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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 AUGUST 2017 11 News JAMES DEBONO A preliminary study published in the Malta Journal of Health Sciences in- dicates that girls attending Church schools have a significantly larger waist circumference, than boys in all types of schools and kids of both gen- ders attending State and independ- ent schools. The study hints that this may be related to high intakes of sugars among girls in gen- eral, and lower amounts of physical activity among girls attending Church schools. The study was based on measurements and diaries recording the food intake and daily activities of 66 kids aged 5 to 6. The authors have recommended that the amount of physical activity children carry out in different school-types be addressed, especially at this particular age, "due to its apparent important contribution to weight status" Children in independent schools were the most likely to engage in more physical activ- ity and screen time, as compared to children in other schools. Shorter school days at this age in inde- pendent schools were seen as one reason for large amounts of screen time due to in- creased free time. Conversely, children in church schools en- gaged in the least amount of physical activity during after-school hours and at the week- end. A dietary assessment in this study showed a higher intake of protein and carbohydrates in boys when compared to girls, with girls exhibiting a larger intake of total fats, satu- rated fats and a significantly higher intake of NMES (non-milk sugars) NMES intake is seen as one pos- sible contributing factor to child- hood obesity. Physical activity has a "pro- tective effect" neutralising high sugar intakes. On the other hand sedentary behaviour and fat in- take do not appear to be risk fac- tors for obesity at this age. The study is based on measure- ments of children and parents collected in 2015. Lifestyle factors were assessed through food and activity diaries. A total of 66 chil- dren participated in the study. The study was written by Roberta Zarb Adami, Petra Jones, Liberato Camilleri, and Claire Sillato Copperstone. The authors ac- knowledged that further studies based on larger sample sizes are needed to extensively investigate obesity in this age group on the basis of which policy recommendations can be made. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Malta touted as distributor for massive Sahara desert solar energy plant MATTHEW VELLA ONE of the most ambitious solar plant projects taking root right in the Sahara desert's vast resources of sunshine, could power Europe for years. A Malta-backed project this week filed a permit request to the Tunisian energy ministry to build a 4.5GW capacity so- lar farm in the southwest of the country, near Rjim Maatoug, following the failure of the €400 billion Desertec initiative due to political instability in the region. The electricity generated will be destined for Europe, with ca- bles under the sea to Malta, Italy and France. TuNur chief executive Kevin Sara said that a first 250MW phase, with a connection to Malta, could be running by 2020, for an estimated €1.6 bil- lion investment. TuNur's chairman is Joseph Zammit, chairman of the Zam- mit Group, which is also active in the importation of automo- biles, shipping, and oil and gas industries. TuNur plans to use concen- trated solar power technology, which works by reflecting the sun's rays onto a central tower from an array of mirrors. Using molten salt to store the energy, it will flex generation to meet variable demand. The initial 250MW plant would already be one of the largest thermal solar facilities on earth. If fully realised, the develop- ment would cover 25,000 hec- tares, nearly three times the area of Manhattan. Three HVDC submarine cable systems are under development, which will allow the transport of power to Europe with low losses. The first cable links Tunisia and Malta, as Malta is already connected to the European grid, reinforcing the island's position as an "energy hub" in the centre of the Mediterranean. The second cable will link Tunisia to central Italy, with a shoring point north of Rome. A third cable is under study and will link Tunisia directly to the south of France. Sara says the economics of the project are compelling: "The site in the Sahara receives twice as much solar energy compared to sites in central Europe. So for the same investment, we can produce twice as much electric- ity. In a subsidy-free world, we will always be a low-cost pro- ducer, even when transmission costs are factored in." Sara has said that there are still political hurdles, having lobbied hard to get provision for exports included in clean energy laws, against resistance from the Tu- nisian state electricity monopo- ly. This is its first test case. The TuNur project is 50% owned by UK-based company Nur Energie and 50% owned by investors from Tunisia (Cherif Ben Cherifa) and Malta's Zam- mit Group. Large-scale solar projects in the Sahara, such as the failed De- sertec initiative, have been billed as excellent opportunities to lower the price of energy genera- tion and fulfil climate commit- ments for oil-thirsty economies. The Saharan desert land is in- expensive and mostly unused. According to UC Berkley's Prof. Mehran Moaelem, a nuclear en- ergy expert, just 1.2% of the Af- rican Sahara would be needed to replace all forms of energy pro- duction in the world. But some critics have argued that solar farms in the desert also are aimed at sustaining Europe's extraordinary energy needs. In 2015, Algerian activist Hamza Hamoucehene accused propo- nents of the Desertec initiative of neo-colonialism. "The Sahara is described as a vast empty land, sparsely popu- lated; constituting a golden op- portunity to provide Europe with electricity so it can continue its extravagant consumerist life- style and profligate energy con- sumption," he wrote in The New Internationalist. "This is the same language used by colonial powers to justi- fy their civilizing mission and, as an African myself, I cannot help but be very suspicious of such megaprojects and their 'well-in- tentioned' motives that are often sugar-coating brutal exploita- tion and sheer robbery." Church school kids' waists suffer effects of lower physical activity BITMALTA'S REBUTTAL Money may be lost on the exchange platform It is a well-known practice among cryptocurrency holders that funds are best stored on a local PC rather than on an exchange. One of the primary breakthroughs brought about by cryptocurrencies is that they remove the need for any middlemen in transactions, and exchanges should only serve as a temporary means of storage for active trades. Money may also be lost on any other website where you store e-money. Money may be stolen from your digital wallet Facebook accounts can also be hacked, and your very identity may be stolen, and anything else connected to the Internet is prone to external attacks. Your data is only as secure as you want it to be, and cryptocurrencies are simply another form of data which is stored onto your computer. If you store your cryptocurrencies on a PC with no security measures in place, then you will be subject to third party attacks. You are not protected when using virtual currencies as a means of payment You are not protected even when making payment in cash. If you use cryptocurrencies on a reputable website with integrated consumer protection, the applicable risk is the same as for any other means of payment. The value of virtual currency can change quickly, and could even drop to zero The value of cryptocurrencies is mostly determined through demand and supply, with some cryptocurrencies pegging their value to that of other currencies or commodities. Well- established cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have experienced less volatility as their adoption rate increases. Transactions in virtual currency may be misused for criminal activities The same applies to an even greater extent to transactions in fiat currencies. Cryptocurrencies in fact rank very low indeed when it comes to use by terrorists since they utilise a public ledger system through which transactions can be tracked, making them a poor choice for money laundering. If anything, blockchain technologies allow for a paradigm shift in AML measures as they allow for a much more transparent system than the traditional ones. riors of the need to be the guiding voice in this sector. Perhaps, some wondered, it was no sur- prise that Schembri visited the MFSA this week to launch a consultation document on the restructuring of the authority and a revision of its functions and role. A dietary assessment showed a higher intake of protein and carbohydrates in boys when compared to girls, with girls exhibiting a larger intake of total fats, saturated fats and a significantly higher intake of non-milk sugars A game-changer in energy that draws its power from the sun Three HVDC submarine cable systems are under development, which will allow the transport of power to Europe Gemasolar solar plant in Spain