Новости за 30.12.2021

Leicester’s Premier League home match against Norwich on New Year’s Day has been postponed as a result of a coronavirus outbreak and injuries in the visitors’ camp. “Following a request from Norwich City, the Premier League Board met today and regrettably agreed to postpone the club’s fixture at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium, due to be played at 1500 GMT on Saturday, 1 January,” English top-flight bosses said in a statement on Thursday. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk.

French Ligue 1 side Monaco have sacked coach Niko Kovac, a source close to the club told AFP on Thursday. Former Bayern Munich boss Kovac took over the under-performing French side from Robert Moreno in July 2020 on a three-year contract with the option of a further season. Kovac, 50, was told of the decision by the club’s board late on Thursday. The Principality side finished third last season but were eliminated in the Champions League’s qualifiers and are sixth in the French table, 17 points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain. Читать дальше...

A new agreement has been signed between Malta and the US in a bid to clamp down on tax avoidance by American citizens and residents using Maltese pension schemes. The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in July identified “potentially abusive” use of the US-Malta tax treaty by some American citizens to avoid property tax by moving properties into Maltese pension plans. These plans then sell the assets and distribute the proceeds back to the US holder, without taking on any tax burden. The IRS maintains... Читать дальше...

Twenty years ago tomorrow, around 300 million Europeans held a brand new currency in their hands, the euro. From Lisbon to Helsinki to Athens, citizens were able to withdraw euro banknotes in their local ATMs, buy their groceries with euro coins and travel abroad without exchanging currency.  The changeover from 12 national currencies to the euro was a one of a kind operation in history: the European Central Bank printed more than 15 billion euro banknotes and some 52 billion coins were minted ahead of January 1, 2002. Читать дальше...

Victor Calvagna, president of Puttinu Cares, is brain dead, and treatment is being withdrawn to let nature take its course, his wife said in a Facebook post on Thursday evening. Calvagna, 63, a much-loved paediatric cancer specialist, was hit by a car in Qawra two days ago in an accident that drew an outpouring of grief across the country. His wife Carmen said MRI tests were showing that he is brain dead. "They will stop all treatment and let nature take its course. Let's pray for the good Lord to welcome him," she wrote. Читать дальше...

A disgraced notary already convicted of misappropriating clients’ funds has been sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of complicity in fraud. A developer who sold a penthouse that was not his was handed a suspended jail term. Pierre Falzon, 61, who voluntarily renounced his warrant in 2012, and Peter Agius, 51, from Naxxar, were convicted of deceitfully selling a Paola property that had already been used by HSBC Bank Malta plc as a guarantee against a pending loan. Falzon... Читать дальше...

Santander's UK bank on Thursday was seeking to recover £130 million ($175 million) it paid out on Christmas Day by mistake.  Due to a "technical issue," 75,000 payments by some 2,000 corporate and commercial account holders were made twice to their recipients, the bank said in a statement sent to AFP, confirming a report in The Times. The duplicated transactions made on Christmas morning came from the bank's own reserves, meaning that none of the clients were left out of pocket, the bank said. Читать дальше...

Following the drop of 12.4% recorded in 2020, the MSE Equity Price Index eased by a further 4.5% during the past 12 months as most companies ended the year in negative territory. Moreover, 2021 was characterised by the very low volume of trading activity in equities as only €32.5 million worth of shares changed hands – the lowest level since 2009. International Hotel Investments plc was the best performing equity during today’s trading session as it surged by 8.8% to the €0.62 level across five deals totalling 25,500 shares. Читать дальше...

The University has been urged to move its January exams online, with the students' wing of Moviment Graffitti saying it was illogical that the authorities had decided that students in quarantine could not take their exams, forcing them to sit in September instead. Graffitti said it backed arguments by the KSU students' council and academic staff to move lectures and exams online. With a significant number of students having work placements and practicals in the summer, the time to study for students decreased, Graffitti said. Читать дальше...

The Nationalist Party demanded an explanation from the government on Thursday after Times of Malta reported that operations at Mater Dei Hospital are still being postponed due to delays in the supply of a radioactive substance from Italy, while a multi-million euro machine that can produce the substance in Malta remains unused. The issue was first flagged by Times of Malta in March and highlighted again on Thursday. The machine, called a cyclotron, has been lying unused and “still in boxes” at the Life Sciences Park... Читать дальше...

Leicester City’s injury problems intensified when striker Jamie Vardy was ruled out Thursday for three to four weeks with a hamstring problem. The 35-year-old former England international suffered the setback during Leicester’s shock win at home to Premier League title contenders Liverpool on Tuesday. And with Patson Daka also sidelined and out of the African Cup of Nations, it means the only forwards now available to Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers are Kelechi Iheanacho and Ayoze Perez, with... Читать дальше...

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte expects Hugo Lloris to remain at the London club. The France goalkeeper is out of contract at the end of the season and the Spurs captain will be allowed to talk to foreign clubs about a free transfer from Saturday. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk.

New Year's Day is expected to be one of the warmest on record at 20°C, the Meteorological Office said on Thursday. It said that a mainly sunny end to December will continue into a sunny and dry New Year’s Day.    "The first day of 2022 is set to be one of the warmest on record, as a maximum temperature of 20°C is expected on Saturday. This is close to the maximum temperature of 20.2°C registered on January 1, 1985, which went down on record as Malta’s warmest New Year’s Day," the office said.  However... Читать дальше...

Alex Dalli, the controversial former director of prisons, is being appointed the government's special representative in Libya, dealing with matters of national security including migration. He will also sit on the Malta-Libya Coordination Centre for the fight against illegal migration, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri has announced.    He said Dalli had been appointed on the basis of his vast experience in the armed forces. The coordination centre was set up in July last year following talks... Читать дальше...

Shares of Biogen surged on Wednesday following a report that South Korean giant Samsung Group is in talks to acquire the US biotech company for more than $40 billion (€35bn). Biogen, which is known for its Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm and a neurology-focused medication pipeline, approached Samsung on a potential deal that could be valued at more than $42 billion, according to a report in the Korea Economic Daily. The report, which cited unnamed investment banking sources, noted Biogen’s relatively... Читать дальше...

With tens of thousands of people in isolation starting to impact business and essential services, the government had little option but to reduce quarantine periods, starting from January 3.   The new rules apply automatically from Monday, even for those who are currently quarantined. This means that if a person is already in quarantine when the new rules come into force, they can still benefit from the shorter isolation period.  What is the main change?  The most crucial change is the reduction... Читать дальше...

The Maltese Olympic Committee announced that the Gala Sports Awards, scheduled for next month, have been postponed amid the current COVID-19 situation in Malta. The MOC were due to host their gala night, which acknowledges the athletes’ feats for outstanding performances in the international arena, on Saturday, January 15. However, the governing body felt that it would be irresponsible to host such an event in light of the current COVID-19 situation. During the past few days, Malta has experienced a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases. Читать дальше...

A hydraulic platform which can lift fire-fighters and rescuers 70 metres to gain entry into high-rise buildings was among items commissioned by the Civil Protection Department on Thursday. The new equipment also includes two fire-fighting vehicles and two divers' vans. The commissioning ceremony was held in the presence of Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri and Emanuel Psaila, director of the Civil Protection Department.  Psaila said this was part of a modernisation process for the department. Читать дальше...

Manchester City’s Phil Foden has insisted there is no danger of the reigning champions becoming complacent in their pursuit of another Premier League title. Wednesday’s 1-0 win away to Brentford, secured by Foden’s 16th-minute goal, left City eight points clear at the top of the table, with Pep Guardiola’s men recording their 10th successive league win. And with nearest challengers Chelsea and Liverpool both dropping points, City appear to be in a commanding position heading into the second half of the season. Читать дальше...

The Environmental Health Department has urged consumers not to use food contact items made of a mixture of bamboo and plastic. It said that use of ‘bamboo’ with plastic materials is not authorised for use in food contact materials due to the presence of melamine and formaldehyde. Furthermore, these materials are also sometimes deceitfully marketed as ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘natural’.  Consumers were urged not to purchase or use any such food contact materials which include plates, cups, cutlery, and... Читать дальше...

The Malta Football Association has announced that a final decision on whether to accept a request made by the Malta Professional Football Clubs Association to delay the restart of the BOV Premier League to January 17 will be made in the coming days. The majority of the Premier League clubs are currently experiencing a huge struggle due to a huge rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. With several clubs having the majority of their first-team squad as well as members of their technical staff in isolation... Читать дальше...

 Liz Cowan, a 65-year-old white social worker, grew up in apartheid South Africa being told that the charismatic black cleric Desmond Tutu was a dangerous man. But on Thursday she joined crowds of people of all races lining up to pay their respects to the fearless fighter against white-majority rule, as he lay in state inside the Cape Town cathedral where he had preached for a decade. "He was so vilified. It was only as a teenager that I realised he was a good guy," she recalled, standing in... Читать дальше...

A man sobbed in court as he was accused on Thursday of having injured another man when an argument got out of hand in a Zabbar residence two days ago. The injured man ended up with a part of his nose and lip bitten off. Ehis Imobhio, a 40-year old Nigerian national resident in Zabbar, was accused of violent assault and causing grievous bodily harm. He pleaded not guilty, sobbed throughout the arraignment  and at one point dropped to his knees before Magistrate Ian Farrugia, insisting that he was... Читать дальше...

Nationalist Party MP David Thake has asked parliament’s standards commissioner to investigate him, following revelations that his company owes €270,000 in back taxes and penalties.  Vanilla Telecoms, which is fully owned by Thake, is understood to have accrued the tax bill over a number of years. The MP has confirmed the outstanding bill and said that he is negotiating a repayment plan with the Inland Revenue Department.   He has however insisted that around €100,000 of that had been deferred... Читать дальше...

Two men allegedly linked to a €400,000 jewellery and cash theft from an Attard store in October were denied bail upon their arraignment on Thursday. Josuel Farrugia, a 40-year old watchman from Qrendi, and Anthony Rapa, a 52-year old Mtarfa resident who is currently unemployed, were escorted to court to face charges over the robbery that allegedly took place on October 28. The court heard how two masked people made off with a safe containing jewellery and cash, as well as other items from a shop showcase. Читать дальше...