Black Lives Matter protest in front of parliament this Saturday

Nov 17 2022

A Black Lives Matter protest has been called for this Saturday at 6pm in front of the Maltese parliament in Valletta.

‘Where’s The Respect? There Is No Us Without Them’ the slogan of the protest reads. Taking to social media, Black Lives Matter Malta said that ‘Every week we learn of yet another incident of racial violence, often at the hands of those entrusted with a responsibility and duty to protect. Enough is enough!’

BLM Malta, along with a number of other NGOs, will be organising a demonstration this Saturday 19th November at 6pm as a reaction to the ongoing and regular incidences of racial violence and abuse of power against people of colour.

All members of the Maltese society, regardless of background or origin, deserve to be respected, and to feel safe in their community’ the statement concluded.

The protest is being held following the recent incident which saw two Transport Malta officials attacking a dark-skinned man lying on the ground. This also follows a recent fine administered to a black Uber driver for being improperly dressed despite not having a dress code.

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NGO proposes increasing bottle recycling deposit to 25c from 10c

Nov 17 2022

Environmental NGO ‘Friends of the Earth’ Malta proposed reforming the recently applied bottle recycling scheme by upping the deposit from 10c to 25c per bottle.

In their statement welcoming the ‘Beverage Container Refund Scheme’, the NGO hopes that the system is fine tuned as time goes on and new proposals can be taken aboard.

The third proposal states that ‘deposit for each bottle should be more than 10c. A rate of 25c for container is more adequate since it will increase return rates of containers.’

The statement announced 7 other proposals to be considered, with one of them being including all possible beverage containers such as wine, spirits, liquors, etc.

The scheme should also be extended, the NGO stated, to other packaging such as glass jars, plastic containers of food items that are not beverages and other plastic containers of liquid products such as liquid soap.

Meanwhile, Reverse Vending Machines should be introduced at a higher density in localities in Malta, as well as more incentives given to people who opt refilling containers.

Read full proposals here.

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Abortion to be legal in Malta if woman’s health is in serious risk

Nov 17 2022

Health Minister Chris Fearne revealed on Wednesday that legislative amendments will be tabled in parliament next week to allow doctors to terminate pregnancies which pose serious health risks for a woman’s health or life.

The Deputy Prime Minister described the reform as a ‘pro-life’ position and it follows the recent incident wherein an American tourist was refused the termination of a non-viable pregnancy.

Fearne said that the State Advocate had analysed the Maltese legal regime to identify legal loopholes which need addressing following the aforementioned case.

The Andrea Prudente case cast Malta into an International spotlight once again when it comes to the topic of abortion due to its blanket ban on the practice.

The legal amendment will see a new clause presented in the law which will establish that no offence would have been committed if the death of the foetus was the result of medical intervention carried out when the mother’s life or health were at risk.

With Fearne saying that the reform is to safeguard women’s health, the announcement was welcomed by pro-choice activists. Seeing it as a necessary first step, activists said that the reform does not go far enough and will continue to push for further reform.

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Safe emergency landing for Air Malta flight bound for Vienna

Nov 17 2022

Malta International Airport can confirm that the Air Malta KM 514 flight which was bound for Vienna had to return to Malta due to technical difficulties.

Airport communications revealed that the flight landed safely at 0807hrs local time, and Malta International Airport’s Rescue and Fire Fighting Team was dispatched to the site immediately.

Passengers safely disembarked the aircraft shortly after the landing. An investigation is currently underway to uncover the difficulties.

Other airport operations have not been affected by this emergency landing. The airport thanked the airport team and all stakeholders for their timely response to this morning’s incident.

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