Новости за 11.01.2021

RE/MAX Malta is celebrating the success of its Go4More campaign, which aimed to help associates boost their productivity, increase their knowledge and enhance the overall customer experience. Launched simultaneously across 25 countries last September by RE/MAX Europe, the Go4More campaign set out to assist associates with increasing their productivity by fitting an additional four activities into their schedule per week, such as updating more listings, bringing in new listings, promoting themselves... Читать дальше...

Manchester United will face Liverpool in the blockbuster tie of the FA Cup fourth round, while League Two Cheltenham host Manchester City. Liverpool and United will clash for two consecutive weekends with the top two also facing off in the Premier League on Sunday. National League North side Chorley's reward for their victory over a depleted Derby was a home tie with Premier League Wolves. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk.

The government is not taking the shortage of nurses seriously, their has union complained. The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses said nurses were an international work force and other countries were making huge efforts to poach them but the government could not seem to understand this. A case in point was the UK, which offers better conditions. There were indications that more than 40 foreign nurses would leave the island in the first two months of this year, the union said. “Government is ignoring... Читать дальше...

Valletta are set to add a young Italian to their ranks as they have decided to offer a contract to Davide Paglia. Paglia, 20, was already training with the youth squad of Valletta, leaving a good impression which has convinced the Valletta top hierarchy to hand the former Lazio player a spot in the senior squad with the Citizens. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk.

A second round of consumer vouchers to stimulate the local economy may be delayed to ensure bars, clubs and other venues closed due to COVID-19 measures are able to benefit, the Economy Ministry indicated on Monday.  The vouchers, totalling €100 and given to all Maltese residents over 16, were meant to be issued this month.  In a statement, the ministry said all preparations for the voucher are complete but that it was consulting with health authorities and other stakeholders to discuss when the... Читать дальше...

Labour MP Silvio Parnis said on Monday that it was his decision not to form part of the Cabinet and not to contest the forthcoming general election. However he had a good relationship with Prime Minister Robert Abela and would be loyal to his Christian Labour principles. Parnis was dropped from his post as parliamentary secretary for the elderly during the December Cabinet reshuffle. He said when speaking in Parliament on Monday that he had been offered a secretariat but refused. Nonetheless, he said... Читать дальше...

The MSE Equity Price Index opened the week sharply lower as it plunged 1.6% to an over five-week low of 4,016.735 points. Several equities ended in negative territory including MIA (-2.4%), Farsons (2.6%), GO (-2.9%), RS2 (-3.9%) and HSBC (-5%). On the other hand, four companies posted gains whilst Malita Investments plc traded flat at the €0.90 level on trivial volumes. Overall activity in equities amounted to €0.15 million with trading in RS2, MIA, PG and BMIT representing the lion’s share of today’s volumes. Читать дальше...

Santa Lucia have completed the signing of Augusto Caseres. The 23-year-old Argentine striker started the season with Gudja United, after sealing a loan move from Floriana at the start of the season, but struggled to command a regular place in Jesmond Zammit's squad. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk, the sports website by Times of Malta

Air Malta has announced an updated ‘lifeline schedule’ to maintain vital links for essential travel, cargo and mail despite COVID-19 restrictions.  Air Malta will be operating 19 weekly return flights to eight destinations: Amsterdam, Brussels, Catania, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Paris Charles De Gaulle, Rome and Zurich. The new schedule will commence on Wednesday, January 27 as follows. [attach id=1013082 size="large" align="left" type="image"][/attach] The schedule will apply until the end of February... Читать дальше...

The highly-awaited game between Ħamrun Spartans and Valletta has been rescheduled for Wednesday, January 27, the Malta FA announced. The two rivals were due to square off on January 5 but the Citizens were unable to present enough players available on Matchday, hence the postponement of the game. The Malta Football Association (MFA) released new dates for the rest of the Premier League fixtures that had been called off due to the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk... Читать дальше...

With the NCAA Division 2 having started earlier in January, Malta international Kristy Galea kicked off her sophomore season with the Alderson Broaddus Battlers. The Times of Malta Sportsdesk looks at Galea and other Maltese professionals plying their trade overseas in another segment of ‘Maltese Abroad’.   Continue reading this article on Sports Desk, the new sports website by Times of Malta

For Neil Crossey, Monday morning was a particularly exciting and nerve-wracking day. It was the first time since the pandemic hit Malta in March that he chose to send all of his five children back to school.  “As one of our children has special needs and is vulnerable, we are slightly apprehensive, as we do not know what to expect but hopefully the measures at school are successful,” he said. Neil was one of the many parents who waved their children goodbye as they had their temperatures checked... Читать дальше...

Parliament on Monday began debating legal amendments to improve gender representation in the House of Representatives. The amendments, to the Constitution and the General Elections Art, will see parliament enlarged by up to 12 seats to ensure a better gender balance. The Opposition has said it will back the Bill.   Malta's parliament is currently heavily skewed towards men, with just seven of parliament's 67 MPs being women. Across the EU, only Hungary has a lower proportion of women MPs.   The gender... Читать дальше...

US Democrats began the process of impeaching President Donald Trump for a second time on Monday if Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet do not remove him from office. Democrats introduced a resolution calling on Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment of the Constitution and remove Trump from the White House. Republicans blocked an immediate vote on the resolution and Democrats followed up by introducing an article of impeachment of Trump for "incitement of insurrection" over his role in Wednesday's storming of the US Capitol. Читать дальше...

It was a baptism of fire for Robert Abela as he surprisingly took over the reins from Joseph Muscat a year ago. Christopher Scicluna analyses the highs and the lows of the new prime minister.  It was a triumph few could have predicted. Robert Abela had only served as an MP since 2017 and had held no public office. In the party leadership contest, he was up against respected party veteran and popular Health Minister Chris Fearne. On January 11, Abela won the party contest and two days later took over from Joseph Muscat... Читать дальше...

The father of a man who has been missing since New Year’s Eve has made an emotional appeal to the public to help find his “beautiful son”. Marcel Pisani, who has used a wheelchair since a fall three years ago, was last seen at his home on Triq ix-Xitwa in Mosta.  Two days before he was reported missing, a fire broke out at his home, but police said no-one was there at the time. Speaking to Times of Malta, his father, Alfred, said the family have been left distraught but have some hope he could still be found alive. Читать дальше...

A man with an unruly past has had a seven-year effective jail term reduced to probation after showing a court that he had taken concrete steps to break away from bad company and old habits. Matthew Portelli, 35, had landed the conviction in 2019 as an accomplice in a series of cash thefts from 10 service stations over a three-month period back in 2011. The gang had also targeted a tools store and two vehicles, one of which, a Ford Transit, had been set on fire at Wied Qirda, Qormi, after being used in one of the petrol station raids. Читать дальше...

The justice minister on Monday hit out at his opposite number on the opposition for asking questions in parliament on whether it was true that an inquiring magistrate had advised the attorney general to institute criminal action over money laundering by a bank, its owner, director and money laundering reporting officer. He also asked whether the magistrate had recommended an investigation into the operations of the FIAU and the MFSA  regarding the issue of a licence to this bank.  Justice Minister... Читать дальше...

Malta’s parliament on Monday condemned the storming of the US Congress last week. Speaker Anglu Farrugia said at the opening of the sitting – the first after the Christmas recess – that he unreservedly condemned the attack, in which several people had lost their life. He said he also wanted to express his disgust at the attack on the highest institution of the United States, a symbol of democracy in that country. The attack, he observed, had been made when the people’s representatives were carrying out their duties inside the building. Читать дальше...

The British government on Monday blamed the EU for a failure to reach agreement on visa free-travel for musicians post-Brexit, after coming under fire from performers including Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke.  The singer called Boris Johnson’s government “spineless” while Tim Burgess, frontman with indie band The Charlatans, accused leaders of “treating artists with... contempt”. But a government spokesman on Monday insisted the EU was culpable. Britain had tried to secure visa-free travel for touring... Читать дальше...

Pep Guardiola says he is baffled by some of the coronavirus rules in the game, admitting he does not understand why certain matches have been postponed while others have gone ahead. Four Premier League matches have so far been called off, including City's trip to Everton last month, but a different approach appears to have been taken in the FA Cup over the weekend. Both Aston Villa and Derby fielded sides made up of youth players for their third-round ties after their entire first-team squads were told to isolate. Читать дальше...

Former MP Joseph Muscat cannot be summoned by the parliamentary standards committee to be questioned on his role in the granting of a tourism consultancy contract to Konrad Mizzi after he stepped down as minister, because he is no longer an MP, Speaker Anglu Farrugia ruled on Monday. The ruling was requested by the committee last week after it endorsed a report by Standards Commissioner George Hyzler.  In a detailed ruling, Farrugia observed that the proceedings of the committee are regulated by specific legislation... Читать дальше...

The percentage of employees marked absent from work has not yet returned to pre-COVID levels in Malta, according to the latest EU statistics. Long before the pandemic hit, in July to September 2019, the number of absent workers stood at just 0.9 per cent of employees.  That figure quadrupled to 4.3 per cent in April to June last year as non-essential shops, schools and the airport shut down. But despite most of the restrictions being lifted in May, the absentee rate only recovered to 1.5 per cent between July and September 2020. Читать дальше...

More than one quarter of a million small British businesses face bankruptcy this year without more state help amid coronavirus and post-Brexit trade fallout, a study showed yesterday. “A record number of small business owners are planning to close their firms over the coming 12 months, putting the UK on course to lose more than a quarter of a million businesses,” the Federation of Small Businesses estimated after last month quizzing 1,401 firms on their outlooks. The FSB, meanwhile, said that Britain's... Читать дальше...

An emergency fund set up last year to help voluntary organizations overcome the challenges of COVID-19 has been extended until March by another €150,000.  The scheme was announced by Parliamentary Secretary for Voluntary Organisations Clifton Grima at Palazzo Falson, one of the museums that benefited from the scheme, on Monday. The 800-year-old palace, which is run by the voluntary Organisation Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, found itself having to close its doors due to restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19. Читать дальше...