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Global helium shortage could hit local hospitals

October 25, 2019, 12:48 am
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Helium is used to cool magnets in MRI scanners.

The ongoing helium crisis could potentially affect Malta’s hospitals as early as next year. The gas is used to cool magnets in MRI scanners and to treat respiratory ailments such as asthma and emphysema. But global stocks are running low and suppliers in Malta are grappling to get their hands on any helium available. When asked what the government is doing to plan ahead, Health Minister Chris Fearne said: “We know there is a shortage, not only locally but also abroad. We have no problem with our supply in Mater Dei, we have enough. “As in all cases of shortages when it comes to medicine we will look at other sources so that we can continue providing the services needed.” It is unknown exactly how much helium is left in the world but it is estimated to last between 10 and 30 years – with the entire supply coming from just 14 sites. So far, it has always been found by accident when miners have drilled for gas in places like the United States, Algeria, Qatar and Russia. And while a new discovery has been made in Tanzania, it is yet unknown if it will be enough to resolve the global crisis. About a third of all helium is used in medical instruments, with industrial applications...
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Secret video club gives respite to gay men in Cameroon

October 25, 2019, 12:52 am
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The club is secret. You have to know someone who will guide you to the address - off a busy street in Cameroon's capital, down a dingy alley to a door with the unwelcoming message in chalk: "No entry". Inside is a rectangular room, dark and humid. The flickering light of a video screen illuminates faces of young men sitting on benches - members of a video club catering exclusively for gay men, a haven in a society where it is perilous to be same-sex attracted. "We opened this place in 2016 to give young people somewhere where they can just breathe for a while," says Jean-Pierre, 51, the founder of the club, who prefers not to give his full name. "In the afternoon, we show documentaries about the gay community, with comedy series in the evening and later in the night, films of a sexual nature," he explains. [attach id=782889 type="video"][/attach] Maxime, 30, and his companion come several times a week. "It's vital to be able to find our own kind, to talk with people who are like you, who understand you." When his family rejected him, Maxime found refuge at Jean-Pierre's club. "I lived in this room for nine months, I had no place else to go," he says. On another bench, a young...
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Pop-up show

October 25, 2019, 1:03 am
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A new artist network titled Momentum is organising a series of art events for specific sites. By questioning the architecture but also the geographical, social and cultural data of the place, a group of artists will experiment and work on a site in order to carry out ephemeral and in-situ interventions. For its first edition, Momentum has been invited by architect Lorenzo de Ninno to intervene in Casa Lucrezia, a house in Senglea which is being transformed for a pop-up exhibition this weekend. The artists taking part are Aidan Celeste, Alberto Favaro, Cyril Sancereau and Sandra Zaffarese. Casa Lucrezia is found in Triq Sant’Anġlu, Senglea. The event will open with a reception today from 7 to 10pm. The exhibition is open tomorrow from 3 to 7pm and on Sunday, from 2 to 6pm.
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Johnson hopeful as Brexit looms

October 25, 2019, 1:16 am
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The House of Commons in session. Photo: AFP

Following a June 2016 referendum, in which 51.9% of the electorate voted to leave, the UK government formally announced the country's withdrawal in March 2017, initiating a two-year process, due to be concluded on 29 March 2019. In spite of the pre-set timeframe, negotiations took longer than expected. A long agonising struggle, which amongst other consequences, resulted in; a damaged political system, weakened economy, and an appalling reputation. In the process, the UK parliament voted thrice against the negotiated withdrawal agreement and extended the deadline twice, with possibly further extensions following the experienced setbacks this week. This undoubtedly causing economic and political turbulence in the process.   Brexit instigating economic uncertainty Consequent to the prolonged discussions between the UK government and the European Union, economic uncertainty amplified. In fact, since the UK’s formal announcement, and subsequent discussions, we have been witnessing a succession of negative overall Index scores, with an overall downward trend. Notably, due to this ongoing uncertainty, the UK’s services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), amongst other indicators,...
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Picture of oil-stained Brazilian boy goes viral

October 25, 2019, 9:47 pm
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Photo: AFP

A boy walks ashore in Brazil in filthy waist-high water with a look of exasperation and his body smeared in oil, a photographer takes a shot, and the image goes viral. On October 21, an AFP stringer at Itapuama beach in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, in Pernambuco state, snapped the picture as the child emerged from the oil pollution that has been spreading along the coast of northeast Brazil for nearly two months. Everton Miguel dos Anjos, 13, along with four brothers and several cousins, had joined hundreds of volunteers that day who were trying to clean the beach and scrub oil off rocks on the shore. He waded into the water wearing a T-shirt but took it off when he saw how dirty he was getting. Then he fashioned a sort of tunic out of a plastic garbage bag. Dos Anjos told the photographer that his mother scolded him when she saw the pictures, which were published by major news organisations around the world. "I had asked her permission to help clean the beach and she said yes, so long as I did not get dirty," the boy said. Four days after the photo was taken, not much oil remained on the beach. The army had taken over the clean-up operation, and children were no longer allowed to...
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Our active farmers, a year on - Malcolm Borg

October 25, 2019, 9:48 pm
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Putting imported produce in green boxes used by local farmers cheats consumers into thinking they are buying local.

To take stock: this has been the major objective of Għaqda Bdiewa Attivi  during this past year. The agricultural sector is replete with ambiguities and discordant elements. The farmer has always been in the middle of a plethora of legal nuances, policies, strategies and departmental initiatives. Hence, the GħBA found itself dead in the middle of a cacophony of farmer needs and existing or planned fundamental hurdles to the way the sector should operate. The reform in the agricultural land leases legislation was one major issue that was tackled. From the get-go, the organisation insisted on the need for active farmers to have stronger entitlement over their land and to ensure that arable land is passed on to genuine farmers. The absolute majority of farmers have some issue or another related to such cases. The organisation’s flagging of such issues with the board recommending transfers of agricultural land within the Lands Authority is allowing the GħBA to inform and assist farmers better in their efforts to attain stronger titles over the land. The organisation has also been asked to assist in cases where farmers were legally challenged by their land’s private owner – an...
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Heavy rains trigger landslide in Japan, killing nine

October 25, 2019, 9:53 pm
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Trees are dragged along a flooded river after heavy rain in Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture. Photo: AFP

Rescuers worked by hand to clear debris from a landslide triggered by heavy rains in central Japan on Saturday, as the toll from the storms rose to 10 dead with a further three people reportedly missing. Aerial footage showed emergency workers removing wreckage from two houses that were swept away in Chiba, southeast of Tokyo, just two weeks after a deadly typhoon barrelled through the area. Nine people were killed by landslides and floods in the region, including two elderly men found dead in submerged cars, officials and news reports said. A woman in her 40s was found dead near the coast in eastern Fukushima, according to a fire department official. Police divers were deployed to search for those unaccounted for, with public broadcaster NHK putting the number of missing at three. Thousands of people were forced to spend the night in Narita airport after train services were suspended, it added. "Water was flowing in my garden like a river," a 75-year-old man told NHK. "Rain was heavier than during the typhoon." Two weeks ago, Typhoon Hagibis slammed into the east coast of Japan, killing more than 80 people. Many river banks and levees that were breached during Hagibis have yet...
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RSM Malta celebrates International RSM World Day

October 25, 2019, 9:54 pm
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The winning team of RSM Malta’s Mdina Treasure Hunt, which was part of the company’s International World Day celebrations.

RSM Malta celebrated its annual International RSM World Day on October 3 with a full day packed with activities, with the highlights being a treasure hunt and a reception in Mdina for its employees. The theme of the sixth edition of the RSM World Day was ‘The Bigger Picture’ whereby employees were encouraged to embrace the key element of RSM’s global strategy, which is to empower and develop its people so that they can serve its clients in increasingly innovative and complex ways. The day kicked off with a series of talks for all RSM Malta employees. Following lunch, all employees were split into 17 teams and participated in an interactive treasure hunt in Mdina. All teams had to scour the city for the clever fact-finding clues. At the end of the treasure hunt, the winners were announced at a reception held at the nearby Il-Veduta restaurant. “We are proud to form part of RSM International, and the annual RSM World Day is a great occasion for us to see the ‘bigger picture’ and understand who we are and what value we give to our clients and shareholders. The day served also to reinforce in practice our values of respect, integrity, teamwork, excellence and stewardship. This day...
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Don’t calm down. Stay mad - Alessandra Dee Crespo

October 25, 2019, 10:09 pm
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Camping outside Castille two years ago to the day, protesting the impunity surrounding the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.  Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Raise your hand if you are a woman reading this and you have been either talked over, interrupted, or shut down while speaking to a man. How many times were you called hysterical or told to ‘calm down, dear’ (I’m looking at you, David Cameron), just because you have a point of view and are not afraid to air it? This week, we were regaled with the disgraceful spectacle of supposedly liberal and progressive news websites referring to Kristina Chetcuti, a columnist of this newspaper and book editor, as ‘Simon Busuttil’s partner’ or ‘former PN leader’s partner’. I kept shouting: ‘Her name is Kristina Chetcuti’, the same way I shout ‘Her name is Daphne Caruana Galizia’ whenever I see her acronym written anywhere. It is not easy being a woman in Malta, and worse, it is not easy being a woman with an opinion. It sometimes becomes dangerous in Malta if you are a woman with an opinion and will not shut up on demand. This is a universal phenomenon but it is even more pronounced here because our Maltese culture considers women only in reference to the men in their lives. You know how conditioned you are to think in this way when you are still bemused when a woman does not take the...
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Rats and cramped conditions: life inside the Ħal Far open centre

October 25, 2019, 10:13 pm
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A child plays in an open area outside containers that serve as accommodation inside the Ħal Far open centre in September 2014. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Concerns about poor hygiene, sever overcrowding and rat and cockroach infestations were all flagged in a report about the “extremely challenging” conditions at an open centre in Ħal Far. The account by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, published earlier this year, paints a bleak picture of living conditions in the island’s main hosting centre for asylum seekers. It sheds light on life inside the centre which was wrecked by a riot on Sunday night. A visit to the centre the morning after Sunday’s riot exposed urine-soaked passageways between housing units, and garbage and vermin throughout the complex.  [attach id=782412 type="video"]A desolate-looking centre on Monday morning, hours after the riots. Video: Ivan Martin [/attach] The report also says that the location of most centres, in a remote area of Malta, left migrants isolated. According to NGOs regularly visiting the centres, the situation has not improved for years and the living conditions in the reception centres remain deplorable, especially in Ħal Far. Residents complain that the units they sleep in are inadequately insulated, leaving them hot in the summer and cold in winter. The report criticised the poor...
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Today's front pages - October 26, 2019

October 25, 2019, 10:24 pm
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These are the news items making headlines in Saturday’s local newspapers.  Times of Malta highlights results of EY’s annual Attractiveness Survey, which found that many foreign investors were happy with Malta but that trust in regulatory stability remained low.  The newspaper also reports that EpiPens, which are used to treat severe allergic reactions, are out of stock.  The Malta Independent also reports on the EY Attractiveness survey results, saying 77% of foreign investors believe Malta is attractive.  The newspaper also gives prominence to an interview with MP Alex Muscat and Opposition spokesman Justin Schembri, who were asked about Malta’s Individual Investor Program.  L-Orizzont leads with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s warning, made during Friday’s EY event, that anti-foreigner rhetoric was anti-business.   The newspaper also quotes Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia, who told the paper that hate speech comments posted following a riot at the Ħal Far open centre showed “ignorance”.  In-Nazzjon gives front page prominence to PN leader Adrian Delia’s interview at the EY event, during which he warned that Malta needed to bolster its reputation if it was to attract...
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Quad bike driver hurt in Luqa crash

October 25, 2019, 10:25 pm
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The quad bike overturned on the road, the police said. This is a stock photo. Photo: Shutterstock

A Ħamrun man was seriously hurt on Friday night when he lost control of a quad bike and crashed in Luqa.  The 64-year-old was driving a Moto-Roma ATV-150S on Triq San Tumas at around 10.30pm when the vehicle flipped over and crashed.  A 20-year-old woman who was riding pillion on the quad bike was also slightly hurt in the incident.  Both the driver and his passenger were taken to Mater Dei Hospital by ambulance. Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia is leading an inquiry into the case. 
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French comic opera Manon screened live from New York

October 25, 2019, 10:28 pm
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The cast of Manon

Spazju Kreattiv is showing a live broadcast of Manon, the opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet, which is being staged by New York’s Met Opera. Manon’s story − from innocent country girl to celebrated courtesan to destitute prisoner− is one of the great tragic tales in literature and music. In Laurent Pelly’s revealing production, Lisette Oropesa stars as the title character, the tragic beauty who yearns for the finer things in life, while Michael Fabiano is the besotted Chevalier des Grieux, whose desperate love for Manon proves their undoing. Maurizio Benini conducts Massenet’s sensual score. The screening of the opera (255 minutes long) is taking place today at the Spazju Kreattiv Cinema at 6.55pm. For tickets, log on to www.kreattiva.org or call 2122 3200.
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Opera House roof is not the answer

October 25, 2019, 10:30 pm
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During the Budget speech a fortnight ago, the Minister for Finance, Edward Scicluna, pulled a rabbit out of the hat by announcing that a possible revision of the current opera house site might be considered in the light of responses to a consultation process which is now under way. Given the chequered history of this site over the last 77 years since it was heavily bombed during the Second World War and the inability of successive administrations to agree on what should happen to it, this promises to be an interesting discussion. When Renzo Piano was asked to include the open-air theatre, he envisaged it as part of a social space: when events were not being held there it would function as an open pjazza. It also served to mitigate the strong backlash that Lawrence Gonzi was facing from a significant body of public opinion which viewed the building of the new parliament at the entrance to Valletta as an insult. They wished to see the old Royal Opera House re-built on the site. Time has proved a great healer and the whole City Gate site – including the parliament, which is now admired as an outstanding, indeed ‘iconic’, building which merges the new with the old; the Triton...
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How daylight saving time can mess with financial markets

October 25, 2019, 11:09 pm
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Photo: Shutterstock

A number of studies show that daylight savings time harms people’s decision making processes due to the disturbance it has on their circadian rhythm or body clock. For example, research finds that people experience more pronounced mood swings shortly after daylight saving time ends. After daylight saving time is introduced there are more car accidents and more people tend to experience health complications. It turns out that the clock change can also have an effect on financial markets. In my research I’ve found that investor decision making is affected following clock changes. Looking at the stock performance of companies targeted for mergers in the wake of the merger being announced, I found that stocks in these companies on average went up more than normal and were more volatile the first trading day after clock changes. After all, even professional investors are human and daylight saving time influences their decisions as much as anyone else’s, regardless of their qualifications and experience. Read more: Daylight savings is linked to injuries and heart attacks, is it time to scrap it? Daylight saving time is used by a number of countries including the US, UK and...
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An Italian’s real-life tale

October 25, 2019, 11:13 pm
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As part of the Week of the Italian Language in the World, the Italian Cultural Institute is today staging Come un Granello di Sabbia (Like a Grain of Sand), written and directed by Salvatore Arena and Massimo Barilla of theatre company Mana Chuma Teatro. The plot is based on the real-life story of Giuseppe Gulotta, a young construction worker, who at the age of 18 was arrested and forced to confess to the murder of two policemen in Alcamo, a small barracks in the province of Trapani, Sicily. The crime hid an unspeakable mystery: secret services and statesmen who deal with neo-fascist groups, arms trafficking and drugs. In order to cover up the silence, any scapegoat would do. Gulotta spent 22 years locked up in jail for a crime he did not commit and 36 years of legal hell. The contemporary theatre company is mainly engaged in social theatre and new dramaturgy. Its latest performance, Come un granello di sabia, was among the winners of the prestigious Premio Selezione In-box 2016. This performance is the last chapter of the quadrilogy A Sud della Memoria that Mana Chuma has devoted to the recent history of southern Italy.  The play is being staged through a collaboration with...
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What happened on... October 26

October 25, 2019, 11:15 pm
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The front pages of Times of Malta from 50, 25 and 10 years ago.  Become a Times of Malta premium member to gain full access to our archive dating back to January 1930.
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Nurses hoping for €5 alternative to two free canteen meals a day

October 25, 2019, 11:28 pm
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The MUMN said it had been heavily criticised by its members for not doing anything about the poor quality of food they were given at the hospital canteen.

Nurses and other staff at Mater Dei Hospital will be able to opt for a food allowance at the hospital if negotiations underway between the Health Ministry and the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) conclude successfully. According to the president of the union, Paul Pace, the directives were suspended in the hope of an agreement coming into effect on January 1. As part of the arrangement, nurses would have the choice to receive a daily food allowance of approximately €5 instead of the twice-daily meals they are offered at the hospital. Mr Pace said the possibility of individual nurses and staff members reverting back to the free meals system every six months was also discussed in the negotiations. Earlier this month, a number of operations were postponed at Mater Dei as nurses took part in partial strike action in protest at the quality of food they were being offered while on duty. Nurses were instructed not to accompany patients into operating theatres by the MUMN, which was demanding meal allowances as an alternative to food offered at the canteen. Mr Pace said this allowance worked out to roughly the same amount of money the caterers were being paid per client in...
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Temperatures hit highs of 39.6°C in summer 2019

October 26, 2019, 12:11 am
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People sunbathe beneath umbrellas at Għadira Bay, Mellieħa. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Temperatures rose to a maximum of 39.6 degrees Celcius during this past summer, with sea temperatures higher than average for every summer month.  Data collected by the Malta International Airport shows that the Maltese islands basked in a monthly average of 325 hours of summer sunshine during the season.  The brightest days were in August, with August 18 and 19 clocking up 13.2 hours of sunshine each.  The same could not be said of September 10, which registered just 0.1 hours – six minutes – of sunshine.  Temperatures hit seasonal highs during a heatwave between July 8 and 10. Sea temperatures reached their highest average in August, at 27.3 degrees Celcius.  Summer began on blistering note, with June going down on record as the hottest one in Malta since 1923.  September got off on a wet note, with five thunderstorms in its first 11 days. In total, 31.7mm of rain fell on Malta that month, with 12.2mm of that pouring down on September 10, making it both the wettest and gloomiest day of summer.  Summer 2019 by the numbers Highest temperature – 39.6°C (July 8-10)Lowest temperature – 18.5°C Brightest days – 13.2 hours of sunshine (August 18, 19) Gloomiest day – 0.1 hours of...
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A hawk in a sky of doves

October 26, 2019, 12:17 am
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Global growth projections have been diminished in recent weeks as economists are considering the repercussions of trade uncertainty, the rise in geopolitical tensions as well as deteriorating economic data. With these events in mind, the International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast to a decade low of three per cent while Germany slashed its economic outlook for 2020. In this context, moribund macro data could affect the investors in a negative way. This difficult environment could generate pressure on business sentiment. It will force companies to keep on hold or cancel new projects. As a consequence, it could initiate a negative downside for asset prices. In order to counteract this trend, central bankers have limited options. In the past years, the best option was that of interest rate cuts combined with unconventional monetary policy also known as quantitative easing. However, many economists and central bankers have raised the question of whether accommodative policy alone is sufficient or not. They argue that fiscal measures should be implemented by governments to incentivise and support growth. In his latest statement European Central Bank president Mario...
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