Abela offers compensation to Caruana Galizia family; Muscat reacts

robert abela joseph muscat daphne caruana galizia

Jul 29 2021

Following the publishing of the public inquiry report revolving around the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Prime Minister Robert Abela addressed a press conference where he publicly apologised for the state’s shortcomings and indirect contribution to the assassination of the journalist.

Robert Abela Daphne Caruana Galizia

During the conference, Abela invited the Caruana Galizia family to a meeting and mentioned the possibility, if required, of compensation as part of the reconciliation process.

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🎥 LIVE | Il-Prim Ministru Robert Abela jindirizza Konferenza tal-Aħbarijiet

🎥 LIVE | Il-Prim Ministru Robert Abela jindirizza Konferenza tal-Aħbarijiet

Posted by MaltaGov on Thursday, 29 July 2021

The inquiry report highlighted that the State should shoulder responsibility for Caruana Galizia’s murder due to the cultivation of a culture of impunity from the highest echelons of power in Castille, also recommending that the state takes steps into regulating the links between politics and big business.

In a Facebook post reacting to the inquiry report published on Thursday, former prime minister Joseph Muscat highlighted his reservations on the public inquiry, highlighting the statement that “the state had no knowledge beforehand, or involvement in the assassination”.

Muscat also highlighted that the report ‘unequivocally declares’ that Muscat was in no way implicated in the murder.

L-INKJESTA DWAR IL-QTIL TA’ DAPHNE CARUANA GALIZIA(English version follows)Din li ġejja hija r-reazzjoni inizjali…

Posted by Joseph Muscat on Thursday, 29 July 2021

In an exclusive interview, Bernard Grech reacted to Prime Minister Robert Abela’s apology for the state’s shortcomings in light of Daphne Caruana’s assassination and the subsequent public inquiry report.

Bernard Grech reacts to Prime Minister Robert Abela's apology for the state's shortcomings in light of Daphne Caruana's assassination

EXCLUSIVE: "The Prime Minister, evidently, has yet to understand the severity of the situation." Bernard Grech reacts to Prime Minister Robert Abela's apology for the state's shortcomings in light of Daphne Caruana's assassination and the subsequent public inquiry report.Read more: https://maltadaily.mt/abela-offers-compensation-to-caruana-galizia-family-muscat-reacts/#MaltaDaily

Posted by Malta Daily on Thursday, 29 July 2021

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Fewer births in first quarter of 2021 compared to last year

Jul 29 2021

While many would assume that the partial lockdown imposed in Malta last year would have contributed to somewhat of a baby boom, little to no impact was made on Malta’s birth rate compared to the previous year.

As a matter of fact, the Health Ministry shared that there were 91 less births in the first quarter of 2021 compared to 2020, with the monthly average being partially less than the past five years’ average. Malta went into partial lockdown in March of 2020 with the country’s imposed COVID-19 mitigation measures starting to be lifted towards the beginning of summer.

Despite predictions of an anticipated ‘baby boom’ due to lockdown, multiple countries registered declines in births with examples of which being in the United States, France and Italy amongst others.

Malta registered an average birth rate of 365 babies per month during the first quarter of 2021, with 403 births in January 2020, compared to the 349 births in 2021.

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Vaccinations for children aged between 5 and 11 approved in Israel

Jul 29 2021

Israel’s Ministry for Health has just approved the vaccination children between the ages of 5 and 11 to receive a vaccination if they are “at significant risk of serious illness or death” from COVID-19.

A spokesperson for the ministry told AFP that such an authorisation is of special nature and vaccinations will be studied and given on a case-to-case basis, with the ministry issuing a list of medical problems which advise vaccination on Tuesday.

Special cases include children with brain heart or lung problems, severe immunosuppression, sickle cell anaemia, pulmonary hypertension and severe obesity and will receive a dose of 0.1 millilitres of Pfizer/BioNTech which accounts for one third of a regular vaccine.

The country’s initial vaccine rollout was highly regarded as one of the world’s fastest rollouts, delivering double doses to over 55% of the population.

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The value of an Olympic medal is lower than you think.

Jul 29 2021

To receive an Olympic medal, especially gold, an athlete has to devote there entire life to that medal, so when Twitter account @CaucasianJames exposed the real truth of the value of the metal used to create the medals social media was shocked.

an olympic gold medal wouldn’t even cover my rent pic.twitter.com/niiLzbhdED

— James (@CaucasianJames) July 28, 2021

The gold medal which is actually made of 550g of sterling silver and 6g of gold coating is only worth around €635 when melted down . Even more surprisingly the bronze medal which is made out of copper and zinc is only worth under €5 when melted down. A medal when not melted and not a replica though, is worth way more than the bullion value (real value of metal). The record for the most expensive medal ever is the gold medal won by Wladimir Klitschko in 1996 which was sold for £720,000 and immediately was entered into the Klitschko Brothers Foundation, Wladimir’s charity. The medal didn’t stay with the buyer for a long time as it was given back to the boxer out of respect.

The fact that an Olympic medal’s actual value is less than an Iphone 11, yes 11 not 12, is quite shocking but at least we now know that Olympic medals are achievable to most of us albeit without all the hard work.

#MaltaDaily