Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/567101
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2015 8 News MIRIAM DALLI A number of councillors are pres- ently analysing ways by which they can help dispersed Syrian refugee families. The move follows a proposal by Birzebbugia councillor Hermann Schiavone who suggested his local council should "adopt and finance a Syrian family". Alternattiva Demokratika coun- cillors Michael Briguglio and Ralph Cassar immediately voiced their support and are discussing how the proposal could be imple- mented. Because the law prohibits local councils from making donations and aiding NGOs, the councils must find alternative ways to help. The idea, still in its infancy, is to bring together Maltese communi- ties with each locality financially supporting a refugee family for a year. Schiavone is currently in talks with "a legal expert" to see how the idea can be implemented within the legal parameters. He wasn't suggesting that local councils carry the financial burdens, he added. "As a local council we can hold activities to support one family for a year," Schiavone said, adding that helping families out didn't mean placing them on social services. "The Maltese are known to al- ways rise up to the occasion when their help is needed and as a nation we can send a strong message of solidarity in practice," he said. The PN councillor said he had received both positive and nega- tive feedback. He also had fami- lies calling to check whether they could adopt or foster children from Syria. "Obviously I am not the right person to go to on this matter but it shows that the Mal- tese are ready to help." Alan Abela-Wadge, president of the PN college of councillors (KKLPN), said the college posi- tively noted Schiavone's proposal. "Undoubtedly, this proposal has been welcomed by a number of other councillors coming from different political parties and dif- ferent localities, and in fact it has reportedly also been proposed in other localities," Abela-Wadge told MaltaToday. "As we speak, KKLPN is brain- storming the best ways to move forward with this proposal, ensur- ing that any such proposal is fully in line with the law. KKLPN fur- ther notes with satisfaction that it was one of its members who initi- ated a discussion on how even at a local level, the Maltese people can proactively respond to this human tragedy." Mario Fava, head of the Labour Party's councillors section, said there was nothing wrong if local councils supported fund-raising activities to help refugee families. "It is however not the local coun- cil's remit to 'adopt' families, nor is it legally permissible," Fava told MaltaToday. In the UK, Labour leadership candidate Yvette Cooper called on Britain's towns and cities to take in 10,000 refugees a year. Forty councils in the UK have so far re- sponded to her call. "If every city took 10 refugee fam- ilies, if every London borough took 10 families, if every county council took 10 families, if Scotland, Wales and every English region played their part, then in a month we'd have nearly 10,000 more places for vulnerable refugees fleeing danger, seeking safety," Cooper told a con- ference in London. Meanwhile, Finnish Prime Min- ister Juha Sipila on Saturday of- fered to host refugees at his coun- try home. According to AFP, Sipila said the house – situated over 500 kilome- tres north of the capital Helsinki, in the Kempele area – was "not be- ing used much at the moment". "I hope this becomes some kind of people's movement that will in- spire many others to shoulder part of the burden in this refugee hous- ing crisis," he said. Local councillors considering ways to help refugee families The Call for FUSION: The Research & Innovation Technology Development Programme is open! The Malta Council for Science and Technology would like to inform the general public that it is currently receiving project proposals under the FUSION Technology Development Programme. The call closes at noon on 2nd November 2015. This Call provides nancial support for research, development and innovation preferably within the SMART Specialisation Areas identied in Malta's National Research and Innovation Strategy 2020. The focus is on innovative research, knowledge transfer and establishing collaborations between (1) Public Entities and (2) Industry with the intention of commercialising the technology developed. Eligibility criteria can be found within the Call documents on the Council's website. An information session will be held at 09.00hrs on the 11th of September 2015 at Villa Bighi, Kalkara. Interested parties are to conrm their attendance by email to: rtdi.mcst@gov.mt. More information on this opportunity for funding, the Rules for Participation and the Application Form, can be found under the News Section of the MCST website. The Malta Council For Science And Technology, Villa Bighi, Kalkara KKR 1320, Malta www.mcst.gov.mt New claims on Libyan VIP jets in Malta MATTHEW VELLA FRESH legal action was filed in the Maltese courts against Libya's EACS (Executive Authority for Air Cargo and Special Flights), which falls under the authority of the Libyan defence ministry. The case, spotted by Maghreb Confidential, was filed by Asemar Aviation and Cargo Services Lim- ited, which are based in Malta but headed by Libyan national Anwar Abuzikri, against EACS. EACS is run by Shaker Own, who was recently appointed as its head by the internationally rec- ognised government in Tobruk. Asemar says €650,000 in services to EACS between 2013 and 2015 were never paid. Among the bills are a €140,000 VIP flight between Mitiga and Paris in May 2014. Asemar applied for the seizure, as security, of one of EACS's two Bombardier jets laid up in Malta. Since July, the two aircraft have also been at the heart of a legal battle between EACS and United Aviation Company (UAC), which is headed by Ali Elshanti. UAC claims it is the legitimate owner of the two aircraft. Turks take Valletta in global port expansion A share purchase agreement being forged for the acquisition of some 31% of Valletta Cruise Port plc is part of a massive global expansion by the world's largest cruise port operator. Global Liman Isletmeleri or 'Global Ports Holding' (GPH) in April secured an Istanbul stock exchange with an offer of over 32 million shares to continue its busi- ness expansion. GPH chief executive Saygin Narin, said the public offering would finance the company's drive to take up new markets globally. Global Ports has eight ports in five countries in the Mediterrane- an and Asia Pacific region, and is the world's largest cruise port op- erator by number of ports owned and by passenger volume. GPH is currently engaged in, or actively considering acquisitions and concession tenders at the Cruise Port of Dubrovnik, Croatia; Venice Cruise Port, and four other cruise ports in Italy; Cruise and ferry passenger terminal and a container port in Riga, Latvia; and Asian cruise ports. Malta International Airport, to- gether with Bank of Valletta and FSG Limited, entered into a bind- ing share purchases agreement for the sale of 30.97% in VCP to Glo- bal Ports, a subsidiary of Global Yatirim Holding. "For MIA, this is a strategic sale which allows us to shed non-core investments to focus on our core activities of running our airport," MIA chief executive Alan Borg said. Thousands of Syrian refugees walked from Budapest in Hungary to the German-Austrian border Hermann Schiavone