Messi suspended for 2 weeks from PSG for unauthorised Saudi trip

May 3 2023

Football star Lionel Messi has been suspended by Paris St-Germain for two weeks after an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia this week.

The Argentinian captain was not be able to train or play for the team during the period of his suspension, with the trip following PSG’s defeat by Lorient last Sunday.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi)

The football star reportedly asked for permission to carry out commercial work through the journey but was refused by PSG.

Messi has a role as a tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia, with his two-year contract with PSG expiring this summer. His trip has reportedly been postponed twice due to team defeats.

The 35-year-old player was pictured in Riyadh on Monday, but his trip to Saudi Arabia means that he will miss the upcoming Ligue 1 matches against Troyes and Ajaccio.

I am happy to welcome #Messi and his family to Saudi to enjoy the magical tourist destinations and authentic experiences.

We welcome visitors from all around the world to experience a unique trip to Saudi Arabia and its hospitality. 🇸🇦#WelcomeMessi pic.twitter.com/QQGdnAqQ08

— Ahmed Al Khateeb أحمد الخطيب (@AhmedAlKhateeb) May 1, 2023

This also comes as Saudi club Al Hilal plan on signing Messi on this summer, being ready to pay a whopping £400 million for just one season.

#MaltaDaily

Child marriages could exist for another 300 years, says UNICEF

May 3 2023

According to United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), child marriages are falling but at not a fast enough rate.

The rate might not see the practice eliminated for another 300 years, with ‘a perfect storm of crises’ possibly reversing the trend.

AFP was informed by Claudia Cappa, lead author of the UNICEF report published on Tuesday, that there was definitely progress in abandoning the practice of child marriage.

According to UNICEF estimates, 640 million girls and women were married when they were under 18 today whereas an estimated 12 million girls are becoming brides each year.

The rates dropped over the past 25 years, going from 25% of women aged 20-24 married before age 18 in 1997 to 19% being so by 2022.

This still means that around nine million girls are expected to be married off in 20230. Despite the progress, global crises such as conflicts, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic could have set the trend backwards.

‘COVID-19 alone could be responsible for an additional 10 million underage marriages between 2020 and 2030’ said the report. Geographically, South Asia is the main driver behind the decline in girls’ marriages.

UNICEF is mainly concerned about sub-Saharan Africa, which is where girls face the highest risk of child marriage. One in three marry before the age of 18, the report claimed.

#MaltaDaily

Average 403,000 containers collected daily so far in 2023

May 3 2023

According to new data released by BCRS, an average off just over 403,000 containers were collected each day so far this year.

In total, almost 61 million containers were collected since the scheme’s launch in November, with three out of every four containers sold in Malta throughout the first 3 months being collected through the scheme.

As reported by Times of Malta, over 1.5 tonnes of material has been recycled, with the aim of collecting and recycling 70% and 65% respectively of the total weight of all containers on the market throughout its first year.

BCRS also intends to increase the targets to 90% and 85% by the year 2026, with the figures currently at 76% and 71%.

Meanwhile, under 2% of the income from containers collected by BCRS machines is donated to charity by the public.

With 33 million containers collected during the first three months of 2023, only €64,500 out of a total of €3.3 million worth of vouchers, were donated to the Community Chest Fund since the scheme began.

It was also found that a quarter of all bottles collected come from Malta’s northern region. This contrasts to the Western region, which are the least involved in the scheme with just under 10% of all container deposits.

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Explosion of reports of stinging cell colonies around Malta

May 2 2023

Marine biologist Alan Deidun issued a warning post about an explosion of reports regarding ‘stinging snakes’ all over Maltese waters.

The creature described is actually a ‘colony of stinging cells known as siphonophore’, and they are close relatives to the dreaded Portuguese man o’war jellyfish.

‘This species is sighted in Maltese waters over the January-May period but, for some reason, in reason days, there has been an explosion of reports of this species in local waters’ explained Deidun in the group ‘Jellyfish in Malta.

The reports have reportedly come from as far apart as Ċirkewwa, Marsaxlokk, Birzebbuga, Mistra and St Paul’s bay.

‘The species in question could be Forskalia edwardsii and it can reach a total length of 10 metres’ Deidun explained.

Deidun runs the Spot the Jellyfish Campaign, which raises awareness about jellyfish and other creatures which could potentially deliver a nasty sting when you go for a dip in one of Malta’s beaches.

#MaltaDaily