Charles Leclerc topped the times ahead of Sebastian Vettel as Ferrari took full advantage of a Lewis Hamilton puncture to lead the way in Friday's eventful second free practice at the Canadian Grand Prix. Leclerc, bitterly disappointed by a team error in his home Monaco event two weeks ago, clocked a best lap of 1min 12.177sec to outpace the four-time champion by 0.074sec and leave Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes third, adrift by one-tenth. Hamilton, who endured his setback after smacking a wall, wound up in sixth place behind Carlos Sainz of McLaren and Kevin Magnussen of Haas. The defending five-time champion completed only eight laps and missed more than an hour of the session, a possibly vital absence in terms of collecting data, notably on tyre degradation, at the challenging Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Sensing an opportunity, Ferrari grabbed a chance to show the power of their engines and leave Mercedes facing serious problems for the first time this year after a record run of six wins since the start of the season. Sergio Perez was seventh for the Canadian-owned Racing Point team ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and his Renault team-mate Nico Hulkenberg and local hopeful...

Eden Hazard completed his long-awaited move from Chelsea to Real Madrid on Friday and could become the Spanish club's most expensive signing in their history. Real said Hazard, 28, had signed a five-year contract. His contract at the Premier League club was due to expire next year but the Blues drove a hard bargain for the forward, who will reportedly cost Madrid an initial 100 million euros ($113 million), with another 45 million in potential add-ons. The full amount would trump the 101 million euros Madrid paid Tottenham for Gareth Bale and the 91 million euros they spent to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United. An unveiling at the Santiago Bernabeu is expected next week, once Hazard returns from international duty with Belgium, who play Euro 2020 qualifiers against Kazakhstan on Saturday and Scotland on Tuesday. It means Madrid's spending spree is picking up pace following the arrivals of defender Eder Militao and striker Luka Jovic from Porto and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively.

Hosts France laid down a marker in the opening game of the women's World Cup as towering defender Wendie Renard scored twice in a rampant 4-0 win over South Korea to kick off the tournament in style in Paris on Friday. A sell-out crowd of 45,261 filled the Parc des Princes to watch the start of what is billed as the biggest women's World Cup yet, but there was no sign of the pressure getting to the French on the big occasion. Les Bleues are among the favourites to win the trophy on home soil and they showed no mercy to the Koreans, with the prolific Eugenie Le Sommer giving them an early lead and Renard -- the tallest player at the tournament -- twice heading home before the interval. Captain Amandine Henry, impressive throughout, wrapped up the win late on in this Group A encounter. The display was watched by France's President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, who were in the crowd alongside Gianni Infantino. The FIFA chief had this week promised the month-long tournament would see the «explosion» of the women's game as he was waved in for a second term at the head of world football's governing body. Almost a million tickets have been sold for matches in the nine host...

Pope Francis has named a special envoy to prioritise spirituality at the Roman Catholic shrine at Lourdes in France over «managerial and financial» aspects. The Italian press said Friday that the nomination of Lille auxiliary Bishop Antoine Herouard is seen as the equivalent of placing the holy spring in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains under supervision. Lourdes is one of the most revered sites for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics because the town is said to be where the Virgin Mary appeared to a peasant girl in a grotto. «Pope Francis, who has this case very much at heart, wishes to accentuate the spiritual primacy over the temptation to overemphasise the managerial and financial aspect,» the official Vatican News website said. The pope wants centres of Marian devotion to be «ever more a place of prayer and of Christian witness corresponding to the needs of the People of God.» A former Renault manager, Guillaume de Vuilpan, was put in charge of Lourdes in 2017, and has introduced new products at the site. The shrine returned to profit in 2018 after 10 years in the red, accumulating losses of €10 million. Last year, 1.2 million pilgrims visited the site, half of them...

Sweden's teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg was Friday awarded a prestigious Amnesty International prize for mobilising world public opinion on the looming peril of global warming. The 16-year-old issued a statement declaring it «a huge honour to receive Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience Award,» saying it was recognition for everybody inspired by her «Fridays for Future» movement that has seen students strike from school to take part in climate protests. «To act on your conscience means that you fight for what you think is right,» she said. To AFPTV, she said «it's amazing to get recognition like this». Thunberg, a fierce campaigner with a gift for public speaking, has become a figurehead for young climate activists internationally. International organisations often invite her to climate change events in an effort to put a human face on the fight to curb carbon emissions. Last week, she appeared alongside actor and former politician Arnold Schwarzenegger at a conference in Austria discussing ways to tackle climate change. The head of Amnesty International, Kumi Naidoo, lauded Thunberg's work in a statement announcing the prize from his organisation. "Every...

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Sette Giugno uprisings, a very significant event in Maltese history. It’s being commemorated on a national scale with a number of official events, books, exhibitions, a documentary, a film and also with a new, original musical.  “Historical amnesia is a very dangerous thing,” author Simon Bartolo, who is involved in the bilingual show titled VII (Sette), said. “We need to be aware of what happened before us, what led to the life we live today, who had to suffer, and in this case die, for the privileges that we enjoy and take for granted today. Sette Giugno was the culmination of a wretched period in our history,” he added. VII (Sette) is being put up by Teatru Malta in partnership with the FĊN (Fondazzjoni Ċelebrazzjonijiet Nazzjonali). The New Victorians, made up of sister duo Bettina and Philippa Cassar, have composed the music and are directing and performing in the outdoor show being staged at Fort St Elmo’s Piazza d’Armi.  The cast includes Jacob Piccinino, Leo Graham, Lee-N Ellul, Christian Scicluna, Andrew Sowrey, Matthew Hunt, Jeremy Grech, Nicola Azzopardi, Sandie Von Brockdorff, Rebecca Camilleri, Zoe Camilleri and Julienne...

A Briton wanted in connection with a homicide has been arrested in Malta after a covert operation involved Maltese and British police. The man - who was on Europe's 'most wanted' list - was kept under surveillance for a number of days before the arrest, and was found to have been using a false identity. A European arrest warrant had been issued for the man, who will be arraigned in court in the coming days. Sources said that the man was Christopher Guest More, who is wanted for the murder of man in Cheshire in 2003. Brian Waters was tortured and beaten to death in front of his two adult children, forced to watch the murder at gunpoint. More, 41, described himself an undercover journalist, and was known to have links to Spain, Malta and South America, More managed to leave the UK, but three other men are serving life sentences after being convicted of Mr Waters’ murder. The men tied Mr Waters to a chair before battering him in front of his son Gavin, who was also attacked, and daughter Natalie, who had just turned 21 and was held at gunpoint and forced to watch. Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2019/04/30/christopher-guest-more-jr-added-to-europes-most-wanted-list-9352367/?ito=cbshare

Chelsea lodged an appeal on Friday at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland against a transfer ban imposed by FIFA, the court said. In February, FIFA banned Chelsea from signing players for their men's teams for the next two transfer windows after FIFA's disciplinary committee found the club guilty of breaching regulations relating to the recruitment of minors. Chelsea denied any wrongdoing and CAS said on Friday that the club had filed an appeal. «The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered an appeal filed by Chelsea Football Club Ltd (CFC) against the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA),» CAS said in a statement, adding the club was appealing against the transfer ban. Chelsea initially appealed to FIFA who partially lifted the ban in April, but only for players under 16 who are not «international transfers and first registrations of foreign minor players». That left Chelsea still unable to sign male players over the age of 16 when the summer transfer window opens. Chelsea had been eager to have the ban lifted, or suspended pending an appeal, so they could be in a position to sign a replacement for Belgium's Eden Hazard, who is...

US scientists who studied the performance of myriad athletes - including adventurous souls who spent five long months running across the United States - have come up with an estimate of the absolute physiological boundary of human endurance. The conclusions are pretty technical but the study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances highlights one feature in particular that makes people unique among primates: their physical endurance is indeed extraordinary. It is probably something we inherited from hunter-gatherers over the course of two million years, the researchers say. In a nutshell, when it comes to pushing one's body to the limit, humans run circles around monkeys. The limit to human endurance is measured in multiples of something called basal metabolism, which is the minimum energy, counted in calories, that is expended by the body to keep itself going for one minute.  And the limit to human endurance is about 2.5 times this basal metabolism, says the team, led by Herman Pontzer, a professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University. In athletic events defined as short - races that last anywhere from hours to weeks, such as a triathlon, a marathon or the...

The president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Ahmad Ahmad, held in a corruption probe, was released without charge in France on Friday, the Marseille public prosecutor said. Prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux said Ahmad was arrested in Paris on Thursday and questioned as part of an inquiry opened on May 28 by Marseille investigators into corruption, breach of trust and forgery. Ahmad was in Paris for the FIFA Congress ahead of the start of the Women's World Cup. His confederation's marquee event, the African Cup of Nations, kicks off in Egypt on June 21. The French investigation concerns CAF's breach, shortly after its signature in December 2017, of a contract with Puma to supply equipment and clothes to 580 volunteers at the 2018 African Nations Championship, an event for national teams restricted to African players with clubs on the continent. CAF allegedly tore up the contract in favour of a better offer from a small French-based company which supplies Adidas gear, according to documents seen by AFP.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal powered past Roger Federer in the French Open semi-finals on Friday, to move within one victory of a record-extending 12th Roland Garros title after handing his oldest rival his worst Grand Slam defeat in 11 years. The 33-year-old produced a masterful performance to get past Federer 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the last four on Court Philippe Chatrier and set up a final clash with either world number one Novak Djokovic or Austrian fourth seed Dominic Thiem on Sunday. It will be Nadal's 12th appearance in the championship match, which he has never lost before. «It's incredible to play with Roger here,» said Nadal. «Congratulations to him -- to be at his level at 37, it's incredible. I say thank you to the Parisian fans, because it's magnificent for me to be in another final. »It's always a pleasure to play with him. It's always a difficult match against him." The third seed now has an stunning 92-2 win-loss record on the Paris clay, having beaten Federer for the sixth time in as many French Open meetings despite difficult, windy conditions. Nadal also leads his overall head-to-head against Federer 24-15, and 14-2 on clay after ending a run of five straights...

Vatican Radio is to start broadcasting a weekly news bulletin and podcast in Latin, the Holy See's official but slowly  disappearing language.  The five-minute «Hebdomada Papae» (Pope's Week) will be first broadcast on Saturday, with transcripts in different languages to accompany the podcast version to help budding Latin lovers. «It will be a proper radio news programme, with reportages and briefs,» said Vatican News' editorial director Andrea Tornielli. «We envisage it as a challenge for the future rather than a nostalgic look at the past.» Radio Vatican journalists will produce the programme alongside the Vatican Secretariat of Latin Letters, which already draws up official documents in Latin and manages the pope's Latin language Twitter account. Latin remains the official language at the Vatican, although its use is nowadays limited to legal texts and prayers.  Italian is the preferred working language, along with French for diplomatic communications. Learning Latin is no longer obligatory in most seminaries but Vatican Radio currently broadcasts one mass a week in Latin.

The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has opposed plans to turn the former Times of Malta building in Valletta into a luxury apartment complex, according to a representation filed with the Planning Authority. The main concern is the extent of the excavation that is being planned so as to include an underground car park beneath Strickland House. According to the superintendence, the rock cutting could pose serious dangers for Auberge de Castille across the road. Apart from this, the superintendence said it was also concerned about the complete demolition of Strickland House, due to the possibility of historical value within. Hili Company, which acquired the St Paul’s Street property from the Allied Group in December, plans to redevelop the existing building into 50 apartments over eight floors, two of them receded, as well as a cafeteria and five levels of underground parking.  The company is describing the development as “Valletta’s only luxury residential complex, comprising high-end apartments, with concierge service and car parking facilities”. Designs for the building’s façade, by architect Martin Xuereb, envisage a mix of open and traditional closed balconies, with...

Just 10 years before he was crowned the world's best sommelier after winning a rigorous global competition against dozens of elite beverage connoisseurs, Marc Almert thought wine «stank.» «Both (my parents) always tried to motivate me to taste the wines at home when I was coming of age -- so 16, 17 -- and I always refused,» said Almert, the slight, genteel sommelier at the two-Michelin-starred Pavillon restaurant in Zurich's ultra-luxe Baur au Lac hotel. «To me (wine) stank and it didn't taste nice and I didn't want to drink anything at the parties with school friends. People were having beer and spirits and I thought it was disgusting... That was my honest opinion,» he told AFP. In March, the 27-year-old won the title awarded by the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) after a multi-round competition involving national and regional qualifiers that tests knowledge, tasting and service of all beverages typically served in a restaurant. The contest happens every three years, making Almert -- from Cologne, Germany -- the 16th winner in its five-decade history. That he earned such an honour a decade after finding alcohol broadly repulsive is a testament to both...

The Constitution was only a piece of paper unless there was the political will to safeguard it, Archbishop Charles Scicluna warned on Friday. In an homily during Mass commemorating the Sette Giugno bread riots, Mgr Scicluna warned the Constitution was useless without the political spirit in which it was created and the responsibility of those in government.  The Maltese now had no one to blame if the injustices that led to the riots were repeated. Back in 1919, people could tear up the British flag and say it was a flag that was not theirs. But nowadays, all the Maltese had to understand their responsibility towards ensuring a just society. To commemorate the memory of the four young men who died, everyone had to work for a fairer society, Mgr Scicluna said. The Sette Giugno events had to be remembered to ensure there would never again be class distinctions. Four men had died during the riots and their sacrifice had to be remembered. One of them, Ġużeppi Bajada, was due to travel back to Canada where he had been living on June 8. He had come to Malta for his father's funeral but was shot before he could make his way back home, Mgr Scicluna said.  Another, Carmelo Abela, who...

Former foreign minister Boris Johnson, the frontrunner to replace Theresa May as Britain's prime minister, on Friday challenged a lawsuit accusing him of knowingly lying during the Brexit referendum campaign. Lawyers for Johnson, who leads a crowded field of contenders vying to be Conservative Party leader after May formally resigns today, claimed in court that the private prosecution is «politically motivated and vexatious». The MP, who was not present, wants London's High Court to throw out a judge's decision last month to allow a summons ordering him to appear in court over allegations of misconduct in public office. His lawyers argued the lower court's ruling had «erred in law» and that the attempt to prosecute the ex-London mayor was political. «The only rational conclusion which could be reached was that the prosecution was politically motivated and, therefore, vexatious,» Adrian Darbishire told two High Court judges hearing the challenge. The case, brought by businessman Marcus Ball in a crowd-funded initiative, concerns Johnson's claim that Britain sends £350 million (€400 million) a week to the European Union. While this was Britain's gross contribution, the net figure...

A lot of literature has already been published about the Sette Giugno riots which occurred on a Saturday of the year 1919. The riots claimed the lives of four people: Carmelo Abela, Manwel Attard, Giuseppe Bajada and Wenzu Dyer. The third victim, Giuseppe Bajada, hailed from Gozo and is of particular interest because he is closely associated with the attempts of the government of the time to send its surplus Maltese population to English-speaking countries like Canada and Australia. Bajada was born at home on Tuesday, March 8, 1881. He was the first among seven siblings. The family lived at 32, Bullara Street, in the village of Xagħra, which at the time was referred to as Caccia in Gozo. Probably he attended the village’s primary school which had opened some 25 years or so previously, because emigration records show he was literate. He may have also attended the night classes the government had set up purposely for the would-be emigrants. In his early 20s Bajada travelled to Malta to seek better opportunities for work. He could easily settle there because his relatives had already established themselves, with their families, in Msida. Bajada took up residence on Capucchins...

Malta International Airport reduced its greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 12% in 2018 to reach 0.92 kg of CO2 per passenger. A decrease of 11.6% in total water consumption was also registered. In its fourth sustainability report, the airport said these drops were largely the result of several eco-friendly measures, including the installation of more efficient sanitation systems and the introduction of energy-saving lighting and air conditioning units. Over the past three years, the company invested more than €1 million in photovoltaic panels, and was currently determining the size of the next PV system to be installed on the airport campus. In 2018, the company prioritised the development and overall wellbeing of its employees through the provision of over 8,800 hours of training and a better focus on mental health. It also supported several projects and initiatives undertaken within the community, with community investments amounting to more than €300,000. The company also sought to further enhance Malta’s tourism product through the work undertaken by the Malta Airport Foundation. The foundation launched a documentary to disseminate a marine conservation message, partnered...

Russia Friday rejected an appeal from London to «change its behaviour» in order to mend relations that have been stung by the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain. «No, we won't change (behaviour) because the only thing Russia wants is beneficial relations that are based on each others' interests,» Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. «There's nothing blameworthy in such a line of conduct,» Peskov insisted, speaking on the sidelines of an economic forum in Saint Petersburg. «In fact, there are other factors that are harming bilateral relations and we are seeing the consequences,» he said, Russian news agencies reported. On Thursday, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Theresa May said that Britain and Russia «can only have a different relationship if Russia changes its behaviour.» The spokeswoman brought up the 2018 poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain, which London blames on Moscow, calling this a «despicable act». Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier Thursday that it was time to «turn the page» on the countries' difficult relationship after the spy scandal.

Just a month after the authorities descended on Mistra Bay to warn a number of caravan owners to get in line with the law, some campers are still parked there illegally. Caravans and campers at Mistra, some of which also have water tanks and beach furniture by the side, can only be parked on the road provided they have an inbuilt engine. Non-motorised campers and trailers can park on the road if they are secured to or towed by a vehicle. Watch: 'I'm packing up and leaving the island' - Mistra restaurateur gives up Transport Malta slapped some of them with notices at the beginning of May, calling on the owners not to “encumber the bay to the detriment of others”. A spokesman had said the notices allowed the regulator to take further action against those that should not be there. While the transport watchdog could issue fines for illegally-parked vehicles (motorised campers), this was not an option for non-motorised ones. The notices enabled the regulator to tow them away at a later date if the encumbering persisted, the spokesman had said. However, non-motorised caravans not secured to a vehicle remain at the bay one month on. The Planning Authority had also affixed enforcement...

The centenary of the Sette Giugno riots which is being marked today was a milestone in Malta's political history, giving the island its Legislative Assembly, which later became the modern-day parliament. Simmering political and economic troubles at the turn of the century had eased somewhat during the first world war but then returned with a vengeance and reached a boiling point on June 7, 1919. An increasing number of Maltese found that their pay simply could not keep up with rampant inflation. The situation was made worse as many lost their jobs in a wave of post-war discharges, particularly from the dockyard. It was a situation which fuelled calls by the Maltese to be granted a constitution and hence, self-government.  Malta at the time was, first and foremost, a fortress and naval base.    “The Duke of Wellington once said: can you give a Constitution to a battleship? The same way, you cannot give it to Malta,” professor Godfrey Pirotta, author of a book on Malta’s parliamentary history, said. In the late 1820s, Britain started sending commissions to enquire about the demand of the Maltese for autonomy in internal affairs. However, it seemed quite an impossible feat from...

Elderly people and families living in a popular Sliema area expressed frustrated on Friday, a public holiday, as they spent their morning listening to construction noise. Although legislation prohibits the continuation of construction works on Sundays or public holidays, the Building Regulations Office (BRO) issued a permit for the works to continue, police said.  As a result, residents living on the corner of Pace Street and St Anthony Street spent the better half of their Sette Giugno public holiday nursing a headache due to construction noise.  The ongoing works led to an «inhuman» living situation, resident Reuben Brimmer said, adding that the BRO was facilitating a breach of law by developers'. «Whenever you take a sick day off work, you know you will still be surrounded by construction noise,» he said. Police officers were «flooded by complaints», he added. «To add insult to injury, the building site is otherwise abandoned - so much for urgency of works,» he said. «There is just one very noisy digger, waking up and disturbing a whole neighbourhood,» he said.  Residents' only respite were Sundays and public holidays - but it seemed the authorities had taken that away, Mr...

An exhibition of Nigerian contemporary art dedicated to all those who survived the cyclone IDIA, has been organised by Joseph Barbara and Bruno Eke, of ICAF Malta 2019  in collaboration with the United Nations at the Cavalieri Art Hotel in St Julian’s.  The exhibition in an explosion of warm colours of African vernacular art, revealing a certain dynamic strength by an emotive race influenced by Western artistic concepts, especially European.  The exhibition will impress and leave a great impact on both the  local Maltese population and foreigners visting the island as tourists as such expression has rarely if ever been seen exhibited on our shores. The cross-cultural fertilisation of concepts is explicit but the tribal element is also quite pronounced. Bonding by Ella Onyebe is virtually poster art. The work impresses with the talent in graphic art as the linear drawing is extremely powerful and sibelline. The main influence is textile and calico printing specially that vernacular with vivid tribal strong colours. The subject is vital as the artist treats female liberation and equality, the need of unity and freedom of women. Bona Art by Bona Ezeudo is primarily a pure brand of...

A grand fair is being held at De La Salle College grounds today. Schoolchildren, their parents and friends are invited for a day jam-packed with engaging activities, including a fun run, bouncy castle, face painting, kite making, arts and crafts, cupcake decoration and other fun games.  This year for the first time there will be a pet garden and shows by the K9 section of the Malta Police. The section consists of 32 dogs, which are trained to tackle different types of crime.  Live entertainment will be provided by singers and dancers, including a magician. Food and drink stalls will be available. Entrance to the fair, taking place between 9am and 4pm, is free.

The following are the top stories in Friday’s newspapers. Times of Malta says that according to an EU agency report, just under half of the inmates at Corradino Correctional Facility had a history of drug use prior to being jailed. In another story, it says that two of three men accused of killing blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia on Thursday asked for court authorisation to meet MEPs David Casa and Ana Gomez though it is not yet clear why. The Malta Independent says the Nationalist Party’s executive will be meeting again on Saturday to decide on David Stellini’s seat. In-Nazzjon says the examinations of mathematics and Maltese remain pending. L-Orizzont reports on a meeting the General Workers Union had with President George Vella during which unions’ duty to fight abuses was highlighted.

One in Six is the manifestation of a two-year Master of Fine Art programme in digital arts, undertaken by six students at the University of Malta. As a graduate show, the body of work is the culmination of practice directed research in areas as diverse as memory, the archive, dystopian realities and ethnography. The MFA Digital Arts programme is a practice-oriented, postgraduate award in digital art practice and theory. It is an umbrella programme that seeks to develop a learning environment in which historical traditions and new practices confront and influence each other within a contextual, cultural and theoretical framework. This year each MFA student makes use of a variety of technologies combined with multiple materials and processes such as photography, 3D printing, videography, sculpture and mixed media installations in order to communicate the meaning of their artwork. The exhibition One in Six reflects life in a world increasingly controlled by digital environments. Every day, each of us generates an almost inconceivable amount of interactions in those digital environments. Every action in those environments leaves digital traces.  Artistic positions of the One in Six...

Victoria’s La Stella Band is gearing  up for the sixth edition of RockAstra, the highlight of an electrifying long-weekend in Gozo.  This popular rock music spectacle,  led by Sigmund Mifsud, is happening in Independence Square tomorrow  at 9pm. RockAstra is another opportunity for local budding artists presented by Teatru Astra and an opportunity for the well-established local talent. This year’s vocal artists will feature an exciting line up of the best Gozitan and Maltese talent who will perform tunes from Queen, Deep Purple and Andrew Lloyd Webber.  Seating, which is free of charge, is available on a first come, first served basis. More information is available on www.lastella.com.mt  and Teatru Astra and Socjetà Filarmonika La Stella Facebook pages.

June 7 has now been selected by the World LPG Association (WLPGA) as the #LPGday – a global online social media event to promote the benefits of LPG worldwide. As from this year, being #LPGday’s first edition, Liquigas Malta will be joining several countries and companies in marking this global awareness day, annually. Liquigas Malta is celebrating this day by promoting and encouraging car conversions from petrol to LPG through an offer of €200 worth of LPG fuel vouchers for all cars installing a certified LPG conversion kit by October 31. This is beyond the government incentive scheme of €200 for each conversion.  Both Liquigas and government incentives will reduce drastically the payback period of the LPG conversion investment by owners and at the same time contribute to lower traffic emissions.  The LPG vouchers will be granted to car owners and can be used at all authorised AutoLiquigas stations: MIA Station in Gudja, J. Micallef Station in Rabat, Wembley Station in Swieqi, VC Station in Għargħur and Santa Maria Station in Mellieħa. Liquigas chief executive Roberto Capelluto said: “As an active member of WLPGA, Liquigas Malta wants to do its part to help spread the word...

The World Health Organisation expressed alarm at the lack of progress on curbing sexually transmitted diseases, while one of its experts warned of complacency as dating apps are spurring sexual activity. The UN health agency said in a fresh report that every day globally there were more than one million new cases of treatable sexually transmitted diseases (STD) or infections (STI). WHO found that there were more than 376 million new cases of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis and syphilis registered around the world in 2016 - the latest year for which data is available. That is basically the same number as WHO reported in its previous study, based on data from 2012. A WHO expert on sexually transmitted infections, Teodora Wi, separately told journalists there were concerns that condom use may be declining as people have lost their fear of contracting HIV in step with the emergence of available and effective antiviral treatments. People are «more complacent about protection,» she said, adding that this was dangerous at a time when «sex is becoming more accessible (through things like) dating apps». Peter Salama, WHO's executive director of Universal Health Coverage, said in a...

Today we celebrate World Food Safety Day for the first time. I  welcome the fact that every year,  on June 7, the world’s attention  will be drawn to the crucial role that food safety plays in our daily lives and to its importance in achieving the UN Sustainable  Development Goals.  In Europe, we largely assume that our food is safe. A Eurobarometer survey published today by the European Food Safety Authority finds that for four out of five EU citizens safety is not the top concern when it comes to food. We should celebrate this. Huge progress has been made and important rules, standards and hygiene practices have been agreed that give the large majority of Europeans confidence in the food that they find on their plates.  Food safety is also fundamental to the size and success of the EU’s food sector and export market. Global demand for food produced in the EU is not just thanks to our long-standing traditions and heritage, although these factors  are important. We trade food globally because it is safe and is recognised as such by our commercial partners. Yet we must not be complacent. The UN estimates that 420,000 people die every year from eating contaminated food in...

Malta today marks the centenary of Sette Giugno, an event that signposted the start of the long march towards independence in 1964. Four people were killed in two days of rioting over a number of grievances that had been simmering for a long time, including Britain’s delay in allowing the people to manage their own affairs. Although Sette Giugno speeded up the grant of the first self-government constitution in 1921, the overriding grievance that led to the disturbances was a steep rise in the price of bread, then a most staple commodity. Even after a centenary, the debate continues on what the struggle was really about. Some writers insist it was against the British or against colonialism though the rioters were protesting mainly against the millers whom they accused of profiteering, not against British rule, as is inscribed on a metal panel at the site of the Sette Giugno monument on Palace Square, Valletta. Labour Party stalwart, Ġużè Orlando, wrote in an eyewitness account that the people did not wish to have any other country as their protector. They only sought what they merited. It is debatable too whether the event could be called a revolution, insurrection or a revolt,...

A 25-year-old man was grievously injured on Thursday when he was attacked in Santa Venera. The police said the Indian man was in Triq tal-Fawwara, when the incident happened, at around 8.30pm. He was taken to hospital by ambulance. The police are investigating.

The first away trip of the Euro 2020 qualifiers will see the Malta national team cross swords with Scandinavian heavyweights Sweden at the Friends Arena in Solna, tonight (kick-off: 20.45). After two respectable performances in their opening two qualifiers, which saw the boys in red beat the Faroe Islands 2-1 and then suffer a narrow defeat against European giants Spain, Malta are striving to remain positive in their attitude to improve on what they have started under coach Ray Farrugia. In fact, it was just a year ago when Farrugia took over the national team following the departure of Tom Saintfiet. Farrugia’s first pledge as Malta coach was to inject more youth blood into this team and one year on, ahead of a daunting task against Sweden, the former U-21 national team coach has repeated the same mantra. “Our aim will remain the same – we want to include more youngsters into our set-up,” Farrugia told a news conference, on Thursday. “Through the Nations League and now the Euro 2020 qualifiers, we want to make a big leap towards the future by giving international experience to the upcoming generation of players. “These young players will help us change our mentality, in...

Mark Anthony Sammut – what an example! This man, who has been nothing but good for the Nationalist Party, has shown everyone, including politicians far more seasoned than himself, what an exercise in humility is all about. The PN has to heed last week’s wake-up call – everyone who is anyone in the PN needs to show the same spirit and submit him/herself to the scrutiny of the party. The wide base of tesserati (registered members) needs to be used as a reference point and anyone elected in the PN’s name – including executive and general council members, local MPs and the recently-elected MEPs – should be put to a referendum for approval or otherwise. Being non-legally binding, after the referendum, it will be up to the goodwill of those shown disapproval by over 50 per cent of voters to stand aside. Only after such an exercise will the chosen faction within our crumbling party be allowed to work and lead, whichever faction this may turn out to be. Anyone who sticks to his position despite being shown disapproval by the wide-based vote would automatically lose credibility should s/he decide to retain his/her post. Three years is a short time and the uphill climb is steep. Anything...

Sweden are striving to capitalise on their home clash against Malta to give themselves a much-needed morale-booster ahead of Monday’s crucial qualifier against Spain which could have a major implication on their hopes of securing a place in next year’s European Championships. Yet, coach Janne Andersson, is aware of the difficulty that such game can bring to his team and he is doing all he can to try and keep his players with their feet rooted to the ground. Having scouted the Malta national team during their first two qualifying matches against the Faroe Islands (2-1) and Spain (0-2), Andersson knows that his team must be patient to break down Ray Farrugia’s clan. “We have seen Malta’s videos a lot of times in order to gain as much information as possible about them before our fixture,” Andersson told a news conference, yesterday. “While we are looking to win this game, we know that we have to be at our best to claim the three points because nothing should be taken for granted in this group.” Andersson, who steered Sweden towards the 2018 World Cup quarter finals last summer, described Malta as a “hard working team”, adding also that he was impressed by the way the team imposed...