Новости за 12.01.2021

A group of migrants who arrived in Malta illegally by boat in 2019 and last year have been returned to their country of origin, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Tuesday. It did not say how many people were involved but said the return operation was coordinated by the Malta Police Immigration Section. The ministry said the migrants' asylum applications were considered by the International Protection Agency but it established that they were not eligible for protection and there was no risk to them returning to their home country. Читать дальше...

The president of the national carnival association fears the festivity will be impacted for years to come by its cancellation for the first time since World War II. Due to the restrictions on group gatherings because of the pandemic, this year carnival will take the form of virtual activities and installations of static floats. Nadur's spontaneous carnival will also not be held this year. Speaking to Times of Malta about the historic decision to call off the festival, which dates back over 500 years... Читать дальше...

Andy Grech, the president of the Malta Amateur Athletics Association, is our guest for the fourth episode of our talks show Sports Talk. The newly-elected president of Athletics Malta discusses with Times of Malta Sports Editor Valhmor Camilleri the local governing body’s proposal to turn the Matthew Micallef St John Athletics track at Marsa into a world-class facility that will house among others wet and dry rehabilitation facilities, a sports science centre, physiotherapy areas and a state of the art weightlifting room. Читать дальше...

Italy's government is expected late on Tuesday to approve a plan to spend 220 billion euros in EU post-coronavirus aid -- but it risks imploding shortly afterwards. Former prime minister Matteo Renzi is widely expected to withdraw his small Italia Viva (IV) party from the ruling coalition, bringing weeks of sniping from the sidelines to a head. He has complained about Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has left almost 80,000 people dead in Italy, as well as his plan for spending the EU funds. Читать дальше...

Mobile devices are one of the greatest innovations that redefined many industries and had an equally great impact on our daily lives. Besides, the percentage of the population that owns a smartphone kept growing over the years, and today 48.53 per cent of the world's population has one.  So, it's safe to say that the advent of smartphones has changed how businesses operate from many different sectors. This article explains the changes that happened in four different industries, thanks to the increased usage of smartphones. Читать дальше...

Plans to build a block of apartments in Xagħra’s Urban Conservation Area have been refused by the Planning Authority, delighting an environmental activist group which is now pushing for the policy used to refuse the application to be legally enforceable for all projects.  The Planning Authority on Tuesday turned down the application to build the five-storey plus penthouse development, noting that it would be built within 50 metres of a Grade 1 scheduled windmill. In reaching its decision, the PA... Читать дальше...

The Malta Sustainability Forum, organised by APS Bank, is soon to be hosted over five days in a major online event featuring a superb line-up of local and international expert speakers. The hugely successful first edition of the Forum in 2019 offered a platform for some of the world’s experts to contribute to an open – and increasingly critical – dialogue regarding sustainability. To continue the momentum while ensuring the safety of speakers and attendees, the 2021 edition is set to be hosted online between January 25 and 29. Читать дальше...

A fight between two men, after hours of partying all the way from Birzebbugia to St Julian’s, landed one of them in court and the other in hospital with grievous injuries. Damir Milosavljevic, a 23-year old Serb living at Iklin, was taken to court on Tuesday, pleading not guilty to his alleged involvement in the fight with 46-year old Brian Caruana from Hamrun that broke out at around 11 on Sunday in Triq il-Kullegg l-Antik, St Julian’s. The court was told that an open-air party in a Birzebbuga field... Читать дальше...

A drunken man who allegedly stabbed a friend during a scuffle with bouncers outside a Gzira establishment on Sunday night, was denied bail on Tuesday. James Manfre’, 26, from Msida, had apparently one drink too many before being ordered out of a bar by security personnel on Triq ix-Xatt, Sliema at around 11.30pm. That was when the commotion erupted, prompting the alleged victim to intervene in an attempt to break up the brawl. An 18-year old teenager from Senglea, apparently a friend of the accused... Читать дальше...

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday called on the European Union to help source coronavirus vaccines, as he tries to stave off criticism for failing to secure any western-made jabs. "It is extremely important to get the vaccines," he said after holding talks with Moldova's newly elected president Maia Sandu, who is on her first foreign trip since becoming president in late 2020. Zelensky said the EU needed to "pay extra attention" to post-Soviet nations seeking to develop closer ties with... Читать дальше...

Donald Trump emerged from isolation at the White House on Tuesday to brand the likely second impeachment of his presidency "absolutely ridiculous" and warn that it has triggered "tremendous anger." Speaking as he boarded Marine One at the White House for a trip to Texas, Trump called his scheduled impeachment in the House of Representatives on Wednesday a "continuation of the greatest witch hunt in the history of politics." [attach id=1013310 type="video"][/attach] With only eight days left in his one-term administration... Читать дальше...

Last updated at 6.13 pm with Marlene Farrugia remarks.   A gender equality mechanism for parliament should not be restricted to only allow candidates from the two major political parties to be elected to the House, a Nationalist Party MP argued on Tuesday. “Gender equality should not stop with the election of just two parties to parliament,”  Nationalist MP Hermann Schiavone told the House as he proposed an amendment to a Bill moved on Monday. The Bill will add up to 12 seats to parliament if one... Читать дальше...

Thanks to technology advances in fields such as cryptography and the internet, we have witnessed the birth of so-called cryptocurrencies which are bringing about a radical change in the global economy in terms of how goods, services and other financial activities are exchanged. The term is composed of two words: crypto and currency. It is therefore a 'hidden' currency, in the sense that it is only visible by knowing a certain access key. They do not exist in physical form, but they are generated and exchanged exclusively by electronic means. Читать дальше...

Switzerland gave the green light Tuesday to the Moderna vaccine against the new coronavirus – after being the first country in continental Europe to start using the Pfizer-BioNTech jab. The Swissmedic regulatory authority said the Moderna vaccine had shown high efficacy and could be administered immediately to those aged 18 and over. The neighbouring European Union gave its approval to the US firm’s vaccine last Wednesday, followed by Britain on Friday. "Swissmedic has today temporarily authorised... Читать дальше...

Malta Freeport will commission two quay cranes worth €20million as part of its investment to maintain growth this year, Economic Services Minister Silvio Schembri was told during a visit on Tuesday. Total investment by the company this year would be a record €37 million, with €12 million going for an onshore power facility that will enable vessels to switch off their engines while berthed, thus considerably reducing harmful emissions.  Schembri praised the role which the freeport plays in the economy... Читать дальше...

America's Denis Kudla was told he had tested positive for the coronavirus mid-match at the Australian Open qualifying tournament -- and then sealed victory before going into quarantine. The fourth seed learned of the positive test when 5-3 up in the second set against Moroccan Elliot Benchetrit, but was allowed to complete the ninth game. Kudla, the world number 114, clinched the match 6-4, 6-3, but was then pulled out of the tournament and placed in hotel quarantine. "My opponent tested positive during the match... Читать дальше...

A man who disobeyed court orders by failing to turn up at the local police station to regularly sign the bail book has been jailed and has lost his €30,000 bail bond. Aidan Chircop, 26, of St Paul’s Bay, had been granted bail pending proceedings over a spate of car thefts that allegedly took place between January and March 2019. On being accused of breaching bail, he claimed that he had been medically certified as ill and thus unable to go to the police station to sign the bail book. He even had his doctor’s certificates to prove it... Читать дальше...

A married man has been acquitted of stealing his wife’s passport so that his girlfriend could use it to join him and his daughter on a week-long holiday in Belgium. Alturouq Ali Mohammed Ali, a 39-year old Libyan living in Malta, had his holiday cut short when Belgian police knocked at his hotel room last August, arresting both him and his lover after a report had reached the police in Malta from the man’s wife. The woman had turned up at the Hamrun police station in mid-August, claiming that her... Читать дальше...

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday urged the EU to adopt a “standardised” vaccination certificate to boost travel this year, his office said. “Persons who have been vaccinated should be free to travel,” Mitsotakis wrote to European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in a letter released by his office. “It is urgent to adopt a common understanding on how a vaccination certificate should be structured so as to be accepted in all member states,” the Greek PM said, calling for a “standardised certificate... Читать дальше...

Equities continued to march higher into the new year, and ahead of the start of the fourth quarter earnings season, which kicks off this week. Despite that new records of global COVID-19 cases and more severe restrictions were announced over the past weeks, cyclical sectors have benefitted from the reflationary trade. Vaccine optimism and expectations for further accommodative monetary and fiscal policies, have fuelled growth expectations, supporting the favourable market outlook for equities into the new year. Читать дальше...

Uganda's communications regulator on Tuesday ordered internet service providers to shut down social media and messaging applications, just two days before elections. In a letter seen by AFP, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) executive director Irene Sewankambo ordered telecommunications companies to "immediately suspend any access and use" of social media and online messaging platforms. An industry insider who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said that the order was first communicated... Читать дальше...

No carnival activities are being held in Nadur this year, the locality's local council said on Tuesday. It said it will not be holding any events, and will not issue permits for any activities. Rumours that there will be any carnival activity in the locality were baseless, it said. The council warned that no one should use the spontaneity of the Nadur Carnival as an excuse to meet or gather people in the locality. The police will be on hand to ensure that no law or directive issued by the health authorities is breached. Читать дальше...

Italy's government is expected Tuesday to approve a €220 billion coronavirus recovery spending package - and collapse shortly afterwards over a row on how to spend the money.  Former prime minister Matteo Renzi is widely expected to withdraw his small but pivotal Italy Alive (IV) party from the ruling centre-left coalition after complaining that the EU funds risked being wasted.  "The path is rather clear," a lawmaker from the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) told AFP, predicting that the two ministers... Читать дальше...

Well-known Gozitan tourism pioneer Lino Cefai has passed away at the age of 63. Cefai was renowned as the founder of the popular and the widely-acclaimed Ta’ Frenċ Restaurant and a director of Gozo Village Holidays, a pioneer in the Gozitan short-let sector. He is widely credited as being among the first to see the potential in renovating traditional old buildings in Gozo to cater for both domestic and overseas holiday-makers. The Gozo Tourism Association on behalf of the Gozitan touristic sector... Читать дальше...

Updated 1.40pm, adds death details A total of 240 new COVID-19 cases were detected between Monday and Tuesday as a new death was recorded. Tuesday's number is just slightly lower than the record 245 cases registered on Saturday. The new cases were detected from 3,354 swab tests. A total of 550,267 tests have been carried out so far, with 14,769 testing positive.  With 80 recoveries registered overnight, there are currently 2,519 active cases in Malta. In a statement in the afternoon, the health ministry... Читать дальше...