The World Cup groups have officially been drawn

Apr 1 2022

The 2022 Qatar World Cup is nearing closer and closer, as the groups of the tournament have officially been drawn. For the first time ever the World Cup will be held in the winter, that is why the group stage draw had to be postponed a couple of months from it’s usual date in early December.

The draw has consistently offered up many exciting matchups throughout the years and unsurprisingly the 2022 group stage draw didn’t disappoint. The event was held in the capital city of Qatar, Doha, and featured past football stars including Tim Cahill, Cafu and Carli Llyod.

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The first group drawn included the hosts Qatar, South American dark horses Ecuador, African champions Senegal and experienced European side Holland. Senegal and the Netherlands are undoubtedly the favourites to get out of the group but don’t discount Ecuador and Qatar. Ecuador surprised most fans by qualifying for the World Cup whilst Qatar are not the weak team many people expected, winning the Asian Cup back in 2019.

The most political group of the World Cup has to be group B. Euros finalists England were drawn against USA, Iran and one of Ukraine, Scotland and Wales. England will be once again happy with their group whilst all the remaining countries will be awaiting a fierce battle to get out of the group.

Groups C and D are the most low-key groups drawn. Group C includes Argentina, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Poland whilst Group D will feature World Champions France, Denmark, Tunisia and one of Costa Rica and New Zealand. Many fans will be wondering if France will be the victims of the champions curse and fail to make it out of their group.

Group F saw two European heavyweights in Spain and Germany drawn against each other. The other two teams drawn were Morocco and one of the UAE, Australia and Peru. The next group, Group E has the potential to be one of the most exciting groups according to some football fans. The group also includes two European powers in Belgium and Croatia but their opponents Japan and Canada are being touted as possible dark horses for the tournament.

Bizarrely Brazil were again drawn against Switzerland and Serbia just like the 2018 World Cup. Last time the 4th team was Costa Rica but this time it will Cameroon taking their place in the group. Brazil will be hoping for a repeat of the 2018 group stage, where they easily got out of the group.

The last group drawn is being touted as the group of death. Group H will include Portugal, Ukraine, Korea Republic and Ghana. All 4 teams have a good history when it comes to qualifying for the knockout stages of the World Cup and all 4 will be hoping for exactly that. It has to be said that the underdogs to qualify will be Korea Republic and Ghana.

The first game of the tournament between hosts Qatar and Ecuador will take place on the 21st of November 2022.

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Netflix announces a Spy Kids remake on 21st anniversary

Apr 1 2022

Spy Kids is getting an official remake, Netflix has confirmed. The streaming giant has marked the 21st anniversary of the famous spy comedy by revealing that a reboot is being planned for the franchise.

The original director, Robert Rodriguez, will be back to lead the making of the film, bringing back some good nostalgia to our screens.

Netflix tweeted out saying that the 21st anniversary of the beloved action comedy feels like the perfect time to reveal that Rodriguez will write, direct and produce a reimagining of the beloved franchise.

A brand new family of spies will be introduced for this remake, with the announcement coming after Deadline reported the news of how the director was reimagining the 2001 movie in January 2021.

No plot details have been uncovered so far, but the remake is set to revolve around the activities of a multicultural family.

The original film starred Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino as a married spy couple who then rely on their kids Juni and Carmen Cortez to rescue them. It is unknown if any of the original stars will be returning for the remake.

The original film was a massive surprise hit, going on to spawn three sequels, grossing more than $500 million globally and earning cult status among 2000s kids.

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Two rushed to hospital after Gharghur roadside car crash

Apr 1 2022

Two people have been rushed to Mater Dei Hospital after a traffic accident on Friday morning in Gharghur.

The accident occurred at 6am in Triq in-Naxxar, with police revealing that the accident involved a Mercedes C220 driven by a 23-year-old Nigerian Man and a Mercedes Benz SLK250 driven by a 28-year-old woman from Iklin.

A 24-year-old woman from Naxxar was also in the first vehicle, with both of them taken to hospital. The woman was then certified to have suffered severe injuries. The man’s condition is as of yet unknown.

Investigations are ongoing.

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Photo Source: MaltaToday

Russian’s Maltese citizenship retracted after name listed on US sanctions list

Apr 1 2022

A naturalised Maltese person is set to have their citizenship retracted after the US added her to its sanctions list, saying she has ties to Russian intelligence services.

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Thursday added 21 entities and 13 individuals to the sanctions list. They were described as operators in the Russian technology sector and that they helped Russia illicitly procure dual-use equipment and technology for its defence sector.

Following the invasion of Ukraine, these are just a few of the latest companies and people blacklisted by the West as it targets wealthy Russians with ties to Putin’s Kremlin. With three of the companies based in Malta, one of the 13 individuals is Evgeniya Vladimirovna Bernova.

She is listed as a Russian national who has Maltese citizenship. She is linked to Malberg Ltd, which is one of the companies on the sanctions list through her shareholding in Djeco Group Holding Ltd.

The US government has claimed that she is an associate of Moscow company OOO Serniya Engineering. The US said the company is at the heat of a procurement network engaged in proliferation activities at the direction of Russian Intelligence Services.

Serniya, the US says, operates through companies in several countries, among them the Malta-based Malberg. Malta’s Home Affairs Ministry did not name the person being stripped of their citizenship and did not specify how the person in question had become a Maltese citizen.

The ministry noted that Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri started the ‘deprivation process’ to strip the unnamed person of the citizenship in line with provisions in the Maltese Citizenship Act and subsidiary legislation.

Malta halted its cash-for-passports scheme for Russia and Belarus last month after stating that no person who features on the sanctions list was a Maltese citizen.

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