Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed Cristiano Ronaldo will make his first Manchester United appearance since his blockbuster move from Juventus when Newcastle visit Old Trafford on Saturday. Portugal superstar Ronaldo returned to United in a shock transfer just before the transfer deadline. The 36-year-old striker, who left United to join Real Madrid in 2009, has been training with his new team-mates for the past few days. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk. 

Lebanon ended a 13-month wait for a new government Friday with the unveiling of a lineup that faces the daunting task of rescuing the country from economic meltdown. A new cabinet was a condition for much-needed international assistance but its ability to deliver the required reforms remains to be seen and its announcement was met on the street with scepticism bordering on indifference. Billionaire Najib Mikati, Lebanon's prime minister for the third time, made an emotional statement from the presidency vowing to leave no stone unturned in efforts to save the country from bankruptcy. "We will make use of every second to call international bodies and ensure the basic everyday life needs," he said, adding his government would also turn to Arab countries for help. Mikati, who was designated as prime minister in July after his two predecessors failed to clinch an agreement on a new line-up, unveiled his list of ministers. The newcomers include many technocrats but each minister was endorsed by one or several of the factions that have dominated Lebanese politics since the 1975-1990 civil war. The country's hereditary political barons have so far appeared impervious to international...

This year Sicilia Outlet Village is celebrating Malta and all Maltese residents during Independence Day weekend, from Friday, September 17 till Tuesday, September 21.  Offering high-end goods at exceptional prices, Sicily’s premium luxury shopping destination is set to welcome Maltese visitors. Upon presentation of their Maltese ID or resident cards, shoppers will be able to enjoy an exclusive 30 per cent discount on outlet prices of the current collection in international designer brand boutiques and on ready-to-wear and sportswear brands, as well as in the beauty, lifestyle, home decor and other stores at the Village. Sicilia Outlet Village proposes to visitors a unique and comprehensive shopping experience, where exceptional discounts are available in more than 140 stores and boutiques.  Thanks to its brand mix, Sicilia Outlet Village has something for everyone: for style-savvy fashionistas keen to stay on top of trends dictated by international magazines and influencers, as well as for those with more classic tastes and looking to purchase those timeless items that work for any occasion. Sicilia Outlet Village is a great place to spend time with family and friends, and...

The UK returned as Malta's top travel market in August - a position it hasn't held since COVID-19 hit the country. Malta International Airport said the market had recovered at a "faster-than-envisaged pace" and outperformed Italy to regain the top spot for the first time since April 2020. Overall, 407,435 passengers arrived and departed from the airport in August, which is equivalent to 50 per cent of the traffic handled in August 2019. Every flight operated with an average of 111 passengers on board, which is 28 per cent down from August 2019. Last month the airport said Malta air travel was recovering at a slower pace than its southern counterparts. 'Surpassed initial expectations' But Malta Airport's company secretary Louis de Gabriele struck a cautiously positive note when announcing the August traffic results.  He said there had been a "solid performance" in the French and Polish markets, with flights from both countries typically 80 per cent full.  "Although August's traffic results surpassed initial expectations, the travel industry remains in the shadow of changing entry requirements, uncertainty and short-term planning, as the aviation winter season looms on the...

The seaside 'duck village' at the entrance to Manoel Island was dismantled after more than 25 years, amid complaints of filthy and unsanitary conditions. The quirky village, home to ducks, hens, cats, rabbits and other animals has been an attraction to tourists and locals alike for many years. But in recent years, rubbish has been mounting at the site, which has also served as a dumping site for unwanted animals. The decision to remove the village comes amid pressure by animal activists who raised the alarm of the negligence of the village, where animals have been found living in filthy and unsanitary conditions. On Friday, Sunshine Animal Sanctuary Malta posted photos of workers removing the structures at the village and cleaning up leftover rubbish. “We saved many animals from this filthy, unsanitary and unkept dumpsite over the years by jumping over the fence at night as it was the only way. Some animals died in our hands, despite doing our best to save them, while others received medical care and were re-homed,” the NGO said. The NGO thanked the Gżira council for taking the decision to remove the village. “We will continue catching the remaining animals there, giving them...

A 24-year-old accused of shooting a man in Iklin is pleading not guilty to attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, saying he shot him because he feared for his safety and that CCTV footage of the incident "will tell the truth”. Ryan Sultana, a gardener from Iklin, stands accused of shooting 55-year-old Vincent Xuereb on Thursday. He is also facing other charges related to misuse of a firearm, causing violence and breaching the public peace.  Xuereb was found wounded in the shoulder and bleeding on Triq il-Wied at around 3.30pm, a few metres down the road from two wrecked vehicles that had been involved in a collision.    Xuereb will also be investigated, prosecuting lawyer George Camilleri told the court.  The two men are understood to have clashed in the past, with sources telling Times of Malta earlier on Friday that Sultana believed that Xuereb had defrauded him. Shot using hunting shotgun Camilleri, who was representing the office of the attorney general, told the court that the victim had been hit by a shotgun pellet and that police officers had quickly located the suspect, who lived nearby.  Sultana is alleged to have told interrogators that he shot Xuereb using a...

The skyrocketing costs of international shipping have made it impossible for Maltese retailers to compete with online stores, the small business lobby has warned. The Malta Chamber of SMEs said that shipping costs have risen by as much as 10 times in recent months, disproportionately impacting island-states like Malta which cannot reroute imported goods along land-based routes.  It said so in a statement in which it endorsed a Nationalist Party proposal to push the European Union to set up a €40 million fund to help Maltese entrepreneurs cushion the impact of exorbitant transportation costs.  Maltese business owners traditionally find it hard to compete with massive online outfits such as Amazon or Asos, which can take advantage of massive economies of scale to bring prices down. Malta’s relatively remote geographic location, as an island in the middle of the Mediterranean, also bumps up transportation costs of goods.  Huge increases in the cost of international freight shipping have been attributed to huge backups at global shipping ports. With demand for container space vastly outstripping supply, shippers have indulged in bidding wars that have pumped freight costs to record...

Premier League managers said Friday they did not know whether they could select their Brazilian players for matches this weekend as a “senseless” club versus country row threatens to disrupt plans. English top-flight clubs refused to release players for international duty in countries on the UK government’s red list, including Brazil and Argentina, due to the 10-day coronavirus isolation period required on return. As a result, Brazil football chiefs have asked global governing body FIFA to invoke a five-day suspension, the sanction for clubs not releasing their players. Discussions are continuing, with clubs arguing the unprecedented circumstances of the global pandemic were sufficient justification for their decision. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Former French health minister Agnes Buzyn was charged on Friday over her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic after investigators at a special court in Paris concluded there were grounds to prosecute her.  Buzyn has been charged with "endangering the lives of others", the prosecutor of the Republic's Court of Justice said, but not for a second possible offence of "failure to stop a disaster". The former doctor, who will be able to appeal the charge, arrived for a hearing at the court on Friday morning saying she welcomed "an excellent opportunity for me to explain myself and to establish the truth." The 58-year-old added that she would not "let the action of the government be discredited, or my action as a minister, when we did so much to prepare our country for a global health crisis that is still ongoing". The charges are a blow for President Emmanuel Macron, whose handling of the health crisis will face scrutiny during election campaigning next year, but the court also immediately faced allegations of judicial overreach.  Former prime minister Edouard Philippe and current Health Minister Olivier Veran are also being investigated by magistrates at the court and have seen their...

Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy, who is accused of four counts of rape and one of sexual assault, will stand trial next year, a British court was told on Friday. The 27-year-old former French international appeared at Chester Crown Court in northwest England alongside co-accused Louis Saha Matturie and was told a trial date was set for January 24, 2022. Both men were remanded in custody. Mendy has been charged with attacks on three different women, including one under 18, at his home in Prestbury, Cheshire, between October 2020 and August this year. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Britain's Prince Andrew has been served legal papers in a US lawsuit brought by a woman who says he sexually abused her when she was a teenager, a court filing showed on Friday. The complaint was delivered to the royal's home in Windsor, England, on August 27, according to an affidavit filed in the Southern District of New York. Virginia Giuffre says she was "lent out" for underage sex by late US financier Jeffrey Epstein who killed himself in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking minors. Giuffre sued Andrew last month, alleging he sexually abused her at the London home of socialite Ghislaine Maxwell more than 20 years ago, when she was under 18. Giuffre also claims Andrew abused her at Epstein's New York mansion and on Little St James, Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands. Andrew, 61, has vehemently denied claims he had sex with Giuffre, and said he has no recollection of meeting her, but the allegations have damaged the British royal family. An agent for Giuffre said in the affidavit that he handed the papers to a police officer at the main gates of Andrew's property and did not meet Queen Elizabeth II's second son. A spokesperson for...

The first devotional Saturday leading to the solemn feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 will be held today (Saturday) at the Franciscan church in Victoria run by the Conventual friars. The religious service starts with prayers at 5.45pm, followed by Mass celebrated by Fr Guardian Joseph Xerri, helped by Deacon Robert Calleja, at 6.30pm. Members of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception are urged to attend.

Renal deficiencies Being a renal patient on dialysis, on August 28 (two weeks ago) I went as usual to the renal unit for my treatment. To my great amazement and chagrin, I was turned away as there were not enough nurses to go round and treat all the booked patients. For those who don’t know, dialysis is absolutely vital for renal patients. Instead, I had to go, at great inconvenience, for the 8pm to midnight session. This dire situation (not enough nurses) has been going on for months. The staff has been pointing this out to the authorities for ages and no notice has been taken. Now, it seems that the situation is at breaking point. I sent an e-mail pointing this out both to the CEO of Mater Dei Hospital and the minister of health and I didn’t even receive an acknowledgment, which is the least one may expect. So, the only way remaining to me is to go public, through Times of Malta, although I don’t think that anything will really change. Josephine Degabriele – Rabat Why don’t they get on with it? The works have started in Kola Xara Street, Rabat, but are far from being concluded. They removed the heavy stuff, which was followed by a half-inch layer of all-pervasive dust.  It is...

After extensive maintenance work carried out on the façade and belfries of the Nadur basilica, restoration work is now being carried out on the interior of the church, especially on the ceiling decorations. Most of the decorative moulds are in dire need of repair because the moulds were originally attached to the stonework using ferrous wiring and iron straps. They are now being reattached to the stonework using modern-day material, including resin dowels.

126th day of the 'new normal' Żepp is produced by Ġorġ Mallia. See more Żepp cartoons.

America marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11 Saturday with solemn ceremonies given added poignancy by the recent chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and return to power of the Taliban. Heart-wrenching commemorations will unfold at each of the three sites where 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers -- mostly from Saudi Arabia -- crashed packed airliners, striking the cultural, financial and political hearts of the United States and changing the world forever. The memorials come with US troops finally gone from Afghanistan, but national discord -- and for President Joe Biden, political peril -- are overshadowing any sense of closure. In a video posted on the eve of the anniversary, Biden urged Americans to show unity, "our greatest strength."  "To me, that's the central lesson of September 11th. It's that at our most vulnerable, in the push and pull of all that makes us human, in the battle for the soul of America, unity is our greatest strength," Biden said in a six-minute message from the White House. At New York's Ground Zero, where two pools of water now stand where the Twin Towers used to, relatives will read out the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed, in a four-hour-long...

Saturday marks 20 years since the 9/11 New York terror attack, the most horrific on American soil. Anthony Gurrera, a 33-year-old firefighter of Maltese descent, was among the first on-site. It was only by sheer luck that he was not among colleagues killed at the scene. Sarah Carabott reports Twenty years ago, Anthony Gurrera was frantically looking for any signs of life under the debris piled on the ground where the Twin Towers had stood moments before. But all he came across were picture frames that once adorned the World Trade Centre offices, holding photos of people who were either under the rubble or anxiously waiting at home for news about their relatives. The 33-year-old firefighter knew that he had escaped unscathed by sheer luck, unlike the rest of his shift. On September 11, 2001, Anthony was meant to be with seven other colleagues who rushed to the World Trade Centre site when two hijacked planes were flown into the Twin Towers. The crashes were two of four terrorist attacks coordinated by the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda against the US. The third flight crashed on the west side of the Pentagon, while the fourth one, known as Flight 93, crashed in a field after...

Obituaries CUSCHIERI. On September 9, at her residence in Sliema, JOSEPHINE, aged 81, passed away peacefully. She leaves to join the risen Lord and her parents John and Mary Cuschieri, to whom she dedicated much of her life. She leaves to mourn her loss her sisters, Sr Sylvia (Olga) of the Order of St Joseph of the Apparition and Marlene Abela, her beloved nephews and nieces Alan, David and Annelise, and Catherine, her cherished great-nephews and nieces Michaela, Raphael, Daniel, Kristina, Lisa, Emma, Julia and Mandy, other relatives and friends.Funeral Mass will be celebrated today, Saturday, September 11, at Stella Maris parish church, Sliema, at 9.30am, followed by interment at Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery.Lord, grant her eternal rest. HALL. On September 8, at St Vincent De Paul Residence, DORIS, aged 90, comforted by the rites of Holy Church. She leaves to mourn her sad loss her brother Francis, her niece MaryAnne, Cousins and friends.Funeral Mass will be said today, Saturday, September 11, at Msida parish church, at 8am. Donations to the Rich-mond Foundation will be greatly appreciated.Lord, grant her eternal rest. LANFRANCO. On September 8, GUIDO, passed away...

Apple was forced to loosen the grip it holds on its App Store payment system, after a US judge ruled Friday in a closely watched battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games. Though app makers will be able to take steps to skirt the up to 30 per cent commission Apple takes on sales, the tech giant avoided being branded an illegal monopoly in the case. Here are some key questions on the App Store and the impact of the ruling: How does the App Store work?  The App Store acts as the lone gateway for mobile applications of any kind onto iPhones or other Apple devices. Apple requires developers to adhere to its rules for what apps can or can't do, and makes them use the App Store payment system for all transactions there. Apple takes a commission of up to 30 per cent of app purchases or transactions, contending it is a fair fee for providing a safe, global platform for developers to hawk their creations. Apple maintains that 85 per cent of the approximately 1.8 million apps at the digital shop pay nothing to the Silicon Valley-based tech giant. What was the ruling?  The ruling by US District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers said that Apple's control of the App Store did not amount to a...

Were you asked to vote in the latest opinion poll about whether Malta wants a channel tunnel? Nor was I, nor was anybody I know. So, join in this one. Let me start with an easy question: should people who never cross the channel be entitled to vote in the tunnel-versus-ferry debate? That seems a fair point. What about the people who make the return journey only once or twice a year: should they have what may be a deciding vote? What if they don’t care about the tunnel, either way, but are concerned about the ruination of land – perhaps stretching for five miles or more at either end – to allow for the slope, which may mean that the Gozo entrance is on the far side of Nadur, somewhere on that waterlogged plateau between the village and the racecourse? The problem with polls like the most recent one showing a fairly indecisive split – oh dear, that looks like the Brexit referendum – is that we need to know the question that’s being asked. Even the most ardent tunnel fan – as in: “Yes: I am in favour of a tunnel, full stop” – needs to know what this support means. For example, suppose it means a reduction in the ferry service, perhaps making it uneconomic for ferries to run at night.