Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1538544
YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY 17 AUGUST 2025 • ISSUE 1346 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY National interest maltatoday From cash to code Population The digital euro could change the way people pay Six localities had more foreign residents than Maltese in 2024 PAGE 3 PAGES 6 - 7 €2.20 INTERVIEW MT2 Ghaqda Ghaqda Bdiewa Attivi head Bdiewa Attivi head Malcolm Borg Malcolm Borg bemoans bemoans wrong wrong attitude towards attitude towards agricultural land agricultural land Malta's reliance on electricity from Sicily grew in 2024 Electricity imported through the Malta-Sicily interconnector increased by 42% in 2024, with the subsea cable being responsible for 32.4% of Malta's energy supply SEE PAGE 4 PAGES 8 - 9 Safeguarding Malta's food production potential New rules aim to protect all agricultural land for posterity, even if it is not being farmed to produce food LANDOWNERS of agricultural land are still able to use their field for hunting and weekend barbecues but new rules oblige them to plough the land once a year. The new regulations introduced recently are in- tended to protect agricultural land from being de- graded, even if the owners are not farmers, Sharlo Camilleri tells MaltaToday. Camilleri is the permanent secretary in the Agri- culture Ministry and over the past fortnight since the rules came into force has had to correct several mistaken impressions. The rules caused a stir in the hunting communi- ty, where individuals often possess land that is not farmed but used as a hunting ground. CONTINUES PAGE 2 KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Reunited at last Brothers Richie and Sonny Borg spent 50 years apart after emigrating to Australia in the 1960s. Juliana Zammit was present for their emotional reunion in Malta earlier this year. See story pages 8 and 9. (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)