20 weeks of parental leave for each parent proposed by Volt

Jan 11 2022

Political party Volt has just issued its proposal for parental leave to be paid and equal for all parents regardless of their sex, gender and orientation, and also whether they choose adoption or surrogacy. Defining parental leave in two different categories – individual and shared – Volt believes that this is essential to further gender equality, combat employer discrimination and also improve the child’s personal well-being.

Kassandra Mallia, Volt Candidate and VP, said that parenthood has always been one of the most vital roles humans must undergo. ‘In today’s socioeconomic climate, the struggle of parenthood has been exacerbated. We aim to mitigate these struggles by making an equal and supportive policy of Parenthood, one that does not place the responsibility of parenthood on the pregnant individual alone.’

For Individual Parent Leave, each parent would receive 20 weeks of fully paid parental leave. This will be paid by both employer and the State, at a rate of 100% of their respective income. They may also opt for 25 weeks at 80% of their income, with self-employed individuals completely paid by state. As for shared parental leave, a couple would receive 20 weeks of additional paid leave paid at 70% of the couple’s average income. This would be accessible to foster parents as well.

‘The party aims to also ensure that unemployed individuals would also benefit from both types of parental leave and receive money from a Parental Leave Fund (equivalent rate to today’s Maternity Leave Benefit) for their share.’ Single parents would also be eligible for Individual parental Leave equivalent to two parents and the ordinary amount of Shared Parental Leave. An option would also be introduced for parents to transfer part of their parental leave to their partner, family member or guardian.

Volt Co-President Arnas Lasys said that ‘we need to normalise that any individual regardless of their sex or gender can be an active participant in the upbringing of their children, and move away from expecting mothers to be the primary parent who stays at home with the kids. It’s about time our laws reflect that.’

#MaltaDaily

Photo Source: Volt Communications

Massive ‘Sea Dragon’ dinosaur dolphin discovered in UK

Jan 11 2022

The largest-ever sea dragon dinosaur fossil has just been discovered in the UK, with it’s fossilised remains first discovered at Rutland Water Nature Reserve in February 2021.

The remains were found by Joe Davis, the conservation team leader at Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. The so-called sea dragons, which resemble dolphins in terms of shape, have been known to vary in size from 3ft to 82ft (1m to 25m).This particular ichthyosaur skeleton was revealed as being 33ft (10m) in length. It is not only the biggest of its kind that has been found in the UK to date, but it is also the most complete.

In other news: giant sea dragon fossil found in Rutland, UK.

About 4x bigger than Mary Anning’s tiny ichthyosaurus skeletons which we saw at the museum in Lyme Regis six years ago.https://t.co/SSJ5j67dmm pic.twitter.com/I3VN87cuZy

— Ellie & Stefan 👫| Berkeley Square Barbarian (@BerkeleySqB) January 10, 2022

It is also anticipated as being the country’s first Temnodontosaurus trigonodon, which is a very specific species of ichthyosaur. Davis discovered it when the lagoon’s island was drained in the area’s re-landscaping.Upon removing the skull and its clay encasing to conserve and study the fossil, it was discovered that the 2m skull weighed a tonne on its own. Dr Dean Lomax, a palaeontologist who has studied thousands of these dinosaurs said that;

‘Their fossils have been unearthed here for over 200 years. Despite the many ichthyosaur fossils found in Britain, it is remarkable to think the Rutland ichthyosaur is the largest skeleton ever found in the UK.’ It is being hoped that the bones will be able to be displayed and protected near to where they were located, with funding being sought by the owners of the area.

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Vaccine for kids aged 5 to 11 backed by paediatricians

Jan 11 2022

Paediatricians have issued their support for the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11. The association noted it is 90% protective against one of the top 10 causes of death in this age group in the US. The Maltese Paediatric Association said in a statement highlighting the jab’s safety that immunisation reduced the burden of disease in this age group and the direct health risks associated with the infection.

This is especially the case for children at risk of severe illness due to underlying medical conditions, the association pointed out. With the age bracket becoming eligible for the vaccine in mid-December, paediatricians added that vaccinating kids would also be helpful in planning eventual relaxation of measures within schools.

This of course refers to makes and social distancing, as well as reducing in schooling disruptions and thinned for quarantine – measures which have had impacts on children’s well-being. The paediatricians touted how the approved vaccine has been shown to be safe when used in several million children in the US. The fact that serious complications from the infection could still occur in healthy children even though they were uncommon was cited by the association in support of the jab.

Apart from protecting kids from COVID, the association listed more reasons such as the good response to the jab by the age group as further endorsement. The association said kids aged between 5 and 11 were at least as likely to be infected with SARS-CoV2-2 as adults.

Hospitalisation for this age bracket was increasing the association revealed, with a nine-fold rise in the weekly hospitalisation rate from 0.025 to 0.4 per 100,000 population noted between July to September in Europe.

The association noted that 399 kids were admitted to hospital during this period, with 10% needing intensive care unit admission, with two deaths reported. COVID-19 infection accounted for 1.7% of deaths in kids of the age group and 0.1% of all pandemic deaths.

With long COVID also observed in children, with about 8% experiencing continued symptoms more than 12 weeks after infection, the paediatricians emphasised their support of the jab as it is likely to contribute to the mental well-being of the age group. Namely of these were disruptions in schooling, sports and family routines and separation from loved ones.

The Comirnaty vaccine, produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, was approved for use in children aged five to 11 by the US FDA in October and EMA the following month. Children are given a third of the adult dose in two doses at three weeks apart.

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Archbishop advises against labelling psychological issues as demonic possession

Jan 11 2022

Celebrating daily mass in the morning, Archbishop Charles Scicluna cautioned people against quickly labelling mental health or psychological issues as demonic possession.

Reading an extract from the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus performed an exorcism in the synagogue of Capernaum, the Archbishop highlighted the tendency to mix the ideas of possession with psychological problems.

‘If someone is suffering from psychological problems, we do not label them as being possessed. It is up to our [Church] experts and exorcists to determine possession or devil’s influence on a person’ he said.

These comments follow police stopping interrogations of lead murder suspect Abner Aquilina after he claimed the devil was speaking to him and was admitted to Mount Carmel Hospital. He had also allegedly told police he was doing God’s work but the devil entered his thoughts when the silent attacks occurred.

Abner has also been linked to the controversial church River of Love, despite its leader distancing itself from the suspect. Despite not acknowledging this case, the Archbishop said that even though many cases stem from psychological problems, it does not mean ‘evil spirits or the devil’ do not exist.

He went on to state that ‘God gave the power of exorcism only to the Church and each bishop is given that strength and power of exorcism for their diocese.’

#MaltaDaily