Новости за 29.02.2016

The police have discovered the corpse of a 71-year-old man from Zabbar, whose body appeared to have been mauled by his hungry dog, according to a TVM news report this evening. When police were alerted by neighbours that they had not seen Ronnie Stafrace for several days, little did they expect to find the macabre scene upon forcing open the door of the residence in Sqaq L-Ajri. The man appeared to have died from natural causes some eight weeks ago. Parts of his body appeared mauled, probably eaten by a hungry and thirsty dog found on site... Читать дальше...

Parliament adjourned at 9pm instead of 9.30pm this evening because no Labour MP was present to speak during the adjournment. The adjournment alternates between the government and the opposition and today was the government's turn.  The Speaker repeatedly asked whether there were comments, but since no one was on the government benches, the House adjourned without comment.

A Google self-driving car struck a municipal bus in a minor crash earlier this month in what may be the first case of one of its autonomous cars hitting another vehicle. In a Feb. 23 report filed with California regulators, Google said the crash took place in Mountain View, California on Feb. 14 when a self-driving Lexus RX450h sought to get around some sandbags in a wide lane. Google said in the filing the autonomous vehicle was traveling at less than two miles per hour, while the bus was moving at about 15 miles per hour. Читать дальше...

A total of 47 individuals who are active in civil society have signed the declaration regarding financial investments of Maltese MPs. The activists signed following a public online call.   The declaration calls on Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to make a clear commitment to the principles he campaigned for before the last election – transparency and accountability – by unequivocally condemning the fact that a member of his cabinet and his chief of staff have chosen to make financial investments in... Читать дальше...

Syrian government forces say they are advancing against Islamic State in Aleppo province, although the main opposition says 'moderate' rebels are also being targeted. .. While the fight with Islamic State continues, the U.N. says a nationwide 'cessation of hostilities' between government forces and opposition groups that came into force three days ago is largely holding. The army's made advances here against IS and has regained control of a key road that leads to a major prize… the northern city of Aleppo. Читать дальше...

Three Libyans, including a six-year-old boy, arrived in Malta this evening for emergency treatment at Mater Dei Hospital.  The three were injured during last week's clashes with Isis militants in the western city of Sabratha. They were flown on board a plane which left Mitiga airport and were taken by ambulance to Mater Dei's Intensive Therapy Unit upon arrival.  A number of other Libyans wounded in the clashes could also be flown to Malta in the coming days.  Islamic State militants briefly entered the centre of Sabratha on Wednesday... Читать дальше...

Minister Konrad Mizzi's decision to close down his Panama company was an admission of guilt and it was too little, too late, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said this evening. During a news conference this evening, Dr Busuttil said the Nationalist Party will hold a national protest against corruption on Sunday in Valletta. "I invite all those who are disgusted with government corruption to join the protest," Dr Busuttil said. This would be the first of a series of activities to be held in this vein. Читать дальше...

Independent MP Marlene Farrugia asked Education Minister Evarist Bartolo in parliament today why not all school transport vehicles have seat belts and why the law on wearing a seat belt is not enforced on school transport. The minister said that with regard to on minibuses manufactured before 1998, there is no obligation for the minibus to have passenger seat belts. On minibuses manufactured after 1998, seat belts are obligatory, and passengers 'should' make use of these sea tbelts. On coaches manufactured before October 2001... Читать дальше...

Parliament has started debating a Bill, moved by the Opposition, aimed at protecting the national, cultural and historical heritage for the benefit of future generations. The Bill was presented almost a year ago and was moved in Parliament today by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi and seconded by Parliamentary Secretary Jose' Herrera. Among other things, the Bill amends the Civil Code to make a distinction between public land and land which is in the public domain.  The Bill empowers citizens and NGOs... Читать дальше...

Gozo Minister Anton Refalo refused to give a straight answer today when asked in parliament whether plans for a family park at Il-Qortin in Gozo have been scrapped and substituted by a photovoltaics farm. The question was asked by Nationalist MP Chris Said.  The minister said the site at Il-Qortin overlooking Marsalforn was important and the setting up of PV panels would not obstruct the people from taking walks in the countryside.  He said it was good that the former government closed down the former... Читать дальше...

Small businesses are still unaware of the power of taking their business online and risk falling behind due to a lack of education, the Malta Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU) has warned. “Expertise can be bought, but the biggest issue is that businessmen are not yet seeing the benefits,” said Marcel Mizzi, GRTU vice-president for finance and administration. “The problem is that a lot of them don’t buy online themselves, so they assume nobody buys online.” The GRTU has recently published a handbook... Читать дальше...

Minister Konrad Mizzi said today he will close down his company in Panama, Hearnville Inc, after a tax audit.   "To avoid baseless speculation and also to respond to genuine feedback, Dr Konrad Mizzi has decided that after the conclusion of the Tax Audit which he requested to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, he will proceed with the closure of Hearnville Inc  which is registered in Panama. There will be full disclosure on the dissolution process," a statement issued by his ministry. The trust registered in New Zealand will be retained. Читать дальше...

PN leader Simon Busuttil has sued the GWU weekly It-Torca for libel over allegations that he failed to declare his financial interests to parliament. In a statement, Dr Busuttil said the article was false from beginning to end.  He said that the legal firm he formed part of until 2010 offered the legal services of trusts, like any other law firm. Therefore the attack made against him in the article was against all the financial services industry. Dr Busuttil said he stopped legal practice in 2010... Читать дальше...

Mexico's interior ministry said a container of radioactive material used for industrial X-rays was stolen along with a car in central Mexico this weekend, the latest in a series of such case to hit the country. The small yellow container of Iridium 192 was inside a red Chevrolet pick-up stolen in the municipality of San Juan del Rio on Saturday morning, the ministry said in a statement. Provided it is kept in its covering, the material is not dangerous, but if found, a protective perimeter of 30 meters should be set up around the container... Читать дальше...

Malta International Airport has ranked second in the Best Airport by Region (over two million passengers per year) category, according to the 2015 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards. Airports Council International (ACI) today announced the winners of the 2015 ASQ Awards amongst the 97 European airports surveyed. Malta International Airport shared its achievement with Dublin (25 million passengers/year), Prague (12m passengers) and Zurich (26m passengers). “This is the ultimate reward for our airport team... Читать дальше...

Foreign nurses on the public payroll are expected to learn basic Maltese medical terminology within one year of engagement, the Health Ministry said. This was one of several initiatives taken to minimise language barriers with patients, according to a ministry spokesman. There were 290 foreign nurses employed with the national health service at the end of 2015. They made up nine per cent of the nursing workforce, which stood at 3,132, figures obtained from the ministry showed. The nurses coming from... Читать дальше...

Six local councils which will receive funding to plant trees in their communities as part of the Greening Urban Areas scheme. The local councils of Attard, Cospicua, Xewkija, Birżebbuga, San Ġwann, Santa Venera will all benefit from the scheme, which has provided €530,000 in funding since starting as a pilot project last year. Environment Minister Leo Brincat said the goal was for the scheme to eventually be rolled out to all localities in Malta and Gozo. He urged local councils to engage local stakeholders... Читать дальше...

Fixtures from the Serie A matches: Friday, March 4 AS Roma v Fiorentina Saturday, March 5 Verona v Sampdoria Napoli v Chievo Verona Sunday, March 6 Torino v Lazio Atalanta Bergamo v Juventus Bologna v Carpi Frosinone v Udinese Genoa v Empoli Sassuolo v AC Milan Inter v Palermo

Dozens of flights were delayed and diverted when the runway at London Gatwick was closed due to a suspected oil spillage. A spokesman for the West Sussex airport said the runway was shut shortly after 10.15am and did not reopen until 11.38am. Among the delayed services was an Air Malta flight which was due to return from London at 4pm but is not expected before 7pm. According to Gatwick's website at least 19 incoming flights were diverted to other airports, and a number of departing services were delayed. Читать дальше...

Two professional drag racers were forced to use leg power to push their motorcycles over the finish line at a race in the Australian city of Perth. In what is being billed as one of the most bizarre drag races in history, the two riders stalled their massive motorcycles almost at the starter line. Rather than give up, the riders dismounted and pushed their lifeless bikes, worth in the region of $100,000 each, toward the finish line. Much to the amusement of commentators and spectators, Maurice Allen... Читать дальше...

Manchester United's 3-2 win over Arsenal brought Louis van Gaal out of his dugout seat and on to the floor, but it was Marcus Rashford's latest brace that had the Old Trafford faithful on their feet. The teenage striker followed up his Europa League debut double on Thursday night with two more goals in the first half against the Gunners as his incredible introduction to senior football continued. The 18-year-old also set up Ander Herrera for his deflected third goal to leave stunned visiting boss... Читать дальше...

A US student held in North Korea since early January was detained for trying to steal an item bearing a propaganda slogan from his Pyongyang hotel and has confessed to "severe crimes" against the state, the North's official media said. Otto Warmbier, 21, a student at the University of Virginia, was detained before boarding his flight to China over an unspecified incident at his hotel, his tour agency told Reuters in January. North Korea has a long history of detaining foreigners and has used jailed... Читать дальше...

The Milan fashion scene always has so much grace and femininity, both off and on the runway. On my first day in Milan, the three shows I attended all felt romantic and dreamy with that touch of style and elegance the Italian fashion scene is so renowned for. The fashion vibe always feels different here than it does in London. Upon making my way to the Simonetta Ravizza AW16 show, it was a bit hard to dismiss a passionate, anti-fur protest happening right outside the show. Well and truly, fur is quite... Читать дальше...

Elon Musk's SpaceX scrubbed plans to launch a Falcon 9 rocket in the last two minutes of countdown last night, again delaying an attempt to put an satellite into orbit and then land the vehicle's first stage intact on a sea platform, a step that may eventually slash costs. The 23-story rocket, carrying a communications satellite for Luxembourg-based SES SA, was less than two minutes from blast-off at 6:47 p.m. (12.47 am in Malta) when the launch team aborted the countdown, SpaceX said during a webcast. Читать дальше...

The share index kicked-off the week on a positive note as it advanced by 0.56 per cent to 4,553.802 points. Seven equities registered gains whilst another three closed unchanged. Trading volumes declined to a four week-low of just €224,000. RS2 Software closed at its sixth consecutive new all-time high as it advanced by a further 0.4 per cent to the €3.66,1 level across 5,902 shares. The best performer of today’s trading session was Malta International Airport. The equity managed to recover some... Читать дальше...