9 of 10 Europeans concerned with rise in the cost of living

Jan 13 2023

The rising cost of living is the most pressing worry for 93 per cent of Europeans, followed by the threat of poverty and social exclusion 82 per cent.

•Recent crises strengthened citizens’ support for the European Union: 72 per cent believe that their country has benefited from being a member of the EU and 62 per cent see EU membership as a “good thing”.

•Citizens expect the EU to continue working on solutions to mitigate the effects of the consecutive crises.

In every EU Member State, more than seven in ten respondents are worried about the rising cost of living, with peak results in Greece (100%), Cyprus (99%), Italy and Portugal (both 98%). The rising prices, including for energy and food, are felt across all sociodemographic categories such as gender or age as well as all educational and socio-professional backgrounds.

The second most mentioned worry with 82% is the threat of poverty and social exclusion, followed by climate change and the spread of the war in Ukraine to other countries equal in third place with 81%.

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Cousin of Black Lives Matter co-founder died after being repeatedly tasered by police

Jan 13 2023

Keenan Anderson, 31, died at a hospital in Santa Monica.

LAPD have released body camera footage from the January 3rd, encounter.

The police who tasered Anderson were called to a traffic accident in the Venice neighbourhood of Los Angeles.

Police chief Michel Moore said that Anderson had committed a felony hit-and-run in a traffic collision.

Police stated that Anderson attempted to flee the scene by trying to “get into another person’s car without their permission”.

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3,738 final deeds of sale registered In Q4 of 2022

Jan 13 2023

The number of final deeds of sale and promise of sale agreements relating to residential property amounted to 1,003 and 1,002 during December 2022, registering an annual rate of change of -28.8 per cent and -55.9 per cent respectively.

In December 2022, the number of final deeds of sale relating to residential property amounted to 1,003, a 28.8 per cent decrease when compared to those registered a year earlier. The value of these deeds totalled €225.1 million, 28.5 per cent lower than the corresponding value recorded in December 2021.

In the month under review, 916, or 91.3 per cent, of the total final deeds of sale involved individual buyers (households), with companies accounting for virtually all the rest. The value of the deeds involving individual buyers (households) amounted to €186.3 million, equivalent to 82.8 per cent of the total value.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, 3,738 final deeds of sale were registered, an annual decrease of 4.1 per cent. The value of the deeds registered during this period went up by 0.1 per cent over the same quarter of the previous year and amounted to €859.3 million.

With regard to the region the property is situated in, the highest numbers of final deeds of sale were recorded in the two regions of Għawdex, and Birkirkara, Il-Gżira, L-Imsida, Ta’ Xbiex and San Ġwann, at 600 and 467, respectively. The lowest numbers of deeds were noted in the region of Il-Birgu, L-Isla, Bormla and Il-Kalkara, and the region of Ħ’Attard, Ħal Balzan, L-Iklin and Ħal Lija. In these regions, 82 and 101 deeds were recorded, respectively. The highest annual increase was registered in the Il-Birgu, L-Isla, Bormla and Il-Kalkara region, at 43.9 per cent. The second highest increase was noted in the region of Birkirkara, Il-Gżira, L-Imsida, Ta’ Xbiex and San Ġwann, an 8.4 per cent rise when compared to the previous year. In contrast, the largest annual decreases were observed in the two regions of Ħ’Attard, Ħal Balzan, L-Iklin and Ħal Lija, and Il-Mosta and In-Naxxar, with declines of 21.1 per cent and 20.1 per cent, respectively.

In December 2022, 1,002 promise of sale agreements relating to residential property were registered, equivalent to a 55.9 per cent decrease over the previous year. Individual potential buyers (households) accounted for 901, or 89.9 per cent of the total agreements, while the rest mainly involved companies.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of promise of sale agreements reached 3,357, representing an annual decrease of 27.2 per cent.

The largest numbers of promise of sale agreements corresponded to residential properties situated in the two regions of Birkirkara, Il-Gżira, L-Imsida, Ta’ Xbiex and San Ġwann, and Għawdex, totalling 454 and 416, respectively. The lowest numbers were noted in the regions of Il-Birgu, L-Isla, Bormla and Il-Kalkara, and Ħ’Attard, Ħal Balzan, L-Iklin and Ħal Lija. The first-mentioned region accounted for 83 agreements and the second for 107 agreements. The region of Il-Birgu, L-Isla, Bormla and Il-Kalkara saw the only annual increase in promise of sale agreements, with a rise of 3.8 per cent. On the other hand, the highest annual decreases were observed in the two regions of Ħ’Attard, Ħal Balzan, L-Iklin and Ħal Lija, and Għawdex, which recorded drops of 35.5 per cent and 35.3 per cent, respectively.

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12-year-old boy on the autism spectrum published his 3rd book

Jan 13 2023

All fifth year students will be given this book for free.

‘Me and Beppe, Beppe and me’ will be distributed free of charge to all 5th year students in Malta and Gozo.

Beppe communicates and wrote the books through a tablet.

Beppe’s dream came true because he always wanted to collaborate with Clare Azzopardi.

The Ministry for Inclusion, Volunteering and Consumer Rights paid for the publication of this book that is also being used to convey a positive message of inclusion in a versatile way.

The publisher is Chris Gruppetta from Merlin Publishers with illustration by Kyle Xuereb Cunningham.

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