License for first crematorium to be issued after election

Mar 9 2022

Addressing a press conference, health minister and deputy prime minister Chris Fearne announced that following the election, the license for crematorium will be issued if Labour are voted into government.

Crematorium services were allowed in Malta after the relevant law came into affect back in 2019 as spearheaded by Rosianne Cutajar. Malta had not allowed any form of human cremation beforehand despite repeated calls for alternatives to traditional burial.

This new law and, by extension, the license, will introduce a new alternative to burial but also allow people flexibility to decide what to do with the ashes.

Taking to Facebook, Cutajar expressed the satisfaction towards the announcement that following the election, the Labour Party will be issuing the fist licence to officially establish the first crematorium in Malta.

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Photo Source: Rosianne Cutajar FB, Chris Fearne FB

Man gets revenge on wife’s lover by setting van on fire

Mar 9 2022

A man was driven to arson after learning that his wife was cheating on him. A court heard on Wednesday how the accused was charged with having set a van on fire in Birkirkara on the 13th of January.

Police figured out who committed the act after spotting his distinctive van at the scene of the crime. The accused told the police when confronted that his wife had been cheating on him with the arson victim.

He had contemplated how to approach the decision, and went on to burn his vehicle. The accused pleaded not guilty to charges and requested bail.

Inspector Jeffrey Scicluna noted that the accused had cooperated fully and released a statement in the presence of a lawyer. He said that the protection did not object to bail, provided that the court issued the necessary safeguards.

The victim allegedly had not suspected that the accused was behind the arson. Franco Debono, who was one of the accused’s lawyers, stressed that testimony had been preserved and the victim was ready to abide by all court imposed decisions.

Ht accused was ordered not to approach the victim. He must also sign a bail book twice weekly, obey an 11pm to 6am curfew as well as pay a €1,000 personal deposit and €4,000 personal guarantee.

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Two government cheques to start distribution from next Monday

Mar 9 2022

It was revealed by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana that two sets of government cheques will start to be distributed to those eligible as from Monday 14th March.

The two rounds will consist of a total of around 580,000 cheques, and are set to cover the yearly tax rebate as well as one-time payments to all working citizens and pensioners due to rising costs of living.

As proposed in the 2022 budget, with regards to the tax rebate cheque, the amount given to workers will be varying from €60 to €140. They are set to be calculated in accordance to the amount of income which each worker earns.

The other cheques will include a one time payment of either €100 or €200, an incentive the Prime Minister and Finance minister announced in February to inject €70 million into the Maltese Economy. Workers will receive a €100 cheque and pensioners a €200 cheque.

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Labour candidate gives out free VR headsets and ECDL classes

Mar 9 2022

Labour candidate Ray Abela on Wednesday distributed virtual reality headsets to a primary school in his third district as well as free ECDL classes.

This comes just days after the Children’s Commissioner warned against using children to gain votes in electoral campaigns.

Abela owns a tech-related business and he went to visit children at a Zejtun primary school on Wednesday, handing out virtual reality headsets to students.

With his name, personal website and electoral details all included with the headset devices, the candidate posted the gesture onto Facebook. However, the general elections act specifically forbids the exchange of goods, food or favours for votes as it lists as corrupt practice.

It is unclear if he had the parents permission to publish photos of the children onto the social media page. The young kids aren’t eligible to vote, but the stunt could influence the adults in their lives to do so in his favour.

When asked about the incident by Times of Malta, Children’s Commissioner Antoinette Vassallo said that it is not right to take advantage of children during political campaigns.

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