Alfred Sant calls for general elections to take place every four years and not five

Oct 20 2021

Former Labour leader Alfred Sant has asked whether it is time to reduce the five-year term by at least one year. Malta’s constitution sets the term of a legislature at five years, but the prime minister has the ability to call an election whenever he wishes. This is often used by the PM to seek a date best suited for political advantage over rivals. Now Sant has stated that since the 1992 election, it has almost become a custom that elections are held earlier than the five years mentioned in the Constitution.

He asks whether this is a sign that five years is too long for a legislature and that there is a legitimate argument for the normal term to return to a four-year period. In hindsight, looking back at the last seven elections since 1992, an election three months or before the natural end of legislature were held on five occasions. Sant’s own administration in 1996 was truncated after 22 months after losing a vote of confidence in parliament. The current legislature expires naturally in June 2022.

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Photo Source: Alfred Sant FB

UK dog owners could get jail time if they put pets on vegetarian diets

Oct 20 2021

Warnings have been issued to British pet owners against putting their dogs on vegetarian diets as this could be made against the law. The UK’s Animal Welfare Act has stated that people must ensure their pets get a suitable diet which meets all the nutritional needs. According to a 2006 piece of legislation, there is no mention of specific contents of food given to dogs but British Veterinarian Association spokesperson Daniella Dos Santos emphasised the importance of informing people about what goes into the bowl.

She said that if one’s personal belief system leads to them abstaining from animal protein, that is fine. But that diet may not be designed to meet welfare standards of one’s pet. Dos Santos said that, theoretically, it is possible to feed a dog a vegetarian diet, but the risks of getting wrong are higher than getting it right. This could lead to a lot of suffering for dogs, which is why the UK law is trying to ensure people don’t mess with their diets too much. If the rules are broken, Brits could face up a fine of up to £20,000 or a jail sentence.

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Photo Source: The Dogington Post

Duo who punched elderly man and stole wallet given probation

Oct 20 2021

A duo of drug addicts who attacked an elderly man and stole his wallet have been placed under supervision of probation officers. The two residents of Senglea were arrested in February of 2019 following an anonymous tip sent to police informing them of the mugging. The victim was allegedly approached by two men on February 3rd 2019 at around 5pm. The old man described them as drug addicts and recognised them as being relatives of his neighbours.

Police were told that the assailants robbed him of his wallet and mobile phone, but the man found his phone in his jacket the following day. An anonymous call relayed more information about one of the assailants, who was engaging third parties to be his theft accomplices. The caller added that around two hours before the call, the assailant and an accomplice attacked an elderly man who appeared to be drunk and took his wallet.

With one assailant injured during the altercation, the victim was beaten up and injured. The police noted that the victim appeared to be drunk and was slurring his words when making the report. They asked him to return the next day. The victim recognised the aforementioned assailant in court as being the one who punched him.

The court’s opinion was to place the men under probation and treatment orders. The two assailants were sentenced to 2 years probation along with a 2-year treatment order. The two men were also placed under personal guarantees of €1,000 for the period of one year. A 3 year restraining order in favour of the victim was also imposed. They were also ordered to pay €2,054.31 in costs between them.

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Mużika Mużika returns for second edition with over 170 submissions

Oct 20 2021

Earlier this year, Festival Kanzunetta Malta saw its return through Mużika Mużika, with positive feedback from both local artists and audiences with more than 320,000 televiewers on a span of three days.

Festivals Malta has, for the last few months, been campaigning for the second edition of Mużika Mużika, as the agency opened submissions in July. Last Friday 15th October, Festivals Malta announced that the applications have officially closed, resulting in a total of 170 submissions from local artists.

Mużika Mużika Chairman, Mr Raymond Bugeja, commented that a rise in submissions was to be expected after the success of the first edition of the festival. “The turnout for this year’s edition of the festival has exceeded that of last year’s, strengthening the importance of the festival within the cultural calendar as it provides the platform Maltese music rightly deserves”, concluded Mr Bugeja.

The Festivals Malta team will now be proceeding to the second phase, as the submitted songs will be evaluated by an expert jury. These will be shortlisted to 35 songs, which will go through the process of a live audition in front of a different set of judges. Afterwards, 20 semi-finalist songs will be chosen, which will be joined by the winner of the television programme Mużika Mużika – Il-Vjaġġ Ikompli, as they go on to compete in the second edition of Mużika Mużika between the 24th and 26th of March 2022.

Festivals Malta wishes to thank all those who submitted their application for this festival.

For more information about the second edition of Mużika Mużika visit: www.muzikamuzika.mt

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