Новости за 15.11.2021

Novak Djokovic expressed his shock Monday at the ‘disappearance’ of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who has not been heard from since accusing a powerful politician of sexual assault.  Peng claimed earlier this month that former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli had assaulted her, the first time the #MeToo movement has struck at the top echelons of the ruling Communist Party. Chinese officials have refused to answer questions on the fate of the former world number one doubles player. Details of her allegations... Читать дальше...

A Maltese biker left for Africa on Monday, in an attempt to drive his motorbike through three continents, in an adventure that will likely take more than two years to complete. Stephen Formosa, 46, is a customs official and martial arts teacher who has taken a break from his career to fulfil the dream that has kept him awake at night his entire adult life. And he admits he has chosen one of the toughest times to kick it off. “I’m concerned about my health, mostly because the pandemic is less than... Читать дальше...

Roberta Metsola has officially entered the race to become the next president of the European Parliament, Times of Malta can reveal. “This is an internal process, but I can confirm that I will be a candidate to be the EPP Group’s nominee for president of the European Parliament,” she said. It means that the Nationalist MEP will contest the European People’s Party’s internal election on November 24, and if successful, will be the group’s candidate for the presidency in January. Metsola made the... Читать дальше...

The son of a military veteran has voiced his fear that soon no veterans or their relatives will be marching at the Remembrance Day parade that commemorates the sacrifice of those who fought and died for freedom during the world wars. Arist Cordina, whose father passed away last January at 81, said the decline in the number of veterans at the parade was weighing on him more than ever this year. Arist Cordina along with his father Charles at the 2018 Remembrance Day parade. And while abroad it was... Читать дальше...

Maltese Athletics has lost one of its icons following the news that Ray Cassar Torreggiani passed away last week at the age of 87. In his heydays in the 1950’s, Cassar Torregiani was a top sprinter, having run the 100yards in 9.8seconds, as well as being a prolific long and high jumper. Later, he qualified as Senior British Amateur Athletics Board coach from Loughborough, the centre of excellence for athletics in the UK. “Ray was instrumental in introducing new coaching and technical skills into Malta... Читать дальше...

Maltese financial institutions will remain “overall resilient” if faced with a tax on corporate CO2 emissions, the Malta Financial Services Authority has said. A study by the financial stability function within the regulator suggests that financial bodies are equipped to weather “timely and adequate” policy related to climate enacted gradually, rather than “sudden and forceful interventions”, which would inevitably harm the financial system with a “disruptive” shift to low carbon assets. “There... Читать дальше...

The health authorities see no need to tighten COVID-19 restrictions or remove the few that are still in place, the Prime Minister told parliament on Monday. Addressing the budget debate, Robert Abela said the economy was continuing to recover well from the impact of the pandemic. But the recovery was dependant on everyone’s attitude and actions. Importantly, everyone needed to take the COVID-19 vaccination to avoid the return of restrictions being witnessed in other European countries, he said. Читать дальше...

The University of Malta on Monday held its first two graduation ceremonies for undergraduate students who completed their degree in 2020 - last year's ceremonies having been postponed because of the pandemic.  Students had to observe social distance rules and wear a mask throughout the ceremonies at Sir Temi Zammit Hall. The rector did not hand out the students' certificates, as in previous years and handshakes were a thing of the past. Instead, certificates were given to the students before they... Читать дальше...

Journalist and singer Maria Muscat, better known as La Barokka, has spoken up of her grief about being barred from reading the news bulletins on national television because of her weight. Speaking on ‘Ta’ Filgħodu’ on TVM, Muscat said it took 20 years for her to be given the green light to read her first news bulletin live on the national broadcaster. She fronted the 8pm news bulletin for the first time in September.  “What irritates me is when someone is discriminated because they look different, and I have suffered from this. Читать дальше...

Sprint legend Usain Bolt said he could have emerged from retirement to win a fourth straight Olympic 100m title in Tokyo this year, insisting the winning time was within his reach. Bolt, 35, told AFP that it was frustrating to watch the delayed 2020 Games from his home in Jamaica as his male countrymen flopped and Italy’s Lamont Jacobs claimed a shock victory. “I really missed it. I was like, I wish I was there,” he said in an interview at the Dubai offices of his sponsor PepsiCo on Sunday. “Because for me, I live for those moments. Читать дальше...

Opposition leader Bernard Grech on Monday hit out at the prime minister for heading a sleazy government and doing nothing about it. Speaking at the end of the budget debate, he listed abuses carried out by Labour MPs and complained that the other government MPs, as well as the prime minister, were not batting an eyelid. MP Rosianne Cutajar, he recalled, pocketed €9,000 without declaring them anywhere, while ordinary workers were questioned about the source of their income even if they turned up with just €1,000. Читать дальше...

The MSE Equity Price Index opened the week in positive territory as it added 0.05% to 3,862.786 points. The uplift in the share price of Lombard outweighed the declines in BMIT, Malita and Plaza. Meanwhile, Mapfre and PG traded unchanged as overall trading activity remained muted at just €0.05 million. Lombard Bank Malta plc surged by 5.4% to the €1.95 level on a single deal of 7,900 shares. On the other hand, BMIT Technologies plc eased by 0.4% to the €0.494 level on just 1,950 shares. Malita... Читать дальше...

A Knights-era tower in Pembroke has been vandalised with graffiti, with vandals spray-painting rap lyrics from an Eminem song on the facade of the historic structure.  The Madliena tower was built in 1658, the fourth in a series of distinctive coastal watchtowers built by Grandmaster Martin De Redin.  Recently, graffiti with what appears to be blue spray paint has appeared on two sides of the Madliena tower’s facade, with the text scrawling an excerpt of lyrics from the 2010 rap song That’s All... Читать дальше...

Steven Gerrard said his first match as Aston Villa manager “can’t come quickly enough” as he prepares for the visit of Brighton on Saturday. The 41-year-old left Scottish champions Rangers to take the helm at the Birmingham-based club, who sacked Dean Smith last week after five successive league defeats. Villa are languishing in 16th place in the Premier League, two points above the relegation zone, after 11 games but Gerrard is raring to get going. “The excitement levels are really, really high,”... Читать дальше...

A suspected drug trafficker who tried to escape arrest and was subsequently remanded in custody two months ago was granted bail on Monday.  Josef Sharfid, a 46-year-old self-employed construction worker from Valletta, was arrested by the police’s drug squad in September following a tip-off that he was allegedly trafficking drugs in Msida.  When police closed in on Sharfid at Triq Victor Denaro, the suspect had tried to escape and threw away a package that was later found to contain some 700 grams of cocaine. Читать дальше...

Novak Djokovic began his attempt to equal Roger Federer’s record number of ATP Finals triumphs with a straight-sets 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 win over Casper Ruud on Monday. World number one Djokovic is looking to complete a remarkable year with a sixth Finals title after only just missing out on claiming all four Grand Slams, and got off to a strong start against eighth seed Ruud, winning in . He sits top of the Green Group ahead of Stefanos Tsitsipas’ clash with Andrey Rublev in Monday’s evening session in Turin. Читать дальше...

A man was spared effective imprisonment for trafficking 15 ecstasy pills on New Year's Day of 2013, after a court of appeal confirmed that he had made “concrete steps” in kicking his drug habit. Ryan Mizzi, a 29-year old Żabbar resident, had admitted to possession of the drug in circumstances indicating that the pills were not intended for his personal use. That admission before the Magistrates’ Court resulted in a nine-month effective jail term and a €1,000 fine.  Following the 2017 judgment... Читать дальше...

Police in northwest England on Monday said they were treating a deadly blast outside a hospital in Liverpool as a "terrorist incident" involving a homemade bomb. Russ Jackson, in charge of counter-terrorism policing in the region, said the motivation for Sunday's blast in a taxi was unclear but the device was "built by the passenger" who died. British counter-terrorism police were questioning three men on Monday after a "heroic" taxi driver reportedly foiled a plot to bomb a packed Remembrance Day service in Liverpool. Читать дальше...

Energy giant Shell on Monday announced plans to move its headquarters from the Netherlands to the UK and drop Royal Dutch from its name in a major shake-up that angered the Dutch government. The plan, seen as a post-Brexit boon for London, will see the company switch its tax residence to the UK. Shell’s plan to end its Anglo-Dutch structure also follows pressure by activists in the Netherlands for the company to slash its harmful emissions. “We are unpleasantly surprised by this. The cabinet deeply... Читать дальше...

Fifty-five new COVID cases were registered on Monday, while a further 17 patients recovered, according to health data. No virus-linked deaths were recorded overnight, meaning Malta's number of known active COVID cases stands at 603. Of these, 13 are being cared for at Mater Dei Hospital, two of whom are receiving intensive treatment.  So far, 76,771 booster jabs have been administered, while a total of 908,687 COVID vaccine doses were administered over the past months.  

Dutch brewing giant Heineken will buy a majority stake in brewers in South Africa and Namibia, companies said yesterday, creating a booze behemoth in a region currently dominated by rival Anheuser-Busch InBev. Heineken plans to acquire South Africa’s Distell and Namibia Breweries in a combined deal valued at around $4.6 billion (€4 billion). “We are very excited to bring together three strong businesses to create a regional beverage champion, perfectly positioned to capture significant growth... Читать дальше...

Holiday and business trips abroad picked up in the third quarter of the year when compared to 2020 but remained well below pre-pandemic levels, official statistics have shown. The number of outgoing trips between July and September topped 122,000, National Statistics Office data released on Monday showed. That figure was more than double the 51,855 outbound trips registered in the third quarter of 2020 but significantly lower than the 208,206 logged in that period of 2019. The vast majority of... Читать дальше...

A rapper who penned a viral Mandarin pop song poking fun at Chinese nationalists said Monday he had no regrets about being blacklisted by Beijing as his track hit more than 30 million views on YouTube. Released last month, Fragile by Malaysian rapper Namewee, featuring Australian singer Kimberley Chen, has become a viral sensation across Asia and beyond despite being scrubbed by censors in mainland China. The track masquerades as a saccharine love song but is littered with digs towards "little pinks" ... Читать дальше...

Barcelona pushed aside fellow Spanish side Baskonia last week as Monaco continue to impress, this time with a blowout victory over Bayern Munich. The Times of Malta reviews Round Nine of the 2021-22’s edition of the EuroLeague. Nikola Mirotic starred as Barcelona beat Baskonia 93-67 on Thursday to take second place in the EuroLeague standings with a 7-2 record behind leaders Olimpia Milano (8-1). Mirotic, who took the round’s MVP award, led Barca with 25 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Читать дальше...

France told Britain on Monday to stop "giving lessons" on migrants in an increasingly acrimonious row between London and Paris over the numbers crossing the Channel. "Britain is in no position to be giving lessons to us," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told Cnews television ahead of talks with his British counterpart Priti Patel later Monday. Britain "should stop using us as a punch-ball in their domestic politics," he added. The longstanding dispute has intensified in the last days after record... Читать дальше...