World News

EU Commission President to visit Malta / News Briefing – Tuesday 14 September 2021

Updated 1740 - Newsportal Review The Times of Malta reports that Health Minister Chris Fearne has promised to modify Malta's strict travel restrictions following calls to allow residents arriving from…

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41-year-old man dies of Covid19 – Malta News Briefing – Sunday 5 September 2021

Midday Briefing A 41-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman died overnight while positive for COVID. The deaths were announced by the health authorities on Sunday, whose data on Facebook shows…

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Formula 1 considering easing Covid-19 protocols

Formula One is considering easing some of its strict COVID-19 'bubble' protocols, in force since last year, so teams can entertain sponsors and guests more freely at races. McLaren Racing…

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Polish students to return back to schools normally, no masks in class

The Polish Government has announced that the new scholastic year will begin "normally" with regular class attendance, with President Andrzej Duda saying that there are no plans to introduce lockdowns.…

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Sicily, Sardinia register spike of Covid-19 patients in intensive care

The two Italian islands of Sicily and Sardegna have registered an increase of Covid-19 patients requiring intensive therapy, hitting 13% on Tuesday. The Italian Government considers 10% as the level…

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EU says it has reached goal of vaccinating 70% of adults

The European Commission said on Tuesday that 70% of the European Union's adult population had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, hitting a target it set at the beginning of the…

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South Africa detects new coronavirus variant, still studying its mutations

South African scientists have detected a new coronavirus variant with multiple mutations but are yet to establish whether it is more contagious or able to overcome the immunity provided by vaccines…

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65-year-old man dies while positive to COVID-19 / Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 24 August 2021

Mid-Day Briefing Covid-19 Update: There were 35 new cases registered in the past 24 hours. Malta registered 40 recoveries as active cases stood at 681. 3,440 swab tests were taken.…

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23 charged over Covid-19 business email compromise fraud

A sophisticated fraud scheme using compromised emails and advance-payment fraud has been uncovered by authorities in Romania, the Netherlands and Ireland as part of an action coordinated by Europol. On…

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Ireland’s Catholic church, government clash over COVID-19 restrictions

Five Roman Catholic bishops from Ireland's 22 dioceses are set to defy COVID-19 restrictions after instructing local parishes to hold communion and confirmation services this month, drawing a sharp rebuke from the government,…

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European Travel Information and Authorisation System on track for entry into operation by end 2022

The rules making the future European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) interoperable with other EU information systems enter into force on Tuesday. This is an important step towards the…

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Germany to offer booster against COVID-19, vaccines for children

Germany will in September start to offer a booster shot against COVID-19 to vulnerable individuals such as pensioners and people with weak immune systems, the health ministers of the country's 16…

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Delta spreads ‘like wildfire’ as doctors study whether it makes patients sicker

With a new wave of COVID-19 infections fueled by the Delta variant striking countries worldwide, disease experts are scrambling to learn whether the latest version of coronavirus is making people - mainly…

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Maltese Editors’ Perspectives

Times of Malta says that anti-vaxxers' arguments about their individual rights are flawed MaltaToday says that if we all want an exit from the present Covid-19 crisis we must learn…

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Australia’s Victoria to ease COVID-19 curbs, Sydney cases rise

Australia's Victoria state said on Tuesday it will lift a strict lockdown after curtailing the spread of COVID-19, while neighbouring New South Wales faces an extension of restrictions after daily new cases…

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New York City, California mandate COVID-19 vaccines for government workers

California and New York City will require government workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or be regularly tested for the virus, officials said on Monday, signaling a new level of…

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Totally unreasonable to put fully vaccinated secondary contacts in quarantine – Malta Chamber

The Malta Chamber has urged the health authorities to rethink the existing quarantine measures which should be focused on a risk-based approach for fully vaccinated people. In a statement on…

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Malta: Bartolo defends tourism restart plan amid COVID-19 surge: ‘We will adjust if necessary’

Clayton Bartolo says the most recent measure to impose quarantine on unvaccinated incoming travellers could not have been introduced earlier because of EU commitments. He defended government’s tourism reopening strategy…

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Malta: Rate of transmission lower among the vaccinated, Charmaine Gauci confirms

The rate of transmission of COVID-19 is "lower" among those who are vaccinated, public health Chief Charmaine Gauci said on Wednesday. "There are studies that show the virus's viral load…

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Oil prices rise but rising Covid-19 cases weaken outlook

Oil rose above $69 a barrel on Tuesday, recouping some of the previous session's 7% slide, as a tight physical market pushed aside concerns about rising COVID-19 infections weakening the demand…

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Mallorca and Ibiza re-introduce closure measures amid surge in Covid cases

Mallorca and Ibiza are reintroducing a range of public health measures amid a surge in new Covid-19 cases. In fact, according to The Independent, Spain’s Balearic Islands are banning all events which involve people…

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Malta: Hundreds queue for vaccine as walk-in clinics open

Hundreds queued up to get vaccinated against COVID-19 on Monday as the first mobile clinic in Malta opened its doors. The appointment-free pop-up at Mosta Technopark opened at 9.30am and was only…

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Malta: Country goes red on COVID map released by European agency as cases continue to surge

Rising COVID-19 cases in Malta see the country join the red list in the weekly map released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Malta joined the red…

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After vaccination burnout, Delta variant spurs countries to speed up shots

The daily pace of COVID vaccinations has increased in about a dozen countries due to the arrival of the more contagious Delta variant and governments expanding their vaccination drives, a data analysis by…

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Tax probe into Rosianne Cutajar’s alleged property deal / Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 6 July 2021

Updated 0835- Newspaper Review The Times reveals that the Inland Revenue Department launched a tax evasion investigation into MP Rosianne Cutajar in the wake of reports that she helped broker…

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Maltese Editors’ Perspectives

Times of Malta suggests appointing a top official to oversee public cleanliness or giving additional powers to the commissioner for the environment and planning at the office of the Ombudsman.…

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Juventus plans 400 mln euro cash call to weather COVID-19 hit

June 30 (Reuters) - Italian soccer club Juventus plans to raise up to 400 million euros ($474 million) in a new share issue to offset the hit to its finances…

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Covid-19 active case tally up to 45 / Malta News Briefing – Wednesday 30 June 2021

Updated 1235 Covid-19 Update: Five new cases were reported on Wednesday. With no persons recovering for the third consecutive day, active cases now stand at 45. More than 320,000 persons…

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Bali reopening to foreign tourists delayed as COVID surges

ndonesia's government will wait until COVID-19 cases fall significantly before opening Bali to foreign tourists, the country's tourism minister said in an interview. The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the economy of Bali, for…

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No new Covid cases / Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 15 June 2021

Updated 1255 - No new Covid cases For the third time in the past ten days, no new Covid cases were reported. Health authorities said 1,526 swab tests were conducted…

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WHO official says can’t force China to give more information on COVID-19 origins

A top World Health Organization official said on Monday that the WHO cannot compel China to divulge more data on COVID-19's origins, while adding it will propose studies needed to take understanding of where the virus emerged to the "next…

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Vaccine disinformation: platforms monitoring program extended until the end of the year

Věra Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency, said: “The report on vaccine disinformation show how important it is to be able to effectively monitor the measures put in place by the…

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Malta: Recovery programme for children who fell behind in school because of the pandemic

Students ranging from the first-year primary until last-year secondary and who missed out on several lessons because of the pandemic will have an opportunity to recover and continue from where…

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Malta formally launches vaccine certificate

Malta has formally launched its vaccine certificate, which will allow persons who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to tavel and attend certain activities. The certificates will be available on certifikatvaccin.gov.mt…

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Malta records four new covid-19 cases, 3 recoveries / Malta News Briefing – Sunday 30 May 2021

Update 1230 - Malta reported four new cases and three recoveries. The latest numbers related to the vaccination process in Malta show that 512,214 were given the vaccine, of which…

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Malta: Pandemic pushed weekly working hours to well below 40

Workers clocked just 33.8 hours a week on average in 2020, the lowest in recent years mainly because employers tried to cut costs. In a report detailing the socio-economic impact…

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Malta: Herd immunity ‘is not the end’

Herd immunity, achieved by Malta earlier this week, was a big milestone in the fight against COVID-19 but it was not the end, the Superintendent of Public Health, Charmaine Gauci,…

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Malta: Curia issues directives on this summer’s feasts

The Church in Malta has issued directives on this year’s celebration of feasts. The Curia said that parish feasts and other religious feasts, celebrated inside the church building, will be…

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77-year-old becomes 418th Covid victim in Malta / Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 25 May 2021

Updated 1250 - Covid-19 Update Three new cases of coronavirus were reported on Tuesday, while five recovered, taking the active case tally to 69.After almost two weeks with no new…

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70% of population vaccinated by next week: Malta News Briefing – Saturday 22 May 2021

Updated 1235 COVID update New cases remained low with just two reported on Saturday. 14 persons recovered taking the active case tally down to 84. No deaths were reported. The…

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Malta – Tragedy at sea as two drown in St Paul’s Bay – News Briefing – Saturday 22 May 2021

Update 0742 - Two men drowned overnight in a tragic incident at sea at Dawret il-Gżejjer in St Paul's Bay. The case happened around 1215h at night. One of the…

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London office market undergoes makeover to woo post-pandemic workforce

Developers in London are revamping office spaces to suit the post-pandemic workforce, a survey showed on Monday, as weakening demand for workspaces poses a major concern in one of the…

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UPDATE – Norway drops AstraZeneca vaccine, J&J remains on hold

Norway will not resume use of the COVID-19 vaccine made by AstraZeneca, and a decision on whether to include Johnson & Johnson shots in its mass inoculation scheme remains on…

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Malta: Vaccinated visitors will be prioritised when meeting elderly in care homes

Vaccinated visitors will be given priority when elderly homes re-open properly in the coming months, the Elderly Minister revealed on Tuesday, emphasising the importance of getting inoculated against COVID-19. Source…

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70 Migrants land in Malta – Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 11 May 2021

1745 Latest Update- News Portal Briefing Times of Malta reports that vaccinated visitors will be given priority when elderly homes re-open properly in the coming months, the Elderly Minister revealed…

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Malta registers record low 6 new Covid-19 cases – – News Briefing – Saturday 8 May 2021

Covid-19 Update Malta registered a six-month low number of new Covid-19 cases. With six new cases Malta registered its lowest daily tally since July 27, 2020. There were no deaths…

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Malta: “I begged them for the vaccine before we went to India”

47-year-old Ivan Barbara who died of coronavirus in India, wanted to get the jab ahead of leaving the island with his wife to adopt their daughter, Newsbook.com.mt has learnt. Sources have told…

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Malta: Authorities mulling COVID-19 vaccine certificates for mass events

The health authorities are considering the use of vaccine certificates for mass events to be held once the rules on public gatherings are lifted in the coming months. Health Minister…

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Malta’s English Language Schools to re-open on June 1

Language schools will be allowed to re-open as from June 1st, on the same day that the Government is describing as the re-opening of the tourism season. This industry has…

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EU mobilises an initial €2.2 million in emergency funding for COVID-19 in India

Today, the Commission has announced that it will allocate an initial €2.2 million in emergency funding to respond to the drastic surge in COVID-19 cases in India. The funding will support the World Health Organisation (WHO) for a 6-month case management of…

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