World is sleep-walking to climate catastrophe warns UN chief

Mar 21 2022

A stark warning by UN chief Antonio Guterres was issued on Monday, saying that the world is ‘sleepwalking to climate catastrophe’.

Speaking at a sustainability conference in London, Guterres said that the planet saving goal of cutting global warming at 1.5 degrees celsius is already on life support.

If this goal is to be reached, the world requires a 45% drop in emissions by 2030 as well as carbon neutrality by the halfway point of the mid-century.

Even if nations were to honour the revised Paris Agreement pledges, emissions are still set to rise 14% before the decade ends. ‘If we continue with more of the same, we can kiss 1.5C goodbye’

This comes just hours before the International Panel on Climate Change kicks off a two-week meeting to confirm a report on options for reducing carbon pollution.

The report is expected to conclude that CO2 emissions must peak within a few years if the temperature targets are set to be met. The pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine, said Guterres, have been major stumbling blocks for the goal.

He also criticised the addiction to fossil fuels as madness and ‘mutually assured destruction.’ This is being heightened due to the war in Ukraine as countries rush to replace Russian oil and gas.

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A Naxxar road to have 400 new trees and 1000 bushes planted

Mar 21 2022

Around 400 trees and 1,000 bushes will be planted in the main road in Triq Margaret Murray Naxxar.

The road is situated between it-Telgħa ta’ Alla u Ommu till triq tal-Balal, and will see it getting a green makeover. The project was made possible via a €700,000 investment by Infrastructure Malta.

The course of the road is around 1,500 metres in length, with project architect Albert Spiteri explaining how this project is the first of its kind.

He said that this greening project will not remove any parking spaces or driving lanes but will see plants and trees cultivated in place of the central strips. The trees introduced will be indigenous to Malta.

They were specifically chosen to absorb as much carbon dioxide as possible. Infrastructure Malta also announced that it will be installing an automatic irrigation system.

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Jab for weight loss approved for use in Europe

Mar 21 2022

An injection which is being considered a game changing obesity drug has just been approved for use in EU countries.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) confirmed that the new drug called Wegovy has been green lit for use. It works by suppressing people’s appetites, leading to weight loss.

The EMA said that those who qualify for the jab will have ‘a BMI of 30 kg/m² or greater (obesity) or a BMI of at least 27 kg/m² but less than 30 kg/m² (overweight).’

People who have weight related health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal levels of fats in the blood, breathing problems during sleep called ‘obstructive sleep apnoea’ or a history of heart attacks, stroke or blood vessel problems will be eligible.

The jab would be injected once a week under the skin in the abdomen, thigh or upper arm. Only obtained via a prescription, the patients can administer the medicine themselves.

According to the EMA studies have shown that Wegovy is effective in helping people lose weight with a significant proportion of them achieving at least a 5% weight reduction.

As with every drug, the EMA highlighted that side effects are inevitable. Some of them include headaches, nausea, constitutions and even vomiting or diarrhoea. They may effect around 1 in 10 people.

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Tanker on its way to Anchor Bay as anchor has been cut

Mar 21 2022

Tanker Chem P, which veered dangerously close to the coast of Bahar ic-Caghaq on Saturday, is now making its way to be anchored off Anchor Bay.

Tvmnews.mt were informed that the tanker began moving towards the bay at 6am, assisted by two tugboats the Spinola and St Elmo.

The tanker has a 20-member Indian crew on board and swept into Maltese waters early on Saturday morning because of the storm and gale force winds.

As the wind calmed down to a Force 5 easterly wind, it was still possible to cut the anchor which was resting on the interconnected for the tanker to be towed. It is expected to arrive at Anchor Bay at 1pm today.

#MaltaDaily