Sale of pastizzi to rise by 10c as ingredient costs soar

Apr 4 2022

The price of the popular and traditional Maltese snack, the pastizzi, will be rising by around 10c in most outlets. This is due to the cost of ingredients soaring.

The snack will be going up to 50c from 40c in various outlets as producers blamed the price of raw materials shooting up.

Cheddar cheese rose form €2.90 per kilo to €5.15 in just three weeks. A pastizzeria owner told Times of Malta that it is a take-it-or-leave-it situation as supply is very limited.

The increases are not just on one ingredient, as sunflower oil, which previously cost €1.70 per litre has now doubled to around €3.80 in just two days.

Among the causes being identified are Brexit as well as the Ukraine war, which is being seen as the final straw. Consumers have thus far been understanding, said many owners, as almost literally everything that can be bought is increasing in price.

However, other pastizzeria owners said that some customers were complaining, despite still buying the products. Prices in margarine, eggs and even chicken breast have been noted.

A 10kg box of margarine almost doubled from €11 to €20 whereas a box of canned catering-size tuna went up from €46 to €56 in a week. Producers cannot forecast when the increases will stop, with many attempting to stock up in fear of more trying times.

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3,000 UK workers to trial four-day work week in largest pilot

Apr 4 2022

Well over 3,000 workers spread over 60 companies across Britain will be trialing a four-day working week. This could be the biggest pilot scheme to take place anywhere in the world.

Employees from a wide variety of businesses and charities are expected to participate, running from June to December. Businesses include everything from brewing companies, the Royal Society of Biology, a fish and chip shop in Norfolk and a medical devices firm.

The scheme comes as the push for companies to adopt the method gains more momentum as a way of improving work conditions.

Academics from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, as well as US Boston College, will be running the pilot programme. This is a partnership with campaign group ‘4 Day Week Global’, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign and the Autonomy think tank.

The participation of 3,000 workers means it is larger than a previous pilot which occurred in Iceland which saw 2,500 workers taking part.

The research comes after the COVID pandemic led many people and companies to re-examine their working patterns due to a rise in hybrid work styles.

Chief executive of the 4 Day Week Global Joe O’Connor said that there was no way to turn the clock back to the pre-pandemic world. He said that, increasingly, managers are embracing a new model which focuses on quality of outputs and not quantity of hours.

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President hopeful Pope visit will leave spiritual and material joy

Apr 4 2022

President George Vella wrote that the hopes how the visit to Malta by Pope Francis will bring joy to the island that is both material and spiritual.

Thanking all those involved, on the behalf of his wife, the officials of the Office of the president, and himself, Vella deemed the papal visit a successful one. He highlighted the Organising Committee for preparing and impeccably carrying out such a detailed programme.

Thanking the law enforcement, cleaning services, decorating, lighting and all those involved at all levels, the President also thanked the media for extending the papal visit to those who could not physically participate.

He expressed hope that the visit of His Holiness will bring both material and spiritual joy so that ‘unity and peace may continue to flourish among us.’

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North Korea warns all out war if more ‘reckless remarks’ come from South

Apr 4 2022

The sister of North Korean despot Kim Jong-un, Kim Yo-jong, threatened to destroy major targets in Seoul after South Korea said its missiles could hit any target in North Korea. Tensions seem to be ramping up following a series of North Korean ballistic missile tests, with the dictator’s sister lashing out and saying that ‘South Korea should discipline itself it it wants to stave off disaster.

The South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, has been working towards reconciliation cross the peninsula, but this could all go astray after the weapons tests in Pyongyang. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeo will be taking office next month, and has earlier spoken in support of pre-emptive strikes, meaning more tension between the two countries. The South Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook visited the country’s strategic missile command, speaking about its ability to launch pre-emptive strikes on the North in the event of an imminent attack.

The comments by Wook were considered quite unusual, with the North Korean dictator’s sister going on to describe the defence minister as ‘scum’ for discussing such strikes.

In a statement, she said that ‘the senseless and scum-like guy dare mention a pre-emptive strike at a nuclear weapons state. South Korea may face a serious threat owing to the reckless remarks made by its defence minister.’ Kim is the vice department director of the central committee of the Worker’s Party of Korea, and is in charge of relations with Seoul and Washington.

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