MEP Josianne Cutajar becomes Vice Chair of SEArica at European Parliament

Feb 4 2022

MEP Josianne Cutajar has been appointed Chair of the SEArica Intergroup at the European Parliament, which focuses on islands, seas, rivers and coastal areas. Cutajar’s work in this role will be focused on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) as well as digitisation. She will be working on policies that assist businesses, specifically small and medium sized ones.

The work has intensified due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the MEP also working towards a universal digital transition which incudes small business hailing from islands like Malta and Gozo. Cutajar expressed her gratitude that her colleagues demonstrated their trust in her and the work she is doing. She said this trust will translate into more work towards stronger and relevant European policies in these areas.

The Labour Party addressed the appointment, saying that as a Gozitan, ‘Josianne Cutajar fully understands the challenges that islands, including those such as Gozo which suffer from double insularity, face. Therefore, she is focusing her efforts to ensure the the European Union enters into a new pact with its islands.’

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EU proposing to extend COVID certificates for travel till July 2023

Feb 4 2022

The European Commission has proposed this Thursday to extend by an entire year the usage of COVID certificates for travel across the 27-nation bloc. This means that the certificates will be extended until the end of June 2023, and comes despite an announcement by the director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Europe office that it is entering a ‘plausible endgame to the pandemic.’

The EU however said that the virus is still very prevalent on the continent and that at this stage it is not possible to determine the impact of a possible increase in infections or variant emergence in 2022’s second half.Commissioner for justice Didier Reynders said that a failure to extend the scheme could lead to confusion and obstacles if it expires while the pandemic is not over. To come into effect, EU members and EU parliament must all accept the proposal.

So far, EU countries have issued over 1.2 billion certificates after they entered into force in July of last year. They were largely successful in helping EU citizens travel without quarantines and other restrictions due to COVID. Under current rules, EU countries must accept vaccination certificates for a period of nine months following the latest dose of the primary vaccination or after the booster. A negative PCR test obtained no more than 72 hours before travel or a negative rapid antigen test no more than a day old can also be included in the certificate as proof of recovery no more than six months ago.

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Coffee Shop calls out scare tactics by ‘bullies’ demanding entry

Feb 4 2022

Pay it forward Coffee Shop ‘Jacob’s Brew’ took to Facebook to call out scare tactics and threats of boycott by customers demanding entry despite not having vaccine certificates. The post started with the owners reminding customers that the regulation of full vaccination to enter bars and/or restaurants being applicable until next Monday 7th February.

‘Only 4 days to go and this ruling will end and we will once again be allowed to serve everyone at our shop’ it said. The post expressed how it wasn’t easy turning away people who did not comply to the ruling.

‘We were pained to do so, but we have made it very clear from the start that we will abide by the regulations for the health and safety of our customers and staff since the beginning of the pandemic.’ They went on to highlight some of the harassment they experienced in trying to maintain this regulation. ‘We are proud to state that despite bullying, threats and even malicious posts citing to boycott our shop we have stood our ground throughout.’

‘Whether we agree to it or not doesn’t come into it at all’ said the post […] If we have offended you then we are sorry, but we will not apologise for abiding by the law.’ It went on to state that ‘the establishments that chose to break the law did so out of pure greed and not because they pitied you.’ It went on to say that they will not bow down to the bullies and their scare tactics.

It also spoke on ‘behalf of all businesses effected in recent weeks by this mandatory requirement’ saying that it is so ‘wrong on so many levels that we have been unfairly persecuted throughout. Discrimination works both ways unfortunately.’ Jacob, known as Titanium Man, was diagnosed with sinusitis at 15, but managed to survive from that and other surgeries pertaining to other inflictions. After his recuperation, his family went ahead and made his dream of opening a coffee shop a reality.

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Here are some of the new releases coming to Netflix in February

Feb 3 2022

Netflix is set for another stacked month of great releases and after making space for some new films, series and specials, it’s a big month for streaming. The biggest Netflix release to come out this month is the much-anticipated ‘jeen:yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’, a three-episode documentary featuring decades of newly-surfaced archive footage which document the controversial rappers rise from young producer to industry giant.

Other releases include Bubba Wallace’s RACE docuseries, which covers his experiences within the NASCAR circuit as well as the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre Film. For drama fans, Shonda Rhime’s Inventing Anna series also drops this month and will surround the life of Instagram-famous New York heiress Anna Delvey and the journalist that follows her story.

New releases are always a good time especially when you have some free time in the evenings, the best thing about new Netflix additions is the cavalcade of classics to join the streaming platform’s ranks. These include 1991’s The Addams Family, Batman Begins, Despicable Me, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Blackhat and much more.

What are you looking forward to this month?

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