Malta to finance repatriation of Lassana Cisse’s body

Apr 14 2021

Lassana Cisse Souleymane, 42-year-old father of three, was murdered in a racially-motivated attack two years ago by two Armed Forces of Malta soldiers in a drive-by-shooting. The Maltese government will now be covering expenses to transport the body of Lassana back to the Ivory Coast, as confirmed by Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri.

Lassana’s body was released for burial by the courts on January 2020 and his family has been expecting the transfer to take place two months later. This has not yet occurred and thus prompted MP Mario Galea to ask a parliamentary question on the matter.

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Evergreen to pay $1 billion in compensation to leave Suez Canal

Apr 14 2021

The Ever Given ship container dominated news portals, and became somewhat of a trendy meme, when it got stuck in the Suez Canal, essentially blocking one of the world’s most vital trade routes. It reportedly blocked an estimated $9.6 billion of cargo from passing through on a daily basis. Despite being dislodged, the ship is still forced to stay in the canal by Egyptian authorities until the owners agree to pay $1 billion in compensation.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Suez Canal Authority leader Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie stated that ‘the vessel will remain [there] until investigations are complete and compensation is paid.’ The requested amount is said to cover equipment used to dislodge the shop, the labor force and the damage done to the canal itself.

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Around 200 people stopped from crossing from Malta to Gozo

Apr 14 2021

The new COVID-19 health measures limited travel between Malta and Gozo to residents or for work reasons. This measure has been in effect for 33 days. During Easter week however, about 200 passengers and 100 vehicles were banned from travel between the islands by Gozo Channel Employees.

Some were even stopped on the wharves for similar reasons. Some have tried to ignore restrictions to travel to Gozo for non-work or residential related reasons. The chairperson of the Gozo Channel stetted that the restrictions are causing daily losses of thousands of euros to the Gozo Channel, and thus the public should cooperate with the channel in order to return the situation to normal.

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New Zealand introduces climate change law for financial firms

Apr 14 2021

New Zealand has become the first country to introduce a law which will require banks and other investment managers to report impacts of climate change on their business. New Zealand’s Minister for Climate Change James Shaw announced the law on Tuesday. All banks with total assets of more than NZ$1 billion ($703 million), insurers with more than NZ$1 billion in total assets under management and all equity and debt issuers will have to make disclosures.

‘We simply cannot get to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 unless the financial sector knows what impact their investments are having on the climate’ stated Shaw. Around 200 of the country’s biggest companies and several foreign firms meet NZ$1, meaning they will come under legislation and will have to explain how they would manage climate-related risks and opportunities.

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