Boris Johnson vows to remain Prime Minister amid lockdown party controversy

Jan 20 2022

Boris Johnson has pledged to maintain his post as Prime Minister and British Premier and will reportedly contest the next election despite mass calls for his resignation and a plea from a former Minister to quit ‘in the name of God’.

Johnson left many enraged after news of the Downing Street lockdown party began to make the rounds while the entirety of the UK was in strict lockdown. In spite of this, Johnson has stated that he would win any no-confidence vote called by his Conservative Party.

Johnson faces a tremendous task in regaining the trust of his cabinet members and the country’s population, especially in the midst of Labour’s current high and inflation in the UK reach a 30-year peak. He recently announced the removal of most COVID-19 restrictions in England in light of a perceived drop in Omicron infections.

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Maltese artists put on spectacular cultural showcase at Expo 2020 Dubai

Jan 19 2022

In celebration of Malta National Day at the Expo Dubai 2020, a number of Maltese creators, artists and performers put together an entire day of cultural events which are meant to showcase the beauty and potential of the Maltese islands.

Minister Silvio Schembri opened Malta’s National Day with a speech followed by a cultural showcase from various Maltese artists curated by MTA Director of Events Lionel Gerada together with artistic director Emma Tranter. The show took the audience on a cultural journey through Malta’s culture, with a percussion group led by Alex Debono, contemporary dance trio led by Francesca Abela Tranter and singers Destiny, Pamela Bezzina, Brooke Borg, Janvil, Glen Vella and Amber.

The afternoon spectacle exhibited Malta’s culture and history with a script written by Joe Julian Farrugia and music written by Elton Zarb. The piece accompanied a contemporary dance ensemble led by head choreographer Francesca Tranter and assistant choreographer Pamela Kerr together with the Maltese singers.

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Photo Credits: Daniel Balzan.

UK to no longer require vaccine passports as of January 27th

Jan 19 2022

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a return to the COVID Plan A measures after Plan B were implemented in December.

This news comes after a cabinet review of the latest COVID data, with a government official spokesperson explaining the decisions about changes to restrictions as being finely balanced.

Current rules under the Plan B include compulsory face coverings for most indoor public spaces, advice to work from home, and the use of COVID vaccine passes for several establishments.

Today 19th January 2022, Johnson cited ONS data indicating COVID cases are falling and announced that the Uk will be returning to Plan A from January 27th. He concluded that the government will no longer require wearing of face masks or vaccine passports.

As of tomorrow, Johnson also revealed that the government will no longer require face masks in school classrooms. The use of face coverings is still recommended in public spaces.

Plan B aimed to help reduce the spread of Omicron as well as allow time to administer more booster jabs. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Tuesday he was ‘cautiously optimistic that we will be able to sustainably reduce restrictions next week.’

Ahead of the announcement, the spokesperson said that it is thanks to the ‘phenomenal efforts of the NHS and many dedicated volunteers that we have no delivered over 36 million boosters to people across the UK.’

Latest figures from January 18 reveal that a total of 673,987 people tested positive for COVID between January 12 and 18, which is a 38.9% reduction from the week prior.

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Joseph Muscat’s home searched by police as part of Vitals corruption probe

Jan 19 2022

Joseph Muscat’s home in Burmarrad was searched today, 19th January 2022, was searched by police as part of a corruption probe into the Vitals Global Healthcare hospitals deal.

Financial crime investigators entered the house at around 7am and spent at least 3 hours on the premises, seizing the former prime minister’s mobile phone, along with those of his wife and two daughters.

Rumours about the search were circulating in political circles for several days, with Muscat himself also apparently having been aware that investigators would enter his home. He said he was only half surprised about the search and the ‘needless theatrics’ were possibly designed to ‘humiliate’ him.

Newsroom Times of Malta revealed back in November how Muscat received €60,000 from Accutor AG, a company which received millions from Steward Healthcare when it took over a contract to run three state hospitals from VGH.

It is also understood that the police search was part of a bid by investigators to establish whether payments into the former prime minister’s BOV account from Accutor AG could be linked to corruption in the hospital deal.

Muscat also handed investigators a file full of documents which he prepared ahead of the search, justifying the work he says was done in exchange for the Accutor AG payments. The search was carried out under the ambit of a magisterial inquiry triggered by NGO Repubblika in 2019.

Muscat told Times of Malta that he was half surprised by the search, saying he was tipped off by someone within the Nationalist Party that Jason Azzopardi was telling people about a planned search. Muscat flagged this to the inquiring magistrate yesterday and made it clear he was available to cooperate.

He said that the process could have occurred without ‘theatrics’ and said the seizure of his children’s mobile phones was ‘excessive.’ He also insinuated that the search was planned out by someone who wanted to pass on a message, but did not elaborate further when questioned.

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Photo Source: Matthew Mirabelli (Times of Malta), Joseph Muscat FB