A promise to prioritise diversity and tolerance by Roberta Metsola

Jan 18 2022

Outlining her priorities ahead of the European Parliament presidency election, MEP and potential president Roberta Metsola highlighted modernising parliamentary practices and encouraging diversity and tolerance as top of the agenda.

Metsola stated that the president must work at bridging differences and holding the centre, citing several divisive issues which she herself managed to create consensus across political parties.

‘I know what it is to be the underdog’ she said, referencing how she is a woman hailing from a small Mediterranean island. ‘I will not shy away from difficult decisions and will always – always – represent the views of this House.’

Paying tribute to the late president David Sassoli, who passed away last week, Metsola pledged to build upon the collaborative efforts he brought to the EP.

Facing competition from three other candidates – ECR’s Kosma Zlotowski, Greens candidate Alice Bah Kuhnke and the Left’s Sira Rego – Metsola would be up for a renewable period of two and a half years if elected.

Were Metsola to win the election, she would be doing so on her 43rd birthday, whilst also being the youngest ever European Parliament President. She would also be the first woman elected as EP in 20 years since 2002.

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Maltese cafe slapped with €2,000 fine for Starbucks copyright breach

Jan 18 2022

Starbucks, the cafe’ giant based in Seattle, obtained two trademark infringement judgements in Malta. This comes as a St Paul’s Bay cafe’ operating under the name ‘Strabuono Coffee’ was ordered to stop using that name as well as to destroy any merchandise or signs which bear the logo. The cafe’ was slapped with a €2,000 fine.

The two cases were filed in 2017, with Strabuono’s lawyer Matthew Bondin arguing that the emphasis in the logos was different as the Maltese cafe’ had a lion’s head and not a mermaid. It was also argued that the names of the cafes were in different languages and had completely different meanings. The leading product, Strapuccino, was also, arguably, not a spin on Starbuck’s trademark ‘Frappucino.’

It was instead a deconstruction of the Italian word cappuccino, melded with he name of the cafe’s own name. Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti, who handed down judgement in both cases, made reference to EU judgments on similar trademark infringement cases filed by Starbucks against other companies. He noted that the EU’s General Court had stated that a low degree of similarity between two trademarks was enough for it to find for the plaintiff.

The Maltese company’s logo had similar colour schemes and shared other characteristics with those trademarked by Starbucks. The court ruled that there was enough visual and conceptual similarity that it constituted a breach of European Union trademark protection legislation.

The court ordered the defendant company to stop from using the infringing marks and signs and to destroy any material its possession which contain the words Strabuono and Strabuono Coffee. The word Strapuccino was ruled to be ancillary and secondary.

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Photo Source: Restaurant Guru

850 flight cancellations for Malta Airport’s first quarter of 2022

Jan 18 2022

The Malta International Airport revealed on Tuesday 18th January that despite the number of passengers travelling through its gates improved considerably last year over 2020, the numbers remained far lower than pre-COVID figures.

Any progress was significantly stalled by the new variant Omicron in the last two months of last year. The consequences spilled into 2022, as some 850 flights were cancelled for the first quarter of this year.

An increase of 45.3% over 2020 was noted for last year, with 2,540,335 passengers having travelled. This was however just a recovery of 34.8% of 2019 passenger numbers.

Italy and the United Kingdom were the leaders in terms of travel traffic, with both enjoying a 19% market share. Germany, France and Poland followed suit, air travel gaining momentum in the second half of the year.

Passenger traffic in fact tripled over during the third quarter due to consumer confidence and increased stability. October performed the best for Malta’s airport, with more than 428,000 passenger movements reported.

MIA CEO Alan Borg said that this could be attributed to delayed demand for leisure travel as measures continued to ease. The emergence of Omicron changed the course of this resurgence, with the ‘introduction of stricter and uneven requirements across Europe at the end of 2021 [already leading] to the cancellation of around 850 flights for the first quarter of 2022.’

As summer 2022 is expected to be characterised by fiercer competition as vaccination uptake in Europe increases, Borg urged the government to shift its focus on a post-COVID strategy.

This would give the industry confidence to invest in businesses. Borg also highlighted how by aligning Malta’s entry requirements to EU regulations, the government would be instilling confidence in travellers to book their upcoming trip.

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Robert Lewandowski wins Best FIFA Men’s Player award

Jan 17 2022

Robert Lewandowski has won the Best FIFA Men’s Player award for the second year in a row. This time he had to beat Argentinian legend Lionel Messi for a second time and Liverpool star player Mohammed Salah. Other awards such as Best FIFA Women’s Player and best coach for both men’s and women’s football were also awarded.

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Spanish playmaker Alexia Putellas won the female version of the award, after a stellar season helping Barcelona achieve a historical treble winning the Spanish league, the Spanish cup and the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Chelsea coaches Thomas Tuchel and Emma Hayes both won the male and female version of the best coach of the year award. Tuchel’s Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League whilst Emma Hayes guided her Chelsea team to a domestic double, winning the league and the cup.

Chelsea goalkeepers Edouard Mendy and Lyon keeper Christiane Endler won the Goalkeeper of the year awards. Mendy was a crucial player in the Chelsea side that went on to win the Champions League whilst Endler helped PSG in dethroning her new club Lyon’s 14 year title winning spell.

Special awards were given to Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and Canada captain Christine Sinclair for both breaking international team goal records. The Puskas award, given to the player who scored the best goal was won by Argentinian Erik Lamela for his rabona goal in the North London derby against Arsenal.

The FIFA Fair Play award was given to the Danish medical and national team for saving Christian Eriksen’s life back in June during the Euros.

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