Should Teaching In Public Schools Be In Maltese, PN MEP Candidate Asks

Nov 13 2023

‘How much should we change as a society to adapt to foreigners in our country’, Nationalist Party MEP Candidate Peter Agius asked when visiting the Marsa primary school.

At the school, Agius said, and like many other schools around the island, the teaching which used to take place in Maltese now takes place in English.

‘This is because you will have three or four foreign students in class who do not have impetus from their family to learn the Maltese language’, Agius said.

The MEP candidate said that when meeting with the relevant authorities, he needs to address them in Danish or French. ‘He won’t learn Maltese for me?’

‘Do we have a sense of Maltese identity wherein we teach our children Maltese? I am not saying that parents who want to teach their kids in English shouldn’t be allowed to. They have every right.’

‘Was there a discussion with the parents? And if foreigners are coming from abroad to work, shouldn’t they make the effort to learn the Maltese language?’

What do you think? Should there be specialised schools solely in English?

#MaltaDaily

Increase Of 55% In Cruise Passenger Traffic In Last 3 Months

Nov 13 2023

In the third quarter of 2023, the total cruise passenger traffic surged by 55.8%, reaching 348,268 passengers, compared to the same period last year.

The quarter witnessed 108 cruise liner calls, marking an increase of 11 calls compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous year. Transit passengers dominated the traffic, constituting 83.6% and totaling 291,216 passengers.

On average, each berthed vessel in Malta carried 3,225 passengers, a notable rise of 921 from the previous year.

Passengers from EU Member States represented 59.6% of the total traffic, with Italy contributing 25.3% and Germany following at 11.7%. Non-EU countries contributed 140,544 passengers, with the United Kingdom and the United States accounting for 40.7% and 28.9%, respectively.

In terms of gender, female passengers comprised 52.9% of the total, and the largest age group was 40-59 years, making up 36.9%.

For the first three quarters of the year, total cruise passengers amounted to 645,567, with 58.0% originating from EU Member States. The majority of passengers were female (53.3%), and the age group of 40-59 years constituted the largest share at 35.5%.

There were 227 cruise liner calls during this period, with an average of 2,844 passengers per vessel, reflecting a significant increase from the previous year. Read the full NSO report here.

#MaltaDaily

Marzia Maatouk Makes Europol’s Most Wanted List

Nov 13 2023

Europol has elevated Marzia Miramar Maatouk, the partner of notorious criminal Jomic Calleja, to its list of most wanted criminals.

Both Calleja and Maatouk, convicted separately in August 2023, managed to avoid imprisonment by appealing their sentences under Maltese law, which allows the postponement of magistrates’ prison sentences pending appeal decisions. Consequently, Calleja Maatouk was released from police custody.

Malta police suspect that the fugitive couple may have fled the country on a private boat to evade justice. Calleja Maatouk faced charges related to attempting to import C4 explosive purchased from the dark web, intercepted by U.S. law enforcement agents who replaced it with a dummy package before its arrival in Malta.

Court proceedings unveiled discussions between Calleja Maatouk and the supplier about acquiring poisons and radioactive polonium, leading to a five-year jail sentence, with Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech branding him a dangerous individual.

In a separate case, Marzia Miramar Maatouk received an effective 15-month jail term for possessing over 300g of cannabis, valued at over €6,000. Arrested in 2019 alongside Calleja, a vehicle search in Birkirkara led to the discovery of the drugs, resulting in charges of possession with intent to supply in September 2019. Both fugitives remain at large, prompting Europol’s intensified pursuit.

#MaltaDaily

Lion Prowls Italian Town After Escaping From Circus

Nov 13 2023

In an Italian seaside town near Rome, chaos ensued as an escaped lion roamed the streets for hours, leading advocates to renew calls for a ban on wild animals in entertainment in Italy.

The mayor of Ladispoli, Alessandro Grando, urged residents to stay indoors while authorities from both the police and the circus worked to capture the lion. Videos, though unauthenticated, circulated in Italian media, depicting the adult lion strolling through dark, empty streets.

Rony Vassallo, in charge of animals at the Rony Roller Circus, claimed that the lion, named Kimba, posed minimal danger, emphasizing that the animal did not display any aggression towards people during the unexpected escapade.

Vassallo expressed concerns about potential harm to Kimba out of fear or enthusiasm from onlookers. The mayor, Grando, later confirmed on Facebook that the lion had been sedated and captured after more than five hours of efforts by emergency services and volunteers.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Malta Daily (@maltadaily.mt)

Grando, hopeful that the incident would raise awareness, advocated for an end to the exploitation of animals in circuses. He clarified that he had not authorized the presence of a circus with lions in the town but lacked the authority to prevent it.

Meanwhile, Vassallo, while reporting that Kimba suffered no ill-effects from the escapade, expressed the circus team’s shock and tension, hinting at a possible investigation into the escape, which he found suspicious. Kimba, born and raised in captivity, had drawn criticism from animal rights activists who argue against keeping such wild creatures in captivity.

#MaltaDaily