Every company will be hacked. It is no longer a matter of if, but when. As bold a statement as this may sound, I’m finding more and more that the tone has changed when executives are speaking about cybersecurity; it’s becoming more of dialogue around, how ready are we? It is far more proactive stance. However even in Malta we have seen very high-profile companies compromised. When COVID-19 hit, life as we knew it changed dramatically. Many people faced health and personal hardships, and some businesses were forced to shutter their doors. At the same time, our lives became more connected and digital. Small and medium-sized businesses moved online, launching new websites in the hope of keeping business going. But along with an increased online presence came an increased and unseen vulnerability to cyber-attacks, making these companies a huge target. Sixty-seven per cent of small and medium-sized businesses have experienced a cyber-attack, and in a world where small and medium-sized businesses make up 90% of all companies and employ roughly 70% of the global workforce, security is no longer a nice-to-have, but an essential must. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a...

Jeffrey Pullicino takes credit for the Nationalist Party’s wafer-thin 2008 election victory in his new memoirs, recalling the Mistra scandal which took centre stage just days before the country went to the polls.  Pullicino Orlando, then an up-and-coming PN MP with green credentials, had rented his land in Mistra for an open-air disco, sparking a political storm with polls showing the two parties running neck and neck. In his memoirs titled "With All Due Respect" launched on Wednesday night, the former Nationalist MP writes about the day he confronted then Labour leader Alfred Sant in a bizarre press conference, where he was given a press card to represent the PN media. “It was obvious that I had won them the elections with my performance. Lawrence Gonzi would publicly admit that he never expected to win in 2008. Everyone around him was telling him that he was definitely going to lose. He confirmed that the tide turned in his favour in the final weeks of the campaign. The only development of note in the final weeks was Mistra.” The PN went on to win the election by just 1,500 votes, but critics say the Mistra scandal actually cost the Nationalists votes. Pullicino Orlando...

Last Tuesday, Archbishop Charles Scicluna celebrated mass at Ta’ Pinu Shrine in Għarb, on the 138th anniversary of the calling of Our Lady to Karmni Grima, whose vision and devotion led to the building of the shrine. In his homily, the archbishop encouraged those going through difficult times to not give up and to let their hearts overflow with hope by drawing closer to Jesus.

Peter Kiefer founded his eponymous antiquarian bookshop in Pforzheim, Southern Germany, back in 1979, triggered by his own passion for rare and collectable books and art. Over the years, the number of clients and regular customers increased significantly, leading up to the decision to broaden the selling strategy – compiling the first auction catalogue in 1985. Initially starting with two auctions per year with approximately 1,500 to 2,500 lots, Peter Kiefer Buch- und Kunstauktionen now hosts five selling events per year, with a live broadcast on several different online platforms, with up to approximately 4,000 lots per auction and catalogue. The auction history includes various top-selling lots like the magnificent Russian coronation album Opisanie (auction 2016, lot 4062), sold at the hammer price of €160,000; a Lyonel Feininger oil painting (auction 56, lot 4962), also sold for the six-digit-figure of €150,000; and, last but not least, a first edition of volume one of Das Kapital by Karl Marx (auction 101, lot 247), which reached €75,000. But in the past three-and-a half decades, the company’s ventures also included several major events outside its own premises – including...

As it looks, many of the world’s advanced economies have emerged from the stupor of lockdowns with vigour and at frantic pace. Factory floors are humming, shops are raided and popular restaurants are booked out for months ahead. This move from standstill to full speed is creating hiccups. For more than a year, orders have been cancelled, inventories run down and investments frozen. Now, with demand booming, manufacturers and services are struggling to cope. Everyone wants everything at the same time: materials, components, energy and labour. As all these things are not forthcoming as swiftly as needed, manager-purchasing prices go through the roof and production is throttled by supply shortages. Impatient buyers, both producers as well as consumers, try to jump the queue by rampantly outbidding each other. Both statistics as well as anecdotal evidence point at price jumps not experienced for many years. Crude oil recovered from being worthless in April last year to 71 USD per barrel, copper is as expensive as never before, prices for car rentals, houses, used cars, or flight tickets jump in double digits. Producers can charge at will as consumers seem prepared to accept any...

Roberto Mancini said that his Italy team deserved to be in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 despite struggling to beat battling Austria 2-1 at Wembley in a match that went to extra-time. Italy had strolled through the group stages at the Euro and were expected to easily beat the Austrians but had to wait until five minutes into the added half an hour to take the lead through Federico Chiesa. Matteo Pessina made sure that the Azzurri would make last eight but Austria pulled one back through Sasa Kalajdzic to keep the tie in the balance until the final whistle. “We got the result because we deserved it. In the first half we could have scored a couple of goals and then after the break we dropped off physically,” Mancini told Italy’s public broadcaster RAI. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Last week, I had the honour and the privilege of representing both Malta as well as the Socialists and Democrats group within the European Parliament at the Conference on the Future of Europe inaugural plenary. The Conference on the Future of Europe is a citizen-led project, whereby people from all over Europe will have the chance to voice their opinions regarding the direction that the European Union is heading in. It is the first of its kind in that it is the first-ever major pan-European democratic exercise, brought forward by the people, and for the people. Its main “hub” so to speak, is the multilingual digital platform futureu.europa.eu, where all European citizens are able to contribute to the ongoing debate by submitting their thoughts and ideas. Moreover, as I stated at the first caucus of the Socialists and Democrats Group of the European Parliament, we need to get closer to our citizens, and we should use the Conference on the Future of Europe as an occasion to listen to our people’s concerns, but also to act. We need a Europe that ensures that no country, region or person falls behind. In other words, we want to listen to our citizens, and this is why the Conference...

Nearly 140 countries will haggle over key details of a global corporate tax plan this week, with some concerned about giving up too much and others eager to ensure tech giants pay their fair share. The Group of Seven (G7) wealthy democracies approved a proposal to impose a minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15% earlier this month, hoping to stop a "race to the bottom" as nations compete to offer the lowest rates. It is one of two pillars of reforms that would also allow countries to tax a share of profits of the 100 most profitable companies in the world - such as Google, Facebook and Apple - regardless of where they are based. The deal now goes to the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which is overseeing two days of talks starting Wednesday to find a consensus among 139 countries. The proposal will then be taken up by the G20 club of wealthy and emerging countries at a meeting of finance ministers in Italy on July 9 and 10. "I don't think we have ever been so close to an agreement," said Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD tax policy centre. "I think that everybody has realised that a deal is better than no deal," Saint-Amans told France's...

The highly anticipated film adaptation of Alex Vella Gera’s National Book Prize winning novel Is-Sriep Reġgħu saru Velenużi (Merlin Publishers, 2012) will hit the big screen on Friday, August 6 at Eden Cinemas. Ahead of its launch in a few weeks we speak to its director and producer Martin Bonnici. The film Is-Sriep Reġgħu saru Velenużi was produced with the support of the National Book Council’s inaugural Film Adaptation Fund. This is your first feature film after a number of short films – when did you start thinking about making this film and how was the experience of getting it off the ground? Teodor Reljić and I started working on the project a few years ago, I think it was around 2015 or 2016. Adapting an existing product into a screenplay is not an easy task, there are a lot of elements you need to balance out and tough decisions to make – like what to keep and what to leave out. As in any film process, the development and financing period was tough and at times disappointing. However, it was a healthy process that allowed us to work on the narrative and ensure a solid basis for our film. Sriep is an adaptation of Alex Vella Gera’s modern classic which revolves around a...

Jeffrey Pullicino takes credit for the Nationalist Party’s wafer-thin 2008 election victory in his new memoirs, recalling the Mistra scandal which took centre stage just days before the country went to the polls.  Pullicino Orlando, then an up-and-coming PN MP with green credentials, had rented his land in Mistra for an open-air disco, sparking a political storm with polls showing the two parties running neck and neck. In his memoirs titled "With All Due Respect" launched on Wednesday night, the former Nationalist MP writes about the day he confronted then Labour leader Alfred Sant in a bizarre press conference, where he was given a press card to represent the PN media. “It was obvious that I had won them the elections with my performance. Lawrence Gonzi would publicly admit that he never expected to win in 2008. Everyone around him was telling him that he was definitely going to lose. He confirmed that the tide turned in his favour in the final weeks of the campaign. The only development of note in the final weeks was Mistra.” The PN went on to win the election by just 1,500 votes, but critics say the Mistra scandal actually cost the Nationalists votes. Pullicino Orlando...

A Brief Illustrated History of Medicine – A Philatelic Presentationby Carmel Lino Cutajar, published by Progress Press, Malta As a science, medicine has only began making itself look respectable over the last few hundred years. For long centuries, what today is one of the major flag-bearers of fact-based rationality, was almost entirely in the hands of quacks and charlatans. Of well-meaning impostors who sold hope, fantasies and improbable medicaments to a captive market of sufferers and patients. Learning did not flow from rigorous experimentation and triple-checked research, but mostly from faith, superstitions, traditions based on ignorance and ignorance fortified by tradition. Life, and its most valuable accomplice, health, mostly relied on incompetent do-gooders for support. Lino Cutajar has distinguished himself in two areas: he dedicated a significant working life to surgery as a profession and adopted philately with equal passion and competence as a hobby. Later in life he has now united the two interests in matrimony. The results are pressed between the covers of this book – a history of medicine illustrated almost exclusively through postage stamps issued throughout...

A European Championship always reflects the way we in Europe shape our lives together. Four things in particular have stood out to me so far in this tournament. June 12 was a day when a continent felt close to a Danish football player. Christian Eriksen had to be resuscitated on the pitch. His team-mates, who immediately formed a circle around him, intuitively knew how to stand by him in this stressful situation. It was palpable how much his privacy was worth to them. They protected his dignity in this difficult hour. It was an enormously moving event. The collective sympathy of everyone in the stadium in Copenhagen, Danes and Finns alike, was deep – including those who had been fearing for Christian Eriksen from afar. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Customs officers discovered €13,790 during checks at Malta International Airpot on a passenger departing for Istanbul.  The cash was found on a Ukranian passenger just before flight boarding, Customs said. When asked how much cash she was carrying, the passenger said she had less than the €10,000 stipulated by law. Her belongings were then searched and a total of €13,790 were found. The passenger was fined on the spot and allowed to continue with her journey to Ukraine via Istanbul. As per national legislation, any cash, signed cheques and gold valued €10,000 or more, are to be declared to Customs when travelling to, through and from Malta. This is also applicable to all other EU countries.

In October 1952, I started attending St Emilie de Vialar School in Rabat, which was administered by the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition. Our uniform consisted of a navy blue blazer with the school badge, shorts, a white shirt, a small blue tie, black shoes and grey socks. A blue pinafore was obligatory to keep our daily clothes clean. I would complete my primary education there by July 1955. The following is a list of the sisters at the primary school and their subject areas or duties. They were all Maltese except where otherwise stated: Sister-in-charge: Rev Mother Pace; English: Senior sister Marie de Lourdes and Sr Richard (from Manchester, UK); Religion: Sr Winifred Anastasi; arithmetic and discipline: Sr Emilie Mamo; geography: Sr John Mark (from Ireland); dormitories: Sr Albin (from Ireland) and Sr Mary Magdalene; Pantry/kitchen: Sr Wilfred (from England); Italian: Sr Antoinette Farrugia (now 102 years old, God bless her); French: (in my case only), Senior Sister Marie de Lourdes (then over 60 years of age); and discipline: Sr John Evangelist. The school doctor was a Dr Bugeja from Rabat. The Maltese language was not yet taught. We wrote on narrow and wide-lined...

The Malta Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (MAGG) recently held a webinar entitled Elder Abuse in Malta: Myth or Reality, on the occasion of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The aim of the webinar was to educate and alert people that elder abuse does exist. Indeed, it is considered a silent crime in many countries, given the under-reporting and the often “behind closed doors” nature of the abuse. This phenomenon prompted the title of the webinar, which was led by MAGG president Claudette Gauci and conducted by vice president Anthony Scerri. The webinar hosted a plethora of distinguished speakers, none less distinguished than by the interventions of older persons from our community who delivered personal reflections on elder abuse or asked razor-sharp questions. One question posed “Why are we not involved in the decision-making processes that would influence our lives?”. Nena Georgantzi, policy coordinator Human Rights and Non-Discrimination at Age Platform Europe, explored the importance of a United Nations Convention for the rights of older persons. This position is supported by the MAGG and welcomes Minister for Senior Citizens and Active AgeingMichael Farrugia’s...

Jan Vertonghen said that Belgium’s focus wouldn’t just be on Cristiano Ronaldo as the Red Devils prepare to take on Portugal in a Euro 2020 last-16 showdown between two of the tournament favourites. Ronaldo tops the scoring charts at the Euro with five goals in three group stage matches but Benfica defender Vertonghen has his eyes on the European champions’ talented attack as Belgium, the world’s top-ranked team, continue their hunt for a first major international honour. “He’s the biggest player in the history of Portugal and we have to respect that, and I respect him a lot, but tomorrow it’s not Belgium against Ronaldo, it’s Belgium against Portugal and they have a lot of good players,” said Vertonghen. “He’s a striker who scores in nearly every match and he’s proved that many times. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

The great rotation we have witnessed since the vaccine announcement last November has helped active fund managers to benefit greatly thanks to their stock picking abilities, combined with a disciplined approach to valuation. The question remains, where can we go from here? Throughout the last decade, active managers faced various major headwinds, with one of the most prominent being the unprecedented levels of market concentration. In fact, this factor, along with the rise of passively managed funds, is one of the main contributors that led the active fund management industry to face disruptions. The onset of the pandemic drastically increased these headwinds to historic levels.   With regard to market concentration, if a manager did not hold exposures to the largest tech names in 2020, one would likely been left behind. A limited number of shares driving markets creates a difficult environment, even for skilled stock pickers. In this case, it was especially difficult for managers to outperform with any kind of valuation discipline. The accompanying chart shows just how concentrated markets became in 2020, even surpassing the concentration faced during the dot-com bubble in the...

The Malta Society of Arts’ summer courses will start in a couple of weeks, promising to introduce its students to fantastic worlds and creatures The Malta Society of Arts (MSA), Malta’s oldest institution for the promotion of the arts and crafts, has been offering summer courses for a few years, and this year’s classes in visual, applied and performing arts will start in the first week of July. All 21 courses will be held at Valletta’s Palazzo de La Salle between July and September. Some of the classes, like those in pianoforte, guitar, violin and voice, are a continuation of their winter courses, and the ever-popular Drama for Fun (seven to 15 years) will be available once more. There are also art courses for children of different age groups. Some courses are tailor-made for mature students (50+ years). Manga art and human figure art classes, where live models pose every week, are also on offer. Among the applied arts are the more traditional ones like filigree, crochet and lacemaking, while courses in dressmaking and tailoring have gained popularity in recent years, reflecting an increased interest in local fashion.  Although MSA’s course catalogue was already quite extensive,...

England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has backed his captain Harry Kane’s “undeniable quality” to shine through at Euro 2020 despite a sluggish start to the tournament. Kane has not scored and had just one shot on target in three games so far ahead of Tuesday’s huge last-16 clash with Germany. Everton’s Calvert-Lewin has been given only one minute on the field despite Kane’s struggles, but insisted he is happy to play a supporting role. “You know he’s got undeniable quality and I think he leads the line, he’s the captain, so he’s probably the first person people look at to kind of criticise,” said Calvert-Lewin on Saturday. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Travel is reopening across Europe, but the Maltese are still hesitant to book, according to travel operators.  The cost of COVID-19 tests, inconsistent travel restrictions and paper-based documentation required in some countries is forcing many to delay their travel plans.  People who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can now download a vaccine certificate which will allow them to travel to and back to Malta with more ease, but for a number of reasons, the majority of Maltese are still waiting before booking flights.  Malta has now finalised testing its EU vaccine certificate systems, ahead of the official launch on July 1.  But a spokesperson for Air Malta noted that Maltese travellers remain cautious, reflecting a recent online Times of Malta survey.  While over recent weeks, the airline has experienced increased booking activity, it has been driven by overseas bookings.  “It is fair to say that younger people have more propensity to travel during this time. Travel colleagues are seeing that Maltese families and elderly customers are nervous and reluctant to book for summer.” The ones that are travelling appear to choose Italy as their preferred destination. The comment...