Malta's mental health strategy targets are being reached ahead of schedule, Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Thursday.  "We're ahead when it comes to the strategy and the plans we have," Fearne said.  He made his comments at a press conference during the inauguration of a new 50-bed facility that has started welcoming patients from Mount Carmel as part of efforts to relocate patients who do not need to be at the mental health facility.  The new facility, Casal Nuova, is in Paola. Others patients will be moved there in the coming days. It also has a special unit for those with Huntington's, who up until now have always been treated at Mount Carmel even though they did not have mental health issues.  "The new facility takes 50 beds and is part of the chain of new services that the government is offering as part of its mental health strategy which was unveiled in July 2019. Innovation is crucial and we want to be on the forefront of providing the most modern services to our patients," Fearne said.  On Mount Carmel Hospital, which has made headlines in recent years because of the appalling state of the wards there, Fearne said work is underway and renovations are proceeding at a...

Five Planning Authority board members on Thursday recused themselves from a hearing that is due to decide on a controversial mega hotel and residential complex in Pembroke, citing perceived conflict of interest. The €250 million db project will see the construction of a 12-storey hotel and two 17- and 18-storey residential towers on the former ITS site.  PA chairman Vince Cassar, Environmental Resources Authority chairman Victor Axiak, Joseph Brincat and NGO representative Annick Bonello sent a note to the board saying that although they believed they could decide on the matter, they had decided to withdraw from the hearing anyway. Lawyer Chris Cilia recused himself over a potential professional conflict.   The board meeting is being chaired by Martin Camilleri. The PA board usually has 11 members, including the chair. Following the recusal, the remaining board members amount to six. A board meeting requires a quorum of seven members, but the representative of the Pembroke local council will be the seventh board member at the hearing.  They will decide on a controversial project dating back years.   It was actually approved in a sitting in 2018 but was sent back to the drawing...

Lorena Garcia was in her 20s when she was suddenly struck with crippling pain associated with her menstrual cycles.  It was four years before she was diagnosed with endometriosis, a chronic, incurable disease that affects as many as one in 10 women worldwide.  Before the diagnosis, she recalls feeling fearful and powerless as she sought help from over a dozen doctors, most of whom would tell her the pain was normal. “It was hell,” the Barcelona resident, now in her 30s, told AFP. “The doctors who look down on you, who call you crazy or even say that you’re hysterical... I felt very alone.” Endometriosis occurs when the cells that normally line the inside of the uterus migrate and grow in other parts of the body, mostly the pelvic organs – including the vagina, cervix and uterus – but also the bowel and bladder. The cells respond to hormonal changes, and their movement or growth often coincides with menstrual cycles. Endometriosis sometimes causes painful lesions and cysts that can result in infertility.  Trial and error  The only reliable way to diagnose endometriosis is by laparoscopy, which involves inserting a tiny camera into the patient’s abdomen under general...

Italy’s industrial production index returned to pre-COVID levels in April, official data showed on Thursday, in another sign of optimism for the eurozone’s third-largest economy.  The seasonally adjusted index rose by 1.8 per cent month-on-month to 104.5 points in April, the fifth consecutive monthly increase, national statistics agency Istat said in a statement. In February 2020, when Italy became the first European country to be hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the index stood at 103.3 points, crashing to 74.3 and 58.5 in the two following months.  Italy is emerging from its worst recession since World War II. Last year, gross domestic product contracted by 8.9 per cent, one of the severest slumps in Europe. However, things have recently started to look up, with falling COVID death tolls, progress with vaccinations and gradual reopening of the economy.  Last week, Istat said it expected GDP growth of 4.7 per cent this year and of 4.4 per cent in 2022, largely fuelled by domestic demand.  Italy’s recovery hopes are linked to a massive €222.1 billion investment plan mostly funded by European Union loans and grants, covering the 2021-2026 period.

Flights between Malta and Dubai are to be restarted by Emirates airline on July 14. As in the past, there will be a stop in Larnaca, Cyprus. The airline said there will be three weekly services. The service was discontinued for several months as the travel industry was hammered by COVID-19. The airline said it will use two-class Boeing 777-300LR aircraft, offering 42 lie-flat seats in Business and 386 ergonomically designed seats in Economy class. Emirates flight EK 109 will depart Dubai every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 8am, arriving in Larnaca  at 11.10am. The flight will leave Larnaca at 12.20, arriving in Maltaat 2.05pm. The return flight, EK 110 leaves Malta at 3.35pm, arriving in Larnaca at 7pm. The flight will leave Larnaca at 8.10, arriving at 1.05am in Dubai the next day. Emirates customers also have seamless access to European cities via the airline’s codeshare agreement with Air Malta.  Effective 2nd June, 2021, Emirates customers travelling to Malta, who are 5 years old or above, are required to hold a negative COVID-19 test certificate for a test taken within 72 hours of arrival in Malta. Passengers must also present a completed Passenger Locator Form (PLF) and...

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Thursday that vaccination rates in Europe are still far off what is needed to stop a virus resurgence and called on countries to maintain protective measures. "Vaccination coverage is far from sufficient to protect the region from a resurgence. The distance to go before reaching at least 80 percent coverage of the adult population, is still considerable," Hans Kluge, the WHO's regional director for Europe, told a press conference, urging nations to avoid repeating the "mistake" of last summer when measures were eased prematurely. Malta is leading vaccination rates in Europe. Health Minister Chris Fearne on Thursday said e said that 76 per cent of adults in Malta had received a first dose of the vaccine and 56 per cent were fully vaccinated.                 

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption group vowed Thursday to fight on, despite a court ruling branding it an "extremist" organisation and requiring it to shut down. Western countries and the European Union were quick to condemn Wednesday's late-night ruling, but senior Russian officials doubled down, describing Navalny as an agent collaborating with Washington. The court decision was the latest in a series of moves against critics of President Vladimir Putin, with some of his loudest opponents fleeing the country and several prominent activist groups and independent media shutting down. The ruling bans Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and a network of regional offices from continuing to operate and, under a recently passed law, prevents those previously associated with the groups from running in parliamentary elections. The FBK was defiant, saying in a Thursday morning Twitter post: "We woke up, smiled with destructive intent and knowing that we are a 'danger to society' will continue to fight corruption!" What exactly the group will be able to do is unclear in the wake of the ruling, which followed a hearing behind closed doors. Navalny's closest...

AP Valletta has been shortlisted for Europe’s prestigious Ilucidare Special Prize for its heritage-led innovation and outstanding contribution to Valletta’s regeneration.  The architecture firm is among four finalists for the Heritage-led Innovation Category of the second edition of the Ilucidare Special Prizes, awarded within the European Heritage and Europa Nostra Awards. These aim to demonstrate that cultural heritage is a powerful resource for strengthening international exchange and driving innovation-led sustainable development. The announcement of the 2021 Ilucidare Special Prizes was made in Brussels on Thursday by the Ilucidare Consortium, including Europa Nostra and the European Commission.  AP Valletta was nominated by the Valletta council for its numerous projects across the capital, which served as a reminder of the intangible benefits that rigorous design and heritage-related processes can generate for a city and its community. Valletta mayor Alfred Zammit said: “Despite the aggressive construction industry that constantly causes changes in the landscape with the death of old structures and the birth of new ones, AP Valletta makes an effort to ensure, above all,...

A decision on whether to maintain a higher pace of emergency asset purchases is investors' focal point as European Central Bank policy makers are due to meet today. Furthermore the highly anticipated US inflation figure for May will be released. Inflation has been a major talking point over the past couple of months, as many believe it to be the canary in the coal mine as to if/when the Federal Reserve (Fed) will change tack with regards to its loose monetary policy. Continuing on inflation, April’s CPI release saw a rise to +4.2 per cent year-on-year, which marked the fastest inflation we’ve seen in the US this side of the financial crisis. The Fed’s argument is remains that this heightened level of inflation is to be expected and is transitory, meaning that they will wait to see a sustained trend prior to taking any action.  In my opinion the Fed’s reasoning is highly justified given the one-off factors such as those associated with the economic reopening and base effects. Furthermore, digging deeper into the categories that formed the strength in core CPI last month, one will notice that these largely form part of the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, where there were...

Luana Borg, a girl who was reported missing almost a month ago, has been found safe and well, the police said on Thursday. The 16-year-old had also gone missing on Christmas day and turned up safe one month later. She was also reported missing on other previous occasions.   

Malta must strive to be the "best in the world" in the next decade, Prime Minister Robert Abela said as he launched the public consultation document outlining Malta’s economic vision for 2021-2031. Speaking at the launch event on Thursday, Abela said that despite the challenges the country faced because of COVID-19, Malta's employment and Gross Domestic Product figures are back to pre-pandemic levels.  "Almost 5,000 new businesses were set up in 2020. The business sector knows we are behind it," he said. "Today, we launch the economic vision for this next decade. The last 10 years saw us bridge the gap between us and the EU. Now, the next decade will see us become a centre of excellence," Abela said.  According to the prime minister, the economic vision will be based on five pillars: quality of life; infrastructure; education; good governance; and what Abela described as "the most important pillar" - the environment.  In order to achieve the goals, Malta needs to radically transform training and education in a way that creates a culture where learning is an ongoing process, he said. And on good governance, Abela said that "weak regulators mean weak sectors" and so institutions...

The media arms on opposite sides of the political arena have requested intervention in a constitutional case filed by Lovin Malta challenging a law that allows such party stations to bypass the principle of impartiality. A provision under the Broadcasting Act, namely the proviso to Article 13, allowed the broadcasting watchdog to “close an eye” on the manner of operation of party-owned stations, considering the general output of programmes “together as a whole.” At the time when that law came into effect, the government of the day had argued that party-owned stations, with their essentially “partisan message,” would eventually balance each other out.  However, that reasoning was now being contested by Lovin Malta which argues that such partisan message delivered by One and Net TV could not be impartial and thus both stations breached the principle of impartiality as safeguarded by the constitution. When the first hearing of the case kicked off on Thursday, Mr Justice Ian Spiteri Bailey took formal note of separate applications filed by lawyers representing One Productions Ltd and Media.Link Communications Ltd, requesting intervention in the dispute.  Both party stations are...

Four new COVID-19 cases were reported on Thursday as five patients recovered. The health authorities said 2,123 swab tests were made in the past 24 hours. The number of active cases now stands at 67. Just one new case was reported on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, with no new cases on Monday.  The number of vaccination jabs has risen to 570,513, with 246,964 people now fully vaccinated.  While cases in Malta remain low, some restrictions are still in place including a ban on all mass events, except weddings.  However, Health Minister Chris Fearne, is to announce on Friday the opening of some activities for people who have a vaccine certificate. Masks remain mandatory everywhere except beaches, where people have been allowed to remove them since the beginning of the month. 

After 23 years in the wilderness of international football, Scotland are back in a major tournament and have more history to make at Euro 2020 as Steve Clarke’s men aim to take their country beyond the group stage for the first time ever. In charismatic fashion, the Scots took the long and difficult road to come back home to Hampden for their opening game against the Czech Republic on June 14. Penalties were needed to see off Israel and Serbia after Alex McLeish’s team earned a crack at qualifying via the play-offs thanks to their performances in the Nations League.   Continue reading this article on Sports Desk, the new sports website by Times of Malta

The sole survivor of a deadly cable car crash in Italy was released from hospital on Thursday, health authorities said, noting that the five-year-old's condition was "much improved". Fourteen people, including Eitan's Israeli parents, younger brother and great-grandparents, were killed in the May 24 accident after a cable snapped on the aerial tram bringing weekend visitors to the top of the Piedmont region's Mottarone mountain. "Early this morning Eitan was discharged from the Isola Margherita ward of the Regina Margherita hospital," said the Turin children's hospital in a statement.  The child -- who had suffered from severe chest and abdomen injuries -- returned home to Pavia, south of Milan, with his aunt, the hospital said. "His condition is much improved now," said the statement, adding that a full recovery would take 60 days.  The cable car accident, which came at the start of Italy's much-anticipated reopening to tourists after coronavirus closures, was the country's worst in over two decades.  It remains unclear why the pull cable snapped just before the car reached the summit on the 20-minute trip up the mountain. Investigations have revealed, however, that emergency...

Malta International Airport is one of nine airports worldwide to have been awarded five stars for its COVID-19 health and safety efforts by the leading air transport audit and research organisation – Skytrax. It followed a three-day audit of the airport’s processes, protocols and premises conducted by one of the organisation’s auditors in line with the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Apart from observations of the health and safety protocols employed at main passenger touch-points, a good part of the audit was dedicated to the testing of almost 60 frequently touched surfaces, ranging from vending machine buttons to escalator handrails, in order to determine their sanitisation levels. Tests carried out on security trays used by passengers at the Security Screening Area returned particularly impressive results, MIA said.  CEO Alan Borg said this achievement did not mean that MIA would be resting on its laurels. "As we brace ourselves for busier summer days, we remain committed to keep evolving the airport experience by taking on board the expert advice provided...

Twenty-five years after England’s dramatic Euro 96 campaign revived the nation’s love affair with football, Gareth Southgate’s side aim to emulate the golden summer when football came home. England manager Southgate leads his team into their opening match of the European Championship against Croatia at Wembley on Sunday. It should be a memorable occasion as England play on home turf at a major tournament for the first time since Euro 96. For Southgate, England’s role as one of several hosts of the delayed Euro 2020 offers a chance for redemption after his penalty miss condemned the country to Euro 96 semi-final heartache against Germany. If England can create the same wave of national enthusiasm that Terry Venables’ team surfed 25 years ago, Southgate will have a chance of winning a first major title for the country since the 1966 World Cup. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Ayinger Bavarian beer is now in Malta, just in time for the hot summer months. This exceptional beer was awarded gold at the European Beer Challenge 2021 in London for its Celebrator Doppelbock and Urweisse. The Ayinger Brewery is located in the heart of upper Bavaria, well known for more than 140 years as an excellent source of beer specialities. Ayinger Brewery is one of the most renowned breweries in Europe and produces more than 14 different beers. Ayinger Bavarian beer is imported in Malta by 36North Imports. Importers and distributors of fine wines and exclusive spirits. For more information visit www.36northimports.com. 

Whether you’re a new player or an experienced one, international online casino guides pack a lot of information, tips and strategies. Casinos have, for long, been a good source of entertainment – and in recent years, this form of entertainment has become even more popular and accessible, thanks to online casinos. While brick and mortar casinos have the added drama of evening wardrobes, online casinos come with the added advantage of offering anyone with a WiFi connection and a computer, tablet or smartphone, good fun from the comfort of their own sofa. Such is the popularity of online casinos that they have mushroomed – all vying for punters’ attention and custom through great games, favourite classics, enticing bonuses, responsible gaming and excellent customer care. It’s not easy for players – both seasoned and new – to find the entertainment that suits them best. It’s just too much quality and quantity – and so little time. Which means that a bit of guidance is essential. And this is where international online casino guides come in. Players wanting a quick and safe way to get their spot of entertainment, can access a lot of valuable information to help them make the best...

Christopher Ciantar will represent the Nationalist Party on the board of the Environment and Resources Authority following the resignation of Simon Mizzi after three years in the role. In a statement, the PN said Mizzi resigned for personal reasons. Ciantar is a graduate of mechanical engineering and has a doctorate in environmental engineering. He has a particular interest in the circular economy and is currently carrying out research in the field, particularly on biofertilisers.