€22 million investment to build pharmaceutical facility in Malta

Mar 9 2022

Multinational pharmaceutical company Torrent Pharma has announced a €22 million investment on Wednesday to build a new production plant in Hal Far.

The facility will include a large pharmaceutical lab and is expected to generate around 120 new jobs. Works are scheduled to start next month and is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2023.

The news was addressed by Torrent Pharma Malta general manager Fredrick Schembri during a press conference. He said that the first phase of the investment will see the company develop logistical and packaging operations and sterilisation testing labs in Malta, passing 16,000 batches annually.

The company also plans on developing an oncology mediation testing facility by 2024. The company was founded in India and is the flagship company of the Torrent Group conglomerate.

The Prime Minister addressed the press conference, saying that he believes Torrent is going places. Enterprise and Energy Minister Miriam Dalli also said that the foreign direct investment would make Malta its European centre for testing and quality control. Economy Minister Silvio Schembri said the substantial investment showed the company’s trust in the jurisdiction and that the testing lab would be one of the largest in Europe.

#MaltaDaily

Courteney Cox revealed she doesn’t remember being on FRIENDS

Mar 9 2022

FRIENDS fans might remember every scene of the popular sitcom like gospel, but it seems Monica Geller actress Courteney Cox doesn’t remember most of her time on set.

The actress is best known for playing Ross’s cleanly sister Monica in the series which ran for 10 years and more than 200 episodes.

Now 57-year-old, Cox admitted that she really doesn’t remember much about her days on the show. She said she realised this when she met with the rest of the cast for the reunion special last year.

‘I should have watched all 10 seasons because when I did the reunion and was asked questions, I was, like, I don’t remember being there’ she said.

She also went on to say that she feels surprised when she sees random scenes of the show on TV and she cannot remember doing the scene or being in that location at all. She attributed this jokingly to a case of ‘bad memory.’

‘It’s really basic. I have like three memories. I don’t know why’ she said. ‘I’m kinda bummed that we didn’t spend more time taking pictures because I don’t have a lot to look back at.

Cox did however recall an amazing trip she and the rest of the cast enjoyed before they were famous. Friends director and sitcom legend James Jim Burrows flew out the cast to Las Vegas in 1994.

Allegedly, Burrows gave them each $500 to spend and told them to enjoy the trip as this would be the last time they would not be recognised in public. Cox had shared a photo of the trip back in 2019, captioning by saying that no one knew they were FRIENDS yet.

#MaltaDaily

Putin depicted as Hitler in Repubblika protest outside Russian Embassy

Mar 9 2022

A protest outside the Russian Embassy in Malta saw activists likening Russian president Vladimir Putin to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

The two political leaders were merged together through a life-size cut out which saw the Russian president donning a swastika as well as the iconic Hitler moustache.

The protest, which was organised by civil society group Repubblika saw demonstrators carrying Ukrainian flags and placards which read ‘Russia say no to Putin’ and ‘We stand with Ukraine’ amongst others.

This comes as Putin himself legitimises his invasion of the neighbouring country by saying that he wants to de-nazify the country, despite Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself being of Jewish descent.

Repubblika president Robert Aquilina spoke out saying that ‘we do not believe your lies Vladimir Putin. Nazis glorify the triumph of the will of the leader and crush the rule of law beneath its feet. That is what Vladimir Putin has done.’

The activists called upon Russian authorities and military to stop the ‘illegal and brutal aggression in Ukraine.’ They said that justice will prevail and the day will come when Putin’s tanks will be ‘rolled back and history will roll over him.’

An estimated two million people have fled Ukraine as refugees since the outbreak of the invasion. This comes as other countries issue economic sanctions on Russia despite no military intervention from said countries.

#MaltaDaily

Ukraine no longer insisting on joining NATO

Mar 9 2022

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed that he is no longer pressing for NATO membership for his home country Ukraine.

The issue was one of the reasons Russia was allegedly invading Ukraine, with Zelenskyy even saying that he is open to compromise on the status of two breakaway pro-Russian territories that Putin recognised as independent.

Zelenskyy spoke during an interview on ABC news, saying that he cooled down regarding this question a long time ago after he understood that NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine.

‘The alliance is afraid of controversial things, and confrontation with Russia’ said Zelenskyy, revealing that he does not want to be president of a country which is begging on its knees.

NATO was created at the start of the Cold War to protect Europe from the Soviet Union. Russia has emphasised that it does not want Ukraine, a neighbouring country, to join the transatlantic alliance as it expanded further east to take in former Soviet bloc countries.

Shortly before the invasion of Ukraine, Putin recognised pro-Russian republics in Eastern Ukraine Donetsk and Lugansk as independent as they have been at war with Kyiv since 2014. Zelenskyy revealed he was open to dialogue about Ukraine considering them independent as well.

#MaltaDaily