Malta History

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Malta History

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in 5200 BC
Maltese islands were first settled mainly by stone age hunters or farmers who had arrived from the larger island of Sicily, possibly the Sicani.
This was proven by the Pottery found by archaeologists at Skorba resembles that found in Italy.
The extinction of the dwarf hippos and dwarf elephants has been linked to the earliest arrival of humans on Malta.

[Palaeolithic Man in the Maltese Islands. By: A. Mifsud, C. Savona-Ventura and S. Mifsud ]
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5000BC

Prehistoric farming settlements dating to Early Neolithic period were discovered in open areas and also in caves, such as Għar Dalam.

( pages 124–132 of " An Archaeology of the Senses: Prehistoric Malta" By Robin Skeates . Oxford University Press)

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5000BC
The Ghar Dalam cave near the harbor of Marsaxlokk revealed bones of domesticated animals and potsherds.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.42)
Pottery from Għar Dalam phase is similar to pottery found in Agrigento, Sicily.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta)

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4500-4200BC
The Skorba phase on Malta was marked by a growing population, with increased forest clearance for agriculture and grazing that may have led to erosion. Obsidian on Malta from the islands of Lipari and Panteleria indicate links to the outside world.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.40)
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4200-3800BC
The Zebbug phase indicated evidence of collective burials.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.40)
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c4000BC
The Hypogeum, a complex of rock-cut chamber tombs, dated to this time. They were discovered in 1902.
(SFEC, 9/17/00, p.T3)
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3600-3000BC
The Gantija phase saw the construction of the first megalithic temples.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.43)
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3600-2500BC
The Late Neolithic in Malta.
(AM, 7/04, p.43)
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c3,000BC
A Neolithic temple at Mnajdra dates to this time.
(AM, 7/01, p.15)
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3000-2500BC
The Tarxien phase is marked by the collapse of the temple culture.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.44)
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2500BC
The culture apparently disappeared from the Maltese Islands around 2500 BC. Archaeologists speculate that the temple builders fell victim to famine or disease.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta)
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2500BC
By about his time the megalithic temples were no longer in use.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.47)
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After 2500 BC , the Maltese Islands were depopulated for several decades until the arrival of a new influx of Bronze Age immigrants, a culture that cremated its dead and introduced smaller megalithic structures called dolmens to Malta.
( Daniel Cilia, "Malta Before Common Era", in The Megalithic Temples of Malta)
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In most cases there are small chambers here, with the cover made of a large slab placed on upright stones. They are claimed to belong to a population certainly different from that which built the previous megalithic temples. It is presumed the population arrived from Sicily because of the similarity of Maltese dolmens to some small constructions found in the largest island of the Mediterranean sea.
( "Ancient Stones, The Prehistoric Dolmens of Sicily" By : Piccolo, Salvatore; Darvill, Timothy .2013)

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Phoenician traders used the Maltese Islands as a stop on their trade routes from the eastern Mediterranean to Cornwall, joined the natives on the island.
( Owen, Charles . "The Maltese Islands ")
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The Phoenicians inhabited the area now known as Mdina, and its surrounding town of Rabat, which they called Maleth.

( "History of Mdina". Edrichton.com)
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332 BC

the fall of Phoenicia
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After 332 BC

, the area came under the control of Carthage, a former Phoenician colony.
During this time the people on Malta mainly cultivated olives and carobs, and produced textiles.

( " Doing Business with Malta" By:Terterov, Marat (2005). GMB Publishing Ltd)
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During the First Punic War of 264 BC, tensions led the Maltese people to rebel against Carthage and turn control of their garrison over to the Roman consul Sempronius.
Malta remained loyal to Rome during the Second Punic War and the Romans rewarded it with the title Foederata Civitas, a designation that meant it was exempt from paying tribute or the rule of Roman law, although at this time it fell within the jurisdiction of the province of Sicily.

( Castillo, Dennis Angelo (2006). The Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta. Greenwood Publishing Group)
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10-2-60CE
St. Paul is believed to have been shipwrecked near Malta while enroute to Rome for trial for practicing Catholicism. The story is told in the Bible’s New Testament Acts of the Apostles, chapter 27. The event is marked in Malta every February 10.
(WSJ, 6/21/08, p.W8)(www.maltamedia.com/artman2/publish/out_about/article_5012.shtml)
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By 117 AD, the Maltese Islands were a thriving part of the Roman Empire, being promoted to the status of Municipium under Hadrian.
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Period (395 to 870):
When the Roman Empire split into Eastern and Western divisions in the 4th century, Malta fell under the control of the Byzantine Empire from 395 to 870
Byzantine Empire was Greek speaking and ruled from Constantinople.

( "Notable dates in Malta's history". Department of Information – Maltese Government. 6 February 2008)
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Period (395 to 870):
Although Malta was under Byzantine rule for four centuries, not much is known from this period. There is evidence that Germanic tribes, including the Goths and Vandals, briefly took control of the islands before the Byzantines launched a counterattack and retook Malta.

( The Rough Guide to Malta & Gozo. Rough Guides. By: Borg, Victor Paul 2001)

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827
The Muslim conquest of Malta is linked with that of Sicily that began in 827 after admiral Euphemius asked the Aghlabid- dynasty to invade the island.
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870
The Muslim chronicler and geographer al-Himyari recounts that in 870 AD, following a violent struggle against the occupying Byzantines, the Muslim invaders, first led by Halaf al-Hadim, and later by Sawada ibn Muhammad, looted and pillaged the island, destroying the most important buildings, and leaving it practically uninhabited until it was recolonised by the Muslims from Sicily in 1048–1049 AD.
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1048–1049 AD.
Malta was recolonised by the Muslims from Sicily in
It is uncertain whether this new settlement took place as a consequence of demographic expansion in Sicily, as a result of a higher standard of living in Sicily (in which case the recolonisation may have taken place a few decades earlier), or as a result of civil war which broke out among Muslim rulers of Sicily in 1038.
[ See:Brincat, M.J. (1995) Malta 870–1054 Al-Himyari's Account and its Linguistic Implications. Valletta, Malta: Said International.]

The Muslims introduced new irrigation, some fruits and cotton and the Siculo-Arabic language was adopted on the island from Sicily: it would eventually evolve into the Maltese language.
[See: Wilson, Andrew (2006). Corpus Linguistics Around the World]

The Christians on the island were allowed freedom of religion; they had to pay jizya, a tax for non-Muslims, but were exempt from the tax that Muslims had to pay (Zakaat).

[ See: Bain, Carolyn (2004). Malta & Gozo. Lonely Planet. X. ]

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1091
The Normans captured Malta in 1091, as part of their conquest of Sicily. The Norman leader, Roger I of Sicily, was welcomed by the native Christians.

(Castillo, Dennis Angelo  2006. "The Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta")
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The notion that Count Roger I reportedly tore off a portion of his checkered red-and-white banner and presented it to the Maltese – forming the basis of the present-day Maltese flag in gratitude for having fought on his behalf – is founded in myth.

See: [Castillo, Dennis Angelo  2006. "The Maltese Cross" ] and [
"Notable dates in Malta's history"By:Department of Information – Maltese Government dtd 6-2-2008]

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In the Norman period :
Malta became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Sicily which also covered the island of Sicily and the southern half of the Italian Peninsula. The Catholic Church was reinstated as the state religion with Malta under the See of Palermo, and some Norman architecture sprung up around Malta especially in its ancient capital Mdina. Tancred of Sicily, the last Norman monarch, made Malta a Feudal Lordship or fief within the kingdom and installed a Count of Malta. As the islands were much desired due to their strategic importance, it was during this time the men of Malta were militarised to fend off capture attempts; the early counts were skilled Genoese corsairs.

(Castillo, Dennis Angelo  2006. "The Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta")
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period from 1194 until 1266:
The kingdom passed on to the House of Hohenstaufen from 1194 until 1266. During this period, when Frederick II of Hohenstaufen began to reorganise his Sicilian kingdom, Western culture and religion began to exert their influence more intensely.
[ Blouet, B. (1987)" The Story of Malta". Third Edition, p.37-38]
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Malta formed part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation for 72 years. Malta was declared a county and a marquisate, but its trade was totally ruined. For a long time it remained solely a fortified garrison.
[ Robert Montgomery Martin. History of the colonies of the British Empire, 1843, p. 569]
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1224
It was in 1224 under Frederick II that all remaining Muslims (who were not Moors) were expelled from Malta or impelled to convert and the entire Christian male population of Celano in Abruzzo was deported to Malta.
Sources:
1- ["Time-Line". AboutMalta.com. ].
2-[ Stefan Goodwin. Malta, Mediterranean bridge, p. 31 ]

3-[ Christian Peregin. "Maltese makeover". The Times. Malta. Retrieved 2-8-2010].

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For a brief period the kingdom passed to the Capetian House of Anjou, but high taxes made the dynasty unpopular in Malta, due in part to Charles of Anjou's war against the Republic of Genoa, and the island of Gozo was sacked in 1275.

(Castillo, Dennis Angelo 2006. "The Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta")
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A large revolt on Sicily known as the Sicilian Vespers followed these attacks, that saw the Peninsula separating into the Kingdom of Naples.
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from 1282 to 1409:
Malta was ruled by a Spanish Aragonese dynasty

["Superintendance of Cultural Heritage". Government of Malta ]

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Relatives of the kings of Aragon ruled the island until 1409, when it formally passed to the Crown of Aragon. Early on in the Aragonese ascendancy, the sons of the monarchy received the title, "Count of Malta". During this time much of the local nobility was created. However, by 1397 the bearing of the title "Count of Malta" reverted to a feudal basis with two families fighting over the distinction, which caused some conflict. This led the king to abolish the title. Dispute over the title returned when the title was reinstated a few years later and the Maltese, led by the local nobility, rose up against Count Gonsalvo Monroy.

Although they opposed the Count, the Maltese voiced their loyalty to the Sicilian Crown, which so impressed Alfonso V of Aragon that he did not punish the people for their rebellion. Instead, he promised never to grant the title to a third party, and incorporated it back into the crown. The city of Mdina was given the title of Città Notabile as a result of this sequence of events.
(Castillo, Dennis Angelo 2006. "The Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta")

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1530
Emperor Charles V of Spain gave the Maltese islands to the Knights Hospitaller under the leadership of Frenchman Philippe de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, Grand Master of the Order, in perpetual lease for which they had to pay an annual Tribute of the Maltese Falcon. These knights, a military religious order now known as the Knights of Malta, had been driven out of Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire in 1522.

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1522
Suleiman I captured Rhodes from the Knights Hospitallers of St. John. The knights surrendered after a 6-month siege. In 1530 the knights were resettled on Malta by Charles V.
(WSJ, 7/21/08, p.A11)
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1530
The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, offered the Knights Hospitallers of St. John the Isle of Malta. In exchange for a perpetual lease the Knights undertook to send the emperor a falcon (made famous in the mystery novel, The Maltese Falcon, and the movie of the same name) once every year as a token of their fealty. They remained there until the time of Napoleon, and became known as the Knights of Malta.
(WSJ, 12/30/94, A-6)(WSJ, 7/21/08, p.A11)
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24-2-1530
Charles V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Clement V in the 1st imperial coronation by a Pope. Charles restored the Medici to power after capturing Florence and ceded Malta to the landless religious order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem.
(TL-MB, p.14)(MC, 2/24/02)
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1551
Turkish forces captured Tripoli but failed to take Malta.
(TL-MB, p.18)
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From : 19-5-1565
until: 8-9-1565
In Malta the Great Siege lasted over this period as Suleyman the Magnificent sought to add the island to his conquests. The Turkish army of 40,000 men besieged the Knights of Malta, led by Grand Master Jean de la Valette, at their garrison, St. Elmo. The defenders numbered 540 knights, 400 Spanish troops, and Maltese gentry. In the initial attack 200 of 260 defenders lay dead at the end of the day but the garrison held out. The Turks continued their efforts for four months when reinforcements arrived and saved them. The arrival of a fleet from Spain, the “Gran Soccorso,” turned the tide. This halted the westward advance of Islam in the Mediterranean. St. Elmo was later transformed into Valletta, the capital of Malta. The Order of St. John continues to thrive to today.
(HNQ, 4/8/99)(WSJ, 12/30/94, p.A-6)(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.40)(WSJ, 7/21/08, p.A11)
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1571
The Palace of the Grand Masters was begun.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.40)
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1573-1577
The Cathedral of St. John was built.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.40)
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1647
Gian Francesca Abela, vice-chancellor of the Knights of St. John and the father of Maltese historiography, authored “Descrittione di Malta.” His antiquities, willed to the College of Jesuit Fathers in Valetta, later formed the nucleus of Malta’s National Museum of Archeology.
(AM, 7/97, p.48)
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1731
The Manoel Theater was constructed.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.40)
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1733-1740
The Cathedral Museum in Mdina was built as a seminary opposite the Mdina Cathedral. Traces of the classical city of Melite were later found beneath it.
(AM, 7/97, p.48)
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1798 Sep 2,
The Maltese people revolted against the French occupation, forcing the French troops to take refuge in the citadel of Valetta in Malta.
(HN, 9/2/98)
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1798
Napoleon expelled the Knights of Malta from their base in Malta. The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem (SMOM), without citizens or territory, became a permanent observer at the UN in 1994.
(WSJ, 6/28/01, p.A1)
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5-9-1800
Malta surrendered to British after they blockaded French troops.
(MC, 9/5/01)
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1804
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (32), poet, fled to Malta and worked as an assistant to the civilian governor. He returned to England in 1806.
(WSJ, 4/15/99, p.A20)
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1902
The 6,000 year-old Hypogeum, a complex of rock-cut chamber tombs, was discovered.
(SFEC, 9/17/00, p.T3)
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1915-1919
Themistocles Zammit, father of Maltese prehistory, excavated the Tarxien temples.
(AM, 7/97, p.48)
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11-6-1940
The Italian Air Force bombed the British fortress at Malta in the Mediterranean.
(HN, 6/11/98)
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7-3-1942
15 Mk-VB Spitfires reached Malta.
(MC, 3/7/02)
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20 to 22-3-1942
There was a major German assault on Malta.
(MC, 3/20/02)(MC, 3/21/02)(MC, 3/22/02)
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7-4-1942
There was a heavy German assault on Malta.
(MC, 4/7/02)
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15-4-1942
George VI awarded the George Cross to the citizens of Malta.
(HN, 4/15/98)
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16-4-1942
Britain’s King George V awarded the Island of Malta the George Cross in recognition for heroism under constant German air attack. It was the first such award given to any part of the British Commonwealth.
(HN, 4/16/99)(HNQ, 7/8/01)
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20-4-1942
Heavy German assault on Malta.
(MC, 4/20/02)
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from : 11-6-1942
to : 20-10-1942
In Malta the German and Italian air blockade and repeated bombing failed to break the people-who lived in caves and catacombs through the worst. Hitler’s planned airborne invasion-Operation Hercules-was finally called off.
(HNQ, 4/8/99)
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2-2-1945
President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill departed Malta for the Yalta summit with Soviet leader Josef Stalin.
(AP, 2/2/97)
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21-9-1964
Malta gained independence from Britain and joined the UN.
(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A9)(AP, 9/21/97)
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1958
The National Museum of Archeology was established by British authorities in Valetta.
(AM, 7/97, p.49)
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21-9-1964
Malta Independence :
British Parliament passed the Act of Malta Independence from the United Kingdom, as an independent sovereign Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its Head of State
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1964
Malta was admitted to the United Nations
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1967
Arvid Pardo (d.1999 at 85), Maltese delegate to the UN, proposed that the bounty of the sea should be considered "the common heritage of mankind" and asked that some of the sea's wealth be used to bankroll a fund to help close the gap between rich and poor nations. The Law of the Sea was ratified in 1993 and took effect on Nov 16, 1994.
(SFC, 7/19/99, p.A22)
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1971
John Evans (b.1925), English archeologist, published the comprehensive survey: "The Prehistoric Antiquities of the Maltese Islands."
(AM, 7/97, p.48)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Davies_Evans)
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13-12-1974
Malta became a republic , and although no longer a Commonwealth realm,it remained a current member state of the Commonwealth of Nations.
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1977
Arvid Pardo published "The New International Order and the Law of the Sea with Elisabeth Mann Borgese.
(SFC, 7/19/99, p.A22)
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23-11-1985
Egypt Air flight 648 was hijacked to Malta by Palestinian militant Omar Mohammed Ali Rezaq, a member of the Abu Nidal terrorist group.
(SFC, 7/20/96, p.A6)(SFEC, 10/8/96, D1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EgyptAir_Flight_648)
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24-11-1985
The hijacking of an EgyptAir jetliner parked on the ground in Malta ended violently as Egyptian commandos stormed the plane. Fifty-eight people died in the raid, in addition to two others killed by the hijackers. Ali Rezaq of the Abu Nidal terrorist group was imprisoned in Malta for 7 years and then released. The US FBI apprehended him in Nigeria in 1993 and he was convicted by a US federal jury in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison.
(SFC, 7/20/96, p.A6)(SFEC, 10/8/96, D1)(AP, 11/24/97)
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1988
The Grand Master of The Order of St. John (Knights of Malta) died. Fidel Castro declared a national day of mourning in Cuba.
(WSJ, 12/30/94, p.A6)
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4-4-1989
Censu Tabone (1913-2012) began serving as the 4th president of Malta and continued to 1994.
(AP, 3/14/12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%8Aensu_Tabone)
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3-12-1989
In Malta Presidents George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev announce the official end to the Cold War.
(HN, 12/3/02)
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16-11-1994
The UN Law of the Sea, ratified in 1993, took effect. Arvid Pardo (d.1999 at 85), Maltese delegate to the UN, proposed in 1967 that the bounty of the sea should be considered "the common heritage of mankind" and asked that some of the sea's wealth be used to bankroll a fund to help close the gap between rich and poor nations. The International Seabed Authority came into existence as the law took effect. The first Secretary-General of the Authority, Satya Nandan (Fiji) was elected in March 1996, and the Authority became fully operational as an autonomous international organization in June 1996, when it took over the premises and facilities in Kingston, Jamaica. The UN Law of the Sea treaty, which extended internationally recognized territorial waters to 200 miles offshore, came into force one year after the sixtieth state, Guyana, signed it.
(http://tinyurl.com/2wsq9p)(SFC, 7/19/99, p.A22)
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26-10-1995
Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shakaki was shot to death on the Mediterranean island of Malta in a killing his supporters blamed on Israel.
(LVRJ, 11/1/97, p.17A)(AP, 10/26/05)
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27-10-1996
The opposition socialist leader, Alfred Sant, won elections that could return his Labor Party back to power after 16 years. His party has opposed the push to join the European Union. He was sworn in as prime minister by Pres. Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, a former minister of the defeated Nationalist Party.
(SFC, 10/28/96, p.A10)(SFC, 10/29/96, p.A8)
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4-4-1999
Guido De Marco (1931-2010) began serving as president of Malta and continued to 2004. He helped the island nation win European Union membership in 2004.
(AP, 8/13/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_de_Marco)
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10-12-1999
The EU granted preliminary consideration for membership to Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Malta.
(SFC, 12/11/99, p.A16)
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12-12-1999
The Erika, a Maltese registered oil tanker, broke in two during a storm off the coast of Brest, France, with 8 million gallons of diesel oil. Half the ship was towed to deeper waters and 3 million gallons were spilled. In 2008 a French court found Total SA guilty of maritime pollution and fined it the maximum penalty of $560,000. It also ordered Total and three other defendants to pay total damages of $285 million.
(SFC, 12/13/99, p.A13)(WSJ, 12/13/99, p.A1)(SFC, 11/20/02, p.A14)(AP, 1/16/08)
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8-5-2001
In Malta Pope John Paul II was welcomed on the final stop of his 6-day pilgrimage to retrace the steps of the Apostle Paul.
(WSJ, 5/9/01, p.A1)
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9-10-2002
The European Union's executive Commission declared Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia nearly ready for EU membership and recommended they be invited to join in 2004. Romania and Bulgaria likely will be delayed until 2007 because of weak economies, the Commission said, adding Turkey was the weakest link among candidates.
(AP, 10/9/02)
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13-12-2002
The EU reached agreement to accept 10 new countries in 2004. These included Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
(SFC, 12/14/02, p.A3)
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8-3-2003
Malta became the first of 10 countries to vote on whether to join the European Union, which is luring new members with a $40 billion aid package. The referendum was approved 53.65 to 46.35%.
(AP, 3/8/03)(SFC, 3/10/03, p.A3)
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12-4-2003
Malta held parliamentary elections. PM Eddie Fenech Adami won and said his nation will go ahead with European Union membership.
(AP, 4/13/03)
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1-5-2004
Malta joined the European Union.
Ten new members (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia) joined the European Union.
Malta joined with 70 exemptions to EU rules.
Poland had 43 exemptions.
Latvia had 32 exemptions.
The Turkish -occupied area of Cyprus was suspended from entry.
(AP, 5/1/04)(Econ, 2/28/04, p.50)(Econ, 4/16/05, p.16)
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2004
The equity index of the Maltese Stock Exchange (MSE) rose 40%.
(Econ, 2/11/2006, p.71)
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29-12-2005
Britain’s tax authorities recognized the Maltese Stock Exchange (MSE). The equity index of the MSE rose 60% this year.
(http://business.timesofmalta.com/article.php?id=3721)(Econ, 2/11/2006, p.71)
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2006
Malta’s population was about 392,000.
(Economist, 2/11/2006, p.71)
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3-6-2007
Pope Benedict XVI named four new saints from France, Malta, the Netherlands and Poland at a ceremony in St. Peter's Square. Among those honored was Sister Marie Eugenie de Jesus Milleret, a French nun who in 1839 founded the Religious of the Assumption to educate young girls; the Rev. George Preca of Malta, who founded the Society of Christian Doctrine in 1932 as a group of lay people who teach the faith to others; the Rev. Szymon z Lipnicy of Poland, a Franciscan monk who comforted Poles afflicted by the plague that broke out in Krakow from 1482-83 and died of it himself; and the Rev. Charles of St. Andrew (Dublin), who was born Karel Van Sint Andries Houben in the Netherlands in 1821.
(AP, 6/3/07)
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25-6-2007
Frontex, the EU's external border agency, kicked off a new series of patrols in the Mediterranean coastal area, known as operation Nautilus, in order to halt the influx of illegal immigrants, crossing over from North Africa to Europe. Many migrants aimed to reach Malta as a stepping stone to Italy and Europe.
(www.eubusiness.com/Malta/1181678401.8/)(Econ, 6/23/07, p.59)
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10-7-2007
Cyprus and Malta received approval from EU finance ministers to join the euro.
(Econ, 7/14/07, p.57)
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2007
Malta’s population was about 400,000.
(Econ, 6/23/07, p.59)
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1-1-2008
The Maltese lira was scheduled to give way to the EU euro.
(Econ, 10/6/07, p.78)
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20-12-2007
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic halted land and sea border controls at midnight in a wave of new members of Europe's passport-free Schengen zone. They all joined the EU on May 1, 2004.
(AFP, 12/20/07)(WSJ, 12/21/07, p.A1)
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1-1-2008
Malta became a part of the eurozone :
EU newcomers Cyprus and Malta adopted the euro, bringing to fifteen the number of countries using the currency with increasing clout over the slumping US dollar.
(AP, 1/1/08)
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18-1-2008
It was reported that the EU’s environment commissioner has threatened to take Malta to the European Court of Justice to force an end spring shooting of turtledoves and quail. Bird hunting and trapping is a traditional pastime in Malta where migrating stop twice every year. Numerous protected birds have been killed.
(WSJ, 1/18/08, p.A1)
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31-1-2008
It was reported that the EU is suing Malta for permitting residents to hunt 2 species of birds in the spring. The Maltese government said it qualifies for an exemption under EU rules.
(WSJ, 2/1/08, p.A6)
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4-6-2008
An undetermined amount of fuel oil was released after the Greece-registered Syros slammed against the Malta-registered Sea Bird near Montevideo, Uruguay.
(AP, 6/5/08)
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26-8-2008
A Maltese fishing trawler rescued the migrants. Authorities said the survivors first told the fishermen that 10 people were missing, but later said as many as 70 people from Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan made the sea voyage with them.
(AP, 8/28/08)
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30-10-2008
Scientists reported that 1 in 17 men living on the coasts of North Africa and southern europe may have a Phoenician direct male line ancestor. Evidence was based on Y-chromosomes collected in Cyprus, Malta, Morocco, the West Bank, Syria and Tunisia.
(SFC, 10/31/08, p.A14)
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18-4-2009
About 140 migrants remained stranded aboard a Turkish cargo ship for a third day as Malta and Italy argued about which country should accept them.
(AP, 4/18/09)
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19-4-2009
Italy agreed to accept 140 migrants stranded aboard a Turkish cargo ship that rescued them in the Mediterranean, ending a four-day standoff with Malta about who would take them in.
(AP, 4/20/09)
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22-9-2009
A sharply divided EU failed to protect the threatened bluefin tuna, as the bloc's Mediterranean nations refused to back even a temporary a ban on catching the fish prized by sushi aficionados. Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Spain, France and Italy, with strong fishermen's lobbies at home, insisted on continuing the hunt despite the precarious state of the species. Conservation groups had earlier criticized the EU for not pushing to list the bluefin tuna under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
(AP, 9/22/09)
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