BirdLife Call Out More Instances Of Illegal Hunting

Sep 27 2023

NGO Birdlife Malta issued a statement to call out the continuing issue of illegal hunting taking place all over Malta as many birds migrate over the islands.

‘Not even areas wherein hunting is prohibited, like the sanctuaries in Buskett and Għadira, are enough to protect birds from illegal hunting, with four picked up from such areas by the end of the week.

The NGO detailed how, among other instances, a hunter was caught by a member of the public shooting a Bee Eater (Qerd in-Naħal) in Buskett.

A nightjar (buqrajq), harp (arpa), yellow legged-gull (gawwija prima) were also shot down, with some being picked up by the Environmental Protection Unit (EPU) and others found dead.

The NGO is calling upon anyone who comes across such illegalities to report them to authorities immediately.

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Aircraft Rolls Onto Main Airport Runway: Stops On Grass

Sep 27 2023

Footage making the rounds online shows a Dash 8 turboprop aircraft rolling away from a Medavia taxiway at the Safi Aviation Park onto the main airport runway.

As workers tried to stop it to no avail, the aircraft stopped on the grass alongside the runway.

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It was reported how the aircraft was about to be towed but, having had its chocks removed, ended up rolling further. The situation could have had worse consequences but this was thankfully averted.

Authorities are reportedly investigating further.

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5 Year Pension For Widows Of Forces Personnel Who Die Off-Duty

Sep 27 2023

On Wednesday, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri and Social Security Minister Michael Falzon announced a significant policy change. Spouses of individuals who pass away while serving in the disciplined forces, but not due to direct duty-related causes, will now be entitled to a service pension for a period of five years.

Currently, a service pension is granted to widowed spouses of those in the disciplined forces who die in the line of duty.

Camilleri emphasised that the existing provisions will remain intact. Going forward, spouses of individuals within the disciplined forces who pass away for reasons unrelated to their service will also receive a limited service pension. This decision reflects an acknowledgment of the sacrifices and hard work made by families in support of their loved ones in the disciplined forces.

Falzon added that the service pension will be provided in addition to the regular widows’ pension and will be retroactively applied for anyone who lost a spouse employed in the disciplined forces from January 1, 2022.

This measure will be applicable to spouses of individuals who have served for a minimum of ten years.

For spouses whose partners pass away before their projected retirement, the full five years of service pension will be granted.

For those whose spouses were within five years of retirement or reaching 25 years of service, a pension will be provided for the remaining years. Members of the disciplined forces, including the Armed Forces of Malta, police, civil protection, and prison service, have the option to retire on a pension after 25 years of service.

Additionally, partners of individuals working in a disciplined force who are unmarried but are in a civil partnership or cohabitating with their spouse will also be eligible for these benefits.

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Google Turns 25 Years Old Today

Sep 27 2023

Arguably the world’s go-to search engine, Google has just turned 25 years old and is celebrating the anniversary in doodle style.

“Today’s Doodle celebrates Google’s 25th year. And while here at Google we’re oriented towards the future, birthdays can also be a time to reflect. Let’s take a walk down memory lane to learn how we were born 25 years ago,” Google explained on a blog.

“Much has changed since 1998 — including our logo as seen in today’s Doodle — but the mission has remained the same: to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful…Thank you for evolving with us over the past 25 years. We can’t wait to see where the future takes us, together.”

Founded by doctoral students Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Google was founded on September 4th 1998 and Google Inc. was born on September 27th of the same year.

Despite typically celebrating the birthday on the 4th, the date was moved to 27 to match with the announcement of the record number of pages that this search engine was indexing.

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