Moviment Graffiti allege Comino operators orchestrated set ups to stop protest

Aug 16 2022

Taking to social media, activist group Moviment Graffiti alleged that Comino operators orchestrated set ups to stop the protest on the island.

Posting a photo of trash cans, they reported that the rubbish bins were not typical of Blue Lagoon. Instead, the NGO said, they are containers for cold drinks which the deckchair operators were handing out freely to people brought in to stop the protest.

The activist group were informed by an unknown source that at 7am on the day of the protest, a dinghy owned by entrepreneur Joseph Portelli, left Imgarr, Ghawdex, loaded with thirty people.

These people were allegedly to be used to fill up the spaces on Comino and prevent the protest from happening. ‘Joseph Portelli is a business partner of Daniel Refalo, one of the two deckchair operators in Blue Lagoon.’

‘We can confirm that these people arrived on Comino and started to occupy space before the protest. However, police ordered that they leave the area, despite some of them sticking around and intruding on the protest by playing loud music during the discourse.’

One of them also ended up in a physical altercation with one of thee protestors, with the NGO also noticing that the deckchair operators were offering them free food and drink throughout the whole day.

The NGO highlighted how some of Malta’s big names have a tendency to utilise their own workers – Maltese or foreigners – to intimidate protestors. ‘But bullies do not scare us. The fight continues’ the statement by the NGO concluded.

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Photo Source: Moviment Graffiti FB

‘Is it wrong to have only one child?’ Influencer mother hits out at judgements

Aug 16 2022

Taking to social media, local mother and influencer Danita Camilleri highlighted the sort of judgment she and other women experience when it comes to having and raising kids.

Known by her instagram handle as one-chick-and-a-yorkie, Danita pointed to the unsatisfied expectations people have when it comes to women bearing children through insensitive comments.

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A post shared by Danita Camilleri 🇲🇹 (@onechickandayorkie)

‘Is there something wrong with having just one child? Is there something wrong if I have three children? Is there something wrong if I have no children because that is what I decided’ she asked.

‘People will judge whether a woman has a lot or no kids, so might as well be happy and make your own choices!’ Danita’s post, which was accompanied by adorable photos of her son, was very well received by other women who shared similar experiences.

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Rain showers and colder temperatures expected for next week

Aug 16 2022

According to weather forecast portals, next week in Malta is set to bring us colder temperatures and even some rain showers, following the Santa Marija Gherejjex which saw areas around Malta battered by massive amounts of water.

According to Facebook page ‘It-Temp Madwarna’, this week is set to end with some intense heat and southerly winds, but will shift during the weekend towards fresher air.

This is due to the formation of a cold pool at the centre of the Mediterranean. Should this forecast prove correct, the page revealed, August will get much stormier weather when compared with previous years.

According to Malta International Airport weather forecasts, this prediction is somewhat backed up as temperatures will see a decline from 38 degrees Celsius on Friday to 33 degrees Celsius throughout the weekend.

Last week, massive bouts of rain and flooding hit various parts of the island. Despite being a respite from the usual heat, the stormy weather did cause some ruckus across Malta and Gozo, and it seems we’re in for another round.

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Photo Source: Flickr

Sending a letter abroad will now cost €1.25 as tariffs increase

Postage tariffs raised by Maltapost to make up for delivery losses

Aug 16 2022

Times of Malta revealed that Maltapost has raised the price of both inbound and outbound mail as ‘its role as the national postal service is costing it more money than it makes.’

The price of a stamp to send a letter locally was upped from €0.30 to €0.37 whereas letters going overseas will now cost €1.25, which is a €0.39 increase over the previous €0.86.

Speaking to Times of Malta, Maltapost executive director David Attard said that the company was struggling to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues, Brexit, the rising airfreight costs as well as the introduction of VAT on low-value purchases made from outside the EU.

Despite this, sending physical letters from literally any place to any other place in the country remains one of the cheapest economic activities in modern life.

Malta still retains the cheapest postal rates in the EU, even with the new tariffs. Denmark has the most expensive tariffs, with domestic mail costing €3.88.

The Maltese tariff was sustained as the cheapest one in the EU every year since 2008, a study by Deutsche Post revealed. However, chairman Joseph Said highlighted concerns about profitability, saying that Maltapost simply cannot be expected to continue fulfilling certain services at a financial loss.

This follows dropping in profit in 2021 to €2.35 million from 2020’s €2.8 million and 2019’s €2.98 million.

Maltapost currently deploys around 800 personnel six days a week to collect mail from around 600 letter boxes around the country. This is done to serve its ‘universal service obligation’ which means that the company must provide an affordable service to each person in the country, no matter where they live or where they wish to send their mail.

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