1st August 2008 – Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was in Munich for a meeting with officials of Frosch Touristik, a leading German tour operator. The Prime Minister was accompanied for his two day visit by Mrs Gonzi and his private secretary, Charles Bonello.

1st August 2008 A parliamentary delegation led by David Agius, and including Joe Mizzi and Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, attended the 54th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which ended on August 10.

3rd August 2008 The EU approved the release of the first batch of funds under the 2007-2013 financial programme, signalling the biggest ever investment in Malta which should contribute towards a radical upgrade of the island’s infrastructure.

4th August 2008 Expenditure on social security benefits rose by 13.1 percent during the first six months of 2008, driven mainly by outlays on pensions in respect of retirement, contributory bonuses and children’s allowances, the National Statistics Office said.

5th August 2008 The full-time gainfully occupied population increased by 2,907 persons in March while unemployment decreased by 865 persons when compared to March 2007, the National Statistics Office said.

5th August 2008 The Malta Environment and Planning Authority last month decided 605 applications and received 545 new applications. The pending caseload at the end of the month was 4,835, MEPA said.

6th August 2008 Airport passenger movements increased slightly in July when compared to the same month in 2007, Malta International Airport said. The total passenger movements in July 2008 increased by 1.3% for a total of 370,873 whilst aircraft movements decreased by 3.2% for a total of 2,965.

6th August 2008 TVM has remained the top television channel in terms of audience share, according to the Broadcasting Authority’s Continuous Audience Assessment report for the second quarter of this year. Between April and June, TVM attracted 33 per cent of the audience and was followed by One TV at 15.1 percent and the foreign station Rai Uno with 11.6 percent.

6th August 2008 July’s mean air temperature was a fraction warmer than the July norm recorded for the past 57 years, the Meteorological Office said. At 26.7 °C, it was 0.6 °C above the norm.

7th August 2008 Speaking during a visit to the Armed Forces of Malta Maritime Squadron base at Hay Wharf, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday said there were many lessons to be learned from the Simshar tragedy, and urged that it should not be forgotten. He said the AFM must continue to bolster its resources in all areas and fishermen should be given the best possible training.

8th August 2008 A trackless ‘train’ for the Rabat, Mdina and Mtarfa zone has been inaugurated by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.

8th August 2008 An audiovisual fund of €233,000 has been set up by the government for the production of Maltese quality documentaries and short films. The scheme was launched by Education and Culture Minister Dolores Cristina, who said the fund would help local companies to be in a better position to benefit from EU assistance for their work.

8th August 2008 The Prime Minister, the Hon. Lawrence Gonzi presides over the signing of the text of the double taxation treaty with the United States by the Hon. Tonio Fenech, Minister of Finance, the Economy and Investment and H.E. Ms Molly Bordonaro, Ambassador of the United States to Malta.

9th August 2008 Provisional data for international trade indicate that the visible trade gap last June stood at €91.8 million, down by €14.4 million from the same month last year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

10th August 2008 A record 1,140 students applied for ICT courses offered at the Malta College for Arts, Sciences and Technology during registration week.

11th August 2008 The number of Maltese travelling abroad dropped by almost a quarter in June to reach 23,329 when compared to the same month last year, according to estimates published by the National Statistics Office.

12th August 2008 The number of reported traffic accidents in the second quarter this year totalled 4,073, an increase of 37 cases over the same quarter last year, the National Statistics Office said.

13 August 2008 The supply and wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetables during the second quarter of this year rose by 0.5 percent and 5.6 percent respectively.

13th August 2008 Subscriptions to all forms of communication technology increased in the first quarter of the year. The number of mobile telephone subscriptions reached 372,009, which roughly translates into 90.3 percent of the population.

14th August 2008 The index of consumer prices shot up by 1.9 percent last month from the previous month, mostly as a consequence of the surcharge on power, the National Statistics Office said. The index increased to 110.58 from 108.55 in June.

15th August 2008 The 12-month moving average rate of inflation in Malta stood at 3.3 percent in July, while the annual rate of inflation stood at 5.6 percent, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

19th August 2008 Air Malta said today that it was the driving force behind the increase in tourism arrivals registered this year, with 57 percent of the 77,000 additional tourists who came to Malta in the first half of this year using the airline. In June, Air Malta continued to register the same double digit growth recorded over the last eight months, increasing its traffic by 13 percent.

20th August 2008 Workplace accidents rose by 7.4 percent in the second quarter of this year to reach 1,182, but there were no fatalities, the National Statistics Office said.

21st August 2008 Rising prices, immigration and environmental protection topped the concerns listed by the Maltese in a national survey on Malta conducted in spring by Eurobarometre, the EU statistics agency. The report shows that 40 percent of respondents in a 500-people sample listed inflation as their top concern, followed by 29 percent who mentioned immigration and 21 percent who were concerned about the environment.

21st August 2008 Arrivals on cruise ships increased by 22.8 percent last month over the same month in 2007, the National Statistics Office said.

22nd August 2008 Inspectors from the Consumer and Competition Division (CCD) of the Ministry of Finance carried out an average of 70 visits every day to retail outlets during the first six months of the year. A spokesman said a total of 12,622 price monitoring visits were carried out. Their main purpose was to ensure that pricing indication regulations are observed.

23rd August 2008 The Retail Price Index went up by 0.86 percent over the previous month from 114.99 to 115.98 last month, the National Statistics Office said.

24th August 2008 Maltese diplomatic missions and consular posts witnessed an increase of 665 percent in visa applications from Russia since the beginning of the year. The number of visa applications received by Maltese diplomatic missions and consular posts around the world has shot up after Malta’s entry into the Schengen area.

25th August 2008 Unemployment in July totalled 5,958, down by 374 when compared to the same month last year, the National Statistics Office said. It explained that there were 5,272 unemployed in Malta and 686 in Gozo. In the 12 months to July 2008, Malta experienced a decline of 428 in unemployment, whereas Gozo saw an increase of 54.

26th August 2008 The average rate of inflation in Malta over the past 12 months was 3.3 percent, exactly the same as the EU, the Finance Ministry said. Only one EU member state which joined the bloc with or after Malta had a lower rate – Slovakia which had 3.1%, the ministry said.

26th August 2008 The Entit
lement Unit within the Health Department has, since 2006, issued 150,000 E-111 cards, including 28,000 this year. The Parliamentary Secretary for Health, told a news conference that 4,600 cards were issued between July 15 and August 14.

27th August 2008 A total of 817,662 nights were spent in collective accommodation establishments in June, an 8.8 percent rise over the corresponding month last year, the National Statistics Office said.

28th August 2008 Income generated by the agricultural sector last year is estimated to have amounted to €63.2 million, up marginally by 0.8 percent when compared to 2006, as a result of contrasting developments within the agricultural sector, the National Statistics Office said.

29th August 2008 South street and St John Street in Valletta have become pedestrian zones as from 1st September 2008, said Transport Minister Austin Gatt after an announcement with Vince Farrugia, director-general of the GRTU. Talks included the hours during which delivery vans would be able to enter to supply the shops.

29th August 2008 The Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs said this afternoon that the criteria by which illegal immigrants are released from detention are already very well defined and all such persons have to go through a set procedure before being assessed as “vulnerable persons” and thus released.

29th August 2008 The government’s financial deficit widened by €74.6 million to €283.5 million in the first seven months of the year, the National Statistics Office said.

29th August 2008 Tourist arrivals grew by 1.2 percent to reach 149,491 in July, the National Statistics Office said. The average length of stay was 10.0 nights, up by 0.3 nights when compared to July 2007.

30th August 2008 Vodafone and Go Mobile have introduced cheaper roaming rates, in line with the EU Roaming Regulation. The new rates are valid for calls originating and terminating in an EU state.

31st August 2008 Pope Benedict called for an effective political solution to deal with the human problems of illegal immigration from Africa to Europe. He referred to the Malta incident which happened the week before in which some 70 African migrants went missing and were believed killed in the central Mediterranean when their rubber boat capsized. He said that European countries have a duty to protect the human needs of immigrants and all immigrants should respect national law.

31st August 2008 The Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs stood by its decision to appoint former prisons head Mr Manwel Cassar to head an independent board to investigate alleged shortcomings at the prisons.

Permalink: A review of the main stories in August 2008