Новости за 09.02.2016

The top US intelligence official outlined the most imminent security threats facing the United States in 2016 for the Senate Armed Services Committee, touching on disruptions in cyberspace, Islamic State's attack capabilities and the continued nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told senators that Islamic State remains the "pre-eminent terrorist threat" in the world. "They've attempted or conducted scores of attacks outside of Syria and Iraq in the past 15 months. Читать дальше...

The Labour Party is about to get a new deputy leader for party affairs after Toni Abela was nominated by the government to the European Court of Auditors. Leonard Callus looks at the history of the two main parties’ deputy leaders and their changing roles and influence within the party hierarchy. The Prime Minister’s tweet on deputy leader Toni Abela’s nomination to the European Court of Auditors has cast a spotlight on the post Dr Abela is about to vacate. Joseph Muscat has spoken of wanting an organiser and moderniser in the position. Читать дальше...

Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi is set to become the Labour Party’s deputy leader for party affairs as his was the only nomination received for the post by the close of nominations today. The Labour Party said in a statement that according to its statute, delegates had to confirm the appointment in a secret vote, which will be taken on February 25. To be confirmed deputy leader, Dr Mizzi has to obtain 50 per cent plus one of the valid votes cast.

Expecting to write up a ticket for speeding, an Alabama State Trooper ended up helping a woman give birth. Danny Lowe, of Huntsville, said he was driving his wife, Shawna, and their unborn baby to an Athens hospital when he was pulled over by Trooper Michael Kesler for speeding. While being questioned, Shawna Lowe began going into labour and the two men helped her deliver a baby boy. Secretary of Law Enforcement Spencer Collier said in a news release that Trooper Kesler also helped take stress off... Читать дальше...

Computer services at a number of government institutions are currently unavailable due to a technical fault. Sources at Mater Dei hospital told the Times of Malta the outage was preventing the processing of X-rays and blood tests, as well as the registration of patients in the Emergency department. In a statement, the government IT agency (MITA) said the problem was identified at 4.55pm. MITA technical personnel immediately triggered its established diagnosis procedures. A number of services are being gradually restored. Читать дальше...

Allowing couples to make surrogacy arrangements locally would help reduce the exploitation of women, according to the European Law Students’ Association – Elsa Malta. In a policy paper titled ‘Onto Surrogacy Regulation’, which was presented to Civil Rights Minister Helena Dalli today, the students call for surrogacy to be regulated to prevent couples from bypassing national legislation. They analysed European Court of Human Rights cases, also identifying some of the problems it faced when dealing with cases on surrogacy agreements. Читать дальше...

The government will soon be presenting Cabinet with a bill on the appointment of the judiciary, which was at an advanced stage, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said as he appealed to the Opposition, which earlier said it would be moving a private member’s bill by the end of the week, to be cautious. Replying to questions following a statement he made in Parliament on the nomination of two magistrates last week, Dr Bonnici said caution should be exercised as a proposal by the Chamber of Advocates today... Читать дальше...

The Turkish Coast Guard spotted a boat in distress during its daily search and rescue flights over the Aegean Sea and rappelled down to save a lone migrant clinging to the upturned bow of his sinking boat yesterday. The Coast Guard said 34 people had been aboard, 27 died and six were missing, trying to reach the Greek island of Lesbos. The International Organisation for Migration said today it estimates over 76,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Europe by sea through the first six weeks of 2016. Читать дальше...

Health and safety standards surrounding carnival celebrations in Valletta were significantly increased this year – with participants speculating that the changes were made in light of the failings that led to the Paqpaqli crash last year. Several carnival company members told the Times of Malta their floats had been checked on numerous occasions to ensure the drivers had all the appropriate licences and that measures like first aid kits and gravel to spread in case of oil spills were all in place. Читать дальше...

The chant "pay back the money" filtered into South Africa's highest court as judges heard a case in which President Jacob Zuma is accused of violating the constitution in a scandal over state spending on his private home. Inside court, lawyers argued before 11 judges over whether the president broke the law by failing to follow a 2014 recommendation from the state watchdog agency that he pay back some of the more than $20 million in security upgrades to his rural home. Outside, several thousand opposition... Читать дальше...

A female shark which has had no contact with males for more than two years could be set to give birth to two babies. The white spotted bamboo shark arrived at Great Yarmouth Sea Life Centre in 2013 having been evacuated from the badly flooded sister centre in Hunstanton. She has been the only member of her species at the centre in that time and has had no contact with male sharks. But now experts at the centre have said she has produced two fertile eggs which are due to hatch in nine months time. Читать дальше...

A multinational EU project led by Malta’s Emergency Fire and Rescue Unit ‘Synergising European Volunteer Rescue Teams’ is bringing together volunteer rescue teams from across Europe work together to fine-tune rescue techniques and practices. The teams are members of the European Association of Civil Protection Volunteer Teams, (Evolsar), of which Malta is president. The Erasmus+ project is the first of its kind but is the fruit of a legacy that started several years ago and which was significantly strengthened over the past twelve months. Читать дальше...

Actors from the Globe theatre in London performed in Malta yesterday on one of the last stops of an unprecedented two-year Globe-to-Globe tour, taking William Shakespeare’s Hamlet to every country on earth. The Maltese leg of their journey actually hit two birds with one stone: as the company was unable to visit nearby Libya due to the current political situation, they arranged instead for a number of Libyan migrants to attend the show at the Salesian Theatre in Sliema free of charge. This is not... Читать дальше...

A suicide car bomber dispatched by the Islamic State group struck near a police officers' club in the Syrian capital, killing at least 10 people. Syrian state TV reported the toll and showed footage of the blast scene in Damascus, including several damaged vehicles and a burnt-out car. The police officers' club was next to a vegetable market. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group that tracks the civil war, said the blast killed eight policemen and wounded 20.... Читать дальше...

Yesterday’s rebound in the share index was short-lived as the local equity benchmark slipped by 0.38 per cent during this morning’s session to a fresh two-week low of 4,464.134 points largely due to the declines in BOV, HSBC and IHI. After holding on to the €1.70 level for three consecutive sessions, HSBC's share price slid 1.2 per cent back to an almost one-year low of €1.68 across 14 deals totalling 26,812 shares. The bank is scheduled to publish its 2015 preliminary financial statements on February 22. Читать дальше...

Lowly bacteria can "see" in much the same way as humans, research has shown. Each bacterial cell acts as a microscopic eyeball or fibre optic filament, scientists said. The discovery solves a mystery that has vexed scientists for more than 300 years - how do bugs that rely on sunshine to survive sense light? The answer is they do it by turning their whole body into a camera-like lens that focuses light onto a particular spot. This triggers movement away from the focal point and towards the light source. Читать дальше...

Berlin’s public transport double-decker buses will bring a sunny Malta mood to Germany’s capital as part of a Malta Tourism Authority 12-month promotional initiative will run till the end of next January. Throughout the campaign, the buses will be decorated with photos of the Maltese Islands, particularly stunning images portraying some of the most popular locations and attractive flight offers from Air Malta and Ryanair. This initiative is expected to provide additional exposure to the Maltese Islands... Читать дальше...

A Briton on holiday in Malta was given a suspended sentence and fined €4,000 after he admitted trying to bribe a police officer who tried to restrain him outside a Paceville club with a €50 note. Michael Jones, 27, also admitted of reviling and threatening police officers and disobeying their orders. The man was arraigned before Magistrate Josette Demicoli together with Christopher Saliba, 27, who has a French passport but lives in St Paul’s Bay where he works as a bartender. Mr Saliba, however, pleaded not guilty to reviling... Читать дальше...

A Bosnian Serb general convicted by United Nations judges of genocide in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre has died in his cell, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal has announced. Zdravko Tolimir, 67, died on Monday night at the court's detention unit in The Hague, the tribunal said in a statement. The cause of death was not announced. The court said that local authorities "have commenced standard investigations as mandated under Dutch national law". The organisation dealing with legacy issues from the Yugoslav... Читать дальше...

Two Eritreans were denied bail after pleading not guilty to inflicting serious injuries to a man during a fight in Marsa on Saturday afternoon. Another man was charged in connection with the case on Sunday. Mengstab Mulue Hayele, 22, who works as a cleaner and lives in Zebbug and Hylom Teame Tesfaalem, 20, who is unemployed and lives in St Paul’s Bay were accused of seriously injuring Afewerki Teklesembet Yohannes and of disturbing public peace. The court presided by Magistrate Josette Demicoli,... Читать дальше...

Fifty gram tins of anchovy fillets in olive oil of the Princes brand have been withdrawn from the market because of elevated levels of histamine, the Health Directorate said. The withdrawn tins are lots L-C089 and L-C036 carrying a best before date of June 30, 2016 and May 5, 2016.

Ryanair will be operating a new winter route from Malta to Nuremberg, its newest German base, with a twice weekly service as from November. To celebrate, the airline said it was releasing seats on this route at prices starting from €24.99 for travel in November. These seats are available for booking on the Ryanair website until February 16 at midnight.

A 26-year-old man from Qormi was granted bail after he denied smuggling seven pump guns with ammunition rounds from Libya. James Azzopardi, who is a crew member on the cargo ship  MV Saint Roch,was arraigned under arrest this afternoon before Magistrate Josette Demicoli. The vessel operates between Malta and the Libyan ports of Tripoli and Misurata. Mr Azzopardi was arrested on Wednesday afternoon while driving a car in Luqa, where he was found with four pump action shotguns (12 gauge) strapped to his torso and back. Читать дальше...

The Secretariat for Planning has insisted that Parliamentary Secretary Deborah Schembri is leading the reform of the Government Property Division in view of her ministerial responsibilities for the sector. The secretariat was reacting to a Times of Malta website article which said the reform is being led by architect Robert Musumeci. Dr Schembri said Mr Musumeci is one of three consultants helping the secretariat in the reform. The team also includes Edmund Tabone and Dr Vincent Galea. "Dr Schembri... Читать дальше...

A man died today after setting himself on fire outside Kensington Palace, the London home of Prince William and his wife Kate, police said. The incident is not being treated as suspicious or related to terrorism, they added. Police said they had been alerted just after midnight by officials from a central London hospital to say a man in their care had failed to return. Three hours later, officers were called to a site near the locked parks of the palace, located in Kensington Gardens in central London... Читать дальше...