Humanitarian initiative delivers pillows and sleeping bags to Lithuania

Sep 1 2021

The Civil Protection Department has travelled and donated a collection of pillows and sleeping bags to Lithuania as part of a humanitarian aid project. This was the fourth donation done by the department in the past few months as earlier this year, face shields were donated to Nepal, antigen tests to Tunisia and a number of COVID-19 vaccine doses and antigen tests to Libya.

The donation of sleeping bags and pillows arrived in Lithuania last Tuesday through a special and direct flight organised specifically for this aim. This voyage was done with the full support of the Ministry for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Malta International Airport and AirMalta also aided and supported this voyage.

The initiative was done through the collaboration of the EU mechanism DG ECHO and ERCC (Emergency Response Coordination Centre). The donation cost amounted to over €57,000, of which €25,000 will be paid through the aforementioned mechanism.

The General Director of the Civil Protection Department Emanuel Psaila sated that the department invested more than €800,000 just last year for apparatus and other equipment to aid in humanitarian initiatives. This also serves as a backup in case any humanitarian crises hit any country. He encouraged more humanitarian work to occur in order to seal connections of this type between various countries.

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Photo Source: Civil Protection Department Communications

Characteristics of a manipulator | by Ed’s Common Sense

Sep 1 2021

They always get what they want with minimal effort and at a great price to others.

They are constantly able to reinvent themselves as long as others do the dirty work.

They spend a lot of their time making sure their needs are met.

They love to control others as long as no one tries to control them.

They will never do you a favour unless there is some personal secondary gain for them.

They are extremely good talkers and persuasive in nature.

They meticulously study what other people’s weakness are so that they can take full advantage of them.

They can be very dramatic and expect others to be at their beck and call.

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Global coffee supply under threat as Vietnam enters lockdown

Sep 1 2021

We might have some bad news for coffee lovers out there. Concerns over the global coffee supply are growing as Vietnam imposed tough COVID-19 travel restrictions to tackle the aggressive spread of the Delta variant. Vietnam is the second biggest exporter of coffee, with supply chains now being disrupted due to the health measures in the country. Lockdown measures have impacted the port of Ho Chi Minh City as well as coffee-growing areas of the Central Highlands.

The Vietnam Coffee-Cocoa Association urged the government to ease the restrictions as traders struggled to transport beans to ports for export. Despite having managed to contain the spread last year through rigorous contact tracing and lockdowns, the south-east Asian country’s economic growth has been threatened by its inability to do the same with the Delta variant. The total caseload for Vietnam rose to 445,292, which is up from the measly 1,500 infections during all of 2020.

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Photo Source: Gardenia Pharmacy, Wego Travel Blog

Scotland to trial four-day work week

Sep 1 2021

Scotland is going be trying out a four-day work week without loss of pay. This comes just as among proposals for Malta’s 2022 budget the same concept was put forth for consideration for our island. The reduced hours will not have to be taken weekly and could be targeted at particular groups such as parents. This scheme sounds great for employees, with around 80% of the population preferring this over the traditional 5-days.

A report out today includes some ideas for how this 4-day work week could be taken on, with Iceland and New Zealand taken on for inspiration. However, accompanied with the 4-day work week needs to be accompanied by other measures which make workers feel valued. This includes high-quality management, flexibility, autonomy and trust on the work place. The reduced hours could be used to boost training or bundled into sabbatical breaks from work. It remains to be seen if Malta follows in these footsteps…

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Photo Source: CNN,, The Conversation