Good evening,
All news portals report story where migrants disembarked the Maltese Armed Forces of Malta patrol boat P52 at the the Armed Forces of Malta base at Hay Wharf, in Floriana, Malta. The 58 migrants who were transferred from the de-flagged rescue ship MV Aquarius 2 onto the Maltese patrol boat in international waters have been unable to reach Maltese waters for four days due to bad weather in the Mediterranean.
What follows is a roundup of the other main news from Malta as reported by local Portals.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has declared Government’s vision as being that of free public transport for everyone. Dr Muscat stated that this will be possible when the infrastructure can support an increase in the number of buses.
Speaking at a political activity in Marsa, Dr Muscat noted that since the beginning of school, the usual traffic problems did not materialise. The Prime Minister stated that this was the result of investment being made on roads, and urged for coordination so evident in past weeks to continue in the coming weeks. Dr Muscat added that the reduction in traffic was also due to Government’ measures to provide free transport for students. The Prime Minister stated that this measure was not only intended to reduce traffic and leave more money in parents’ pockets, but the main aim was to instil in children’s mentality that the best mode of transport was collective transport.
The Prime Minister added that ‘flavour of the day’ is currently to speak against businesses, but despite this ‘we must never fall for that temptation’.
Partit Nazzjonalista and Opposition leader Adrian Delia said Delia said that the Prime Minister has no interest in the country’s wellbeing as he knows very well when he will step back from his role as leader of the nation.
The PN leader also said that the Attorney General’s revelations are accusing the Minister of Justice of breaching the code of ethics when he acted as defence lawyer for the Prime Minister whilst he is holding the title of Minister. During the radio intervention, Delia also said that the Planning Authority is being led by Joseph Muscat’s invisible hand. He also said that Planning Authority Executive Chairman Johann Buttiġieġ said that the decision to hire to hire a private jet for Jacqueline Gili was not political even though its seems that she is the Prime Minister’s extension within the Planning Authority.
Mohammed Abdalla Eljemni, a former soldier loyal to former Libyan leader Moammar Ghaddafi, was arraigned in court after an incident which took place in Paceville. His arrest was primarily linked for the possession of a knife over 60cm. Court denied him bail.
In court Eljemni said that he had found the knife in the street and kept it. The prosecution spoke that the person’s role in the military makes him a dangerous individual in terms of usage of arms.
The Nationalist Party is organising a fund-raising marathon. The Nationalist Party Secretary General, Clyde Puli said that the aim of this marathon is to collect the necessary funds so that the Party is built around the notion of ‘care’ both for those it represents and the society.
In the meantime Net News also carries a report about the gala ceremony celebrating the 20th anniversary since the launch of Net Television, where a series of TV presenters, who made the history of this channel were honoured.
As the world finishes marking Sexual Health Week today, Malta needs to look at a more holistic approach to effectively combat the rising trends of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, according to Charmaine Gauci, Superintendent of Public Health. Dr Gauci said work needed to be done to reach the whole population, possibly even through partnering with NGOs working with key populations at risk. Statistics still reveal chlamydia as being the commonest STI in Malta, followed by gonorrhoea.
