European leaders impressed by Malta being first EU country to reach herd immunity

May 26 2021

Malta is the first EU country to have reached herd immunity after 70% of its population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. EU leaders allegedly affirmed being impressed by the country’s feat as revealed by Prime Minister Robert Abela in comments to TVM. In the mean time, the EU has enough vaccines to vaccinate its own 70% of the population by the end of July.

The variants could pose a potential threat to this target as member states are boosting their programs to try and mitigate the chances of the variant resulting in case spikes. The EU is also working to give no less than 100 million free vaccines to less developed countries to completely control the spread of the pandemic.

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Photo Source: Robert Abela FB

Neil Agius attempting to swim from Tunisia to Sicily for environmental awareness

May 26 2021

Former Olympian and environmental activist Neil Agius will be attempting an intense swimming feat by swimming from Tunisia to Sicily. This is a challenge no one has ever beat in recorded history, but Agius is set to attempt the crossing sometime between June 26 and July 7 given optimal weather conditions. He will be training by swimming around Gozo three times on three consecutive days. This new venture will see him crossing continents for a campaign ‘Wave of Change’ which aims to raise environmental awareness.

Agius told Times of Malta that ‘it should take around 50 hours of non-stop swimming’ and that he chose the route because it has never been done before. Agius is determined to break another record, following his 2020 swim from Sicily to Malta in 28 hours. In December he also crossed the freezing waters between Gozo and Malta in just two hours, and back in 2018, he swam 70km around Malta in 22 hours.

Miriam Pace’s family reach settlement with developers following house collapse

May 26 2021

An out-of-court settlement with MSCMZ Developers Limited has been reached between the company and the relatives of late Miriam Pace’s relatives. The building collapsed in March 2020 and took the life of Miriam Pace who was killed when her house collapsed while she was inside. A statement announcing the settlement was issued by lawyer David Bonello stated that by virtue of this agreement, civil claims brought forward against the developers, contractor, architect and site technical officer have been settled.

The company also stated that ‘throughout this difficult process for all parties involved, the directors of the company have strived to offer their full support and cooperation with full empathy towards the situation.’ Miriam Pace’s husband Carmel estimated damages caused by collapse cost around €593,000, but also stated that ‘obviously there are things which you cannot get a quotation for, such as memories and my wife.’

12 year prison sentence for man who smuggled drugs tied to his legs

May 26 2021

A 41-year-old Brazilian man was sentenced for 12 years and 6 months in prison after admitting he smuggled drugs into Malta. Adalberto Alves Da Silva was stopped at the airport after landing from a flight from Dubai in 20th January 2019. Upon searching, several packets of drugs were found tied to various parts of both his legs.

A total of around 1 and a half kilos of 50% pure cocaine, which would have sold for around €27,000 to €120,000 were it sold on the streets. Da Silva admitted in court, with judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera issuing the 12 year sentence and a €28,000 fine which, if not paid after a year in prison, will increase in amount.

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Photo Source: Kamra tal-Periti, DW.com