Новости за 11.03.2016

Allied Newspapers Ltd’s board of directors was convened today following “very serious allegations” made in public. After the meeting, the board said: “The board has decided to investigate these serious allegations through an independent inquiry. "The company stresses that the inquiry is a measure of good governance and in no way is it accepting the veracity of these allegations. “In accordance with best practice, and in agreement with the incumbent, the managing director will be taking leave until the conclusions are considered by the board. Читать дальше...

Economic growth hit a historic high of 6.3 per cent last year but not everyone can read that figure and rub his hands in glee. Kurt Sansone reports. Economy buffs had been waiting for the GDP figures for 2015 with anticipation as growth was expected to be significantly higher than the eurozone average. Quarterly figures last year were already pointing at a remarkable five per cent growth rate but when the National Statistics Office released the numbers for the whole year last Tuesday, the result was astounding. Читать дальше...

Malta has joined other EU states in approving a new proposed directive aimed at improving the EU’s legal tools to combat terrorism. Speaking during a Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting of EU Justice Ministers today, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici stated that Malta considered the fight against terrorism a priority and that, as such, it fully supported the rationale behind the new directive. In the past months, a number of legislative changes were introduced locally to implement the directives... Читать дальше...

Russian officials have demanded more information from the US about the mysterious death of a former aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin who was found in an upmarket Washington hotel room last year. Post-mortem results said Mikhail Lesin, Mr Putin's former press minister who helped found the English-language news service Russia Today, died of blunt force trauma to the head and other parts of his body, but did not specify how he got the injuries. The 57-year-old was discovered in his room at the... Читать дальше...

The Chamber of Advocates said this evening that without entering into the current political debate, it wanted to remind all concerned that lawyers were duty bound not to disclose confidential information unless compelled by law. It said that the financial services industry was a sensitive industry everyone should safeguard.

Only 12 per cent of buildings that are required by EU regulations to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) have been certified to date, according to official figures. An infrastructure ministry spokeswoman told the Times of Malta that only 10,586 properties have been certified to date, out of approximately 85,000 that must be certified to cover the period of 2009 to 2015, in line with an EU directive first issued in 2010. The figure nevertheless represents a significant improvement over previous years... Читать дальше...

A “big problem” is looming once migrants, having spent their lives working in often underpaid and undeclared jobs, reach retirement age, a number of NGOs warned. Migrants, most of whom are engaged illegally in temporary, underpaid work in the construction industry, have complained of being exploited by employers. The issue has often been highlighted by both NGOs and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who, last year, said migrant worker abuse must end. But how will Malta deal with elderly migrants once... Читать дальше...

Guinness World Records has said a 112-year-old Israeli who lived through both world wars and survived the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz is the world's oldest man. Guinness awarded Israel Kristal a certificate at his home in Haifa, but quoted him as saying he does not "know the secret for long life". Mr Kristal said: "I believe that everything is determined from above and we shall never know the reasons why." He was born in Poland in 1903. His first wife and two children were killed in the Holocaust... Читать дальше...

Eurotours has submitted its VAT return for March to April 2014, when it stopped operations, and a court summons issued to Nationalist MP Chris Said was being withdrawn, the Nationalist Party said. It said in a statement that Dr Said had been summoned to appear in court because Eurotours Ltd, of which he was director during the time he spent as party general secretary, had not submitted its VAT return for March to May 2014. The PN said that the necessary verification was carried out and it found that... Читать дальше...

Details on how the new tourism tax was going to be implemented were expected soon, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association said today. The 50c nightly eco tax was meant to come into effect on April 1 but has since been delayed to June 1 due to lack of agreement on how to collect it. Speaking during the MHRA-BOV quarterly review, MHRA president Tony Zahra said the association had multiple meetings with the government about the matter. “We are near to reaching an agreement on the method of collection... Читать дальше...

Contracts related to the power station and hospital were not being investigated because corruption was not normally present in such pacts, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this afternoon. Addressing a news conference on the third year of his government’s legislature at Castille, Dr Muscat said corruption won't be found there. He acknowledged that governance issues had distracted attention from the government's achievements and this was something that had to be addressed. “I understand governance... Читать дальше...

The Malta Football Association refereeing director, Adrian Casha, has resigned with immediate effect, the association said. He is being replaced by Kevin Azzopardi a former referee with 18 years experience during which he served as a Fifa referee in 2013 and controlled 114 Premier league matches. Thanking Mr Casha for his work, the association said Mr Casha was at no time subject to an investigation on illicit use of funds and he always behaved with integrity and placed the interests of the sector first and foremost. Читать дальше...

The MSE Share Index slipped by 0.94% to 4,550.992 points today largely on the slump in the equity of IHI. Following today’s decline, the Index ended the week marginally down by 0.01%. Relatively volatile trading continued to take place in the equity of International Hotel Investments plc. Indeed, following the 6.0% decline of Wednesday and the 5.8% gain seen yesterday, the equity sunk by 8.5% today to a one-year low of €0.65 across seven deals totalling 26,841 shares. Also among the large companies... Читать дальше...

Two bouncers accused of the attempted murder of two Italian men at a Paceville club were each sentenced to two months in jail and fined €1,000 by a court today. The case dates back to St Valentine’s Day of six years ago, when Luca di Mauro, who at the time was 27, and Riccardo Miano who was 35, had suffered serious facial injuries, with latter ending up with a broken nose and losing several teeth. The incident took place at about 4.30am at a Paceville club called Clique.Subsequently, 35-year-old... Читать дальше...

An Egyptian teenager, discovered hiding beneath a bench on a German night train, jumped out of a window and died after officials asked to see his papers, German police said today. The 17-year-old man handed the officials migration documents, issued in Austria and identifying him as an Egyptian national, during checks on a night train early on Friday morning near the German-Austrian border. While police were looking at his papers, the young man escaped into another compartment, opened the window and jumped out of the moving train... Читать дальше...

Actor Russell Crowe helped carry the coffin of his former New Zealand cricket captain cousin Martin Crowe, who died after a battle with cancer. The Gladiator star was not initially expected to attend the service at Auckland's Holy Trinity Cathedral, having taken part in a memorial planned by Martin in the last days of his illness. Eulogies were delivered by Martin Crowe's wife, former Miss Universe Lorraine Downes, his brother Jeff and former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith. Ms Downes described her husband as "authentic... Читать дальше...

Japan is marking the five year anniversary of a deadly earthquake and tsunami that killed some 20,000 people. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Emperor Akihito bowed in front of a stage with white and yellow flowers during in a ceremony in Tokyo. Abe vowed to move forward.  "In the past, our nation suffered countless disasters that could be described as national crises, but overcame them each time with determination and hope. I vow once again that we will follow hand in hand in the footsteps of our forefathers... Читать дальше...

Vandals damaged the bus shelter and the pay machine at the Park and Ride in Blata l-Bajda during the night, Transport Malta said. The vandals managed to open the pay machine and stole some cash.  A few weeks ago, vandals had already targeted the same site. "Transport Malta is taking the necessary steps to install a new pay machine. In the meantime, the Park and Ride will keep operating as usual," TM said. It appealed for anyone with information to inform the police. Times of Malta yesterday reported that the Park and Ride is falling apart... Читать дальше...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the country to improve its nuclear attack capability by conducting more tests, the official KCNA news agency reported today. "Dear comrade Kim Jong Un said work ... must be strengthened to improve nuclear attack capability and issued combat tasks to continue nuclear explosion tests to assess the power of newly developed nuclear warheads and tests to improve nuclear attack capability," KCNA said. The North Korean leader was quoted in state media this week... Читать дальше...

A teenager may have found part of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on a beach in Mozambique. Casper Lotter said his son Liam found the piece on December 30 near the town of Xai Xai and returned to South Africa with it. The curved piece has a five-digit number on it. Mr Lotter said his wife contacted Australian aviation authorities last week after another piece was found in Mozambique. He said the authorities said the number indicates it may belong to a Boeing 777. A South African Civil Aviation... Читать дальше...

Tourists in southern Argentina witnessed a breathtaking natural phenomenon when huge chunks of the Perito Moreno Glacier broke off in front of them. Pieces of ice crashed into Lake Argentina, prompting cheers from onlookers at Los Glaciares National Park. The massive natural monument in the province of Santa Cruz measures about 100 square miles and its walls tower about 75 yards over water level. Periodically the glacier advances over the lake and then breaks off. The glacier last broke apart in March 2012.

The Prime Minister’s British media consultant, Leslie Skipper, has been awarded extra work by another government entity. Replying to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Claudio Grech, Economy Minister Chris Cardona confirmed that Mr Skipper received payments from the Malta Information Technology Agency, which is the central driver of the government’s information and communications technology policy, programmes and initiatives in Malta. Mr Skipper was paid almost €3,000 last year for a copywriting job. Читать дальше...

A man who, according to the police, was found in possession of 1.5 kilograms of cannabis resin and €75,000 in cash during a police raid at his St Paul’s Bay apartment was granted bail by a court today after denying all charges. Kenrick Sciriha, 28, was arraigned before Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras and accused of trafficking cannabis as well as money laundering. Sources told Times of Malta, that the man had been shadowed for a number of months by the drug squad. The defendant was granted bail against a deposit of €1,500... Читать дальше...

The European Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee has published the replies given by Toni Abela to its questionnaire following his nomination to the European Court of Auditors. The replies were issued ahead of further questioning by MEPs next Tuesday. See Dr Abela's replies at  http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2F%2FEP%2F%2FNONSGML+COMPARL+PE-577.063+01+DOC+PDF+V0%2F%2FEN&language=EN Among other things, Dr Abela was asked about which were the three most important decisions in his professional life. Читать дальше...

A massive fire engulfed a commercial building in Los Angeles, California last night/ Huge flames and plumes of smoke could be seen shooting out of the building in Boyle Heights. It was unclear what was inside the 70,000 square-foot single storey building, but local media say it might have contained general merchandise. Fire officials said part of the building had collapsed, but that no injuries had been reported. More than 100 firefighters battled the blaze.