Russian oil will be completely banned within six months says Von der Leyen

May 4 2022

EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen revealed on Wednesday that the union would be imposing a gradual ban on Russian oil, as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine.

The EU chief said during a parliamentary meeting in Strasbourg that they will make sure that Russian oil is phased out in an orderly fashion.

‘This is why we will phase out Russian supply of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year’ she said. However, the proposal asked that Hungary and Slovakia, both massively dependent on the oil, be given more time to meet the ban.

Ambassadors from the 27 European Union countries will be meeting on Wednesday to assess the plan as it will need unanimous approval before going into effect.

Leyen also revealed that the EU will be asking that the member states deny Sberbank, which is Russia’s biggest bank, any access to SWIFT, the global banking communications system. This would impede the Russian financial system and Putin’s ability to continue the destruction.

The draft of the proposal is also seeking to add the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, to the list of sanctioned individuals in the package. The list includes 58 people, consisting of the family of Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Apart from this, the list would add military officers who committed war crimes in Bucha and Mariupol. ‘This sends another important signal to all perpetrators of the Kremlin’s war: We know who you are and you will be held accountable’ she said.

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Nurses in protest to show solidarity over Mt Carmel self-harm case

May 4 2022

A mass of members from the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) joined forces to show solidarity with nurse Joseph Pace, as he faces charges in connection with a patient who self-harmed under his watch.

Pace is being prosecuted by the police in his role as a manager at the hospital and is due to be charged in court with criminal misconduct. The incident dates back to 2017, and involves a patient who self-harmed despite supposedly being under constant self-watch.

The press conference outside Mount Carmel Hospital, MUMN President Paul Pace called Joseph Pace a hero who is loved by all the staff, patients and relatives.

Staff shortages prevented the management from providing Level 1 supervision on the patient, with Paul Pace saying that Pace was interrogated by police. Although the union asked Health Minister Chris Fearne to intervene, the case was not dropped.

Paul Pace lamented how nurses are constantly being threatened with court. ‘This is the third nurse to be sent to court over constant watches, something which requires one-to-one nursing 24 hours a day. However, nurses are out of stock here and instead we end up taking them to court. What blame do nurses have?’

Joseph Pace explained how this happened regularly and that the staff did everything possible to save the life of the patient. He said that he was possibly facing thousands in fines and up to nine years in prison.’

Paul Pace said that the authorities can send all the nurses supporting Joseph Pace to prison because they don’t mind. ‘We will go to prison with this guy.’ Calling the situation at the mental health institution a farce, he said that a new one has been promised for years. Mount Carmel is not adequate, he said, explaining how wards are being constantly closed down and that it is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

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Photo Source: MaltaToday

More than 75% of Maltese men are overweight, topping EU list

May 4 2022

Well over three-quarters of men living in Malta were found to be overweight, which is the highest rate in the 52 countries in the World Health Organisation’s European region.

The WHO published its European Regional Obesity Report for 2022, analysing different aspects of excessive weight in Europe and medical conditions linked to being obese or overweight.

Malta was followed by Israel after it registered just over 70% of its male population being overweight. Meanwhile, overweight women in Malta ranked at 60%, which is the second highest in the region.

Turkey registered the highest rate of overweight women at 70%, with the overweight rate also including persons considered obese. Malta has long topped the list as an epidemic of obesity hits the continent.

The World Obesity Federation, which was published in March, suggested that the problem is set to worsen, with over a third of the population being obese by 2030.

Over 45% of 11-year-olds are overweight in Malta, with 40% of the island’s 15-year-olds registering as overweight. Similar reports published in 2018 showed lower rates, signifying a worsening problem.

Figures for girls are lower than boys, but they are still considered some of the highest rates compared to the rest of thee region. 35% of 13-year-old girls were overweight, but the rates lowered as the age number increased.

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Unemployment in Malta remains lowest in Europe

May 4 2022

The rate of unemployment in Malta for the month of March in 2022 remains the lowest in all of Europe.

According to official statistics published by Eurostat, this trend continued to build on previous reports of low unemployment rates on the island in previous months.

Eurostat showed that Malta had an unemployment rate of 3%, with a decrease of around 1% over the rate of the same month from last year, 2021.

The rate of unemployment in Malta in March was lower than half the average of the European Union, which registered at 6.2%, and the European zone, which ranked at 6.8%.

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