Новости за 08.01.2021

Amsterdam's ecologist mayor Femke Halsema on Friday proposed banning tourists from the Dutch city's famous cannabis "coffee shops". A large part of the rising number of tourists visiting Amsterdam every year were coming merely to consume the drug and such "cannabis tourists" had become a nuisance, Halsema told NOS public television. "Amsterdam is an international city and we wish to attract tourists, but we would like them to come for its richness, its beauty and its cultural institutions," she said. Читать дальше...

Netherlands defender Matthijs De Ligt has become the third Juventus player to test positive for coronavirus this week, the Italian champions said on Friday. De Ligt follows team-mates Alex Sandro and Juan Cuadrado in missing this weekend’s league match against Sassuolo as well as next Sunday’s trip to Inter Milan and January 20’s Italian Super Cup final with Napoli due to the illness. “Juventus Football Club announces that, during the checks provided for by the protocol in force, Matthijs De Ligt has emerged positive with Covid 19,” Juve said. Читать дальше...

Health authorities will have a better idea of whether new, more contagious variants of COVID-19 are spreading across Malta by the end of this week.  The UK and South Africa have recently detected variants of COVID-19, both of which have been found to be more contagious, spreading much quicker and resulting in greater spikes in numbers. So far in Malta, three cases of the UK variant have been detected. But this could all change in the coming days as further results from gene sequencing tests are expected by the end of the week... Читать дальше...

If there’s one thing that’s becoming more and more clear to me, it’s that people – on the whole – could not care less about cars. I mean, we all appreciate them for existing, but that’s also how we feel about washing machines – and I don’t see people queuing up to join the Zanussi JetSystem Owners’ Club. Which is why it’s refreshing when a car comes along that almost everyone – for better or worse – takes notice of. What’s even more surprising is that it’s taken the form of a small, five-door Honda. Читать дальше...

Unemployment in the eurozone fell slightly in November despite the continuing economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic, official data showed on Friday. The rate of unemployment dropped to 8.3 per cent in November, lower than the 8.4 per cent a month earlier, the EU data agency Eurostat said. The figure, however, was up from 7.4 per cent 12 months earlier, before a wave of lockdowns that pulled the plug on the European economy last spring. However, youth unemployment rose sharply in November to... Читать дальше...

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she spoke with the nation's top military leader about ensuring that an "unhinged" President Donald Trump does not launch a nuclear attack in his final days in office. The top Democrat in Congress said she talked with Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley "to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike." The extraordinary acknowledgement that... Читать дальше...

Local legal firm Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates has signed a collaboration deal with Andersen Global. The deal extends Andersen Global’s European coverage and opens up Malta as an investment destination, Chetcuti Cauchi founding partner Maria Chetcuti Cauchi said.   [attach id=1012074 size="medium" align="right" type="image"]Maria Chetcuti Cauchi. [/attach] “This collaboration means that Andersen Global can now provide their multinational companies and private clients access to Malta as an investment destination... Читать дальше...

An 81-year-old woman from Birkirkara was grievously injured in a traffic accident in Naxxar on Friday. The police said the accident happened in Triq Giuseppe Stivala at 3.30pm. The victim was a passenger in a Chevrolet Matiz that was being driven by a 54-year-old woman from Birkirkara. It was involved in a collision with a Mini Paceman that was being driven by a 53-year-old woman from Swieqi. The police are investigating.

Britain on Friday reported a record 1,325 deaths over a 24 period from people testing positive for coronavirus, as a surge in cases piled pressure on overstretched health services, forcing London to declare a major incident. The death toll eclipsed the previous worst of 1,224 recorded on April 21 during the height of the first wave last year, and brings the total number of deaths to 79,833. The grim milestone also saw another high of 68,053 new cases registered in the past day, nudging the overall... Читать дальше...

Updated 8.30pm, adds UPE statement All students will be heading back to school on Monday after a teachers' strike was called off after two days.  In a statement on Friday afternoon, the government said it had reached an agreement with the Malta Union of Teachers together with representatives from Church and independent schools.  The decision to reopen schools on Monday came after a meeting on Friday morning attended by the education authorities, the MUT, representatives from Church and independent... Читать дальше...

A commercial court in France on Thursday handed control of Alteo, a global leader in specialty alumina, to Guinea-based logistics specialist United Mining Supply (UMS). UMS was the last remaining candidate to take over Alteo’s production site near the southern city of Marseille, a year after it entered bankruptcy proceedings because of falling orders against the backdrop of a global crisis in the aluminium industry. Alumina is smelted to produce aluminium metal, but is also used as a raw material... Читать дальше...

Italy's highest court on Friday quashed the manslaughter conviction of the former head of the Italian railways over a freight train disaster that killed 32 people in 2009. It sent the case back to the appeals court, ordering new trials for rail chief Mauro Moretti and another top executive, Michele Mario Elia.  A freight train carrying liquid petroleum gas derailed and exploded on June 29, 2009, while transiting through the Tuscan seaside town of Viareggio. The force of the blast brought down two... Читать дальше...

Three migrants who tried to slip out of the country by hiding inside a shipping container on Thursday, landed behind bars on Friday.  Tarek Akutan Kitiel, 18, Djibrilf Adam, 18, and Nasreddin Salem, 29, all Sudanese nationals living at the Ħal Far open centre, were escorted to court under arrest, after being caught out at the Valletta Gateway Terminal at around midday.  The trio were charged with embarking a vessel without informing the immigration authorities, without the authorisation of the captain... Читать дальше...

A man with very poor eyesight and restricted mobility has denied firing a weapon during a heated argument at Cospicua on Wednesday.   Carmel Calleja, 55, had to be physically guided into the courtroom and to his place at the dock, during his arraignment on Friday. The man, who described himself as unemployed owing to his poor vision, pleaded not guilty to being in possession of a firearm whilst allegedly committing a crime against the person, firing the weapon in an inhabited area, breaching the peace... Читать дальше...

The government has set up the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority, an independent entity that will ensure the highest education standards are maintained.  Speaking at the authority's launch, Education Minister Justyne Caruana said the government is committed to ensure quality education.  "We are committed to providing access to quality education for all. This is a point which I don't mind stressing - inclusive education is a fundamental right of every boy and girl.  "Thanks to this authority... Читать дальше...

Tokyo Olympics organisers insisted Friday that the coronavirus-postponed Games will still go ahead despite Japan declaring a state of emergency less than 200 days before the opening ceremony. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday announced the month-long measure covering the greater Tokyo area, taking effect from Friday, as the country battles a surge in infections. Tokyo 2020 chiefs have already said another postponement of the Games — set to begin on July 23 -- is out of the question.   Continue reading this article on Sports Desk... Читать дальше...

Indian fashion designer Satya Paul, whose eponymous brand breathed life into the traditional sari, modernising the garment with funky prints, has died at 78, his family said. Born on February 2, 1942, he first made his mark in the world of fashion retail with the 1980 launch of L'Affaire, India's first sari boutique, before establishing his own label five years later. His pioneering designs blended Indian handloom techniques with a modern palette, producing saris adorned with polka dots, zebra prints and abstract motifs. Читать дальше...

US prosecutors have hit Boeing with $2.5 billion (€2 billion) in fines, settling a criminal charge over claims the company defrauded regulators overseeing the 737 MAX, which was grounded worldwide following two deadly crashes. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Boeing reached a deferred prosecution agreement related to the company’s pronouncements to regulators during the certification of the MAX, which was taken out of service for 20 months after the crashes and only recently cleared to return to the skies. Читать дальше...

Two power shutdowns are planned for the Malta International Airport for the coming week. The first shutdown will take place between 11pm on January 11 and 4am on January 12, while the second shutdown will take place on January 15 between midnight and 3am. These slots have been identified as the airport’s quietest times. The planned outages will enable MIA to conduct works as part of an electrical infrastructure upgrade. The company said in a statement on Friday that its investment in more modern... Читать дальше...

Maltese consumers buying goods from the UK are facing a set of complicated new charges because of the country’s exit from the EU’s single market. Like any other non-EU country, goods costing more than €22 may now be subject to VAT while customs duties might be added to some purchases over €150. There could also be a customs clearance fee, ranging from €5 to €18 depending on the price of the product and whether it is delivered through MaltaPost or another courier such as UPS or DHL. In an update on its website detailing the new changes... Читать дальше...

Some 4,400 people who live in 37 homes for the elderly, and frontliners at these residences, have started being vaccinated against COVID-19. The government said in a statement on Friday that the first residents to be inoculated against the virus are those aged over 85. Eventually, apart from the residents, some 2,000 staff members at homes run by the government, Church and private entities, will also be vaccinated. The vaccination programme, which started being rolled out at the Mellieħa home for the elderly on Friday... Читать дальше...

Hungary has extended partial lockdown measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus until February 1, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday. The measures – including a curfew between 8pm and 5am, a ban on gatherings, mandatory mask-wearing in public, and online tuition for high schools and universities – were brought in as part of a state of emergency in place since November 11.  “The (government's) operational taskforce has decided to extend the restrictions currently in place until... Читать дальше...

The organising committee for the eight centenary from the death of St Dominic, in collaboration with St Albert the Great College, is launching a new book written, illustrated and designed by Carlo Fenech.  The book, which is to be distributed in schools, is particularly targeted for young children, with a narrative that relates the life of the saint in an innovative and accessible manner.  The book launch will take place on Friday, January 8, at 11am, at the Dominican priory of Vittoriosa.  The event... Читать дальше...

State schools have not yet shifted online because of teachers’ resistance, Education Minister Justyne Caruana said on Friday, as a teachers’ strike entered its second day. The industrial action was called by the Malta Teachers’ Union after the government refused to move lessons online despite a spike in COVID-19 cases. Caruana skirted questions by Times of Malta on whether schools had the necessary infrastructure in place to shift lessons online overnight, as has been the case at Church and independent schools. Читать дальше...

Rundell Winchester has been released by Hibernians FC and will continue the season with Challenge League side Marsaxlokk, the Times of Malta understands. The Trinidad and Tobago forward had joined Hibernians in the summer after a successful debut season with Gudja United last term. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk, the sports website by Times of Malta