TRAVEL by Eric Mackenzie Lamb

The Republic of Malta has always been one of the places I’ve wanted to visit. But due to today’s ever-changing Covid-19 restrictions on travel, the small island nation was difficult to get to. However, I did finally make it last summer. And what I saw was nothing short of fascinating. And that’s not even mentioning its history.

First, some background.Malta is an island country of the European Union consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 50 miles south of Italy, 176 miles east of Tunisia, and 207 miles north of Libya. With a population of around 515,000 over an area of just 122 square miles, it’s the world’s tenth smallest country in area. And its capital, Valletta, is the smallest in the E.U.

First, some background.

Malta is an island country of the European Union consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 50 miles south of Italy, 176 miles east of Tunisia, and 207 miles north of Libya. With a population of around 515,000 over an area of just 122 square miles, it’s the world’s tenth smallest country in area. And its capital, Valletta, is the smallest in the E.U.

The country’s national language is Maltese, which was derived from Sicilian Arabic over centuries, while English serves as its second official language.  Below is an example of how strikingly different they are from each other.

Inhabited since approximately 5,900 BC, Malta’s location in the central Mediterranean has historically given the island great strategic importance as a naval base, with a succession of powers having contested and ruled the islands, including Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, the Knights of St John, and the French and British. Each left an indelible mark on the country’s culture. In 58 AD, Paul the Apostle remained in Malta for three months after his ship washed up on the island’s shore during a storm. Malta has had Christianity for centuries, although it was predominantly Muslim while under Arab rule. Muslim rule ended with the invasion of the island by Roger I and the Knights of Malta in 1091. Today, Catholicism is the country’s official religion but its  constitution guarantees freedom of worship for all.
Malta became a British colony in 1813, serving as a way station for ships as well as headquarters for the British Mediterranean naval fleet. During World War II, despite being besieged by the Axis powers, Malta became a strategic base for British military operations in North Africa. In 1964, the British parliament passed the Malta Independence Act. The country became a Republic in 1974 and a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations, with its own seat at the United Nations. It officially joined the European Union in 2004.When the Suez Canal opened in 1869, Malta’s strategic position, halfway between the Strait of Gibraltar and Egypt, proved to be its main asset and was considered an important stop on the way to India, a vital trade route for the British.Malta has three UNESCO World Heritage sites, as well as seven temples which are some of the oldest free standing structures in the world.

Finally, something you may not know: in 1989, Malta was the venue for a historic meeting between US President George H.W. Bush and his Russian counterpart Mikhael Gorbachev, an event which marked the end of the Cold War.Oh, and lest we forget: Malta even has its own carnival during the week leading up to Ash Wednesday. A touch of Caribbean culture?

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Caribbean Airlines Boeing 737-8 aircraft took to the skies for the first time today, January 14. The airline’s Boeing 9Y-CAL maiden jet service departed the Piarco International Airport destined to the Norman Manley International, Kingston, Jamaica.

Earlier today Caribbean Airlines hosted a brief ceremony at the Piarco International Airport to launch the new aircraft, which offers passengers exceptional levels of convenience and comfort. The re-fleeting coincides with the airline’s 15th anniversary. Some lucky customers on the inaugural service won an extra 15,000 miles and all customers received bags of goodies and other memorabilia!

Caribbean Airlines’ CEO, Garvin Medera, in commenting said: “The introduction of this new aircraft into service, represents Caribbean Airlines’ initiative to ‘REset Expectations’ for 2022.The 737-8 is the most technologically advanced aircraft in the world and it brings a range of benefits for Caribbean Airlines, our customers, and the environment. Fuel and maintenance costs are lower, each plane has 10 more seats than its predecessor with a total of 160 seats and the aircraft offers state-of-the-art technology and an upgraded level of comfort in both the business class and economy cabin, including in seat power for mobile devices, a new sky interior, sleek modern seats and much more.”

Mr. Medera continued: “We’re really excited about the plans and improvements for the coming year, all done with you in mind. Be sure to stay informed via our social media channels and follow us on #REcalibrate as we REset Expectations in 2022.”

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Queen Elizabeth II personally told Prince Andrew in a 90-minute meeting that he would be stripped of his royal patronages and military titles, the Daily Mail and the New York Post reported.

The monarch summoned her second son for the meeting to Windsor Castle on Thursday morning to tell him he would no longer hold the title of His Royal Highness “in any official capacity,” the Post reported.

The Daily Mail also published photos of the Duke of York leaving his nearby home, Royal Lodge, by car.

He was accompanied by his attorney, Gary Bloxsome, who had to wait for Andrew in the parking lot as he was not allowed into Windsor Castle, the Mail reported. It is unclear why the lawyer was unable to enter the royal residence.

It is also unclear if anyone else was  at the meeting.

A source told the Post the meeting was “cutting.”

“There was nothing from the Queen about her sadness or dismay, nothing emotional at all,” the Post’s source said.

Buckingham Palace on Thursday announced that Andrew had been stripped of his military titles and royal patronages and that he will defend himself from sexual-assault allegations as a private citizen. A royal source also told Insider’s Mikhaila Friel that the duke would lose his HRH status.

The palace’s announcement came days after a New York court rejected Andrew’s request to dismiss a sexual-assault lawsuit brought about by the Jeffrey Epstein accuser, Virginia Giuffre Roberts.

Giuffre, who for years has alleged that she was forced by Epstein to have sex with Andrew, filed a lawsuit against the royal in August 2021, accusing him of sexually assaulting her. Andrew has repeatedly denied those claims.

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The Labor Department announced on Wednesday that inflation jumped at its fastest rate in nearly 40 years in December, representing a 7 percent increase from last year (The Associated Press). Hours later, a poll showed Biden’s already plummeting approval rating at a new low of 33 percent (The Hill).

Exacerbating those issues is the president’s inability to further an agenda on Capitol Hill. His latest push to reform voting rights appears to have hit a brick wall within his own party, becoming yet another example of frustration at the White House as the year begins.

Biden and Democratic leaders are nonetheless attempting to create legislative momentum. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday laid out the party’s roadmap for bringing up election reform and voting rights legislation and, ultimately, to try to scrap the legislative filibuster to do so.

As The Hill’s Jordain Carney details, the Democratic leader is planning to use Senate procedure to bypass the 60-vote prerequisite needed to start debate by considering the bill as a “message,” a loophole that lets them bypass how many times they need to break a filibuster. While the GOP can still block it, it gives Democrats a chance to spark debate on the voting rights proposals.

“With this procedure, we will finally have an opportunity to debate voting rights legislation — something that Republicans have thus far denied,” Schumer wrote. “Of course, to ultimately end debate and pass the voting rights legislation, we will need 10 Republicans to join us — which we know from past experience will not happen — or we will need to change the Senate rules as has been done many times before.”

The move will take place after the House passes a consolidated package on Thursday in order to allow the upper chamber to give it “urgent consideration,” according to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) (The Hill). Schumer has promised a vote on the bills by Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Ultimately, the process is expected to be fruitless legislatively for the majority party, which has been unable to win the support of at least two Democrats — Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.) — to create a filibuster “carveout” to deal with the issue.

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