Australia on fire, as Maltese-Australians among those caught in the devastation 

According to officials, the begging of the new year in Australia saw the worst fire threat in the last two decades. Among the people caught up in the spread of bushfires across the South East were families of Maltese descent.

People were forced to evacuate their houses leaving most of their possessions behind and camp on nearby beaches at makeshift emergency locations. 

According to Godfrey Sultana, who emigrated from Malta 55 years ago and now lives in Blacktown, New South Wales, a lot of Maltese and Greeks have holiday homes in the affected area. 

The Guardian has reported that 33 people have been confirmed dead and over 2000 homes have been lost since the start of the fires. Authorities have also estimated that half a billion animals have perished so far. 

Hundreds of migrants detained ‘illegally’ at Marsa and Safi centres

On January 4, news broke that a total of 1,400 asylum seekers were being held illegally at the Marsa and Safi centres, with some people being detained for over five months, according to the UNHCR Malta representative.

Maltese law, European law and even international refugee law, all state that detention should only be utilised for short periods of time as a last resort and it should always be justified.

In October 2019, Maltese court had in fact ruled that the detention of migrants for more than 10 weeks is unlawful and that migrants should be released.

On January 6, migrants in the Safi Detention Centre started protesting, demanding freedom. Cars were torched and property was damaged, but nobody got hurt. 24 people were arrested.

On January 8, over 400 people were evacuated from the Marsa Migrant Centre after a fire broke out in one of the dormitories. 20 people in connection with the incident were arrested. 

Joseph Muscat’s final speech as prime minister

January 10 saw the final farewell speech of outgoing prime minister Joseph Muscat. 

In his speech Dr Muscat gave his last goodbye to the Labour Party, sharing how proud he was to be their leader and to have served his country as Prime Minister. Whereas, the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder would be the biggest regret of his time in office. 

He closed his speech with “I love you all”. 

Robert Abela sworn in as Malta’s new prime minister

On January 12, Robert Abela was elected Labour Party leader, beating his rival Chris Fearne. 

The odds were not in his favour, however he obtained 57.9 per cent of the votes, securing his new role.

On January 13, Robert Abela was sworn in as Malta’s new prime minister. 

Dr Abela took over from Joseph Muscat, who was named Labour leader in 2008 and became prime minister in 2013 but was forced to resign after the murder investigation of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia implicated his help. He had repeatedly defended his former chief of staff Keith Schembri as well as former minister Konrad Mizzi, who are both linked to Yorgen Fenech and the murder. 

Robert Abela announces largest and youngest cabinet in recent history

January 15 saw the unveiling of prime minister Robert Abela’s new cabinet. His team features 17 ministers and eight parliamentary secretaries, for a total of 26 members, making it the largest cabinet in history.

The cabinet is also the youngest in recent history, with the average age sitting at 46.5. Robert Abela has appointed some of Malta’s youngest ever ministers, such as Clint Camilleri, 31, who is the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Animal Rights and Consumer Rights, and Byron Camilleri, 32 who has been given the Home Affairs Ministry. 

Gozo Minister resigns over husband’s friendship with murder suspect

Only five days after the cabinet appointment, Gozo minister Justyne Caruana resigned following the breaking news that her husband was friends with journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia murder suspect, Yorgen Fenech.

Following the resignation, Robert Abela appointed Clint Camilleri as the new Gozo minister. Former Gozo Minister Anton Refalo was given the Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights ministry, which had been given to Mr. Camilleri only five days before. 

Konrad Mizzi’s secret €80,000 consultancy job contact 

On January 28 an agreement providing former tourism minister Konrad Mizzi with a consultancy job in tourism and business development for the authority was brought to light. 

The contract, which was granted only two weeks after Dr Mizzi resigned his post, was never announced by the government. 

He was to be paid €6,700 a month, exclusive of VAT, for a total of €80,400 annually. 

The breaking news caused public anger and a protest in the capital. 
Robert Abela announced the same day that he was terminating the contract immediately and that no payment had been issued yet to Konrad Mizzi. 

Coronavirus keeps on spreading – what is Malta doing to prepare for an outbreak?

Malta has set up an isolation unit for mild cases of Coronavirus outside of Mater Dei hospital in case the deadly virus reaches the island. So, far there have been no cases reported. 

This came as part of a response to the global declaration of 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern'. Other measures include active surveillance, early detection, isolation and case management, contact tracing and prevention of onward spread. 

The virus has already caused the deaths of at least 170 people and has spread to every Chinese region and at least 15 other countries, including Germany, Italy and the UK. 

Brexit day – what does it mean for Maltese people living in the UK and for Brits living in Malta? 

At midnight of January 31, the United Kingdom will have officially left the European Union, However, very few things will change until the end of the year as February 1 marks the begging of a transitional period. 

Travel will not change as long as you have a valid passport. If you plan on staying in Malta for more than three months you will have to apply for residency. After five years people obtain the right of permanent residence. If you plan on staying in the UK indefinitely you have to apply for settled status (if you have lived in the UK for more then five years) or pre-settled status (if you have lived there for less than five year).