The Pope’s two-day visit to Malta cost €4,000,000

Apr 27 2022

It was revealed by newsroom ‘The Shift’ that the two-day Malta visit by Pope Francis was estimated to have cost €4 million.

The newsroom reported that the taxpayer did not pay the entire amount as €3 million was covered by the Maltese state. The remaining €1 million was contributed by the Curia from church funds.

The government had faced backlash for using taxpayers’ money on unnecessary expenses during the visit. These included a €50,000 temporary ramp at the Gozo Harbour which allowed the Pope to visit the island for less than two hours via the catamaran.

Thousands of euros were allegedly spent on shipping the Pope’s Fiat Cinquecento to Malta from Rome. the Nuncio used a portion of the funds to ‘refurbish’ his Tal-Virtu villa so that it could host the Pope.

A spokesperson told the newsroom that any questions regarding vehicles used by the Holy See delegation or any such matters should be directed to the Nunciature and/or Holy See press office.

PN undecided on support for Anglu Farrugia as speaker

Apr 27 2022

The Nationalist Party parliamentary group are still undecided when it comes to supporting Anglu Farrugia’s nomination for Speaker.

With parliament opening on the 7th of May, this would mark Farrugia’s third term as Speaker. The nomination will have to bee approved by a simple majority vote in parliament.

MaltaToday was informed by a PN spokesperson that a meeting of the parliamentary group about the subject is still yet to be held. He also added that Opposition leader Bernard Grech was not consulted by Prime Minister Robert Abela on the nomination.

Abela said back on the 14th of April that government will be nominating Farrugia for speaker, insisting he saw no need for a change in the role. Were this to be the case, it would mark the first time a Speaker is retained for a third term.

The Opposition had voted against Farrugia’s nomination in 2013 because former PM Joseph Muscat did not consult it on the choice. In 2017, Farrugia was proposed for a second term and was approved unanimously.

The Speaker can be a sitting MP or someone from outside the House as the Constitution makes no reference to consultation in the nomination of a new Speaker. The motion to nominate the person for the role is filed by the prime minister, and is the first vote that will be taken in the first session of parliament.

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Russia cutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria amid Moldova invasion fears

Apr 27 2022

Russia will be halting its gas shipments to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday, following accusations by Kyiv of Russia seeking to expand the Ukraine war further into Europe after blasts in Moldova.

Gazprom, a Russian energy giant, told Poland and Bulgaria that supplies will be cut off. Bulgaria is highly dependent on the company’s gas, with the country’s energy ministry saying on Tuesday that state-owned gas operators have undertaken steps for alternative agreements for natural gas deliveries.

Bulgaria is almost completely dependent on Russia for annual consumption of around 3.0 billion cubic metres of gas. It only receives small amounts from Azerbaijan, which it hopes to increase after completing a pipe link to Greece late this year.

Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki saying that their country’s facilities were 76% full and that it was ready to obtain necessary supplies from other pipelines.

Explosions this week which targeted the state ministry, a radio tower and military unit in Moldova followed a Kremlin commander’s claims Russian speakers were being opposed.

This raised eyebrows that Moldova could be Russia’s next target to push into Europe. The Moldovan region of Transnistria has been occupied by Moscow’s forces for decades, with a Ukrainian official saying that if his country falls, Russians will be at Moldova’s gates.

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5 Maltese companies that Elon Musk could buy after Twitter

Apr 26 2022

When you’re dealing with the richest man on the planet, nothing is ever off the table and Elon Musk continues to outdo himself with one larger-than-life business manoeuvre after the other. The Tesla and SpaceX boss just recently had his $44 billion bid for social media platform Twitter confirmed, only a few days after the company’s board attempted to block the business magnate from taking it private.

Now that Twitter is in the bag, we wonder if the big boss would consider buying a Maltese company. The below are a few suggestions of Malta’s companies Elon Musk could buy after Twitter.

Sphinx

A local company which produces the single greatest snack in the universe, the Pastizz. The businessman could benefit from owning a company whose food is absolutely out of this world and Sphinx is at the centre of that.

From SpaceX to SphinX, Elon Musk could single-handedly answer the age old question; is he an Irkotta or Piżelli man?

Benna

Benna (or Malta Dairy Products Ltd.) is one the island’s most beloved, iconic and all-around-Maltese brands ever and who knows what could happen to it in the hands of Elon Musk.

With Musk being the space-centric individual he is, we would imagine that the first flavour they’d come up with under Musk’s ownership would be Mars (hehe get it?)

Three Hills

Another iconic Maltese brand which has a long tenure of fresh, local products with locally-sourced ingredients. If Elon does decide to buy the iconic brand, we’re certain that his first order of business would be to add another hill to Gozo’s Three Hills.

The next TV advert you would be seeing would be Musk, with a can of kunserva in hand saying “Four Hills tal-bott il-blue.”

Malta Public Transport

If there’s anything that Malta needs right now, it’s a massive overhaul of the public transport system and if Malta Public Transport and Tesla had to come together, it would definitely be a match made in heaven.

An entire Tesla public transport system, Cybertruck buses and who knows, we could even get flying cars in the very near future.

Malta Daily

Musk does have a habit in investing in promising companies and with Malta Daily being Malta’s fastest-growing media platform, we would understand why he’d want to come take a look.

With the entrepreneur planning to ‘unlock Twitter’s potential’ upon purchase – we’re certain that he’d definitely have a good time with MaltaDaily.

Actually, now that we have you here, now would be a good time to let you know that we’re on Twitter – so drop us a follow!

What do you think the grandmaster CEO will do next?

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