Youngest female MPs disagree on benefits of gender mechanism

Apr 19 2022

The two youngest parliament MPs went head-to-head about the newly implemented gender corrective mechanism, expressing different opinions on its use.

Cressida Galea, PL, and Eve Borg Bonello, PN, were elected to parliament for the first time through the gender corrective mechanism.

Galea, 25-years-old, said on TVM News Plus’ Xtra that the mechanism was needed to ensure more equality between the sexes after decades in which female representation remained very low.

Borg Bonello, who is also the youngest ever MP to make it into parliament in Maltese history at just 18-years-old, disagreed and said that the choice of MPs should be solely up to electors. She said that the mechanism penalised women because less people voted for them.

The PN MP insisted that what was needed was for parties to attract more women to contest elections. She said that to do so it would be better if MPs had full-time jobs as well as in-house child care centres in parliament.

Galea’s response was that when considering the results of the casual election, more women were elected to parliament this time around. The PL elected seven women and the PN three through the parliamentary process.

Each side then elected six more female MPs each through the gender mechanisms, taking into account their final count votes as a ratio of the district quota. Parliament now has 22 women MPs out of a total of 79.

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New Renovate Your Home scheme expected after massive success

Apr 19 2022

The ‘Renovate Your Home’ scheme, which was orchestrated by the Building and Construction Authority, is expected to kick off a new round after its first iteration proved super successful.

The scheme, which was launched a few weeks ago, has the aim of renovating residential houses and private properties in the Grand Harbour to make them more sustainable when it comes to energy.

Chief Executive of the BCA Karl Azzopardi told ONE News that there had been 100 applications, and that the set amount of €600,000 was exceeded. He revealed that a new scheme will be released.

This new scheme will give the opportunity to those who did not manage to benefit from the scheme to do so as they will be given first preference. A waiting list will be created as it shows that there is an appetite for such projects.

Due to the several applications which were sent in, many different works around Cottonera and the Grand Harbour area will begin. Minister for Planning and Construction Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi expressed satisfaction with the project’s success.

He said that through it, a number of families living in the area’s deeper zones will be benefiting immensely, both financially as well as culturally and sustainably.

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Mother celebrates international caesarean month with touching post

Apr 19 2022

Danita Camilleri, known by her social media handle as ‘One Chick and a Yorkie’, took to social media to commemorate international caesarean month with a touching post.

April is the month dedicated to C-section, which is a surgical procedure by which a baby is delivered through an incision in the mother’s abdomen. This is often done because vaginal delivery would put the life of the mother or child at risk.

Danika wrote in eloquent and poetic fashion her experience of undergoing the procedure. She said that despite giving birth through immense suffering, she still managed to be courageous and underwent a legitimate childbirth.

She said how she wanted to see and hold her child, but several complications were impeding the usual process. ‘After an hour, I saw him, hugged and kissed him. But that is all I could do as I could not get off the bed. I wanted to get up but my body did not allow it.’

The social media influencer has documented her life as a mother, commemorating all that she has been through to welcome her beloved and adorable baby boy.

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Two new speed cameras for Malta’s Coast Road

Apr 19 2022

With the approval of Transport Malta, LESA will be installing two new speed cameras in Malta’s Coast Road, in the direction towards the south of Malta.

This follows the installation of speed cameras last year in direction from Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq to San Pawl il-Baħar. The new speed cameras will fill up the space left without any surveillance as part of a project to increase road safety on the island.

This road was of concern for many drivers, as between 2010 and 2018, the road saw 70 accidents as well as 6 deaths.

Photos shared on social media, the cameras seem to have been installed close to the Salina Hotel and next to Magħtab. The first camera has a speed limit of 70km/h and the second 60km/h.

In the past few months of 2022, the number of road accidents raised major concerns as they seemed to have only increased, leading to the death of many on the road. The worrying uptick could prompt more cameras popping up in other localities but many have called for more serious measures and awareness about the issue.

#MaltaDaily