Be Informed

A look at Biden’s new COVID push: vaccine rules, testing plans, hard cash

30th July 2021

President Joe Biden announced new measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 and the new Delta variant in the United States that will impact millions of federal workers, contractors and private citizens. The White House is battling a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, and anti-vaccine messages and misinformation that have put the U.S. vaccination rate behind other rich nations, despite a prevalence of plentiful, free, vaccines. See Also: Biden Pushes Cash Reward To Get Vaccinated, New Rul...

Malta: Producer goods sustain monthly rise

29th July 2021

Industrial producer prices in June rose for the fourth consecutive month, registering an increase of 0.36 per cent from May. The total producer price index stood at 110.88 in June, up from 108.90 in February according to figures by the National Statistics Office. In the last year, the index has only recorded back-to-back increases once, with rises in November and December 2020. Compared with June last year, intermediate goods made the highest gains among the main industrial groupings, up by 3....

Sport begins self-reflection after Biles and Osaka highlight stress

28th July 2021

Simone Biles arrived in Tokyo as a superstar gymnast many believed would change the perception of her sport across the world. She has done that although not in the expected manner of vaulting, twisting, jumping and turning that made her one of the greatest of all time, aged 24, and entering her second Olympic Games. “I have to do what’s right for me and focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and my well-being,” Biles said Wednesday after abandoning the team event after jus...

Boeing jets emissions data highlights industry’s green challenge

27th July 2021

Commercial jets delivered by Boeing Co last year will account on average for emissions equivalent to 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each over their 20-year-plus lifespans, a new report from the planemaker shows. Boeing is the latest company to report so-called Scope 3 emissions that result when customers use their products, amid pressure from investors and climate activists for data on how companies are performing on limiting their environmental impact. The report sheds further light ...

Young lured to tobacco addiction via e-cigarettes – WHO

27th July 2021

GENEVA, July 27 (Reuters) - The tobacco industry's sleek marketing is attracting youngsters to e-cigarettes which can lead to tobacco addiction, despite claims by some executives that they aim to solve the smoking epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. Over eight million people die annually from tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke, making the habit a leading cause of preventable diseases, the WHO said in a report calling for greater regulation of smoke-free devi...

Possible scenarios for Tunisia’s political crisis

26th July 2021

Tunisian democracy faces its biggest test since the 2011 revolution after President Kais Saied ousted the government and froze parliament late on Sunday, leading to confrontations between his supporters and opponents. He has invoked emergency powers under Article 80 of the constitution to sack Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, freeze parliament for 30 days, lift the immunity of parliament members and make himself prosecutor general. The army has helped him by surrounding parliament and the ...

Malta: Internal tourism accounts for 90% of Gozo visitors in 2020

26th July 2021

Domestic tourism between Malta and Gozo rose to 360,460 in 2020, an increase of 52 per cent from 2019. Data by the National Statistics Office shows that nearly 97 per cent of tourism flowed towards the Gozo region which includes Comino. The number of tourists from Malta to Gozo rose to 348,000, higher than 227,000 in 2018 and 215,000 in 2019. Tourism in the other direction fell to 12,000 from 22,000 in 2019 and 18,000 in 2018. Total tourist nights stood at 1,064,868, an increase of 72 per cent...

From China to Germany, floods expose climate vulnerability

25th July 2021

Deadly floods that have upended life in both China and Germany have sent a stark reminder that climate change is making weather more extreme across the globe. At least 25 people in the central Chinese province of Henan died on Tuesday, including a dozen trapped in a city subway as waters tore through the regional capital of Zhengzhou after days of torrential rain. Coming after floods killed at least 160 people in Germany and another 31 in Belgium last week, the disaster has reinforced...

The world’s Olympian moment

24th July 2021

In July 2011, Japan announced its bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games. Ten years later, the sporting events should have been a proud memory for the city of Tokyo; instead, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the plans, and the city will host a shrunken version of the Games. Country delegations have been reduced to essential representatives and the number of volunteers was kept to a bare minimum. Athletes are required to test daily for the virus, and many will leave the Olympic village within 48 h...

Going for universal gold

24th July 2021

by Jesmond Saliba The world looked a different place when sports events were suddenly banned at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ironically, though, the fight against the virus became a global sporting competition in its own right. Laboratories and pharmaceutical companies were dropped into a race to develop vaccines, countries challenged for the top spot in the active case rankings, communities applauded and cheered medical professionals on in their attempt to beat back infecti...

New tracks for sport

24th July 2021

by Kevin Azzopardi KEVIN AZZOPARDI Half a century ago, sport was generally considered a leisure activity pursued mainly for socialisation and recreation. Things have changed drastically since then, and virtually all disciplines today are moving rapidly towards professionalisation. Perhaps this fundamental transition is best illustrated in the transformation of the Olympic Games: originally, only amateur athletes were allowed to participate in events, but from 1986 onwards, the Inter...

The state of play

24th July 2021

Canada’s Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau actively promoted ice hockey as the country’s national sport in the 1970s and 1980s. His emphasis was more than a simple acknowledgement of a popular form of entertainment as the staunch federalist leader sought to forge a political identity uniting the relatively young nation. Various states have historically instrumentalised sports disciplines to build a sense of collective identity that supports the idea of the nation. From rugby in Wales to ar...

EU report shows positive developments in Member States

24th July 2021

by Keith Zahra The European Commission has published the second EU-wide Report on the Rule of Law. The 2021 report looks at the new developments since last September, deepening the assessment of issues identified in the previous report and considering the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite notable improvements, concerns remain and in certain Member States these have increased, for instance when it comes to the independence of the judiciary and the situation in the media. The r...

Oil producers do themselves a favour

24th July 2021

by George Hay via Reuters Breakingviews Saudi Arabia has wised up. The de facto leader of the 13-strong Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, plus 10 allies including Russia who collectively constitute “OPEC+”, agreed on Sunday to end output cuts in late 2022 instead of next April. The quid pro quo for a deal that will help them to navigate the uncertain course of the pandemic: Riyadh reluctantly allowed an increase in Abu Dhabi’s production. This makes Saudi l...

Ewropej: We can overcome the challenges our country faces together

24th July 2021

“There was a lot on my agenda during the past week as Parliament held the Plenary Session in Strasbourg,” MEP David Casa told this journal. Speaking ahead a meeting of the Bureau’s Working Party on Information and Communication Policy, the Maltese MEP said he was looking forward to discuss the way forward for a number of EP initiatives such as Ekoskola, post the Covid-19 pandemic just before the Parliament’s lifts for the official summer break. “Every Plenary Session’s agenda is fu...

Commission seeks public feedback on websites and apps

24th July 2021

by Keith Zahra The EU has launched a public consultation on the review of the Web Accessibility Directive. Since 23 June 2021, all public sector websites and mobile apps in the EU have the legal obligation to be accessible to people with disabilities. The consultation will gather feedback from citizens, especially those with disabilities, but also from businesses, online platforms, academics, public administrations, and all other interested parties. The online consultation will be i...

UBS’s Ralph Hamers is a CEO in search of a problem

24th July 2021

by Liam Proud via Reuters Breakingviews New bank chief executives often inherit messes. Credit Suisse’s Thomas Gottstein took over after a spying scandal, while Citigroup’s Jane Fraser and HSBC’s, Noel Quinn are pruning their global sprawls in search of a higher valuation. The new broom at Switzerland’s UBS, Ralph Hamers, has no glaring problems to fix, which may explain why his strategy looks a little underwhelming. Second-quarter results on Tuesday demonstrated a rare European ban...

Ewropej: We must keep working to ensure the financing of Malta’s transport and energy projects

24th July 2021

Member of the European Parliament Josianne Cutajar, in a plenary meeting in Strasbourg earlier this month, said that geographic seclusion from the European continent makes it important for Malta to secure European funding for its transport and energy projects. In a debate that ended with a vote on the Connecting Europe Facility 2021-2027 programme, which is a step closer to securing €30 billion for the funds that can be used in digital, transport or energy projects across Europe, the M...

Commission adopts new EU Forest Strategy

24th July 2021

by Keith Zahra The European Commission has adopted a New EU Forest Strategy for 2030, a flagship initiative of the European Green Deal that builds on the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The strategy contributes to the package of measures proposed to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions of at least 55 per cent by 2030 and climate neutrality in 2050 in the EU. It also helps the EU deliver on its commitment to enhance carbon removals by natural sinks as per the Climate Law. By...

Intel might spend $30 bln to slim down

24th July 2021

by Robert Cyran via Reuters Breakingviews Intel may buy chip manufacturer GlobalFoundries for $30 billion, says a Wall Street Journal report. That seems logical in light of Intel’s production problems, and a global semiconductor shortage. But it might make most sense if any acquisition were followed by a bigger Intel divestment. Chipmaking is expensive and difficult, so most companies either design or produce. GlobalFoundries does the latter but Intel does both, and boss Pat Gelsing...

New rules seek safe and compliant products on the EU market

24th July 2021

by Keith Zahra The EU Market Surveillance and Compliance Regulation came into force in July 2021. The new rules aim to ensure that products placed on the EU market comply with relevant EU legislation and meet public health and safety requirements. The legislation is key to ensuring a well-functioning Single Market and helps to put into place a better structure for checks on products exchanged on the EU market by improving cooperation among national authorities and customs officers.&...

Preparing to bow out, Merkel too busy to think about life after office

22nd July 2021

Germany's Angela Merkel made clear on Thursday she would keep working on issues such as climate change till her last day as chancellor but, inscrutable as ever, gave little away about her plans once she leaves office after a September 26 election. Merkel has led Germany for 16 years, steering Europe's biggest economy through a global financial crisis, the euro zone debt crisis, a migrant crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, but she is not running for a fifth term. "Every week has chal...

What is Britain demanding on Brexit?

21st July 2021

Britain is demanding the European Union agree to rework the post-Brexit rules governing trade with Northern Ireland, saying it had considered taking unilateral action but would try once more to find a new relationship. To avoid creating a hard border on the island of Ireland, Britain agreed to a deal in which Northern Ireland remained aligned with the EU's single market. The Brexit deal was signed and approved by the British parliament in December 2020 But it created a regulatory bord...

Malta: Electric and hybrid cars increase by a fifth in the second quarter

21st July 2021

The annual rate of inflation in July stood at 0.7 percent, the lowest increase in the months under review since January 2018. Figures by the National Statistics Office show that the biggest rise was recorded in Clothing and Footwear, climbing to 3.7 percent from the same month last year. At the other end, Education registered the lowest rate at -9.6 percent. Compared with June 2020, the Recreation and Culture Index experienced the highest gain of 2.3 percent, followed by Hotels and Restaurants ...

Pandemic recovery to push emissions to all-time high – IEA

20th July 2021

The global rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic is set to drive emissions of greenhouse gases that stoke climate change to all-time highs, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said in a report on Tuesday. "We estimate that full and timely implementation of the economic recovery measures announced to date would result in CO2 emissions climbing to record levels in 2023, continuing to rise thereafter," it said. Spending plans for clean energy allocated by governments arou...

Caught between China and the U.S., Asian countries stockpile powerful new missiles

20th July 2021

Asia is sliding into a dangerous arms race as smaller nations that once stayed on the sidelines build arsenals of advanced long-range missiles, following in the footsteps of powerhouses China and the United States, analysts say. China is mass producing its DF-26 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-anniversary-military-idUSKBN1WG342 - a multipurpose weapon with a range of up to 4,000 kilometres - while the United States is developing new weapons aimed at countering Beijing...

Lebanon faces even tougher times

17th July 2021

France urged Lebanon on Friday to designate a prime minister as soon as possible after Saad al-Hariri abandoned efforts to form a government, but prospects for a new cabinet being agreed soon looked bleak after months of political conflict. Lebanon looks set to fall ever deeper into economic collapse with many of its sectarian politicians switching their focus to elections next year rather than a new government or financial rescue plan, seemingly unfazed by threats of Western sanctions. ...

WHO proposes fresh mission to China and lab audits

16th July 2021

The World Health Organization has proposed a second phase of studies in China into the origins of the coronavirus, including audits of laboratories in Wuhan, but there is no sign yet that Beijing would accept a further international probe, diplomats said. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus presented the plan to member states at a closed-door meeting on Friday, a day after saying that investigations were being hampered by the lack of raw data on the first days of spread in Ch...

Child diseases on rise as COVID-19 slows routine vaccinations -U.N.

15th July 2021

Nearly 23 million children missed out on routine vaccinations last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the highest number in more than a decade, fuelling outbreaks of measles, polio and other preventable diseases, U.N. agencies said on Thursday. Measles, one of the world's most contagious diseases, can be fatal to children under the age of five, especially in African and Asian countries with weak health systems, according to the World Health Organization. Polio can cripple a child for lif...

WHO panel advises against COVID-19 vaccination proof for travel

15th July 2021

The World Health Organization's Emergency Committee on Thursday maintained its stance that proof of COVID-19 vaccination should not be required for international travel, amid a growing debate on blocking the entry of travelers if they are unvaccinated. The independent experts said that vaccinations should not be the only condition to permit international travel, given limited global access and inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. The experts had previously said that requiring pr...

European Green Deal: Commission proposes transformation of EU economy and society to meet climate ambitions

14th July 2021

The European Commission adopted a package of proposals to make the EU's climate, energy, land use, transport and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. Achieving these emission reductions in the next decade is crucial to Europe becoming the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and making the European Green Deal a reality. With today's proposals, the Commission is presenting the legislative tools to deliver on ...

UNHCR warns of imminent humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan

14th July 2021

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is warning of a looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan as the escalating conflict brings increased human suffering and civilian displacement. An estimated 270,000 Afghans have been newly displaced inside the country since January 2021 – primarily due to insecurity and violence – bringing the total uprooted population to over 3.5 million. Families forced to flee their homes in recent weeks cite the worsening security situation as the predominant reas...

WHO warns against mixing and matching COVID vaccines

13th July 2021

The World Health Organization's chief scientist on Monday advised against people mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines from different manufacturers, calling it a "dangerous trend" since there was little data available about the health impact. "It's a little bit of a dangerous trend here. We are in a data-free, evidence-free zone as far as mix and match," Soumya Swaminathan told an online briefing. "It will be a chaotic situation in countries if citizens start deciding when and w...

World hunger, malnutrition soared last year mostly due to COVID-19 – U.N. agencies

12th July 2021

World hunger and malnutrition levels worsened dramatically last year, with most of the increase likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a multi-agency United Nations (U.N.) report published on Monday. After remaining virtually unchanged for five years, the number of undernourished people rose to around 768 million last year - equivalent to 10% of the world's population and an increase of around 118 million versus 2019, the report said. Authored by U.N. agencies including the...

Europe’s climate masterplan aims to slash emissions within a decade

12th July 2021

The European Union is set to take the lead in climate policy action among the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters this week, with a raft of ambitious plans designed to cut emissions drastically over the next decade. The policies, if approved, would put the bloc - the world's third-largest economy - on track for its goal of reducing planet-warming emissions 55% by 2030, from 1990 levels. The "Fit for 55" package being released on Wednesday will still face months of negotiations bet...

Why did Pope Francis need surgery?

11th July 2021

Pope Francis is currently in hospital, recovering after a planned surgery to remove one side of his intestine for a medical condition known as symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon. Many people as they age suffer from so-called diverticula, or small, bulging sacs that form on the lining of the small or large intestine, but the pope was among those for whom the problem demanded an operation. In his case, the Vatican said he suffered from "symptomatic diverticular stenosis", in...

Why were Colombian ex-soldiers in Haiti? Experts say they are popular mercenaries

11th July 2021

Highly-trained Colombian soldiers left at a loose end after retirement have frequently been tempted by opportunities to ply their trade abroad as private military contractors from Iraq to Yemen, military officials and experts said. At least 17 ex-members of Colombia's military are among the suspects in this week's assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, who was shot early on Wednesday at his home by what officials said was a group of foreign mercenaries. The assassination ha...

Question open on need for COVID booster shot, data awaited, WHO says

9th July 2021

The World Health Organization said on Friday that it was not clear whether COVID-19 booster vaccines will be needed to maintain protection, until further data is collected. Pfizer Inc plans to ask U.S. regulators to authorize a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine within the next month, the drugmaker's top scientist said on Thursday, based on evidence of greater risk of reinfection six months after inoculation and the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. "We don’t know wheth...

Slow progress in Balkan countries’ bids to join EU

8th July 2021

German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week hosted a summit with six Balkan countries to forge closer cooperation as they make slow progress in their goal of joining the European Union. Here are some facts about the six Balkan aspirants: ALBANIA The EU agreed in March 2020 that Albania, a member of NATO, could start membership negotiations. But Albania has not yet received a date for the start of formal talks because the EU has linked its progress with that of North Macedonia, which ...

World food prices fall in June for first time in a year -FAO

8th July 2021

World food prices fell in June for the first time in 12 months, pushed lower by declines in vegetable oils, cereals and dairy products, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday. The Rome-based FAO also said in a statement that worldwide cereal harvests would come in at nearly 2.817 billion tonnes in 2021, slightly down on its previous estimate, but still on course to hit an annual record. The Food and Agriculture Organization's food price index, which measures monthly changes f...

Malta: House prices drop in the first quarter

8th July 2021

The House Price Index fell by 1.6 per cent between January and March this year compared to the preceding quarter. Data by Eurostat shows that Malta was one of only three EU members to register a decrease in house prices over this period, along with Cyprus (-5.8%) and Slovakia (-1.2%). On average, prices rose by 1.7 per cent in the EU, led by increases in Estonia (+6.6%), Denmark (+5.8%) and Lithuania (+5.0%). Compared with the first quarter of 2020, the Index in Malta grew by 4.7 per cent, bel...

A look at the unmarked graves found at Canadian former residential school sites

7th July 2021

Canada has been rocked by the disclosures of more than 1,000 unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools - institutions that were part of an abusive system that the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission called "cultural genocide" in 2015. Here are some of the discoveries that have been made: Kamloops Indian Residential School - Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc, British Columbia: On May 27, the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Nation in British Columbia said it had discovered the...

Malta: Retail registers one of the highest annual increases in the EU

7th July 2021

Total retail trade grew by 22 per cent between May 2020 and May 2021, well above the 9.0 per cent average registered in the EU. Data by Eurostat shows that the highest increase was recorded by Bulgaria (23.9%) and Ireland (22.4%). Compared with the April 2021, the volume of trade in Malta went up by 2.6 per cent, below the EU average of 4.63 per cent. France recorded the highest growth (9.9%) followed by the Netherlands (9.3%) and Estonia (8.1%). On the other hand, Latvia, Finland, and Luxembo...

Malta: Public debt soars in first quarter

7th July 2021

Total government debt grew to €7,478.2 million between January and March, up from €6,958.5 million in the preceding quarter. Figures by the National Statistics Office show an increase of €1.544.8 million compared with the same quarter in 2020. Central government debt made €7,474.8 million, a rise of €1,544.6 million from a year before. Short-term securities grew by two-thirds from the start of 2020, jumping to €710.3 million in the first quarter this year. Long-term securities registered an ...

Net-zero carbon impact on UK debt could be less than pandemic hit

6th July 2021

The impact on Britain's public debt mountain caused by action to meet the country's net carbon zero target by 2050 could be less severe than that of the coronavirus pandemic, as long as the government moves quickly, the country's fiscal watchdog said. The Office for Budget Responsibility said its early-action scenario added 21% of gross domestic product to public sector net debt in 2050-51, or 469 billion pounds ($650 billion) in today's terms. "That is somewhat smaller than the addition ...

Rising Delta virus, absent Brits dampen Europe’s tourism hopes

3rd July 2021

While not a complete wash-out, the summer tourism season vital to southern Europe's economies will be less than sizzling as the Delta coronavirus spreads and travel hurdles keep British and other sun-seekers at home. A European Union COVID-19 travel certificate launched on Thursday may help some make trips but arrivals to tourist hotspots from Portugal to Croatia are set to remain well down on normal levels, putting businesses and hospitality jobs at risk. "The recovery of tourism in ...

EU digital COVID certificate, the key to summer travel

1st July 2021

The European Union launched on Thursday it digital COVID certificate system designed to help citizens travel more freely across the 27-nation bloc and open up summer tourism. WHAT IS IT? The EU digital COVID certificate, which can be on a smartphone or printed out, takes the form of a QR-code, which indicates if a traveller has received been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, has received a recent negative test result or has immunity due to recent recovery from a COVID-19 infection. ...

Malta: Youth unemployment drops below two thousand

1st July 2021

Youth unemployment stood at 1,944 in May, the first time it fell below 2,000 in a year. Figures by the National Statistics Office show a month-on-month decrease of 0.7 percentage points in the unemployment rate of people in the 18-24 age bracket. The rate stood at 7.4 per cent, the lowest in the twelve months under review. Total unemployment dropped to 10,105, down by 121 from April, registering a rate of 3.7 per cent. Registered unemployment fell by 0.1 percentage points among both women and m...

A hundred years on, how the Communist Party dominates China

30th June 2021

China's ruling Communist Party celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding on July 1. WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF THE PARTY? The Communist Party of China (CCP) was founded in 1921, holding its first congress in Shanghai, with the help of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, during a turbulent period after the country had a decade earlier cast off 2,000 years of dynastic rule. Its founders took inspiration from Marxism, after seeing how other political models had failed in Chin...

Malta: Industrial prices up by a tenth in four years

30th June 2021

The industrial producer price index rose to its highest point in May 2021, an increase of 9.92 per cent from the same month in 2017. Figures by the National Statistics Office shows a total rise of 1.73 per cent year-on-year, with gains across all industrial groupings except for the energy sector which remained stable. Prices for the domestic market grew by 1.11 per cent. Intermediate goods and consumer goods increased by 4.33 per cent and 0.54 per cent, respectively. Capital goods, on the other...