Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1518765
2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 10 APRIL 2024 2 NICOLE MEILAK nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt Civil protection department to conduct earthquake preparedness drill in Selmun Edwin Vassallo to contest European elections, but not with PN MALTA'S Civil Protection De- partment (CPD), in collabora- tion with the police and armed forces, is gearing up for a com- prehensive earthquake pre- paredness exercise set to take place in the picturesque local- ity of Selmun today. The exercise, scheduled from 7:30am to 4pm, aims to assess and enhance the readiness of these vital services in the event of a seismic event. Destructive earthquakes are infrequent in Malta. An earth- quake in January 1693 wreaked havoc, demolishing numerous structures, including sections of the Mdina cathedral. The most recent damaging tremor was recorded in 1923. The disciplined forces con- duct earthquake readiness drills every few years, with ex- ercises in 2012 and 2015. Last February, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said that the CPD has undergone specialized training to address potential earthquake or tsuna- mi scenarios. He emphasized that CPD officers have received overseas training over the past 13 years, with the latest session conducted just last year. Minister Camilleri also noted that training exercises overseas were held in 2010, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2019. In a demonstration of solidar- ity and expertise, the CPD dis- patched a team to Turkey last February to aid in search and rescue efforts following a dev- astating earthquake. Maltese CPD personnel assisting on the site of a collapsed tower block in Turkey (Photo: CPD) FORMER Nationalist MP Edwin Vassallo has announced his can- didature for the European elec- tions this year – but not with the PN. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Vassallo said he took this deci- sion because "our values for live, the family, and our freedom, has never been as threatened as they are today". "Every decision that is tak- en nowadays, is taken based on profits only, and as a result we may have a strong economy, but no one is considering the way our values for life, the family and freedom are being steamrolled over." It is unclear whether Vassallo is contesting as an independent candidate or under Moviment Solidarjetà, an organisation set up by him and described as an 'activist movement for life, fam- ily and liberty'. MaltaToday has reached out to Vassallo for fur- ther clarification. Vassallo is a conservative politician who had been vocal against the introduction of di- vorce in Malta, and still cam- paigns against the introduction of abortion. In 2017, he was the only MP who opposed introducing same- sex marriages and even voted against a 2018 domestic violence bill, arguing that the bill should have specifically condemned any form of abortion. In 2019, he shared a "warn- ing" about bananas injected with "blood containing HIV and AIDS" on his personal profile, claiming "This is Satanism". He eventually apologised for shar- ing the fake news. In 2022, Vassallo failed to get elected after 25 years in parlia- ment. He went on to leave the party and set up Moviment Sol- idarjetà. Disciplined forces will conduct earthquake readiness exercise in Selmun on Wednesday Edwin Vassallo