Cyrus Engerer has urged for an immediate prostitution law reform

Feb 2 2023

Reacting to an article published by Malta Daily, MEP Cyrus Engerer has urged for an immediate prostitution law reform.

Speaking on social media, the Maltese MEP said that “it is unacceptable that women (or others) who resort to this type of work end up criminalised.”

He said that “illegality leads to everything being done ‘behind closed doors’ and this leads to these women (or others) having no protection from violence, theft and intimidation.”

When speaking about the Malta Daily published article of 13 people arraigned in court over prostitution in Malta during 2022, Cyrus Engerer said that “the right of autonomy of each individual must be respected.”

The MEP explained that on a European level he works closely with ESWA, the alliance that works for the rights of these workers, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on this subject. This whilst also working against all abuse, human trafficking, and difficulties faced sex work.

Replying to a parliamentary question, Minister for Home Affairs, Security, Reforms and Equality Byron Camilleri revealed that, in 2022, 13 people were arraigned in court over prostitution in Malta. 7 of these were Colombian women, 2 were Spanish women and others hailed from Honduras, Morocco, Peru and Venezuela.

They were handed a suspended prison sentence after admitted to allowing a place to be used for prostitution, with the sentences ranging from one year suspended for two and 18 months suspended for 4.

The question posed was tabled by the PN’s Karol Aquilina.

#MaltaDaily

Inquiry into Jean Paul Sofia’s death will not be made public

Feb 2 2023

Prime Minister Robert Abela has stated that the public inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia, who lost his life in December 2022 during the collapse of a three-story building in Kordin, will not be made public.

He believes that the institutions need to ‘work in serenity’ to achieve justice and called on them to give maximum importance to the case so that the victim’s family and society can receive swift justice.

However two inquiries, with one being magisterial, will be taking place. A magisterial inquiry means that it will not be made publicly known. It will also take up longer than that reportedly publicly so as to ensure all details are dealt with.

Five others were also injured in the accident, but no one has been charged. In response to a parliamentary question, the Prime Minister confirmed that an inquiring magistrate is already investigating the case and that other relevant authorities are also conducting their own inquiries.

The statement was in response to accusations from Nationalist MP Jerome Caruana Cilia, who had previously accused the authorities of attempting to cover up the incident.

#MaltaDaily

‘We are promoting road anarchy’: local activist laments parking permit chaos

Feb 2 2023

Local activist Steve Żammit Lupi took to social media to address a current issue concerning permits being issued by Local Councils.

‘Can a relevant authority please explain why the common citizen is paying the local councils for permits when they cannot be enforced later on’ he asked.

Local councils do not have the authority to enforce. LESA and police stopped enforcing/helping in the case of intrusive parking, leaving those who applied for permits hanging, explained Żammit Lupi.

‘The administration is not working and local councils are being ridiculed’ he lamented.

Lupi described this as a disservice to the citizens who try and abide by the law. ‘We are promoting anarchy on the road’ he concluded, appealing to solve this anomaly with urgency.

#MaltaDaily

Microsoft & Google working to launch their own version of CHAT GPT

Feb 2 2023

Microsoft is reportedly incorporating a faster version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, called GPT-4, into Bing in the near future.

This integration will allow Bing to use GPT-4 to answer search queries, making the search engine more competitive with Google.

According to sources, the main difference between ChatGPT and GPT-4 is speed, with GPT-4 providing faster and more detailed responses that are more human-like.

The integration of ChatGPT into Microsoft products is expected to trigger new competition in internet search, which has been dominated by Google.

In addition to the incorporation into Bing, Microsoft is rumored to be bringing OpenAI’s language AI technology into apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Microsoft recently extended its partnership with OpenAI with a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar investment, with plans to make OpenAI’s foundational systems available as commercial platforms.

OpenAI is also planning to introduce a mobile ChatGPT app and test a new feature in Dall-E, its image-generating software, that will generate videos using AI.

#MaltaDaily