Russia cutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria amid Moldova invasion fears

Apr 27 2022

Russia will be halting its gas shipments to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday, following accusations by Kyiv of Russia seeking to expand the Ukraine war further into Europe after blasts in Moldova.

Gazprom, a Russian energy giant, told Poland and Bulgaria that supplies will be cut off. Bulgaria is highly dependent on the company’s gas, with the country’s energy ministry saying on Tuesday that state-owned gas operators have undertaken steps for alternative agreements for natural gas deliveries.

Bulgaria is almost completely dependent on Russia for annual consumption of around 3.0 billion cubic metres of gas. It only receives small amounts from Azerbaijan, which it hopes to increase after completing a pipe link to Greece late this year.

Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki saying that their country’s facilities were 76% full and that it was ready to obtain necessary supplies from other pipelines.

Explosions this week which targeted the state ministry, a radio tower and military unit in Moldova followed a Kremlin commander’s claims Russian speakers were being opposed.

This raised eyebrows that Moldova could be Russia’s next target to push into Europe. The Moldovan region of Transnistria has been occupied by Moscow’s forces for decades, with a Ukrainian official saying that if his country falls, Russians will be at Moldova’s gates.

#MaltaDaily

5 Maltese companies that Elon Musk could buy after Twitter

Apr 26 2022

When you’re dealing with the richest man on the planet, nothing is ever off the table and Elon Musk continues to outdo himself with one larger-than-life business manoeuvre after the other. The Tesla and SpaceX boss just recently had his $44 billion bid for social media platform Twitter confirmed, only a few days after the company’s board attempted to block the business magnate from taking it private.

Now that Twitter is in the bag, we wonder if the big boss would consider buying a Maltese company. The below are a few suggestions of Malta’s companies Elon Musk could buy after Twitter.

Sphinx

A local company which produces the single greatest snack in the universe, the Pastizz. The businessman could benefit from owning a company whose food is absolutely out of this world and Sphinx is at the centre of that.

From SpaceX to SphinX, Elon Musk could single-handedly answer the age old question; is he an Irkotta or Piżelli man?

Benna

Benna (or Malta Dairy Products Ltd.) is one the island’s most beloved, iconic and all-around-Maltese brands ever and who knows what could happen to it in the hands of Elon Musk.

With Musk being the space-centric individual he is, we would imagine that the first flavour they’d come up with under Musk’s ownership would be Mars (hehe get it?)

Three Hills

Another iconic Maltese brand which has a long tenure of fresh, local products with locally-sourced ingredients. If Elon does decide to buy the iconic brand, we’re certain that his first order of business would be to add another hill to Gozo’s Three Hills.

The next TV advert you would be seeing would be Musk, with a can of kunserva in hand saying “Four Hills tal-bott il-blue.”

Malta Public Transport

If there’s anything that Malta needs right now, it’s a massive overhaul of the public transport system and if Malta Public Transport and Tesla had to come together, it would definitely be a match made in heaven.

An entire Tesla public transport system, Cybertruck buses and who knows, we could even get flying cars in the very near future.

Malta Daily

Musk does have a habit in investing in promising companies and with Malta Daily being Malta’s fastest-growing media platform, we would understand why he’d want to come take a look.

With the entrepreneur planning to ‘unlock Twitter’s potential’ upon purchase – we’re certain that he’d definitely have a good time with MaltaDaily.

Actually, now that we have you here, now would be a good time to let you know that we’re on Twitter – so drop us a follow!

What do you think the grandmaster CEO will do next?

#MaltaDaily

8% of children lived in desperate poverty in 2021 reveals data

Apr 26 2022

Somber statistics released by the National Statistics Office showed that 7.8% of children in 2021 were living in households suffering from severe material and social deprivation.

Around 28,000 people suffered from severe deprivation last year, with almost 50,000 people suffering deprivation in at least five of 13 categories.

The measurements were carried out by the European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey (EU-SILC). The NSO said that material and social deprivation stood at 9.8%, which translates to 49,769 people.

The severe material and social deprivation rate stood at 5.5%, with both measurements seeing an increase of 0.4 points compared to 2020. The survey measures people’s perception of their ability to afford 13 material or social items.

7.8% of people lived in households that could not keep the home adequately warm in winter, whereas 33.1% of people live in households that cannot pay for one week’s annual holiday away from home.

However, there were significant declines in poverty when compared to previous years. 1.8% of people lived in households that could not afford a car, a decline of 0.6 points over 2020.

Similarly, 15.9% of people livd in households that cannot replace worn-out furniture, a decline of 0.5 points. The Social Policy Ministry stated that despite the economic consequences of the pandemic, the government’s support measures helped keep poverty at a low level.

#MaltaDaily

Government covering Enemalta losses every month

Apr 26 2022

The government has taken to compensating Enemalta for its financial losses on a monthly losses due to a plan to keep electricity tariffs stable despite skyrocketing costs.

Following a report issued by credit rating agency S&P, Enemalta’s losses were fully covered by the government in 2021. This is set to continue this year, with the government committing €200 million to protect consumers from rising energy prices.

Enemalta continued to sell electricity to consumers at 2014 prices, despite its costs to provide the same energy for sale to the domestic market having soared considerably.

S&P stated that prices for energy imported via the inter-connector, which represents 25-30% of Enemalta’s requirements, increased by 154%. This means it rose from an average of €58.09/mWh in 2020 to €148.02.mWh in 2021.

The company stated that this was necessary because the ‘regulatory framework in Malta does not automatically protect the company from the rise in commodity prices no from decline in consumption volumes and also as it is the Maltese government’s policy to keep prices stable.’

#MaltaDaily