FA Trophy holders Balzan broke little sweat to cruise past Challenge League side Pieta’ Hotspurs 5-1 and clinch a last 16 berth. The Reds opened a two-goal lead early inside the first 10 minutes with a brace from Serbian Milan Duric. Balzan’s third came halfway into the first half through Milos Mijic. Balzan’s two other goals came early in the second half as they will shift their focus on their championship commitments. They will now face one of either Ħamrun Spartans and Naxxar Lions in the round of 16 clash, with the latter sides on Thursday morning.   Continue reading this article on Sports Desk, the new sports website by Times of Malta

FLORIANA       1            Ciolacu 77 GĦAJNSIELEM 0 FLORIANA M. Bartolo, A. Magri Overend (73 A. Garzia), O. El Hasni, R. Hovsepyan, K. Keqi (53 J. Busuttil), A. Ciolacu, O. Spiteri, M. Garcia (73 B. Paiber), B. Gimenez (53 E. Rebenja), A. Vella (53 R. Camenzuli), E. Callegari. GĦAJNSIELEM A. Parnis, K. Borg, A. Xuereb, D. Farrugia (87’ D. Bogdanovic), K. Mercieca, S. Attard, M. Bezzina (82’ K. Farrugia), J. De Sousa, R. Watanabe (84’ J. Camilleri), L. Grima (82’ K. Grima), I. Nedeljkovic. Referee: Trustin Farrugia Cann Floriana struggled much more than expected to edge past Għajnsielem, beating them 1-0, to set up a clash with St George’s in the Round of 16. The Gozitans, led by coach Gotthard Conti, defended well to frustrate the Greens and it was only a goal late in the second half that made the whole difference. In fact, although Atzori planned to rest some of the more regular players, he was forced to include Eugenjo Rebenja, Ryan Camenzuli and Jan Busuttil early in the second half. On 12 minutes, Michael Bezzina tested Manuel Bartolo with a corner from the left which was neutralised by the Floriana custodian. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website...

Romelu Lukaku scored a much-needed goal as Chelsea beat Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal 1-0 on Wednesday to advance to the Club World Cup final against South American champions Palmeiras.  Chelsea’s club-record signing had failed to score in five games before arriving in Abu Dhabi, and the Blues are looking for the 28-year-old to find his best form in the second half of the season. The Belgium international swept in from close range on 33 minutes after a defensive lapse to send Chelsea through to Saturday’s final, the second in three years between English and Brazilian teams. Chelsea can join Manchester United and Liverpool as the third English side to win the Club World Cup, having finished as runners-up to Corinthians on their first appearance in 2012.  Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Wednesday announced the development of a surface-to-surface missile whose stated range would put arch foe Israel within reach. The Guards' Sepahnews website said the missile was named the Khaybarchekan after a victorious battle fought by the Prophet Mohammed in the seventh century. Armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri described it as a strategic, "long-range" missile. The Guards' Sepahnews website said the missile has a range of 1,450 kilometres (about 900 miles), runs on solid fuel and is capable of penetrating anti-missile systems. It was unveiled during a visit to a surface-to-surface missile base of the Guards' air force, with the chief of the aerospace department Amirali Hajizadeh present. "Its manoeuvrability and extreme speed allow it to reach targets within a radius of 1,450 kilometres," the website said. Iran has the largest arsenal of missiles in the Middle East. On December 24, the Islamic republic fired 16 ballistic missiles to conclude military drills described by generals as a warning to Israel. The Jewish state is located little more than 1,000 kilometres from Iran's western frontier. Bagheri said on Monday that...

Valletta FC coasted into the fourth round of the IZIBET FA Trophy when they brushed aside National Amateur League side Marsaskala 5-0 at the Centenary Stadium on Wednesday. As the scoreline shows, the Citizens were in a class of their own against the third-tier side as two goals in the first half paved the way to a comfortable victory. It was a significant boost for new Valletta coach Danilo Doncic who has led the team to his first win since replacing Toze Mendes as first-team coach. Valletta took just four minutes to take the lead through their towering Bosnian forward Haris Dilaver. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Former minister and EU commissioner John Dalli pleaded not guilty on Wednesday when he was accused in court of trading in influence and attempted bribery over an alleged €60 million bribe by his former aide to help influence EU tobacco legislation in 2012. The case had led to Dalli's resignation from the commission.  The 72-year old former politician sat through a three-hour sitting, taken up mainly by the testimony of Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa’ who was directly involved in the investigations that first kicked off in October 2012. Gafa' told the court that a report by the EU anti-fraud agency OLAF had concluded that there was no conclusive evidence about Dalli’s involvement both as instigator or mastermind, but circumstantial evidence appeared to indicate that he may have been aware of what his aide, Silvio Zammit was up to. Zammit, a local restaurateur whom Dalli described as a friend and “one of some 300 canvassers,” was suspected of complicity in the attempted bribe from tobacco company Swedish Match. Maltese lawyer Gayle Kimberly, Swedish Match’s lobbyist in Malta, was also believed to have guided Zammit’s lobbying attempt. The OLAF report concluded that while there...

Maltese youth Zach Attard, 16, is currently spending a week on trial at North American side Houston Dynamo. Houston Dynamo play in the USA’s top-tier – Major League Soccer – and will definitely serve as a learning curve for the Maltese youngster, who plays as a defender. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk.

A heartbroken family is offering a €1,500 cash reward for the return of their beloved pet, a four-year-old white Chow Chow called Mika. Speaking to Times of Malta, Mika’s owner Dylan Drago said his family was desperate for information about the dog’s whereabouts after a few unconfirmed sightings saw them spending hours combing the countryside between Naxxar and Mosta to no avail. “Mika got lost around 8pm on Sunday evening and the first calls came in at around 9pm,” Drago said. “My friends and I went out to look for her but we found nothing. Then we got a call that someone had seen her in Burmarrad so we sped off to find her. We were out there until 2am before we gave up.” A primarily indoor pet, Mika’s family periodically let her out into the garden. On Sunday evening, when Drago’s father let Mika out before turning in for the night, he noticed a fraction of a second too late that the latch to the gate had not been secured properly. But before he had time to act, Mika had slipped through the crack and disappeared into the darkness. Mika was sighted by the public in Mosta, Burmarrad and Wardija, but despite spending several evenings walking the streets and calling out her name...

The Malta Union of Teachers warned on Wednesday that it will act to safeguard the interests of its members in schools in Sliema after the local council announced a fresh attempt to introduce residents' parking. The union recalled that a previous attempt was called off after it ordered a one-hour strike in all schools in Sliema. The union said it will be presenting its objections on behalf of the many educators working in schools in Sliema who would be impacted if parking for non-residents is reduced. "It is a shame that a local council does not recognise the work of educators, who give service to children coming from the same locality, amongst others, and is expecting that educators pay hefty parking fees in its limited private carparks or else be subject to fines. Should the Local Council forge ahead to cause hardship on educators, the MUT shall take all actions to safeguard the interest of its members working at the Sliema schools," the union said.  Times of Malta reported earlier on Thursday that Sliema council will discuss the locality's parking problem with the transport minister. Mayor Graziella Attard Previ said the council is proposing a six-month pilot project to...

Cyberstalking and cyberbullying are being introduced as specific offences in the Criminal Code, in terms of a bill which started being debated in parliament on Wednesday. The bill is being piloted by Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis. It provides that it shall be a crime for anyone, with the intention of causing fear or  physical or mental harm to: Stalk another person through the use of a computer or other electronic communication device; Cause an unauthorised computer function in a computer owned or used by another person Trace another person’s use of the internet or other electronic communication. Persons found guilty of such offences shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of between one and five years or to a fine not exceeding €30,000, or to both. The punishment will be increased by one degree when the crime is committed against an underage person or a vulnerable person and where the offence is committed by two or more persons acting together.  In 2017 then President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said the fight against cyberbullying should not only include the strengthening of existing legislation but also the enactment of a specific law. “We must do more to ensure...

Brazil has defended its decision to allow British Royal Air Force flights to use its territory for stopovers on their way to and from the Falkland Islands, after Argentina complained. "Brazil supports Argentina's legitimate rights in its sovereignty dispute" with Britain over the islands, the Brazilian foreign ministry said in an email sent to AFP. However, that "does not affect relations with the United Kingdom, an important partner for Brazil," it added. The reaction came after Argentina's ambassador to Brazil sent a formal complaint over the flights on January 31. Ambassador Daniel Scioli said there had been seven such flights in January, which he wrote caused "surprise and concern" in Argentina. The stopovers "are another sign of the United Kingdom's illegitimate military presence in the South Atlantic," the letter said. It called on Brazil to "restrict authorization for British military aircraft flying to or from (the islands) to strictly humanitarian cases." Brazil said its decision to allow the stopovers was "guided by the principle of not contributing to the modernization and expansion of the United Kingdom's military resources and potential in the archipelago." It said...

Rainbow-haired snowboarder Jenise Spiteri, who made her Olympic debut for Malta in Beijing earlier on Wednesday, captured the public’s attention after she was filmed pulling a dumpling out of her pocket and taking a bite while waiting for her scores. Born in California of Maltese ancestry, Spiteri is the only athlete representing Malta at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. With 30,000 followers on her Youtube channel, she has been posting regular updates about her Olympic journey. Video: CCTV News Speaking to news crews after competing, Spiteri said she had been eating the dumplings for breakfast, lunch and dinner. “They’re my favourite thing to eat at the Olympic village, I’ve been eating six red bean paste buns every day, two for breakfast, two for lunch and two for dinner,” she said. “This morning I was too nervous to swallow any food so I put them in my backpack. I didn’t realise that I still had one in my pocket when I did the run, so I was like ‘Oh okay! Now I can finally eat’.” “I love them,” she added. “I think they’re so good. But her affinity for red bean paste buns endeared Spiteri to Chinese social media users, who shared the footage widely on Chinese social network...

Former Juventus attacker Sebastian Giovinco has agreed to a return to Serie A with Sampdoria, the Genoa-based side announced on Wednesday. Giovinco, 35, left Juve in February 2015 after winning two Serie A titles before spending four seasons with Toronto in the MLS. The 23-time Italy international, who made his last Azzurri appearance seven years ago, has been a free agent since August after his deal with Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal ended. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk. 

Germany's gas stocks have fallen to a "worrying" level, an economy ministry spokeswoman said Wednesday, as fears over a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia put further pressure on energy supplies. "Of course we are monitoring the situation of the storage levels and that is certainly worrying," said the spokeswoman during a regular government press conference. Stocks were now at 35-36 percent, under the "critical level" of 40 percent which the German government deems is necessary to withstand seven straight days of an extreme cold snap. To overcome a 30-day streak of more moderate cold weather, the storage should be half full. Stocks never slid below 71 percent in 2020, according to data from the industry group Gas Infrastructure Europe. With around 40 percent of gas consumed in Europe coming from Russia, Moscow is suspected of taking advantage of the tensions on the world market to reduce supply and drive up prices. In an interview this week with Die Zeit weekly, EU leader Ursula von der Leyen said that there are "increasingly signs that the Kremlin is using gas deliveries as political leverage."                   

Emma Ciantar Piccinino and her Sunderland FoL team have clinched a place in the final of the National Football Youth League Cup. Ciantar Piccinino’s side defeated Huddersfield Town PV 1-0 to advance into the final. Continue reading this article on Sports Desk. 

British pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline revealed on Wednesday that net profits slumped by almost a quarter in 2021, after the prior year was boosted by asset sales. Profit after taxation sank to just under £4.4 billion (€5.2bn) last year, GSK said in a statement. That compared with £5.7 billion in 2020, when its bottom line was boosted by divestments. Revenues grew five per cent to £34.1 billion, helped by £1.4 billion of pandemic-related sales – particularly of antibody treatment Sotrovimab. “We have ended the year strongly, with another quarter of excellent performance... and we enter 2022 with good momentum,” said chief executive Emma Walmsley. The London-listed group forecast rising profit in 2022, when it will spin off its consumer health care business. GSK expects growth in operating profit of between 12 and 14 per cent. The news comes after consumer goods giant Unilever failed in a £50-billion takeover bid for the unit, which is owned by GSK and US peer Pfizer. Glaxo revealed last month that it had received three unsolicited offers for the health care division from Unilever but rejected them all as too low. Unilever, which will publish its earnings on Thursday, has...

England will scrap the legal requirement to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID-19 later this month if infection levels remain stable, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Wednesday. Johnson, dogged by revelations of apparent breaches of the COVID rules at Downing Street that have led to calls for him to quit, had earlier said he aimed to end the self-isolation rules on March 24. But addressing lawmakers before parliament goes into recess on Thursday until February 21, he said he would bring the change forward by a month, to cheers from his fellow Conservative MPs. "It is my intention to return on the first day after the half-term recess to present our strategy for living with COVID," Johnson told parliament.  "Provided the current encouraging trends in the data continue, it is my expectation that we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions -- including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive -- a full month early." England lifted almost all coronavirus restrictions in late January that had been reimposed in early December to tackle the Omicron variant, with masks no longer required in enclosed places and vaccine passports shelved. The...

An Italian car rental franchise has distanced itself from its Maltese operators after their involvement in an alleged kidnapping.   Sicily by Car told Times of Malta that it wished to dissociate itself from Maltese franchise holder Christian Borg.   Borg, 28, of Swieqi, is among a group of six men who stand accused of kidnapping a man in January and threatening to torture him and rape his sister. Times of Malta revealed on Tuesday how Borg and two of his associates are the subjects of a money laundering investigation which is looking into how drugs may have been purchased from the dark web using cryptocurrency.   Borg owns Princess Holdings Ltd which has since 2020 run the local franchise for the popular Sicily by Car auto-rental service.   In a statement on Wednesday, the Italian rental company said it had no knowledge of Borg’s alleged activity and that this was in no way related to its own operations.  “Sicily by Car, when signing the contract, [with Borg] was certainly not aware of Mr Christian Borg’s past,” the company said.   It has so far not replied to questions over whether it plans to sever ties with Borg.  Founded in 1963, Sicily by Car has a network of more than 60...

Danish shipping giant Maersk on Wednesday posted record-beating profits in 2021, as container freight prices continued to soar due to the global supply chain crunch caused by the COVID pandemic. For the full year, Maersk registered a net profit of $18 billion (€15.8bn), the highest profit ever recorded by a Danish company. For 2022, Maersk predicted a “solid first half” would be followed by a “normalisation” of the sector early in the second part of the year. Demand for shipping plunged at the start of the pandemic, but has rebounded strongly since mid-to-late 2020. As a result, sales for 2021 jumped by 55 per cent to $61.8 billion, with the ocean container shipping segment soaring by 65 per cent. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) almost tripled to $24 billion, thanks to lower costs and optimisation of its logistics chain, Maersk said. Its main competitors, Italy’s MSC and France’s CMA CGM, have also posted record profits for 2021. Shipping customers have had their patience put to the test and had to dig deep into their pockets as the supply chain disruptions plague the container shipping segment. In the fourth quarter, the sector...

Equity markets rose on Wednesday following a positive performance on Wall Street as traders prepared for the release of highly anticipated US inflation data, while sentiment was also buoyed by signs of easing Russia-Ukraine tensions. Oil prices also enjoyed a small bounce on demand optimism after two days of losses fuelled by the positive vibes from Eastern Europe and as talks on an Iran nuclear deal appear to be progressing. With speculation swirling over the Federal Reserve’s plans to battle soaring prices, global equities have fluctuated wildly at the start of the year as traders try to position themselves for a series of interest rate hikes that are likely to begin in March. The prospect of the removal of cheap cash – which has pushed markets to record or multi-year highs – has particularly hit tech firms as they are more susceptible to higher rates. However, the sector helped New York’s three main indexes to healthy gains on Tuesday, and Asia followed suit in early trade Wednesday. Hong Kong led the way, jumping more than two per cent thanks to a 6.8 per cent surge in market heavyweight Alibaba after Japan’s SoftBank allayed fears it was planning to offload some of its huge...