Hate speech against people with disability & elderly to become punishable by prison

Dec 1 2021

Committing hate speech against elderly people or individuals with disabilities may become punishable by prison soon, as Parliament braces to approve a number of legal amendments put forward by Inclusion Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli.

Nationalist Party deputy leader David Agius joined Minister Farrugia Portelli to support the changes in the Bill, going on to state that it was about time that Malta introduces laws that protect the country’s elderly from physical, psychological and sexual abuse.

The Minister highlighted the importance of sending a message of zero-tolerance towards hatred and hate speech. She went on to state that, despite Malta being a “supposedly inclusive country, we’ve stopped short in the past of implementing the necessary laws to protect certain groups.”

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Pfizer vaccine to become available for children in the EU in two weeks

Dec 1 2021

In two weeks’ time, pharmaceutical giant BioNTech/Pfizer will start to have vaccines available for children, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has revealed.

The European Union’s primary COVID-19 vaccine provider will deliver thirteen million doses to the EU, with Malta to accept its vaccine regimen when it is available. The Maltese health authorities have stated that they will begin administering jabs to children of ages between five and 11 as soon as they are readily available.

While COVID infection in children seems to be mild, they carry a higher level of transmissibility, likely due to the fact that they are unvaccinated. A recent study revealed that children aged five to 11 exhibited an immunity response to the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine at a third of the dose given to adults.

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“Do you take card?” Bank cards becoming increasingly popular for lower value purchases

Dec 1 2021

A study conducted by the Central Bank of Malta has shown that consumers are increasingly using their bank cards to make low value purchases, with transactions hitting €1.2 billion in 2020.

The yearly value average dropped from €58 in 2016 to €51 in 2016, proving that customers are going for smaller-value purchases with their cards. Card popularity gained further traction, with card transaction value increasing by 28% from 2016 to 2020. Volume of online transactions also increased by 6.5% between 2019 and 2020, with value dropping by 7%.

The Central Bank of Malta states that these trends reflect the drop in private consumption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which also highlighted that online payments are also seeing an increase in use for low value transactions.

Do you prefer using cash or card?

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Malta’s Cannabis Reform Bill enters final stage as Opposition proposes no amendments

Dec 1 2021

Malta’s much-anticipated Cannabis Reform Bill has been approved at a committee stage, which means that it is “edging nearer towards the bill becoming law,” Reforms Minister Owen Bonnici stated.

This means that the reform bill underwent a parliamentary process by which the House reviews every single clause of the bill, with government and Opposition MPs able to propose amendments to any of the clauses.

Minister Bonnici took to social media to announce the aforementioned, going on to highlight that “The Opposition, in yet another twist, did not propose a single written amendment.” The Opposition has expressed its reservations on the Cannabis Reform Bill multiple times but failed to present which provisions it wanted to amend.

The cannabis reform bill has been approved at committee stage: edging nearer towards the bill becoming law.

The Opposition, in yet another twist, did not propose a single written amendment.

I thank all those who participated and intervened during committee stage.#change

— •Owen Bonnici (@OwenBonnici) November 30, 2021

What is left for the bill is one final vote before it is presented to the President of Malta, whereby the President may sign it into law after years of proposals and cannabis activism.

What do you make of this decision?

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