11-year-old boy with phone number written on arm crosses Ukrainian border

Mar 8 2022

An 11-year-old boy from Zaporizhzhia, a city in southeastern Ukraine, was deemed a hero by Slovakian authorities after he crossed the border into the country on his own.

CNN reported the news, revealing that the young boy carried a backpack, a plastic bag and a passport, and had a telephone number written on his hand.

According to the Slovak Ministry of Interior, the boy’s mother sent him on a 1,000km journey alone by train to find relatives as she stayed behind to care for her sick mother who cannot move.

Zaporizhzhia is the site where Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant is located, and was captured by Russian troops following a drawn out shootout between invaders and defenders.

Through the number written on the boy’s hand and on a piece of paper folded into his passport, the staff at the border were able to get in touch with the boy’s relatives in Slovakia who were then able to come and collect him.

Volunteers cared for him as he waited, giving him a warm place to shelter in as well as food and drink. More than 1.2 million refugees have left Ukraine since the 24th of February (according to the UN as of March 3rd). 53.7% of those who left crossed into Poland.

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Pledges by Labour to help women over-40 to enter work force

Mar 8 2022

Speaking during a political rally in Marsaxlokk, the Prime Minister revealed a set of proposals which aim to help women aged over 40 enter the workplace.

Robert Abela revealed that the government wanted more women over the age of 40 to be able to work and that, to facilitate this, the government would cover 30% of their salaries up to €6,000 for three years.

The Prime Minister continued to reveal that if elected into government, up to €50,000 in tax credits would be offered up to business with a certain amount of women in senior management roles.

This comes just in time for Women’s Day, and Abela foreshadowed more similar measures to be unveiled on the day.

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Warning by Malta’s main grain importer due to potential restrictions

Mar 8 2022

The biggest importer of grains for Malta has issued warnings over the potential that other countries could start restricting exports. This also comes with a call for a national strategy on the importation of wheat as the invasion of Ukraine limits global supplies.

Marco Cachia, the chief executive of Federated Mills, said that, so far, Hungary has stopped all exports of wheat. The company supplies milled flour to around three quarters of Maltese manufacturers.

This could be followed by other countries, and this could create a very serious shortage problem. Cachia said that as of yet, the company has adequate stock. The situation could be made worse if the conflict persisted however, revealing that to avert this, they got in touch with the local authorities over the situation.

With importation from Russia made even more difficult given the economic measures, Ukraine has already set export restrictions on the crop and other agricultural products amid the invasion. Federated Mills allegedly never purchases Ukrainian wheat due to it lacking standards certification.

Nationalist Party spokesperson Peter Agius had highlighted the issue to Times of Malta, going on to send a letter to two European Commissioners to draw their attention to restrictions imposed by other EU countries.

He claimed that the imposition of such restrictions was in breach of the provisions on free movement of goods int he treaties of the EU. Highlighting how Malta has no local cereal, grain or wheat production, it essentially depends on free movement in the EU for its supply and for the production of bread and other similar products.

Times of Malta was informed by foreign minister Evarist Bartolo that he was not aware of such restrictions, but was not surprised.

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Malta made it onto Russia’s list of ‘unfriendly’ nations along with all of EU

Mar 8 2022

Malta has made it on the Russian Federation’s list of nations and regions which it considers unfriendly as it continues the invasion of Ukraine. The statement was published on Monday afternoon, with the Russian government saying that it had approved a list of foreign states and territories which ‘commit unfriendly actions against Russia, Russian companies and citizens.’

Every single member state of the European Union was included on the list, along with countries and nations such as Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Japan, Switzerland, Republic of Korea and of course Ukraine.

Malta’s government was called upon to stop the selling of Maltese passports to Russian elites as the invasion began, but this was not immediately accepted despite the public backlash. Following pressure, the cash-for-passport scheme was put on hold by the Prime Minister. This comes as several countries and nations introduce new sanctions in response to the invasion and the displacement of thousands of Ukrainian citizens.

The sanctions have seen the country’s economy receive a massive hit, with Reuters reporting that as of Monday, the rouble lost more than 40% of its value since the start of the year. Other sanctions have also seen the termination of service by the likes of Netflix and TikTok in Russia as well as the immediate halting of Russian vodka importation in several stores in Western nations.

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Photo Source: The Telegraph, NDTV