PN MP Adrian Delia delivers Easter gifts to orphanages

Apr 17 2022

Celebrating Easter, Nationalist MP Adrian Delia yesterday visited several orphanages around Malta to gift the staff and children living there with delicious treats.

Posting to social media, the politician said that there is nothing more rewarding in life than making other people happy.

‘During days such as these, small acts of kindness to our youth in these homes of love help them celebrate the message of Easter Sunday’ said Delia, on a post accompanied with images of him and his team donating the goodies.

Delia, who visited orphanages in Tarxien, Guardamangia and Sliema, took snaps of himself with the Ursuline community who care for the various orphaned children in the country.

In other photos, he was shown carrying large boxes of everything form Easter eggs, the iconic ‘figolli’, panettone and various other sweets and delicacies.

The Ursulines, is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women. Founded in Malta in 1887, the congregation takes care of poor and abandoned babies and children with around nine homes in Malta.

The former PN leader himself managed to acquire a seat in the Maltese parliament for the new legislature on the Opposition’s ticket, despite having faced internal opposition in the past from within the party itself.

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Photo Source: Adrian Delia

Zelenskyy warns all countries that Putin could use nuclear weapons

Apr 17 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged all countries of the world to be ready for Russia’s President possibly using nuclear weapons.

More than 50 days into the invasion of Ukraine, the president of the war-torn Russian neighbour has warned that nuclear weapons could be set for use.

This comes after Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned that a Third World War would be nuclear and destructive earlier on during the invasion. Vladimir Putin has increased the risk of nuclear war by putting the country’s nuclear deterrent forces on high alert when the crisis began.

This led Zelenskyy to urge countries to be on high alert and to prepare, telling CNN that Russia may also be deploying chemical weaponry.

Director of the CIA Bill Burns has suggested that since Putin’s special military operation is not going well as first anticipated, it could lead to the use of such weapons in Ukraine.

The use of nuclear weapons would largely increase the devastating death tolls, which Zelenskyy believes stands at around 2,500 and 3,000 Ukrainian troops. When it comes to civilians, he said that it is very difficult to truly get an accurate number.

Russia has not ruled out the use of nuclear weapons, but said that it would only use them if there is an ‘existential threat’ to the country. Putin had also threatened NATO earlier on during the war that should they interfere, they would face consequences as they have never seen in their history.

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Hunters to aid in scientific research as turtle dove season begins

Apr 17 2022

Members of the hunter’s federation in Malta have been urged to enjoy the season for hunting turtle doves as well as to contribute to scientific research surrounding the bird species.

This comes as a court dismissed a BirdLife case which urged the halting of the season after it argued that the bird is at risk and whose hunting is banned by EU regulations.

The FKNK said that the hunting season for the turtle dove has been made possible thanks to several scientific and technical documents which were used to convince the Malta ORNIS Committee to recommend the lifting of a five-year turtle dove spring hunting moratorium.

The FKNK also urged hunters not to waste time and to ignore any ‘void and empty statements that are at present being circulated by a particular entity which has neither the experience, nor the necessary European and International contacts’ to address the situation.

Hunters were thus urged to contribute to the FKNK Sustainability Index Exercise by compiling hunt information on a prescribed form. This, the organisation said, should add another sustainable tool for conservation of the turtle dove.

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Government considering ending golden passport schemes

Apr 17 2022

The government is seeking the eventual phasing out of the cash-for-passports scheme as international pressure to scrap it continues to grow.

Sources informed Times of Malta that Prime Minister Robert Abela is considering putting a stop to the programme. This is because he was presented with an assortment of options to phase it out.

The Prime Minister could halt the programme outright, set a cut-off date within the next few years or even rework the scheme for the second time.

Profits from the programme, which targeted high net worth elite seeking easy and uninhibited access to the EU, went noticeably down. Professionals claimed that interest in the Maltese offering is on a steady decline, despite it having generated more than €800 million for Malta between 2014 and 2020.

Speaking to Times of Malta, agents said that sales are as lower as 40% when compared to two years ago. The invasion of Ukraine has made matters worse, as it lead to the suspension of Russian and Belarusian access. These made up around 30% of applicants in recent years.

The scheme has not been a stranger to controversy, as even Brussels believed that Malta was violating EU law by selling passports that allow the unrestricted access to the union. One source told Times of Malta that the government has already signalled to the European Commission that it is open to phasing out the scheme.

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