Malta's new president takes office
Malta's new president Myriam Spiteri Debono waves to the crowd on the balcony of the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta, Malta, April 4, 2024. Malta's new president Myriam Spiteri Debono was sworn in as the 11th President of Malta on Thursday, following a unanimous parliamentary resolution. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua)
Malta's new president Myriam Spiteri Debono was sworn in as the 11th President of Malta on Thursday, following a unanimous parliamentary resolution.
She took her oath of office in a special parliamentary sitting held at the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta, the official seat of the President of the Republic.
Spiteri Debono, 71, is the third woman to hold this office, after having been the only woman who ever served as speaker of the House of Representatives.
She succeeds George Vella, who held office for the past five years.
In her first speech as president, she said she would work for electoral reforms that would facilitate the representation of more than two political parties in Parliament, ensuring that even the smallest groups of society are represented fairly.
She called for more acceptance of foreigners living in Malta and decried the "disease of greed" affecting the Maltese society, where the desire for more money was eating away at society's core values, showing "indifference towards the suffering".
Related articles
8th Aswan int'l women film festival opens in Egypt
The eighth edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) opens Saturday night in Eg2024-04-30Electrician, 55, filmed racially abusing Muslim women as they returned from a pro
An electrician filmed racially abusing Muslim women as they returned from a pro-Palestine protest to2024-04-30Colombia rolls out new incentives to cut electricity consumption as dry weather persists
BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s government on Tuesday rolled out new incentives to reduce electri2024-04-30Child care crisis: High daycare cost hurts moms without college degree
AUBURN, Wash. (AP) — After a series of lower-paying jobs, Nicole Slemp finally landed one she loved.2024-04-30A bomb attack in northern Kenya kills 5 people near the border with Somalia
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Five people have been killed in a bomb attack in northern Kenya, the interior2024-04-30Police find body of missing Maine man believed killed after a search that took nearly a year
STARK, N.H. (AP) — Police in Maine said they have found the body of a man who was the victim of a ki2024-04-30
atest comment