Новости за 19.03.2016

Malta joined the rest of the world this evening to mark Earth Hour in a bid to raise awareness about climate change. Most lights in Valletta were switched off for an hour at 8.30pm and candles were placed at the foot of Auberge de Castille. The theme chosen by Malta for the event is 'Shine a light on waste separation'. To mark the event, a Light Your Bike Parade was held, starting from St Anne Street in Floriana, followed by a BMX stunt show, fire performers, as well as contemporary music by Renzo Spiteri and Dana McKeon. Читать дальше...

Mtarfa residents are objecting to the planned redevelopment of the former isolation hospital into a state-of-the-art old people’s home. The proposal was made by Malta Healthcare Caterers, a subsidiary of the Seabank Group, which plans to revive the abandoned hospital built by the British forces. Plans by architect Robert Sarsero, a member of the Mepa appeals board, were submitted after the company’s proposal was chosen by the government following a call for expressions of interest for the use of the historic building. Читать дальше...

Ira Losco's new song Walk on Water is climbing up the popularity stakes... at least among bookmakers. Losco's song, controversially changed and released last Thursday, lies in fourth place on Eurovisionworld.com, a website which compiles the odds among the top betting companies, like Betfair and William Hill. Russia lies in first place among the bookmakers, followed by Sweden and Croatia. Losco had won the Malta Eurovision last January with the song Chameleon, before the local organising committee... Читать дальше...

More than 900 migrants were rescued in four separate operations in the Strait of Sicily today and emergency services recovered one corpse, Italy's coast guard said. Now into the second year of its worst migration crisis since World War Two, Europe has seen more than 1.2 million people arrive since the beginning of 2015, most of them from Africa and the Middle East. Italy's coast guard has continued to pick up migrants in trouble in the stretch of water between its southern coast and North Africa... Читать дальше...

Indomitable Leicester City edged three points nearer the Premier League title as Riyad Mahrez scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace this afternoon to make it four successive wins for Claudio Ranieri's team. With their rivals desperate for a favour from out-of-form Palace, Leicester ground out a 13th victory by a single goal this season to pile the pressure on their challengers. They are eight points clear of Tottenham Hotspur, who play Bournemouth on Sunday, with seven games left, and... Читать дальше...

QORMI 1; FLORIANA 3 Football can deal cruel blows to the bravest of sides. It certainly did so to Qormi as Floriana hit late to leave Johann Scicluna’s side empty-handed. Floriana’s resolve to take maximum points was in abundant evidence when they seized the lead after just 29 seconds. Villa was the architect as he combined speed and power to dispossess Joshua Barbara on the right flank before sending in a cross towards the far post where the unmarked Mario Fontanella headed past Jean-Matthias Vella. Читать дальше...

Austria's Green Party called on an Austrian lawmaker to resign after he compared refugees to "Neanderthals who trample under foot the rights of women". In remarks in parliament this week which he reiterated later in a statement, Robert Lugar said most refugees and migrants arriving in Austria were "uneducated, religiously blinded, fanatical (and) impossible to integrate." Austria has mainly served as a conduit into Germany for refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa but has absorbed... Читать дальше...

SLIEMA WANDERERS-3; BALZAN-3 Balzan hit back from 3-1 down to rescue a point after a 3-3 draw with Sliema Wanderers but the result will not have pleased the Reds as they have are now five points behind Valletta who have a game in hand. A tense second half produced five goals and a red card, for Sliema's Njongo Priso, but the Blues dug in in the final 10 minutes to hold on to the point as Balzan pressed for a winner. Balzan created the better chances in the first half but it was Sliema who took the lead four minutes from half-time. Читать дальше...

An application for a police permit has been submitted for a fair in April which  promised to be a “point of reference for lovers of weapons, hunting, fishing and the outdoors”. The event, Caccia Village Malta, will be held at the controversial Montekristo Estates in Luqa, within a partly-sanctioned site at Ħal Farruġ. The organisers are also planning to have a temporary shooting range. When contacted, a spokesman for the police said that usually, once an event was being held in controlled and licensed private premises... Читать дальше...

Before the final agreements on employees’ working conditions are signed, any deals signed by the government with foreign entrepreneurs should be tabled in Parliament and independently audited, the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions said today. In a statement, the CMTU said it is supporting the stand taken by the UHM Voice of the Workers and the Medical Association of Malta on the privatisation of the Gozo Hospital, Karen Grech Hospital and St Luke’s Hospital. The CMTU also called for an audit by... Читать дальше...

ST ANDREWS 2; TARXIEN RAINBOWS 3 Tarxien Rainbows were forced to endure a nervy finale before hanging on to a much-needed victory over St Andrews. Thanks to their latest success, the Rainbows have now consolidated the sixth place, opening 10-point lead on Mosta albeit the latter have a game in hand. Under the guidance of Jacques Scerri, the Rainbows are a disciplined lot and their 13 win of the season can be viewed as an indication that this club are on the road to recovery after enduring a couple of miserable seasons, flirting with relegation.

Salah Abdeslam, the prime surviving suspect for November's Paris attacks, told Belgian investigators this afternoon that he had planned to blow himself up on November 13 at the Stade de France, but changed his mind, the Paris prosecutor said. "Salah Abdesalam today during questioning by investigators affirmed that, and I quote, 'he wanted to blow himself up at the Stade de France and that he had backed down'," Francois Molins told reporters, adding that Abdeslam's initial statements should be treated with caution. Читать дальше...

PEMBROKE ATHLETA-1; HIBERNIANS-1 Hibernians' title hopes suffered a blow this afternoon after the champions were held to a one-all draw by Pembroke Athleta. The Paolites created enough chances to win handsomely but were thwarted on several occasions by Pembroke Athleta goalkeeper Mario Muscat who produced a series of fine saves to keep his team in the game. This result means that Valletta now have the chance to open a six-point lead when they meet Mosta tomorrow. Hibernians took just nine minutes to open the scoring... Читать дальше...

A great-grandfather could become the oldest person in Britain to have a tattoo when he gets inked to celebrate his 104th birthday. Jack Reynolds, who completed the Ice Bucket Challenge two years ago, has been hitting the weights to build up enough muscle on his arm. Otherwise the tattoo will have to go on his bottom, he said. Mr Reynolds, of Hollingwood, near Chesterfield in Derbyshire, said: "I've been using these weights to try and build up a bit of muscle - my arms are a bit skinny and I've got... Читать дальше...

Most people shy away from bad smells, but some Wasteserv employees are actually tasked with sniffing them out at Magħtab. Environment Minister Leo Brincat told Parliament last week that sniff test results showed that there were no abnormal smells coming from Magħtab following complaints from residents in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq and Għargħur. A spokeswoman for the ministry said the sniff test literally involved a person going on the ground and sniffing out foul odours. “Sniff testing has been conducted by... Читать дальше...

Former Juventus and Italy striker Fabrizio Ravanelli will be in Malta between April 20 and 22 as a guest of the Juventus Club DOC Malta Cuore Bianconero in Mriehel. Details about the visit were announced during a press conference where a video message by Ravanelli was aired. Ravanelli scored 41 goals in 111 matches with Juventus, with his memorable goal remaining the one scored during the 1996 Champions League final against Ajax. Juventus won this edition, and their only Champions League to date, following a penalty shootout. Читать дальше...

Traffic on the road to Mosta from the Lija cemetery has become "horrendous" every day after 7pm and at lunchtime on weekends following the opening of a drive-in restaurant at the new Pama supermarket, according to motorists. One driver this morning complained of spending 25 minutes to get through the stretch. A Mosta resident who lives nearby, he said: “This is costing me five hours extra a week stuck in traffic.” The problem seems to have been caused by the siting of the restaurant — on the outside of Pama rather than further in. Читать дальше...

The Labour Party has requested the planning watchdog to probe Nationalist deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami over claims that the swimming pool at his Għargħur house, was "astronomically bigger" than the maximum dimensions permitted by law. The request was made in the third news conference in as many days addressed by Economy Minister Chris Cardona and Ian Castaldi Paris. Dr Cardona quoted a reply given yesterday by a planning authority spokesman who said that the maximum footprint of a swimming pool... Читать дальше...

UPDATED 2.20pm: Five people including a suicide bomber were killed and 36 wounded in a suspected attack by Kurdish militants on a major shopping and tourist district in central Istanbul this morning. The fourth suicide bombing in Turkey this year hit part of Istiklal Street, a long pedestrian zone lined with global brand name shops and foreign consulates, just a few hundred metres from an area where police buses are usually parked. Preliminary findings indicate that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers... Читать дальше...

As spring kicks in on Monday, Malta is expected to see another spike in temperatures, according to weather forecasters. Temperatures are expected to soar to 25 degrees Celsius by Tuesday before going down to 18 degrees by Thursday, according to the Meteorological Office. The weather is expected to remain mild and sunny throughout the week, extending the recent stretch of fine weather. The Met. Office at Malta Airport said February was the warmest and driest in more than 90 years in Malta. Farmers... Читать дальше...

The Curia has released the book Kelma ta’ Ħabib to mark the first anniversary of Mgr Charles Scicluna’s installation as Archbishop of Malta. This book is a collection of over 100 homilies delivered by Mgr Scicluna on variousoccasions since his appointment as Apostolic Administrator. It covers a diverse range of themes that include the defence of human life, the protection of the environment, and the Year of Mercy announced by PopeFrancis. Through these homilies, the Archbishop sheds light on issues faced by society today... Читать дальше...

A four-year-old boy was injured after he was run over by a car in Psaila Street, Birkirkara this morning. The injuries are not serious, the police said. The incident happened close to the Eurosport outlet when the boy is believed to have crossed the road. Witnesses said the driver of the Opel vehicle is suffering from shock. Police are investigating.

According to recent polls, a third of the electorate claim they feel disenfranchised and have no faith in Malta's two big parties. Does this mean the moment is right for the creation of a new political party/movement, as is being mulled by some individuals? History has shown the electorate to rally round the Labour or Nationalist parties come election time, so is the creation of a new party a fruitless exercise? Presented by Herman Grech and Mark Micallef, Times Talk is aired on TVM on Tuesday at 10.05pm... Читать дальше...

David Cameron has said he is "puzzled and disappointed" after Iain Duncan Smith dramatically quit the Cabinet and launched an all-out attack on the "indefensible" Budget. In a brutal parting shot, the Work and Pensions Secretary complained that cuts to disabled benefits in George Osborne's financial package were "politically driven" and suggested the Chancellor had abandoned the austerity principle of "all in this together". "I have for some time and rather reluctantly come to believe that the latest... Читать дальше...

Birdlife Malta said today it is not ruling out restarting the process to kickstart another spring hunting referendum. "When the government’s decision to open a spring hunting season is taken purely on a political consideration, it may be the time to revisit the idea of another referendum." Addressing a press conference outside the Prime Minister's office, Birdlife CEO Mark Sultana appealed to the government not to open this year's spring hunting season, particularly in light of new scientific evidence... Читать дальше...