Paulina Dembska’s parents were informed by police 36 hours after the murder

Jan 5 2022

Speaking to Polish publication Fakt, Paulina Dembska’s parents reported that they found out about their daughter’s death through media reports.

Polish police informed the family of the tragic murder well over 36 hours after the body was discovered in Sliema, Malta. Paulina’s sister allegedly found out about the death and called their parents.

With Paulina’s body discovered early on Sunday morning, police approached the family with the information on Monday at 4pm. They were only informed about the process of repatriating Paulina’s body, with a fund set up in Malta raising over €30,000 to help with the process.

The family also called in via WhatsApp during the vigil dedicated to Paulina, thanking all those who showed up and helped in some way for what they were doing.

Paulina, a 29-year-old national, was murdered on the 2nd of January at Independence Gardens, Sliema. Abner Aquilina, a 20-year-old from Żejtun, is being treated as the main suspect and has since been referred to Mount Carmel.

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Photo Source: Miguela Xuereb

Hero dog saves injured hiker by curling around him for 13 hours

Jan 5 2022

Grga Brkic accidentally fell whilst hiking with his dog, North, in the Velebit mountains in Croatia and was left unable to move.

The eight-month-old Alaskan Malamute curled up with the hiker and kept him warm for 13 hours before they were rescued. A photo accompanying a post by Croatia’s mountain rescue service shows the dog curled up on top of Mr Brkic.

‘Friendship and love between man and dog have no boundaries’ the post read. As first respondents made their rescue attempt, the dog helped out by ensuring the hiker did not freeze to death.

After 13 hours nearly 30 first responders reached him and were able to transport him off the mountain. The hiker described the dog as a real miracle, having been certified not harmed by the entire ordeal.

Despite Croatia’s mountain rescue warning against taking dogs for hikes in difficult conditions, North proved to be the hiker’s very survival in this scenario.

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‘Stop offering me votes for favours’ says Labour MP in powerful post

Jan 5 2022

Oliver Scicluna, one of Malta’s newest MPs, asked voters to stop promising him their vote in exchange for favours, finding such pleas offensive.

Taking to Facebook, Scicluna said that despite being new to politics, he constantly contemplates about issues which seem to have been present in the political sphere for quite a long time. Issues which he, Oliver said, will not get accustomed to.

He expressed how many individuals come up to him and tell him that should he serve them, they will ‘think of him’ – implying their vote.

This phrase, he said, makes him feel bad not because he helps that person but because he believes that one should earn something because they have earned it rightfully.

The ‘help me out and I’ll remember you’ sentiment hurts him, Scicluna revealed, as he said that he wants people to vote for him because they believe he can do something good.’

‘This mentality needs to stop, and it has to be us politicians who stop people in their tracks when encountering such instances.’

His post drew a lot of support, with even even Labour deputy leader Daniel Jose Micallef agreeing with the post and stating that for the culture to change, the system itself needs to change.

The system referred to here is Malta’s single transferrable vote system through which parliament is elected. With five members of parliament elected from each of 13 electoral districts, this system of proportional representation means MPS rely on their constituents’ votes to be elected. This incentivises them to focus on local affairs within electoral districts.

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Air Malta will keep all routes open but reduce flight frequency

Jan 5 2022

Air Malta will be reducing its frequency on some of its routes in January and February following a massive drop in demand but still keep all its currently existing routes.

Recent weeks brought the downturn in demands for the airline, with the Omicron variant pushing up the number of COVID-19 cases globally and thus disrupting travel in general.

‘This curtailing, necessitated due to the dramatic downturn in demand over recent weeks, is presently very common in the industry especially in the current scenario during which airlines had to deal with multiple and unprecedented travel disruptions’ a statement by the company read.

Air Malta’s Executive Chairman David G Curmi commented on this plan, stating that this decision is being taken to match customer demand and avoid flying near empty.

‘Given the unprecedented times we are living in and the challenges that Air Malta is facing, we are continuously optimising our network for profitability and liquidity, and we plan to continue to do so without compromises.’

The airline did not specify which of the routes would be impacted by flight cancellations or what notices would be issued for booked passengers.

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