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Abela's inaction on Cardona suggests PM is being held hostage - PN

June 12, 2020, 9:24 am
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Chris Cardona (left) and Robert Abela (right) during Abela's first appearance as PL leader in January 2020.

Robert Abela’s reluctance to get rid of Chris Cardona as deputy leader of the Labour Party suggests that the prime minister is being hostage by hidden interests, the Nationalist Party said on Friday. Cardona has been implicated in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia by self-confessed middleman Melvin Theuma, who on Friday again mentioned the former minister’s name while testifying. Theuma has been promised immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony in the case. Cardona has said the middleman is lying and insisted he has nothing to do with Caruana Galizia's murder.  Abela left Cardona out of cabinet when he rose to power in January but has so far kept him on as one of the PL’s two deputies. The prime minister has said that he is watching developments in the case closely but declined to make any further moves. In a statement on Friday, Nationalist Party MP Karol Aquilina said that Abela’s insistence on keeping Cardona as his party deputy indicated that the prime minister did not have the power to call the shots. “He is allowing Chris Cardona, like Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi do what they want. That is the true pact with the devil,” Aquilina said,...
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Cospicua care home locked down after resident tests positive for COVID-19

June 12, 2020, 9:32 am
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Photo: Shutterstock

All visits to a home for the elderly in Cospicua have been halted after a 98-year-old resident tested positive for COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Friday.  The senior citizen, a woman, is one of five patients who tested positive for the virus between Thursday and Friday. She has been transferred to St Thomas Hospital for treatment.  A woman who shared a room with the positive patient has been placed in quarantine. All residents and staff members at the Cospicua residence have now been tested for the virus, the ministry said. Test results were still pending at the time of writing. 
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Four killed in Kabul mosque blast

June 12, 2020, 9:39 am
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Residents inspect inside the Sher Shah Suri Mosque following a bomb blast ripped through a crowd during Friday prayers in Kabul on June 12, 2020. At least four people were killed after a blast ripped through a crowd during Friday prayers at a mosque in Kabul, Afghan officials said, in the latest attack on the city ahead of potential talks with insurgents.

Four people were killed after a blast ripped through a crowd during Friday prayers at a mosque in Kabul, Afghan officials said, in the latest attack on the city ahead of potential talks with insurgents. "Based on our initial information, at around noon explosives placed inside the mosque detonated during Friday prayers," interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said in a message to journalists. A health ministry spokesman also confirmed the toll, saying the prayer leader and three worshippers were killed at the Sher Shah Suri mosque, while several others were wounded. No group has claimed the attack, but the Taliban later condemned the bombing saying the insurgents considered the incident a "heinous crime". The bombing comes just over a week after an Islamic State-claimed attack killed two people, including a popular prayer leader, at a mosque on the edge of Kabul's heavily fortified green zone. Afghanistan is juggling multiple crises, with the coronavirus rapidly spreading across the country and continuing violence even as the government and Taliban signal they are getting closer to sitting down for talks. President Ashraf Ghani vowed Thursday to complete a Taliban prisoner...
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Environment authority gives eight applications go-ahead

June 12, 2020, 10:20 am
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A waste management facility in Marsa, the refilling of a soft stone quarry, and new fish farming activities, were among eight applications given the green light by the environment watchdog on Friday.  In a statement on Friday the Environment and Resources Authority said that during a board sitting eight applications for an environmental permit had been approved.   The first application included a request for an environment permit for the back-filling operations at a soft stone quarry in Mqabba. The permit addresses the waste management aspect of back-filling operations as well as various other aspects associated with site management and control. Another application included a request for the renewal an environment permit to operate a waste management facility at Marsa for the temporary storage of specified non-hazardous and hazardous waste. A request for the variation of an environment permit was also assessed for the manufacturing of plastic products and processing of plastic waste material and other related activities. This variation request is for the ceasing of end-of-waste operations and related obligations. A renewal of an environment permit was also submitted to...
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Sexist notarial law will be amended, government pledges

June 12, 2020, 10:40 am
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A law that forces women to give out their marital status while not requiring the same of men will be amended, the government said on Friday.  On Thursday the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality ruled that the law was discriminatory.   An in-depth investigation into the issue was launched following an objection by MEP Roberta Metsola and a Constitutional Court case initiated by Marie-Therese Cuschieri. In a ruling handed down this week, Malta’s Equality Commissioner Renee Laiviera agreed that the law was discriminatory and urged parliament to change it immediately. Reacting to the decision, the government said in a statement that it agreed with the commission’s findings.  The government said that addressing the matter, however, required more than simply amending two articles of law, saying that entire systems would need to be altered. The government also invited the Opposition to meet and discuss the matter further.  Cuschieri had initially brought a case before the Maltese Constitutional Court, arguing Article 28(1)(c)(i) of the Notarial Profession and Archives Act (Chapter 55 of the Laws of Malta) is inconsistent with her fundamental human rights.  The act, now...
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A Maltese artist’s world of light and shadow

June 12, 2020, 10:42 am
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Willie Apap (self-portrait). Right: Christ in the Wilderness.

In the 11th article in a series on 20th-century artists who shaped Maltese modernism, Joseph Agius discusses the life, career and times of Willie Apap. Willie Apap (1918-1970) occupies a prominent place in the development of Maltese 20th-century art although his decision to set up his studio in Rome after World War II meant that he was away from the island for long periods. [attach id=885636 size="medium" align="right" type="image"]The Descent from the Cross[/attach] Unlike Giorgio Preca, who moved to Rome at approximately the same time, Apap was not actively involved in any of the artist groups of the 1950s. These two factors sometimes mitigate the value of his contribution to the development of Maltese modernism. However, his frequent trips to Malta nurtured meaningful friendships with his artist colleagues and cross-fertilisation of concepts. Apap studied at the Malta School of Art under the watchful eye of the Caruana Dingli brothers. His older brother, Vincent Apap (1909-2003), one of Malta’s foremost 20th-century sculptors, used to keep his more exuberant brother in check. He influenced his young sibling to embrace a more classical-based aesthetic. Willie Apap, together...
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Muscat takes over at Tarxien Rainbows

June 12, 2020, 11:10 am
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Winston Muscat (right) signs his two-year contract with Tarxien Rainbows.

Winston Muscat has been confirmed as the new coach of Tarxien Rainbows. The Premier League club issued a statement on Friday to announce that the former Malta U-17 coach had reached an agreement with the Premier League club to lead them in the top-flight next season. "It is with great satisfaction that we are officially announcing that we have reached an agreement with coach Winston Muscat to take over the first-team squad for the next two years," the club said in a statement. Muscat, who boasts the highest coaching badges a coach can have around the world, the UEFA PRO License A, has great experience in Maltese football in the last few years after leading the Malta U-19 squad. "We wish Winston all success in his position at Tarxien Rainbows." Muscat replaces Demis Scerri who stepped down from his post at the end of last season.  
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Watch: Goalkeeper forgives nursery official for racist remarks

June 12, 2020, 11:49 am
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Malta U-19 goalkeeper Rashid Al Tumi announced on Friday that he had forgiven San Ġwann youth nursery official Manuel Pisani after he made racist remarks about him. Earlier this month, Al Tumi suffered abuse on social media from Pisani after the young goalkeeper condemned the murder of George Floyd in the United States. Floyd, an unarmed black man, was killed by a white policeman in Minneapolis on May 25. The case sparked protests throughout the United States and several other countries.  The incident also led to nationwide condemnation from the Maltese football community. The youth Football Association on Friday brought the two parties together to has out their differences. The meeting was also attended by youth FA president Fr Hilary Tagliaferro and general secretary Joe  Micallef. Interviewed on Net News Al Tumi on Friday expressed his satisfaction after the meeting and said that he put the incident behind him.  “Everyone can do mistakes and everyone deserves to be forgiven,” Al Tumi told Net News. “The most important thing is that he will not repeat his actions." “During the meeting he encouraged me to train harder and augured me to have a successful career” On his part,...
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PN sets up committee to identify election candidates

June 12, 2020, 11:57 am
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The Nationalist Party has appointed a new committee to scout for new candidates for local, national and European elections. The Candidates Commission was announced on Friday after it was set up by the PN’s executive committee. The announcement comes as the PN is going through a period of reform.  The party said the commission is tasked with finding potential candidates - including young people - by looking into areas including the cultural, artistic, educational, professional, commercial, economic, social and vocational fields. It will have to report regularly to the PN’s administrative council and executive committee, and will have also be expected to do due diligence checks on any prospective candidates. The new commission will be composed of the below members: Colin Vella Bowman (chairperson) Kris Borg Rachel Azzopardi Joe Vella Baldacchino Helen D’Amato Joe Bugeja Albert Ball Carm Mifsud Bonnici, as president of the administrative council, is an ex officio member.
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Olmo double keeps Leipzig on Champions League path

June 12, 2020, 1:49 pm
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RB Leipzig players celebrate scoring against Hoffenheim.

Two goals in two minutes from Dani Olmo gave RB Leipzig a 2-0 win at Hoffenheim on Friday to allow them to close within a point of second-placed Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga. Leipzig now have 62 points with three games left although Dortmund, still hopeful of chasing down Bayern Munich for the title, have a game in hand. They face Fortuna Duesseldorf on Saturday. Leipzig remain comfortably on course for a return to the Champions League, having already made the quarter-finals this season, with a six-point cushion over closest pursuers Borussia Moenchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen who play at the weekend. Spanish midfielder Olmo found the net after nine and 11 minutes while substitute Christopher Nkunku was close to a third in stoppage time when a shot came off the post.   1899 Hoffenheim - RB Leipzig Live Score
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Juve squeeze past Milan to reach cup final as football returns to Italy

June 12, 2020, 2:24 pm
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Paulo Dybala (right) outruns Milan defender Simon Kjaer.

Juventus reached the Italian Cup final on Friday after a goalless draw with 10-man Milan in the semi-final, second leg in Turin on the day football returned to Italy after three months away. Serie A champions Juve advanced on away goals to Wednesday's final in Rome thanks to February's 1-1 first-leg draw at the San Siro, despite an under-par display against a Milan side who played 74 minutes with a man less and which featured a missed Cristiano Ronaldo penalty. At the capital's Stadio Olimpico, Maurizio Sarri's side will face either Napoli or Inter, the last side Juve faced before football entered into its coronavirus-enforced hiatus in March. Napoli take on Antonio Conte's Inter at Naples' Stadio San Paolo on Saturday with a 1-0 lead from the first leg.   A feisty start belied the two teams' long absence from the pitch, with Juve -- missing the likes of Giorgio Chiellini and Gonzalo Higuain -- roaring out of the blocks and Milan putting in some questionable challenges to try to stop themselves from being overrun. Juve should have been ahead in with just 15 minutes on the clock when Andrea Conti clipped the ball in the penalty area with his elbow and conceded a penalty after a...
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What happened on... June 13

June 12, 2020, 11:20 pm
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The front pages of Times of Malta from 25 and 10 years ago.  Become a Times of Malta premium member to gain full access to our archive dating back to January 1930.
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Lifeguards to keep watch of 19 beaches across the country

June 12, 2020, 11:35 pm
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Tourism Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli inaugurates the lifeguard service. Photo: DOI/Jeremy Wonnacott

Lifeguards will keep watch of 12 beaches across Malta, five in Gozo and two in Comino between now and September 30, with the service officially opened for the 2020 summer season.  The first responders will also have jet skis at their disposal at Għadira Bay, Golden Bay, Buġibba, Marsalforn and Comino’s Blue Lagoon. For the first time, lifeguards will also be backed up by Red Cross staff who will operate a First Aid Mobile Clinic at Wied iż-Żurrieq and Għar Lapsi bays. Offering the lifeguard service for major beaches across the country is expected to cost around €900,000. Tourism Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli said the service would set people’s minds at ease as they enjoyed local beaches. “We are working hard to ensure we have a summer despite the tumult of the past few months,” she said. Malta Tourism Authority beach supervisors will patrol beaches to ensure rules are respected. [attach id=886080 type="video"]Video: Tourism Ministry [/attach] Which beaches will have lifeguards available? Malta Ġnejna Bay  Għajn Tuffieħa Bay Golden Bay Għadira Bay BuġibbaQawra point St George’s Bay (St Julian's)Balluta Bay Fond Għadir Fajtata Bay Pretty Bay St George’s Bay...
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Maltese abroad: when the island it too small for your big dreams

June 13, 2020, 12:00 am
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Nadia Scavuzzo, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Turin, left Malta in 1994 to pursue her big auditing dreams away from the small businesses she was used to on the island. She is the author's mother.  Auditing in Malta was boring. I had studied accounting and auditing in Malta with interesting case studies. But when I started working on the island, our clients were all small businesses and I found it boring.  I wasn’t getting the experience I longed for in Malta. So I decided to move to London and work in a big firm. The company where I worked, Grant Thornton, had started looking into me moving. That summer I met Romolo, my husband, and decided to go to Italy instead.  My family took the news that I was leaving Malta very badly. I remember my mother telling me “I thought you were going to live towards Sliema, which is so far away, and you are going to Italy instead.” I think my father might have thought I was going to do something like this.  My first job outside of Malta was what I had hoped for. I got an interview with Coopers and Lybrand, the company that merged with Price, Waterhouse & Co. into PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1998. The fact that I knew English so well helped...
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Bayern missing Mueller, Lewandowski for potential title-clincher

June 13, 2020, 12:05 am
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Bayern Munich will be missing Thomas Muller (centre) and Robert Lewandowski in today's match against Borussia M'Gladbach.

Bayern Munich could secure an eighth straight Bundesliga title this weekend, but host Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday without suspended duo Thomas Mueller and Robert Lewandowski. Bayern will be confirmed champions with a win on Saturday if second-placed Borussia Dortmund lose at relegation-threatened Fortuna Duesseldorf earlier in the day. That scenario would give Hansi Flick's side an unassailable 10-point lead with three games remaining. But Bayern are without Lewandowski, the league's top scorer this season with 30 goals, and Mueller, who is one short of the Bundesliga record of 21 assists in a single campaign. "It's annoying, but we can't do anything about it," said Bayern coach Flick. Thiago Alcantara has also been ruled out, for three weeks and needs an operation after struggling with a groin problem, Flick said Friday. Joshua Zirkzee, 19, is an option to replace Lewandowski up front while Serge Gnabry could start for Mueller if he is fit after a back injury. Bayern proved they can score goals without Lewandowski by thumping Hoffenheim 6-0 in late February when the Polish striker was injured. They had a scare in Wednesday's German Cup semi-final win over Eintracht...
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Watch: A ‘year of uncertainty’ for Guardamangia collapse victims

June 13, 2020, 12:28 am
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Residents of a Guardamangia apartment block forced out of the building after a neighbouring wall collapsed have now spent a year out of their homes, without a solution in sight.  Shortly before 8am on June 13 last year, 14 adults and two children were removed from their homes on Mimosa Street when a wall that faced an adjacent construction site caved in, exposing the apartments.  Residents had long expressed concern to authorities that the site was an accident waiting to happen.  'For us, the pandemic has been going on for a year' Commemorating the anniversary in a video message, Janet Walker, a victim of the Mimosa Street collapse, said that while the world was suffering through the coronavirus pandemic, for the families who lost their homes, the suffering had been ongoing for a year.  “A lot of people have lost their jobs, some couldn't pay their rent or make payments on their houses. There was a lot of help, and for this a lot of people are grateful, I'm sure,” Walker said.  “But I just want to remind you that for us, the pandemic has been going on for a year.”  Walker told Times of Malta that, through the government’s mediation efforts, they had been presented with two...
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How do modern hot hatches stack up against iconic supercars?

June 13, 2020, 12:34 am
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Car performance has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. Engine technology has gone further than most would’ve ever expected, to the point that many vehicles on sale today more than match the performance provided by a classic supercar – for half the price. Here, we’re taking a look at how modern hot hatches stack up against their supercar predecessors – so let battle commence. Mercedes-AMG A45 S v Ferrari Testarossa There are few cars quite as iconic as the Ferrari Testarossa. Low, sleek and unequivocally flamboyant, it’s a car which for many people defines the Prancing Horse brand. With a 4.9-litre V8 engine mid-mounted in the car, the Testarossa pushed out 386bhp and 490Nm of torque, all sent through to the rear wheels via a beautiful five-speed manual gearbox. [attach id=885414 size="large" align="left" type="image"]The Ferrari and Mercedes couldn’t be further apart in terms of design.[/attach] But that pales in comparison to the performance offered by the modern Mercedes-AMG A45 S. It’s got an incredible 416bhp – despite packing a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine – and a monstrous 500Nm of torque, too. Going from 0-60mph (0-97km/h) in the Ferrari? That’ll take 5.2 seconds.
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Banks using pandemic as excuse to scale back retail services, Sant fears

June 13, 2020, 12:36 am
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People queue up outside a bank in Burgos, Spain. Photo: AFP

Banks have been using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to reduce retail banking services, Alfred Sant fears. The Labour MEP has called on the European Commission to explain how it is acting to ensure that the pandemic is not used by banks to permanently reduce services for consumers. [attach id=886092 size="medium" align="right" type="image"]MEP Alfred Sant. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi[/attach] Banks across the EU have shut branches and restricted in-person services as a way of ensuring social distancing and protecting staff from coronavirus contagion over the past months. Sant wants the Commission to ensure that an adequate level of banking services are maintained for consumers and suggested linking state aid for banks to conditions requiring them to retain a level of retail banking services. He made the calls in a parliamentary question tabled at the same time as the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament presented a plenary amendment on the same topic upon Sant’s advice. The amendments are to the Annual Competition Report that will be voted next week in the European Parliament’s plenary session. One of the proposed changes is that state aid to banks should...
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Seven NGOs sue Planning Authority over 'irregular' Jerma hotel site brief

June 13, 2020, 1:06 am
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The former Jerma Palace Hotel. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Seven NGOs have jointly filed a lawsuit against the Planning Authority after it failed to withdraw a brief for a Marsascala hotel development which they say was flawed. The seven organisations had already filed a judicial protest against the PA in May, giving it notice of their intention to proceed with legal action in the case unless it withdrew the brief within 10 days. The case concerns the site of the former Jerma Palace Hotel on the coast of Marsascala. The Jerma was once one of the Malta’s largest and most prestigious hotels. The government had asked the PA to draw up the brief following an application for a 15-storey hotel and apartment complex to be built on the site. Development briefs are meant to provide an outline for the scale, range and quality of a project while flagging any constraints.  The application, submitted in 2018 by Porto Notos Limited, is for 166 luxury apartments, 250 hotel rooms, underground parking, a business centre, public chapel and a lido. The NGOs hold that although the Local Plan defines the area which should be subject to the development brief, the PA has included further areas within it. Although the Local Plan defines the area which should...
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Indiana's Brogdon says some NBA players might skip return

June 13, 2020, 1:13 am
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Malcolm Brogdon

Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon says some NBA players are considering skipping the planned 22-team restart to the coronavirus-halted 2019-20 campaign in Orlando next month. The NBA shut down in March due to the deadly virus outbreak but is expected to return in late July once final details are worked out between the league and the National Basketball Players Association. Speaking on a podcast by New Orleans Pelicans guard J.J. Redick, union executive Brogdon cited several reasons why some players are having second thoughts, including coronavirus safety issues and concerns over isolation for weeks in the Florida "bubble" environment. "I've talked to a few guys that are super interested in sitting out possibly," Brogdon said. "I was actually talking to (Oklahoma City guard) Chris Paul the other day, and he said, 'Man, this is an individual decision that every man has to make for himself.' "And I think that's exactly what it is. It depends on your perspective." Brogdon said that some players are concerned about going into quarantine for weeks as major changes in the black community are underway across the United States in the wake of George Floyd's death while in police...
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