone and the tariffs are flexible. We also know that nobody candevise a system acceptable to all but it's time to turn words to action," Investment, Industry andInformation Technology Minister Austin Gatt said.• 27 July 2005 The stretch of road between the Mtarfa roundabout and Targa Gap, Mosta was officiallyopened by Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett. The three-kilometre road,rebuilt from scratch over the past months, is the third part of the roads project funded by the fifthItalian protocol.• 27 July 2005 A total of 12.5 million kilogrammes of fruit and vegetables went to vegetable marketsduring the second quarter of this year, the National Statistics Office said. This represents an increase of0.2 million kilogrammes (+1.7%) over the same period last year. The NSO said that while the increasein the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables was minimal, its wholesale value increased by Lm0.4million (+24.6%) to reach Lm2.2 million.• 27 July 2005 Joanna Drake, a former leader of the pro-EU membership movement Iva Malta fl-Ewropa, was chosen by the European Commission to be the first Head of its Representation Office in

Malta. Commission sources confirmed that the Directorate General for Press and Communication hasjust approved Dr Drake's appointment following intense competition and a thorough analysis of all thecandidates who had submitted their application.• 28 July 2005 The Planning and Priorities Coordination Division (PPCD) at the Office of the PrimeMinister has launched the first call for project proposals for the Interreg IIIA Italia-Malta Programme.The programme has a budget of €6.83 million, of which €5.12 million will be contributed by theEuropean Union's European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The programme aims to strengthencooperation between Malta and Italy.• 28 July 2005 A €5 million training and employment scheme for people over 40 run by theEmployment and Training Corporation has proven to be successful, with the recruitment of nearly 300participants so far. The Training and Employment Exposure Scheme aims to encourage employers totake on persons aged 40 and over who have been registering for work for more than six months, andretrain them in sectors where they can be reintegrated in the labour market.• 28 July 2005 The Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech took part in the openingof the 2005 Japan-EU Year of the People to People Exchanges. He paid tribute to the Embassy ofJapan for organising these events which he said helped foster excellent relations between the people ofJapan and the people of Malta.• 28 July 2005 Minister for Urban Development and the Roads Jesmond Mugliett spoke about the legalframework regulating the importation of cars in Malta, exhaust emissions control and European rulesregarding disposals of old cars, within the context of the existing pique between new car importers andimporters of used cars from Japan during a breakfast seminar organised by The Malta Financial andBusiness Times.• 28 July 2005 Gozitans appear to be united against the Electoral Commission's decision to takeGhajnsielem out of the 13th district and attach it to Mellieha. Gozo Minister Giovanna Debonoinsisted that Gozo should continue to be considered as one region and “no part of it should form part ofany other district,” she said.• 28 July 2005 The National Statistics Office said that during the first 120 school days betweenSeptember 2003 and March 2004, 617,659 school days were lost to absenteeism. This accounted for8.5% of the total number of school days or an overall absence rate of 10.2 absent days per pupil - thatfor boys being 11.2 days per pupil and for girls 9.1 days per pupil.• 29 July 2005 The Parliamentary Secretariat for the Self-Employed has launched its fifth plan of action,for 2005/2006. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Competitiveness and Communications Minister CensuGalea and Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo launched the plan. It is based on the EuropeanCharter for Small Businesses and will be implemented according to Lisbon agenda principles.• 29 July 2005 The Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and theMinistry for Tourism and Culture said they were confident that the new procedures dealing with theissuing of visas to Chinese students will bear the desired results. The ministries said that they had beeninvolved in intensive discussions in order to produce the appropriate procedures. The result was theproduction of guidelines that are intended to make the visa procedure more secure and efficient.• 29 July 2005 Tourism was up by 1.1% in the first six months of the year compared to the same periodlast year, according to departure statistics released by the National Statistics Office. The number ofdepartures was 483,563, an increase of 5,390.• 29 July 2005 The Central Bank of Malta left the central intervention rate unchanged at 3.25%. TheGovernor took the decision at the end of the Monetary Policy Advisory Council meeting. TheGovernor observed that financial market conditions indicated that, at their current levels, officialinterest rates provided adequate support to the exchange rate.• 29 July 2005 The government has taken a number of measures to prepare for the influenza pandemic,which experts believe could hit the entire world. Health, the Elderly and Community Care MinisterLouis Deguara announced that the country would be getting 350,000 doses of the vaccine for thepandemic strain when this is available.• 30 July 2005 Malta has asked Libya to allow 15 Maltese boats to fish within the declared LibyanFishing Preservation Zone at any one time during the year. The request was made in a note verbal that

Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo handed over to Libyan Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem duringa short visit to Libya. The Libyan Prime Minister promised to give his attention to the representationsmade by the minister.• 30 July 2005 The White Paper on voluntary organisations, was launched by Family and SocialSolidarity Minister Dolores Cristina. The paper focuses on rooting out the weaknesses andstrengthening the structure of this important sector so as to provide greater transparency andaccountability. The consultation period, which extends to October, will allow interested parties to voicetheir opinion before the bill is presented and discussed in Parliament, Ms Cristina said.• 30 July 2005 The EU and Morocco are on the verge of entering a new fishing partnership followingintense talks over the past few days. A partnership agreement was initialled in Brussels this week byFisheries and Maritime Affairs Commissioner Joe Borg and Moroccan Minister for External TradeMustapha Mechahouri. It has been six years since the last agreement elapsed and various attempts torenew it had failed.• 30 July 2005 Both small and institutional investors reacted very positively to the Government Stockissue for which the Treasury received applications between July 21 and 26. These stocks were issuedprior to the redemption of 5.6% MGS 2005 II. The Treasury received 2,290 applications with a totalvalue of almost Lm93 million, when the stock issues amounted to Lm40 million.• 30 July 2005 Euro-zone annual inflation is expected to be 2.2% this month, according to a flashestimate issued by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. It was 2.1% lastmonth.• 30 July 2005 44 American students accompanied by their teachers, are on a five-day tour of Malta aspart of a 20-day European tour under the Student Ambassador Programme. "Visiting countries faraway from home helps you to know more about our 7,000 years of history, our cultural and artisticheritage," Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech told the students when he met them at thecourtyard of his ministry at the Auberge d'Italie in Valletta.• 31 July 2005 A pre-budget consultation document launched by the Prime Minister shows that thegovernment is planning to engineer a shift from direct taxation towards environment-related taxation aspart of a review of the entire tax system. The document 'A better quality of life 2006-2010' containsproposals aimed at stimulating the economy, boosting education and improving the environment. TheMaltese and English version of the document can be accessed at:http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/News/newsitems/audiorecording%20-%2030.07.05prebudget.asp• 31 July 2005 The Cleansing Services Department collected 980 tonnes of illegally-dumped materialthis month, practically double the amount collected in July 2004, statistics obtained from theGovernment have shown. The waste clearance this month cost some Lm30,000, up from the Lm17,000spent for the 564 tonnes collected in July 2004.• 31 July 2005 An EU directive banning tobacco advertising in newspapers and magazines, over theradio and on the Internet, has come into force. Malta is one of 12 EU member states warned by theCommission that they still haven't notified the Commission about the transposition of this directiveinto national law. Unless this is done, Malta would face legal procedures.AUGUST• 1 August 2005 An emergency task force has been set up in an attempt to tackle illegal immigration,which reached new heights with the arrival of over 200 immigrants. The task force is made up ofJustice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg, Parliamentary Secretary Anthony Abela, PoliceCommissioner John Rizzo and Armed Forces of Malta Brigadier Carmel Vassallo. There are around1,000 irregular immigrants in detention centres. This is more than twice the number of those who werehere at the same time last year.• 1 August 2005 The European Commission is investigating both the level and legal legitimacy of thecontroversial increase in departure tax, under which all passengers leaving Malta will have to fork outan extra Lm10. The complaints dealt with the fact that the tax is being paid only by passengers startingtheir journey in Malta and not by passengers travelling from abroad.

• 2 August 2005 Malta made strong representations with Libya over illegal immigration, saying it was"not in a position" to accept more migrants leaving from Libyan shores. Foreign Affairs MinisterMichael Frendo summoned Libya's Ambassador to Malta, Saad El-Shelmani, to an urgent meeting inthe afternoon and asked him to "urgently" transmit this message to the authorities in Tripoli.• 2 August 2005 More than a quarter of the unemployed in Malta are young people, many of who havelow levels of competence in English and no formal qualifications, according to a study carried out byDr Suzanne Gatt as part of a peer review on youth unemployment. The reviews are a series ofevaluations of different employment and labour market policies of European Union member states, theEuropean Economic Area and the European Free Trade Area.• 2 August 2005 According to a report by the Smoke Free Europe partnership smoking bans benefitpublic health and have no negative economic impact. The report, which holds that by reducing thedemand for tobacco, smoke-free policies reduce both private and social costs associated with smoking,was launched recently during the Smoke Free Europe 2005 conference held in Luxembourg.• 2 August 2005 A new tomato picking machine, designed and built in Malta, was launched atBurmarrad. The Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment said it had appointed Italian expertswhose advice led to identifying GMO-free tomatoes that guarantee high yield crops that ripen and areharvested all at the same time, thus saving a lot of time.• 3 August 2005 Malta will host its first EU tourism forum, organised by the Directorate Generalresponsible for enterprise of the European Commission. The forum, which will be held betweenOctober 19 and 21 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, will bring together toprepresentatives from the tourism industry, civil society and authorities at all levels from the 25 memberstates of the EU. It will be addressed by the European Commissioner responsible for EnterpriseGunther Verheugen.3 August 2005 Every educator was an important link in the development of the sector and everybodyhad a role to play to make change possible, Education, Youth and Employment Minister,Louis Galea said He was addressing teachers who were gathered at the Robert Sammut Hall inFloriana for the first in a series of information meetings to discuss the proposed extensive revamp inthe education system.• 3 August 2005 President Edward Fenech Adami and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi sent letters ofcondolence to the King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Abdullah Bin AbdulAziz Al Saud, after the death of King Fahd on Monday.• 4 August 2005 The Government has asked G5 countries - Britain, Italy, France, Spain and Germany -to help Malta by supplying ethnic and linguistic experts to identify the country of origin of illegalimmigrants in order to be able to repatriate them. In a note verbale to the embassies of the five states,the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the illegal immigrants do not carry any identificationpapers and because of this Malta was facing difficulties in ensuring they truly originated from thecountries they claim as their motherland.• 4 August 2005 It is very expensive to buy a new car in Malta but the island still has the most trafficchokedroads in Europe, a European Commission study shows. In Malta's case, the comparison withlast year's prices could not be compiled because some data from last year's report was missing. But asat last May, the majority of new cars being sold in Malta were thousands of euros more expensive thanin the other member states.• 4 August 2005 The sum of 187,000 Euro has been granted to support 19 projects submitted by youthorganisations, youth centres, NGOs and local councils within the framework of an EU youthprogramme, the government said. The projects consist of 10 youth exchanges, two European voluntaryservices, four youth initiatives and three support measures.• 4 August 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea spoke of the need for anumber of new secondary schools and junior lyceums during a visit to the St Sebastian primary schoolin Qormi. The school is one of the 30 that are undergoing embellishment works, including extensions,changing of ceilings, maintenance and modernising, by the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools.• 4 August 2005 A new aluminium unit will be opened in Gozo to service the Ministry for Gozo, withpriority being given to schools on the island. Preparations to set up the unit are in hand by the

Customer Services Department of the Ministry for Gozo. The Ministry is in the process of upgradingseveral schools on the island.• 4 August 2005 Gozo Channel said that traffic on the ferries last month increased by 3.6% forpassengers and 5% for vehicles compared with the same period last year. A total of 197,797 passengertickets were sold, compared to 190,850 last year and 47,207 vehicles were carried compared with44,971.• 4 August 2005 Malta's immigration crisis became more pronounced with the arrival of more illegalimmigrants in two landings bringing the total number of immigrants in Malta's detention centres to1,070.• 5 August 2005 Security measures for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Maltahave been intensified in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in London, task force head Salv Stellinisaid. During a press briefing Mr Stellini said that although he could not go into the securityarrangements, an integrated plan was in place involving the police, army, civil protection departmentand health. It is being coordinated by Police Commissioner John Rizzo.• 5 August 2005 The Vice Premier of the State Council of the Republic of China, Hui Liangyu paid acourtesy visit to President Edward Fenech Adami, who pointed out that relations between the twocountries had always been strong and were constantly improving. Mr Hui and his delegation alsovisited Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg at the Auberge d'Aragon, Valletta and Leader ofthe Opposition Alfred Sant.• 5 August 2005 The rate of internet subscriptions per 100 population reached 22.1 in the second quarterof this year, up from 20.1 per 100 population recorded in the same period in 2004, the NationalStatistics Office said. The number of narrow band and broadband subscriptions reached 49,542 and38,408 respectively. Television licences at the end of June stood at 122,938, amounting to 30.6 per 100population.• 6 August 2005 The government has asked the Malta Financial Services Authority to probe the banks'lending terms, amid concerns over the steep rise in the price of property. Parliamentary Secretarywithin the Ministry of Finance, Tonio Fenech said the government was contemplating the introductionof partial controls. Mr Fenech made it clear that the government had no intention of regulating thehousing sector but underlined the importance of striking a balance in a sector dictated by the island'sfinite land mass.• 6 August 2005 Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Gianfranco Fini and his Maltese counterpart MichaelFrendo agreed to put forward a joint request for help in connection with irregular migration during theEU's External Relations Council in Newport next month. The two ministers had a telephoneconversation over the growing problem of illegal migration in the Mediterranean, two days after a boatwith 130 asylum seekers went missing close to Lampedusa.• 6 August 2005 An overall drop of 17.9% was registered in the total industrial new orders index inMay this year compared to the same month last year, the National Statistics Office said. The domesticnew orders index registered an increase of 30.1% while new orders for export decreased by 17.6%.• 6 August 2005 Air Malta has a poorer record of punctuality than the majority of European airlines butmakes up for it by having one of the best records for lost luggage, according to recent statistics issuedby the Association of European Airlines (AEA).• 6 August 2005 The National Influenza Pandemic Standing Committee, charged with preparing for apossible influenza pandemic, has advised medical agents against the use of drugs called antivirals forprevention purposes. Antiviral drugs should not be taken before a person has been diagnosed to besuffering from the strain of flu causing the pandemic, the Committee recommended.• 6 August 2005 An agreement was signed for the handing over of St Anthony's Fort at Ras il-Qala tothe Qala local council. Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said the council wanted torestore the abandoned fort and eventually use it to hold exhibitions and for other purposes. StAnthony's Fort was built at the beginning of the 18th century by the Knights of Malta for coastal andsea defence• 6 August 2005 Intensive works are in hand to spruce up the route between the airport and Valletta - tobe completed before the Commonwealth summit. Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit

paid a visit to St Anne Street, Floriana where works on the centre strip are being carried out during oddhours not to disrupt traffic.• 6 August 2005 The Housing Authority is offering a choice of 132 units that will be sold as part of theshared-ownership scheme, the first such scheme on the island. This innovative scheme was launchedby Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina and authority chairperson Marisa Micallef.• 7 August 2005 Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg wrote to Franco Frattini, Vice-President of theEuropean Commission, asking him to intervene to help Malta deal with the "sudden emergency" as thecountry struggled to cope with the influx of irregular immigrants. Dr Borg also called on theCommission to set up an emergency fund for such situations, in the same way as it did for naturaldisasters, to show it "cared for the plight of peripheral states like Malta.”• 7 August 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo is to write to the Director General of theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to request help for Malta in the repatriation of illegalimmigrants. Dr Frendo said that Malta will not let go of the issue of illegal immigration until theinternational community responds and addresses the problem frontally.• 7 August 2005 Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity Dolores Cristina, together with HousingAuthority chairman Marisa Micallef, launched Malta's first shared ownership initiative. In this firstissue, a total of 132 units will be sold on a shared ownership basis. Under this new initiative applicantscould buy the share of the property they afford. Applicants who cannot afford to buy the whole equityhave the option to buy one third (Choice Two) or two thirds (Choice One) of the equity.• 7 August 2005 Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini and his Maltese counterpart Michael Frendohave agreed to put forward a joint request for help in connection with irregular migration during theEU's External Relations Council in Newport, South Wales, next month.• 8 August 2005 The upcoming budget is not expected to impose any new taxes or additional fiscalburdens as the government sees a "good turnaround" in its finances, according to ParliamentarySecretary in the Ministry of Finance, Tonio Fenech. The 2006-2010 pre-budget document, launched byPrime Minister Lawrence Gonzi late last month, gives a snapshot of the economy and unveils itstargets and ambitions for various aspects of the economy.• 8 August 2005 The Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Hui Liangyuleft Malta on Saturday at the end of a three-day visit during which he had meetings with the President,the Prime Minister and various ministers. He also met Opposition Leader Alfred Sant. Mr Hui wasseen off at the airport by Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg.• 8 August 2005 Eleven local theatre groups will stage a series of original works during DramaFest, togive theatre lovers a couple of blissful weekends. Speaking at a press conference to launch the event,Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said the DramaFest offered another excitingopportunity for theatre-goers to enjoy the latest in Maltese theatre.• 9 August 2005 Over 7% of employees work overtime, with the majority of them getting paid for theextra hours they put in, the National Statistics Office said. An average 9.7 hours of overtime peremployee is worked every week. The average weekly hours at work were supposed to be 38.1 butemployees actually worked an average of 36.5 hours a week. Employees tend to work less than theusual hours because of vacation leave and sick leave. The majority of workers - 75% - have fixedhours.• 9 August 2005 The CHOGM 2005 task force has launched the official CHOGM website located atwww. chogm2005.mt. Every CHOGM has had its own distinctive presence on the internet and in viewof the wide media coverage and public attention that the event commands, CHOGM sites enjoywidespread exposure throughout the Commonwealth and beyond. The official CHOGM informationportal (CHIP) has been developed by the Maltese government.• 9 August 2005 The President and Mrs Fenech Adami left for a visit to the UK. Although the visit is aprivate one, President Fenech Adami will inaugurate a monument in Trinity Gardens, in London,commemorating those who served in Malta during World War II. The ceremony will be attended bythe Duke of Edinburgh.• 10 August 2005 The National Statistics Office (NSO) announced that Malta's total exports fell by15.1% in the first six months of this year when compared with the same period last year. The value of

total exports for the January to June period, in fact, went down by Lm69.4 million to Lm390.1 million,from Lm459.5 million in the same period of 2004. In June 2005, exports went down to Lm68.3million in value as compared to the Lm73.3 million in June last year.• 10 August 2005 No fewer than 979 irregularly employed persons were nabbed by the Employmentand Training Corporation in the first five months of this year. A total of 231 people were struck off theemployment register either after being found working while registering for work or for failing torespond to ETC services or interviews. Another 348 people interviewed were signing on asunemployed while 52 had no employment history.• 10 August 2005 The NSO reported that the number of accidents at places of work dropped by 2.5% inthe second quarter of this year compared with the same period last year. Quoting figures provided bythe Department of Social Security, the NSO's labour statistics unit said that most accidents happened inthe manufacturing industry (35.2%), followed by construction (15%) and transport, storage andcommunication (9.3%).• 10 August 2005 Chapels and historic buildings that have been neglected for years are being restoredby the employees of the restoration section within the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry. Visitingrestoration works at the St Mary Magdalene chapel, in Dingli, Minister Ninu Zammit said the chapelwas in a rather good condition externally but required extensive maintenance work internally.• 10 August 2005 Culture and Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, opened the art exhibitionentitled Pre-thought, at the lobby of Le Meridien Phoenicia, in Floriana. The Minister said he wasintrigued not only by the theme but by what the artists thought about "pre-thought". Dr. ZammitDimech said about 200,000 tourists visited Malta for its culture and such visitors could contributetowards making Malta's artists better known in their countries of origin.• 11 August 2005 Seven loggerhead turtles were released into the open sea off Grand Harbour. Theturtles had been nursed back to health after fishermen hooked them accidentally. The release tofreedom, attended by Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino, was carried out bythe Malta Environment and Planning Authority and the Malta Centre for Fisheries Sciences.• 11 August 2005 Synergene Technologies Limited, a DNA forensic laboratory, is the first privateMaltese laboratory to obtain the international accreditation ISO 17025. The accreditation was grantedby the International Standards Organisation through the Malta Standards Authority. Competitivenessand Communications Minister Censu Galea said the certificate obtained by Synergene was a formaldemonstration of its credibility, reliability and competence to carry out DNA and forensic testing.• 11 August 2005 Activities by youth organisations last year were dominated by religious events with ashare of 22.4%, followed by social activities with 20.1%, cultural activities at 18.1% and educationalactivities, 16.9%, the National Statistics Office said. Globally, the youth organisations reported a netloss of Lm27,778.• 11 August 2005 The Park and Ride scheme will start operating at the end of next May at the latest,although Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett said it could start earlier. Tendersfor operating the system will be received until September 22. After 60 days from the submissiondeadline - November 21 - the successful company or group will be announced. The contract isexpected to be finalised on December 5.• 12 August 2005 The European Union does not have any emergency funds at its disposal to help theMaltese government combat the illegal immigrants crisis but the island could seek assistance for "highquality projects", a spokesman for the European Commission said. The European Commission'sDirectorate General for Justice and Home Affairs is, however, looking at various options to assistMalta the best way possible. Malta has launched an international campaign seeking help, primarilyfrom the EU and Libya.• 12 August 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the Armed Forces of Malta is addressingneeds, which were not easy, particularly in the case of illegal immigration. Dr Gonzi was at LuqaBarracks speaking before the passing-out parade of 22 recruits who successfully completed theirmilitary training. The AFM will shortly be marking the 35th anniversary since the responsibility for thearmy was shifted from the British to the Maltese government on October 1, 1970.• 12 August 2005 The Prime Minister officially opened Fairyland Ward, at St Luke's Hospital,renovated by the Daniel Delicata Foundation. Each of the young patients in the 19 beds in the ward

now has the services of satellite television, Playstation and internet connection. Dr Gonzi said theWhite Paper on NGOs was proposing that registered voluntary organisations would receive tax refundsand exemptions to help them make better use of their money.• 12 August 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea said that the government isinvesting about Lm3 million to expand and upgrade the facilities at the Malta College of Arts, Scienceand Technology. The projections were that students pursuing full-time post-secondary, vocational andtertiary education would increase by about 5,000 in five years' time. The minister was speaking whenhe inspected upgrading works at MCAST.• 12 August 2005 The Health Division warned it would be illegal for pharmacies to sell medicines totreat those infected with the virus causing the influenza pandemic or to dispense of vaccines against thesame virus without a prescription. Moreover, it was also against the law for doctors to sell medicinesdirectly to patients. The warnings followed reports that doctors and pharmacists were taking orders forantivirals and the specific vaccine for the influenza virus.• 13 August 2005 Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett said there was no way theLm1.1 million subsidy offer made by the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) would be topped up byLm600,000 as the bus owners were demanding. In view of the Public Transport Association's (PTA)decision to stop a number of routes at 8 p.m. the ADT would be deducting Lm2,000 daily until thePTA lifted its directives. Another Lm5,000 would also be subtracted for every worker laid off by thePTA.• 13 August 2005 The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anton Tabone, received Hashim AbdulHalim, Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, at the Palace in Valletta. The aim of the visitwas to request Malta's support for Mr Halim's candidature to the post of chairman of the ExecutiveCommittee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in elections due to be held next month inFiji.• 13 August 2005 Cars remain the main means of transport for many Maltese and in fact a total of 3,521new vehicle licences were issued in the second quarter of this year, according to the National StatisticsOffice. At the end of June the stock of licensed motor vehicles stood at 274,355, with 75.5% of thembeing private vehicles.• 14 August 2005 Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has accepted an invitation to visit Malta, probablylater this year. The Maltese government has received a note verbale from the Libyan embassyconfirming that Colonel Gaddafi had agreed to visit the island after more than 20 years.• 15 August 2005 A big proportion of children born to young mothers last year were born out ofwedlock, according to figures issued by the National Statistics Office. The NSO said 48.7% of all livebirths to mothers aged between 15 and 24 were registered outside marriage. Children born to women inthis age group accounted for nearly a quarter of all live births in the country in 2004. Among mothersaged 17-24, the rate of births outside marriage stood at 23.3%. Among fathers of the same age groupthe rate was 45%.• 16 August 2005 Gozitan farmers and herdsmen were urged by Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono toinvest in the production and promotion of traditional food products. Speaking during the presentationof prizes at the 150th Agriculture and Crafts Exhibition in Victoria organised by the GozitanAgricultural, Industrial and Cultural Society on the occasion of the feast of Santa Marija, Mrs Debonourged farmers to exploit particular niches in the market.• 16 August 2005 Five environmental organisations have issued a joint statement expressing concernover the government's proposal to build a golf course at ix-Xaghra l-Hamra near Ghajn Tuffieha. GaiaFoundation, Nature Trust (Malta), Friends of the Earth Malta, BirdLife Malta and the RamblersAssociation said they were also concerned that work on drawing up an Environment Impact Statement(EIS) had already started while they remained in the dark about its terms of reference and did not havefull details about the type of golf course being proposed.• 17 August 2005 The government has denied allegations, made in a Council of Europe report, ofdeliberate physical ill-treatment of irregular immigrants by the police and the armed forces. The HomeAffairs Ministry released a report drawn up by the COE's European Committee for the Prevention ofTorture (CPT) together with the government's response to it. The report dates back to January 2004when a COE delegation visited Malta. The CPT said it had received reports of alleged ill-treatment.

• 17 August 2005 The President and Mrs Fenech Adami and their daughter Maria and her husbandKevin Cassar, who reside in Aberdeen, were invited to Balmoral Castle by Her Majesty QueenElizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. During tea, Her Majesty said she islooking forward to her third State visit to Malta in November when she will inaugurate the CHOGM.Also present were His Royal Highness Prince Edward and Her Royal Highness the Countess ofWessex.• 18 August 2005 A group of 29 illegal immigrants were escorted to Malta by the armed forces,bringing this year's total to 932. The influx of illegal immigration is putting a lot of strain on thesecurity forces, with some 80 policemen being assigned duties in connection with detained immigrants.A welcome piece of news came via the Libyan Press agency Jana, which announced that the Libyancoastguard had stopped 414 immigrants who were trying to leave Libya by sea in two separateoperations.• 18 August 2005 The National Statistics Office announced that the number of Maltese travellingabroad in June reached 19,125. Of these, 16,280 departed by air - an increase of 15.9% over the samemonth last year. The most frequent destination among air passengers was the UK, which represents24.8% of the total number of Maltese travelling abroad by air. This was followed by Italy (23.2%),Tunisia (8.2%), Germany (6.1%), France (3.8%), the Netherlands (3%) and Spain (1.3%).• 19 August 2005 5,000 mattresses that were to be shredded for recycling and empty chemical tankscaught fire just outside the Ta' Zwejra landfill. The fire took the Civil Protection Department severalhours to control using 10 fire engines and 25 men. Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister GeorgePullicino cancelled the signing of an agreement on littering regulations to rush to the scene. He told themedia that according to reports received from CPD head Peter Cordina, it was likely that the fireresulted from arson.• 19 August 2005 Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech launched The CommonwealthResounds!, a multicultural musical event featuring musicians, singers, composers and performers fromall over the Commonwealth, including Malta. It will be held as part of the activities to mark theCommonwealth Heads of Government Conference (CHOGM) and will include a main concert onNovember 24 at the Manoel Theatre and smaller performances throughout Malta.• 19 August 2005 Work on the paving project in Mdina is proceeding at a good pace, Resources andInfrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit said during a visit to Mdina. The minister said more than 8,100cubic metres of paving and 600 manhole covers, produced by workers of the Manufacture and ServicesDepartment, were placed in 17 roads, three alleys and four squares.• 19 August 2005 The unemployment rate in the three months to May stood at 7.2%, the NationalStatistics Office said.• 20 August 2005 Department of Information (DOI) Director, Emanuel Abela, together with Chev. PaulNaudi launched a programme of events to mark the DOI’s 50th anniversary. As part of thecelebrations, an exhibition of old photos themed Wirja ta’ Ritratti u Rikordji, is being set up at StJames Cavalier, Valletta. It will be on between September 12 and October 9.• 20 August 2005 Two illegal immigrants clung to their capsized boat for 24 hours before being rescuedas others around them lost their grip one by one and drowned over the weekend. In all, 26 migrantsperished after their boat hit rough seas south of Malta on Friday, the AFM said. It is the latest tragedyinvolving Africans crossing the Mediterranean in search of a better life. Their boat had apparently leftLibya five days ago.• 22 August 2005 The presence of plainclothes wardens patrolling the streets is expected to beinstrumental in catching litter bugs in the act when the new Littering Regulations come into force onJanuary 1 said Minister for the Environment and Rural Affairs, George Pullicino. He was addressing apress conference where an agreement of principles between the government, the Malta Environmentand Planning Authority and the Local Councils Association was signed for the implementation of thenew regulations.• 22 August 2005 The European Commission has indicated Malta as one of the member states that stillhas to incorporate a new packaging waste law into Maltese legislation. In its accession negotiationsMalta obtained a transition period up until 2013 to implement the new recycling and recovery targetsfor packaging waste but it still had to adopt the new law by the end of last week.

• 22 August 2005 The 7 th edition of the AEGEE-Valletta Summer University will for the first timeinclude Libyan participants, organisers said during the launch at St. James Cavalier. AEGEE-Vallettais the local arm of AEGEE-Europe, the largest European student and youth network. The SummerUniversities focus on art, history, languages, nature and sports. They are held in around 100 places allover Europe with multicultural groups of 20-50 students who can enjoy the cultural diversity.• 23 August 2005 The government is planning to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) in locationswhere dumping is rampant, Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino said. Thepresence of plainclothes wardens patrolling the streets is also expected to be instrumental in catchinglitter bugs in the act when the new Littering Regulations come into force on January 1.• 23 August 2005 The European Commission has indicated Malta as one of the member states that stillhas to incorporate a new packaging waste law into Maltese legislation. In its accession negotiationsMalta obtained a transition period up until 2013 to implement the new recycling and recovery targetsfor packaging waste but it still had to adopt the new law.• 24 August 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi praised the work carried out by the Dar Merhba Bik(DMB) committee who dedicate their time and labour in administering this institution, and those whowillingly assist and support this worthy cause. He was attending together with his wife, a fund-raisingactivity organised by Mr and Mrs Angelo Xuereb in aid of DMB, at Verdala Mansions in Rabat.• 24 August 2005 The Emission Alert SMS 4 Clean Air campaign was launched during a newsconference by the Malta Transport Authority. Whenever a person sees a vehicle emitting smoke andbelieves it is over the established limit they can just send a text message (SMS) with the registrationnumber to 5061 1899. The owner must address the problem and fix the vehicle within one week andtake it back for subsequent emission tests. Further failures will result in licence restriction andcitations.• 25 August 2005 The Valletta Waterfront was among four projects recognised by the MaltaEnvironment and Planning Authority for high architectural standards and sensitive respect for theenvironment. The project was presented with the award for conservation during a ceremony at StFrancis Ravelin presided over by Rural Affairs and Environment Minister George Pullicino. The otherprojects rewarded were the InterContinental Malta at St Julians, the Cottonera Sports Complex, and theproject of the Xarolla windmill in Zurrieq.• 25 August 2005 Family values are one of the most important pillars of our society, which is why thegovernment is investing in projects such as the construction of the new playing field and belvedere atSan Lawrenz in Gozo, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said. He was speaking during the inaugurationof the playing field and the Belvedere Colle Umberto named after a city in Treviso, Italy, which istwinned with the locality of San Lawrenz.• 25 August 2005 The number of cruise passengers visiting Malta in the first seven months of this yearwent up by 29.5% to 147,806, an increase of 33,670 persons over the same period last year. TheNational Statistics Office said the largest number of passengers came from Italy (37,981), Spain(25,701), Germany (24,474) and the US (14,586).• 26 August 2005 The government's expenditure on social security benefits during the first six monthsof this year took up 53.3% of the annual budgeted forecast of Lm211.6 million. During the same periodlast year, the Government's outlay amounted to Lm106.1 million, making up 51.1% of the actual totalexpenditure on social security benefits in 2004.• 26 August 2005 Representatives of various entities and NGOs have been appointed to form part of aconsultative body on the restoration and embellishment to be undertaken at Buskett. The appointmentswere made by the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment George Pullicino who said at themeeting that over the past months works had been carried out to restore Buskett and that further worksneeded to be done in the next few months.• 26 August 2005 A total of 200 persons were arraigned in court over illegal hunting and trapping in thefirst six months of the year, after surveillance carried out by the Administrative Law Enforcement Unit.The Environment and Rural Affairs Ministry said it was determined to continue enforcing the law tostop such practices. In the whole of last year, 380 persons were arraigned for these offences and 364 in2003.

• 26 August 2005 Malta has the highest minimum wage among the new European Union memberstates. According to statistics released by Eurostat, the EU's statistical arm, the Maltese minimumwage at the beginning of this year stood at 557 Euro monthly (Lm241). However, it is still much lowerthan that offered in some of the oldest members of the European club.• 26 August 2005 The Central Bank has left the central intervention rate unchanged at 3.25% followinga decision by the governor at a meeting of the Monetary Policy Advisory Council. The premium on theMaltese lira remained unchanged, reflecting stability in domestic and foreign market yields. Againstthis background, the governor judged that the central intervention rate was at an appropriate level.• 26 August 2005 The Employment and Training Corporation launched a compulsory trainingprogramme for school leavers who have not managed to obtain the academic/vocational qualificationsor skills that would allow them to find a job or go on studying. The scheme is called the BasicEmployment Passport Scheme. Those refusing to attend will not be allowed to register for work.• 26 August 2005 The bronze door of the Naxxar parish church has been fully restored in the first majorbronze project to be carried out in Malta by Maltese restorers. It took about four months to dismantlethe door, document the pieces, treat them for corrosion, polish and put them back together again. Therestorers are members of ReCoop, a cooperative founded by six professionally trained universitygraduates.• 27 August 2005 Government debt outstanding at the end of July this year reached Lm1,388.6 million,representing an increase of Lm71.6 million or 5.4% on the Lm1,317 million outstanding at the end ofJuly 2004, the National Statistics Office said. This total includes the current balance (Lm27.4 million)of the government's assumption of the debts of the ex-Malta Drydocks and of the ex-MaltaShipbuilding.• 28 August 2005 The Prime Minister and Mrs Gonzi left the island on a private visit. They areexpected back on Friday. Tonio Borg, Minister of Justice and Home Affairs took up the post of ActingPrime Minister during Dr Gonzi's absence.• 28 August 2005 The Foreign Affairs Ministry has called on the United Nations' refugee agency(UNHCR) to reactivate an international resettlement programme for asylum seekers, as well as thoseimmigrants who have already been legally provided protection by the Maltese authorities.• 28 August 2005 The Government said it was prepared to consider any offer purportedly made byLibya to sell oil at a preferential rate. In a joint statement, Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo andMinister for Investments, Industry and Information Technology, Austin Gatt, said that any suchpossible offer would be discussed within the context of the continuous negotiations between the twocountries.• 28 August 2005 The Ministry of Tourism and Culture said that the highly criticised proposal for a golfcourse at Ix-Xaghra l-Hamra, Mellieha, is subject to an environmental impact assessment (EIA)procedure as stipulated by the EIA regulations and the EU directive, and the final decision can only betaken once the entire process has been completed.• 28 August 2005 The Edible Oil Refining Company (EORC) have made the finals of the internationalBBC World and Newsweek World Challenge competition with their 'Fat Chance - Bio Power' projectwhich aims to clean up the Maltese coastline by turning cooking fat into a diesel substitute. Thecompetition aims to identify and reward individuals or groups from around the world who have shownenterprise and innovation at grassroots level with projects which are making a difference tocommunities.• 30 August 2005 The UK Home Office Minister for Immigration, Tony McNulthy has urged theMaltese to make a concerted effort to find a solution to the problem of illegal immigration instead ofjust being critical. The Minister, who was on a day visit in Malta, admitted it would be difficult for theUK to accept a refugee resettlement programme, as proposed by Malta, but promised that alleviatingthe problem of immigration in the Mediterranean was a priority for the British EU presidency.• 30 August 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea, launched the eveningclasses for adults in the upcoming scholastic year. Dr Galea said that the division, together with theMalta College of Arts, Science and Technology, the university and other institutions, offered a varietyof academic subjects from basic literacy to 'O' and 'A' levels.

• 30 August 2005 The Armed Forces of Malta said that a group of 31 illegal immigrants were rescuedand escorted inland by the Armed Forces of Malta after the army were alerted about their predicamentby the skipper of a Maltese trawler. The group consisted of 26 males, four females and one child.• 31 August 2005 Maltese trade authorities are anxiously awaiting the next move by the EuropeanCommission in its textile row with China as more than 37,000 pieces of Chinese clothing are held up instores at the ports, barred from entering the market. As from last June, following an EU decision, allimport licenses associated with various categories of Chinese textiles have been stopped. The EuropeanCommission is consulting member states, including Malta, over how this issue can be solved.• 31 August 2005 Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Khurshid Kasuri, defended his country's democraticcredentials as he paved the way for "potential" business between Pakistan and Malta. Speaking duringa joint news conference with his Maltese counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Frendo, MrKasuri insisted that Pakistan had made tremendous steps forward to prove it was democratic, even if itsPresident wore a military uniform.• 31 August 2005 Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino urged wardens to usetheir discretion in the enforcement of littering and dumping regulations, which are soon to come intoforce. Speaking to the so-called green wardens, Mr Pullicino said that although the law contemplated aLm25 fine for throwing cigarette butts to the ground, the wardens should mainly focus on the "biggerproblems".• 31 August 2005 Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino has suggested thatenvironment NGOs opposing the golf course at Ix-Xaghra l-Hamra be involved in the management ofthe areas that remain untouched by the development. At a meeting between Mr Pullicino, Tourism andCulture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech and five environment NGOs, the Environment Minister saidthe government intended to impose a planning obligation on the developer to fund the management ofthe protected coastal area.• 31 August 2005 The government launched the second consultation phase of the National ReformProgramme 2005-2008, intended to address Malta's competitiveness in terms of the EU's LisbonStrategy. Presenting the 65-page document drawn up by the Management Efficiency Unit (MEU),Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea said the aim was to set out acomprehensive strategy to deliver economic growth, to contribute towards Europe's goal of becomingthe most competitive global bloc and to foster job creation.SEPTEMBER• 1 September 2005 Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino announced that apilot project to collect plastic from the agricultural sector is underway and, if successful, would beextended to other localities. Each year, about 100 tons of plastic are imported to Malta for agriculturalpurposes and, last year, in Mgarr alone, where the initiative started, 18 tons were collected.• 1 September 2005 There was a drop of 6.4% in the supply of bed-places in May, from 41,269 in May2004 to 38,611 this year, and consequently the overall occupancy rate rose by 3.5 percentage points to57.3%, the National Statistics Office said. The highest occupancy rate was recorded in the four-starhotel accommodation category at 71.7% followed by the five-star hotel category at 54.8%.• 1 September 2005 The adoption of the ISO 9001 certification in Malta has increased from three in1993 to well over 300 this year. In fact, Malta has one of the highest rates worldwide of its labour forceemployed in ISO 9001 certified organisations, the Minister for Competitiveness and Communications,Censu Galea said. He was speaking during the presentation of ISO 9001 certificates to three SMEs.• 2 September 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the government has decided to erect amonument to commemorate child migration to Australia, possibly in the harbour area, where the childmigrants embarked on their journey to Australia. A number of Maltese migrants who went to Australiain the 1950s and 1960s were exploited, having been employed in cheap labour. Some were evenphysically and sexually abused.• 2 September 2005 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the UK presidency of the EU hasaccepted a joint request by Malta and Italy to include illegal immigration among the main items on theagenda of an informal meeting of EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The two-day event, known as

Gymnich takes place twice-yearly during which EU foreign ministers meet alone and hold discussionsbehind closed doors.• 2 September 2005 The European Commission proposed that illegal immigrants and asylum seekersshould not be detained for more than six months, the aim being to have common standards on returnpolicies across the EU. All illegal immigrants landing in Malta are currently held in detention for ayear at the most, either until they are sent back to their country of origin or until their asylumapplication for the granting of refugee status is processed and accepted.• 2 September 2005 Eurozone unemployment stood at 8.6% in July compared to 8.7% in the previousmonth. It was 8% in July 2004. The EU25 unemployment rate in July was 8% compared to 8% in June.It was 9% in July 2004. The lowest rate was registered in Ireland, with 4%, and the highest in Poland,at 17.6%.• 2 September 2005 20 vehicle owners will be summoned to the first car emission tests next week asthe Malta Transport Authority responds to a flood of SMS reports. Tests will be carried out onMonday, Wednesday and Friday with priority being given to vehicles that have been reported severaltimes according to an ADT spokesman. Over 3,000 reports were filed until Wednesday - about 375 aday - since the ADT's SMS 4 Clean Air Campaign was launched last week.• 2 September 2005 European Maritime and Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg is on an official threedayvisit to Germany to assess the maritime and fisheries industries in that country, the biggest memberstate in the EU. He is holding formal discussions in Berlin with the Federal Minister for ConsumerProtection, Food and Agriculture, Renate Künast, and Manfred Stolpe, Federal Minister for Transport,Building and Housing.• 2 September 2005 Workers of the Cleansing Services Department last month collected over 1,600tonnes of rubbish dumped illegally in valleys, arterial roads and industrial estates. This amount is threetimes that collected in August last year and cost Lm50,000 to pick up, pushing the yearly expense ofsuch collections to about Lm340,000 so far this year. Resources and Infrastructure Minister NinuZammit pointed out that this money could have been used on embellishment projects rather thancleansing operations.• 2 September 2005 The Amnesty International Malta Group launched the global Stop ViolenceAgainst Women campaign at a press conference hosted by the National Council for Women, one of thefirst to give this issue a voice. The Group said that although most countries have legislation addressingdomestic violence, high levels of this form of abuse still persist, showing a clear need for a greaterfocus on implementation and enforcement of the law.• 2 September 2005 The European Commission's website against discrimination has been given acomplete revamp and has been officially re-launched. The new site has been made more user-friendlyand easy to navigate. Malta has a total of 18 organisations involved that meet to discuss strategies andactivities. http://www.stop-discrimination.info/• 2 September 2005 The number of people registering for work in Malta continued to decline,consistent with the trend over the past 12 months, data released by the European Union shows.According to the statistics published by the EU's statistics arm, Eurostat, the level of unemployment inMalta in July was 6.5%, placing Malta 11th among the 25 EU member states.• 3 September 2005 Malta continued piling pressure onto the EU to take a tough stance against illegalimmigration. Raising the issue during an informal meeting of EU Foreign Affairs Ministers inNewport, Wales, Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said African countries receivingdevelopment aid from the EU should play their part in carrying out their obligations according tointernational trade agreements.• 3 September 2005 Total sales by manufacturing enterprises in the second quarter this year dropped byLm11.7 million, or 4.7%, to Lm239.4 million from Lm251.1 million a year earlier, the NationalStatistics Office said. The net total manufacturing sales amounted to Lm458.2 million, registering adrop of Lm47.7 million when compared with Lm505.9 million for the same months of 2004.• 3 September 2005 The government launched a public consultation document on eCommerce in a bidto establish a light but effective supervisory regime while eliminating bureaucracy. The proposedregulations, unveiled by Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea, are intended to

ensure that regulatory obligations are complied with while reinforcing consumer rights alreadyenshrined in the Electronic Commerce Act.• 4 September 2005 The concept of school networking, which will be put into practice from the nextscholastic year, was received with enthusiasm by parents at a meeting with Education, Youth andEmployment Minister Louis Galea. As from this scholastic year, 37 schools will be brought together toform colleges in the pilot project.• 4 September 2005 11 women's organisations which form the Confederation of Women's Organisations(MCWO) have submitted their reactions to a Bill to make special provision for domestic violence andto amend the Criminal and Civil Codes. Expressing its satisfaction that the Bill is finally beingdiscussed in the House of Representatives, the confederation said that it contains positive aspectshowever very crucial issues need to be rethought and readdressed.• 4 September 2005 Maltese emigrants who had settled in Australia as children generally welcomed thenews that a monument, rather than a plaque, is to be erected by the Maltese government to mark theirunfortunate experience there. The president of the Child Migrants of Malta (CMOM), David Plowman,said the organisation was not surprised by the news because the government had submitted a proposalfor their consideration and views over the past two weeks or so.• 4 September 2005 Molly Bordonaro, the new United States ambassador to Malta, who has succeededAnthony Gioia, arrived in Malta with her husband Matthew and three young children. "What a greatopportunity it is for me to represent the United States in Malta. I appreciate the expression ofconfidence from President George W. Bush," Mrs Bordonaro, 36, said in a short address to the pressoutside the ministerial lounge at Malta International Airport.• 4 September 2005 The Italian military mission in Malta have once again given a helping hand to thePhysically Handicapped Rehabilitation Fund. Following a meeting between the Commander of theMission Col. Salvatore Fadda and the fund's president Georgia Tabone, the mission embarked on anextensive renovation exercise on a Ducato van which is one of the vehicles used by the PHRF totransport members.• 5 September 2005 Speaking during an activity, themed ‘Biex Int Tghix Ahjar’, to mark the 41stanniversary of Malta's independence, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said Malta's accession to the EUhas offered the opportunity to safeguard the environment and improve it for present and futuregenerations. "There have never before been so many projects and initiatives in the environmentalsector that cover all areas, including air quality, waste separation, road improvement, infrastucturalprojects, projects to control flooding and embellishment projects.”• 6 September 2005 The government announced that it intended to prohibit the trapping of finches inspring and shorten the season for hunting from sea craft by a month. Environment and Rural AffairsMinister George Pullicino said that following a Cabinet decision, proposals to amend the hunting andtrapping regulations will be published in a government notice.• 6 September 2005 Regulations restricting competition in professional services are still abundant inmany EU countries and Malta is one of seven that has reported no reform in the sector over the pastyear, according to a European Commission report. The Commission said that in many countriesprogress is hampered by several factors, including a lack of national political support for reform andlittle appetite for it from the professionals themselves.• 6 September 2005 "The investment in bus ticketing machines has paid off and there are hardly everany problems with them." That was the verdict of Public Transport Association president VictorSpiteri, who was questioned about the machines following serious doubts over their effectiveness andin the light of the subsidy claims being made by the association. The ticketing machines wereintroduced to eliminate the possibility of drivers not declaring all of their takings.• 6 September 2005 Biodiesel consumption in the first eight months of the year has already surpassedthe 0.3% target of all transport diesel and petrol fuel set by the government for the whole of this year.Figures released by the local biodiesel producer EORC Ltd show that between January and Augusttotal sales in Malta and Gozo reached 770,000 litres. This is 200,000 litres more than the target of570,000 litres set by the government for 2005.• 6 September 2005 The Civil Protection Department collected blankets to be sent to the United Statesin the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The department had launched its appeal after the US asked for

international assistance. Civil Protection director Peter Cordina said the Maltese reacted as generouslyas they usually did when such calls were made and took badly needed blankets to civil protectioncentres around Malta and Gozo.• 7 September 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi along with seven other EU leaders and thePresident of the European People's Party have written to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to appealfor the start of accession negotiations with Croatia. EU leaders had decided to open accessionnegotiations with Croatia in March. However this was postponed because some EU member statesmaintain that Croatia is not collaborating with the International Criminal Tribunal for formerYugoslavia (ICTY) in handing over fugitive general Ante Gotovina.• 7 September 2005 A call for proposals to digitise Department of Information film footage coveringevents held between the late 1950s and 1979 was launched. Director of Information Emanuel Abelasaid this was a project the department was undertaking together with the National Archives. Interestedparties were invited to submit detailed proposals on: an inventory of all DOI archived film footage;conversion of all film footage to digital format and cataloguing of the digitised product.http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/archive/Doi-50th%20anniversary/doi50-index.asp• 7 September 2005 Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech visited the works inprogress at the Manoel Theatre in Valletta. The theatre complex is undergoing refurbishment, so far,three studio apartments and the wardrobe have been completed. Dr Zammit Dimech said the olddressing rooms had been pulled down and the theatre was in the process of issuing calls for expressionsof interest for building new dressing and rehearsal rooms.• 7 September 2005 Provisional indicators of the international economic and financial transactions inthe second quarter reveal a deterioration in Malta's current account balance of Lm21.1 million. FromLm22.9 million in the June 2004 quarter, the net deficit reached Lm43.9 million in the last quarter, theNational Statistics Office said. A worsening in the net balances of both the income account and thevisible trade account of the statement essentially contributed to this outcome.• 8 September 2005 Several people, including Competitiveness and Communications Minister CensuGalea, were injured during a World Cup Qualifying match between Malta and Croatia at the Ta' QaliNational Stadium. Around 80 Croats, whom the police identified on video, were arrested. The troubleflared soon after Malta scored a goal to level the match at 1-1 in the 76th minute.• 8 September 2005 The magistrate conducting the inquiry into the Maundy Thursday multiple murdercase, in which six Chinese and Mongolian illegal immigrants died and three remained missing afterthey were forced to jump from a speedboat into the freezing sea at gun-point some 15 nautical milesoff the Sicilian coast, met a team of Italian investigators and a prosecutor probing the same case inItaly.• 8 September 2005 Twenty-eight African men were plucked to safety after the boat they were incapsized off Marsaxlokk. Army personnel took them ashore where they were given medical attention.• 8 September 2005 International rating agency Fitch has hailed the government's attempts to get a gripon the budget even if it underlined that the prospect of an eventual rating upgrade could still be remote.With continued resolve, the government should be able to cut its deficit to less than 3% of the grossdomestic product in 2006. Inflation was also running low so Malta has a "good chance" of meeting theMaastricht criteria in time to adopt the euro in January 2008.• 8 September 2005 The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current market prices reached Lm476.1million in the second quarter of this year, an increase of 4.8% over the corresponding period last year,according to the National Statistics Office. In real terms the GDP went up by 2.4%.• 8 September 2005 Out of 1,693 workers interviewed by Employment and Training Corporationofficials during 992 on-site inspections between June and July, 481 had not declared they wereemployed. The ETC said the inspections were conducted by law compliance officials. Undeclaredemployment means evasion of taxes and non-payment of social security contributions.• 8 September 2005 Thirty-five cyclists successfully completed this year's Life Cycle challenge whichsaw them pedalling 1,800 kilometres from Budapest to Athens. The cyclists and their back-up teamwere given star treatment at the end of the challenge with a grand entrance into the ancient city of theGreek Gods, Athens, escorted by a good number of police cars and the Greek consul KostasKalegoropolous.

• 8 September 2005 The new ambassador of the United States to Malta, Molly Bordonaro, expressedher gratitude to the Maltese people for their generosity in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, whichravaged the city of New Orleans. After presenting her letter of credence to President Edward Fenech-Adami, Ms Bordonaro thanked him for the "Maltese government's support and the generosity of theMaltese people in helping our country".• 8 September 2005 Civil Protection Department personnel at Hal Far continued preparing items to besent to the United States to help people hit by hurricane Katrina. About 2,000 pyjamas that had beenseized by the Customs Department and blankets and baby food collected by the parish priest of Attardwere added to the blankets that were donated earlier this week.• 8 September 2005 More than 37,000 clothing items imported from China and being held by MalteseCustoms should be released by next week following an agreement between all 25 member states of theEU. The deal was approved at the textiles management committee following a meeting of Coreper, thepermanent representatives committee. Malta was represented by ambassador Richard Cachia Caruana.• 9 September 2005 Malta celebrated one of its national holidays, September 8, also known as Our Ladyof Victories. The official commemoration began with President Edward Fenech-Adami inspecting anArmed Forces of Malta Guard of Honour outside St John's Co-Cathedral, in Valletta. This wasfollowed by a concelebrated Mass led by Archbishop Joseph Mercieca. After Mass, Dr Fenech-Adamilaid a wreath at the Great Siege Monument in Republic Street, Valletta.• 9 September 2005 Malta has the lowest road fatality rate in Europe per capita but its fatality rate perkilometre travelled is two to three times higher than the European average, according to UrbanDevelopment and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett. Addressing the Road Safety Group meeting of theEuropean Conference of Ministers for Transport, Mr Mugliett said Malta was in the unenviableposition of having 680 motor vehicles registered for every 1,000 inhabitants.• 9 September 2005 In the first half of the year, Malta saw the biggest increase in the number of asylumapplications in the EU, according to figures issued by the UNHCR, the UN agency responsible forrefugees. Malta's increase - of 103% over the same period last year - would appear to justify Malta'srecent call for help to the EU in coping with the influx of asylum seekers and immigrants.• 9 September 2005 103 Croats were arraigned in connection with the incidents that took place duringthe Malta-Croatia football match. Croatian Foreign Minister Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic contactedForeign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo, to express her regret at the behaviour of the Croatian footballfans during the World Cup qualifying game between Malta and Croatia.• 10 September 2005 Malta has signalled its agreement to the issue of a counter-declaration beingproposed by the EU following a unilateral declaration by Turkey last July that its extension of theCustoms Union to the 10 "new" EU member states did not mean it was recognising Cyprus. Malta is infavour of the start of negotiations with Turkey on condition the country fully respects its obligations.• 10 September 2005 The Dutch government agreed with Malta's request for burden sharing over theinflux of illegal immigrants and accepted to offer some refugees resettlement in the Netherlands. Theagreement was sealed after talks between Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg and DutchImmigration Minister Rita Verdonk on the margins of an EU informal Justice Ministers meeting heldin Newcastle.• 10 September 2005 The European Commission welcomed the recently-proposed amendments tohunting and trapping regulations but wants more to be done. A spokesman for the Commission'sEnvironment Directorate said the changes, while they were a step in the right direction, were notenough to bring Malta in line with the Birds Directive.• 10 September 2005 Michael Refalo, the High Commissioner for Malta in the United Kingdom andMrs Refalo were the guests of the Lord Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea, Councillor WarwickLightfoot, at a re-enactment to commemorate the arrival, at the Royal Borough, of the TrafalgarDespatch that 200 years ago brought news of Nelson's victory at Trafalgar and of his death.• 10 September 2005 A five-kilometre race and one-kilometre fun run will be held on October 1 tomark the feast of St Vincent de Paul and bring some happiness and laughter to children who areterminally ill. Parliamentary Secretary within the Ministry of Health, the Elderly and Community

Care, Helen D'Amato said this was an example of best practice - a show of solidarity amonggenerations.• 10 September 2005 Gozitan graduates have started to benefit from a unique scheme which providesthem with subsidised employment in small and medium-sized businesses in Gozo. The scheme, whichwas launched earlier this year, enables graduates who were previously unemployed to have a job withGozitan businesses, which in turn benefit by employing full-time graduates whose salary is partly paidfor by the government and the EU.• 10 September 2005 More than half of the Maltese aged between 25 and 64 took part in an education,training or learning activity in 2003, significantly more than the average in the EU. While the EUaverage was 42%, the number of "lifelong learners" in Malta reached 53% that year, according tofigures published by Eurostat.• 11 September 2005 "Malta is committed to the successful achievement of the UN MillenniumDevelopment Goals", the Prime Minister, Dr Lawrence Gonzi, said before travelling with ForeignAffairs Minister Dr Michael Frendo to New York for the UN anti-poverty summit. Attended by 175heads of state or government and opened by US President George Bush, the summit aims to re-committhe UN's 191 member nations to the eight anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals for 2015launched in 2000, while adopting other proposals including on UN reform.• 11 September 2005 The Government is actively considering a revision of the fuel surchargeintroduced during last year's Budget as the price of oil is continuing to rise. Speaking after theconclusion of a two-day informal finance ministers' meeting of the EU in Manchester, Prime Minister,Dr Lawrence Gonzi said that the government is currently conducting internal studies on the impactwhich high oil prices are having on the Maltese economy and will be taking the necessary decisions bythe end of the month.• 12 September 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that an inquiry aimed at establishing who atSea Malta "withheld" information from government negotiators during the privatisation talks isexpected to start "as soon as the right person to carry out the investigation is chosen".• 12 September 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, officially inaugurated the exhibition, "Wirja ta'Ritratti u Rikordji", on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Department of Information andpresented mementos to former Directors of Information and long-serving DOI Staff.• 12 September 2005 Malta has slipped down one place to 32nd among 175 countries in this year'sHuman Development Index compiled by the United Nations Development Programme. The HDImeasures a country's achievements in terms of three dimensions of human development: ¤ a long andhealthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living.• 12 September 2005 Twenty-nine irregular immigrants were rescued by the Armed Forces of Maltaafter Maltese fishermen noticed they were in difficulty. The police said the group consisted of 21males, five females and three children and that they hailed from Africa.• 12 September 2005 As the world inches closer to an influenza pandemic, experts from all over theworld meeting in Malta were warned that the threat was not to be taken lightly. Experts gathered at theInterContinental Hotel in St Julians for the start of the biannual conference organised by the EuropeanScientific Working Group on Influenza (ESWI). It will go on until Wednesday with influenzapandemic very high on the agenda.• 12 September 2005 Roughly between 3,000 and 4,000 vehicles have been towed away every yearsince 2001, with the number reaching nearly 1,500 so far this year, according to figures provided bythe Justice and Home Affairs Ministry.• 13 September 2005 St James Cavalier, which in just five years has become one of Malta's primevenues for cultural events, is facing the possibility of slashing its creative programmes as it strugglesalong on a shoestring budget. Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said he intendedmaking a case for a revision of the budget but he added that ministers had the collective responsibilityto take into consideration the government's limited financial resources.• 13 September 2005 Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Tonio Fenech appealed to theprivate sector to come forward with projects and ideas that could be eligible for EU funding. Speakingat a consultation meeting of the National Strategic Reference Framework, which will identify priority

areas for the allocation of funds, Mr Fenech said Malta intended to present the best case possible and tomake the most of the EU budget for 2007-2013.• 13 September 2005 Total imports for January to July declined by Lm34.8 million, or 4.6%, toLm724.9 million from Lm759.7 million for the same period last year, the National Statistics Officesaid. This shortfall was primarily due to Lm40.6 million less in imports of machinery and transportequipment.• 13 September 2005 The world would not be prepared to handle an influenza pandemic if it broke outnow, international experts said during the Second European Influenza Conference, which is being heldin Malta. The World Health Organisation's scientist in charge of influenza control, Klaus Stöhr, saidthat from a global perspective the world was not well prepared for a pandemic, although somecountries had done a lot of preparatory work. He said there was no vaccine available if the pandemichad to happen now.• 14 September 2005 President of Malta, Edward Fenech-Adami and Mrs. Mary Fenech-Adami visitedthe `Wirja ta' Ritratti u Rikordji` on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Department ofInformation.• 14 September 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has written to Egyptian President HosniMubarak to congratulate him on his re-election as President of the Arab Republic of Egypt. "Your reelectionis even more welcome as this follows the first multi-candidate presidential election in thehistory of the country and indeed an important step towards political reform.• 14 September 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was in New York to take part in the GeneralAssembly of the United Nations which opened today. Dr Gonzi met the head of government ofAndorra, Albert Pintat Santolaria prior to addressing the assembly. The Prime Minister wasaccompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo.• 14 September 2005 The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, TonioBorg has introduced regulations aimed at solving a number of legal problems resulting from deeds andwills published by notaries who have since died. Legal Notice 303/2005 lays down that once the deedshave been signed by the parties and had been duly enrolled in the Public Registry, then they would beconsidered as having been ratified by means of these regulations.• 14 September 2005 Malta may have to introduce new restrictions on hunting in spring before the nextseason in order to satisfy the European Commission which is not convinced the derogation allowingbird shooting during this period is being implemented according to EU rules.• 14 September 2005 National Influenza Pandemic Standing Committee chairman Tanya Melillo saidduring the Second European Influenza Conference, organised by the European Scientific WorkingGroup on Influenza (ESWI), that plans are in place to vaccinate about 90% of the Maltese populationover four days during the influenza pandemic.• 14 September 2005 Seventy-four schools in Malta and Gozo are to receive €374,406 through the EUfundedComenius programme, aimed at enhancing the European dimension of school education.Presiding over the Comenius contract signing ceremony at the Robert Sammut Hall in Floriana,Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea said the Comenius programme supportsschool partnerships, projects for the training of school education staff and school education networks.• 14 September 2005 The European Parliament inaugurated a new website designed to provide quickerand easier public access to information on the political decisions taken by the elected representatives ofEurope's citizens. The new website, designed in a colourful and very user friendly format, wasinaugurated officially by the president of the European Parliament Josep Borell.http://www.europarl.eu.int• 14 September 2005 The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anton Tabone, took part in theSecond World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments held at the United Nations in New York. Theoverall theme of the conference, held last week, was Parliaments And Multilateral Cooperation:Meeting The Challenges Of The 21st Century.• 14 September 2005 Twenty-six illegal immigrants were rounded up by the police after Malta Freeportsecurity officers first stopped five African men who had come ashore in the oil tanking area of theFreeport. The immigrants appeared clean-shaven and neatly dressed and did not look as if they had

een at sea for a long time. It is suspected the boat had been lowered from some ship close to Malteseshores. Immigration police are still investigating.• 15 September 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said he wished the package of proposals toreform the United Nations were "even more ambitious". Addressing the plenary meeting of the UnitedNations General Assembly in New York, the Prime Minister said, Malta would have liked to see amore forceful reference to the question of impunity and, especially, the important role that is beingplayed by the International Criminal Court.• 15 September 2005 MEP Simon Busuttil confronted Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini in theEuropean Parliament on the issue of illegal immigration. Dr Busuttil was participating in a session ofthe civil liberties committee of the European Parliament which had an exchange with Mr Frattini on thenew Commission package of measures on immigration, integration and asylum published earlier thismonth. Dr Busuttil reminded members of the European Parliament that Malta was facing a crisis giventhe huge influx of illegal immigrants.• 15 September 2005 A total of 224 theatrical productions, ranging from opera and musicals to comedyand drama, were presented in the year 2003/2004, the National Statistics Office said. In all, 524performances were staged with the largest amount being concerts – 37% - followed by comedies with18.3%, drama - 16.9% and musicals - 11.8%.• 16 September 2005 Illegal immigration is likely to be a surprise item on the agenda at theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November after a request by Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi, who is chairing the meeting. Dr Gonzi, who made the request in a letter toCommonwealth secretary general Don McKinnon, said the problem of human trafficking was animportant issue that formed part of the theme chosen by Malta for CHOGM, Networking theCommonwealth for Development.• 16 September 2005 Malta's preparedness to join the euro will be assessed by the EuropeanCommission in a report to be published in April 2007, according to European Economic and MonetaryAffairs Commissioner Joachim Almunia. Addressing a meeting of the Kangaroo Group, a debatingsociety in Brussels, Mr Almunia said the Commission will be very strict in judging whether the nextcountries joining the eurozone have met the criteria.• 16 September 2005 The British EU presidency has tabled a proposal for a compromise, on theproposed Reach - registration, evaluation and limited authorisation of chemical products. The maincompromise, proposed by Malta and Slovenia, is on simplification of the registration procedure forchemicals to be used in substances produced or imported in low volumes.• 16 September 2005 John Bowis, a former British Minster of Health and Transport and the EuropeanPeople's Party spokesman on the environment in the European Parliament, called on the EuropeanCommission to make sure that spring hunting in Malta is stopped and that no more derogations aregranted. Mr Bowis was speaking during a session of the environment committee of the EuropeanParliament following statements by a Commission official on the state of hunting and trappingregulations in Malta.• 16 September 2005 The number of Maltese travellers departing by air amounted to 111,554 betweenJanuary and July, an increase of 5.5% over the same period last year according to the NationalStatistics Office. The most popular destination was the UK, which accounted for 23.2% of airtravellers. The next most popular were Italy (22.1%), Tunisia (8.7%), Germany (5.8%), France (5.4%),The Netherlands (2.9%) and Spain (1.5%).• 16 September 2005 A cheque for $12,000 in aid of the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the UnitedStates was presented to the new American Ambassador to Malta Molly Bordonaro by Peter Cordina,head of the Civil Protection Department. The money was raised by CPD personnel and the presentationwas made during a courtesy call by Mrs Bordonaro on Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg.• 17 September 2005 Maltese government officials and representatives of the British governmentwhich currently holds the presidency of the European Union met in London to discuss the next EUBudget. The meeting formed part of a series of talks the UK presidency is having with all memberstates to asses the potential of reaching a compromise by the end of December.• 18 September 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the 50,000 tourist increase for this yearwas a target for the whole industry and not just the government alone. "It is industry not the

government that attracts the tourists. The Government is responsible for providing the rightenvironment," he said. Dr Gonzi, was being interviewed on a radio show.• 18 September 2005 The feast of Our Lady of Victories, September 8, proved to be a winner for GozoChannel as it ferried more passengers across the channel over the long weekend than last year. Almost75,000 passengers and 17,751 vehicles used the ferry service between September 8 and last Sundaycompared with 71,348 passengers and 16,118 vehicles in 2004.• 19 September 2005 The European Commission has asked the Maltese government to justify itsposition on the treatment of definite contract workers in the public sector after initial investigationssuggested the state is breaching EU law. This development can affect the conditions of hundreds offixed-term workers employed within the public sector. The investigation started following a complaintlodged by the Association of Local Council Executive Secretaries (ASKLM) with the EuropeanCommission.• 19 September 2005 Britain has offered to provide Malta with expertise and assistance to help dealwith the illegal immigration problem, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said. Theassistance has been offered on a bilateral basis as well as in Britain's role as the current presidency ofthe EU.• 20 September 2005 More than 16 kilometres of roads, financed by the Fifth Italian Protocol wereinaugurated by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi after 16 months of work. Described as a project whichdemonstrated the good relationship between Malta and Italy, the €30 million project includes roadsstretching from Targa Gap to Luqa. Dr Gonzi said the project was a clear proof of the government'sability to deliver.• 20 September 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the 50,000 tourist increase for this yearwas a target for the whole industry and not just the government alone. "It is industry not thegovernment that attracts the tourists. The government is responsible for providing the rightenvironment," he said. Dr Gonzi, was being interviewed on a radio show.• 20 September 2005 The government formally announced it intends to offer for sale 13,530,000Ordinary A shares in Malta International Airport plc to the general public. The offer is expected to bemade next month. After the sale, the government will have a minimum of 20% shareholding at MIA.• 20 September 2005 Regulating the use of biotechnology would help users and providers to arrive atbetter informed ethical decisions and safeguards against abuse, Family and Social Solidarity MinisterDolores Cristina said. The Minister was speaking in the wake of the stand adopted by he BioethicsConsultative Committee, appointed by the government to advise it on bioethical issues, againstsurrogacy, the freezing of embryos and the donation of sperm and ova.• 20 September 2005 The travel and tourism sector of the EU generated over 24 million jobs andcontributed to 4% of the GDP; it was responsible for 13% of exports and 8.8% of capital investments.These figures were quoted by Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech during a pressconference called to give details on the European Tourism Forum, being held in Malta betweenOctober 19 and 21.• 20 September 2005 Official figures proved that the agricultural sector was managing to face theimpact of liberalisation, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said during a pressconference announcing a package of financial aid for the industry. Statistics, show that volumes at thePitkali have increased consistently since 2003, from just under 19.5 million kilogrammes of produce toabout 20.7 million kilogrammes so far this year.• 20 September 2005 Portugal said it planned to open a diplomatic mission in Malta next year. Theannouncement was made by the Portuguese Minister for Foreign Affairs Diego Feritas Dos Amaralduring a budget debate in the Portuguese Parliament.• 20 September 2005 The Malta-Gozo ferries carried 899,959 passengers in the second quarter thisyear, a slide of 27,624 passengers, or 3%, over the same period last year according to the NationalStatistics Office. The number of vehicles transported dropped by 13,225 to 220,910, a decline of 5.7%.• 21 September 2005 Although people were now living better than they used to 15 years ago, Maltaneeded a culture of innovation and creativity in all sectors, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said.Speaking at a mass meeting at the Granaries in Floriana to commemorate the country's 41st year of

independence, Dr Gonzi urged the Maltese not to take heed of the many Cassandras who spelt doomand gloom all the time.• 21 September 2005 Malta has applied to become a member of OECD, the Organisation for EconomicCooperation and Development. Based in Paris, the OECD brings together 30 countries sharing acommitment to democratic government and market economies. The move came followingdisagreement between the EU, OECD and non-EU members of the organisation about how statisticsand economic documents produced by the Paris-based organisation should reflect the new reality of anenlarged EU.• 21 September 2005 Two new ambassadors and a high commissioner formally took up office in Maltawhen they called on President Edward Fenech-Adami to present him with their letters of credence andcommission papers. Jean-Marc Rives, Ambassador of France, Abdelkarim Mahmoud Soliman,Ambassador of Egypt, and Stavros A. Epaminondas, High Commissioner of Cyprus, met Dr Fenech-Adami at the Palace in Valletta.• 22 September 2005 Malta marked the 41st anniversary of its independence. A pontifical Mass wascelebrated by Archbishop Joseph Mercieca at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta in the morning. Thecongregation was headed by President Edward Fenech-Adami and included Prime Minister LawrenceGonzi, Cabinet ministers, MPs, ambassadors and other dignitaries. Before Mass, Dr Fenech-Adamiinspected a guard of honour at St John's Square and was accorded the national salute.• 22 September 2005 German finance giant Deutsche Vermogensberatung AG's (DVAG) marked its30th anniversary with a show held at the Grand Harbour. A total of 3,500 Germans, including seniorstaff and their spouses from financial and insurance companies in Germany were regaled with a waterdisplay, a concert by Chiara and a synchronised fireworks display. The delegates were welcomed byDeputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg who highlighted Malta's strength as a financial services centre.• 22 September 2005 EU fisheries ministers failed to reach agreement on a new set of rules regulatingfishing in the Mediterranean despite a number of last-minute concessions given by FisheriesCommissioner Joe Borg. Malta was one of the countries in favour of the regulations proposed by theCommission.• 22 September 2005 The ministry of Rural Affairs and the Environment said that it was thegovernment's policy to include all stakeholders, including hunters, in the preparatory work for Malta tobe in a position to request a derogation which allows Maltese hunters to shoot quail and turtle dove inspring. This was in response to the hunters’ federation’s decision to boycott the Ornis committee, aconsultative body on hunting regulations which also includes representatives of Birdlife Malta.• 22 September 2005 The Bishop of Gozo, Mgr Nikol Cauchi, invited Pope Benedict XVI to visitMalta in a short meeting during the general audience at the Vatican. Mgr Cauchi, who has now metthree Popes in office as a bishop, also spoke to the Holy Father about Gozo.• 22 September 2005 About 200 refrigerators, empty plastic containers and car spares were dumpedillegally along Notabile Road, in Attard, not far away from Mount Carmel Hospital, on Tuesday night.A spokesman for the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry said that within two hours from thedumping being reported workers from the ministry had cleared the area.• 23 September 2005 Two authentic wartime fighter planes, a Hurricane and a Spitfire, landed in Maltafollowing a historic flight over Grand Harbour, the first in over 50 years. The flypast formed part ofevents commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Their arrival coincided withthat of war veterans meeting in Malta for a Battle Of Malta reunion. A total of 316 veterans fromAustralia, Canada, England, Ireland, Jersey, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the United Statesconfirmed their attendance.• 23 September 2005 Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit condemned what he called "aspate of malicious acts" by unknown culprits who dumped tonnes of waste on arterial roads across theisland in just a few hours. The acts were reported to the ministry's Cleansing Services Department lessthan 24 hours after 200 refrigerators, plastic containers and car spares were dumped illegally alongNotabile Road in Attard.• 23 September 2005 Bank of Valletta was nominated the official bank of the Commonwealth Heads ofGovernment Meeting 2005 (CHOGM) being held in November. It shall provide exclusive bankingservices during the event. It is also acting as the payment gateway for CHOGM, setting up a number of

service points within the CHOGM media centre and at the main CHOGM hotels, said BoV chairmanRoderick Chalmers during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at Auberge deCastille.• 23 September 2005 MEPs Simon Busuttil and John Attard Montaldo formed part of the EuropeanParliament delegation to Tunisia led by Luisa Fernanda Rudi Ubeda, the former Speaker of the SpanishParliament. The trip was part of the European Parliament's delegation to enhance relations withMaghreb countries. The delegation held meetings with Tunisian MPs, with the Tunisian EconomicDevelopment Minister, the Commerce and Crafts Minister, the Justice and Human Rights Minister aswell as the Secretary of State within the Foreign Affairs Ministry.• 23 September 2005 Speaking during the launch of the Association for Private Training Providers,Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said the government had nointention of taking over the private sector's market. On the contrary, it wanted to increase the numberof people training in ICT so that the industry could grow. The government had a duty to help thosewho were at an economic disadvantage and encourage, through concrete fiscal incentives, those whowanted to advance by training in more specialised areas.• 23 September 2005 At the end of August there were 7,177 unemployed persons registering for workunder Part 1 and Part 2 of the unemployment register, according to figures released by the NationalStatistics Office. Of these, 5,571 or 77.6% were men and 1,606 or 22.4% were women.• 24 September 2005 Details of the European Union's budget allocations for 2004 - the first year ofMalta's membership in the EU - shows that Malta received €45 million (Lm19.5 million) more than itcontributed. The report published in Brussels analysed in detail the allocation of EU expenditure bymember state, policy heading and sub-categories of expenditure.• 24 September 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said that Malta’s ability to respond togenuine refugees fleeing persecution is fast being overwhelmed by a huge increase of illegalimmigrants who are the object of an international criminal network of human traffickers. Dr. Frendowas addressing the general debate of the 60 th session of the United Nations General Assembly in NewYork on Wednesday.• 24 September 2005 The government has struck a deal with commercial banks that would enablecompanies to settle their long-outstanding VAT arrears through loans, after most defaulters againignored a generous scheme to waive penalties. A letter is now being sent warning companies to settletheir dues or else face legal action.• 24 September 2005 One hundred new police recruits, 21 of whom are women, were officially swornin as probationary police constables. The new constables were enrolled into the police academy onMay 9 and have been in training since. The passing out parade, was presided over by Justice and HomeAffairs Minister Tonio Borg and Police Commissioner John Rizzo.• 24 September 2005 Rural Affairs and Environment Minister George Pullicino said that there areplans to install more surveillance cameras around the island, this time to watch over bring-in siteswhich are often misused and the target of vandalism. The Minister was speaking at a press conferencewhich dealt with waste recycling.• 24 September 2005 The number of cruise passengers who came to Malta in August fell by 16.3%over the same month last year, dropping by 6,888 to 35,348 according to the National Statistics Office.Cruise passengers arriving from Italy went up by 5,102 to 11,265 and other increases in arrivals wererecorded from the German (+2,643), the French (+470), the Dutch (+334),the Austrian (+120) and theSwiss (+46)markets. However, cruise passengers arriving from the UK dropped by 10,046 to 1,253from 11,299 in the same month last year.• 24 September 2005 Dr. John Paul Grech was appointed Malta's Ambassador to Germany. Dr Grech isa high-ranking diplomatic officer serving in the grade of First Counsellor within the Ministry ofForeign Affairs. Michael Frendo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, thanked outgoing Ambassador WilliamSpiteri for his 14-year service to the country.• 25 September 2005 The government has applied to join the Organisation for European Economic Cooperationand Development (OECD) as a full member. In a letter signed by Foreign Affairs MinisterMichael Frendo and delivered by Ambassador Vicky-Anne Cremona to the secretary general of theorganisation, Donald J. Johnston, the government said it recognised the OECD's significant role in

promoting the achievement of economic growth and employment, in contributing to sound economicexpansion and to the development of world trade on a multilateral and non-discriminatory basis.• 26 September 2005 The Swiss decided in a referendum to approve a deal with the EU to open up theircountry's labour market to the citizens of the 10 new member states, including Malta. According to aprotocol between the EU and Switzerland, already approved by the EU institutions, only Maltese andCypriot citizens will gain immediate rights to enter the Swiss labour market. Citizens from the othercountries will still have restrictions.• 26 September 2005 Malta's immigration crisis reached record proportions when a boatload of 175irregular migrants brought the number of people detained at Hal Safi to over 1,400. The new arrivals,along with the 26 who landed on Saturday morning, had to be put up in hurriedly erected tents as therewas no place for them inside the detention centre.• 26 September 2005 More than 300 veterans and their carers from Australia, Canada, England,Ireland, Jersey, Malta, New Zealand, The Netherlands and the United States came to Malta for theBattle of Malta reunion that marks the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.• 26 September 2005 Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt launcheda learning and technology centre at the Eden Foundation complex at the Bulebel industrial estate. Thecentre aims to provide people from different social backgrounds with wide access to informationtechnology, thus serving as a social tool. It aims at making technology easily accessible to all strata ofsociety.• 27 September 2005 A criminal investigation into human trafficking will be carried out in connectionwith the recent influx of illegal migrants, especially since the boat carrying some 200 migrantsappeared to have had a master mariner, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said. Theminister was replying to a series of Parliamentary questions. He said that other police investigations inconnection with human trafficking were already taking place.• 27 September 2005 The government is holding talks with another three countries in an attempt toreach a refugee resettlement agreement, after a promise by The Netherlands to accept some refugeesfrom Malta and a pledge of help by the Czech Republic earlier this month, Justice and Home AffairsMinister Tonio Borg said. Help is on the way and Malta's plea for burden sharing seems to be gettingpositive feedback, he insisted, adding however that there was a long way to go.• 27 September 2005 Malta has written off the $8 million owed by Iraq in a show of solidarity with theIraqi people. The agreement was signed in Washington between Parliamentary Secretary in theMinistry of Finance Tonio Fenech and Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Allawi. The figure of $8 million(around Lm2.8 million) dates back to commercial transactions that took place in the 1980’s.• 27 September 2005 Malta last year had the third highest deficit in the EU, despite having halved itfrom the previous year, according to Eurostat statistics published in Brussels. The figures confirm thatMalta last year managed to reduce its deficit to 5.1% of GDP, thus achieving its best result since 1995when the government ended its financial year with a deficit of 3.9%. The EU's statistical arm said thatduring 2004, Malta's deficit amounted to Lm94 million - Lm92 million less than the previous year.• 27 September 2005 More than 63,000 students returned to school after their summer holidays. About40,000 of the students attend 113 government schools, 16,350 go to Church schools while another8,200 attend private schools. Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea, together withhis Permanent Secretary Frans Borg and Education Director Cecilia Borg visited a number of stateschools to welcome students and teachers.• 27 September 2005 Revenue from the eco-contribution totalled Lm2.3 million between January andJuly 21, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in reply to a parliamentary question.• 27 September 2005 Measures taken by the government over the past few years to speed up courtproceedings were bearing fruit, said Parliamentary Secretary within the Ministry of Justice and HomeAffairs, Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici. Dr Mifsud Bonnici was speaking at the opening of the debate onsecond reading on a Bill which will substitute the writ of summons by an application as the judicial actfor the filing of court proceedings.• 27 September 2005 A total of 219 vehicles have been tested in response to the Malta TransportAuthority's SMS emissions alert initiative - and nearly half have failed. The ADT said that in just over

a month it received 15,000 reports of vehicles belching smoke. 45% of the vehicles tested were foundto have emissions over the stipulated limit.• 27 September 2005 The Maltese are among the most obese people in the world with 75% of men andwomen over the age of 30 considered to be overweight, according to the World Health Organisation(WHO). Malta ranks in the highest risk category for both men and women. The only other countries inthe same situation are the United States, Kuwait, Cook Islands, Niue Island, Palau and Samoa.• 27 September 2005 The Foreign Affairs Ministry has made representations with the US Embassy,including the Charge d'Affaires, after a number of Maltese found it difficult to get a visa for travel tothe US, Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said in reply to a parliamentary question. He said theembassy had said it would do whatever it could to facilitate the visa application process.• 27 September 2005 The Malta Historic Cities Festival was launched at Palazzo Falson, Mdina byTourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech. The festival, to open on October 6, consists of11 days of cultural entertainment involving history, pageantry, music, dance and folklore focusing onthe historic cities of Valletta, Mdina, Vittoriosa, Cospicua and Victoria.• 28 September 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told Parliament that Malta views theforthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) as being an opportunity for theinternational community to take yet another step to eliminate poverty and to promote development inpoor countries.• 28 September 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi congratulated Sali Berisha on his appointment asPrime Minister of Albania: “I look forward to working with you both bilaterally and also within theambit of international fora in order to pursue our common objectives and to further develop the warmand friendly ties between our respective countries for the benefit and prosperity of our people.”• 28 September 2005 1,009 persons were arraigned in court between January and August this year anda total of Lm279,394 in fines was imposed. 1,958 persons were arraigned in 2003 and Lm206,764were imposed in fines. Last year there were 1,906 arraignments and Lm293,366 were imposed in fines.Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was replying to a parliamentary question.• 28 September 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said in reply to a parliamentaryquestion that non-static speed cameras operated by the police recorded 1,586 cars overspeedingbetween May 2002 and last August. The biggest number, 1,037, were on the Mriehel bypass.• 28 September 2005 The European Commission reiterated its position over subsidies to MaltaShipyards and made it clear there is no way it will approve further state aid after 2008, bar thosepermissible under existing EU rules. The Commission was reacting to comments made a few days agoby the Leader of the Opposition, Alfred Sant, who said that "a Labour government would continue tosubsidise the shipyards beyond 2008 through European Union funds if the need arose".• 28 September 2005 Heritage Malta marked World Tourism Day with the launch of multilingual audioguides at the Palace Armoury in Valletta. The guides are in 6 languages and the commentary alsoappears in text in all six languages for the hearing impaired and induction loops are available forpeople using hearing aids. The text runs simultaneously with the narration. Tourism and CultureMinister Francis Zammit Dimech was present at the launch and also visited a number of hotels on theoccasion.• 28 September 2005 The Employment and Training Corporation has launched a new scheme to helpyoung people discover and develop their hidden talents by contributing to the community whileworking with non-governmental organisations. The participants will be exempted from registering forwork during this period but do not lose any social benefits or their priority at the end of the scheme.• 28 September 2005 Health, the Elderly and Community Care Minister Louis Deguara said in reply toa parliamentary question that smoking claimed the life of 242 people in Malta and Gozo in the firstseven months of this year.• 28 September 2005 The low-budget movie Godspeed, which was shot in Malta earlier this summer,pumped about €1.2 million into the economy in the space of eight week according to the executiveproducer of the German production company Orange Pictures, Stephan Barth. Mr Barth also stronglypraised the facilities at the Mediterranean Film Studios, describing them as "perfect".

• 29 September 2005 A high level meeting between Malta and Italy to address illegal immigration willbe held in Rome in October, the foreign ministers of both countries announced. The meeting wasrequested by Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo during talks he had with his Italian counterpartGianfranco Fini. Mr Fini accepted immediately, suggesting chairing the meeting himself. Dr Frendotold a joint press conference in Valletta that the two countries wanted to intensify collaboration andcombat this international criminal phenomenon.• 29 September 2005 Wartime memories were evoked during the inauguration of the Malta AviationFoundation Battle Of Malta Memorial Hangar at Ta' Qali. Before unveiling a commemorative plaquePresident Edward Fenech-Adami said that the air battle of Malta was still vivid in those who were hisage and older. However, there was a risk that children and grandchildren would forget and take forgranted what had been achieved. So it was good to have visible signs that would make everyoneremember.• 29 September 2005 Committed expenditure on medical equipment for the Mater Dei Hospital, up toJune this year reached €31.2 million, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in reply to a parliamentaryquestion.• 29 September 2005 There could be no better argument in favour of additional golf courses in Maltathan the fact that both the Nationalist Party and the Malta Labour Party agree to such a development,Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said. "I think there is agreement between thetwo major parties that Malta needs three golf courses. So I don't think I need to make a better argumentin favour," Dr Zammit Dimech said when fielding questions at a Business Today breakfast seminar atthe Radisson SAS in St Julians.• 29 September 2005 The European Parliament sent mixed messages over Turkey's start of accessionnegotiations with the EU. While adopting a political resolution that the talks can start as scheduled onMonday, MEPs decided to postpone a vote on the approval of the protocol extending Turkey'sassociation agreement with the EU to the 10 new member states. This was one of the main conditionsimposed on Turkey in order to start negotiations. The five Maltese MEPs also seem to have differentviews on Turkey's accession.• 30 September 2005 Malta had one of the biggest positive shifts in the UNCTAD inward foreign directinvestment performance index last year, climbing to 84 from 107 in 2003 according to the WorldInvestment Report published by the UN agency.• 30 September 2005 EU ambassadors again failed to agree on the way forward on the opening ofaccession talks with Turkey which should commence on Monday. Malta was drawn into the disputebetween the two sides as the diplomatic climate between the EU and Turkey gets stormier.• 30 September 2005 The Central Bank decided to retain the central intervention rate unchanged at3.25% after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Advisory Council. The governor, Michael C. Bonello,observed that since the previous council meeting there had been no developments that would justify achange of the monetary policy stance, noting in particular the continued stability in financial marketconditions.• 30 September 2005 Schools in and around San Gwann were evacuated and residents told to stayindoors as much as possible as a fire broke out in a paint factory at about 8.30 a.m. and took the bestpart of the day to put out. Civil Protection Department chief Peter Cordina told journalists on site thatthe evacuation of the schools situated in the smoke's trajectory was a mere precaution.• 30 September 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea launched a new systemof grants applicable to students joining post-secondary and tertiary institutions this October. Dr Galeatold a press conference the government was putting off the possibility of introducing tuition fees forundergraduate courses for the time being, adding that the new grant schemes would be revised in fiveyears' time.OCTOBER• 1 October 2005 About 150 irregular immigrants, probably from Africa, landed in Cirkewwa aboard afishing boat not longer than 10 metres. Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said inParliament there was clearly a criminal organisation behind the transport of migrants that made it toMalta over the past days. The number of migrants in detention centres is close to 1,700.

• 1 October 2005 The restoration of the Manoel Theatre is set to continue and Malta InternationalAirport has agreed to keep sponsoring the project for at least another year, covering the refurbishmentof the auditorium ceiling. Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said the fact thatthere were three cultural centres in Valletta - the Manoel Theatre, St James' Cavalier and theMediterranean Conference Centre - was proof of the work being done to bring culture closer to thepeople.• 1 October 2005 The US government will build an embassy compound at Ta' Qali on a governmentownedsite it bought for $18.5 million. A preliminary agreement for the sale of the site was signed, thegovernment said. Both parties will now be discussing the terms of the final contract that will besubmitted to Parliament for approval. US Ambassador Molly Bordonaro said the construction of a newAmerican embassy in Malta will pump $50 million into the local economy.• 1 October 2005 Malta needs to stop bickering about needed reforms and get on with restructuring theeconomy, Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said. Dr Gatt wasspeaking at the launch of the Malta Business Technology Network, a forum for academics,businessmen and investors in the area of information technology. The minister stressed the need for ashift from a low-end manufacturing to a high-end service economy.• 1 October 2005 The government's recurrent revenue in the first eight months of this year reachedLm530.5 million and made up 58.9% of this year's budget forecast. The National Statistics Office saidthat compared to the same period last year, this represents an increase of Lm61.5 million, or 13.1%. Atthe same time, total expenditure amounted to Lm621.6 million, an increase of Lm39.9 million, or6.8%, from the Lm581.8 million expended in the same period in 2004.• 1 October 2005 The National Statistics Office said the percentage of people aged 65 years and over,which at the end of 2004 stood at 13.3% of the population, was projected to climb to 22% by 2035.Providing statistics to mark the UN International Day of Older Persons, the NSO said the indicationsare that an encouraging number of older persons remain active in various sectors of life.• 2 October 2005 Five youths died in a horrific traffic accident, throwing the nation into shock and thevillage of Qrendi into mourning. It was Malta's worst traffic accident on record. The five, all fromQrendi, were travelling in a panelled van with another two passengers when the vehicle suddenly wentout of control and slammed into a wall on the recently rebuilt Rabat-Zebbug road at around 12.45 a.m.The young men's families received calls by Acting Prime Minister Louis Galea, Archbishop JosephMercieca and Opposition Leader Alfred Sant.• 2 October 2005 The largest patrol boat ever to be operated by the Armed Forces of Malta's MaritimeSquadron arrived in Malta coincidentally on the 35th anniversary of the formation of the regularelement of the Armed Forces. P61, a DiCiotti class vessel adapted for Malta's needs, was built atFincantieri Muggiano shipyard at La Spezia in Italy and has been financed by the Italian financialprotocol.• 2 October 2005 Tunisian Agriculture and Hydraulic Resources Minister, Mohamed Habib Haddad,was in Malta for talks with Rural Affairs and Environment Minister George Pullicino andParliamentary Secretary Francis Agius. An official statement said they put forward the twogovernments' willingness to diversify and enhance further bilateral co-operation in the fields ofagriculture and fisheries. The Tunisian minister was reciprocating an official visit paid by Mr Pullicinoin April.• 2 October 2005 A survey conducted recently by the European Union shows that the Maltese areamong the most proficient in foreign languages among nationals of EU member states. Results of aEurobarometer survey published last week show that 93% of the Maltese know at least one languageother than their mother tongue.• 3 October 2005 The World War II holocaust should serve as a reminder to all those in Malta takingpart in demonstrations that "attack the fundamental rights of human beings", Prime Minister LawrenceGonzi said with reference to the protests against the illegal immigrants landing in Malta. The PrimeMinister was speaking after touring the evocative and haunting Holocaust Museum during a three-dayvisit to the US capital and Detroit.• 3 October 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi wrote to Giulio Tremonti congratulating him on hisappointment as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy and Finance of Italy.

• 4 October 2005 The US moved a step closer to reinstating a double taxation agreement with Maltaafter President George W. Bush raised the subject himself and made a clear commitment to worktowards this goal during a meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at the White House. DrGonzi emerged from the 35-minute meeting at the Oval Office satisfied that Malta's status as agateway to Europe and North Africa for investors would be enhanced as a result of the positive movemade by Mr Bush.• 4 October 2005 Malta has made a proposal at the EU to transfer the technology it has developed inwater desalination to the Gaza Strip and even to assist in the construction of a sea port. Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi told foreign and Maltese reporters at the National Press Club in Washington that“Malta would be pleased to transfer the technology to a region like Gaza as well as assisting furthertechnological development to suit the specific environment”.• 4 October 2005 A last-minute agreement on the official opening of accession talks with Turkey wasachieved after more than 30 hours of wrangling over different versions of the text to be adopted. Theopening ceremony attended by EU Foreign Ministers and their Turkish counterpart Abdul Gul wasdelayed until close to midnight following various objections by the Austrian delegation. Malta wasrepresented by Ambassador Richard Cachia Caruana replacing Foreign Affairs Minister MichaelFrendo who is accompanying the Prime Minister in Washington• 4 October 2005 Judges and magistrates who cannot cope with the workload, despite their best efforts,are in need of help and not of fingers pointed at them, as seems to be suggested in the White Paper onthe administration of justice, according to Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano. He was speaking duringthe ceremony marking the opening of the forensic year.• 4 October 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Deguara said the governmentneeds to make an allocation of Lm2 million in the forthcoming budget to cover precautions for thepandemic flu. Dr Galea was giving a presentation on the pandemic flu to the Parliamentary SocialAffairs Committee.• 4 October 2005 The price of both unleaded and lead replacement petrol has gone up by 3c9 a litre dueto a rise in the price of oil, according to the Investments, Industry and Information TechnologyMinistry. Unleaded petrol has increased to 44c5 a litre and lead replacement petrol now sells at 47c5 alitre. The price of diesel has also gone up, by 3c to 41c8 a litre.• 4 October 2005 Air Malta and Emirates signed a code share agreement on the Cyprus route, followingsix months of negotiations. This is the sixth such agreement signed by the national carrier with qualityairlines over the last 18 months. Chief Officer Strategic Planning, Dominic Attard, said that suchagreements were a means to increase and improve Air Malta's destination network and connectivity tothe rest of the world, which was critical for the country's economy and business.• 4 October 2005 It was a clear day but daylight was subdued as a result of a partial solar eclipse. Infact, the moon covered 77% of the sun's disc, a phenomenon watched by many through special filters.About 50 people went to the Granaries, in Floriana to watch the eclipse through various telescopes,equipped with safe filters, at an observation post mounted by the Malta Astronomical Society. Theeclipse began at 9.56 a.m. and ended at 12.56 p.m. with the maximum phase of the eclipse occurring at11.23 a.m.• 5 October 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi stressed it was important for Malta to obtain the"right" double taxation agreement with the US that would benefit all types of business. Dr Gonzi said:"The quicker we do it, the better. We want a double taxation agreement that works and brings businessto Malta". He said that as a result of his meeting on Monday with US President George W. Bush, therewas now the political commitment on behalf of the US to reinstate the agreement with Malta, which hedescribed as "a crucial factor".• 6 October 2005 Amendments to the Refugees Act aimed at ironing out abuses in applications forrefugee status started being debated in Parliament. "The government wants to be generous with thosepeople who are deserving of refugee status but it will be tough with those who do not deserve suchstatus" Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg told the House. "We need to use our minds asmuch as our hearts to discuss the issue of illegal migration," he added.• 6 October 2005 Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Minister Austin Gattmade a clear appeal for people to consider the Stock Exchange when making investments, rather than

focusing on property alone. Dr Gatt was speaking at a press conference during which details weregiven of the sale of 20% of the government's shares in Malta International Airport.• 6 October 2005 The government will continue to insist on the agreement reached with the EuropeanUnion allowing Spring hunting for turtle dove and quail, Rural Affairs and the Environment MinisterGeorge Pullicino said in reply to a parliamentary question.• 6 October 2005 The government spent Lm5.8 million on sickness benefits last year, Minister for theFamily and Social Solidarity Dolores Cristina said in reply to a parliamentary question.• 6 October 2005 Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit expressed alarm at the steepincrease in illegal dumping of all sorts of waste in recent months. Mr Zammit, who was speaking nearSan Lucjan, Marsaxlokk, where the result of illegal dumping was being cleaned up, said the CleansingDepartment had collected 12,500 tons of rubbish dumped in valleys, industrial zones and trafficarteries during first nine months of this year.• 6 October 2005 Bio diesel consumption reached a record high last month with sales exceeding250,000 litres, according to the company producing the fuel. Should the same level of consumption beretained in the coming months, the target of 2% bio-fuel set out by the EU will be met. EORCcommercial director Pippo Psaila commended the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment andWasteServ for their efforts in promoting the use of bio diesel.• 6 October 2005 Malta's unemployment rate was 6.4% last August, down from 7.1% a year ago and2.3 percentage points less than the EU average, according to Eurostat. The EU's statistical arm placedMalta in the 10th position in the EU unemployment table together with Hungary. Fourteen memberstates have higher unemployment levels than Malta.• 6 October 2005 The Malta European Consumer Centre was officially opened on Tuesday. The centre,in Old Mint Street, Valletta, forms part of the EU network that informs citizens of their rights asconsumers and assists them in problems met when shopping across borders. It will assist Malteseconsumers having problems with traders in other countries, and will help people outside Malta shouldthey find difficulties with Maltese traders.• 7 October 2005 During a news conference held at Valletta, Tourism and Culture Minister FrancisZammit Dimech underlined the importance of the cruise liner industry. Commenting on the state of theindustry, Dr Zammit Dimech admitted it would be hard to entice the projected 50,000 additionaltourists this year. However, he insisted that the government would do its utmost to recoup the targetednumbers over the coming two years.• 7 October 2005 The government will soon embark on the next step of education reform by launchingthe terms of reference of the National Commission on Higher Education, which will be discussedwidely before being adopted by the government. Speaking during a debate organised by KunsillStudenti Universitarji at the University, Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea saidthe government will be launching the scholarship fund during the next budget.• 8 October 2005 The Government announced that the Brindisi Terminal Italia SpA, owned by theMalta Freeport Corporation, has officially stopped operations and terminated the employment of its100 workers.• 8 October 2005 The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee backed recent suggestions byMalta that non-EU countries should shoulder their responsibility over the wave of irregularimmigration taking place across Europe. A few weeks ago both Foreign Affairs Minister MichaelFrendo, and Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil stated that the EU should start obliging third countries totake back illegal immigrants as part of any other agreement made between the EU and those countries.• 8 October 2005 Flooding in the Marsa area is already less acute even if the Lm700,000 storm-waterproject has still not been completed, Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit said while ona visit to the works. Work on the project started in 2003 with the construction of a 1,200-metre canalfrom Qormi to Marsa. A 12-metre wide bridge in Triq L-Iljun behind the Lowenbrau factory has alsobeen built.• 8 October 2005 An overall drop of 7.5% was registered in the total industrial new orders index in Julythis year compared to the same month last year. The National Statistics Office said the domestic new

orders index registered an increase of 32.6%. On the other hand a drop of 10.2 was recorded in theexport new orders index.• 8 October 2005 The University of Malta has launched a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) course inMediterranean agro-ecosystems management in collaboration with the Faculty of Agriculture at theUniversity of Perugia. To date, 35 students, including six women have been accepted to attend thecourse which starts this month. The course follows a visit by the Parliamentary Secretary forAgriculture and Fisheries Francis Agius to Umbria.• 9 October 2005 All the Egyptian boat people who landed at Cirkewwa last week were deported. In ajoint statement on the repatriation of the Egyptian immigrants, Deputy Prime Minister and HomeAffairs Minister Tonio Borg, Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo and Parliamentary SecretaryTony Abela said efforts are being made to deport other illegal immigrants according to establishedprocedures.• 9 October 2005 Government's consultation process on the 2006 Budget is moving into a higher gearwith a number of consultation meetings with the public, following the publication of the 2006-2010Pre-Budget Document with the title ‘A Better Quality of Life’, on July 30. Finance ParliamentarySecretary Tonio Fenech said that Government was seeking reactions from the public, apart fromobtaining the reactions of the social partners at the Malta Council for Economic and SocialDevelopment (MCESD).• 10 October 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has described the attack made by General Workers'Union president Salvu Sammut on illegal immigrants as "very disturbing". The re-elected GWUpresident told around 700 union delegates in a speech last week that immigrants were taking jobs fromMaltese workers and that immigrant prostitutes were earning double the minimum weekly wage of aMaltese worker.• 10 October 2005 Infant mortality rates in Malta are among the lowest worldwide, the MedicalAssociation of Malta (MAM) said in a statement. MAM said data by the World Health Organisationplaced Malta at the head of the European Union list. And the Central Intelligence Agency World FactBook 2005 listed Malta as the eighth in the world, bettered only by Singapore, Sweden, Hong Kong,Japan, Iceland, Finland and Norway in that order.• 10 October 2005 A team from the BBC that will be filming in Malta next month is trying to get intouch with Maltese people who remember Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's visits to the island inthe mid-20th century. The BBC is producing 3hour-long documentaries to mark the Queen's 80thbirthday in April 2006. A team will be in Malta to film between November 21 and 27 since both theQueen and her husband will be on the island for the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting.• 11 October 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the possibility of the United States andMalta signing a Ship Boarding Agreement as part of the US Proliferation Security Initiative wasamong subjects discussed at his meeting with US President George Bush. "While Malta agrees with theobjective of this initiative - which is to control and stop the shipment of weapons of mass destruction -I also stressed that we have the eighth biggest shipping register in the world” Dr Gonzi said.• 11 October 2005 The government still has to pay out Lm16.6 million due in tax refunds for years ofassessment up to 1998 and Lm3 million for years of assessment since, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzisaid in reply to a parliamentary question.• 11 October 2005 The value of imports in the first eight months of this year dropped by Lm29.8million, or 3.5%, to Lm829.7 million when compared to the same period last year. The NationalStatistics Office said the difference was primarily due to a drop of Lm37.6 million in the value ofimports of machinery and transport equipment. Exports dipped by Lm81.3 million in value,representing a 13.5% decrease from Lm603 million a year earlier.• 11 October 2005 Malta has been engulfed by roadside banners as the countdown to next month'sCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting begins. The colourful banners, sponsored by Bank ofValletta, have been put up at various locations around the island.• 12 October 2005 Air Malta has been appointed official airline for the Commonwealth Heads ofGovernment Meeting (CHOGM) being held in Malta next month. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi saidthat CHOGM 2005 was one of the high profile events that Malta had ever hosted and which will firmlyplace the island in the spotlight of the international media's attention.

• 12 October 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in reply to questions in parliament that soldiershave had their shift temporarily changed to one where they work an entire week on night shift,followed by a week on morning shift and a week in afternoon shift instead of a "day/night/rest/offshift" in a bid to cope with the large number of immigrants at detention centres.• 12 October 2005 Women in the police corps represent only 14.5% of the force, Justice and HomeAffairs Minister Tonio Borg told Parliament. Dr Borg further said that the force now totalled 1,713officers, of whom 340 were honoured with the Long and Efficient Service medals at this year's PoliceDay.• 12 October 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said that Malta would continue to offerprotection to genuine refugees, but it would resolutely not allow itself to be used by human traffickers.The Minister was speaking in Parliament at the end of the debate on a Bill amending the Refugees Act.• 12 October 2005 Amnesty International called on the British EU Presidency to take immediate stepsto implement refugee protection measures and provide adequate solidarity mechanisms to relieve thepressures on Malta, Spain and Italy. The call was made just a day before a crucial meeting of EUjustice ministers in Luxembourg to discuss the spate of illegal immigration affecting primarily thesouthern EU member states.• 12 October 2005 The government revealed that it will be paying around Lm10,000 and Lm30,000respectively to ADI Associates and Hawtree Ltd for an Environmental Impact Assessment andconsultancy services related to the proposed golf course at Xaghra l-Hamra. The figures were revealedby Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech in reply to a parliamentary question.• 12 October 2005 Health, Elderly and Community Care Minister Louis Deguara told Parliament thatmore women than men were admitted to St Luke's Hospital so far this year suffering from drugoverdose.• 12 October 2005 Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said inParliament that twenty factories closed down between 2004 and 2005. Three of these companies wereregistered in the 1960s, while another three were registered in the 1970s, the remainder were registeredduring the 1980s, 1990s and after the year 2000.• 12 October 2005 Total tax revenue last year amounted to Lm638.1 million, an increase of Lm48.8million over the revenue for 2003 according to the National Statistics Office. Indirect taxes at Lm285.2million make up 44.7% of total tax revenues. Indirect taxes are taxes linked to production and imports.This category includes VAT, import duties, excises and other specific taxes on services and onfinancial and capital transactions.• 13 October 2005 Malta will be one of the first countries to receive the vaccine against the viruscausing the dreaded influenza pandemic once this is developed, Health, the Elderly and CommunityCare Minister Louis Deguara said. This, he explained, was because when the government issued thetender for the annual influenza vaccine back in March it imposed a condition that the company wouldalso have to supply the pandemic vaccine immediately this was produced.• 13 October 2005 There are 1,226 migrants in detention centres run by the Detention Service, PrimeMinister Lawrence Gonzi said in reply to a parliamentary question.• 13 October 2005 Debt servicing costs are expected to reach Lm75.1 million this year compared toLm69.6 million last year, according to figures tabled in Parliament by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.The debt servicing bill was Lm18.8 million in 1995.• 14 October 2005 Brussels warned EU member states that an outbreak of avian influenza is possible inthe coming weeks after tests in Romania and Turkey indicated the presence of bird flu in Europe. EUofficials said, however, that there was no cause for panic.• 14 October 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi wrote to his Pakistani counterpart, Shaukat Aziz, toexpress his solidarity and condolences on the loss of life and damage to property caused by the recentearthquake in the north of the country.• 14 October 2005 The need for the Commonwealth to "spread its wings wider" and invite "friendly"countries to become associates was highlighted by Lord Howell of Guildford. He was addressing aconference on The Role Of The Commonwealth Today And The Role Of The United Kingdom And

Malta In Its Future Development during which President Emeritus Guido de Marco called on theCommonwealth to promote the dialogue of civilisations and the interfacing of faith and development.• 14 October 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo has welcomed the decision by theCommonwealth Bank of Australia Group to upgrade its operations in Malta with a full banking licence.He said the "important" step taken by the CBA Group should be interpreted as a vote of confidence inthe Maltese financial services sector and in Malta as a place from where to do business.14 October 2005 The Foreign Affairs Ministry announced an overhaul of its structure aimed atimproving the way it deals with issues in unilateral and multilateral forums. Its current structure wasnot too different from the way it was first set up after Malta gained independence, Foreign AffairsMinister Michael Frendo explained during a press conference. The needs of the ministry and of thecountry, as well as the international scenario had changed so much that radical change was nowneeded, he said.• 14 October 2005 The government announced that restoration works at the Ggantija temples have beencompleted. The project, undertaken following a three-dimensional survey of the temples, was carriedout through the European Union's Solidarity Funds. Following heavy rains in September 2003 and thesubsequent collapse of a section of the temples' outer wall, the Ministry for Gozo obtained Lm36,000from the Solidarity Funds to carry out the necessary works.• 14 October 2005 Jobs related to the tourism sector last year amounted to 8.2% of Malta'semployment, according to Eurostat, the EU's statistical arm. Malta's dependency on tourismemployment ranks second in the European Union and is only surpassed by Cyprus at 8.9%.• 14 October 2005 The Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment and the Commonwealth YouthForum Planning Team held the first meeting to prepare the Maltese delegates who will attend theCommonwealth Youth Forum being held from November 16 to 23 prior to the Commonwealth HeadsOf Government Meeting (CHOGM).• 14 October 2005 Euro-zone GDP grew by 0.3% and EU25 GDP by 0.4% in the second quarter of2005, according to revised estimates from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the EuropeanCommunities. In the first quarter, growth rates were +0.4% in both zones. In comparison with the samequarter of the previous year, GDP grew by 1.% in the euro-zone and by 1.% in the EU25, after +1.3and +1.5% respectively in the previous quarter.• 14 October 2005 Government workers have cleaned up more than seven kilometres of valleys thisyear, Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit said on Tuesday. He said most of the areashad not been cleaned for more than 30 years.• 14 October 2005 Hastings Gardens, set on the bastions of Valletta, are being given a new lease of life.Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit, under whose ministry the works are being carriedout, said the project includes the installation of a drip irrigation system. The project costs Lm220,000which covers the wages of the workers engaged on the rehabilitation.• 14 October 2005 Betfair, the world's largest betting exchange, showed off its new online gaminglicence in Malta, which will boost the island's share of the global gaming industry to around 8%.Speaking during the launch at the Westin Dragonara, Parliamentary Secretary in the Finance MinistryTonio Fenech said that 18 months down the line, the Lotteries and Gaming Authority had processed noless than 103 applications for a remote gaming licence.• 14 October 2005 One out of every five schoolchildren who chat online goes on to meet a stranger thathe or she has communicated with, a national survey has shown, raising the spectre of children possiblyfalling victims to abuse. The survey, Trends In Internet Browsing Among Students, carried out by theNational Statistics Office, indicates a discrepancy between the parents' perception of their children'scomputer habits and what really goes on.• 15 October 2005 The Housing Authority has earmarked Lm3 million of its budget to start buying upvacant property across the island's urban cores. The idea is to purchase about 100 units that it can usefor its various social housing initiatives, including that of shared ownership, authority chairpersonMarisa Micallef said. Data from the 1995 census show that Malta has a growing problem of vacantproperties, with 22,756 premises lying idle for years on end.

• 16 October 2005 The Australian government is planning to introduce changes aimed at further easingthe country's citizenship law. The Australian Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, JohnCobb, made special reference to Maltese/Australian citizenship when speaking about the planned newlaw during an address to the Australian National Press Club on the occasion of the fifth AustralianCitizenship Day celebration.• 16 October 2005 The European Commission launched a website assisting consumers to strike a betterdeal when using mobile phones while abroad. The EU website aims to make it easy for the consumerto find out more details by providing a direct link to the roaming tariff web pages of all the EUoperators. The site gives advice on how to get the best deal and contact points in case of complaints.The new website can be accessed at:http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/roaming/index_en.htm• 16 October 2005 Service users are the "best experts" able to provide advice on the policies andservices that are relevant to them, Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina said.Speaking during a conference organised by her ministry, the Council of Europe and Agenzija Appogg -Service User Involvement in Social Services, Ms Cristina said such users are well able to express theirconcerns, but also their gratitude for the support they receive from the social welfare services.• 17 October 2005 The president of Microsoft International, Jean-Phillippe Courtois, will address theCommonwealth Business Forum 2005 to be held at the Hilton Malta from November 22 to 24. He willjoin more than 40 other high profile business and political speakers at the forum and will speak duringthe session entitled Making Globalisation Work For All - Technology And Development on November24.• 18 October 2005 Minister for Health, the Elderly and Community Care Louis Deguara said thatchecks on poultry have been held for some time and nothing irregular had been detected, in reply to aparliamentary question.• 18 October 2005 A double pricing policy is to be introduced to make it more difficult for vendors toraise prices in the run-up to the introduction of the euro. During a Cabinet meeting it was decided thatthere should be a legal framework for the euro whereby goods would be offered for sale in bothcurrencies. Further information is available from its website: www.euro.gov.mt• 18 October 2005 The National Statistics Office said that outbound air travel during August declinedby 10.5% when compared to the same month last year. The drop in figures confirm comments by travelagents that many people had shifted their holidays to July to avoid paying the additional Lm10departure tax imposed by the government.• 18 October 2005 Parliamentary Secretary within the Ministry of Finance Tonio Fenech proposed thesetting up of a Small States Economic Network within the World Bank and IMF organisations during avisit to the U.S. A government statement said the proposal, prepared in conjunction with economistLino Briguglio and the Central Bank of Malta, was well received by those present for the small statesforum. The World Bank and IMF will now review the proposal over the coming weeks.• 18 October 2005 Parliamentary Secretary within the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs CarmeloMifsud Bonnici said in Parliament that the law courts saw a veritable boom in the filing of judicialletters for debt recovery last week, with 120 letters having been filed. The new procedures provide thatjudicial letters involving claims for up to Lm5,000 would become executive titles if they are notcontested within 30 days.• 18 October 2005 Malta Enterprise last year attracted 15 foreign owned industrial projects to Malta.They will involve a total investment of Lm19.3 million over three years and employ 825 people,Minister of Investments, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said in reply to aparliamentary question.• 18 October 2005 Figures given by Minister of Education, Youth and Employment Louis Galea inreply to a parliamentary question showed that the number of people registered in part one of theunemployment register in September was the lowest in three years. There were 6,508 registered jobseekers last September compared to 7,382 in the same month last year, 7,233 in 2003, 6,771 in 2002and 6,215 in 2001. There were 5,486 registered in 1996 and 8,011 in 1999.

• 18 October 2005 The Consumer and Competition Division has started carrying out inspections tocheck whether a potentially dangerous chemical is being used by local henna tattooists. All hennatattooists operating locally will be investigated.• 19 October 2005 The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting should be used to market thecountry, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told the 16 sponsors who together have contributed morethan Lm500,000 towards the event. Their support would contribute towards the success of one of themost important events Malta has seen since Independence, bringing over one-third of the world'sleaders to Malta, the Prime Minister said, expressing his appreciation towards the sponsors at theWestin Dragonara Resort.• 19 October 2005 The government was not taking lightly the looming threat posed by avian influenza,Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino said as he announced a series ofmeasures aimed at preventing and preparing for any outbreak of the disease. The measures include asimulation exercise, the registration of birds by backyard breeders, the strengthening of frontiercontrols, checks on wild ducks and the dissemination of information to hunters.• 19 October 2005 The government awarded a Lm2 million contract for the rebuilding of a stretch ofroad in Hal Far, the first to be co-financed by the European Union. The contract had been awarded to aMaltese consortium, MAC Joint Venture, made up of Schembri Infrastructures and Bonnici BrothersLtd. It covers the redevelopment of a three-kilometre stretch from the roundabout junction near theAFM barracks in Hal Far to the Malta Freeport.• 19 October 2005 The question of tolerance and harnessing faiths and culture to address extremism andintolerance, which has helped feed the scourge of terrorism, is an emerging issue for theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta. Matthew Neuhaus, director of thepolitical affairs division within the Commonwealth Secretariat, expects that the issue will be on theagenda of the meeting to be held next month.• 19 October 2005 The government was investing heavily in the fisheries sector and was focusing itsefforts on a Lm2 million project to have dry-standing facilities in Marsaxlokk, Rural Affairs and theEnvironment Minister George Pullicino said. This project, which would allow boats to be broughtashore for any repair works, is being funded mainly by the EU, with the government forking out just aquarter of the cost.• 19 October 2005 Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo said that the government was giving priorityto ensuring that a review of power tariffs would have the least impact possible on competitiveness andthe business sector. Closing a three-day debate in Parliament on the implementation of the EU'sCharter on Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Mr Vassallo said an action plan implemented by thegovernment had enabled SMEs to make the transition to a new scenario where Malta was part of thewhole European market and new procedures had to be introduced accordingly.• 19 October 2005 The government transferred Lm11.6 million to Church schools for the last scholasticyear, Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea said in reply to a Parliamentaryquestion. He said Lm9.9 million went for teachers' salaries, Lm1.3 million for other salaries andLm385,000 for other purposes.• 20 October 2005 European Commission Vice President Franco Frattini has taken up the Maltesegovernment's proposal to create an emergency fund to help countries like Malta deal better with theinflux of illegal immigrants. Mr Frattini has given instructions for the setting up of the fund, whichreach €20 million and hopefully become available by the beginning of next summer, according to hisspokesman during an interview with a local newspaper.• 20 October 2005 Addressing mayors, Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicinosaid the new dumping and littering regulations introducing fines ranging between Lm25 and Lm50 forlittering and Lm1,000 and Lm2,500 for dumping come into effect tomorrow. Until the end of the year,offenders will only be warned but if they are caught dumping or littering again after January theywould have to pay the fines for the two infringements.• 20 October 2005 Malta has failed to meet a deadline to submit a a detailed report to the EuropeanCommission justifying the use of a derogation under article nine of the EU's Birds Directive permittingthe hunting of turtledove and quail in spring. The report had to be submitted by the end of last month.A spokesman for the Environment Ministry said the report was still being compiled but will becompleted shortly.

• 20 October 2005 The European Centre for Disease Prevention (ECDP) said in a report that the fluvirus in its present form poses a very low risk to human health and the risk of infection for most peoplein Europe is close to zero. The analysis shows that human cases of H5N1 bird flu in Asia are almostentirely among people who have had close contact with infected poultry.• 20 October 2005 A permanent exhibition called The Three Cities - Roots Of A Nation has beeninaugurated as part of the Delta Project at Bieb is-Sultan, Notre Dame Gate in Zabbar. The exhibitionwas inaugurated by Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, who said this was one ofthree pilot projects conducted as part of the Euromed Heritage initiative, funded by EU Meda funds.• 20 October 2005 The challenge Malta and other destinations are facing in tourism is to strike abalance between attracting a slice of the growing low-cost airline segment without irreversiblydamaging the delicate relations that underpin the industry, according to Tourism and Culture MinisterFrancis Zammit Dimech. He was speaking during a conference entitled New Developments InTransnational Companies In Travel, Transport And Tourism: Restructuring And Competitiveness.• 21 October 2005 Malta ranks as the least corrupt country among the new EU member states,according to Transparency International, the global watchdog devoted to curbing corruption. Placed25 th among 159 countries, Malta was also given a higher ranking than Portugal, Italy and Greece,which lie in 26 th , 40 th and 47 th place respectively in the least corrupt index.• 21 October 2005 Malta presented its three-year programme of planned reforms to the EU aimed atboosting the island's chances of reaching by 2010 its Lisbon Agenda targets. Competitiveness andCommunications Minister Censu Galea, who participated in a Competitiveness Day organised at theEuropean Parliament in Brussels by the Federation of European Industry and Commerce, UNICE, saidthat Malta's National Reform Programme (NRP) was presented to the Commission.• 21 October 2005 President Emeritus Guido de Marco will lead the Commonwealth Observer Group tothe elections in Tanzania which are to be held on October 30. The elections are for the post ofPresident of the United Republic of Tanzania, the President of Zanzibar, the National Assembly ofTanzania, the House of Representatives in Zanzibar and the local authorities.• 21 October 2005 The renewed European tourism policy will aim to focus on better regulation,European Commission vice-president Günter Verheugen said. It will work to cut red tape, moderniseexisting regulations, simplify rules and improve impact assessments. Mr Verheugen planned to put thispolicy framework, which will be implemented in partnership with the member states and the tourismstakeholders, forward to the Commission within the coming months. He was addressing the fourthEuropean Tourism Forum, which is being held in Malta.• 21 October 2005 The government and opposition have welcomed the €20 million illegal immigrationemergency fund announced by the EU Commission. Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said thesetting up of such a fund shows that the EU understood Malta's position.• 22 October 2005 Atlantica Spa di Navigazione initialled an agreement to buy the government's 69%shares in Sea Malta, paying €1 million for the company's goodwill and $5.25 million for the MalteseFalcon, among other things. The move ends over a year of tough negotiations, conducted amidcontroversy over the strategic importance of having a shipping line and the resignation of the chairmanMarlene Mizzi, who objected to the privatisation.• 22 October 2005 Preliminary statistics show the economy has grown for the third consecutive quarter,Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said during a political activity. The policies the government wasimplementing were reaping fruit - and it was starting to show, he said. Information, still to befinalised, shows that the country's economy has registered a growth for the third consecutive quarter.The figure, was corroborated by equally encouraging unemployment rates and healthy turnover fromVAT.• 22 October 2005 Tonio Fenech, the parliamentary secretary within the Finance Ministry, said that thegovernment is busy working out how to share the burden of the oil price hikes fairly across differentsectors, The Cabinet has been discussing what measures to take in order to make up for a Lm50 millionhole which Enemalta is expected to incur given the present oil prices and the way that prices mayincrease in the coming years, he said.

• 22 October 2005 65 warnings in connection with littering and illegal dumping were issue by the newplain clothes eco-wardens. The new dumping and littering regulations carry fines ranging from Lm25to Lm50 for littering and Lm1,000 to Lm2,500 for dumping. Anyone warned during the trial period,i.e. from now until the end of the year, and caught littering or dumping in the new year will be liable topay the fines for both infringements.• 23 October 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi underlined Government's commitment to have theoil prices burden shared as much as possible. Speaking at a workshop in San Gwann as part of apolitical activity, he said the 17% surcharge needed to rise, but added that the government was lookingat all options to ensure that the burden was carried equally.• 23 October 2005 Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt harshlycriticised former Sea Malta chairman Marlene Mizzi as he distributed 600 pages of reports to the mediato prove that the privatisation of the national shipping line was above board. Dr Gatt said the politicalbickering surrounding the sale of Sea Malta had harmed Malta and potential foreign investment.• 23 October 2005 The government ruled out any windfall taxes or the postponement of its capitalpayments to compensate for the rise in oil prices. Enemalta Corporation has a Lm50 million hole asinternational oil prices hit $70 a barrel. Investment, Industry and IT Minister Dr Austin Gatt said thatthe Government was determined to work out a system where the burden of the oil price hikes wasshared fairly.• 24 October 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi issued another warning that "sacrifices will beinevitable" in order to tackle the impact that soaring international oil prices were having on thecountry. He was speaking at the end of a political activity. Dr Gonzi said the government had to takedifficult decisions but promised "burdens will be shared fairly".• 24 October 2005 The number of inactive people in Malta - those who can work but do not - is thehighest in the European Union, mainly because of a very low female employment rate, according to thelatest Employment Report issued by the EU. According to the EU's Lisbon strategy, all EU memberstates have to raise their overall employment rate to as close as possible to 70% by 2010 and to 60%for women.• 24 October 2005 The National Statistics Office said that during the third quarter of this year totalsales by manufacturing enterprises went down by Lm21 million or 8% to Lm239.9 million fromLm260.9 million for the July-September quarter in 2004. Employment in the sampled enterprisesdeclined by 332 employees to 19,566 when compared to 19,898 for the same period the year before.• 24 October 2005 Three lifeless bodies, suspected to be those of illegal immigrants, were recoveredfrom the sea off St Paul's Bay by the Armed Forces and another two were reported to have beensighted in the same area. Many immigrants have died while crossing the Mediterranean from Africa toEurope in search of a better life and this looks like being another such tragedy.• 25 October 2005 Malta and Britain are "on the same wavelength" when facing the challenges ofglobalisation and economic reform in Europe, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said after meeting TonyBlair at 10, Downing Street. Both leaders agreed that illegal immigration had to be tackled as part ofthe world's response to globalisation. The main issues discussed were the EU summit in London,globalisation, economic reform and a possible budget deal in the EU, the Commonwealth summit to beheld in Malta in November and illegal immigration.• 25 October 2005 Malta will form part of the Mediterranean marine region together with Spain, France,Italy, Slovenia, Greece and Cyprus under a marine environment strategy unveiled by the EUCommission. The strategy is meant to ensure that EU seas are environmentally healthy by 2021,Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said.• 25 October 2005 The number of cruise liner passengers who visited the island during the first ninemonths of this year increased by 10.5% to 224,480 over the same period last year, the NationalStatistics Office said. In September alone, however, the number of passengers dipped by 11.7%, a dropof 5,490 over the corresponding month a year ago when the total was 41,326.• 25 October 2005 The government has so far spent Lm596,784 on the Commonwealth Heads ofGovernment Meeting (CHOGM) and committed Lm1.5 million, Foreign Affairs Minister MichaelFrendo said in reply to a parliamentary question. Some of the spending would be recouped throughpayment for services to journalists and the accommodation of delegates. The CHOGM Task Force

secured sponsorships from four companies in which the government had a stake, seven private Maltesefirms and four multinationals.• 25 October 2005 Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin is the only head of government who has so farindicated he will not attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta, ForeignAffairs Minister Michael Frendo said in reply to a parliamentary question.• 25 October 2005 The government has so far spent Lm9.7 million on the Cirkewwa/Mgarr harboursproject, Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea said in reply to a parliamentaryquestion. All but Lm1.7 million were spent on Cirkewwa.• 25 October 2005 A delegation made up of directors of Volksbank in Malta and Austria paid a courtesycall on President Edward Fenech Adami to mark the tenth anniversary of business operations on theisland. The President welcomed Volksbank Malta chairman Maurice Mizzi, managing director HerbertSkok and director Werner Wess at the Palace in Valletta.• 26 October 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced that the electricity surcharge has beenraised from 17% to 55% to cushion the impact of the spiralling oil prices. Unleaded and leadreplacement petrol prices will increase by 3c a litre, though kerosene and diesel prices will remainunchanged. Petrol prices will now be reviewed monthly and not every quarter. "We'd be irresponsibleto ignore the reality of the soaring oil prices. We can't be the exception," Prime Minister LawrenceGonzi told a news conference at Auberge de Castille, as he announced the much-anticipated hikes.• 26 October 2005 The European Union decided to ban for a least a month the importation of live birdsby member states. The decision was made by the Commission's standing committee on the food chainand animal health in view of the latest incident involving a parrot imported from Surinam into the UKand which was found to have the deadly bird-flu strain. Malta was represented at the meeting by anofficial from the veterinary services department.• 26 October 2005 The strengthening of bilateral relations between Malta and Egypt, particularly atparliamentary level, was the main subject of talks held between Speaker Anton Tabone and EgyptianAmbassador Adbelkarim Mahmoud Soliman. Mr Tabone spoke about Malta's initiative to establish theParliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and the country's bid to host its Secretariat in Malta. TheEgyptian ambassador confirmed Egypt's support for Malta's initiative and its bid to host the secretariatin Malta.• 27 October 2005 Various activities have been underway at the Mediterranean Conference Centre(MCC) in Valletta over the past months as 18 restoration projects were carried out in time forCHOGM. The MCC will host the opening ceremony of CHOGM on November 25. The 53 worldleaders expected to attend the summit will then move on to the SAS Radisson Golden Sands Resort, inGhajn Tuffieha for the meeting. The restoration project was inaugurated by Prime Minister LawrenceGonzi. Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, was also present.• 27 October 2005 A total of 567,104 kilogrammes of fresh fish were landed in the September quarterthis year. The National Statistics Office said that when compared to the 311,648 kilogrammes landedin the same period last year, the volume was up by 255,456 kilogrammes (+82%).• 27 October 2005 The Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta, the venue for the openingceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, will undergo some transformation toaccommodate a music and dance show. CHOGM task force head Salv Stellini said a budget of up toLm50,000 was allocated for the opening ceremony and Welcomevents, which was awarded the tender,would be spending about Lm49,500.• 27 October 2005 A document on the Conservation of Fuel, Energy and Natural Resources, launchedby the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry, is proposing to reinstate laws which make the use ofdouble leaf masonry wall (hajt doblu) in all new buildings mandatory. Resources and InfrastructureMinister Ninu Zammit, was addressing architects and engineers at Le Meridien Phoenicia, in Floriana,Malta was obliged to adopt a EU directive on better use of energy in buildings by January, but thiscould possibly be delayed by three years.• 27 October 2005 Illegal immigration will definitely be discussed during next month's Commonwealthsummit (CHOGM) in Malta, according to Matthew Neuhaus, the Commonwealth's director of politicalaffairs. Speaking during a briefing for Maltese journalists at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London,Mr Neuhaus said: "Illegal immigration is a serious problem not only in the Mediterranean but in the

whole world and it will definitely be on the Commonwealth summit's agenda and will be discussed bythe member states."• 27 October 2005 The EU's development policy should be geared to encourage fragile states to movetowards good governance, honour their international obligations, shoulder responsibility and combatinternational criminal networks, Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo told EU developmentministers at a conference in Leeds. Dr Frendo participated in two sessions and contributed todiscussions on the EU's draft development policy as well as the Union's strategy on Africa.• 28 October 2005 President Edward Fenech Adami received three new diplomats accredited to Malta.They were Susanto Sutoyo, Ambassador of Indonesia, Lucy M. Mungoma High Commissioner forZambia, and Anne Belinda Nyikoli, High Commissioner for Kenya (above). The ceremony, duringwhich the diplomats presented their documents to Dr Fenech Adami, took place in the Ambassadors'Room at the Palace, Valletta.• 28 October 2005 Describing Gorg Borg Olivier as "a quiet achiever", his biographer Henry Frendosaid at the launch of the book Gorg Borg Olivier, Patrijott Liberali Malti that the holding of theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta would be a vindication of the former PrimeMinister's policy of independence within the Commonwealth. In a foreword to the 600-page volume,Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi says that, as befits a leading professional historian, Prof. Frendo hadwritten "a biography not a eulogy".• 28 October 2005 European Union leaders cautiously approved a set of reform proposals by theEuropean Commission including a fund to help those who lost their job as a result of globalisation.Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said there was support among all the EU leaders for economic reformand for better regulations to encourage economic growth. "We should not be scared of globalisation,"Dr Gonzi told Maltese journalists at the end of the summit.• 28 October 2005 EU help to Malta on illegal immigration is on its way and concrete measures will beintroduced before next summer, according to the EU spokesman for justice and home affairs. Detailswere discussed during a tripartite summit in Rome held between EU Commissioner Franco Frattini,Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg and Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo and theirItalian counterparts Gianfranco Fini and Giuseppe Pisanu. The talks, at the Italian Foreign Ministry,were described as very fruitful by the Maltese and Italian ministers and by Commissioner Frattini.• 28 October 2005 The Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Malta next month willprovide an opportunity for Malta to showcase its rich heritage and achievements to the Commonwealthand the world, Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon says in the November issue of MaltaThis Month, Air Malta's in-flight magazine. The November issue of the magazine also carries aninterview with Dr Gonzi.• 28 October 2005 The Commonwealth Local Government Forum is hoping that the Malta CHOGMnext month will formally endorse the Aberdeen Agenda as part of the Commonwealth's fundamentalpolitical principles in its final communiqué. The forum's acting chairman, Robert Montague ofJamaica, who held meetings with government officials and representatives of the Local CouncilsDepartment, said Malta had a key role to play internationally.• 28 October 2005 The EU25 external current account recorded a deficit of €21.2 billion in the secondquarter of this year, as compared to a deficit of €6.5 billion in the second quarter of last year and adeficit of €18.4 billion in the first quarter of this year, Eurostat, the statistical arm of the EU reported.• 28 October 2005 Just over 19% of all Maltese children were born out of wedlock last year, a hugeleap from the 1.1% registered 25 years ago. The statistics were published as part of a demographicEurostat report, although local figures issued by the National Statistics Office had already indicated asimilar trend.• 28 October 2005 Sea traffic in given areas around Malta will be restricted between November 22 and28 in view of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The armed forces have in factestablished three maritime exclusion zones which are delineated by imaginary lines and theintermediate coastline. In addition, no movements whatsoever will be allowed within the indicatedareas and the intermediate coastline, including the area within Grand Harbour and Marsamxettoharbour, the MMA said.

• 28 October 2005 Just a few years ago, many used to say that Malta did not have a problem ofdomestic violence and child abuse but Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristinaexplained that it was more a case of nobody wanting to speak about it. The Minister was speaking atlaunch of The Body Shop’s campaign to raise funds to help Agenzija Appogg and Foundazzjoni Suretil-Bniedem.• 28 October 2005 The Central Bank of Malta left the central intervention rate unchanged at 3.25%.The decision was taken by the Governor, Michael C. Bonello, at the end of the Monetary PolicyAdvisory Council meeting. The Governor considered that at its current level, the central interventionrate continued to provide adequate support to the Maltese lira in ERM II.• 28 October 2005 The government said that the EU ban on the importation of live birds from outsidethe Union does not apply to chickens but to birds imported for "commercial reasons" and those whichare to be sold as pets. The ban, which holds until the end of next month, forms part of efforts to preventa possible spread of avian flu.• 28 October 2005 Total nights spent in hotels and other accommodation establishments increased by0.3% to 952,198 in July and dropped by 3.9% to 1,016,602 in August when compared to the samemonths last year, the National Statistics Office said. Year-on-year, a drop in the average length of staywas registered, from 7.3 to 6.7 nights in July and from 7.6 to seven nights in August.• 28 October 2005 The cost of telephone and internet interceptions by the Security Service has beenpassed to the operators, Malta Communications Authority chairman Joe Tabone told the House PublicAccounts Committee. He did not discount the possibility that eventually, the operators would pass thefinancial burden on the consumers.• 28 October 2005 The Foundation for Medical Science is no longer involved in policy-making on tothe building of the Mater Dei Hospital. Its new role is the carrying out of policies as directed by theMinistry of Finance and to see that the hospital is commissioned by 2007 and within the stipulatedbudget of Lm183 million for the building and perimeter roads. The chairman of the foundation, PaulCamilleri told the House Public Accounts Committee that meetings were being held between theMinistry of Health officials and other entities regarding many aspects of the new hospital including therehabilitation unit.• 28 October 2005 The code-sharing agreement between Air Malta and Qantas signed last March willcome into force on Sunday. The agreement has paved the way for Air Malta to place its two-letter(KM) code on Qantas's daily London flights to and from Sydney and to and from Melbourne.• 29 October 2005 The shortfall between recurrent revenue and total expenditure in the first ninemonths of this year amounted to Lm85.4 million, compared to Lm109.9 million a year ago, theNational Statistics Office said. Recurrent revenue totalled Lm606.9 million and made up 67.4% of thisyear's budget forecast, compared to the recurrent revenue during the same period last year, thisrepresents an increase of Lm68.7 million, or 12.8%.• 29 October 2005 Malta and Italy have reached an agreement providing for Italian embassies incountries where Malta does not have diplomatic or consular representation to issue visas on its behalfto applicants wishing to visit the island, the government said. The agreement was signed in Romebetween Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo and his Italian counterpart Gianfranco Fini.• 29 October 2005 An Italian minister applauded Malta for its "zero tolerance" policy towards illegalimmigrants and said the Italian government should follow its example. Speaking during a conferenceon illegal immigration in Rome, the Italian Minister for Reforms, Roberto Calderoli, said statisticspublished recently show that Italy is being invaded by illegal immigrants. He announced he would beproposing that the Italian government adopts a policy similar to that introduced in Malta.• 29 October 2005 The focus of the Commonwealth team of observers led by President Emeritus Guidode Marco has now shifted completely from the elections in the Republic of Tanzania to the tense pollsin the autonomous Zanzibar archipelago. Prof. de Marco said the elections marked a very importantmoment for the country. They are truly a test for multi-party democracy, he said.• 30 October 2005 Fourteen organisations were presented with Lm732,449 - most of the proceedsraised by the charity marathon TV programme L-Istrina 2004 - in the presence of the President EdwardFenech Adami and his wife, Mrs Fenech Adami. The programme had collected Lm1,270,403 but

Lm477,268 had been donated to the Tsunami Fund earlier in the year and expenses for theprogramme's production amounted to Lm60,686.• 30 October 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi promised there would be some "good news" in theBudget and he maintained that the facts and figures about the economy would speak for themselves.Dr Gonzi, who is also the finance minister, said the economy is moving forward and there has beenstrong positive economic growth in the third quarter of the year in spite of the government reducing itsexpenditure - which means that a good deal of that growth is coming from private enterprise.• 30 October 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi on Friday launched the official CHOGM bookwhich will be presented to over 50 heads of government participating in the Commonwealth Heads ofGovernment Meeting next month. In the book, Malta: A Coastal Journey, photographer Kurt Arrigotakes readers on a spectacular voyage around the Maltese Islands, above and below sea level.• 30 October 2005 Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech met the social partners for last-minutefeedback on some of the measures which the government will announce in the Budget. Following atwo-hour meeting at the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development in Floriana, Mr Fenechsaid he had presented "a number of options" to social partners. "The government has listened to whatthey had to say," Mr Fenech said, refraining from divulging any details.• 30 October 2005 A revised Electoral Register for General Elections and for local councils as well asthe European Union Electoral Register has been published in the Government Gazette of October 26.Any appeals are to be submitted to a Revising Officer by November 16.• 30 October 2005 "Borg Olivier … reconciled the Maltese to nationalism because his was a Maltesenationalism, moderate, modern and thus acceptable." President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnicidelivered this assessment of the late Maltese statesman, under whose premiership Malta obtained itsindependence, when giving the Giorgio Borg Olivier Memorial Lecture last Friday. The lecture wasattended by President Eddie Fenech Adami, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Dr Tonio Borg amongothers.• 31 October 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi all but ruled out a change in income tax bands in thebudget but such a process would be set in motion and a positive fiscal move would be announced. ThePrime Minister said economic performance for the third quarter of the year had been good and heexpected the "forward-looking" budget being presented in Parliament "to reflect that". Dr Gonzi, whois also the Finance Minister, said the decisions taken were in line with the pre-budget documentpublished last July.• 31 October 2005 Bank of Valletta has started promoting the Commonwealth Heads of GovernmentMeeting (CHOGM) on its network of ATMs. The screens on all ATMs in Malta and Gozo have beenredesigned and now include the CHOGM official bank logo. ATMs are expected to be usedextensively by CHOGM delegates during their visit to Malta in November. BOV is the officialCHOGM bank and will be exclusively setting up its ATMs at the Radisson SAS Baypoint resort foruse by the delegations.NOVEMBER• 1 November 2005 The government announced a revision of capital gains tax and a wage increase ofLm2.25 in the budget speech. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told Parliament the budget for 2006recognised the strengths the people attained "and secured the vision, strategy and programme of worksthat build on these strengths so that our country continues to progress". Dr Gonzi said the governmentwas revising its deficit reduction targets so that the deficit at the end of next year would reach 2.8% ofGDP instead of the 2.3% projected in the Convergence Programme presented to the EU.• 1 November 2005 The budget has provided a sound financial basis for better things to come,according to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. As the deficit "sound barrier" would be broken nextyear, the government could start ploughing back the benefits through tax relief measures, Dr Gonzitold a news conference shortly after his budget speech. The budget, he said, had unveiled encouragingfinancial results coupled with good economic growth - despite the huge challenges posed by the priceof oil and globalisation.

• 1 November 2005 The Prime Minister tabled in Parliament the final report on pension reformsubmitted to the government by a Working Group on June 30 this year. The Pensions Working Grouphas revised many of the original proposals made last year in the White Paper, taking into considerationmuch of the feedback received over the past 12 months.• 1 November 2005 The Pensions Working Group has presented calculations on the level of adequacyof the current pension scheme and showed that for those aged over 45 the pension would fall if therewere no reform at all. However, for those aged 45 or under, the scenario is different. They would begetting only 14.1% of their wage by 2050, a figure that is boosted to 38.6% by the revisedrecommendations presented by the Working Group, considerably closer to the World Bank target of40%.• 1 November 2005 Preliminary estimates indicate that in real terms the Gross Domestic Product grewby 2.7% in the third quarter, the National Statistics Office said. The NSO said the preliminary estimateof change in the Maltese economy, as measured through GDP at current prices, shows a rise of 4.7%,to Lm501.5 million, compared with the corresponding period last year.• 1 November 2005 The government will present a report outlining the way in which Malta has madeuse of a derogation to the EU's Birds Directive. Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister GeorgePullicino said the government was committed in ensuring that hunting and trapping of turtle doves andquails would continue taking place in Malta in spring. However, he said, the government was alsodetermined to ensure that this was done within the parameters of the law.• 1 November 2005 The labour supply dropped by 717 in September compared to the same month in2004, provisional figures show. The National Statistics Office said the drop was the result of anincrease of 213 persons in the gainfully occupied population and a drop of 930 persons on theunemployment register.• 2 November 2005 EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini will be pushing for a mechanism thatensures Malta gets a good slice of the E20 million immigration emergency fund, according to Justiceand Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg. Dr Borg said that in line with Mr Frattini's plans, Malta'sentitlement will not be tied to how many immigrants are detained on the island but rather on how bigthe problem is when the size of the country and the population density are taken into consideration.• 2 November 2005 Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit visited the derelict Jumbo Lidoin Qui-Si-Sana, Sliema. Workmen employed with the Infrastructure Ministry's Works Division spenthours carefully dismantling metal railings and electricity poles, separating waste at source. The sitehas long been abandoned and served only as an unsightly inconvenience to swimmers and residents.• 2 November 2005 A total of 126 written warnings, apart from a large number of verbal warnings,were issued by plainclothes environment wardens in the first six days following the introduction ofregulations against littering, the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment said. The regulationscame into effect on a trial basis on October 21 and will become effective on January 1. At present thewardens are only issuing warnings.• 2 November 2005 Bank of Valletta, the CHOGM Official Bank, announced that the CHOGMOfficial Bank, will also be sponsoring the Commonwealth People's Forum due to be held here betweenNovember 21 and 25. The forum’s purpose is to provide a space for interaction amongCommonwealth civil society organisations, and between such organisations and governments. It willinclude civil society meetings, exhibitions and cultural activities.• 2 November 2005 Education and Employment Minister Louis Galea underscored the government'scommitment to raise the participation rate in the labour market. Speaking in Parliament at the openingof the annual debate on the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC), he said that ETC would fornext year have a budget of Lm2.5 million and it would receive a further Lm2.3 million from theEuropean Social Fund and European Regional Fund.• 2 November 2005 The National Statistics Office said that the cost of vegetables increased by 19% inSeptember over the same month last year and the price of fruit dropped by 32.3%. The "all items"vegetables price index for last September stood at 85.06 points and was 13.58 points higher thanSeptember 2004. The NSO said this was due to increases in the average unit prices for potatoes,tomatoes, vegetable marrows, cabbages and carrots and drops in the monthly average unit prices ofcauliflowers, sugar melons, water melons and dry onions.

• 2 November 2005 Government workers last month collected 1,600 tons of rubbish at a cost to thecountry of Lm48,000 according to a spokesman for the Infrastructure and Resources Ministry. Morethan Lm400,000 had been spent so far this year to clear up rubbish dumped illegally in various parts ofthe island.• 2 November 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea said that a total of 484babies were born to single mothers between January and the end of August this year, including onewhose mother was 14. The oldest single mother was 43. The Minister was speaking in reply to aparliamentary question.• 2 November 2005 A total of 13,497 vehicles have so far been reported through 29,186 SMS messagesfor excessive emissions. Urban Development and the Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett said that 742vehicles had been tested to far, of which 30% failed. The owners were fined and the vehicles will betested again until they pass. Tests are pending for another 525 other vehicles.• 2 November 2005 A new consortium by the name of Media Centre Services Consortium, formedbetween Casapinta Design Group Ltd and Sign-It Ltd, has been awarded the contract for theconstruction of the media centre for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)being held later this month. The consortium said it was the only bidder.• 3 November 2005 Malta is proposing a National Reform Programme encompassing an investment of€227,569,863 in a bid to secure the country's competitiveness, economic growth and job creation interms of the EU's Lisbon Agenda. The implementation of the programme will be financed locally andthrough various EU programmes. Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galealaunched the programme identifying as key priority areas the sustainability of public finances,competitiveness, employment, education and the environment.• 3 November 2005 Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt has warnedSea Malta employees in a letter that voting against the privatisation of the company will result in themlosing their jobs and redundancy packages. The letter was sent to all Sea Malta workers. Workers canaccept or refuse privatisation by taking or leaving the package they are being offered by Atlantica diNavigazione Spa, the company that wants to buy the company.• 3 November 2005 Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, executive deputy chairman of Cable and Wireless,paid a courtesy visit to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at Auberge de Castille. Lord Robertson was inMalta to address a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association workshop for small countries onNetworking For Development.• 3 November 2005 Malta has submitted its candidacy for the chairmanship of the Council of EuropeDevelopment Bank following a fresh call for applications. The Council of Europe Development Bankwas set up in 1965 and is considered to be the oldest international financial institution in Europe. Maltahas formed part of the bank since 1973.• 3 November 2005 The number of commuters using the buses increased by 1% in the year up to lastSeptember 30, while revenue from fares rose by 23% during the same period, figures published in theannual report of the Malta Transport Authority show. The number of commuters rose to 30.1 millionfrom 29.9 million in the previous year. The bus service had revenue from fares of Lm6.1 million in2004-2005 from Lm5 million in the previous year.• 4 November 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami was presented with the Letters of Commission byJamilud Din Ahsan, High Commissioner of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, and Letters ofCredence by Nguyen Van Nam, Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The ceremonytook place in the Ambassadors' Room at the Palace, Valletta. Both diplomats are non-resident.• 4 November 2005 The Government announced that tests have confirmed that the birds found deadaboard a ship at the Freeport last week did not die of avian influenza. Samples from the birds weresent to the Weybridge Laboratory in Surrey, UK to ensure that any suspicion related to the incidentwould be eradicated.• 4 November 2005 The European Commission is looking into the possibility of financing the recentdeal struck between the Maltese and Dutch governments for the resettlement of up to 30 refugees fromMalta to The Netherlands according to a spokesman for Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini. Thespokesman reiterated the Commission's support of the idea of "burden sharing" between member statesto tackle the problem of illegal immigration.

• 4 November 2005 Director-general and chief executive of the Commonwealth Business Council saidthat the Commonwealth Business Forum to be held a few days before the Commonwealth Heads ofGovernment Summit (CHOGM) in Malta will try to reach business solutions aimed at makingglobalisation work for all. Mohan Kaul was speaking at a business breakfast organised by The MaltaBusiness Weekly.• 4 November 2005 A bid to bring the European Union closer to people was launched in Valletta,taking the form of a fair that groups together all the agencies in Malta that provide information aboutthe EU. The fair was aimed at raising awareness of the various entities providing information relatingto EU affairs, programmes and support in Malta and Gozo.• 4 November 2005 Youth, Education and Employment Minister Louis Galea stressed that variousmeasures being taken by the government are aimed at preparing young people and workers for thedemands of the economy in the future. Dr Galea, who was speaking at the end of the ETC debate inParliament, said that the Labour market was changing and the educational base of the workforce wasimproving, but much more remained to be done. Raising education levels was seen by the governmentas an essential condition for economic growth.• 4 November 2005 Austria's embassy in Malta, its first permanent representation here since 1797, wasofficially opened by the Secretary General of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AmbassadorJohannes Kyrle. The Austrian mission had been closed after the departure of the Knights of Malta.The embassy is at Whitehall Mansions, Ta' Xbiex, a building which also houses the British HighCommission and the embassies of the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.• 4 November 2005 The Customs Department seized 16 million smuggled cigarettes packed in twocontainers, the largest haul of its kind in Malta. The cigarettes were discovered in two 40-footcontainers, hidden behind boxes of car spare parts, a spokesman for Customs said.• 5 November 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi presided over the commissioning ceremony of thenew Diciotti class patrol boat donated by the Italian government under the fifth Italo-Maltese FinancialProtocol, at the AFM Maritime Squadron in Pieta. The vessel will serve as replacement for the ex-EastGerman navy Kondor class offshore patrol boats that have recently been decommissioned. The 54-metre-long, 450-tonne craft is capable of a maximum speed of 20 knots and an unrefuelled range ofover 3,000 nautical miles.• 5 November 2005 Malta is still far from ready to adopt the euro in 2008, according to a new reportissued by the European Commission. A check-list of 38 changeover characteristics drawn up by theEuropean Commission and which are expected to be in place before a country can adopt the newcurrency shows that Malta has so far only met three characteristics and is working on another one.• 5 November 2005 The National Statistics Office said that according to the Labour Force Surveyconducted by the Employment and Training Corporation, the unemployment rate in the three months toJuly this year stood at 7.5%.• 6 November 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi ruled out an additional cost of living increase,despite a General Workers Union request to cushion further the water and electricity surcharge. DrGonzi who was speaking during his monthly press briefing at Castille, also said that the Governmentwas succeeding in its economic and fiscal goals, and had done its utmost to safeguard the jobs of theestimated 800 workers of Denim Services Ltd among other topics. The Prime Minister also ruled outsuggestions that he give up the Finance Ministry portfolio because of his tight schedule, saying hebelieved he was managing to cope with his political commitments. Audio recording of the briefing canbe accessed on the following link:http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/archive/Pmpressstatements/audiorecording%20%2005.11.05%20pmpressbriefing.asp• 6 November 2005 Malta's preparations to adopt the euro in 2008 are gaining momentum and are ontrack, according to the chairman of the National Euro Changeover Committee (NECC). Joseph F.X.Zahra, chairman of the changeover committee, said that work within the NECC and its executive unit,which has only been in operation since July, has gained momentum and the level of preparations wasmoving ahead according to schedule.• 6 November 2005 During the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association workshop for smallcountries on Networking for Development, held in Malta last week, it was agreed that the progressmade in the ICT sector within Commonwealth countries and the strategies it proposes to spur thepotential of ICTs in the states' social and economic development should be supported by all

Commonwealth parliaments and governments. Anton Tabone, Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives, delivered the welcoming address, highlighting the importance of such an activity onthe eve of the CHOGM.• 6 November 2005 The Maltese Bible Society published eight volumes of the Bible - the four Gospels,the Book of Psalms and the Acts of the Apostles – in braille. The ambitious project was the result ofefforts by the Maltese Bible Society, which obtained help from the United Bible Societies, to realise adream of many blind Maltese. A symbolic donation of Lm10 is being asked to cover the eightvolumes, but if people could not afford to make the donation, the volumes were free.• 7 November 2005 Malta ranked first for the number of complaints per capita submitted to theEuropean Ombudsman last year. Maltese citizens sent 38 complaints to the EU ombudsman in 2004,which amounts to 1% of the total number of complaints received from all the 25 member states. Theisland was followed by Cyprus and Luxembourg, according to a report released by the EuropeanOmbudsman.• 7 November 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the budget confirmed that the governmentwas achieving its aim of cutting the country's deficit. Speaking during a visit to the fruit and vegetablesfair during a political activity at Ta' Qali, Dr Gonzi said the deficit had already been scaled down toLm76 million and it was to be cut further to Lm55 million next year. This was being attained withoutan increase in taxation or without any new taxes.• 7 November 2005 Malta registered a slight increase of 0.3% in its rate of unemployment lastSeptember when compared to the same month of the previous year. According to statistics just issuedby Eurostat, the EU's statistics arm, the level of unemployment in Malta stood at 7.8% in September. Ayear earlier, Malta had 7.5% unemployment. An increase of 1.5 percentage points was registeredamong women while a decrease of 0.2 per cent was recorded among men.• 8 November 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami said that as an EU member state, Malta istailoring itself to meet the challenges of a modern, globally oriented economy. He was addressing abusiness presentation in Madrid entitled Malta-Spain Business Partners. The President and Mrs.Fenech Adami were on an official visit to Spain, the first by a Maltese Head of State to that country.• 8 November 2005 Opposition leader Alfred Sant summed up his reaction to the budget speech in fourwords: Are you better off? This question, he said, was the crucial test of the budget exercise, more soas the slogan announced by the government for the budget was "Building on our strengths, for a betterquality of life." In a two-hour speech, Dr Sant also insisted that the 50c compensation given for theincrease in the water and electricity tariffs was inadequate.• 8 November 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the analysis of the budget by the leader ofthe opposition was superficial and blatantly incorrect at least on one point. Speaking during a pressconference held back to back with Dr Sant's reply to the budget speech, the Prime Minister said that DrSant had made a blatant mistake when he said that the government was projecting to recover someLm2.5 million more in taxes for 2006 from homes for the elderly.• 8 November 2005 Malta's first Hospitality And Leisure Trade Fair was officially opened by Tourismand Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, at the Trade Fair Grounds in Naxxar. This specialisedfair brings together over 50 exhibitors who are key strategic suppliers of the industry. It is supported bythe Ministry for Tourism and Culture, the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), The Institute for TourismStudies (ITS) and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA).• 8 November 2005 The recent elections in the United Republic of Tanzania were clear evidence of thedetermination of the people of Zanzibar to make the most of their democratic rights, according to thedeparture statement of the Commonwealth Observer Group, which was headed by President EmeritusGuido de Marco. During the group's presence in Zanzibar, there was a heavy presence of securityforces, including riot police and soldiers.• 8 November 2005 Sandro Angiolini, a commissioned auditor for the European Commission's DGEnvironment Life Unit, paid a three-day visit to Malta in connection with two EU-funded Life projects.Mr Angiolini carried out a post-evaluation audit of one project dealing with the Ramla l-Hamra andGhajn Tuffieha protected sites, and an evaluation of an ongoing project whose beneficiary is the NGONature Trust (Malta), centred on the sustainable management of the Dwejra Park in Gozo.• 8 November 2005 In the first 10 days since the new regulations against illegal dumping and litteringwere introduced, plainclothes wardens have issued 412 written warnings in various towns and villages,

an average of about 40 a day. Some 65 warnings were issued in connection with littering and flydumping on the first day alone by the 24 "eco-wardens".• 8 November 2005 A year after a person quits smoking, the risk of a heart attack is cut by a quarter,according to an EU campaign on living without tobacco. In a statement just released, the campaign,Help for Life Without Tobacco Ten, said that 10 years after quitting, the risk of heart attack comesdown to the same level as for a person who has never smoked and the risk of lung cancer falls to halfthat of a smoker.• 8 November 2005 The volume of retail trade grew by 0.9% in the euro-zone and by 1.4% in the EU25in September over the same month last year. Compared to August 2005, the retail sales index fell by0.4% in the euro-zone and 0.1% in the EU25.• 8 November 2005 Malta's High Commissioner in London, Michael Refalo, has been appointed to theBoard of Trustees of the Commonwealth Institute. He was also elected a member of theCommonwealth Foundation Grants Committee.• 8 November 2005 A total of 624 vehicles have been tested so far after more than 31,100 textmessages were sent to the Malta Transport Authority reporting vehicles spewing exhaust fumes,according to figures issued by the authority. 10% of the tests were on public transport vehicles wherethe failure rate was the same as that for other vehicles. Vehicle owners who do not take their car forthe test are issued with a road licence restriction preventing them from renewing their road licence untiltheir vehicle passes the test.• 9 November 2005 The 59 BMWs being used for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetingwill be auctioned in aid of charity. The new cars will have one important owner; a President or PrimeMinister for 3 days. CHOGM 2005 task force chairman Salv Stellini said during a press conferencethat the auction was the most straightforward, above board and transparent way of selling the cars.BMW will recoup the cost price of the vehicles while the charity marathon programme L-Istrina willreceive Lm5,000, or more from each sale, depending on the margin of profit.• 9 November 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami met Spanish Prime Minister José Luis RodriguezZapatero during his state visit to Spain. The President was accompanied by Foreign Affairs MinisterMichael Frendo. When discussing the problem of irregular immigration, Dr Fenech Adami said thatonce immigrants were granted the right to stay in a host country they may not succeed in integratingwithin the society. Southern European countries need to coordinate their efforts in dealing with suchproblems.• 10 November 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced that the government is fine-tuning themeasures on property tax announced in the budget to address problems pointed out from severalquarters. Dr Gonzi told Parliament that the introduction of the final withholding tax on properties hadbeen very well received by those who had inherited property.• 10 November 2005 Malta and Spain have agreed to hold political consultations on an annual basis ina bid to strengthen the relations between the two countries. Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendoand his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos decided on Tuesday that the consultationmeetings should be held alternately in the capital of each country. The two foreign ministers met inMadrid where Dr Frendo was accompanying a delegation headed by President Edward Fenech-Adami.• 10 November 2005 The chairman of Public Broadcasting Services, Andrew Agius Muscat and thechairman of its editorial board, Fr Joe Borg have both resigned. The resignations have been acceptedby Minister for Industry, Investment and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt, who isresponsible for PBS. Both Mr Agius Muscat and Fr Borg cited personal reasons for their resignation.• 10 November 2005 A detailed analysis of the state of the environment in various Mediterraneancountries shows that the south of Malta suffers from a big number of environmental problems. Thereport, Priority Issues In The Mediterranean Environment, was published jointly by the EuropeanEnvironment Agency (EEA) and the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan.• 10 November 2005 Malta's Ambassador to Germany, John Paul Grech, has presented his diplomaticcredentials to German President Horst Kohler in Berlin. President Kohler and Mr Grech discussedseveral issues including the political and economic situation in Malta following the first anniversary ofEU membership and Malta's role in the Mediterranean. Ambassador Grech extended an invitation tothe Federal President for a state visit to the island.

• 10 November 2005 Air Malta's revenue dropped by Lm1.7 million while costs were cut by almostLm500,000 between April and September. This was achieved in spite of a Lm3 million increase in thecost of jet fuel during the period. When compared to the same period last year, punctuality wasimproved by seven points, reaching 80%. In the three months ending September, the airline operated3,050 flights, representing an increase of 47 flights. Seat load factor on scheduled services recorded amarginal improvement on last year reaching 74%.• 10 November 2005 The director general of the Malta Insurance Association, Anton Felice, said thatthere were no particular policy conditions or restrictions regarding avian influenza or pandemic flu."There is no need to raise any unnecessary concern on the cover which is already enjoyed by policyholders, including life insurance, travel policies and health insurance," he said.• 10 November 2005 Schools have 8,521 computers, of which 7,510 are desktop models and theremainder laptops, a survey on information communications technology conducted by the NationalStatistics Office shows. The average number of computers per school stood at 53. This average was 59in public and 39 in private schools. On average, the number of desktop computers in secondaryschools is greater than that in primary schools.• 10 November 2005 A total of 6,800 people have registered waterfowl, poultry and fancy birds withtheir local councils, the government said. As part of its precautions in case of an avian influenzaoutbreak, the Food and Veterinary Division asked all bird owners to have them registered at localcouncils. A total of 4,953 people registered their birds in Malta and 1,847 did so in Gozo.• 11 November 2005 Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech has presented a detailedmemorandum to the Prime Minister proposing a business offer to low-cost airlines in an attempt tobridge the gap between the government's position and their demands. The memorandum includesseveral initiatives to try and drive down the costs and hinges on several factors, including seasonality.• 11 November 2005 The President and Mrs Fenech-Adami returned to Malta at the end of a four-dayofficial visit to Spain. During the visit the President met Pasqual Maragall, President of the regionalgovernment of Catalunya in Barcelona. He held other meetings with Ernest Benach I. Pascual, Speakerof the Catalan Parliament, and with Joan Clos, Mayor of Barcelona. Dr Fenech-Adami also addressed abusiness seminar organised by Malta Enterprise.• 12 November 2005 Nearly 200 irregular immigrants packed on board a fishing boat landed inDelimara, bringing the total number of migrant arrivals this year to 1,800 - an all-time high for Malta.It was one of the largest-ever single landings of immigrants in Malta, as the problem of humantrafficking tails into the autumn months.• 12 November 2005 Air Malta signed a three-year agreement worth £60 million (Lm38 million) withExcel Aviation for over 3,000 flights carrying around one million passengers. The charter flights willbe operated by Air Malta from its UK bases in Bristol and Birmingham to various destinationsincluding the Canary Islands, Spanish Mediterranean Resorts, the Greek Islands, Cyprus, Red SeaResorts, Turkey and to a number of skiing destinations. Air Malta's intra-European operations weremade possible as a result of Malta's EU membership, a statement by the national airline said• 12 November 2005 Andrew Agius Muscat and Fr Joe Borg insisted that, contrary to speculation, theirresignation from top posts at Public Broadcasting Services had not been sparked off by of some fall-outwith Minister for Industry, Investment and Information Technology Austin Gatt. They both cited"personal reasons" for their resignation.• 12 November 2005 The cruise passenger terminal at the Valletta Waterfront will start operating nextMarch and the first retail outlets are expected to open for business during the first week of December.During an on-site visit, Minister for Urban Development and Roads Jesmond Mugliett said that heexpected that over the coming months the government will multiply its efforts to complement theworks being undertaken by Viset plc. These works are specifically aimed at increasing accessibility tothe waterfront.• 12 November 2005 Manufacturers have reported reduced orders and a negative assessment of stocksof finished products during September and October, industry survey results published by theFederation of Industry show. The findings show, however, that firms have positive productionexpectations for the following three months.• 12 November 2005 A study carried out by the Health Promotion Department has shown that mostchildren are falling short of meeting the physical activity guidelines recommended by the World Health

Organisation, the Malta Olympic Committee said at the launch of a seminar on the role of sportsscience in relation to young athletes. The study, carried out under the auspices of the World HealthOrganisation, showed that only 42% of 11-year-olds, 37% cent of 13-year-olds and 25% of 15-yearoldswere meeting the WHO guidelines.• 12 November 2005 Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said the Malta Council forCulture and the Arts will be undergoing a process of restructuring in order to render its managementsmoother and enable it to better focus on its core activities. The council's new board will be composedof Hans Cauchi (chairman), Josef Camilleri (deputy chairman), Francesca Balzan, Mro. Philip Ciantar,Isabelle Gatt, George Glanville, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Kevin Sciberras and Rev. Prof. PeterSerracino Inglott.• 12 November 2005 The government will introduce important legislation next year to continue thereform of the administration of justice, Parliamentary Secretary Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said inParliament. He said there would be further amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code ofOrganisation and Civil Procedure as well as laws on the execution of warrants and a law for thecreation of an Administrative Tribunal.• 12 November 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said that following the agreementreached with Holland, another two countries, one of them in the EU, have agreed to settle migrantswho landed in Malta. He told Parliament during the budget debate that illegal migration was thebiggest challenge which his ministry faced last year. The government's policy was to help those whowere deserving of assistance while being firm with those who did not deserve protection.• 12 November 2005 A second Admissions and Emergency Department would be set up at St Luke'sHospital during an influenza pandemic so that flu patients do not mix with other patients. Attemptswould also be made to keep other flu patients admitted to hospital separate from others, NationalInfluenza Pandemic Standing Committee chairman Tanya Melillo said. Nigel Lightfoot, the director ofEmergency Response within the UK's Health Protection Agency, said the World Health Organisationstates that the UK is the most prepared country. But Malta was not far behind, he added.• 13 November 2005 Pupils were absent from school for an average of 10.2 days each during the 2003-2004 scholastic year, a recently published report shows. The report - School Attendance Improvement -shows that the absenteeism rate decreased by 0.3% in the 2003-2004 scholastic year from the previousyear. In fact, quoting figures by the National Statistics Office, the report says in the 2002-2003scholastic year, every pupil was absent for an average of 10.5 days, which meant that 11.4% of allschooldays were missed.• 14 November 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that despite the challenges, the country wasmoving forward and had achieved excellent results that would be even stronger in the months ahead.Apart from external challenges, the country also had to face internal waves, he said, referring to whathe called the opposition leader's fabrications. The Prime Minister was speaking at a dialogue meetingon the budget, Nibnu Fuq Hilitna (building on our abilities), at Msida.• 14 November 2005 Hundreds gathered to pay tribute to the victims of the two world wars at the WarMemorial, in Floriana. Remembrance Day is actually celebrated on November 11, marking the 11thhour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the signing of Armistice on November 11, 1918, thatsignalled the end of World War I. Wreaths were laid at the foot of the memorial by President EdwardFenech-Adami, followed by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Opposition Leader Alfred Sant, theRoyal British Legion (Malta) chairman and others.• 14 November 2005 Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh confirmed that he had dropped out of theCommonwealth Heads of State Meeting in Malta later this month because it coincided with theopening of the winter session of Parliament. Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin was forced to skipCHOGM to be in Kelowna, in British Columbia, next month for an unprecedented meeting of premiersand native leaders aimed at figuring out how to improve the lives of aboriginals in the coming decade.Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew will attend instead.• 14 November 2005 The target set by the government last year to raise the number of tourist arrivalsby between 100,000 and 150,000 by 2006-2007 is still in place even though the projected increase of50,000 more tourists this year will not be achieved, Tourism and Culture Minister Francis ZammitDimech told Parliament. That target was announced in the budget speech for 2005, when the PrimeMinister had said the government wanted the number of arrivals to grow by 50,000 per year for threeyears.

• 15 November 2005 The government denied reports in the local and foreign media that local securityforces had information about possible terrorist attacks during the Commonwealth summit to be held inMalta. However, Maltese security forces were taking the necessary precautions that have to be taken inthe light of the presence of 53 heads of government from Commonwealth countries.• 15 November 2005 The government intends to wage war on buildings outside development zoneswith tougher regulations and better enforcement. Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister GeorgePullicino said that measures were being discussed to stamp out abuse in land use and speed up theenforcement process. He said the initiatives would apply to every type of structure, including hidesused by hunters and trappers.• 15 November 2005 Total expenditure on social security benefits during the first nine months of 2005amounted to Lm163.7 million, an increase of Lm8.1 million or 5.2% over the same period in 2004,according to the National Statistics Office. Pensions, the main component of contributory benefits,increased by Lm5.1 million, mainly due to an increase of Lm4.5 million in the two-thirds pension. Thisincrease was brought about by a net increase in the number of beneficiaries.• 15 November 2005 A "draft white paper" on reform of the rent laws will be presented to the Cabinet,Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina said. She also announced that a reform of theinvalidity pension is to be discussed in Cabinet and that a council is to be formed to oversee standardsof service in the social sector.• 15 November 2005 Total imports for September reached Lm103.3 million, representing an increase ofLm8.1 million when compared to the same month last year, according to the National Statistics Office.The importation of industrial supplies showed an upward trend of Lm4.1 million to Lm48.9 million.There was a decrease of Lm800,000 in imports of capital goods while imports of consumer goods wentdown by Lm100,000 to Lm29.6 million. An increase of Lm4.9 million was registered in theimportation of fuel and lubricants.• 16 November 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami unveiled the latest of Caffe Cordina’a uniqueceiling frescos, a work by artist Madeleine Gera which portrays Malta’s entry into the European Union.The occasion was the Caffe’s 61 st anniversary.• 16 November 2005 The Medical Association of Malta withdrew the directives that risked disruptingsome arrangements for next week's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The associationand St Luke's Hospital have agreed to increase the number of doctors at the Accident and EmergencyDepartment and review the roster system. The agreement guarantees that medical services will beforthcoming during CHOGM, the government said.• 16 November 2005 Allied Newspapers Ltd, which publishes The Times and The Sunday Times, is theofficial media partner for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting being held in Malta nextweek. In the run-up to the event, The Times and The Sunday Times are promoting CHOGM in thenewspapers and online version which also includes a link to the official CHOGM website.• 16 November 2005 Journalists were shown round the press centre at the Eden Arena in St Julians thatwill be used by the foreign media coming on the island for the Commonwealth Head of GovernmentsMeeting (CHOGM). The media and Foreign Affairs Minister Michel Frendo were shown the facilitiesavailable by CHOGM task force chairman Salv Stellini and technical director Chris Scicluna.• 16 November 2005 80 computers have been set up for the CHOGM media centre. This is apart from40 laptop points and 468 outlet points for Ethernet and telephone devices over 1,500 square metres ofspace. There are offices all around that will be used by the large media organisations as well as theDepartment of Information and the Commonwealth Secretariat, among others.• 16 November 2005 Michael Refalo, Malta's High Commissioner in the United Kingdom, visited theCommonwealth Countries League Fair at Kensington and Chelsea Town Hall. Dr Refalo was shown asegment of the Golden Tapestry, made up of embroided panels produced by Commonwealth and Ukschoolchildren, that will be exhibited at the Commonwealth People's Forum and later at theCommonwealth summit in Malta.• 16 November 2005 Malta's economy is showing positive signs and according to the latest figurespublished by Eurostat, the EU's statistical arm, the island registered a 2.7% point growth in its GDP inthe third quarter of this year. This growth figure is one of the highest among the 25 member states forthe July-September period, even if new members like Lithuania and Slovakia registered growth ratessurpassing the six percentage point mark.

• 16 November 2005 Maltapost has issued the "close off" dates for posting Christmas mail to ensuredelivery in time. Parcels to all countries should be posted by not later than the last week in November(November 21-26). Air mail to all countries should be mailed by not later than the first week inDecember (November 28 to December 3). Cards, letters to local addresses are to be dispatched by notlater than the second week in December (December 5 to 10).• 16 November 2005 Fragmented representation sometimes makes it difficult to assess what disabledpersons actually want, according to the Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, Dolores Cristina.In Malta there are about 80 organisations working for disabled persons. Ms Cristina was addressingthe UK EU Presidency Disability Conference entitled Improving Life Chances Of Disabled People, inLondon last week.• 17 November 2005 Maltapost will be issuing a set of four stamps to mark the Commonwealth Headsof Government Meeting. The stamps valued at 14c, 28c, 37c and 75c were designed by Harry Borg.• 17 November 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami was presented with a copy of In The Editor'sChair, consisting of the memoirs of Charles Grech Orr who spent 25 years as editor of The Times. MrGrech Orr's journalistic career spanned 43 years.• 17 November 2005 Air Malta has taken the opportunity of the Commonwealth Heads of GovernmentMeeting (CHOGM) to launch a new in-flight entertainment product on its new fleet of Airbus planes.Air Malta is the official carrier for CHOGM.• 17 November 2005 Security and stability in the Mediterranean and the importance of internationalcooperation against terrorism were discussed at a meeting between the Prime Minister and GeneralCharles F. Wald, deputy commander of the US European Command in Stuttgart. Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi reiterated Malta's commitment to strengthen relations with the United States,especially in its war on terror. Dr Gonzi also mentioned the importance of coordination on a technicaland military level between Malta and the US.• 17 November 2005 A filigree replica of the Queen's crown encrusted with more than 520 preciousstones and weighing 1.2kg is one of the main attractions at this year's exhibition of Sterling Jewellers.The exhibition coincides with Sterling's sponsorship of the Commonwealth Heads of GovernmentMeeting (CHOGM) and gives the public the rare chance to see the Commonwealth mace. Sterling willcraft the gifts that will be presented by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to the heads of delegation andtheir wives: gold and silver cufflinks for the men and a filigree Maltese cross for the women.• 17 November 2005 The opening session of the Commonwealth Youth Forum started at the SuncrestHotel in Qawra, the first of a series of events culminating in the Commonwealth Heads of GovernmentMeeting. About 130 delegates from 30 countries are taking part in the forum which will run untilNovember 23. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was present for the opening of the forum, hosted by theMinistry of Education, Youth and Employment in partnership with the National Youth Council ofMalta, the Commonwealth Youth Programme and the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council.• 18 November 2005 Buckingham Palace has had no hesitation in publishing details of the Queen'sstate visit to Malta, despite media reports that Her Majesty could potentially be the target of terrorists.During a news conference at Castille, both the British High Commission and the Office of the PrimeMinister downplayed the threats of any attack against the Queen, though both insisted that theauthorities were not complacent. Security forces will be in full force during the Queen's fourth officialvisit to Malta.• 18 November 2005 The government submitted to the EU a report aimed at justifying the use of aderogation allowing turtle dove and quail to be shot in spring. A government spokesman said thegovernment had taken so long to submit the report as it had no prior experience in compiling such adocument. This was the first time, the spokesman added, that Malta had to justify the use of aderogation allowing spring hunting.• 18 November 2005 Bank of Valletta has presented Lm2,000 to the police ahead of theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) next week. The donation is intended tohelp enhance the police offers' personal equipment and to help them be more professional both in theirappearance and in the service they will be giving, the bank said.• 18 November 2005 Even the Manoel Theatre will be doing its part to promote CHOGM. Two uniqueconcerts, The Commonwealth Resounds! and A Gala Concerto For CHOGM presented by the Royal

Overseas League, will highlight the crucial role that music plays in fostering the spirit ofunderstanding, friendship and fraternity among the peoples of the Commonwealth and of the world.• 18 November 2005 Malta is to open an embassy in Lisbon and a High Commission in New Delhi,Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo announced in Parliament. It also intends having diplomaticrepresentation in Tel Aviv and Ramallah. Speaking during the budget debate, Dr Frendo alsoannounced that the United States has agreed to take people granted refugee status in Malta under arepatriation programme.• 18 November 2005 The government has a long-term vision for the upgrading of the Maltese roadsnetwork. While work on the arterial roads will enter its second phase next year, there would also be anincreased emphasis on 'residential roads' Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliettsaid in Parliament during the budget debate. He said this government's record with regard to thedevelopment of the infrastructure was second to none.• 18 November 2005 Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs of the UK have agreed to help the taxauthorities strengthen the capacity of the VAT Department and Tax Compliance Unit in the fightagainst tax fraud and evasion. Technical assistance will be given under a twinning agreement with theVAT Department funded by the European Union. Parliamentary Secretary at the Finance MinistryTonio Fenech said at the launch of the project on Wednesday that the fight against VAT fraud was oneof the top priorities of tax administrations.• 18 November 2005 Anton Tabone, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, accompanied by MPJoseph Falzon and MP Joe Mizzi, paid an official visit to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg fromNovember 13 to 16. The Maltese delegation held talks with the Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies ofthe Grand Duchy, in particular with Lucien Weiler, its President and with the Foreign and EuropeanAffairs Committee.• 18 November 2005 Seasonally adjusted industrial production fell by 0.4% in the euro-zone inSeptember 2005 compared to August. Production increased by 0.8% in August and by 0.1% in July.Output in the EU25 remained stable in September 2005, after increases of 0.4% in August and 0.1% inJuly.• 18 November 2005 An agreement was reached with Star Cruise for the line to use Malta as a homeport next year and Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech has described thedevelopment as an important breakthrough. The cruise liner Super Star Libra, owned by Star Cruises,a leading line in Malaysia, will be based in Malta between June and October for cruises that will startand finish in Valletta.• 18 November 2005 A total of 22,828 Maltese travelled out of the island last September, the NationalStatistics Office said. Of these, 20,089 passengers left by air - a drop of 18.6% over the same monthlast year. The rest used marine transport. The most frequent destination was the UK which accountedfor 22.3% of the air travellers.• 18 November 2005 There were 277,018 licensed motor vehicles at the end of last September,according to the National Statistics Office. The bulk, 208,756, were private vehicles while commercialvehicles amounted to 45,424. The number of new licences issued during the third quarter of this yearamounted to 3,404, the NSO said. Private vehicles accounted for 2,454 of them.• 18 November 2005 André Bugeja, coordinator of the Malta STOPoverty! Campaign, which started atthe beginning of the year and is entering into its third phase said that the worldwide campaign againstextreme poverty has been launched “because we cannot stand this injustice anymore”. On White bandday, December 10, a symbolic march from City Gate to the President's Palace takes place at 11 a.m.• 19 November 2005 The United States and Malta have agreed on a programme to resettle 30 refugeesfrom Malta each year, Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said. Refugees - not individuals withhumanitarian protection or illegal immigrants in detention - would be able to apply for the programmeunder which 30 refugees living in Malta would be resettled in the US.• 19 November 2005 Queen Elizabeth II has approved the appointment of Albert Mizzi as an HonoraryOfficer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), the British High Commission said.Mr and Mrs Mizzi will meet Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh during their state visit to Malta.Mr Mizzi is the chairman of Midi plc, HSBC Bank (Malta) plc and of the Alf Mizzi & Sons Group ofCompanies.

• 19 November 2005 The government has decided that all those members of the security servicesinvolved in the holding of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will be given a bonus,Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in Parliament. Winding up the budget debate, Dr Gonzi said themembers of the army and the other security services were facing trying times in view of CHOGM andthe Queen's visit and the government would be giving a bonus to all involved in these operations.• 19 November 2005 The budget for 2006 was approved by the House of Representatives with 28 votesin favour and 23 against. The budget was presented on October 31 and the estimates were debated over16 sittings.• 19 November 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo, Scottish Youth Parliament chairmanRajiv Joshi and New Delhi-based Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative coordinator Claire Doubeaddressed the Commonwealth Youth Forum on its second day. The Commonwealth Youth Forum aimsto promote the values and principles of the Commonwealth by supporting young people as activecitizens and change-makers contributing to the development of their communities and theCommonwealth.• 20 November 2005 The government has defended itself amid Italian media accusations that theArmed Forces of Malta should have rescued a group of would-be immigrants before they proceeded ontheir voyage of death. The immigrants were sighted six miles off Gozo on Thursday afternoon butrefused any assistance from the AFM. Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela insisted that the AFM hadno right to force the immigrants to land, even if they were in territorial waters.• 20 November 2005 Dr Simon Busuttil, one of the five Maltese Members of the European Parliament,this week was assigned by the European Parliament to lead a delegation of MEPs on a special missionto Libya to investigate the situation of illegal immigration in the country. Dr Busuttil expressed hissatisfaction at this prestigious appointment but said that this carries with it responsibility on a complexand sensitive issue.• 20 November 2005 The police and the Commonwealth events organisers believe they are wellprepared on the eve of what promises to be the biggest logistical nightmare Malta has ever faced.Queen Elizabeth II, a sultan, 17 presidents, a Governor-General, 22 prime ministers and 553 journalistswill be among the 3,000 delegates converging on Malta this week for the Commonwealth meetings,climaxing in the biannual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.• 20 November 2005 The Commonwealth Youth Forum, being held in the run-up to theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), discussed Enterprise, SustainableLivelihoods and ICT. The speakers included Paulette Bynoe (Guyana), a lecturer in EnvironmentalStudies at the University of Guyana, who is a founding member of the Caribbean Youth EnvironmentNetwork (CYEN), and Karl Gouder, chief executive officer of Young Enterprise Malta. The afternoonwas dedicated to parallel sessions and discussions.• 20 November 2005 Seven road contractors, most of whom were engaged on the Italian Protocol roadworks earlier this year, are transforming a derelict site at Bulebel Industrial Estate into a recreationalground for clients of the Eden Foundation. And they are doing this at no cost. The land was transferredto the Eden Foundation some time ago by the Malta Development Corporation.• 20 November 2005 WasteServ has started implementing an EU funded project worth €200,000 totrain 20 job seekers in raising awareness about waste minimisation and recycling. The trained jobseekers are now assisting in motivating householders to co-operate in waste management issues, likewaste minimisation, the proper use of bring-in sites and civic amenity sites as well as homecomposting.• 21 November 2005 On average, Maltese hunters and trappers did not even manage to shoot or trap oneturtle dove or quail each in the spring of 2004, according to a report presented by the government to theEU to justify the application of the spring shooting derogation. The EU Birds Directive bans springhunting but allows for a derogation from the ban under certain criteria. The report fulfils thegovernment's obligation to justify why it allowed hunters and trappers to continue to hunt turtle doveand quail in spring last year.• 21 November 2005 The Commonwealth People's Forum, one of three forums preceeding theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, got underway following the official opening ceremonyat the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta. The ceremony was attended by representatives ofcivil society as well as local former presidents and other dignitaries.

• 21 November 2005 The EU's Leonardo da Vinci Programme has approved a grant of €375,577 for aproject aimed at defining common standards for vocational training in cultural conservation skills. Theproject is being promoted by Malta Heritage with partners from Italy, France and Greece.• 21 November 2005 Malta urged the World Summit on Information Society held last week in Tunisiato push further up in its list of priorities a credible and coordinated effort to make the internet a safeplace for children. The call was made by Malta's ambassador in Tunisia Tania Vella when she wasaddressing the summit on behalf of Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister AustinGatt.• 22 November 2005 The flagship of the Royal Navy, HMS Illustrious, berthed in Grand Harbour to agrand welcome from thousands of people waving from the bastions of the three cities and Valletta. Agroup of journalists, MPs, local councillors from Cottonera and businessmen were flown to the aircraftcarrier in the morning in time for its entry and spoke to the captain for a few minutes before he turnedhis full attention to the delicate manouvre into the harbour.• 22 November 2005 As expected there are to be traffic deviations and restrictions on parking duringcertain times in Valletta and various other venues because of the state visit by Queen Elizabeth II andthe Commonwealth summit (CHOGM), but the police have ensured there will be the least possibleinconvenience to the public. Police Commissioner John Rizzo was addressing the media at the PoliceHeadquarters in Floriana.• 22 November 2005 Respondents to a Commonwealth Business Council survey have given favourableratings to the business environment in Malta but all the ratings are below those given in a similarsurvey two years ago except for respondents' views on environmental protection. The council carriedout the survey among private sector businesses of all Commonwealth countries ahead of theCommonwealth Business Forum, which the council organises every two years to coincide with theCHOGM.• 22 November 2005 More than 600 delegates will put their heads together to review business practicesand try to hammer out some commercial deals at the three-day Commonwealth Business Forum whichkicks off at the Hilton today. Aimed at global business leaders, particularly from the Commonwealth,Europe and the Mediterranean, the forum will be addressed by heads of government and captains ofindustry, among others.• 22 November 2005 Dr Naidoo, secretary general of Civicus, The World Alliance for CitizenParticipation, gave an impassioned speech on the role of civil society, saying that without them, theMillennium Development Goals aimed at eradicating poverty were nothing more than a frameworkwithin which to galvanise action. Dr Naidoo was the keynote speaker at the plenary session that pavedthe way for dozens of workshops on networking between Commonwealth people.• 22 November 2005 This year, the Commonwealth Secretariat was asked by the United Nations HighCommissioner for Human Rights to translate into Chinese its 2001 publication on best practice innational human rights institutions. Don McKinnon, the Commonwealth Secretary-General said thatthis was a great endorsement of the Commonwealth's work in this area when he gave the closingspeech at the Commonwealth Human Rights Forum held at St James Cavalier in Valletta.• 22 November 2005 Maltacom said it was looking forward to demonstrating the country's highlydeveloped telecoms and ICT technologies to the large international audience who will be in Malta forthe Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting this week. The Maltacom Group of Companies isthe official telecommunications provider for CHOGM. To mark the occasion, Maltacom's chairman,Sonny Portelli, called on Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and presented him with a memento of theevent.• 22 November 2005 Bank of Valletta, the official bank of CHOGM, began offering exclusive bankingservices to delegates at the main venues, namely the media centre, the Westin Dragonara Resort andthe Radisson SAS Golden Sands Resort, where the leaders will meet between Friday and Sunday. Thebank said that during the CHOGM week its focus will be on providing a seamless banking service toall the delegates participating in the summit and the related fora as well as to the large contingent ofaccredited journalists.• 22 November 2005 Chief Minister of Gibraltar Peter Caruana fired the 100-ton gun with a blankcharge during an official visit to Fort Rinella in Kalkara. The last time the gun was fired was on May 5,1905. The fort has been restored and is run by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna. The Chief Minister was shownround by Mario Farrugia and George Said, FWA chairman and deputy chairman respectively. He was

accompanied by his private secretary, Denis Hook and by Malta's Consul in Gibraltar, Franco Cassar-Loporto.• 22 November 2005 Security cameras have been installed near Portes des Bombes in Floriana after the18th century gate was vandalised three times in six months. The Resources and Infrastructure Ministryhopes that the cameras will deter vandals who in the past have defaced the historic monument withpaint.• 22 November 2005 The war memorial in Victoria spent six years in a warehouse after it was broughtover to Gozo a couple of years after the end of World War II because of indecision over where itshould be located. The 7 metre high monument was eventually inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II onMay 7, 1954. It will now be one of the landmarks of the royal visit to Malta that starts tomorrow, andin preparation for the visit, the memorial has just been conserved by Robert Cassar and James Licari,conservators from ReCoop, the Restoration and Conservation Cooperative.• 23 November 2005 Business leaders came together to call for the eradication of red tape and theelimination of barriers in a bid to boost business among the Commonwealth countries. The Hiltonwelcomed over 600 delegates for the first day of the Commonwealth Business Forum.• 23 November 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi appealed to the Commonwealth Business Forumto think of long-term, attainable strategies that would help countries facing mass migration. "We needto offer hope to people to entice them to stay in their own country," the Prime Minister said as heinaugurated the three-day meeting at the Hilton in St Julians.• 23 November 2005 Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg suggested that the Commonwealthshould set up a study group to examine the possibility of establishing a monitoring group on the linesof the EU's Committee for the Prevention of Torture. Speaking at a meeting of the CommonwealthHuman Rights Initiative (CHRI) in St Julians, Dr Borg said the monitoring group would tourCommonwealth countries and prepare confidential reports on police accountability, the monitoringmechanisms in each state, the workings of complaint procedures and also report about the places ofdetention.• 23 November 2005 The positive mood which prevailed during the Commonwealth youth, people'sand business forums was an "excellent" ingredient for a successful heads of government summit,Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon said. Mr McKinnon was speaking at a Pre-ForeignMinisters Meeting press briefing at the CHOGM media centre in St Julians which was also addressedby Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, together with Foreign Minister Michael Frendo andCommonwealth deputy secretary general Florence Mugasha.• 23 November 2005 The crew of the HMS Illustrious, which returned to Grand Harbour after fouryears, were awed by the "incredible" welcome they were given as they were entering harbour, CaptainBob Cooling said during a press conference on board the ship. "There must have been about 10,000people welcoming the ship to harbour. "We had special permission to fire a 21-gun salute and theAFM responded with another 21-gun salute," he said.• 23 November 2005 Investors may find that bureaucracy in Malta is not unreasonably slow or hostileto them but Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt confessed he wasnot sure that was indeed the case. Addressing the Commonwealth Business Forum, the minister saidthat investors say they chose Malta because the government is an efficient and reliable partner. Inaddition, they say that bureaucracy, does not tend to be unreasonably slow or hostile.• 23 November 2005 Malta has decided against sending any police or military personnel to join a newEU mission supervising the border between Gaza and Egypt and instead opted to contributefinancially. Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo told his colleagues in Brussels that Malta will becontributing €45,000 (Lm20,000) towards the operating costs of the mission as a sign of supporttowards the EU and the Middle East process.• 24 November 2005 Queen Elizabeth II arrived to a warm welcome from Maltese and foreigners alike.The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh landed at Malta International Airport at 3 p.m., and the arrivalceremony took place at St George's Square, Valletta, rather than the airport, so that more people wouldbe part of it.• 24 November 2005 The Queen is the effective symbol of the unity of the Commonwealth in all itsmagnificent diversity and the many-coloured splendour of its multiculturalism, President EdwardFenech-Adami said during the state dinner held in honour of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of

Edinburgh. In her reply the Queen said that both Prince Philip and herself were very pleased to beback in Malta. "We both retain a deep affection for your country and the outgoing, generous Maltesepeople who have always offered us the hand of friendship," she said.• 24 November 2005 Educating women, who would in turn educate their families, is one of the keysthat would lead to a change in society, according to HSBC's chief executive officer, corporate,investment banking and markets, John Studzinski. Speaking at the plenary session of theCommonwealth Business Forum yesterday on Making Globalisation Succeed: Key Issues In TheFuture, Mr Studzinski said realities were changing fast and those who were not able to change wouldfind it difficult to cope.• 24 November 2005 The concept of trust in the island's financial services framework gives Malta acompetitive advantage over European countries with a different civil law set-up, according to AndrewPopper, group head of SG Hambros Bank and Trust Limited in the UK. "Malta is very well positionedto use this kind of financial service to its advantage, both geographically and politically," Mr Poppersaid during a Commonwealth Business Council meeting entitled Business Opportunities: LinkingCommonwealth, Europe And The Mediterranean.• 24 November 2005 Commonwealth countries receive only 13% of global incoming tourism, that is 92million visitors every year. Malta is the 12th highest tourist receiver among Commonwealth countries.On average, Commonwealth countries get five tourists for every 100 citizens. This is much lower thanMalta, which gets 300 tourists for every 100 citizens, said Corinthia Hotels International chairmanKarmenu Vella. He was speaking at the Commonwealth Business Forum during a session entitledTourism: 2005 And Beyond - Growth In A Competitive Global Market.• 24 November 2005 The Commonwealth Business Forum was at top gear at the Hilton conferencecentre with four plenary and 10 parallel sessions discussing a wide variety of global trade issues. Acommuniqué and report to CHOGM was issued after a meeting between the leaders of theCommonwealth Business Council - which hosts the forum - and Commonwealth foreign ministers.• 24 November 2005 The Commonwealth Youth Forum 5 presented Commonwealth heads ofgovernment with recommendations they feel would help in achieving development and democracy indiversity. Three main recommendations emerged during the eight days of discussions, first was theissue of good governance and active citizenship, then came health and sexuality and finally sustainablelivelihoods, youth enterprise and information and communication technology.• 24 November 2005 Two Maltese pupils who won the 2005 Commonwealth Essay Competition werecommended by Education Minister Louis Galea and Commonwealth Secretary General DonMcKinnon. Eleven-year-old Andrè Bartolo from De la Salle College and 14-year-old Miguel Herrerafrom St Martin's College beat 5,000 final entries in the 2005 Commonwealth essay competition. Thisyear, the judges selected 25 winners from across the Commonwealth.• 24 November 2005 Unacceptable behaviour by 23 students towards their teachers was reported in thepast two years and the schools were assisted to address the problem, Youth, Education andEmployment Minister Louis Galea said. Speaking during a Malta Union of Teachers conference onUnacceptable Pupil Behaviour held on the occasion of the union's 86th anniversary, Dr Galea saidseveral cases had been reported to the National Board for Behaviour at Schools where the childrenwere given an alternative education service.• 24 November 2005 There were 7,121 unemployed persons at the end of October, the NationalStatistics Office said. The number of registered unemployed remained constant compared toSeptember. Comparing the data for October 2005 with that for October 2004, it appears that thenumber of registered unemployed dropped by 1,051 people, the NSO said.• 24 November 2005 The number of traffic accidents in the third quarter this year stood at 4,166between, an increase of 18 over the same quarter last year. The National Statistics Office said that, inthe period under review, 81 individuals (including drivers, passengers and pedestrians) - 52 males and29 females - sustained grievous or fatal injuries. These included five fatalities - three males and twofemales. All five fatalities took place over the weekend - two on a Saturday and three on a Sunday.• 24 November 2005 Seven pieces of legislation on maritime safety unveiled by the EuropeanCommission are being scrutinised by the Maltese authorities to gauge their impact on the country'sshipping register - one of the biggest in the EU. The measures, announced in Brussels by TransportCommissioner Jacques Barrot, oblige EU member states to regulate vessels under their flag. The ruleswill facilitate inspections by port state authorities on suspect vessels.

• 25 November 2005 2,500 schoolchildren gave the Queen an effusive welcome as she was usheredinto the Cottonera Sports Complex where Children's Day was being celebrated. Queen Elizabeth II, inMalta on the second day of her state visit, arrived at the complex accompanied by Gozo MinisterGiovanna Debono, shortly after her husband the Duke of Edinburgh.• 25 November 2005 The Queen and her entourage hit the south of the island, where she officiallyinaugurated Cottonera's Grand Harbour Marina - a prime example of Maltese-British collaborativeventures. The opening followed her visit to the Cottonera Sports Complex in Cospicua. Along the waypockets of people, some holding Union Jacks, waited to watch her being whisked by. At the Vittoriosawaterfront, guests lined up to welcome the Queen.• 25 November 2005 The Australian Prime Minister, on his first visit to Malta in 25 years, held ameeting with his Maltese counterpart Lawrence Gonzi at Castille. Australian Prime Minister JohnHoward has dismissed suggestions to rally British and Canadian support in an 11th hour appeal to theSingaporean Prime Minister to spare the life of an Australian convicted drug smuggler.• 25 November 2005 A Maltese version of Windows XP has been completed and is being tested, thepresident of Microsoft International, France, Jean-Philippe Courtois said. "It has happened incooperation with a number of Maltese entities. It took a bit longer than expected but it is going throughtesting now and the product will be ready in the next few months," Mr Courtois said when he met thepress on the fringes of the Commonwealth Business Forum.• 25 November 2005 No generation has been subjected to so much change in so short a time, BryanSanderson, the chairman of Standard Chartered Bank, UK told the Commonwealth Business Forumplenary session. The forum, on the theme Expanding International Trade And Investment, was chairedby Rahul Bajaj, the co-chairman of the Commonwealth Business Forum and chairman of Bajaj Auto,India. Chief Cornelius O Adebayo, Minister of Communications of Nigeria, spoke about theinvestment opportunities existing in Nigeria. The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, dwelton international trade and WTO rules and on the need to reform international trading systems.• 25 November 2005 Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni told the Commonwealth Business Forumthat the EU should lift its farmers' subsidies and remove tariff barriers preventing African nations fromaccessing international markets. While the EU currently spends about 40% of its budget on agriculture,the contribution of this sector to the Union's gross domestic product is marginal.• 25 November 2005 The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals will have to be achieved inthe Commonwealth if they are to be achieved globally, according to a symposium organised by theCommonwealth Human Ecology Council and the Foundation for International Studies of theUniversity of Malta. The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were agreed at the UnitedNations Millennium Summit in September 2000 and nearly 190 countries have subsequently signed upto them.• 25 November 2005 The Commonwealth Business Forum ended after hearing the last calls for a newinternational trade agreement to provide market access for all, even in the area of agricultural products."We need to negotiate a package for growth," was how Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath put itat the end of three days of proceedings where the accent was heavily on the need to bring down tradebarriers and protectionism, especially in the developed countries.• 25 November 2005 Malta has proposed the setting up of an organised ICT structure within theCommonwealth to narrow the digital divide and has pledged financial resources and back up for theinitiative, Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said. Speaking at a news conference at theconclusion of the two-day pre-CHOGM foreign ministers' meeting, Dr Frendo said: "Malta has offeredfinancial resources if this is endorsed and any other resources to see it through".• 25 November 2005 British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Malta to take part in theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.• 25 November 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has sent a message of congratulations to the newGerman Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Dr Gonzi told Ms Merkel he was confident that within the contextof the European Union, their countries' common values and aspirations will further reinforce thesolidarity and friendship that exist between Malta and Germany.• 25 November 2005 Malta has the lowest prevalence of lifetime use of cannabis in Europe, accordingto the latest European report on the state of the drug problem. The report, by the European MonitoringCentre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, showed that while 62 million Europeans have tried cannabis,

Malta has the lowest rate - 3.5%, having tried cannabis at least once. Launched at the EuropeanParliament, the report reveals that Europe has an average of three million young adults (aged 15 to 34),mostly males, who smoke cannabis daily.• 25 November 2005 The number of cruise passengers that visited Malta from January to October thisyear went up by 11.4%, to 277,392, an increase of 28,414 persons over the same period last year, theNational Statistics Office said.• 26 November 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi held a joint press conference with his Britishcounterpart, Tony Blair after a private meeting in his office. Dr Gonzi opened the press conference andsaid that the visit by Prime Minister Tony Blair was the first one since Winston Churchill came toMalta after World War II. He said he and Mr Blair spoke about EU issues, financial perspectives and,in particular, irregular immigration, as well as the CHOGM agenda, during their bilateral meeting. MrBlair on his part said it was a pleasure to be on a such a spectacular and beautiful island. He also spokeabout the mass migration topic and said it was a major issue for the whole EU. Mr Blair apologised forthe disruption caused by CHOGM, something he recognised and he thanked the Maltese public fortheir patience Audio recording of the press conference can be accessed on the following link:http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/News/newsitems/audiorecording%20-%2025.11.05pm-blairpc.asp• 26 November 2005 The Commonwealth Heads of Government opening ceremony delivered anunequivocal message: the leaders at this CHOGM must unite to surmount the obstacles before them orrisk achieving nothing. Commonwealth secretary general Don McKinnon said this CHOGM was "atest of Commonwealth leadership" and the leaders had "a right and a responsibility" to show they werecapable of it.• 26 November 2005 As the host, Dr Gonzi was the first to deliver one of four short speeches after aserene rendition of Malta's national anthem. He argued that the most robust response to poverty andforced migration was to give people faith in their future, faith that they were also included in globalthinking about networks for development. The Queen, who as the head of the Commonwealthtraditionally opens CHOGM, said that "Determined and collective action can also help us tackle otherchallenges that cannot be addressed alone, such as the scourge of terrorism which is a threat to us all".• 27 November 2005 Commonwealth leaders issued a declaration calling on next month's World TradeOrganisation Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong to reach agreement on the elimination of all formsof export subsidies by 2010 for the sake of developing countries. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi,described the hard-hitting statement on trade - the dominant theme of this year's meeting - as a"breakthrough".• 27 November 2005 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh left Malta forLondon. They were seen off by President Edward Fenech-Adami. Her Majesty, who received a warmwelcome from the Maltese wherever she went during her packed four-day visit, opened theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at the Mediterranean Conference Centre onFriday.• 27 November 2005 Gozo's new Bishop will be Kercem parish priest 48-year-old Fr Mario Grech.The Gozo Curia issued a statement confirming the news that the Vatican had chosen Fr Grech as thesuccessor to Bishop Nikol Cauchi, who has led the diocese since 1972 (he had been appointedApostolic Administrator in 1967).• 27 November 2005 Before leaving Malta the Queen honoured British High Commissioner VincentFean, Deputy High Commissioner Janet Hancock and state visit organiser Ravinder Hans. The HighCommissioner was made a Knight Commander of the Victorian Order, Ms Hancock was appointedLieutenant of the Victorian Order (LVO) and Ms Hans a Member of the Victorian Order (MVO).• 28 November 2005 Commonwealth leaders presented three documents at the conclusion of the Maltasummit containing strong messages on improving cooperation in development, mass migration and thefight against terrorism. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who chaired the Commonwealth Heads ofGovernment Meeting over the past three days, said at the concluding press conference that the retreatdiscussions held at the Golden Sands Hotel had been intense, constructive and proactive and dealt withtopics for "today's world with today's challenges".• 28 November 2005 Speaking at the end of CHOGM, Secretary General Don McKinnon, who satalongside Prime Minister Lawrence Dr Gonzi, said the three "substantial" statements issued,underlined the relevance of the Commonwealth, as well as the Malta statement on multilateral tradethat was issued by the leaders on Saturday evening. The Malta statement urged developed countries to

give more than they expect to receive at the World Trade Organisation Ministerial Meeting in HongKong next month.• 28 November 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi accompanied by a Maltese delegation left Maltafor Barcelona, to represent Malta in the first ever Euro-Med summit marking the tenth anniversary ofthe start of this process. The summit, which will bring together EU and Mediterranean heads of stateand government, is expected to announce a declaration on a common vision and decide on a five-yearwork programme that aims both at reinforcing relations and meeting the tough challenges that lie aheadfor the region.• 29 November 2005 Malta proposed the creation of a network of "sea centres" in Euromed countries tofacilitate the management of common sea resources and offered to help establish the network. Theproposal was submitted by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi during the second and last day of the Euro-Mediterranean summit of heads of government in Barcelona.• 29 November 2005 Minister of Justice and Home Affairs Tonio Borg has sent a letter to the PoliceCommissioner thanking all members of the police corps for their work during last week'sCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. “The success of the police was due to the dedicationshown in difficult circumstances especially in light of the high profile of the majority of the leaderswho attended,” Dr Borg said.• 29 November 2005 Malta made it clear it will not approve the financing by the EU of scientificresearch involving the use of embryonic stem cells. Malta's declaration was made by Competitivenessand Communication Minister Censu Galea during a meeting of the Competitiveness Council inBrussels.• 29 November 2005 Once a year the Duke of Edinburgh will be able to relish the taste of Maltesefruits steeped in spiced alcohol syrup, which will be specially delivered to Buckingham Palace byMagro Brothers Group of Companies. The treat was offered to Prince Philip after he visited thecompany's plant in Xewkija last week when he accompanied Queen Elizabeth on her state visit toMalta. He was given a tour of the plant by the company's managing director John Magro.• 29 November 2005 Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina said that a GuardianshipAct, which will make a great difference to the life of a number of people with a disability, is in thepipeline. Currently, adults who cannot take decisions on their own are interdicted, which means thatall their rights are withdrawn, according to Doreen Clark, the legal advisor of the National CommissionPersons with Disability (KNPD).• 29 November 2005 The government is planning to seek private funding for three new sewagetreatment plants, Public Investments Minister Austin Gatt told Parliament. Dr Gatt was speakingduring the first day of the debate on the estimates of the Water Services Corporation.• 29 November 2005 The Housing Authority has announced changes to its repair schemes whichinclude an increase in the maximum grant available. Homeowners or tenants of privately ownedproperty applying for grants to improve their home will now be eligible for a higher grant than before.In case of dangerous structures, the grant has been increased by Lm500 to Lm4,000. In the case of substandardhousing, it has gone up also by Lm500, to Lm3,000.• 29 November 2005 Air Malta said it has concluded the sale of Air Supplies & Catering Co Ltd,another of its subsidiary companies which retails alcohol, tobacco and perfumes at the departure andarrival areas of Malta International Airport. The sale of the company to Mediterranean Nuance GroupLtd follows the airline's current strategy to focus solely on core operations, the company said.• 30 November 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that a possible plan by the UK aimed atcutting the EU's budget between 2007-2013 would certainly raise concern among the new memberstates. But, contrary to some other European leaders, Dr Gonzi preferred to take a "wait and see"approach, saying he would rather first analyse in detail what was being cooked up by the Britishpresidency. Dr Gonzi said in an interview that he had explained Malta's position and fiscal parametersduring his meeting with Mr Blair in Malta last week.• 30 November 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in Parliament that the value of property salesto foreigners has reached Lm47.2 million this year from Lm43.5 million last year and Lm46.9 millionin 2003.

• 30 November 2005 India has made a special contribution of €1 million towards the Commonwealthinitiative on bridging the digital divide within the context of the special theme for CHOGM 2005 -Networking The Commonwealth For Development. Shri Kamal Nath, Minister for Commerce andIndustry, who led the Indian delegation at the summit, announced the Indian contribution to the specialfund for the implementation of the Commonwealth Action Programme for the Digital Divide at theexecutive session of the heads of government meeting held in Malta last week.• 30 November 2005 The Central Bank of Malta left the central intervention rate unchanged at 3.25%.The Central Bank Governor considered that the level of the central intervention rate remainedappropriate, even though the short-term interest rate differential on the lira had narrowed, mainly as aresult of higher yields on the euro.• 30 November 2005 Slovakia has joined the European exchange rate mechanism (ERM II), theantechamber of the euro. Bratislava thus joins Malta, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Sloveniawhich, together with Denmark, decided to link their currency to the euro. Denmark, however, does notintend to adopt the single currency.• 30 November 2005 Graduates had to give their professional service generously as witnesses andteachers of all that was true, beautiful and good, Archbishop Joseph Mercieca said during the deliveryof his homily at a Mass of Thanksgiving at St John's Co-Cathedral, in Valletta, for university studentswho graduate this week. He further advised the congregation to keep away from individualism,excessive ambition and greed for money or prestige.• 30 November 2005 Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment George Pullicino said that 20.9%of the coastline of the Maltese islands is under some form of development. In reply to a parliamentaryquestion, Minister Pullicino said that the total coastline of the Maltese islands is 267.9km of which52.9km is no longer in its natural state. That works out at 26.8% of the Maltese coastline and 5.37% ofthe coastline of Gozo.• 30 November 2005 There were 15 suicides and 22 attempted suicides between January and the end ofOctober this year, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said in reply to a parliamentaryquestion. The age of those concerned ranged from 11 to 95, with twice as many men as women beinginvolved.• 30 November 2005 Since Steven Spielberg's Munich, Malta's movie industry has not shown any signsof slowing down, with parts of The Da Vinci Code and the German TV production Pamir, among otherproductions, being shot on the island. The Da Vinci Code, directed by Ron Howard, starring two-timeOscar winner Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan) and based on Dan Brown's best-selling novel, wasfilmed in Malta for two days at the beginning of the month, following six weeks of prep on the island.The production's total expenditure here is calculated to have reached Lm300,000, the Malta FilmCommission said.• 30 November 2005 The rate of marijuana use among teenage boys has nearly doubled in a matter offour years and the perception of its availability among students increased two-fold. The latestEuropean School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (Espad), carried out among 3,500 FormV students in 2003, shows that 12.7% of males used marijuana, a surge of 5.3% over the previous 1999study.DECEMBER• 1 December 2005 The European Commission adopted a communication suggesting the developmentof "immediate practical actions" to assist countries like Malta to face the influx of hundreds of illegalimmigrants. Malta was one of the main countries in mind when the communication was drafted. Part ofthe measures envisaged are to be fast-tracked to provide concrete help before next summer.• 1 December 2005 The Prime Minister in a statement to Parliament formally thanked all those involvedin the organisation of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta. He also told theHouse that the costs for the holding of the event were estimated to have been within budget at betweenLm2.3 million and Lm2.4 million.• 1 December 2005 Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino said that the MaltaEnvironment and Planning Authority is to raise the maximum penalty which may be imposed when a

developer seeks to sanction development made without a permit. The minister told Parliament that thispenalty would be raised from the current Lm1,000 to Lm10,000.• 1 December 2005 Total nights spent in collective accommodation establishments diminished by 2.8%to 1,028,019 in August and by 1.1% to 809,916 in September when compared to the correspondingmonths in 2004, the National Statistics Office said.• 2 December 2005 Business can best prosper when the government supports it, not through unhealthysubsidies but through a pro-competitiveness mindset, effective rule of law, good infrastructure andminimal, well thought-out regulation, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said. Dr Gonzi was speaking atthe annual dinner of the Malta Federation of Industry at the Corinthia Palace Hotel, in Attard onWednesday.• 2 December 2005 European Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini told EU Interior Ministers theEuropean Commission intends to conclude a technical agreement with Libya on cooperation in thefight against illegal immigration by next June. Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said inhis comments after the meeting in Brussels that Mr Frattini's proposal signified another step forwardfor Malta in dealing with the influx of illegal immigrants.• 2 December 2005 The private sector should start preparing to change over to the euro early so that theshift from the lira will be "as seamless as possible", the chairman of the National Euro ChangeoverCommittee (NECC) said. Speaking at the first plenary session of the NECC, Joseph F.X. Zahrastressed that all sectors should prepare themselves for the new currency through individual changeoverplans.• 2 December 2005 The Health Department is attempting to trace the source of infection of peoplefound to be HIV positive or suffering from Hepatitis B and C in order to invite them to take the testthemselves. Addressing a news conference on the occasion of World AIDS Day celebrated worldwide,Roderick Bugeja, from the Health Promotion Unit, said that if the sexual contacts of infected personsagreed to the test and were found to be positive, the department would then try to trace their partners.• 2 December 2005 Tourists spent Lm4.1 million less in the first 10 months of the year than they did inthe same period last year, according to figures issued by the National Statistics Office. Per head, theirexpenditure decreased from Lm193.8 to Lm186. The NSO said that tourist expenditure on packagetours was estimated at Lm187.9 million, a decrease of Lm14.6 million or 7.2%.• 3 December 2005 Malta persuaded its EU partners to continue taking its population density intoconsideration when allocating EU funds, despite an attempt by the British EU presidency to eliminatethis practice. In what is considered to be a major victory for the Maltese government on a fundamentalpoint of principle, a meeting of EU environment ministers in Brussels agreed to maintain thepopulation density criterion for Malta and Luxembourg in the allocation of EU funds for environmentalprojects, known as Life Plus.• 3 December 2005 The Producer Price Index for agriculture in September stood at 92.17, an increase of8.14 points (+9.68%) when compared to the same month last year, the National Statistics Office said.This was due to an increase in the average prices of fresh vegetables, which increased on average by21.81 points (+29.82%) from 73.13 points in September last year to 94.93 points in September thisyear.• 3 December 2005 Malta's unemployment rate in October stood at 7.7%, the same level as a yearearlier and 0.1% less than a month earlier, according to figures published by Eurostat, the EU'sstatistical arm. On a yearly basis, Malta's unemployment levels reached their highest peak in Aprilwhen the jobless rate measured 8.3%. Since then, Malta's unemployment figures have been on aconstant decline, Eurostat said.• 4 December 2005 The Prime Minister said that the General Workers' Union, through its actions, hadcost the jobs of the Sea Malta employees in the same way as it had cost the jobs of the Phoenicia Hotelworkers. Dr Lawrence Gonzi said during a political seminar in Gozo that, although the GWU wassupposed to work for the workers' benefit, it had assumed a political role, with its general secretary,Tony Zarb, even having said he wanted to topple the government. The government, however, wouldnot let the union harm the country.• 4 December 2005 Seventy-four people with disability have started to receive services within thecommunity in the 35 months that the Service Allocation Committee within Agenzija Sapport has been

operating. The conference on persons with disability was hosted by the National Commission forPersons with Disability (KNDP) and the Maltese Federation of Organisations Persons with Disability(FMOPD).• 4 December 2005 The annual Taste the World fair trade festival., took place once again at St. JamesCavalier. Themed 'Colour the Difference', the festival was organised by the non-profit Fair Trade Cooperativein collaboration with the StoPoverty Campaign to raise awareness on the global movement offair trade. Although this year the event was organised on a smaller scale, the festival successfullypresented its message with a seminar that addressed the need for an alternative method to currentunjust trade trends.• 4 December 2005 Despite the absence of Arab leaders, a solid basis for future regional co-operationemerged from last week's tenth anniversary Euro-Mediterranean Summit in Barcelona co-chaired bythe UK and Spanish Prime Ministers. Various reasons were cited by Arab nations - from health topolitical - for the last-minute no-show of monarchs and Presidents. Accompanied by Minister forForeign Affairs, Michael Frendo, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi represented Malta.• 4 December 2005 While the Malta CHOGM was in full swing, another important mission was goingon - an EU-wide dress rehearsal of an influenza pandemic. The director-general of health, Dr RayBusuttil, said that a core group of professionals, mainly doctors, from his department took part in theEU exercise held on November 23-24. The ability of the EU-25, together with candidate countriesBulgaria and Romania, to coordinate their response to an influenza pandemic was tested in a pan-European "worst case scenario" simulation. He said that the aim of the exercise was to identifyweaknesses in the national and EU-level preparedness in the case of a flu pandemic.• 5 December 2005 Almost Lm2 million changed hands during the auction in which all 59 BMWs usedin the Commonwealth Health of Government Meeting were sold. The success of the event staggeredeven local BMW representatives who had not expected the demand to be so great as bids flew inranging between Lm30,000 and Lm44,000 for the luxury cars. The success of the auction places thisyear's L-Istrina on a very sound footing, with some Lm590,000 of the money going to the charitymarathon's accounts.• 5 December 2005 The World Medical Association has paid homage to ophthalmologist and PresidentEmeritus Censu Tabone, who was instrumental in ridding Gozo of trachoma, by including him in abook called Caring Physicians of the World. "These remarkable stories will help restore pride, passion,enthusiasm and optimism among our colleagues," World Medical Association president Yank Coblesaid, referring to the book on the association's website.• 6 December 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi congratulated Maaruf al-Bakhit on his appointmentas Prime Minister of Jordan. In a letter to Mr al-Bakhit, Dr Gonzi said that he looked forward toworking closely with him to strengthen the existing relationship between the two countries.• 6 December 2005 The foreign reserves at the Central Bank increased from an average of Lm632million (in 2001) to Lm802 million this year. But while the average interest on these reserves was of5.2% in 2001, in 2005 this would only be reaching 3.1%. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi wasreplying to a parliamentary question. He also said that this had a direct effect on the gross income ofthe bank which amounted to Lm38 million in 2001 but was estimated to fall to Lm20 million in 2005.• 6 December 2005 Malta's EU budget allocation stands to avoid being cut in spite of a UK presidencyproposal to slash 8.5% from the new member states' structural and cohesion funds. The EU's UKpresidency confirmed plans to cap the European budget for 2007-13 at 847 billion Euro compared witha previous proposal of 871 billion Euro but Malta is one of three new EU member states (along withCyprus and Slovenia) whose budget allocation would remain unchanged from the one originallyproposed by the Luxembourg presidency.• 6 December 2005 The Malta Environment and Planning Authority launched an approved action planfor the Qawra/Dwejra Heritage Park in Gozo which is to be implemented over the next five yearsthrough EU funding to the tune of 350,000 Euro. The plan, which covers a zone of eight squarekilometres, will be revisited every two years. It will be put into practice by a management board thatwill be constituted with representatives from the Gozo Ministry, Nature Trust, the San Lawrenz localcouncil and Mepa.• 6 December 2005 WasteServ Malta Ltd., the company responsible for the implementation of Malta'ssolid waste strategy, has been presented with the Chamber of Engineers' Award for Innovation. The

award, which recognises engineering achievements, was presented to the company by US AmbassadorMolly Bordonaro.• 6 December 2005 Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina said in Parliament that forthe coming year the Housing Authority was planning a total capital investment of Lm12.3 million. Thisincluded Lm5.5 million for the construction of new apartments, Lm3 million for the purchase of vacantproperty, Lm3.077 million in social subsidies, Lm2 million in subsidies to owners of new housingbought from the government and Lm50,000 to voluntary organisations helping those in need of betterhousing.• 6 December 2005 Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt insisted inParliament that the power surcharge is calculated on the basis of actual costs over the preceding twomonths and not future projections. Speaking in reply to parliamentary questions, Dr Gatt said thatwhereas last year the surcharge was based on projections for the following year, as of November thesurcharge was based on what Enemalta would have spent in Maltese liri on its imports.• 6 December 2005 A designate committee that will act as a precursor to the National Commission forHigher Education will be set up next month to start tackling the existing challenges in this area. Youth,Employment and Education Minister Louis Galea held a press conference to launch a report on the roleand structure of the commission, which should be up and running towards the second half of next year.• 7 December 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo raised the issue of illegal immigration inhis address during the 13 th annual session of the OSCE Ministerial Meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia. DrFrendo said that Malta is facing an "unprecedented problem as a consequence of the flow of illegalimmigrants in the Mediterranean" and that the UNHCR has indicated Malta as currently the topcountry in the EU for the number of asylum seekers.• 7 December 2005 Investment, Industry, and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said thatEnemalta is appointing consultants as the first step in the process for the privatisation of its PetroleumDivision. He said the privatisation process was expected to continue a few months after the consultantsdid their research work and it was hoped it would be concluded by the end of next year. The Ministerwas replying to questions in Parliament.• 7 December 2005 Aircraft belonging to carriers featured on a EU blacklist will not be allowed to landat Malta International Airport or pass through Malta's airspace as of next March. This follows adecision taken during a European Council meeting of EU transport ministers in Brussels which gavethe go-ahead for an EU-wide aviation blacklist. Minister for Competitiveness and Communication,Censu Galea signalled Malta's approval of the final proposal tabled by the UK presidency followingthe European Commission's recommendation.• 7 December 2005 The council of the Chamber of Engineers met Prime Minster Lawrence Gonzi aspart of a week-long series of initiatives aimed at promoting the engineering profession within society.The initiatives are being grouped around what the chamber is branding as Engineers' Week. During themeeting, chamber president Alexander Tranter presented the Prime Minister with the chamber'sposition paper: Increasing The Capacity Of Malta To Exploit Engineering, Science And Technology.• 8 December 2005 The government is to establish the value of properties expropriated before 2003 asbeing that applicable on January 1, 2005, unless compensation would already have been determined,according to a Bill which went before Parliament. The Bill amends the Land Acquisition (PublicPurposes) Ordinance. Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg explained that the purpose of thisBill was to provide fairer compensation for expropriated properties and to regulate the value of landcompulsorily taken possession of by the Government before 2003.• 8 December 2005 The dim prospects that Grimaldi's company Atlantica would buy Sea Malta weredashed when Emanuale Grimaldi informed Investments, Industry and Information TechnologyMinister Austin Gatt he was no longer interested in taking over the government's shares. As a result,the on-going Sea Malta saga will be concluded on Monday when the company will be liquidated andGrimaldi's new firm, Malta Motorways of the Sea, will launch its operations on Tuesday.• 8 December 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo enunciated Malta's stand on the latestproposals by the UK presidency on the next EU budget stressing that the island prefers a deal to bestruck by the end of next week's summit. Giving his comments after participating in a "conclave" ofEU foreign ministers in Brussels, Dr Frendo said that although difficult to achieve, the UK proposalsoffer a basis for discussion and a final agreement.

• 8 December 2005 Statistics issued by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, puts Malta at the end of theEU scale when it comes to expenditure on research and development. As a percentage of GDP, only0.29% were spent on R&D by both public and private entities. Perhaps more significant is the smallamount of money pumped into research by the business sector which last year only amounted to 18.6%of the €12 million (Lm5 million) spent in this sector. In modern economies the majority of funds spenton R&D derive from the private sector.• 8 December 2005 Diversity, heritage, and hospitality have been chosen as the core values that willmake up the Malta brand for tourism purposes under the vision Enriching Your Life. The brand waslaunched at the Malta Tourism Authority's annual conference by brand consultant Christian Sinding.He said there will be a branding system for each of the seven segments of Maltese tourism on whichthe MTA's marketing strategy will focused.• 8 December 2005 Two Maltese University students are representing Malta in the second edition of theEuropean Youth week organised by the European Commission in Brussels. This year's activity isfocusing particularly on the active involvement of young people in the European project. The delegatesare holding discussions with the European Commission and Parliament and will adopt concreteproposals for European policymakers with a view to helping shape the future of the Union.• 8 December 2005 Libya's Deputy Foreign Minister, Mohammed Tahar Sila, confirmed his country'sintention to sign an illegal immigration agreement with Malta similar to the one Tripoli has with Italy.This commitment was made when he met a delegation from the European Parliament, led by MalteseMEP Simon Busuttil. During the meeting in Libya, the minister said that according to the agreementwith Italy all illegal immigrants sent back by the Italian authorities are repatriated to their countries oforigin.• 8 December 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo has invited his Icelandic counterpart GeirH. Harde, who is also responsible for external trade, to visit Malta. The invitation was extended duringa meeting on Tuesday in Ljubljana during the OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting, the governmentsaid.• 9 December 2005 "Action to combat climate change is not just for future generations, it is for us, hereand now," Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino told the United NationsClimate Change Conference in Montreal, Canada. Mr Pullicino noted that as the originator of theUnited Nations' climate change agenda Malta has a special stake in the far-sighted enterprise.• 10 December 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the Sea Malta saga had shown thatreluctance to face reality and failure to respond quickly to change "would lead to a disaster".Addressing a Business Today breakfast Dr Gonzi said the government had put everything in place sothat the privatisation of the national sea line could go through smoothly but the General Workers'Union had arrived "too late".• 10 December 2005 The Cappella d'Italia at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta - restored thanks toItalian protocol funds - was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. The project,carried out by restorers Sante Guido and Giuseppe Mantella, cost €402,200, funds issued by the Italiangovernment under the fifth protocol. Another Lm70,000 came from the Maltese government.• 10 December 2005 Albert Debono, manager (corporate services) of PBS, responsible for finance andhuman resource management, has been appointed chief executive officer designate. He succeedsAndrew Psaila. In the past Mr Debono worked for Smash Communications Limited and IndustrialMotors Limited.• 10 December 2005 That the Middle-East conflict will keep hindering the chances for socio-politicalstability in the Mediterranean is a fact that Malta has been emphasising in the international diplomaticarena for years. President Emeritus Guido de Marco honed in on this point during a session of theWorld Political Forum in Granada, Spain, and which has the Mediterranean and the alliance of itscivilisations as its theme.• 10 December 2005 The Malta Tourism Authority's restructuring was now complete, the Maltabranding system was in the process of adoption and the MTA's strategic plan for tourism for 2006-2008 was ready for publication, Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said. TheMinister was speaking at the opening session of the annual conference of the MTA.

• 11 December 2005 The Lm2.5 million Prince of Wales Residence, by which its developers Care Maltaintroduce to Malta a new concept of independent living for the elderly, was inaugurated by PrimeMinister Lawrence Gonzi. The project is specifically designed for older persons and is situated close toall amenities, within walking distance of Sliema centre.• 11 December 2005 The Gross Domestic Product at current market prices in the third quarter this yearreached Lm501.5 million, an increase of 4.9% over the corresponding period last year, the NationalStatistics Office said. In real terms the GDP went up by 2.9%.• 11 December 2005 The official figure of immigrants who died in the Mediterranean this summer at thehands of what is clearly emerging to be unscrupulous human smuggling, should be at least doubled to600 to reflect the truth, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg pointed out. Dr Borg wasspeaking on human smuggling at the closing of an EU-sponsored, two-day symposium on illegalimmigration, which brought together academics and experts in the field from all over Europe.• 11 December 2005 A majority of Labour mayors approved a number of motions during a meeting formayors organised by the Association of Local Councils. When addressing the meeting earlier, Justiceand Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said that the financial allocation to councils had increased bothdirectly and indirectly, and their collective allocation next year was of Lm11,348,000.• 11 December 2005 The government is to set up the National Commission for Higher Education toprovide the Government with more effective tools for planning, development and the administration ofthe education sector. Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea said it was theGovernment's goal to increase student participation in tertiary education and at the University from 22to 35% and from 66 to 80% in the post-secondary sector in the next 10 years. The minister wasspeaking during a public consultation on the setting up of the National Commission for HigherEducation.• 11 December 2005 Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea had a meeting inBrussels with Microsoft International president Jean Philippe Courtois during which they discussedMicrosoft's ongoing investment in Malta. The meeting focused on Malta's preparedness for the IT ageand how the Maltese authorities can better facilitate the investment being made by various internationalIT companies on the island. This, according to the spokesman, will enable Malta to become morecompetitive and also a world player in this field.• 11 December 2005 The prospects of Malta taking over the chairmanship of the Council of EuropeBank (CEB) were dashed when during a final vote in Strasbourg, Malta's candidate, AmbassadorJoseph Licari, was defeated by just one vote.• 12 December 2005 Malta managed to cut state aid to various sectors of the economy by 25 millionEuro (Lm11 million) over the past year but still has a long way to go. The latest EU scoreboard issuedby the European Commission shows that Malta granted the highest level of state aid as a percentage ofits gross domestic product (GDP). Although this is estimated to be still much higher than the trend inthe other EU member states, the Commission reported that Malta made satisfactory progress andmanaged to lower significantly the amount of public funds given towards activities of a commercialnature.• 12 December 2005 A campaign by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna to raise funds to fully refurbish thehistoric 100-ton gun at Fort Rinella in Kalkara was launched with a bang - literally. The huge gun wasfired by Tourism and Cutlure Minister Francis Zammit Dimech before a crowd of some 300, producingan ear-splitting roar heard around the harbour area. The event marked the first firing of the gun in acentury, except for a test firing on November 21.• 12 December 2005 A total of 15,437 individuals received some form of instruction provided by oneof the institutions catering for further education and training last year, the National Statistics Officesaid. Of the total, 11,611 people participated in one of the government's centres and 3,826 wereparticipants in one of the 27 private evening classes centres.• 12 December 2005 The visible trade gap for the first 10 months of this year widened by Lm91 millionto Lm402.1 million from the same period last year, the National Statistics Office said. In October, thegap widened by Lm20.1 million to Lm56.2 million, from Lm36.1 million in October last year. Thevalue of total imports in the first 10 months this year declined by Lm3.8 million, or 0.4%, toLm1,065.7 for the same period last year, the NSO said.

• 12 December 2005 The Employment and Training Corporation, in collaboration with the Vallettalocal council, has launched the community website www.vallettasocialportal.com to give youths anopportunity to be directly involved in planning and realising projects in their local community. Thewebsite was designed by five young job seekers as part of an Action 3 Youth Programme funded bythe European Union whose aim is to support young people's initiative and creativity.• 13 December 2005 Sea Malta employees will be given the opportunity to apply for vacancies withinthe public sector, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced. It is expected that all of the defunctshipping line's shore-based workers will be engaged. Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Dr Gonzi saidthe Government had decided that these employees should be given the chance to fill vacancies withingovernment-owned companies and corporations. They will not, however, be able to join the civilservice.• 13 December 2005 The long-awaited inquiry report on the violent clash between soldiers and illegalimmigrants at Safi Barracks 11 months ago to the day has concluded that the order to use force so thatthe immigrants would return indoors was justified but the force applied by several soldiers "wasexaggerated and out of proportion in the circumstances". The report, drawn up by Mr Justice FrancoDepasquale, was published by the government.• 13 December 2005 Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo told his French counterpart that Malta'sstand on the UK's budget proposals was being misinterpreted because Malta had not said it agreed withthem but that they offered a basis for negotiation with some prospects for closure. The proposals weresubmitted by the UK Presidency. Dr Frendo explained Malta's position to French Foreign MinisterPhilippe Douste-Blazy during a meeting of the EU General Affairs Council held in Brussels.• 13 December 2005 The House of Representatives unanimously approved the appointment of formerChief Justice Joseph Said Pullicino as Ombudsman. His appointment in terms of the Constitutionneeded the backing of two-thirds of the members of the House. Agreement on the nomination wasannounced earlier in the day by the government following a Cabinet meeting.• 13 December 2005 Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea said he was determinedto speed up procedures to deal with the problem of absenteeism and move away from the currentpractice of instituting criminal procedures. According to the School Attendance Improvement report,which the minister presented, procedures to address school absenteeism are at times overlybureaucratic and time-consuming.• 14 December 2005 Families were evacuated from their homes in parts of Gzira as torrential rainflooded several areas. A Civil Protection Department official said about six houses had been evacuated.Hundreds of calls for assistance from people caught in their cars were received by the CPD, mainly inMsida, Zabbar and Luqa, station officer Tony Pisani said. He said the situation could have been worsehad it not been a public holiday.• 14 December 2005 Outgoing Gozo Bishop Nikol Cauchi became the third Maltese national to becomea member of Xirka Gieh ir-Repubblika. The honour was bestowed on Mgr Cauchi during the annualRepublic Day ceremony at the Palace, in Valletta. President Edward Fenech-Adami, who bestowed thehonours, appealed to the Maltese to be open to dialogue "especially with those who are different fromus, whether in their political, religious or other beliefs, or in their traditions, backgrounds and cultures".• 14 December 2005 Malta will hold the presidency of the European Union between January and June2017 in terms of a new list of the next 25 presidencies approved by the Council of Ministers.According to present rules, the EU presidency is held on a rotation basis among member states andchanges hands every six months.• 14 December 2005 The Malta Bible Society has just launched three innovative Bible products aimedat different audiences. These consist of an interactive CD for adults, an interactive CD and set ofbooklets with stories from the Bible for children and a printed children's Bible with stories fullyillustrated with vibrant art, text and stories that bring the good book to life.• 14 December 2005 Despite strong opposition from Maltese MEPs, the purchase of a €3 millionproperty in St Paul's Street, Valletta, to house the representation offices of the European Commissionand the European Parliament is to proceed as planned. The decision came following a heated debateand a vote taken in the budgets committee of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

• 15 December 2005 The Gama Textile Group of Austria and Malta Enterprise are negotiating thesetting up in Malta of a jeans centre of quality production. The new project is expected to employabout 400 workers and Gama intends to give preference to former employees of the Denim ServicesGroup of Companies, according to the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Information Technology.The ministry said this was welcome news both for the government's investment promotion activitiesand also for former Denim employees.• 15 December 2005 Malta will be able to reclaim VAT on structural and cohesion fund projects underfresh proposals for the 2007-2013 EU budget presented by the UK presidency. Under the proposedfinancial package, to be discussed at the EU council summit, Malta's EU budget allocation standsvirtually untouched when compared to what had been proposed by the Luxembourg presidency.• 15 December 2005 The Government is studying the inquiry report into the incidents at the Safidetention centre "in detail" and will continue to strive "to improve in all aspects related to the issue ofillegal immigration," Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela said. Dr Abela, who is responsible for thearmy, said the inquiring judge looked at illegal immigration as a whole and had also commented aboutthe situation after the incidents, not just at the incidents.• 16 December 2005 EU leaders had their first exchanges last night at their cliffhanger of a summitover the next EU budget. Speaking to the Maltese press, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said thatfollowing the initial soundings of member states there were still divergent views and more work hadstill to be done.• 16 December 2005 Just before crossing swords over the next EU budget, EU leaders meeting duringthe first summit session in Brussels gave the green light to a plan of action for fighting illegalimmigration. Heads of state gave a mandate to the EU to explore the technical feasibility ofestablishing a surveillance system covering the whole southern maritime border of the EU and theMediterranean Sea by the end of next year and to bring forward a proposal for the creation of rapidreaction teams by next spring.• 16 December 2005 Parliament's Foreign and European Affairs Committee used video conferencingfacilities for the first time in the history of Malta's Parliament on Monday for a direct audio and visuallink-up with Malta's MEPs in Brussels. The committee was discussing the setting up of theParliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. Malta is actively bidding to host the secretariat of thisAssembly.• 16 December 2005 The Civil Protection Department held an unplanned "tabletop" exercise for anearthquake followed by a tsunami. The operation was held simultaneously by Italy and Tunisia as thetremor also "hit" other central Mediterranean countries, creating a large wave hitting the western sideof the islands. Malta asked for assistance from Poland, Greece, Luxembourg, Cyprus and other EUcountries which were ready to dispatch helicopters, rescuers and search dogs to Malta within a fewhours of receiving the news.• 16 December 2005 Labour costs in Malta increased only by 1.5% in the year up to September, a risethat may seem quite hefty to employers but is one of the smallest in the EU. According to statisticsreleased by Eurostat, the EU statistical arm, Malta's labour costs during the past 12 months registeredthe third smallest increase in the EU and are much lower than the average increase of 2.7%. This isgood news for Malta's competitiveness, particularly in view of the massive increases being registeredby the other new EU member states.• 16 December 2005 Data related to exchanges through telephone calls, text messages and e-mails forthe last two years will be retained by Maltese telephone companies and they will be obliged to pass iton to the police in case of investigations connected to criminal or terrorist acts. This rule will come intoeffect soon, following the approval of a new data directive by the European Parliament. EU memberstates, including Malta had already given their go-ahead to this proposal earlier this year.• 16 December 2005 Telephone subscribers should have access to a comprehensive directory enquiryservice, which will also include mobile telephone numbers, by the end of the year, following pressureexerted on Malta by the European Commission. This is the result of a second warning from theCommission threatening legal action if Malta continues to fail to make available such a service.• 17 December 2005 The new Ombudsman has pledged to continue his predecessor's work for a moretransparent and open administration as well as keeping the decision-making process as expeditious aspossible. Joseph Said Pullicino, the former Chief Justice and Broadcasting Authority chairman,

formally took office during a ceremony presided over by President Edward Fenech-Adami. He replacesJoe Sammut, the country's first Ombudsman, who occupied the post for 10 years.• 17 December 2005 The Bank of Valletta L-Istrina campaign officially ended when President EdwardFenech Adami visited St Aloysius College, in Birkirkara, where he used to attend as a child. The piggybank campaign supported by BOV involved about 65,000 students in 2,800 classrooms from allschools in Malta and Gozo.• 17 December 2005 The Minister for Competitiveness and Communications, Censu Galea said Maltabelieves the reform of the EU's Common Agriculture Policy is not only one of Europe's majorcontributions to agriculture worldwide but, together with Europe's offer to eliminate export subsidiesand to cut its import tariffs, is a valid demonstration of the EU's willingness to register progress in thisfield. Mr Galea, who is leading the Maltese delegation at the Sixth World Trade Ministerial Meeting onInternational Trade in Hong Kong, was addressing the plenary session of the conference.• 18 December 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was all smiles yesterday as Malta secured a netEU budget package of €455 million (around Lm194 million) over a seven-year period. After morethan 17 hours of intense negotiations in Brussels, which ended at 3 a.m. yesterday, Malta managed toretain the same terms negotiated under the Luxembourg presidency with a few additional sweeteners.• 18 December 2005 Czech Ambassador Libor Secka delivered a speech during a ceremony onValletta's Freedom Square for the lighting of a 12-metre live Christmas tree - a gift to Malta fromCzech President Vaclav Klaus. The Christmas tree was lit by was President Edward Fenech-Adami tothe tune of the Armed Forces Band's playing. During his Christmas address to the nation, the Presidentemphasised "solidarity" - shown also in the collection of money, but not only. Archbishop JosephMercieca, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and his wife, and Opposition Leader Alfred Sant were inattendance.• 18 December 2005 Catholic Action Youth (Zghazagh Azzjoni Kattolika) has embarked on a campaigna week before Christmas to promote the real values of the celebration and to highlight people'sresponsibilities to ensure it is observed properly. The Wise Christmas campaign was supported byActing Prime Minister Tonio Borg and several organisations, which each delivered a message at apress conference at the Catholic Institute in Floriana.• 18 December 2005 Around Lm1 million has been spent to clear 32,000 tons of illegally dumpedrubbish in the past two years, according to Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit. Thefigure was announced by the minister, days before stiff littering regulations come into effect, whilespeaking during the Clean Up the World campaign.• 18 December 2005 Malta will issue a comprehensive climate change strategy covering response andadaptation measures for all sectors, the Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, GeorgePullicino said during an interview. Speaking on his return from the 11th Conference of the ContractingParties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which ended in Montreal a week ago,the minister explained that an ad hoc inter-ministerial group is developing detailed proposals.• 19 December 2005 Five sculptures by Maltese artists will soon be displayed along the roads financedby the Fifth Italian Protocol with one of them, a sculpture by Gabriel Caruana, already installed.According to the Urban Development and Roads Ministry, the works will be put up at junctions. Theidea is "to expose Maltese art".• 20 December 2005 The Government has decided to intensify meetings as from next month in order toimmediately identify the projects that stand to benefit from the new EU budget. The Cabinet sealed itslast meeting of the year on a good note when it discussed the need to make use of every euro at Malta'sdisposal between 2007 and 2013.• 20 December 2005 33 refugees left for Holland under the burden-sharing agreement reached earlierthis year between The Netherlands and Malta. Holland pledged to take 36 refugees. The other threewill leave in the coming weeks once the paperwork is completed. The resettlement marked abreakthrough, a spokesman for the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry who was at the airport explained- Holland became the first EU country to take refugees from another member state. Malta is innegotiations for similar resettlements with Ireland and the Czech Republic, while the US has alreadypledged to take 30 refugees per year.

• 20 December 2005 A total of 1,219,075 passengers used the Malta-Gozo ferries in the third quarter ofthis year, an increase of 11,976 passengers or one % over the same period last year, the NationalStatistics Office said. The total number of passenger vehicles carried increased by 3,171 to 289,632,up 1.1 %. A total of 5,562 trips were made between Malta and Gozo, a drop of 26 or 0.5 %. TheMalita carried 525,692 passengers or 43.1 % of the total passengers in this period.• 20 December 2005 A school in Cospicua has joined forces with schools in five European countries inits first Comenius project. The project - Developing Health And Welfare Education In The EuropeanUnion Primary School - aims to instil awareness about the practical health and welfare education issuesthat make up the students' and teachers' day-to-day life in EU countries. St Francis School in Cospicuais taking part together with schools from Scotland, Belgium, England, Germany and Poland.• 20 December 2005 The European Commission is contesting a Maltese law regarding port statecontrol inspectors and has threatened Malta with legal action if the law is not changed. According tothe Commission, Maltese law still allows non-qualified inspectors employed before May 1 last year,Malta's accession date, to continue to work as port state control inspectors while the EU directive onlyallows inspection tasks to be performed by persons without the required qualifications if they wereemployed as such by their administrations before June 1995. According to the Commission this lawshould have been changed by Malta's accession.• 20 December 2005 A photographic album compiled by the Department of Information, featuringhighlights of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and the Queen's state visit to Maltalast month is available on CD. The CD contains over 750 images taken by Department of Informationphotographers and is divided into two parts. The CD sells for Lm3 from the DOI Sales Office at 3,Castille Place, Valletta. Gozitans can place their orders at the Information Office, Banca Guiratale inVictoria. For further information call 153 or e-mail info.doi@gov.mt• 21 December 2005 President Edward Fenech-Adami and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi transmittedtheir best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to all Maltese and Gozitans living abroad. DrFenech-Adami and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi expressed their satisfaction at the outcome of lastmonth's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) "which offered an opportunity forthe Maltese to show their true colours". Audio and video recordings can be accessed on the followinglink:http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/archive/christmasmessages05/messagesindex.asp• 21 December 2005 The Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister, George Pullicino, said hisministry had already starting working to make sure that the allocated EU funds will be used in the mostbeneficial way in order to ensure a sustainable future for people working in this sector. Mr Pullicinopointed out that 72 million Euro from the 805 million Euro that Malta will be receiving between 2007and 2013 will be allocated to the sector.• 21 December 2005 Gifts in cash and in kind amounting to a total of Lm20,935 were presented to 30philanthropic organisations by President and Mrs Fenech-Adami on behalf of the Community ChestFund.• 21 December 2005 The Retail Prices Index went up by 0.56% to 109.01 last month, up from 108.40 inOctober this year. The National Statistics Office said that the inflation rate last month stood at 2.95%.• 21 December 2005 Maltese support for EU membership has increased for the first time in 18 months.According to a new Eurobarometer survey conducted in the autumn and released by the EU, supportreached 43% of those interviewed, an increase of 3% over six months earlier. Although the increase issmall it is significant, as in similar surveys conducted over the past year-and-a-half the support hadbeen constantly on the decline, reaching an all-time low of 40% last spring.• 22 December 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi met members of the Press, Councils andConstituted Bodies, Trade Unions, Employers Organisations, Political Parties Representatives andother organisations at the Auberge de Castille. An audio recording of the speech can be accessed on:http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/archive/PMaudio/audiorecording%20-%2021.12.05pm-corpi.asp• 22 December 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has given his full backing to Brigadier CarmelVassallo in the wake of the inquiry into the violent clash between soldiers and illegal immigrants at theSafi Barracks earlier this year, which found that army personnel used excessive force. The 97-pagereport by Judge Franco Depasquale published last week also stated that a lack of competence within

army ranks led to the situation escalating, but stopped short of blaming the brigadier - who was present- for the incident.• 22 December 2005 Nine Kia cars bought by companies and individuals were presented to L-Istrinaorganisers to be drawn by lot on the December 26 charity marathon. Car importers this year broke withthe tradition of donating a car each to L-Istrina following the government's decision to waive Lm1million in car registration taxes and VAT on the luxury BMWs auctioned after CHOGM. PresidentEdward Fenech Adami and Mrs Fenech Adami attended the announcement of prizes in Valletta.• 22 December 2005 In the coming four years, the European Commission will be putting forward anumber of legislative initiatives aimed at opening Europe's doors to regular economic migrantsgranting them both employment and residential permits. The proposals, which are likely to dividemember states, also include the provision of a green card system giving immigrants the right of freemovement across the 25 member states, including Malta. Details of this legal migration policy planwere unveiled in Brussels.• 22 December 2005 The Housing Authority will be giving a new means tested grant to families with adisabled member for the installation of a lift in their home. The authority said that where a lift costsLm10,000, it will give a grant of Lm5,000; Lm4,000 for the lift itself and Lm1,000 for structuralalterations. Marisa Micallef, the authority's chairman, said the authority was very conscious of its rolein helping families having members with a disability to enjoy their own home to the fullest.• 22 December 2005 The Malta Maritime Authority has signed a 1.1 million Euro contract withNorwegian company Norcontrol IT for the provision of a vessel traffic management system for use inMalta's waters. The project, which is jointly financed by the European Union and the MMA, is the firstphase of Malta's aim to achieve full coverage of vessel traffic management around its shores andterritorial waters, obviously including both Grand Harbour and Marsaxlokk.• 22 December 2005 The scrutiny committee within the House Standing Committee on Foreign andEuropean Union Affairs this year analysed 311 documents released by European institutions. Thenumber of documents vetted this year is three times the amount scrutinised last year. The role of thescrutiny committee is to examine each EU document deposited, assess its legal and politicalimportance and determine whether it should be cleared or referred for further debate.• 22 December 2005 Over 1,000 bars and restaurants have been given coasters promoting the protectionof the environment. This Malta Environment and Planning Authority promotional campaign isdesigned to acquaint the public with simple national treasures, such as the iris, the blue rock thrush andthe dolphin among others. Over the past two years, Mepa has been scheduling special areas of naturalbeauty and ecological importance. But while these sites are being appreciated, the elements found there- the flora and the fauna - are less well-known and may be in danger.• 23 December 2005 During its first year of accession to the EU (May-December 2004) Malta'seconomy grew poorer when compared to the EU average, according to Eurostat, the statistical office ofthe EU. The new figures show that whereas Malta's GDP per capita in purchasing power standard(PPS) stood at 72% of the EU average in 2003, it went down to 69% last year.• 24 December 2005 Some Lm300,000 from the National Lotteries Good Causes Fund were distributedto about 30 organisations this year. Colin Calleja, from the Finance Ministry, said that the fundincorporates a percentage of the tax on games and lotteries and any unclaimed prize. Donations can begiven to individuals, associations or non-governmental organisations. Funds are not usually given tocover running costs but for specific, one-time projects.• 24 December 2005 A legal notice published in the Government Gazette has made printed advertspromotingn tobacco illegal. Described as "a breakthrough law" by Health Promotion Department headMario Spiteri, legal notice 406 of 2005 states that no person can advertise cigarettes, cigars, tobacco ortobacco products on billboards, shop canopies, sunshades, umbrellas and any other medium intendedfor communication.• 24 December 2005 The head of the civil service, Godwin Grima, was appointed secretary to theCabinet, with effect from January 1. He succeeds Joseph Scicluna, who has just been appointedchairman of the Broadcasting Authority. Prior to his appointment as principal permanent secretary lastJanuary, he served as permanent secretary in the Justice Ministry and permanent secretary in the Officeof the Prime Minister.

• 24 December 2005 The L-Istrina 2005 team accompanied the head of the Malta Community ChestFund, Mrs Mary Fenech-Adami, the President's wife, on a tour of some of the organisations thatreceived donations through last year's edition of the charity marathon on television.• 24 December 2005 The Malta Maritime Authority has launched the Port Infrastructure Study, whichwill look into the feasibility, viability and environmental impact of a number of projects in GrandHarbour, Marsaxlokk fishing port, Mgarr port and a number of sites along the foreshore that cater forthe leisure industry. The MMA said the EU had approved the co-financing of the study.• 25 December 2005 The country's leaders - President Edward Fenech Adami, Prime Minister LawrenceGonzi and Archbishop Joseph Mercieca - in their Christmas messages all stressed the values ofsolidarity, which, they said, was typical of Maltese society. Inevitably, the argument of immigrationwas touched upon to varying degrees. President Fenech Adami said the country needed to continueliving up to its characteristic solidarity and hospitality. Audio and video recordings can be accessed onthe following link:http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/archive/christmasmessages05/messagesindex.asp• 25 December 2005 Malta would derive net benefits from a positive conclusion to the ongoing round ofinternational trade negotiations inside the World Trade Organisation, but would have to prepare theworkforce for possible job losses in certain sectors according to Censu Galea, the Minister forCompetitiveness and Communications. Mr Galea was speaking on his return from the WTO ministerialmeeting in Hong Kong on the four-year-old Doha Development Agenda round.• 27 December 2005 Donations to the annual fundraising marathon L-Istrina have reachedLm1,292,849. This figure includes the Lm590,000 netted from the auction sale of 59 BMWs usedduring the November Commonwealth summit .• 27 December 2005 Human trafficking in the Mediterranean should no longer be "an easy ride", saidForeign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo, as the EU embarks on its biggest ever drive to stem illegalmigration in the region. Countries like Italy, Spain and especially Malta have called the EU to therescue as they grapple with the constant flow of thousands of immigrants in search of a better life.• 28 December 2005 The National Statistics Office said that the total number of nights spent inaccommodation establishments declined by 2.5% to 721,416 in October when compared to the samemonth in 2004. The recorded average length of stay remained unchanged at 6.7 nights. The supply ofbed-places stood at 37,591 beds, a decrease of 3.5%. Compared to last year, the average length of stayin Gozo and Comino decreased from 4.6 to 4.3 nights.• 29 December 2005 A total of Lm3,000 were distributed among 12 charitable institutions. The moneywas handed out by Censu Galea, Minister for Competitiveness and Communications, on behalf ofMaltapost. Mr Galea said that although this year the stamp Christmas surcharge was not issued,Maltapost, in collaboration with the postal services regulator, allocated Lm3,000 to be shared by anumber of institutions.• 29 December 2005 A 6.2% rise in the number of cruise passengers visiting Malta was registered lastmonth, when the number increased by 2,001 over the same month a year ago, to a total of 34,076, theNational Statistics Office said.• 30 December 2005 Heritage Malta will be restoring the 16th century frescos on the vaults of the mainhall of the Verdala Palace in Buskett. The palace is the President's summer residence. PresidentEdward FenechAdami, who launched the restoration project, said the funds will go into a bank accountmanaged by the President's Office. Dr Fenech-Adami laid an emphasis on the need to look afterMalta's heritage which "deepens our knowledge and national identity".• 30 December 2005 The electricity surcharge will be trimmed down to 47.4% in January and Februaryand fuel prices in general will be marginally cheaper. The surcharge will be slashed from the projected56.2% in January and 57.4% in February to 47.4%, reflecting the reduction in international oil prices,according to Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt.• 30 December 2005 The Government issued what will probably be the last warning to litter bugsreminding them that the trial period for the littering regulations will come to an end with 2005 and thatthe fines issued as from Sunday will be for real. The new fines regime, which along with the new plainclothes wardens has been on trial for the past three months, varies from the littering fines set at Lm25-Lm50 to those for illegal dumping at Lm1,000 to Lm2,500.

• 30 December 2005 The number of business tourists increased by more than 40% last month, to11,116, when compared to November 2004, according to the National Statistics Office. TheCommonwealth Heads of Government summit and related meetings that took place over a week at theend of the month probably accounts for this sharp rise. On the other hand, holiday tourist numbersdeclined by 4.8% to 52,951.• 30 December 2005 The gainfully occupied population increased by 715 last August, while theunemployment register saw a drop of 776 people, the National Statistics Office said. Between August2004 and August 2005 there was a drop in the full-time employment of people working in themanufacturing of clothing, radio, television and communication equipment, footwear and foodproducts and beverages, as well as the collection, purification and distribution of water.• 30 December 2005 The Central Bank decided to leave the central intervention rate unchanged at3.25%. The decision was taken by the Governor at the end of the Monetary Policy Advisory Councilmeeting. The Governor considered that against a background of continued stability in the financialmarkets and in the absence of material changes in the relevant indicators, the current monetary policystance remained appropriate. After the small, largely seasonal drop last month, the bank's externalreserves were broadly stable through December to date.• 30 December 2005 The Minister of Education, Youth and Employment, Louis Galea has set up theMalta Qualifications Council (MQC) which will be replacing and extending the work previouslycarried out by the former Maltese Council for Professional and Vocational Qualifications. The MQC'srole will be to regulate certification issues by both public and private educational institutions.• 31 December 2005 Recurrent revenue in the first 11 months of 2005 totalled Lm751.3 million andmade up 83.5% of this year's budget forecast, the National Statistics Office said. Compared to the sameperiod last year, this represents an increase of Lm83.1 million, or 12.4%. At the same time, totalexpenditure amounted to Lm844.7 million, an increase of Lm47.4 million, or 6%, over the Lm797.3million spent in the same period last year.________________________________