Новости за 18.03.2016

A Chemistry professor, Alfred Vella, was elected rector of the University this evening and will take over from Prof Juanito Camilleri on July 1. Prof Vella, 65, currently pro-rector, was elected by the members of the University Council in a secret vote during a meeting held behind closed doors. The vote was 27-4 in favour of Prof Vella. The vote was also contested by Godfrey Baldachino, a Professor of Sociology. The election was held after the two candidates gave a presentation and replied to questions by the members of the senate. Читать дальше...

Three young men have been remanded in custody after being accused in court of carrying out a string of hold-ups from convenience stores and a lotto booth between January and this month. Kane Grima, 20, who works as butcher, Perrie Daniel Amarni Sciberras, 27, who is unemployed and Josef Galea, 19, who carries out gypsum works, stand accused of aggravated theft of €1,021 and 22 packets of cigarettes from  Drinks and More in San Ġwann. All three live in Gżira. The trio also stands charged with holding... Читать дальше...

Ryanair operated the first scheduled flight between the Polish city of  Poznań and Malta this afternoon. Flights will be operated every Monday and Friday until October. The services further reinforces Malta International Airport's network with Poland which also includes links with Gdansk, Krakow, Warsaw, and Wroclaw. "The introduction of a fifth Polish destination will further enhance Malta’s connectivity with Central and Eastern Europe, in line with Malta International Airport’s strategy to better... Читать дальше...

Former German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, the first openly gay leader of a mainstream political party, has died from blood cancer at the age of 54, his foundation said on its website today. Westerwelle was leader of the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) from 2001 until 2011 and foreign minister during Chancellor Angela Merkel's second term from 2009 until 2013. His foundation announced in mid-2014 that he had been diagnosed with acute leukemia. He last appeared in public in November... Читать дальше...

Public transport is slowly but surely becoming more “alluring”, Transport Malta said this afternoon, as it lauded the increase in passengers. The transport regulator noted that bus passengers in 2015 increased by seven per cent over 2014. In a statement, Transport Malta hailed Malta Public Transport’s plans to add 33 new buses to its fleet by the summer and to release a mobile app in two weeks’ time that will provide real-time updates for commuters. “More people are becoming better accustomed to... Читать дальше...

Divine providence is often supplicated to ensure there are enough labourers for the Lord’s harvest fields but it now emerges material help is urgently needed to ensure their training grounds are up to standard. The Archbishop's Seminary, a 62-year-old building at Tal-Virtù, in the limits of Rabat, is in dire need of refurbishment, a project estimated to cost €700,000. The Mortimer & de Giorgio Fund will be launched tomorrow to raise money for the project and to maintain the seminary. The fund... Читать дальше...

An Algerian killed in a shootout with Brussels police this week was probably the man sought under an assumed name for plotting November's Islamist attacks in Paris, Belgium's federal prosecutor said today. The prosecutor's office said in a statement that the man known as Samir Bouzid, who was on a wanted list, most probably is the Mohamed Belkaid, the Algerian killed on Tuesday. "Bouzid" has been on French and Belgian wanted lists since December, when evidence emerged of him making a cash transfer... Читать дальше...

Radiohead's Thom Yorke has said he is as angry as fans who struggled to buy tickets to the band's first UK tour dates in four years. Tickets for the three London dates went on sale on Friday morning at 9am but had sold out within minutes, with fans soon complaining about the small size of venue the band had chosen, a confusing purchasing system and being pushed back thousands of places in the queue. Yorke responded to disappointed fans, tweeting: "I'm as f***** off as you are. And am only human."... Читать дальше...

European Union leaders approved a controversial deal with Turkey intended to halt illegal migration flows to Europe in return for financial and political rewards for Ankara. The accord aims to close the main route over which a million migrants and refugees poured across the Aegean Sea to Greece before marching north to Germany and Sweden in the last year. But deep doubts remain about whether it is legal or workable. After a morning of talks with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, European Council... Читать дальше...

Official statistics showing a €866 million balance of international payments further confirmed that the economy was performing even better than projected, the government said today. It noted that after figures showing record GDP growth of 6.3% and the fastest job creation in the EU, new data showed how in 2015 Malta registered its best balance of payments, equivalent to 10% of GDP. The European Commission had projected a positive balance of 4.3%. This result was achieved even though in 2015 Malta imported a record volume of industrial goods... Читать дальше...

A Cabinet memo issued by the former government in 2008 had laid down that height limitations at Gharghur should be respected, and yet PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami was allowed to add a storey to his residence, Economic Affairs Minister Chris Cardona said. Speaking in his second press conference in as many days, Dr Cardona said a similar request for additional floors was made by the owner of a neighbouring property but he was turned down.   This, Dr Cardona said, indicated a case of nepotism. Читать дальше...

Turkish coastguard crew was caught attacking a boat with about 40 asylum seekers on board this morning, according to witnesses on board a humanitarian rescue boat. The incident, shows the Turkish coastguard vessel chasing the dinghy carrying 20 men, 15 children and five women, off the Greek island of Agathonisi around 8am. According to the Malta-based Migrant Report, on board the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) rescue vessel, the coast guard officials started hitting the migrant boat, apparently aiming to disable the engine. Читать дальше...

A trace of DNA from Salah Abdeslam, one of the attackers from the November Paris killings who is on the run, has been found in the apartment raided by Belgian police this week, French media reported. The reports appeared on the website of magazine L'Obs and on the news channel BFMTV. The interior ministry said it had no information on the subject. An official at the Paris prosecutor's office was not immediately avaialable for comment. The central prosecutor's office in Brussels was not available for comment.

Juergen Klopp will face his former club in the Europa League quarter-finals after the German coach's Liverpool side were pitted against Borussia Dortmund in today's draw. Liverpool, without a major trophy since they lifted the League Cup in 2012, will travel to Germany for the first leg on April 7 before hosting Dortmund at Anfield seven days later. It is 50 years since the two teams met in the final of the now-defunct European Cup Winners' Cup final in 1966, Dortmund winning 2-1. The Germans reached... Читать дальше...

An inquiry board has been set up to carry out an independent investigation following allegations of fraud and graft in regard to former group managing director, the Allied Group of Companies said this afternoon. The board is composed of Judge Giovanni Bonello (chairman), Dr Kevin Dingli, Mr Paul Mercieca and Mr Kevin Valenzia. The group said it is committed to provide the board of inquiry with all the necessary means and information which it may request for the successful completion of its mandate. Читать дальше...

A bus driver has been ordered to pay a young woman nearly €3,000 after crashing into a car which stopped when traffic lights turned red.  The case dates to April 2008 when Raisa Gauci, then 18, was seated in a Toyota being driven by her mother. Upon approaching the traffic lights at Sir Paul Boffa Avenue, Paola, the vehicle duly ground to a halt. George Desira, who was driving a bus, failed did not realise that the lights had changed colour and collided into the stationary vehicle, pushing it 10 metres into a pavement. Читать дальше...

Mepa has called in the police after finding evidence that somebody was cutting rock in order to widen the natural cliff tunnel into the scenic 'inland sea' in Gozo. The authority said that last week it started  investigating a report that rock cutting was being carried out inside the area which leads to the inland sea at Dwejra. Preliminary investigations indicated that explosive material was probably used. "Given the nature of the case, Mepa reported the case to the police for any necessary action from their end. Читать дальше...

A court has upheld a request by a group of Valletta monti hawkers to prohibit a restaurant owner from setting up tables and a canopy in an area occupied by the hawkers' stalls. The request was originally filed by over 50 market stall owners but the court only upheld the request filed by Roderick Mangion, Maria Sultana, Carmelo Demanuele, Charles Difesa and Michael Sultana as they were the ones who would have been directly affected. Jerome Caruana and Oswald Caruana, owners of La Sfoglia in Merchants Street... Читать дальше...

Europe's major powers are discussing Libya in the margins of an EU summit today, with leaders expected to focus on efforts to end the political chaos and conflict in the country and rising migrant flows. The leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, along with Spain, Malta and the EU's foreign policy chief, are due to meet before resuming talks with Turkey on an EU migration plan in Brussels, diplomats and Spain's prime minister said. "The meeting on Libya concerns all main issues for the stabilisation of the country," a diplomat said. Читать дальше...

A yellow fever outbreak in Angola that began late last year has killed 158 people, up from 50 a month ago, as deaths from the disease transmitted by mosquitoes accelerate, a World Health Organisation official said today. There has also been an increase in malaria, cholera and chronic diarrhoea in Luanda and other cities, partly due to a breakdown in sanitation services and rubbish collection, health officials say. City authorities have slashed their budget for rubbish collection to cope with a budget crisis... Читать дальше...

Holders Barcelona will face fellow Spaniards Atletico Madrid, runners-up two seasons ago, in the Champions League quarter-finals following the draw in Nyon today. Barca, bidding to become the first team to win the trophy two seasons in a row, will get the chance to avenge their defeat at the same stage two years ago when Atletico won 1-0 at home after a 1-1 away draw. Paris St Germain, who last reached the semi-finals in 1995, will face fellow big spenders Manchester City in the other outstanding tie, with the first leg at the Parc des Princes.

The Secretariat for Health has introduced Fast Track Colorectal Screening, enabling family doctors to book hospital appointments directly without patients needing to go through the Mater Dei Hospital outpatients department. Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne told a seminar by the Malta Colorectal Cancer Awareness Group that he was pleased with the turnout of family doctors for a training session as part of the new arrangement.

The shadow minister for justice, Jason Azzopardi, asked today whether decisions in the Gaffarena property expropriation scandal were taken at a higher level than Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon. Speaking at a press conference, Dr Azzopardi observed that a week and a half had passed since the former Director of Estate Management spilled the beans in a sworn statement, and the prime minister and his chief of staff, Keith Schembri, the persons who took decisions as Castille, had not said anything about it. Читать дальше...

European soccer body UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Manchester United and Liverpool after fans clashed and threw objects during a Europa League tie at Old Trafford. UEFA said in a statement that Manchester United faced charges of crowd disturbances, blocked stairways and the throwing of objects by supporters at yesterday's match. Liverpool, who progressed to the quarter-finals 3-1 on aggregate after Philippe Coutinho cancelled out Anthony Martial's penalty opener to secure a 1-1 draw in the second leg, faced more charges. Читать дальше...

Toni Abela’s botched candidature as a member of the European Court of Auditors has left the Labour Party with somewhat of a deputy leader crisis. Dr Abela was expected to resign as deputy leader for party affairs after getting the EU post. This would have paved the way for Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi to join the party leadership in his stead. However, the plan went haywire this week after the European Parliament’s budgetary control committee voted against Dr Abela’s nomination. The committee’s vote... Читать дальше...