Новости за 22.12.2021

More than 4.5 million people including Kim Kardashian have called for a US truck driver's 110-year prison sentence to be reduced over a 2019 crash in which his brakes failed and he ploughed into traffic, killing four people. Cuban immigrant Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was transporting timber in the mountainous western state of Colorado in April 2019 when his brakes stopped functioning on a downhill stretch and he failed to use an emergency exit ramp. The ensuing 28-car pileup also left six people wounded. Читать дальше...

S0me 70 people are in distress in Malta’s search and rescue zone. NGO Alarm Phone said on Twitter on Wednesday it is in contact with two boats in the Maltese search and rescue area “who are urgently asking for help”. One wooden boat, it said, is carrying 30 people and a second boat has around 40 people on board. The NGO said the authorities have been informed and need to launch an immediate search and rescue operation.

Health Minister Chris Fearne on Wednesday scrapped rumours that Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci has resigned.  "There is a lot of fake news and stories going around, just a few hours ago I saw a post that Superintendent Charmaine Gauci has resigned, this is absolutely not true," Fearne said. The minister was speaking on One TV programme Kalamita soon after Malta registered a record of  582 new COVID-19 cases.  He said it is important to stick to science and facts, not fictional rumours on social media. Читать дальше...

It took a man four days from his release from three years in jail to get back behind bars when he staged his own kidnap, trying to extort money from his mother in Iran and the prison’s spiritual director. Iranian national Mohammad Tahmasebi Ghareb Shiran, 26, called the CCF spiritual director, Fr Hayden - who had helped him find a place where to stay after his release from prison on Wednesday last week - to tell him he had been kidnapped by two men and a woman. He told the priest he was walking... Читать дальше...

Danish shipping giant AP Moeller-Maersk said on Wednesday it has agreed to acquire LF Logistics, a subsidiary of Chinese supply chain manager Li & Fung, for $3.6 billion (€3.2bn) as it seeks to expand beyond its core ocean freight business.  Maersk is now taking another significant step to provide our customers with integrated logistics... shifting the balance significantly towards global logistics and integrated end-to-end services and solutions,” Maersk said in a statement. The deal, which is to be finalised next year... Читать дальше...

Justyne Caruana on Wednesday filed legal action challenging the constitutional validity of the law whereby she was targeted for investigation by the Standards Commissioner. She filed the action within hours of resigning as Education Minister. Caruana’s lawyers filed constitutional proceedings before the First Hall, Civil Court claiming that the Standards in Public Life Act, which granted the Commissioner an “unfettered discretion from beginning to end” effectively breached the applicant’s fundamental right to a fair hearing. Читать дальше...

This season’s Challenge League has been a battle from the start, both between the teams, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. With Lija Athletic’s match against Rabat Ajax tonight, the league breaks up for a short Christmas recess. This follows an entertaining first round of play, particularly in Group A, which saw Pembroke Athleta go top, level on 24 points with Naxxar Lions after a direct encounter at the Centenary Stadium on Friday which ended in a 2-1 win for the new leaders. After ten matches played... Читать дальше...

None of the police officers involved in the shootout with a motorist who allegedly tried to run them over captured the incident on their bodycams despite shooting no fewer than 56 shots, a court heard on Wednesday. A Rapid Intervention Unit inspector told Magistrate Gabriella Vella on Wednesday that RIU officers still did not have the mount to fix their bodycam to their body armour or helmets. Drug squad police did not wear theirs as the red light would have given them away since they were undercover... Читать дальше...

Spain’s Supreme Court said Wednesday it had annulled a lower court ruling ordering Barcelona defender Gerard Pique to pay the country’s tax office 2.1 million euros in back taxes and fines. A court in 2016 ruled that the player had avoided paying 1.5 million euros ($2.4 million) in taxes due in 2008, 2009 and 2010 by simulating the transfer of his image rights to a company he controls called Kerad Project. It ordered him to pay this amount as well as a fine of 600,000 euros, bringing the total... Читать дальше...

The World Health Organisation chief warned Wednesday that the rush in wealthy countries to roll out additional COVID vaccine doses was deepening the inequity in access to jabs that is prolonging the pandemic. The UN health agency has long warned that the glaring inequity in access to COVID vaccines, which has left many vulnerable people in poorer nations without a single jab as richer countries roll out broad booster programmes. "Blanket booster programmes are likely to prolong the COVID-19 pandemic... Читать дальше...

Works to renovate the Msida Skatepark at tal-Qroqq Roundabout have been carried out by Infrastructure Malta in collaboration with the Malta Skateboard Association. During a visit to the site on Wednesday, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg stressed the importance that such spaces are equipped with the appropriate infrastructure and enjoy maximum safety for all skateboarding and cycling enthusiasts. The renovation works include new ramps and steel rails, trees, lighting, and graffiti art. Infrastructure... Читать дальше...

Rising COVID-19 hospitalisations are driving Mater Dei hospital to "breaking point", public health consultant Tanya Melillo warned on Wednesday. "The hospital is always very busy in winter. Admissions of patients with influenza and other health conditions generally increase at this time of year," she said. "On top of that, this year we are dealing with a higher number of COVID patients, and we only have one hospital. We are reaching breaking point." Melillo, a member of the Infectious Disease Prevention & Control Unit at Mater Dei... Читать дальше...

Rising COVID-19 hospitalisations are driving Mater Dei to "breaking point", public health consultant Tanya Melillo said on Wednesday. "The hospital is always very busy in winter. Admissions of patients with influenza and other health conditions generally increase at this time of year," she said. "On top of that, this year we are dealing with a higher number of COVID patients, and we only have one hospital. We are reaching breaking point." Melillo, a member of the Infectious Disease Prevention & Control Unit at Mater Dei... Читать дальше...

A new kind of chip shortage has hit Japanese supply chains, with McDonald’s forced to ration fries in the country as COVID-19 and floods in Canada squeeze potato imports. McDonald’s Japan said it will only sell small-sized French fries for a week from Friday to avoid shortages. “Due to large-scale flooding near the Port of Vancouver... and the global supply chain crunch caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there are delays in the supply of potatoes,” it said in a statement on Tuesday. The company... Читать дальше...

A teachers union has written to the police commissioner requesting an investigation into former education minister Justyne Caruana and her permanent secretary Frank Fabri.  Caruana resigned from the post on Wednesday, weeks after an ethics probe found she abused her position in awarding a contract to her close friend, who failed to do the job and then lied about it.  The pressure is now on the permanent secretary of the department, Frank Fabri, who is also facing calls to resign because he signed off on the arrangement. Читать дальше...

Two Paris Saint-Germain players have tested positive for Covid-19 and a third is in isolation, the club said Wednesday a few hours before a Ligue 1 match at Lorient. They are one of several Ligue 1 clubs to reveal positive tests, though not at the same level as England, where a raft of matches have been postponed in the Premier League and lower divisions.  PSG’s two positive cases are German international defender Thilo Kehrer and the 21-year-old French midfielder Eric Junior Dina-Ebimbe. They... Читать дальше...

President George Vella and his wife, Miriam, have gone into isolation after being in contact with a person who was positive for COVID-19. In a statement on Wednesday, the government said they were in contact with the person on Monday.   Although they have been swabbed and both tested negative, they decided to isolate as a precautionary measure. Arrangements have been made for the President's official appointments to be postponed.  

The current surge in COVID cases is worrying many employers, the Malta Employers’ Association said on Wednesday as it warned that government inaction may lead to a serious economic slowdown in the first quarter of 2022. In a statement issued after Malta registered a record 582 cases, the association said public health should never be subject to popular opinion and in such emergencies, all necessary actions need to be taken to ascertain that the negative effects of the pandemic are not prolonged. Читать дальше...

The former chairman of the National Book Council has filed a judicial protest over the council’s composition. In his protest filed on Wednesday against Education Minister Justyne Caruana, who has since resigned, and permanent secretary Frank Fabri, author Mark Camilleri claimed they broke the law when they “completely disregarded” a decision taken by members of the National Book Congress when appointing the council. Camilleri also called on the new chief executive of the National Book Council to resign, together with the rest of the council.

A magistrate has cleared a 34-year-old man from Cospicua over an armed robbery at a gaming parlour in his hometown in 2015 after ruling that the prosecution had not managed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. Marflene Cricchiola was declared not guilty of stealing €6,400 at gunpoint from the BestPlay outlet on February 11, 2015. Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit ruled that there was no conclusive evidence that it was the accused who had committed the armed robbery. CCTV footage was useless... Читать дальше...

Marsaxlokk residents, children and NGOs protest against council plans on Wednesday to replace a school garden with a two-storey building for its offices. Six children who attend the primary school, which forms part of St Thomas More College, took turns to call on the authorities to leave the garden alone. "Leave our trees alone", "Don't touch the garden", the children shouted, as parents and residents cheered them on from outside the school gate. Video: Matthew Mirabelli The project entails the removal of 37 mature trees. Читать дальше...

It all came down to the wire on Tuesday on the final day of the Mapfre Euromed International Regatta.   Hosted in Mellieha Bay by Malta Young Sailors Club and held under the auspices of the Malta Sailing Federation, the Race, which is in its 21st Edition,  once again welcomed a strong international fleet. Tuesday’s weather conditions were the most sedate from all of the four days of the event with approximately 7 knots of wind and flat water throughout.  With one or two points separating the majority... Читать дальше...

With Israel closed to tourists and its citizens restricted from travelling abroad, the mainly Arab city of Nazareth, normally a magnet for Christian pilgrims, has been thronged with Jewish visitors. "It's not the Christmas that we hoped for, but still, the atmosphere is great, many Jewish Israelis are coming, many locals are coming," said Nazareth tour guide Aziz Banna, 41. As the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant spreads globally, Israel has banned travel to more than 50 countries. Читать дальше...

A worker is in a critical condition after falling a while installing solar panels in Marsa.  The police said the accident happened at the industrial estate at around noon and the man fell from the height of a single storey. They said the man, whose identity has not yet been established, was given first aid by a medical team and then taken to Mater Dei Hospital by ambulance. In a separate statement, the  Occupational Health and Safety Authority said it is investigating the incident. An inquiry is being held. Читать дальше...

It’s the final working weeks of the year for many people, but not the dedicated Lotus engineers delivering the thrilling Evija all-electric hypercar. The ongoing testing and validation programme continues apace, with teams in action simultaneously at opposite ends of Europe. During December they were in southern Italy, at the world-famous Nardo test track, taking the Evija up towards its top speed of more than 200mph. The reason was to complete a variety of validation tests to ensure the traction... Читать дальше...