Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1518433
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 3 APRIL 2024 NEWS A child has died and two others were seriously wounded in a shooting at a school in Finland on Tuesday, police said. They said earlier that all three victims were 12 and that a suspect, also aged 12, had been arrested. Parents told Finnish media that the shooting had taken place in a class- room at Viertola school in the city to the north of the capital Helsinki. Police said they responded to the incident at 6:08am GMT and urged local residents to remain indoors. In common with other Finnish schools, children had just returned to classes in Vantaa, north of the capital Helsinki, after the long Easter weekend. Police said the suspect had run off after the shooting and was eventually detained "in a calm manner" on the other side of a local river in a north- ern district of northern Helsinki. They added that he had been carrying a firearm which they had taken from him. Children were told to stay in their classrooms after the attack, public broadcaster YLE reported. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo described the shooting as deeply upsetting and said his thoughts were with the victims and their families as well as everyone at the school. Vantaa is Finland's fourth biggest city with some 240,000 residents. Viertola school has 800 students aged seven to 16 of both primary and middle-school age on two separate sites, with some 90 staff. The shoot- ing took place at at the school's Jokiranta site where pupils aged 9-13 are taught. Initially police said everyone involved was 13 but then revised their ages down to 12. As news emerged of the shooting, parents gathered at the school to pick up their children, although the building where the incident took place remained cordoned off. Pupils injured in the attack were taken to hospital Child dead and two wounded in Finland school shooting Vanessa Frazier on Israel hospital raid: Malta deplores attacks on humanitarian sites MALTA deplores any at- tacks on humanitarian sites, the country's UN Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vanessa Fraizer said when reacting to Israel's at- tack on the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza. "As Malta we have always deplored any attacks on hu- manitarian sites. The right to protect your country comes with responsibility. Interna- tional law covers this very clearly," Fraizer said. "Any exercise to protect and re- taliate against attacks needs to be carried out within the confines of the law." She was fielding questions from international media following a press conference with the UN Press Corps to presents Malta's UNSC April Programme of Work. As part of Malta's second term in the UN Security Council Presidency, discus- sions will revolve around re- ports regarding the United Nations' support missions in Libya and Kosovo. Similar- ly, akin to its previous term in February 2023, the agen- da includes deliberations on Children in Armed Conflict. Throughout April, the council will engage in debates concerning the maintenance of international peace and security, the involvement of young individuals in address- ing security issues in the Mediterranean, and matters concerning the Middle East. Additionally, discussions will cover topics such as Women, Peace, and Security, specifi- cally focusing on conflict-re- lated sexual violence, along with the adoption of a report on the United Nations' mis- sion in South Sudan. Speaking on the situation in Gaza, she said the Mal- tese presidency will continue pushing for an immediate and urgent ceasefire. Earlier she said that should the previous resolution not be implemented, the council will have to meet and decide a way forward for the resolu- tion to be implemented. Questioned on the signif- icance of Malta holding the presidency, she said that it was "really tough every single day". "We are discussing current events which are happening every single day. We are try- ing to foster peace and save lives, and so there is that pressure and frustration," she said. Fraizer said a small country like Malta can make change. "We are a moral compass and a moral balance. I think the other countries look to Malta for leadership because we can be impactful, and I think we have been impact- ful," she said. "And everyone knows that Malta is on the Security Council." Malta, one of the UN's smallest member states, takes over the presidency of the UN Security Council on 1 March for its second and last term. The presidency of the Council is held by each of the members in turn for one month. It involves setting the agenda, presiding over its meetings and overseeing any crisis. Malta joined Ecuador, Ja- pan, Mozambique, and Swit- zerland on the UN Security Council after winning a two- year seat in June 2022. Mal- ta obtained 97% of the vote from the 190 voting member states. Malta took a seat as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council on 1 January 2023. Vanessa Frazier, permanent representative to the United Nations for Malta