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The head of the hunting regulator has expressed his wish to resign after cancelling what was expected to be a heated meeting to discuss the upcoming autumn hunting season.   Sources said Wild Birds Regulation Unit head Richard Lia announced his intention to resign to committee members as he cancelled not only Wednesday’s meeting but also others set for the coming weeks.   Committee members speaking with Times of Malta on condition of anonymity said they were surprised by Lia’s sudden announcement.  Lia is understood to have been taken aback by an angry exchange with hunting minister Clint Camilleri, who only learnt that the Ornis committee was to meet on Wednesday after reading about it in the press.  “I can’t work like this,” he told committee members. One source privy to the committee said they interpreted Lia’s outburst as meaning “he had enough of political interference”. Attempts to contact Lia have so far been unsuccessful.  It is understood that he has not yet formally resigned his position.  Lia was appointed to the position in 2020 after previously serving as acting head. His appointment was criticised by Birdlife after it was revealed he had a licence for bird...

Regional authorities in Sicily recorded temperatures of 48.8 degrees Celsius Wednesday as an anticyclone dubbed "Lucifer" swept the country -- which if confirmed would be a new Italy record. The blistering temperature was recorded near Syracuse, beating Italy's all-time record of 48.5 degrees in Sicily in 1999, although a spokesman for the national meteorological service told AFP this still had to be validated. In Malta, the maximum temperature recorded on Wednesday was 40.1°C, a Met Office spokesperson confirmed. Elsewhere in southern Italy, the anticyclone was forecast to send the mercury rising to 39-42 degrees before sweeping northwards, with weekend temperatures of up to 40 degrees in the central regions of Tuscany and Lazio, which includes Rome. As the capital warmed up on Wednesday, tourists sought out shade and water.  "I kinda like it, it's the goal of summer to be hot and sweat and just enjoy it!" said Nora Vert, a 20-year-old from France. The heat has raised fears for the fires that have blighted Sicily and the region of Calabria all summer, many caused by arson but fuelled by warm winds and dry soil and plants. Firefighters said earlier Wednesday they had recorded...

The new 2021-22 BOV Premier League is set to launch on Thursday evening when Sliema Wanderers take on Balzan. However, all attention will be shifted to the main event of the opening day when champions Ħamrun Spartans will cross swords with eternal rivals Valletta, tomorrow. For the Spartans’ president Joseph Portelli, the meeting with Valletta is like heading to war. “We are going to war against Valletta – this what I told my players,” Portelli told a news conference. “I want my team to be fully focused when it matters to stay competitive and we have to start to showcase ourselves once again this Friday, against Valletta. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta  

Fundraising events for the Community Chest Fund generated nearly €1million less in 2020 than in the previous year, as COVID-19 hit Malta’s pockets and saw mass events cancelled. According to the Malta Community Chest Fund’s 2020 report, fundraising events, including L-Istrina, generated €5.2million in the year under review.  The amount collected from the public was some €840,000 less than the roughly €6million collected in 2019. President George Vella, who heads the fund, said that pleas for financial aid from those most in need did not stop when Malta was rocked by the global pandemic. On the contrary, they continued to fly in while the charity’s fundraising capacity was severely hamstrung. “Hopefully, what we went through in 2020 will only become a bad memory and we will not go through it again,” he said. President Vella also questioned whether generosity alone could keep the MCCF afloat. He had, just as his predecessors had done, resorted to turning to the government for financial aid to support those in need, he observed. He said the drop in revenue by the fund was down to various factors, notably the cancellation of fundraising events as well as a technical error by GO...

Malta’s Aaron Falzon produced another five-star performance as Malta fought through a resilient San Marino side to win 89-63 on Wednesday, making it two wins in as many games so far in the FIBA Small Countries of Europe Games. Leading the game in points, Aaron Falzon scored a tournament-high of 38 as Kurt Cassar scored 18 and grabbed an impressive 20 boards. David Bugeja completed Malta’s double-digit scorers with 10. For Gibraltar, Miguel Ortega led with 16 as Marius Grigaitis added 12. Malta’s starters were unchanged from Tuesday’s opener against San Marino, with Jack Zammit, Bugeja, Tevin and Aaron Falzon, and Cassar starting the game.   Continue reading this article on Sports Desk, the new sports website by Times of Malta

Malta will start recognising COVID-19 vaccine certificates issued by Australia from this Friday, Health Minister Chris Fearne has announced.  It is the latest development in a process which started with the recognition of certificates issued by EU member states and was gradually extended to include the UK, the US, and some other countries and territories including  Serbia, Gibraltar, Jersey and Guernsey and passes issued by the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. The Superintendent of Public Health, Charmaine Gauci, said last week that the authorities were also considering whether to recognise certificates by Canada, but they faced a problem in that such certificates lacked a QR code, which is needed to safeguard authenticity. Vaccination certificates are needed by all people wishing to visit Malta without having to quarantine. The authorities only recognise certificates issued 14 days after the second dose of the Comirnaty (Pfizer), Spikevax (Moderna) or Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca), or one dose of Jannsen (Johnson & Johnson).  

A woman was seriously injured when her quadbike crashed into a parked car in Nadur on Wednesday afternoon. The police said the French woman, 21, was hospitalised after the quadbike crashed into an Opel Astra in Triq ir-Rabat. at about 5.30pm. Magistrate Simone Grech is holding an inquiry. 

Expected wins for top contenders Neptunes and San Ġiljan emerged when they faced Valletta and Birzebbuga in the Premier Division on Wednesday. That Neptunes cantered to this 17-7 victory is an understatement as the Reds eased off to an emphatic victory to re-open a three-point lead at the top of the standings. San Giljan went a step further as they crushed Birzebbuga 23-6. Most of the Neptunes goals came from Steven Camilleri with five, and Michael Spiteri Staines and Jake Muscat with three strikes each.   Continue reading this article on Sports Desk, the new sports website by Times of Malta

Hamrun Spartans presented to the media their latest signing, Malta attacking midfielder Luke Gambin, in an eye-catching presentation on their social media.  The Times of Malta reported last month that the Spartans had succeeded to secure the signature of the Malta international who was seeking a new club after he was released by his club Colchester United a couple of months ago. Gambin spent the second part of the season on the books of Newport County and helped the team to reach the play-off finals. The Spartans had been looking for an attacking midfielder and had identified Gambin as an ideal signing for more than two months now. Gambin has put pen to paper on a five-year contract and is set to play a leading role for coach Mark Buttigieg as the Reds look to reconfirm their status as Malta champions. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Kepa Arrizabalaga was the unlikely hero as Chelsea started the new season as they ended the last with a European trophy by beating Villarreal 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw to win the UEFA Super Cup in Belfast. The Spaniard, who has lost his place as number one since joining the club for a world record fee for a goalkeeper in 2018, was introduced late in extra-time as a substitute for the shootout by Thomas Tuchel. Kepa famously refused to be replaced by former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri in a League Cup final defeat to Manchester City two years ago. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk.

Għaqda Armar Santa Marija is working on the restoration of the pedestal which is usually set up at Independence Square (it-Tokk) for the feast of Santa Marija. The pedestal was inaugurated in 1911. It was designed by Mgr Giuseppe Farrugia. The statue of Santa Marija, put on the pedestal on the last day of the triduum, was brought from Rome by the Leone Philharmonic Society in 1897. It has been placed on the same pedestal every year between 1911 and 1955. The statue was then donated to the Gozo Cathedral in 1956 and replaced by a new one by Gozitan sculptor Wistin Camilleri.

It cost the government close to €300,000 to fly home hundreds of students stranded in Malta with COVID-19 or who were in quarantine after close contact with positive cases, Times of Malta can reveal.   Five flights took 579 students, all minors, back to Italy, Germany, France and Spain last month after English language schools were closed down due to a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. A spokesman for the Malta Tourism Authority said the flights were organised mainly for humanitarian reasons so the boys and girls with COVID could recover at home with the support of their families. Three special flights were chartered to repatriate those students who had tested positive for the virus and another two were held for those confined to quarantine in a hotel or at their place of residence. “These flights took place so that these minors could be close to their loved ones during such a difficult time,” the spokesman said in reply to questions. He said the repatriation flights were organised by the MTA in collaboration with local and foreign health authorities, the Maltese and European airports and through the involvement of diplomatic representations in Malta. The first two flights were...

The CMA CGM Iskenderun from Le Havre to El Dekheila, the CMA CGM Fort St Pierre from El Dekheila to Algiers, the APL Mexico City from Gioia Tauro to Singapore (all CMA CGM Malta Agency Ltd), the Costa Firenze from Palermo to Cagliari (SMS Shipping Ltd), the MV Eco Livorno from Catania to Catania (Sullivan Maritime Ltd), the MSC Roberta from Fos to Izmir, and the APL Mexico City from Gioia Tauro to Pointe des Galets (both John Ripard and Son Ltd) today. The Ruth from Bizerte to Annaba, the Bomar Milione from Piraeus to Valencia, the Carolina Star from Algeciras to Livorno, the Atlantic North from Izmit to Misurata, the Norderoog from Rijeka to Bejaia, the Corona J from Thessaloniki to Misurata (all CMA CGM Malta Agency Ltd) and the MV Caroline Russ from Genoa to Genoa (Gollcher Co. Ltd) tomorrow. The Andante from Ambarli to Sfax, the CMA CGM Trocadero from Rotterdam to Singapore, the Karina from Misurata to Misurata, the Leyla Kalkavan from Catania to Tripoli, the Coneste from Venice to Ambarli (all CMA CGM Malta Agency Ltd), the MV Eurocargo Malta from Catania to Catania (Sullivan Maritime Ltd) and the MSC Gayane from Cristobal to Gioia Tauro (John Ripard and Son Ltd) on...

Transport Malta ‘robbing’ drivers  A few days ago, I sent the following e-mail to LESA: “Sir, I would like to know what is the allowance given to Maltese drivers over the established speed limit. We know that in the UK, owing to various inaccuracies in our car speedometer and also in the speed cameras, an allowance of 10 per cent +2mph is given in favour of drivers. If in Malta the allowance is not the same as that in the UK, can you please explain why?” The answer to my request was simply 10 per cent, the other kph in our favour has disappeared. So can the minister for transport explain why while we are so strict to follow each and every rule and regulation of British transport, when it comes to such allowance we are deprived of this right? This will cause thousands of Maltese drivers to pay contraventions which they are not supposed to pay. This allowance was given to UK drivers after years of tests they made together with car manufacturers. As we buy the same types of cars sold to UK drivers, we should also benefit from this allowance. I hope that if Transport Malta does not sort out this injustice, the minister for transport will intervene in favour of Maltese drivers. Frans...

President George Vella on Wednesday indicated that work was being done behind the scenes to ensure the recommendations of a public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia would be implemented. The 437-page inquiry report, published last month, concluded that the state should shoulder responsibility for the journalist’s death because of the atmosphere of impunity that spread from Castille. Asked whether, as head of state, he feels that he should shoulder his share of responsibility for the 2017 assassination, Vella did not give a yes or no answer yesterday. “Not all that is being done is done out in the open,” he said. “As head of state I can assure you that I am doing my duty with a clear conscience. That which I do I do before God.” The inquiry concluded that Joseph Muscat’s entire cabinet should be held collectively responsible for their inaction in the lead-up to the assassination. Vella had served as minister in the 2013 Muscat cabinet.  Asked if he felt a share of responsibility for this, Vella urged the public to read the report.  “I have already made my reaction publicly to the report,” the president said. To date, the only comments made by the president were...

Diamond Wedding Anniversary JOSEPH DE’ CONTI MANDUCA and LILY CARBONARO Celebrating 60 years of marriage between LILY née Carbonaro and JOSEPH DE’ CONTI MANDUCA. Congratulations from your children and sons-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Obituary DEBONO. On August 10, at St Vincent De Paul Residence, INES, of Ta’ Xbiex, aged 95, passed away peacefully comforted by the rites of Holy Church. She leaves to mourn her great loss her children Doreen and her husband Godfrey, Jennifer and husband Alex, Magda and her husband William, Yvonne and Sonia, along with her grandchildren Graziella, Shawn, Joshua and Sarah, as well as her great-grandchildren and other relatives and friends. The funeral cortège leaves St Vincent De Paul Residence today, Thursday, August 12, at 9.30am, for St John of the Cross parish church, Ta’ Xbiex, where Mass præsente cadavere will be said at 10am, followed by interment in the family grave at Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery. No flowers by request but donations to Puttinu Cares would be greatly appreciated. Lord, grant her eternal rest. In Memoriam BUTTIGIEG. In loving memory of our dear father ANTON of Qala, Gozo, today the 23rd anniversary of...

Plato never knew what a tomato was. He lived 2,000 years before the Italians began to grow the fruit which now is a standard feature of a Mediterranean summer, like a day at the beach and the scent of tanning oil. But Plato’s philosophy of ideal forms – of the quintessence of things – might well have elevated the Maltese tomato, with its deep-red, real tomatoey flavour, to be the closest you could get to the ideal tomato. In which case, what’s a Maltese summer without real tomatoes like? If you haven’t got the reports from the news, you’ll have got it from your greengrocer. The blistering heat has destroyed a large proportion of the Maltese crop (together with some other vegetables, like peppers and cucumbers). It seems to have happened worldwide, striking even the US and UK, not just us, but,  naturally, our tragedy is greater: our tomatoes are real, unlike those northern, pink, waxen imitations whose proper place is at Madame Tussaud’s to honour our own. The reports say that a third of this year’s crop has been lost. That sounds like a conservative estimate to go by what my greengrocer tells me. He hasn’t been finding any at the local farmer’s market; he’s resorted to selling...

The following are the top stories in Malta's newspapers on Thursday. Times of Malta reports that repatriation flights for language students stranded in Malta because of COVID-19 have cost taxpayers almost €300,000. The newspaper also reports that an official portrait of former prime minister Joseph Muscat was commissioned and quietly installed at the Auberge de Castille several months ago.  The Malta Independent quotes local government minister Jose' Herrera saying  the government is drawing up a policy for caravans covering the whole island. The comments came after the government dismissed a by-law by the Nxxar council for the removal of caravans. The newspaper also says the government has denied a conflict of interest for a member of the prison inquiry board who previously served in the prison management.  l-orizzont says elements close to former Opposition leader Simon Busuttil have again trained their guns on Adrian Delia over a tweet he allegedly sent Yorgen Fenech during a parliamentary debate. Delia denies sending the tweet. In-Nazzjon says Labour candidates on the 11's district are angry that the PL will nominate minister Miriam Dalli to contest the election on their...

With temperatures on the increase all around us, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report published on Monday, running into over 4,000 pages, underlines that it may get much worse very soon. The Climate Change 2015 summit in Paris agreed on the need to spare no effort in ensuring that the global temperature did not increase by more than 1.5ºC above that recorded in the pre-industrial age. The voluntary targets which the different countries committed to post-Paris are nowhere enough to limit global temperature increases not to exceed the Paris targets. The latest IPCC report states that we are on target to exceed the 1.5ºC much earlier than expected. We can feel the excessive heat. We have seen the raging fires all around the world. We have seen the storms across various parts of Western Europe triggering havoc all around. We have not been spared in the past and await the first major storm of the season, hoping against hope that the resulting floods will not flush damage through our communities. It will be much worse. We will not be spared. As an island state, Malta should be at the forefront of the climate change debate. Unfortunately, our country is among the...