update
I checked what is going on in the hdd/epg/ folder and I can confirm that the download of epg.xml and conversion to .gz works fine.
I have no idea though why the % count stops at 35% !! I simply ignored it.
Anyway, I closed the script window and ran epgimport using "clear before import" option and bingo my epg is now corrected.
Many thanks for the great work 👍
P.S.
No idea why the cron job was not added (Image Black Hole). Anyway, I added it manually and will monitor how it is going every day.