Новости за 15.09.2021

The EU's Blue Card giving eligible foreign professionals the right to live and work in the bloc is being made more attractive under modifications approved Wednesday by the European Parliament. The amendments, reached after years of negotiations between EU institutions, underlined Europe's intention to draw more highly qualified workers as competition heats up in many Western countries to fill jobs.  The changes mean that those holding the permit - inspired by the US Green Card - need to secure... Читать дальше...

England midfielder Jude Bellingham shone with a goal and an assist for Erling Braut Haaland as Borussia Dortmund kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win at Besiktas.  Bellingham silenced the boisterous crowd in Istanbul with the opening goal and then unpicked the home defence to serve up a simple tap-in for Haaland to claim his 21st Champions League goal just before half-time. Javi Montero headed in a consolation goal for Besiktas deep in added time. Haaland underlined his reputation as a prolific scorer... Читать дальше...

MALTA            13 TURKEY          11 (2-4, 0-2, 1-2, 5-0; 5-3) The Malta U-17 waterpolo national team clinched their first win at the European Championships that are currently being held at the National Pool when they had the better of Turkey 13-11 in a penalty shoot-out after the match had ended in an eight-all draw. It was a deserved victory for Anthony Farrugia’s boys who completed an astonishing fightback in the final session where they scored five goals without reply to take the match into a penalty shoot-out where they prevailed. Читать дальше...

The United States, Australia and Britain are expected to announce a landmark security pact on Wednesday that could see a multi-billion-dollar Paris-Canberra deal on submarines scrapped, Australian media reported.  The pact, known as AUKUS, would allow the three allies to "share advanced technologies, including nuclear submarine technology," The Sydney Morning Herald reported.  The official announcement is expected later on Wednesday, according to reports. The White House said US President Joe... Читать дальше...

The Archdiocese of Malta is organising a day of prayer and fasting for all those who are suffering as a result of the political instability in Afghanistan. Pope Francis himself made an appeal for prayer and fasting for Afghanistan and also for dialogue and solidarity that may provide some hope for this country’s future. In this respect, tomorrow, September 16, a day of prayer will be held at the Junior College chapel in Msida, that will be streamed online on church.mt and will also include mass celebrated by Archbishop Charles Scicluna at 9.

The EU is looking to impose an import ban on products made from forced labour, the bloc’s chief said on Wednesday, in a move seen aimed at China over its treatment of its Uyghur population. The announcement was one of several made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her annual State of the European Union speech that signalled a more assertive stance towards Beijing. More explicitly, von der Leyen called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to show “leadership” by setting out in detail how his country ... Читать дальше...

Jake Galea will continue to play in the Maltese Premier League this season after he has reached an agreement to sign for Balzan FC. The Malta goalkeeper left Sliema Wanderers at the end of last season after his contract with the Blues expired. The talented goalkeeper tried to pursue a career abroad and during the past few months, he has been working with his agent to try and earn a contract with a foreign league. In July, it looked as though that Galea would be playing in Italy with Messina but the transfer failed to materialise. Читать дальше...

Attard residents who live adjacent to ongoing Central Link roadworks spent nine hours without electricity on Wednesday, as contractors carried out "urgent works" in the area.  Power on Triq Peter Paul Rubens went out at around 9am, and was only restored at 6pm. One resident was told by an Enemalta customer care representative that the power cut was the result of damage to supply cables caused by a Central Link contractor. However, Enemalta sources told Times of Malta that power had to be switched... Читать дальше...

The vast majority of operations have gone ahead as scheduled since the nurses’ union initiated industrial action that impacted the sterilisation of soiled surgical instruments a week ago, according to the Health Ministry. While 20 operations were cancelled, 315 were performed as scheduled. The Mater Dei Hospital’s administration has resorted to the private sector to help with sterilisation. Last Thursday, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses issued directives stopping technicians from decontaminating... Читать дальше...

German police say 30 people were injured, two seriously, after rival sets of football fans rioted following a heated fourth-tier football match between Preussen Muenster and Rot-Weiss Essen. Essen sealed a 3-2 away win with a late goal on Tuesday evening and trouble, which had already been brewing in the Muenster stadium, got out of hand when rival fans clashed on streets near the ground. Police say that of the 30 reported injuries, 24 people were treated in or around the stadium, four were taken to hospital and two received emergency care. Читать дальше...

Cagliari named Walter Mazzarri as their new coach on Wednesday following the sacking of Leonardo Semplici three matches into the new Serie A season. In a statement, Cagliari said that former Napoli and Inter Milan coach Mazzarri had signed a deal until the end of June 2024. Semplici was dismissed after Cagliari lost 3-2 at home to Genoa on Sunday, leaving them 17th in Italy’s top-flight with just a point from their three opening league matches. They face a daunting trip to Lazio on Sunday as Maurizio... Читать дальше...

Updated 6.15pm with PN's comments Two prison wardens have been suspended and will be charged in court following a magisterial inquiry into a suicide by an inmate. In a statement, the Home Affairs Ministry said that two officials would be summoned to court over “crimes of an involuntary nature". According to the criminal code, involuntary homicide carries a maximum prison term of four years or a fine of €11,000. The ministry said that the magistrate had found shortcomings with regards to two correctional officials. Читать дальше...

The Chamber of Advocates has reported lawyer Jason Azzopardi to the state’s highest judicial disciplinary body over comments he made on social media about a sitting judge.   In a letter sent on September 10, chamber president Louis de Gabriele requested the Commission for the Administration of Justice look into comments made last month by Azzopardi.   The firebrand MP represents the family of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. In August, Azzopardi raised concerns about a judge deciding... Читать дальше...

In recent years, the online gambling market has achieved significant growth – going from a nice market in the late 1990s to a billion-dollar industry. And it is set to achieve further growth, with reports showing that the global online gambling market is expected to grow from $64.13 billion last year to more than $72 billion this year – this translates into a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.3 per cent. The market is expected to hit $112 billion in 2025, at a CAGR or 12 per cent.  But... Читать дальше...

Leading contract cleaning provider Briiz recently underwent a rebranding exercise to reflect the company’s decision to evolve its business as a reputable and reliable multi-service provider, offering customers a wider range of services and solutions, that still has at its core, its clients’ best interests.  The rebrand demonstrates a significant step forward in this dynamic company’s growth strategy to ensure it is best placed to take advantage of opportunities within the marketplace and forge ahead. Читать дальше...

US Open champion Emma Raducanu said she is “hungry” to improve her tennis and plans to continue competing this year after her stunning success at Flushing Meadows. The 18-year-old Briton became the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam when she defeated 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday. Raducanu became Britain’s first Grand Slam champion in women’s singles since Virginia Wade in 1977 and did not drop a set during her run to the title in New York. Читать дальше...

Seven Hong Kong pro-democracy local councillors were unseated on Wednesday after the government declared their loyalty oaths were invalid, part of an ongoing campaign to purge the city of anyone deemed unpatriotic. District councils are the only political office in Hong Kong where almost all members are directly elected by residents, with 452 out of 479 seats filled by public ballot. They deal with bread-and-butter local issues such as bus routes, trash collection and playgrounds. But they have... Читать дальше...

A majestic Egyptian Vulture participating in an Italian satellite tracking program disappeared when it arrived in Malta this week and is now feared dead.    The bird was being monitored using a satellite tracking device as part of a project being run by CERM, the Centre for Threatened Raptors in Italy. Sources told Times of Malta that the police’s Environment Protection Unit had been dispatched to Dingli to search for the bird after they received a tip-off that it had vanished from the satellite tracking system. Читать дальше...

Lotus has kick-started a new age of motorsport with the release of a new GT4 race car.  The Lotus Emira GT4 follows on from the launch of the regular car in July and while the pair share the same Toyota-sourced 3.5-litre V6 engine, the racer has been given a whole host of aerodynamic tweaks to make it competitive on the circuit.  Built in collaboration with project partner RML Group, it has also been made even lighter than the already-featherweight road car, now weighing 1260kg – a drop of 145kg – through the use of lightweight body panels. Читать дальше...

Derided by opposition fans for trampling over German football traditions, RB Leipzig find themselves in the unusual position of not being cast as the bad guys as the Champions League’s group of death kicks off on Wednesday. Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain will cross swords again in Group A with both projects backed by oil-rich Middle Eastern states still chasing the holy grail of a first European Cup. Amid the fallout of falling revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic shutting stadiums... Читать дальше...

Vaccinated residents from 'dark red zone' can quarantine at home Russia and India could be removed from banned list Canada vaccine certificate recognised from Friday Entertainment venues can restrict entrance to fully vaccinated Fully vaccinated residents of Malta arriving from the 'dark red' list of countries can quarantine at home from Friday under certain circumstances, Chris Fearne has confirmed. He also announced that entertainment venues can choose to restrict entrance to fully vaccinated... Читать дальше...

Updated 3.37pm with details of the judgment  A number of serving and former mayors and officials from a travel agency and the Local Councils Association have been cleared of fraud that allegedly took place 11 years ago in the purchase of flight tickets. Paul Cortis, general manager at KD travel Services Ltd, Oreste Baldacchino, former Secretary of Local Councils Association, Dolores Borg, former Birkirkara, mayor, Guzeppi Borg, former Mellieħa mayor, Noel Formosa, mayor of San Lawrenz, Claudette Abela Baldacchino... Читать дальше...

Simone Inzaghi is trying to put Inter Milan’s rocky recent European past behind him as his side prepare for the visit of Real Madrid and an attempt to finally make it to the Champions league knockouts. A long, hot summer at the Italian champions seems to be cooling down now that the new season has got underway, as memories of the departed stars Romelu Lukaku, Achraf Hakimi and Antonio Conte — as well as the financial problems that led to their exits — are shunted aside in face of a new-look Nerazzurri... Читать дальше...

This month, the Malta-based European Foundation for Support of Culture held the awards ceremony of their Classic Piano International Competition at the Dubai Opera, a prestigious event announcing the winners of the internationally-recognised piano competition that has seen hundreds of participants from around the world. In addition to the event’s eight prizes given to those demonstrating the most accomplished performances in the competition, Classic Piano also awarded a special prize for ‘The Best Performance of a Maltese Composition’. Читать дальше...

The average temperature this summer was 2°C higher than the 1981-2010 seasonal norm, the MIA Met Office said on Wednesday. In a season characterised by two heatwaves lasting several days, the office said the summer’s highest air temperature was reached early when the mercury shot to a sizzling 41.5°C in June and set a new record for the hottest temperature for the month since 1923. This record was previously held by June 2019, with a maximum temperature of 37.8°C. Very similar temperatures to... Читать дальше...