Новости за 22.01.2021

Infrastructure Malta is widening a short stretch of Burmarrad Road and replacing new barriers with bollards after a road safety test showed that a fire truck could not overtake another heavy vehicle. It is understood concern was recently raised about crash barriers that Infrastructure Malta installed as part of a €3.5 million “safety upgrade” of the 2.5-kilometre road and its junctions. The roads agency insists that the precast concrete barriers reduce injuries and accidents and that their installation... Читать дальше...

Belgium will ban non-essential trips out of the country from Wednesday in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19 infections, especially highly contagious variants, a government official said. The official spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity ahead of a media conference by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, who was to present details of the ban. The information confirmed reports in Belgian media that police would enforce the travel ban at land, sea and air borders to ensure travellers were making trips for essential reasons only... Читать дальше...

TARXIEN RAINBOWS          0 GŻIRA UNITED                     2 Muscat 55; Correa 90 TARXIEN RAINBOWS J. Borg-7; C. Conceicao-6; E. Zarate-6 (83 L. Sciberras); D. Zerafa-6.5 (69 L.Ferreira); D. Falzon-6; V. Plut-6.5; E. Rosario-6; I. Paz-6; K. Gatt-6 (83 J. Debono); M. Tabone-6; R. Kooh Sohna-5. GŻIRA UNITED J. Haber-6; G. Bohrer-6.5; Steve Borg-6; N. Muscat-6.5; M. Davis-7; N. Portelli-5.5; Maxuell-6; J. Mendoza-6.5; R. Correa-7.5; Sacha Borg-6; Jefferson-7 (72 C.Borg). Referee Fyodor Zammit. Читать дальше...

Former world number one Andy Murray said on Friday he had decided against competing in the Australian Open after failing to find a “workable quarantine” following his recovery from the coronavirus. Murray has finished his period of self-isolation and had hoped to compete in the first Grand Slam of 2021 in Melbourne. But the former Wimbledon and US Open champion said he could not find a way of getting to Australia and then quarantining ahead of the tournament’s scheduled start on February 8. Murray... Читать дальше...

Underwater divers in plastic-choked waters off the coast of Thailand snip through discarded nets tangled around a reef – a new initiative helping protect marine life and aiding the fight against coronavirus. The “ghost nets” discarded from the country’s lucrative fishing industry are a deadly source of plastic pollution, ensnaring turtles and cutting into delicate coral beds.  Left unattended, “they could stay adrift for decades, either entrapping or becoming the food of marine animals,” says Ingpat... Читать дальше...

Voluntary organisations will benefit from an additional €1.1 million in funds through the extension of an assistance scheme that had been launched to assist them during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced the extension of the scheme on Friday during a visit to the St Jeanne Antide Foundation.  Caruana said that the extension aims to help the organisations continue to operate in the coming months. The extension builds on the €3 million the organisations had been given back... Читать дальше...

The Environment Resources Authority has shot down a request to protect a copse of carob trees in Dingli which are facing the chop to make way for a controversial road project. Moviment Graffiti had filed a request for carob trees in Triq San Ġwann Bosco in Dingli to be declared a Tree Protection Area (TPA), however ERA board members voted down the request, with six votes rejecting the proposal and two votes for.  Infrastructure Malta intends to cut down the trees to make way for a new road that would... Читать дальше...

Claims that Equality Minister Edward Zammit Lewis hired a lawyer in an attempt to curry favour with voters loyal to former minister Chris Cardona have been dismissed by parliament's standards commissioner.  Commissioner George Hyzler found that the lawyer in question, Cheryl Vassallo, had been on the public payroll to work on equality issues for several years before Zammit Lewis took control of the ministry.  Hyzler was investigating a complaint filed by ADPD chairperson Carmel Cacopardo, which was... Читать дальше...

An agreement between government and teachers earlier this month bringing strike action to an end was an “insult to people’s intelligence”, the Union of Professional Educators - Voice of the Workers said on Friday. The Malta Union of Teachers had ordered teachers to strike on January 7 and 8, but the action was then called off when an agreement was reached with the government on January 8 with teachers returning to school on January 11. The action had been triggered by a sudden spike in the number... Читать дальше...

Third-tier Alcoyano will face Athletic Bilbao in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey next week after knocking Real Madrid out of the competition. Friday's draw also put Barcelona up against second-division Rayo Vallecano after labouring past Cornella. On Wednesday Alcoyano, who last graced Spain's top flight in 1951, beat reigning La Liga champions Madrid 2-1 and had a man sent off in extra-time.   Continue reading this article on Sports Desk, the new sports website by Times of Malta

A batch of canned vegetable sauce sold locally could contain glass shards and should not be consumed, health authorities have warned. The Environmental Health Directorate warning refers to batches of Carrefour Bio sugo alle verdure with a durability date of 26.10.2022. In a statement, the directorate said it had received information about the contamination through the EU’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed.

A British judge on Friday handed down sentences of 27 and 20 years to the ringleaders of a people-smuggling plot that led to the death of 39 Vietnamese migrants in horrific conditions in the back of a lorry. The 39 - the youngest of whom were two 15-year-old boys - suffocated in the container as they were being transported to what they had hoped would be new lives in Britain.  The lifeless bodies of the migrants were discovered inside the sealed unit at a port near London in October, 2019. The case... Читать дальше...

Donald Trump will go on trial in the US Senate soon after an impeachment case against the former president is transmitted by the House of Representatives on Monday, top lawmakers announced. The House impeached the Republican leader for a historic second time on January 13, just one week before he left office, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi has yet to send the article of impeachment to the Senate.  The step is necessary in order to launch the trial process. "I have spoken to Speaker Pelosi who informed... Читать дальше...

A man whose probation was confirmed just days ago was remanded in custody on Friday after allegedly capturing his flatmates on video while they were having sex. Nico Spalding, 22, landed back in the dock after getting into trouble with the couple whom he allegedly filmed during an intimate moment. The man, with no fixed address, apparently shared a St Paul’s Bay flat with the couple who were caught unawares when he allegedly walked in on them and filmed them on his mobile phone. That had prompted the couple to report the matter to the police. Читать дальше...

“This is the right time to invest because we believe the current situation will pass and when business picks up again, we need to be fully prepared.”  Franco Azzopardi, Group CEO of Express Trailers was commenting as Express Trailers started taking delivery of a new fleet of refrigerated trailers to support its growing pharma and cold-chain operations. The first pharma trailers, acquired from one of the most established trailer builders in Europe specialising in the production of vehicles for the pharmaceutical industry... Читать дальше...

Britain’s private sector activity shrank in January due to another coronavirus lockdown and the Brexit fallout, survey data showed on Friday, placing the economy on course for a double-dip recession. The composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) sank to an eight-month low at 40.6 points, compilers IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) said in a statement. The shift below 50 – indicating contraction – compared with 50.4 in December. “A steep slump in business activity... Читать дальше...

British police said on Friday they had raided a wedding with 400 guests in a London school, as the government began a crackdown on illicit parties flouting national lockdown laws. Under current lockdown rules in England, weddings can only take place in “exceptional circumstances” with up to six people present. Officers found hundreds of people at the school, whose windows had been covered up, with Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett calling it “a completely unacceptable breach of the law”. Читать дальше...

A man whose plans to cross over to Gozo with his girlfriend on Wednesday evening were thwarted by the police was granted bail on Friday after pleading not guilty to drug charges.  Bjorn Grima, a 35-year-old Sliema resident, who had faced another arraignment over his alleged involvement in setting fire to a historic Floriana arch almost two years ago, landed in fresh trouble on Wednesday.  The man was driving to the Gozo ferry with his girlfriend, at around 6pm on Wednesday, when he was stopped by the police at the Ċirkewwa terminal. Читать дальше...

Defending champions Serbia were handed a “brutal” draw in the ATP Cup Friday, with Novak Djokovic’s team facing Germany and Canada in the group stage. The tournament – launched last year as a rival to the Davis Cup – has been slimmed down to 12 teams this year and will be played in Melbourne as a curtain-raiser to the Australian Open, rather than the multi-city format employed in 2020. It was delayed to February 1-5 because of COVID-19 restrictions in the host city and the prize money on offer has also been halved to US$7.5 million... Читать дальше...

Much-delayed James Bond movie No Time To Die was postponed again due to the pandemic Thursday, with studio MGM confirming 007's next mission will not take place until October. The release of the 25th installment of the fictional British spy saga has already been pushed back multiple times. It was originally set for a London premiere last March, before that was pushed back to November by the global spread of COVID-19. With coronavirus still sweeping the globe and thousands of movie theatres shuttered again due to lockdowns... Читать дальше...

With schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, millions of children in Britain are struggling to learn remotely, because of a lack of computers, internet or quiet room to study. “At home, I have to share the computer with my big brother and sister,” said eight-year-old Kamaljit Sultana, who lives in Tower Hamlets in east London, one of the city’s poorest boroughs. Without her class teacher to help her, “it’s more difficult, I’m a bit lost!” she added. More than 93,000 people have died in Britain in the outbreak... Читать дальше...

Surgeons are being forced to postpone dozens of operations every month because they are being summoned to testify in court, according to one of them who was called to give evidence twice in as many weeks. Hermann Borg Xuereb, an ENT, head and neck surgeon, has called for the regular use of online testimony that would allow surgeons to give evidence from a room within the hospital without disrupting their entire workday to the detriment of patients. Borg Xuereb last week received a summons to appear in court to testify in a case at 2pm. Читать дальше...

People who rescue dogs and hand them over to the Animal Welfare Department should be allowed to adopt the rescued animal following a rigorous vetting procedure, commissioner Alison Bezzina is urging. As things stand, anyone who finds an abandoned dog must report to a police station, veterinary clinic or Animal Welfare Department to check whether the animal has a microchip featuring its owners details.  If rescuers then care for the dog at their home and no one claims ownership of the animal, they can adopt it after seven days. Читать дальше...

Recently, some have questioned whether this country still needs to organise telethons (for example, L-Istrina in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund and Festa ta’ Ġenerożità in aid of Id-Dar tal-Providenza) to collect funds from the public since government has sufficient funds to finance them. If we extend the argument slightly (it is my extension and not anyone else’s), then we should stop all public collections that NGOs resort to in order to finance their activities. This triggers a number of... Читать дальше...

Il-Ħaġar Museum in Victoria is tomorrow hosting the launch of a book presenting the results of Simon Salafia’s long-time efforts to collect place names in Gozo. A graduate in electrical engineering, Salafia has widened his interests to languages and historical research. The 600-page volume offers over 9,000 toponyms – also classified according to locality − through the perusal of an impressive range of sources. Details of the locations and descriptions are included. The launch event, being held at 10.30am... Читать дальше...