Med news english

The Malta Tourism Authority and the English football team of Manchester United have reached a historic agreement that will expose Malta to new markets in America and Asia.

In a visit to Old Trafford, the Minister for Tourism, Konrad Mizzi, said that this partnership with the English team, which has more than a billion supporters around the world, is part of the Government’s strategy to promote Malta as the destination of the Mediterranean.

On Saturday, Malta’s name will start appearing at Old Trafford, which is among the largest stadiums in England with a capacity of 76,000 spectators and further promotion will appear on the social media and other websites.

This is possible through a partnership agreement for the next three years between the Malta Tourism Authority and Manchester United; one of the football teams followed by more than a billion supporters worldwide.

In a visit to the Training Complex of Manchester United, the Minister for Tourism, Konrad Mizzi, said that through this partnership, Malta will increase its visibility tremendously. 

The Chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority, Gavin Gulia, described  this partnership as historic for Malta. “It will serve as a showcase for Malta because Manchester United are known all over the world, and Malta will be promoted worldwide. Tourism is advertising, marketing, and of course this is an important to promote our country and the most important ever had in the history the Malta Tourims Authority. “

First among the United football players intending to visit Malta for the first time is the Spanish international, Juan Mata. “I’ve never been in Malta but I love to travel. I love to discover new countries and new cultures and yes of course, I would like to go at some point to relax and enjoy, probably in summer. Nice food, nice weather and yes, I’m looking forward to it.”

The English club legend, Bryan Robson, has learned about Malta because his wife’s parents had a residence in Msida. “First I went to Malta I was sort of 19 years old so over the last 10 years, I’ve actually went back there. I’ve had some great holidays over in Malta. The beaches are great. Over the years, the hotels have really improved. There’s great bars and restaurants. The weather is always really good, so it’s great island to visit”.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Starting from next October 1st, Marco Travaglia will be the new president and CEO of Italy and Malta for the Nestlé Group.

Currently a Business Executive Officer at Nestlé Purina PetCare Southern Region, he joined the Nestlé Group in 1990 and has held managerial roles of increasing responsibility in various countries and within various functions of the company, from marketing to sales. Backed by an international career that brought him to Switzerland, USA, France and the United Kingdom, Travaglia returned to Italy in 2003 to lead the Food and Beverage division of Nestlé Italy in the role of general manager, contributing significantly to the growth of the business. Subsequently, from 2010 to 2013 he was able to play the role of Nestlé CEO for the countries of the former Yugoslavia, based in Zagreb, where he started an important process of transformation of the Group with remarkable success that led him to fill the current role within the PetCare category, expanding its responsibility to all markets in Southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

The “Forest of violins” of the Val di Fiemme “will descend from the mountains and will reach the lowlands of Cremona, a few meters from the burial of the greatest master of violin making Antonio Stradivari. In the days when the Lombard city will celebrate its violin and musical tradition with the Cremona Musica International Exhibitions and Festival 2019, from September 21st parts of spruces destroyed by the storm Vaia will be exhibited in Piazza Roma in Cremona to raise awareness of environmental issues. Other fir trees will be located near the exhibition pavilions.

From 4.00 pm on September 21st in Bertazzola del Torrazzo the photographic exhibition ‘Rinascita con la musica’ will be opened, which will allow visitors to retrace and see the images of the disastrous event that in October 2018 in a few hours has brought down hundreds of thousands of spruces.

To complete this week of events on the evening of 28 September, the Pianolink Silent Wifi Concert for piano and guitar is scheduled in the Piazza del Comune di Cremona at 9.00 pm. The listeners, through headphones connected wifi, from every point of the square, will be able to enjoy the exhibition through a sort of personalized audition.
The initiatives will be implemented with the support of the Lombardy Region which, in 2019,holds the European presidency of EUSALP – an agreement signed between Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland and Liechtenstein and their 48 regions and autonomous provinces that are located around the Alpine chain for the development of a macro-regional strategy.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

The Kinder+Sport Tennis Trophy is back for the third year in a row. This time, the international tennis tournament for children aged nine to 12 is welcoming two new countries alongside the ones from last year, for an overall total of 13 countries playing in 172 tournaments.
The first phase began on 2 February in the town of Alba, in Italy, with the “Tennis Trophy Fit – Kinder+Sport”. The next stop will be held in Sofia at the Bulgarian National Tennis Center from 15 to 17 August. Then others in Belarus, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Malta, Monaco, Poland and the Ukraine.
The winners of these will go on to the International Masters, the finals of which will be held from 17 to 20 October at the exclusive Monte Carlo Country Club, site of the ATP Tour.
As an integral part of Kinder+Sport Joy of Moving – the Ferrero Group international Social Responsibility project set up to get children and families involved in fun-filled motor activity – the Kinder+Sport Tennis Trophy is more than an athletic competition. The trophy focuses on values like trust in yourself and others, integration, respect and friendship.
The guiding principle of the tournament is that matches are played without referees, so that children can put their honesty and integrity to the test on the court. In keeping with this principle, the Fair Play Trophy is awarded at the end of each national tournament to recognise the young tennis player who has stood out the most for their honesty and good sportsmanship.
The initiative began in Italy in 2006. It was the brainchild of tennis star Rita Grande and Kinder+Sport Joy of Moving. In recent years, it has become more international in scope, helping spread the concept of an active lifestyle to younger generations. In past editions, the finalists also had the opportunity to meet world-renowned tennis idols Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Sara Errani, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fabio Fognini, Simone Bolelli, Corrado Barazzutti and Nicola Pietrangeli, as well as coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

Malta, known as an international financial hub in the Mediterranean, is among 17 countries that ended up a victim of the North Korean regime. United Nations experts are investigating at least 35 occasions in 17 countries that suffered from a cyberattack which was carried out by North Koreans to raise money for weapons of mass destruction. 

13 countries suffered from one attack; Malta, Costa Rica, Gambia, Guatemala, Kuwait, Liberia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, Tunisia and Vietnam. South Korea suffered most from these attacks, 10 in total. Then there were three attacks in India while Bangladesh and Chile had  two attacks.

An expert report which was presented to the United Nations Security Council North Korea Sanctions Committee says that North Korea illegally acquired $2 billion from online activities against financial institutions and the cryptocurrency exchanges.

The Maltese Government did not issue any official statement but it is believed that the attack on Malta concerns Bank of Valletta. Last February, the Bank systems were hacked and €13 million were stolen. Since then, €10 million were recovered. Sources said that a Federal Bureau of Investigation Team is in Malta investigating this attack in collaboration with Maltese experts from the state IT agency; Malta Information Technology Agency.

Experts said that there are three ways of carrying out these cyberattacks. The first way is by using the Society System for Interbank Financial Telecommunication Around the World (SWIFT) to transfer money between banks, using the computers of employees to send fraudulent messages and then delete the evidence. Another option is by theft of cryptocurrency through attacks on exchanges and users, or using the cryptocurrency as a source of funding for professional branch of the military.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

The Kinder+Sport Tennis Trophy is back for the third year in a row. This time, the  international tennis tournament for children aged nine to 12 is welcoming two new countries alongside the ones from last year, for an overall total of 13 countries playing in 172 tournaments. The first phase began on 2 February in the town of Alba, in Italy, with the “Tennis Trophy Fit – Kinder+Sport”.

The last phase of the tournament took place from 9 to 11 August in the TC Piding in Salzburg. The winners of the tournament are:
U9 1st and 2nd Final HAIDER MAURER LEA against PREVENTED LEONIE 4/0 4/0
U10 1st and 2nd Final PYNDA SOLOMIA against POSCH ANNA 4/2 4/1
U9 1st and 2nd Final KREN KIAN against HANDLECHNER PHILIPP 4/0 3/4 14/12
U10 Final 1st and 2nd BRAMMEN PAUL against RASER FELIX 4/3 4/0 (the latter won the “Fair Play” Award).

Then others tournaments will be in Belarus, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Malta, Monaco, Poland and the Ukraine. The winners of these will go on to the International Masters, the finals of which will be held from 17 to 20 October at the exclusive Monte Carlo Country Club, site of the ATP Tour. As an integral part of Kinder+Sport Joy of Moving – the Ferrero Group international Social Responsibility project set up to get children and families involved in fun-filled motor activity – the Kinder+Sport Tennis Trophy is more than an athletic competition. The trophy focuses on values like trust in yourself and others, integration, respect and friendship.
The guiding principle of the tournament is that matches are played without referees, so that children can put their honesty and integrity to the test on the court. In keeping with this principle, the Fair Play Trophy is awarded at the end of each national tournament to recognise the young tennis player who has stood out the most for their honesty and good sportsmanship.
The initiative began in Italy in 2006. It was the brainchild of tennis star Rita Grande and Kinder+Sport Joy of Moving. In recent years, it has become more international in scope, helping spread the concept of an active lifestyle to younger generations. In past editions, the finalists also had the opportunity to meet world-renowned tennis idols Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Sara Errani, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fabio Fognini, Simone Bolelli, Corrado Barazzutti and Nicola Pietrangeli, as well as coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

The recently published Eurobarometer report provides a clear picture of the perceptions that Maltese citizens have on the issues they consider most important. Immigration, housing and the environment are at the top of the list. One in two Maltese citizens (49%) considers immigration as one of the two major national problems; the percentage drops to 43% with regard to housing. One in 3 Maltese places the environment among the first two issues instead.

It is interesting to note that immigration is also seen as a European problem (63% of Maltese mention it as one of the two main concerns at the EU level).

The survey conducted in Malta also shows that Maltese citizens trust institutions, both national and European, much more than the European average. The trust of the Maltese citizens in the European Union is much higher than the European average: 56% in the archipelego compared to 44% in Europe. This difference is even greater for national institutions, both the parliament (53% confidence among the Maltese, 34% the European average) and the government (58% among the Maltese, 34% the European average).

Eurobarometer has also investigated the benefits that Maltese citizens get from being citizens of a member state of the European Union. There is a certain uniformity of response with European citizens, but two major differences emerge: 45% of Maltese citizens consider the Euro as a highly positive fact, a sentiment shared by only 24% of European citizens. There is also a marked difference for the Erasmus exchange program: 39% of Maltese indicate it as the most positive thing, while only 26% of European citizens are of the same opinion.

Among the achievements of the European Union from which they have benefited the most, Maltese citizens have indicated the possibility of using the telephone at lower costs when traveling in Europe (63%), greater rights for passengers and for consumers when they buy an European product (60% for both) and the absence of border controls during trips (58%).

In general, it can be said that Maltese citizens show a more positive sentiment towards the concept of Europe than the average recorded among the 28 member countries. This figure emerges from the answers to more general questions such as “Do you feel like an EU citizen?” (81% positive responses in Malta, 73% at European level).

The study refers to interviews conducted in June 2019. 503 people were interviewed in Malta, while over 27 thousand people were interviewed throughout Europe. The Eurobarometer is a series of public opinion polls conducted by the European Commission since 1973. These polls address a wide range of topical issues relating to the European Union within all its member states.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

The Kinder+Sport Tennis Trophy is back for the third year in a row. This time, the international tennis tournament for children aged nine to 12 is welcoming two new countries alongside the ones from last year, for an overall total of 13 countries playing in 172 tournaments.
The first phase began on 2 February in the town of Alba, in Italy, with the “Tennis Trophy Fit – Kinder+Sport”. The next stop will be held in Austria at the TC Piding, Salzburg from 9 to 11 August. Then others in Belarus, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Malta, Monaco, Poland and the Ukraine.
The winners of these will go on to the International Masters, the finals of which will be held from 17 to 20 October at the exclusive Monte Carlo Country Club, site of the ATP Tour.
As an integral part of Kinder+Sport Joy of Moving – the Ferrero Group international Social Responsibility project set up to get children and families involved in fun-filled motor activity – the Kinder+Sport Tennis Trophy is more than an athletic competition. The trophy focuses on values like trust in yourself and others, integration, respect and friendship.
The guiding principle of the tournament is that matches are played without referees, so that children can put their honesty and integrity to the test on the court. In keeping with this principle, the Fair Play Trophy is awarded at the end of each national tournament to recognise the young tennis player who has stood out the most for their honesty and good sportsmanship.
The initiative began in Italy in 2006. It was the brainchild of tennis star Rita Grande and Kinder+Sport Joy of Moving. In recent years, it has become more international in scope, helping spread the concept of an active lifestyle to younger generations. In past editions, the finalists also had the opportunity to meet world-renowned tennis idols Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Sara Errani, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fabio Fognini, Simone Bolelli, Corrado Barazzutti and Nicola Pietrangeli, as well as coach Patrick Mouratoglou.