Новости за 21.01.2021

Police in England will be able to issue bigger fines to those breaking coronavirus lockdown measures by partying, with penalties of up to £6,400 (€7,200), interior minister Priti Patel said Thursday. The new fines regime, which comes into force next week, targets those attending house parties and other illegal gatherings, with penalties doubling for each offence. People caught at parties of more than 15 will initially face £800 fines, and could then face a maximum of £6,400 for further breaches. "The science is clear... Читать дальше...

Gozo has seen a surge in demand for second homes and from a desire to relocate from Malta during the coronavirus pandemic year, according to some estate agents.The island, in fact, outperformed Malta in 2020, which was “one of the better years” in terms of property sales, particularly homes with outside space for personal use, Marie Grech, who has been working in the industry for 35 years, said.Back in February, with the outbreak of COVID-19, “we thought the year was over and that it would be hopeless,” the director of Frank Salt Real Estate ... Читать дальше...

The Norwegian state said on Thursday it was ready to offer aid to Norwegian Air, after the ailing low-cost airline presented a new plan to survive its COVID-induced crisis. Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on travel, having already been in financial trouble before, Norwegian applied for bankruptcy protection in both Ireland and Norway in December to buy time to work out a solution with its creditors. The low-cost airline presented a series of proposals on January 14, including an end to... Читать дальше...

Transportation Secretary nominee Pete Buttigieg appeared poised for Senate confirmation Thursday following a low-key hearing focused more on pet infrastructure projects in the 50 US states than hot-button political topics. Buttigieg, whose father was Maltese, was a candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination before dropping out and campaigning for Biden. The first openly gay person tapped for a US Cabinet post, he faced a handful of thorny questions from Republicans on climate change and other topics. Читать дальше...

If you stroll alone in the quieter parts of Rabat and Mdina and let your mind wander, you just might hear the echoes of an angry throng assaulting a French officer in revenge for the looting of gold and silverware from our churches or the screams of those who ventured down into the entrails of dark catacombs and never found their way back. Or even the pitiful moans and last shallow breaths of cholera victims and the bells heralding another death in yet another pandemic. And you just might learn history’s greatest lesson... Читать дальше...

German logistics company DB Schenker said on Thursday it had resumed deliveries to Britain from the EU after suspending them for more than a week due to post-Brexit red tape. “After a brief interruption, DB Schenker is resuming its land transport from the European Union to the UK,” a company statement said.  The group, a subsidiary of state-owned rail company Deutsche Bahn, had halted deliveries for an indefinite period from January 13.  DB Schenker said it has worked “side by side” with customers... Читать дальше...

Malta’s R number – or rate of infection – is currently between 1 and 1.5, meaning the COVID-19 epidemic is growing here.The number of active cases has risen to 2,801 infections across the country with triple-figure numbers reported nearly every day this month.Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci said on Wednesday that the rise continued to be linked to the Christmas and New Year festivities.She told Times of Malta’s Ask Charmaine programme that authorities were now seeing “secondary infections”... Читать дальше...

The international community appeared to let out a collective sigh of relief Thursday as Washington vowed to re-engage with the World Health Organisation and participate in the global pandemic response. "WHO is complete again," Ilona Kickbusch, the founding director and chair of the Global Health Centre in Geneva, told AFP. "Everybody has wanted the US back in, and having such a multilaterally-minded US administration... is a gift to the world."  The UN health agency faced blistering attacks by former US president Donald Trump... Читать дальше...

Shares in internet giant Alibaba soared more than eight per cent on Wednesday after billionaire founder Jack Ma made his first public appearance since November, ending weeks of speculation about his whereabouts after the company took a kicking from Chinese regulators. Ma – one of Asia’s richest people with a fortune estimated at around $58 billion (€48bn) – disappeared from the public eye after he was hauled in front of regulators for an October speech critical of China’s financial system.  Shortly afterwards... Читать дальше...

The European Parliament has voted to adopt a report recommending legislative action on the right to disconnect, an effort that was spearheaded by Maltese MEP Alex Agius Saliba.  The majority of MEPs at the session on Wednesday voted in favour of the report, with 472 votes in favour, 126 against and 83 abstentions. The results of the vote were announced in the parliament on Thursday afternoon.  After debating the report during a plenary session in parliament on Wednesday, the parliament will now formally... Читать дальше...

The number of asylum requests dropped 41% in France last year as the COVID-19 outbreak and travel restrictions curtailed the number of migrants entering the country, officials said Thursday. France's 38 processing centres reported 81,669 first-time requests, the interior ministry said, ending sharp annual increases since 2015 when hundreds of thousands of people sought out Europe to flee war and misery in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. "It's a sharp reversal," Julien Boucher, head of the OFPRA immigration agency... Читать дальше...

Hibernians Basketball Club will be looking towards further expansion after signing an agreement with SportMalta which grants them a new space to build a new basketball pavilion, which will be dedicated to the sport. In a press conference at the Paola Pavilion on Thursday, Hibs secretary Nadia Vella explained the land, which had become desolate land in recent years, has been given to the club on a 45-year lease. “This is a very important event for us because now we will have the beautiful opportunity... Читать дальше...

Divers have removed a net that was obstructing the site of a British second world war Hunt-class destroyer. The net was at HM’s Southwold Bow site, which lies approximately 2.4km off the Marsascala coast and rests at a depth of 65 metres. In March 1942, the destroyer struck a mine and split, sinking to the seabed in two sections (bow and stern).  Six divers participated in one dive, successfully lifting the net and sending it to the surface in a joint operation by Heritage Malta’s Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit (UCHU) and ATLAM Dive Club. Читать дальше...

France on Wednesday hailed a “real change” in Washington after US president-elect Joe Biden’s administration expressed support for a proposed global tax on digital giants that Donald Trump had bitterly opposed. Biden’s pick for Treasury secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday backed a push to get the likes of Facebook and Google to pay a larger share of their revenues in taxes in the countries where they operate. During a confirmation hearing in the Senate Yellen said: “It would enable us to collect a fair share from corporations... Читать дальше...

Church schools have hit out at a teachers' union for publishing information on social media about COVID-19 cases in schools. The Union of Professional Educators regularly posts updates on its Facebook page, detailing when it's been notified of "alleged cases", often including pictures of the school and its contact number.  In a statement, the Secretariat for Catholic Education and the Association of Church Schools accused the UPE of "irresponsible behaviour” that was causing “unnecessary alarm and anxiety” among students, parents, and teachers.

A new flyover will be built for those travelling to and from Kirkop, Mqabba, Qrendi, Żurrieq and Safi while two new tunnels will improve access to the airport and freeport in new €18 million investment plans unveiled on Thursday by Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg. The Kirkop tunnels and airport intersection project will also upgrade the Gudja roundabout with a new underpass to Birżebbuġa and a flyover to the Kirkop tunnels.   The minister told a the media during a visit to the site that this was... Читать дальше...

More than 200 ancient coins were returned Thursday to a museum in southern Italy by a priest who was told about the theft in confession. The unnamed penitent, presumed to be the thief himself, asked the priest to return the loot to the Paestum archaeological park near Naples. He insisted the coins had to be given personally to the site's director Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the park said in a statement. "It's the latest restitution by someone who feels remorseful" for stealing things, the statement added. Читать дальше...

Britain’s main business lobby on Tuesday urged the government to extend its furlough jobs support scheme and taxation holidays to help coronavirus-plagued firms. With fears that tens of thousands of small businesses could collapse, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) called on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to act urgently, claiming companies could not afford to wait until his annual budget on March 3 for new measures. “Many tough decisions for business owners on jobs, or even whether to carry on... Читать дальше...

The health authorities will be doubling the number of vaccination centres to 20 in the coming weeks as the number of COVID-19 jab doses available is set to increase significantly in February.  Health Minister Chris Fearne made the announcement while visiting ongoing works on a new healthcare centre in Paola.  Fearne said that from the current 10, the number of centres will be going up to 20 soon, but did not provide details about their location.  [attach id=1016648 type="video"]Video: Chris Sant Fournier[/attach] By the end of the week... Читать дальше...

The front pages of Times of Malta from 25 and 10 years ago.  Become a Times of Malta premium member to gain full access to our archive dating back to January 1930.

The archaeological society Malta ARCH is organising a day of art-related activities outside the Mosta Rotunda on Saturday. The event, held to raise awareness on the locality’s threatened Tal-Qares site, will include a visual art exhibition, poetry and speeches, children’s workshops and an audience forum. Paintings, sculptures and installations focusing on the theme of archaeology and its wonders, by Anna Grima, Alessio Cuschieri, Angele Galea and Jamie Ciantar, will be on display. There will be... Читать дальше...

Joe Biden’s inauguration as US president is a time of hope for America and the whole world. After four years of a divisive and extremely damaging Trump administration, America has a chance to restore its global leadership, reassert its faith in democratic norms and principles.Biden’s task will not be easy. The new president inherits an extremely poisonous legacy from Donald Trump, who leaves behind an America divided by racial and political tensions, which he inflamed, deeply scarred by an attack on the US Capitol that he incited... Читать дальше...

A group of law students, under the auspices of Għaqda Studenti tal-Liġi (GħSL), published a position paper entitled, ‘Abortion ‒ A Reproductive Right or a Moral Profligacy?’ Matthew Charles Zammit, the GħSL president, hails the praise­worthy ‘voluminous effort’ of the students concerned while complaining that discussion about abortion is so often “beset with half-truths, assumptions and unanswered queries”. The students present well-researched food for thought. They look at comparative law  and medical... Читать дальше...

A 62-year-old motorcyclist was seriously injured on Wednesday evening in a crash in Cospicua, the police said. The accident took place in St Paul Street at about 6pm. The Senglea resident was driving his Yamaha motorcycle when he was involved in the incident with a Toyota IQ, driven by a 41-year-old man from Marsascala. He was assisted by a medical team and rescuers of the Civil Protection Department before being rushed to hospital.

In 1960, five per cent of Americans said they’d be upset if their child married someone from the opposite political party. In 2010, the number was 40 per cent. In 2020... well, you know about 2020. In between those years, Groucho Marx quipped that all people are born alike – except Republicans and Democrats. And so he might. People could feel the gulf growing from decade to decade. At least Americans know that political polarisation isn’t something they can just pin to a single factor, like the media. Читать дальше...