Malta had a negative record regarding respect for the rights of LGBTI individuals in the past, according to Maltese Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli. She called for better treatment of LGBTI individuals, and Ullenhag notes her role in the social changes in Malta.

This year, Malta played host for the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) in Valleta.

Dalli admitted that Malta was “oceans apart” in terms of acknowledging the rights of LGBTI individuals. She was the first representative to the first IDAHO meeting in the Netherlands, which surprised other nations because of Malta’s presence.

Dalli said that Malta may not be the pioneer or the “top of its class” for LGBTI rights, but it believes in the individuals and open-mindedness against prejudice. Other countries highlighted Malta’s efforts to use a more liberal view of LGBTI rights and urged the Civil Liberties Minister to send a message to other conservative governments.

According to Dalli, Malta’s hard work and its recognition by other countries is satisfying. However, she said Malta is not championing the rights of LGBTI, but merely being fair and equal to every person regardless of their sexuality.

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According to the Maltatoday writer James Debono, Maltese President Joseph Muscat had delivered on his promises for the Maltese people, including abolishing prescription in corruption cases, signing a Whistleblower Act and the defense of the LGBT community in Malta.

Muscat’s government had also reduced the prices of electricity and introduced free childcare through the effective use of taxes.

However, it also has some shortcomings of its own. Muscat’s government shows signs of inexperience when interacting with the media due to its great number of gaffes. It had also tried to return migrants to Libya despite the action being illegal. The Muscat government had a great number of international embarrassments, such as trying to “sell” the European Citizenship for a high price and untoward insults in social media and the internet.

Overall, the government was well-balanced despite questionable anti-corruption practices regarding the bribery of several Enemalta officials and their amnesty regarding the construction of a bridge. The deliverables and results of proper management had reaped its benefits effectively for Muscat’s Malta.

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Malta’s first issue had been burden sharing. Malta had taken care of the pressure of migration on its own. Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had also noted in his statement to the EU that Greece and Italy are facing similar problems regarding migration.

In the previous week, Maltese and Italian coastal authorities had rescued 233 migrants with some originating from Pakistan and Africa from an overcrowded and unseaworthy boat.

Malta’s government is asking for the setup of a Mediterranean Task Force to approach the problem in a unified and integral manner. The task force was set up in October in the aftermath of the 300-passenger smuggling boat that sunk near the coast of Italy.

Illegal immigrants and human smugglers see Malta as an easy access point for unauthorized entry into Europe. However, these migrants risk expulsion by both Malta and Italy. Both countries, including Greece, are providing for the needs and welfare of the migrants arriving into the country as they wait for the decision to their expulsion or retainment.

The Lockerbie disaster is considered one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in history. On Saturday, it will be reaching its 25^th anniversary.

Right after the Pan Am Flight 103 attack, Libyan national Abdelbaset Al-Megrahl was the only person convicted for the attack. Taib was also arrested in 1989 because he had connections with the bombing.

The connection of Taib to the bombing was discovered by the Swedish secret service, who discovered that he had gone to Malta to meet with a probable Palestinian Terrorist organisation situated in the country.

Megrahl had died in 2012, given a life sentence, the court gave him an early release after eight years for compassion as he had terminal cancer.

The new evidence was submitted to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, who had also concluded that Megrahl suffered a miscarriage of justice for his sentence.

Investigators in Malta, before the attack, had already followed Taib’s movements, but failed to produce results given the lack of evidence.

Maltese authorities found the survivors off 160km from Malta’s coast. It is estimated that 400 people were on board the fish boat that left from Libya on October 10 this year.

Survivors said that many people, including women and children, drowned and died in the sea. They estimate that from their unspecified original number that 200 people drowned after they were dumped at sea.

The Syrian civil war had left around two million Syrians displaced from their war-torn country. Neighbouring countries Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan are swelling in numbers as the countries try to house all refugees staying in the country as the civil war wages on.

Refugees in Turkey are currently struggling under the attack of both Syrian regime forces and Islamic fighters linked to the al-Qaeda.

The three countries have brought world attention to the humanitarian conditions of the Syrian refugees in their respective countries. They also explained how their presence is affecting the economies and capabilities each country has during the previous UN General Assembly. The three countries had called on the entire world to help shoulder the burden.

The survivors escaped from a Salamis oil tanker that was 80 km off the Libyan coast. Malta said that the Salamis tanker was heading for Syracuse in Italy. Malta said that the Italian authorities welcomed the Migrants aboard Salamis and diplomatic contracts between Malta, Italy and Greece were perfectly followed.

However, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat became controversial with his approach to the Salamis incident. Muscat formally announced that the government considered expelling the migrants to avoid EU pressure and “send a message” that Malta is a country with its own sovereignty and capability to make its own decisions.

The EU Affairs Commission said that it was Malta’s “humanitarian duty” in such a situation and their delay had almost breached international law. However, Muscat said that the country fulfilled its international obligations and said in a statement that it will not “intervene for irresponsible boat owners who break laws for their commercial activities”.

The Salamis tanker was heading to Malta with a shipment of oil. Most of the tankers coming from Africa and Libya are vessels operated by traffickers to get to Europe.