Bonġu News on Thursday 6 April 2023

NGO rescues 440 people

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) rescued around 440 people in Malta’s search and rescue area on Tuesday. The people had spent four days at sea battling a storm in a boat lacking food, the NGO said.

Both Malta and Italy failed to rescue them after NGO Alarm Phone said that some 500 lives were at risk on Tuesday. Those rescued have been taken to Italy, an unconscious survivor was airlifted to Malta on Wednesday morning.

Alarm Phone thanked MSF, saying “Once again, not EU member states but non-state actors reacted to a boat in urgent distress”. Several journalists noted their attempts to contact the Armed Forces Malta have remained unanswered.

Government sides with hunters

The Government sides with the hunters as it has filed a reply to BirdLife’s prohibitory injunction against the spring hunting season.

BirdLife Malta has been trying to prevent government from opening the spring hunting season for the vulnerable turtle dove. A hearing has been set for 18 April, effectively delaying the start of the season until the court comes to a decision.

Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri said the government argued in its reply that the requisites for the issue of the mandate were not satisfied.

BOV chief risk officer resigns

Bank of Valletta has officially announced the resignation of its chief risk officer Miguel Borg. The bank communicated this through a company announcement on the stock exchange on Wednesday.

Borg’s resignation was first reported by The Shift last week, however BOV chairman Gordon Cordina refused to confirm.

Cordina also declined to comment the bank’s exposure to a €36 million loan to Steward Healthcare. However he emphasised that decisions at the bank are not taken or dictated by single individuals.

Zelenskyy visits Poland

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Poland for his first formal visit to one of Kyiv’s closest allies since Russia’s invasion started in February 2022.

Zelenskyy was awarded Poland’s highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle, during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw.

“You have not abandoned Ukraine, you stood with us shoulder to shoulder, and we are grateful to you”, Zelenskyy said. Poland has been a steadfast ally of Ukraine, and has taken in more people displaced by the war than any other country.

Zelenskyy will also meet with business representatives, volunteers and rescuers, and the mayors of cities bordering Ukraine.