Новости за 14.01.2021

Sergeant William John ‘Bill’ Timms was one of the early Hurricane pilots who was sent to Malta in August 1940. He formerly served with No.43 Squadron. During the Norwegian Campaign, he and other pilots were posted to Hatston, in the Orkneys, an archipelago off Scotland, with the intention of flying Sea Gladiators of No. 263 Squadron and Hurricanes of No. 46 Squadron onto HMS Furious for transfer to Norway. However, he and his friends arrived late, for the Hurricanes had been hoisted aboard from lighters... Читать дальше...

The French government will impose a daily nationwide curfew at 6 pm starting Saturday to fight the spread of Covid-19, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday. The measure will remain in force for at least two weeks, Castex told a news conference. Except for emergency services, all services and shops will have to close at that time, he said. "The virus is still spreading actively," Castex said. Up to now, most of France has been under an 8:00 pm curfew, with some parts of the country, especially in the hard-hit east... Читать дальше...

Malta starlet Haley Bugeja and her Sassuolo will be involved in a high-profile encounter in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia Femminile after drawing Milan. Sassuolo topped their first round group ahead of fellow Serie A sides Napoli and Pontedera, of Serie B with Bugeja making a camero appearance against the Partenopei. The Rossonere will host the first leg on January 30 or January 31 while the second leg is scheduled for February 13 or 14. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was battling Thursday to keep his government afloat after a junior coalition partner pulled out, sparking a political crisis in the middle of a raging pandemic. A day after former premier Matteo Renzi withdrew his Italia Viva party, depriving the government of its parliamentary majority, the key remaining coalition members rushed to support Conte. The populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) vented their outrage at Renzi and... Читать дальше...

modl.ai, a University of Malta start-up that delivers artificial intelligence tools for video game studios, is opening doors to new talent and partners.  Led by co-founder Georgios N. Yannakakis and senior AI engineer Daniele Gravina, modl.ai has a large contingent of Institute of Digital Games researchers. It said it is working towards exciting collaborations, such as with Malta Enterprise. Commenting on what lies ahead, Kurt Farrugia, CEO of Malta Enterprise, said: “Malta Enterprise considers both... Читать дальше...

Gavin Gulia’s election to parliament and his resignation from the House minutes after being sworn in were not pre-arranged, according to Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who came a close second in Tuesday's casual election. “I have my reasons to believe that it was not pre-arranged. Having said that, I am not privy to the discussions held between my old friend Gavin and Prime Minister Abela,” Pullicino Orlando told Times of Malta.  Guliaresigned from parliament on Wednesday afternoon, moments after being sworn in... Читать дальше...

Just think about coming home after a long day of work to a warm, cooked meal and all the dishes are then washed too. Now imagine that all the preparation, cooking and clearing up was carried out by a fully robotic kitchen that has up to 5,000 recipes to choose from. What used to be a wild dream before is now a reality and it’s partly down to a Maltese chef. Nicole Pisani is one of 10 chefs designing meals for Moley Robotics, the world’s first robotic kitchen that cooks and cleans and doesn’t complain about it afterwards. Читать дальше...

A moratorium on repayment of bank loans by borrowers affected by the COVID-19 slowdown will be extended for a further nine months, according to a legal notice published today.  Under the scheme, borrowers are allowed to request from their lender a pause in repayments. Borrowers have until March 31 to apply for the extension.  It applies to credit facilities sanctioned prior to March 1, 2020 – to individuals, households or businesses which can show that they were negatively affected by the COVID-19 economic slowdown. Читать дальше...

Russia's prison service said on Thursday it was "obliged" to detain Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny who has said he plans to return to Moscow from Germany on Sunday. Navalny has been in Germany since late August after he collapsed on a flight from Siberia to Moscow and was flown to Berlin by medical aircraft.  Western countries say the 44-year-old opposition leader was poisoned with the Soviet-designed nerve toxin Novichok. The anti-graft campaigner and his allies accuse Russian authorities of doing everything to force Navalny into exile. Читать дальше...

The MSE Equity Price Index trended higher for the third consecutive day on Thursday as it added a further 0.13% to 4,040.011 points. The uplift was due to the positive performances of MIA and HSBC which outweighed the declines in the share prices of BOV, Mapfre Middlesea and Tigné Mall whilst RS2, Malita and MPC closed unchanged. Overall trading activity remained muted as only €0.12 million worth of shares changed hands. Malta International Airport plc added 0.8% to regain the €6.15 level across 6,323 shares. Читать дальше...

The Nationalist Party has called for greater government transparency on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout after concerns by private homes for the elderly about the process being slow. In a statement, the party said that contrary to other countries, the Maltese government had not indicated who is responsible for the rollout. It was also not clear if the process was being coordinated by Mater Dei Hospital, the Health Department or the Ministry of Health. It was also unclear how many vaccine consignments had been received... Читать дальше...

High-flying Premier League side Mosta are set to reinforce their squad with the arrival of Venezuelan midfielder Kenny Romero, the Times of Malta can reveal. Romero, 25, was recently on the books of Venezuela club Aragua FC with whom he played 28 times, registering one assist in the process. At Aragua, Romero also played in the Copa Sudamericana, which is equivalent to the UEFA Europa League. Previously, Romero also played in the Copa Libertadores with Zuila of Venezuela in a 2-1 defeat to Brazil’s Chapecoense. Читать дальше...

Germany’s economy suffered its biggest contraction last year since the 2009 financial crash, as it was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, official data showed on Thursday. Output shrank 5.0 per cent year-on-year, as “almost all economic sectors were markedly affected by the corona pandemic”, the federal statistics agency Destatis said. The downturn ended 10 years of growth, Destatis added, though its figure was better than the government’s own forecast, which had anticipated a decline of 5.5 per cent. Читать дальше...

Gambling makes up a considerable part of the UK's economy. Various studies have shown that as many as half of the British population has engaged in some form of gambling, with a lot of money spent on betting yearly. Therefore, Brexit's impact, especially on this industry, is something many people have become anxious about, more so with consideration to the taxes collected from this industry. However, before we start working through all possibilities on what might once the Brexit transition is completed... Читать дальше...

ALS patient Bjorn Formosa has pleaded to the authorities to include the residents of Dar Bjorn among the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. "As far as I am concerned, I can be left for last to be vaccinated but at DAR Bjorn we have 13 of the most vulnerable persons living in Malta, many of them suffering from respiratory insufficiency. I don't want to dictate anything but I am just saying that certain cases like the residents of DAR Bjorn who are at most risk should be considered for vaccination... Читать дальше...

The former home of Times of Malta in Valletta has received the Planning Authority’s green light to be turned into a luxury apartment complex. The PA board on Thursday unanimously approved the application to demolish the present Strickland House and replace it with 37 residential units including a penthouse and a townhouse on three floors over a car park with 63 parking spaces and 13 bike spaces. The application was given the go-ahead after the applicant, Hili Twenty Two Limited, scaled down the project... Читать дальше...

Main shopping streets in England’s towns and cities could lose  another 400,000-plus jobs after coronavirus passes, as Britons continue to work from home and buy online, accountants KPMG said on Thursday. COVID-19 has already ravaged the UK retail sector, with tens of thousands of jobs being lost and big-name bankruptcies, although supermarkets have boomed. “The reduction in commuter footfall (and) the accelerated shift to online shopping is exacerbating the vacuum in city and town centres, with... Читать дальше...

A woman who suffered a permanent debility when the bus she was seated in eight years ago crashed into Portes des Bombes has been awarded close to €18,000 in damages.  The 52-year old victim, who at the time of the accident was a senior care worker at the Education Department, was one of the unfortunate passengers on board an Arriva bus involved in the crash in October 2012. [attach id=1014120 size="medium" align="left" type="image"]File photo[/attach] It was around 3pm when the bus driver, on the Valletta to Żebbuġ route... Читать дальше...

An Israeli working for the health ministry is being investigated on suspicion of falsely forcing his ex-girlfriend into coronavirus quarantine four times without medical justification, police said Thursday. The man, identified only as a 35-year-old resident of northern Israel, is suspected of various offences committed over several months, including misuse of power of office, fraud, violation of privacy and false imprisonment, a police statement said. The suspect "sent on four separate occasions... Читать дальше...

Until three games ago, it looked like Arsenal would join a relegation battle – an unheard of outcome for the Premier League giants. Coach Mikel Arteta was under huge pressure – and the names of various replacements were being bandied around.  But then came Boxing Day and a win over Chelsea set Arsenal on a good run – it was a turning point and the Gunners won the following three games, climbing up to 11th place. And they could make it four wins in a row if they manage to beat Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday... Читать дальше...

Holders Balzan were drawn to face Mosta as the draws of the third round of the FA Trophy were held on Thursday. With the FA Trophy having been not held last season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Balzan FC are the last team who have lifted the coveted trophy after winning a thrilling final against Valletta in 2019 on a penalty shoot-out after the match had ended in a 4-4 draw after extra-time. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk, the sports website by Times of Malta

Though the incredible rise of the crossover has seen vast swathes of the country opt for higher-riding models, it’s fair to say that the humble saloon remains a great fit for many people. It’s why so many manufacturers see them as their ‘core’ models and ensure that they’re kept as up to date as possible. Because of this, there are plenty to choose from in the new car market, but how to pick between them? We’ve selected some of the star performers of 2020. BMW 3 Series [attach id=1010157 size="large"... Читать дальше...

China’s trade surplus with the United States widened last year, underlining the failure of Donald Trump to narrow the gap during his tenure, while demand soared for electronics and medical equipment during the coronavirus pandemic. The pick-up came on the back of a jump in exports through most of last year as China’s factories kicked back into gear from the second quarter following a strict lockdown that managed to broadly contain COVID-19 and allow economic activity to return. Trump had made addressing... Читать дальше...

A further 121 new COVID-19 cases were detected between Wednesday and Thursday and one patient has died, according to figures released by the health authorities. No information about the new death has so far been given. The new cases were detected from 3,512 swab tests, meaning 3.45 per cent of the people tested were positive. With 127 recoveries registered overnight, there are currently 2,594 active cases in Malta In all, 15,079 people have tested positive for COVID-19 since March and 235 people have died. Читать дальше...

Tunisia marked 10 years Thursday since its street revolution sent autocratic ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fleeing into exile, but few are celebrating amid a lockdown as COVID-19 cases spiral. In past years, demonstrators have rallied to recall the momentous events that kicked off the wider Arab Spring revolts and to push for further change, but not this year as the world is battling the pandemic. “Normally we would have demonstrated in the street to demand social justice, because successive governments... Читать дальше...