Zelenskyy in tears as he visits sites of Russian war atrocities

Apr 5 2022

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had to hold back tears as he visited the site of alleged atrocities in Ukraine. The leader was visibly haunted by what he witnessed in Bucha, which is northwest of Kyiv, following the withdrawal of Russian troops.

Associated Press (AP) journalists spotted 21 bodies in Bucha, with a group of nine civilians who appeared to have been shot at close range. Two of them had their hands tied behind their backs. Ukrainian officials said that the bodies of 410 civilians were found in towns around the capital which were recaptured from Russian forces. Zelenskyy told reporters that thousands of civilians had been raped, tortured and murdered.

‘Every day we find people in barrels, cellars, and everywhere else, some strangled, some clearly tortured. These are war crimes and will be recognised by the world as genocide’ said Zelenskyy. Satellite images taken in Ukraine indicated that civilian killings took place before Russian soldiers left the town, which is contrary to what the invading force claimed.

Russia’s ministry of defence had denied responsibility for the crimes, suggesting that Russian troops withdrew from Bucha around 30th March. World leaders are unanimously condemning the act. US President Joe Biden accused Putin of being a war criminal after the images emerged. EU President Roberta Metsola also issued a strengthening of sanctions on Moscow.

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COVID measure easing welcomed by hotel owners and airport

Apr 5 2022

The government’s announcement that more COVID-19 restrictions will be eased was welcomed by the Malta International Airport and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association.

The MIA welcomed the announcement that persons travelling from a red zoned country will bee allowed entry with a negative PCR test or a recovery certificate as of next week.

The MIA said that PCR tests are an inconvenience and an added cost which can prompt potential visitors to choose other destinations for their summer holiday. With the peak holiday season only months away, the MIA called on government to give visibility to the industry and potential visitors of when the remaining COVID-19 travel restrictions would be completely removed.

A separate statement was released by the MHRA, also welcoming the restriction removal. It stated however that not enough and clear information as presented to better understand how the tourism stakeholders need to react in relation to this policy statement.

The MHRA is thus calling for the removal of all remaining restrictions, such as completing a Passenger Locator Form and vaccination proof. The MHRA is calling on an emphasis of slo-responsibility to ‘keep our society healthy.’

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Marsaxlokk beach covered in clam shells following strong winds

Apr 5 2022

Posting to Facebook, Alan Deidun shared images by Bjorn Schembri of a Marsaxlokk beach utterly covered with empty bivalve shells, such as those of cockles and clams.

The bivalve shell is part of the body, the exoskeleton or shell, of a bivalve mollusk. This is a class of, in this case, marine molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies closed up by a shell consisting of two hinged parts.

The extraordinary sight, Deidun speculated, was due to the strong South-East winds which ‘pummelled the area in recent weeks.’

The strong weather patterns likely dislodged all form of burrowing creatures which were sheltering within the soft seabed of the embayment. Deidun described it as a rare sight.

Some interesting facts about these molluscs is that they appeared in the fossil record more than 500 million years ago and there are about 9,200 living species of them.

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Photo Source: Bjorn Schembri (as shared by Alan Deidun)

550,000 people watched live Pope visit broadcast

Apr 5 2022

Over the two day Papal visit by Pope Francis in Malta, TVM and TVMNews+ audiences exceeded 328,000 people, with followers of tvmnews.mt amounting to 220,000 people.

The broadcasts consisted of a daytime programme and news bulletins covering the entire visit. A 27-hour broadcast involved several people, with live links from around 20 different locations.

The two programmes on TVM News Plus reached an audience of 328,000 pope over two days. They both ended with two 8pm news bulletins.

Head of News at PBS, Norma Saliba, said that as soon as the date of the Pope’s arrival was announced, the entire team of journalists and the PBS technical crew immediately got to work on all preparations that were needed to enable us deliver the broadcasts as we saw last weekend.

‘We derived satisfaction from those who watch and from the feedback they gave us but it is also gratifying for me that all journalists and those all those involved have shown how professional they are, and just how worthy the national station is of giving such broadcasts of national interest’ she said.

The physical attendances of Papal visits in various areas on the island also saw thousands of people. The final Floriana Granaries mass saw 12,000 attendees.

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