Malta seeking compromise on EU Russian oil ban plan

May 5 2022

Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia has confirmed to Times of Malta that Malta is seeking a compromise with the EU on the proposal that seeks to ban the transportation of Russian oil on EU-flagged or controlled ships.

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen presented the plans in an effort to detach the bloc off it’s dependence on Russian energy sources following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Von der Leyen told the EU parliament on Wednesday that it was seeking to phase out crude Russian oil in six months and refined products by the end of the year. The plan requires approval of all 27 member states in order to see implementation.

It is understood that Malta signalled reservations during a meeting between EU member states on the sanctions package on Wednesday. Sources told the newsroom that the ban on transportation of oil could massively impact thee shipping industry.

Minister Aaron Farrugia said that technical discussions about the matter are currently ongoing. He said that Malta has its own interests to protect but it also wants to balance that with meeting the sanctions obligations.

‘When we have all the information in hand the government will make a decision as it always has’ said Farrugia. The Minister was reluctant on elaborating further but said that Malta’s shipping industry is of huge strategic importance and that its flag has an ‘important difference’ to that of other countries.

According to international news portal Politico, Cyprus and Greece also raised concerns with the Commission about the proposal.

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World famous Netflix graffiti artist to bless Malta with his art

May 5 2022

Jay Kaes, a Spanish Street Artist who has garnered international acclaim for his pristine work with big names worldwide, will be blessing Malta with his art.

Kaes will be making his way to the island to create some more of his exquisite pieces, which feature colourful and evocative tags and burns on walls.

His work will also officially be featured in the new Havana Club in Paceville upon its upcoming launch. The artist will contribute to embellish an already established Hip Hop and RnB scene in the Entertainment Mecca.

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A post shared by Jay Kaes | Murals | Paintings (@jaycaes)

Back in 2019, Kaes painted his biggest mural to date, which consisted of a 600 square foot wall for Galeria Vertical to renew a small town in North Spain. He has also worked with giants such as Netflix, Marvel, Sony, BBC and ex-One Direction member Louis Tomlinson.

We will have to wait and see what Kaes will create for our island, tagging his place in the local history by doing what he does best on a global scale.

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Ed Sheeran collaborates with Ukrainian band fighting in the war

May 5 2022

Pop sensation Ed Sheeran has worked with Ukrainian band Antytila to re-release a new version of his song ‘2Step’ after the group was denied a request to join a benefit concert featuring the UK singer.

The song was released last Monday along with a music video filmed in Kyiv and in northeast Ukraine where the band’s frontman, Taras Topolia, is working as a medic.

Antytila is a pop-rock band who released their most recent album, Millennial, just days after the war broke out following Russia’s invasion. The musicians told PEOPLE that the decision to volunteer to fight was a simple one.

Communication between the Ukrainian band and Sheeran started back in March when Topolia and his bandmates made a TikTok plea asking to join an upcoming benefit concert raising money for Ukrainians.

The two-hour event, which featured the likes of Camila Cabello, raised $17.6 million for Disasters Emergency Committee. The band was denied their plea due to their involvement in the war effort as the organisers did not want any association with any kind of military.

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Maltese couple denied IVF because of woman’s age win court case

May 5 2022

The rights of a Maltese couple were violated after their request to go through a second IVF cycle was rejected because of the woman’s age.

The European Court of Human Rights (EHCR) ruled on Thursday that Malta violated the couple’s right to private family life. They were in turn awarded €8,000 in damages and €2,500 in costs.

Natasha, who was 43 at the time, and Gilbert Lia were married in 2012 and were given medical advice to attempt IVF after several unsuccessful attempts at having children.

In September 2014, the couple underwent a procedure known as Intracyctoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), with the treatment provided for free by the government as it did all subjects satisfying the Maltese Embryo Protection Authority’s protocol.

The treatment proved unsuccessful, but although the applicants requested another cycle, the authority refused the request. The age bracket endorsed by Malta at the time of the second request was between 25 and 42.

The couple took it to court, but in October of 2019, Malta’s Constitutional Court ruled against them as they found that the maximum age was ‘medically justified.’ The couple took their case to the Strasbourg based ECHR.

The ECHR raised concerns about the Maltese system and ruled that the interference suffered by the applicants had not been in accordance with a law of sufficient quality. It thus concluded that there was a violation of Article 8 of the Convention.

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