Turtle dove hunting temporarily halted by court upon BirdLife’s request

Apr 13 2022

A court has provisionally adhered to a request by NGO BirdLife to stop the spring hunting for turtle dove as it will be considering the merits of the case in a sitting come Tuesday.

BirdLife said that this automatically means that the spring hunting season for turtle doves cannot open this coming Sunday as scheduled.

The case was instituted against the government by the NGO after it argued that giving the go-ahead to hunt the vulnerable bird species is in breach of EU rules.

The NGO expressed satisfaction that the local law courts understood the urgency of the matter and that they have the responsibility and power to safeguard European Directives in Malta.

‘Our law courts are also European law courts with full powers provided to them by the European Union’s directive themselves. As a member state we need to abide by EU regulations and directives and the local law courts are a way for any citizen and civil society to seek remedy for breaches of the European directives, including the EU Birds Directive’ said BirdLife.

It also revealed that it will be writing to the Commissioner of Police and the head of the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU) to ensure no one hunts turtle doves before the court takes a decision.

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Malta with most businesses shifting online in EU due to COVID

Apr 13 2022

Malta has had the highest share of enterprises and businesses in the EU shifting and selling their products online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This comes after local business lobbies in particular lamenting how small businesses were reluctant to switch to online platforms to sell their services.

Despite advise by the lobbies to shift online, many businesses saw that they did not need online presence as they were doing well without it. Lobbies had warned that this may not remain the case, and it seems the pandemic pushed for that move.

New data issued by the EU’s statistic office shows that around 32% of Malta’s enterprises started or boosted their efforts to sell services online from 2020 onwards.

This was in fact the biggest share when compared to all other EU members, with Malta Chamber of SMEs CEO Abigail Agius Mamo confirming fears that Malta’s businesses were lacking in this field.

Malta one-upped Cyprus which came in second, with Agius Mamo saying that when the pandemic hit, business owners had no option but to step up. Many business owners were commended for their sudden creative boost to shift online.

According to the chamber’s latest survey, which was conducted by the end of 2021, more than half of businesses said they want to continue investing in digital platforms for their business.

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Spanish duo Villareal and Real Madrid qualify for Champions League semi-finals

Apr 13 2022

Spanish duo Villareal and Real Madrid have both qualified for the Champions League semi-finals after beating German champions Bayern and current Champions League winners Chelsea. Villareal will now face one of Liverpool or Benfica whilst Real Madrid will play against either Champions League favourites Manchester City or cross city rivals Atletico Madrid.

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Real Madrid managed to overturn a Chelsea comeback in what was on of the most memorable Champions League matchups in recent history.

It was a must win game for Chelsea as they had to come back from a 3-1 defeat they suffered at home in the previous leg. The first half went perfect for the Blues with fan favourite Mason Mount scoring an inch perfect goal to give hope to the Chelsea faithful. Real Madrid seemed nervous compared to Chelsea who looked up for the match and eager to complete a historic comeback.

The second half again started very well for Chelsea with in form center back Antonio Rudiger scoring a header from a corner in the 51st minute. Chelsea were still on the front foot and that showed when Marcos Alonso sent the away fans into uproar, only for the goal to be disallowed for a dubious handball by the Spaniard. Los Blancos than had their first real chance of the evening when star striker Karim Benzema managed to hit the crossbar from a header.

In the 75th minute Chelsea striker Timo Werner managed to pick up the ball, beat Dani Carvajal in a one on one and find the back of the net to give Chelsea the surprising lead on aggregate. As everyone thought that the game was over, in the 80th minute Luka Modric managed to play a beautiful outside of the booth pass towards young Brazilian Rodrygo who volleyed it past Edourad Mendy to send the tie to extra time.

There was only one man that was going to win it for Real Madrid and that man was Karim Benzema who continued his incredible goal scoring record in the 96th minute when he scored another header against the Blues to give Real Madrid the lead one again. Chelsea did have multiple chances in the remaining few minutes but it wasn’t enough for them as Real Madrid’s individual brilliance helped the Spanish team progress to the semi-finals.

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Villareal have defied the odds once again after first knocking out Italian giants Juventus in the round of 16 and now beating German champions Bayern albeit having only two shots on target across both legs. The Spanish side came into the second leg after surprisingly beating Bayern 1-0 at home in the first leg.

The game was mainly dominated by Bayern but due to Villareal’s strong defence consisting of youth like Pau Torres and experience like Raul Albiol the match was kept in reach for the Yellow Submarines. The first goal of the game came in the 52nd minute when Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski found the back of the net because of a defensive mistake from the Spanish side.

Most football fans were expecting the floodgates to open for Bayern once Lewandowski scored but that wasn’t the case. Villareal didn’t lose their concentration and did not let Bayern score another goal. In the 89th minute as everyone thought the game would enter extra time Villareal managed to find a fresh Samuel Chukwueze marauding into Bayern’s box. The Nigerian slotted the ball into the back of the net and sparked incredible celebrations as he sent the Spanish side to the Champions League semi-finals.

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Customs canines sniff out €31,410 in undeclared cash

Apr 13 2022

The Customs canines are on a roll as they manage to intercept €31,410 worth of undeclared cash at the Malta International Airport.

First off was Gypsy, who had a positive reaction towards two Syrian passengers travelling to Erbil, Iraq. One of the passengers was approached by Customs Officials and asked to declare how much money he was carrying.

He replied by saying that he had €7,000, but a thorough search led to the discovery of €8,0000 in a small bag her was carrying and another €2,095 in checked-in luggage. The other Syrian passenger was found to be carrying €10,130 in undeclared cash.

Meanwhile, Charlie managed to intercept €11,185 in undeclared cash after giving a positive indication towards a Somali passenger. The passenger was travelling to Dakar via Istanbul and was stopped by Customs for a currency check.

He declared he was carrying around €7,000 but a thorough search led to the discovery of €11,185 in undeclared cash. All three passengers were offered out-of-court settlement to which they agreed and singed and were administered a fine.

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