Pope wants to meet Putin but the Russian president is not responding

May 3 2022

Pope Francis revealed on Tuesday that he has requested a meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine invasion.

However, the Russian leader has so far not responded back to the invitation. The 85-year-old church leader told newspaper Corriere Della Sera that he sent a message to Putin around 20 days into the invasion.

‘We have not yet received a response and we are still insisting, though I fear that Putin cannot, and does not, want to have this meeting at this time’ said the pontiff.

Despite never mentioning Putin by name, the pope has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine, denouncing the war as cruel and senseless. The Pope revealed that he won’t be going to Ukraine anytime soon, as he believes he needs to go to Moscow first and see Putin.

This also comes as Pope Francis critiques Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who defended the invasion of Ukraine as a fight against Russia’s external and internal enemies.

Francis said that Kirill cannot become Putin’s altar boy. As Pope, Francis has a responsibility of engaging and continuing dialogue with the Orthodox Church after it split from the Roman Catholic church in the 11th century CE.

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Should Malta use electronic tags even in cases of bail?

May 3 2022

A local judge has called for the use of electronic tags in Malta’s criminal justice system in cases concerning bail. Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera said that the courts should be allowed to order an accused person to be electronically tagged when given bail decree.

She wrote in a judgment passed last week saying that if this sort of system existed in our country, ‘the state would be in a better position to monitor people accused of crimes who have been granted bail.’

She went on to order that a copy of the judgment be sent to Justice Minister Jonathan Attard and Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri in hopes that the law be scrutinised to reflect modern-day needs.

Electronic tags remotely and automatically transmit their GPS location to law enforcement, which allows authorities to keep track of the person wearing it.

The plans to introduce tags into local criminal justice procedures were revealed in September 2021, but the draft bill was not passed into law by the time parliament was dissolved prior to the election.

The bill will thus have to be reintroduced from scratch once parliament is opened. Minister Camilleri said that only those guilty of minor crimes, prisoners granted parole and inmates on prison leave would be eligible for the tag.

Judges will thus not be allowed to order their use when granting bail, a practice which takes place in many other countries that use electronic tags.

#MaltaDaily

Families spending €100 extra monthly for food says new local study

May 3 2022

A new study by Caritas has found that families are spending at least €100 more per month on food. The study was done in February, right before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which led to spikes in food and energy costs.

The study shows that basic food prices jumped by 20% between July 2020, when the study was last carried out, and February 2022.

The study unveiled today used the same basket of goods used in its 2020 study, which was titled; ‘A Minimum Essential Budget for a Decent Living.’ Back in 2020, a family of four, two adults and two children, would spend €600 monthly, or a €7100 yearly, to live decently.

In less than two years later, the same family would have to spend €700 per month, or €8,400 annually, for the same products. A family of one adult and two kids would spend €430 monthly in 2020, going up to €526 in 2022.

The increase in price was also noted for medicine and healthcare, as the prior family of four would have to spend €307 yearly on such items at the start of COVID-19. The same family today would spend €355 for the same items.

The main difference between the 2020 and 2022 studies was the inclusion of a COVID-19 protection package. The package includes a disposable mask per day per person, between 6 to 12 100ml bottles of sanitiser per year, and two extra boxes of paracetamol.

The additional stuffs cost a family of four over €830 annually, with a family of three having to spend €630 on the package, over and above the essential medicine and healthcare items.

Elderly folks were most impacted by this. In 2020, a basic basket of food would have cost an elderly couple €280 monthly, or €3,370 per year. In 2022, an elderly couple would have to spend €350 monthly, €4200 per year.

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Man proposes to his girlfriend with a packet of Chicken McNuggets

May 3 2022

Chicken McNuggets are always the best idea for any occasion, and one Australian lad decided to take it to the next level by proposing with them.

Comedian Aaron Chen shared his stunt to social media, showing how he placed an engagement ring in a six pack of McNuggets. We have to say, he’s just completely upped the game in every way.

Chen’s now-fiancé Esther Shim showed off her new bling outside a Cash Converters store, and it seems like the most chill and wholesome engagement ever. Chen, being a comedian, took to social media to congratulate himself for getting engaged.

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A post shared by Aaron Chen (@chennylifestyle)

His followers quickly jumped onto the bandwagon and congratulated him for the move, with many commending his style of popping the big question.

The stand-up comic had won Best Newcomer at the 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and has bagged another nomination for the 2022 festival for Most Outstanding Show.

And we bet that his engagement story will make not only for some quality comedy material, but also a bizarre dad story should the couple go on to have kids. Just imagine it: I proposed to your mum with Chicken McNuggets.

#MaltaDaily