Marlene Farrugia and Konrad Mizzi MPs with most fines for being absent from parliament

Aug 25 2021

Independent MPs Konrad Mizzi and Marlene Farrugia have racked up the largest amount of fines for being absent from parliament. Figures obtained by MaltaToday show how Konrad Mizzi was absent from parliament with no justification on 26 occasions, with Marlene up close with 25 instances. Both were fined €50 on each of these occasions, leading to Mizzi cultivating a bill of €1,300 and Farrugia a bill of €1,250.

Clerk of the House provided the newsroom with the attendance records. These stats also show Jason Azzopardi, Chris Said and Economy Minister Silvio Schembri in third place, having been absent on 12 occasions. A total of 46 MPS have been fined, with Prime Minister Robert Abela and Health Minister Chris Fearne being fined for one instance of absenteeism. According to the rules, MPs are fined €50 if they are not present in parliament for a whole day when the House is convened.

Although MPs may be listed in records as absent, a fine will not be incurred if they would have attended a parliamentary committee at any point during that day. Records also show that parliament’s plenary was in session 489 times in the current legislature until the summer recess.

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Photo Source: Euronews, ConstitutionNet, The Report Company

Boris Johnson demanding Taliban allow safe passage for fleeing Afghans

Aug 25 2021

UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has demanded that the Taliban guarantee safe passage for anyone wishing to leave Afghanistan. Following US President Joe Biden’s resistance to pressure to extend the timeline for American troops to withdraw beyond August 31st, Johnson said that leaders have now agreed upon a joint approach to dealing with evacuees. This comes after a virtual G7 summit, with a roadmap allegedly being on the way to engage with Taliban militants.

Johnson has said that despite G7 leaders agreeing to future engagement with Taliban, they cannot let Afghanistan to ‘lurch back’ into a terrorist breeding ground. Girls must still receive an education up until the age of 18 and the safe passage of evacuees beyond 31st August is the G7’s number one priority. Despite the deadline and Taliban warning consequences for those attempting leave afterwards, Johnson believes the tight deadline can be worked with.

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Photo Source: Sky News, DW

Real Madrid make insane offer for Kylian Mbappe

Aug 25 2021

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has recently revealed that Spanish club Real Madrid have offered a staggering €160 million bid to PSG for French superstar Kylian Mbappe. Many fans have been expecting this move to materialise next year, once Kylian’s contract expires, but it seems like Real Madrid couldn’t wait any longer.

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Sky Sports have reported that Real Madrid presented the offer to PSG on Sunday and are yet to receive an answer. Other reports have said that PSG will rather keep him this year and lose him for free, as they do not need the money. It is being said that PSG have already held talks with the agents of their preferred replacement, Robert Lewandowski.

This is supposed to be Kylian Mbappe’s dream move, so a transfer to Real Madrid will always be in the news considering he is one of the worlds best and most notorious player.

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UK McDonald’s restaurants have run out of milkshakes

Aug 25 2021

It’s a renowned joke, and somewhat of a curse, that McDonald’s ice cream machines never work. Well, around 1,300 McDonald’s fast food outlets in the UK have upped this standard as they had to stop selling milkshakes and bottled drinks. This is mainly due to Brexit-related staff shortages and supply chain delays caused mainly by the COVID-19 pandemic which continues to have a negative impact on businesses.

A spokesperson for the fast food giant stated on Tuesday that like most retailers, supply chain issues are being experienced on a number of small products. ‘Bottled drinks and milkshakes are temporarily unavailable in restaurants across England, Scotland and Wales. Nando’s also closed 45 of its UK restaurants last week due to a peri peri chicken shortage. These shortages show the toll the pandemic has had, not just in terms of lives lost, but also of how it shaped, quite negatively, all other domains of life.

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Photo Source: DailyStar, The Guardian