Water and irrigation are primary concerns for Maltese farmers but, once again, farmers have been shortchanged. In 2017, polished treated sewage effluent, second-class water called ‘new water’  was introduced to farmers in Mġarr. The water, intended only for agricultural use, was meant to address the overextraction of groundwater tables for agricultural use. Farmers making use of new water pay a nominal annual fee, are granted a quota of water for use depending on the area of cultivated land and are given a card to access the service. Initially, the idea of using recycled sewage was viewed with scepticism by some farmers but gradually more farmers registered for the service. Unfortunately, plans to extend the network have fallen by the wayside and points for access to new water have not been extended. Demand has outstripped supply and all the farmers in the Mġarr valley are served by one distribution point with three points of access. This means that no more than three farmers can make use of this service at the same time. The distribution point I am referring to is located just south of the Mġarr church. Due to increased demand, many farmers cannot effectively access the water...

Lionel Messi could move to Inter Miami as part of a new 10-year deal the Argentinian superstar is negotiating with Barcelona, the owner of the Major League Soccer side said Wednesday. The Miami Herald newspaper reported that Inter owner Jorge Mas and co-owner David Beckham have had “serious talks” with Messi about joining the Florida franchise for a short-term stint built into his new Barcelona contract. Reports in Spain have said that under the new deal proposed by Barcelona, Messi will play two more seasons with the La Liga giants through to the end of the 2022-2023 campaign before ending his playing career with two seasons in Miami. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Tottenham are in advanced talks to appoint former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca as their new head coach, SkyItalia is reporting. The Portuguese is expected to sign a three-year deal but nothing has been agreed yet between the two parties. Former Juventus transfer chief Fabio Paratici, who is due to be announced as Spurs’ new sporting director in the next week, has been involved in the process. Spurs have turned to Fonseca after their plans to appoint Antonio Conte as Jose Mourinho’s replacement collapsed last week following a breakdown in negotiations with the Italian. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

The size of Malta’s population in relation to the size of the country – in other words, the issue of overpopulation – impacts every aspect of our lives. We need to be able to discuss this subject intelligently like we debate other matters that are critical to Maltese society such as health, water and food security, law and order, civil rights and democracy. The acceptable level of population density and distribution in a country depends both on the country’s size and its strategic vision. Good public governance would dictate that such a vision be people-centred, with the function of the economy being that of a means to an end and not an end in itself. Malta’s strategic vision should be articulated to dovetail with the larger international landscape. The first problem one encounters is that Malta’s vision has always largely been determined by policymakers’ opportunistic and self-interested thinking. The focus of successive governments has been that of shaming the previous party in government and of promoting indiscriminate economic growth irrespective of the damage to the cultural integrity, well-being and quality of life of Maltese society. Examples of this abound since...

International football super-agent Mino Raiola confirmed his interest in a Maltese female player on Wednesday while speaking during a press conference about ThreeSports – a representation company owned by Raiola which is based in Ta’ Xbiex. Raiola would not specify who the player is, however, he lauded the impact she is making. “She’s one of the best so we will see if we can sign her,” Raiola, who represents high-profile international players like Erling Haaland, Paul Pogba, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, told the press conference. This would be part of a larger plan with which the Italian said Malta would surely have a top player with a top club in the world in the future.   Continue reading this article on Sports Desk, the new sports website by Times of Malta

Moyra Sammut is launching her debut novel, A Map of Scars, tomorrow, June 11. The book is set in the back streets of Valletta, where a chance discovery by her father forces protagonist Georgina Parker to make a decision that will change her life and of those around her. She finds herself on a path to self-discovery at the brink of World War II; a journey that takes her across the Mediterranean to the White Cliffs of Dover. Sammut was born and raised in Malta to a Maltese father and British mother. The blend of the two cultures, together with a fascination for World War II, were thus deeply rooted, as real-life events were passed on to her from both grandfathers, who actively participated in the war: her Maltese grandfather was an ARP − Air Raid Precaution volunteer, while her British one fought in Anzio with the British Royal Artillery. Sammut travelled extensively as a freelance travel journalist, focusing especially on far-to-reach destinations. She also worked as a features sub-editor with the Times of Malta and The Malta Independent. A Map of Scars makes her the first female Maltese author to publish an LGBTQI novel internationally. The book is published by Olympia...

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.

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article providing an overview of the FTSE 100, the UK’s main benchmark index. There are similar benchmarks tracking every equity market around the world. In continental Europe, apart from the individual indices tracking the German stock market (DAX30), the French market (CAC40), the Spanish market (IBEX) or the Italian stock exchange (FTSE MIB), there is also an index comprising the 50 largest companies within the eurozone. The EURO STOXX 50 Index is a popular benchmark used by many professional investors to track and review the performance of the large European companies operating across the eurozone. The EURO STOXX 50, which was developed and introduced in 1998, is managed and licensed by STOXX Limited (owned by Deutsche Börse AG) and comprises companies from eight eurozone countries namely Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. The EURO STOXX 50 index is mostly made up of French (36.6 per cent) and German (33.2 per cent) companies followed by the Netherlands at 14.8 per cent. The most influential sector within the index is ‘technology’ at 15.9 per cent followed by ‘industrial products and services’ at 14.3 per...

Mosta FC have offered new contracts to three players who formed part of their first team last season, as the Blues step up their preparations ahead of their participation in the UEFA Europa Conference League. On Tuesday, the Blues were handed a historic qualification in the UEFA club competitions this summer after Malta champions a Ħamrun Spartans were barred by the European governing body of football’s Appeals Board to compete in this season’s Champions League due to their involvement in a match-fixing case in 2012-13. Mosta are currently speeding up their preparations to have a competitve squad for their debut in European football and have handed a new two-year contract to Congolese goalkeeper Christoffer Mafoumbi. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Asian markets rose on Thursday ahead of US inflation data and a European Central Bank meeting, while traders also tracked China-US relations after Joe Biden dropped a Trump-era bid to ban TikTok and WeChat. With the global economy seeing a blockbuster recovery from last year’s virus-induced collapse, investors are in a broadly buoyant mood with expectations that equities will continue higher thanks to reopenings, vaccinations, government stimulus and vast central bank support. However, that optimism is being dampened by fears the rebound is causing a spike in inflation that will force banks – particularly the Federal Reserve – to wind back their ultra-loose programmes sooner than previously flagged, despite constant reassurances they will not. The release on Thursday of May’s consumer price index is now crucial, with warnings that a big miss to the upside of the 4.7 per cent forecast would ramp up expectations of policy tightening. Still, observers said there seemed to be a little more calm on trading floors of late as investors accept the rises would be temporary owing to a lower base of comparison with last year and soaring commodity prices. The yield on 10-year US Treasuries...

The government has insisted there was “no wrongdoing” in an accelerated armed forces promotion process that the ombudsman ruled was “outright illegal” and benefitted the “favoured few”. Asked why no action was ever taken on the ombudsman’s investigation, the Home Affairs Ministry’s head of secretariat, Joseph Vella cited a court ruling that he said proved the positions were filled “according to the law”. Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti ruled that despite being “dubious”, the court could not reach the conclusion that the accelerated promotions were illegal or unreasonable. The matter revolves around the promotion of four officers, Pierre Vassallo, Mark Said, Mark Mallia and the present commander, Jeffrey Curmi, shortly after the 2013 election. Until September 2013, Curmi was a major but was fast-tracked to the top of the AFM in four promotions in four months, becoming commander in December 2013. Mallia was made deputy commander on the same day. The ombudsman concluded that the process was irregular, illegal, improper and discriminatory. It was the result of a “tailor-made process to achieve a pre-ordained result”. He was ruling on a complaint filed by four lieutenant colonels, Karl...

In 1915-16, the Maltese football league was not held. No ground was available because tents were installed in the Mile End Ground to accommodate some of the hundreds of wounded soldiers who were being brought to Malta from the battle-zones of the First World War. Fortunately, during the summer of 1916, the ground was cleared of the tents and other hospital equipment which encumbered the pitch. This left the way clear for the MFA to organise its competition for the 1916-17 season.   Continue reading this article on Sports Desk, the new sports website by Times of Malta

Markets will be looking for clues on Thursday on when the European Central Bank might start winding down monetary stimulus, as the economic rebound from the pandemic accelerates and eurozone inflation surges past the bank’s target. The ECB’s 25-member governing council is widely expected to hold interest rates at historic lows and leave its massive bond purchasing schemes in place at its six-weekly meeting. But with vaccination progress and post-lockdown spending brightening the outlook, ECB president Christine Lagarde can expect a grilling from reporters on how policymakers plan to wean the region’s economy off crisis support. A similar debate is raging in the United States, where concerns are growing that inflation will skyrocket, forcing the Federal Reserve to reduce its bond-buying scheme or even lift interest rates to prevent the economy from overheating. ‘Avoid tapering talk’ The ECB’s main tool to cushion the impact from the coronavirus is its €1.85 trillion pandemic emergency purchasing programme (PEPP), set to run until March 2022. The Frankfurt institution in March announced it would buy bonds at a “significantly” higher pace to soothe market jitters about rising bond...

Facebook has confirmed it is working on a smartwatch that might one day connect with augmented reality (AR) glasses being developed by the leading social network. Facebook Reality Labs is investing in ways to make AR glasses more useful, unit head Andrew “Boz” Bosworth said in a tweet responding to a Verge report that the social network is aiming to unveil a smartwatch next year. Smartwatch features will include cameras, and it will integrate with Facebook apps such as image-centric social network Instagram, according to the Verge. “We’ve said we want AR glasses to be truly useful – we’re investing in technologies across the board that will make that interaction feel more natural and intuitive,” Bosworth tweeted. He cautioned that research doesn't always result in a finished product. “We'll share more when we're ready,” Bosworth said. “And just like with our glasses work, we will consult third party experts to help us get these right.” Facebook went public a while ago with plans for a launch this year of smart glasses which connect to smartphones as part of an alliance with eyewear titan EssilorLuxottica. The Ray-Ban branded eyewear, a move by Facebook into wearable tech, is an...

Ford’s eagerly awaited New Kuga Plug-In Hybrid has arrived at the showroom of GasanZammit in Mrieħel. The latest version is ready to impress and is better than ever. It’s the third Ford Kuga – and, certainly, the first to be offered as a hybrid, focusing on fun handling, practicality and, with this plug-in hybrid version, low running costs for private and company car buyers alike. This version is Kuga’s third-generation model and it gets a much more stylish design, a higher-quality interior and a host of electrified powertrains. Undoubtedly, with the unveiling of this model, Ford has further expanded its unprecedented line-up of electrified all-new Kuga SÚVs with the new Ford Kuga Hybrid. This novel car is able to deliver over 600 miles of petrol-electric and pure-electric driving between fill-ups and without ever having to plug in to recharge. The latest Kuga is smarter than previous ones, with a large grille, piercing headlights and curves all over the place. Higher-spec models on larger wheels look more imposing but even lower trims wear their smaller alloys well.  “Each of our electrified Kuga models brings a unique set of benefits. Our new Kuga Hybrid includes fuel...

A total of 60,000 people have so far downloaded vaccination certificates, and Identity Malta has expressed confidence that Malta will be able to link up with the European green certificates system on July 1 to facilitate travel, Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Thursday. Malta's vaccination certificates became available for download last week for all people who were fully vaccinated up to 14 days ago. Speaking at the opening of a facility for people with mental health problems, Fearne said that 76 per cent of adults in Malta had received a first dose of the vaccine and 56 per cent were fully vaccinated. This, he observed, was way ahead of the situation in the rest of the world. As The Economist had said, Malta was a world leader in this area, he said. COVID-19 measures were being scaled back slowly and cautiously and there had been no impact on case numbers. As a result, on Friday he will hold a press conference with Culture Minister Jose' Herrera to announce measures from July that will open up various activities limited to those having vaccination certificates, allowing cultural and social life to be gradually restored.  Fearne said Malta's target remained to vaccinate...

England’s quest to end 55 years of hurt without winning a major tournament starts in Group D with the chance to gain revenge on Croatia for World Cup heartbreak and a much-anticipated clash with neighbours Scotland. AFP Sport casts its eye over the four teams trying to reach the knockout stage.   Continue reading this article on Sports Desk, the new sports website by Times of Malta

Euro 2020 finally kicks off on Friday as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal prepare to defend their title and world champions France seek a rare double a year after the tournament was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. France’s fearsome forward line makes them favourites to win a third European crown at the pan-continental event, while top-ranked Belgium and a youthful England side will be major threats. For the first time, the tournament is taking place in 11 cities across Europe —instead of one or two countries — despite the lingering shadow cast by the Covid-19 crisis. Dublin and Bilbao were dropped from the list of host cities after being unable to give guarantees they could meet UEFA’s requirement of accommodating limited numbers of spectators, but Seville stepped in for Bilbao while Dublin’s games went to London and Saint Petersburg. The action gets under way at Rome’s Olympic Stadium on Friday, where Italy take on Turkey in front of 16,000 fans. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Malta will get around €125 million from a newly negotiated EU social fund, MEP David Casa said on Thursday.  Speaking during a press briefing about the €90 billion European Social Fund +, Casa urged the government to come up with a seven-year plan on how to best use the funds allocated to Malta. He said past funding rounds had been used on measures such as providing tablets to schoolchildren, Jobs Plus scheme as well as funding to unions and civil society groups. Casa, who led negotiations for the new fund, expressed his satisfaction that it was approved by the European Parliament without the need for a vote.  This, he said, was because all the parliament’s political groups had agreed on reporting leading to the setting up of the fund.  Questioned if funding should be tied to a government’s adherence with rule of law norms, Casa said he did not agree with people most in need being made to suffer because of a government’s wrongdoing.  The fund is one of the EU's main tool for promoting employment and social inclusion by helping people get work, or a better job, integrating disadvantaged people into society and ensuring fair opportunities. It was formally adopted by the European...

Final deeds on residential property purchases grew by a whopping 606 in May compared to the same month last year. Official data issued on Thursday shows the number of final deeds reached 1,158 in May 2021. May was, however, the slowest month in property sales last year, and this year's figures are close to what they were in 2019, according to a graph issued by the National Statistics Office.  A further 1,478 promise of sale agreements on residential property were registered in May this year, an increase of 967 over the same period last year. The value of the final deeds totalled €319.5 million, more than three times higher than the corresponding value recorded in May 2020, the National Statistics Office said. 1,075, or 92.8 per cent, of these final deeds of sale involved individual buyers (households), with companies accounting for virtually all the rest. The value of the deeds involving individual buyers (households) amounted to €208.2 million, equivalent to 65.2 per cent of the total value. The highest numbers of final deeds of sale were recorded in Gozo, and the Żabbar, Xgħajra, Żejtun, Birżebbuġa, Marsaskala and Marsaxlokk regions. The lowest numbers of deeds were in...