Новости за 03.06.2016

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his backers seized on a US jobs report today that showed the weakest hiring in more than five years, calling it evidence that the country needs to move away from Democratic economic policies. The report gave Trump his biggest opening yet to target Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on the economy, after months of mostly solid economic indicators. Trump called the monthly Labor Department report, which showed the smallest gain in jobs since 2010, a... Читать дальше...

At least 12 people, including five Army soldiers, have died in Texas due to torrential rain in the past week which has also damaged hundreds of homes and led the state to evacuate three prison facilities, officials said today. The US Army and local rescue teams were using boats, helicopters and sniffer dogs to search for four soldiers who went missing when their military vehicle overturned in a flood-swollen creek on Thursday at Fort Hood in central Texas. Five other soldiers in the vehicle were... Читать дальше...

Giving primary school students the opportunity to table motions on climate change in Parliament was not enough, students from 42 schools told MPs yesterday, urging them to take action based on their suggestions. “Thank you for welcoming us here for the 12th year running, but don’t just listen to what we have to say and stop there. We want to see action being taken,” the students said in their opening speech, addressed to the Speaker. The motion tabled by the students, encouraging MPs to take action, was approved unanimously. Читать дальше...

An attempt by the Dutch EU presidency to ban reproductions of antique firearms has been slammed as "draconian" and a distraction by the European hunters' federation.  Slamming the idea as "its last bid to close the deal before the end of the semester," the European Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation (FACE) said that, if successful, the change would clog up national registration systems and needlessly shackle gun owners. The proposal would see the firearms category D eliminated... Читать дальше...

Luxembourg on Friday upped its bid to be a leader in the nascent space mining industry by setting aside €200 million ($223 million) to fund initiatives aimed at bringing back rare minerals from space. Luxembourg in February announced plans for a law that would make it the first state in Europe to give legal clarity to the commercial exploitation of asteroids. A similar law was passed by the United States in November. "We have a first budget to get started but if we need more money, we will be able to provide it," Etienne Schneider... Читать дальше...

The Nationalist Party is taking a cautious approach when it comes to electronic voting following revelations last month that people who bought Maltese citizenship made it onto the electoral register without satisfying the minimum residency requirements. PN sources told the Times of Malta the party would only agree to use ID cards for voting, instead of the traditional voting document, if political parties were allowed to carry out audits on Identity Malta’s ID card processes. Last week this paper... Читать дальше...

Those applying for jobs in schools will now be forced to submit a self-declaration about any convictions or investigations, according to a legal notice that came into force yesterday as part of efforts to step up protection of students. The legal notice - Recruitment, Initial Training and Continuous Professional Development of Personnel and Protection of Minors in Compulsory Education Regulations – stipulates that the policy would include measures on how schools should deal with abuse claims, whether this occurs in the school or outside. Читать дальше...

A father and son who hit the headlines some years ago for ripping off their customers are back on the scene. Jenny Psaila contacted this newspaper saying she was swindled out of €2,000 in April by the two men who, she added, were sending fliers promoting their waterproofing services. “We had a damp patch that needed waterproofing and, when we found the flier in the letter box, we called. There was no name on the flier but the pair immediately identified themselves as Carmel and Marphil Gauci when we called,” Ms Psaila said. Читать дальше...

A Turkish cleaner at a camp for Syrians fleeing the war was jailed for 108 years today for sexually abusing boys, in a case that has highlighted the vulnerability of child refugees. The 29-year-old man did not deny the charges, but said many employees and managers in the camps were involved, Dogan News Agency reported. He said he paid the children 2-5 lira (€0.60-€1.50) before assaulting them in the toilets. The man, who worked as a cleaner at the Nizip Camp in Gaziantep in southeast Turkey, assaulted... Читать дальше...

Canada has complained to China about the behavior of Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who publicly berated a Canadian journalist in Ottawa this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today. Wang lost his temper on Wednesday when pressed by a female reporter about human rights in China, saying the question was unacceptable and calling her arrogant and irresponsible. The incident occurred after a meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion, who raised the case of Kevin Garratt, a Canadian citizen charged with spying in China. Читать дальше...

The majority of recreational diving deaths in Malta could be prevented with better education and higher standards, according to the head of an international diving safety organisation. “Diving is about challenging an extreme environment so there will always be accidents,” Alessandor Marroni, founder and president of the Malta-based Divers Alert Network (DAN) Europe told the Times of Malta. “But the basis of our work is that many of these accidents would be avoidable with proper preventative action... Читать дальше...

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and two other leading officials were involved in a "coordinated attempt" to enrich themselves through annual salary increases and World Cup bonuses, world soccer's governing body said today. FIFA said an internal investigation revealed that the three officials had received 79 million Swiss francs ($80 million) in compensation over five years. FIFA is attempting to recover from the worst graft scandal in its history in which 42 people, including former FIFA executive committee members... Читать дальше...

Bakers making one of the most quintessentially British delicacies have come out in support of remaining in the European Union.The Cornish Pasty Association (CPA), which represents makers in Cornwall, said it backed a vote to stay because of the protection that the product receives under EU law.Since 2011 for a pasty to be called Cornish it has to have been made in Cornwall, after the hearty meat and vegetable treat was awarded Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status by the European Commission.

Almost 600 cases before the Industrial Tribunal have been on hold for more than four months as Parliament has yet to approve changes to the law guaranteeing impartiality. The government moved changes to the law after the court agreed with the General Workers’ Union that the tribunal chairman was “biased” towards one party, especially in cases involving a State entity, since the chairman was appointed by the government. Parliament on Wednesday approved the Bill in second reading. The next step is... Читать дальше...

The former University of California, Los Angeles, graduate student who shot dead a professor at the school then killed himself began his rampage by killing his estranged wife at her Minnesota home, police and the victim's sister said. Gunman Mainak Sarkar's first victim was Ashley Hasti, a 31-year-old medical school student with a love of acting and stand-up comedy, her sister, Alex Hasti, said on Facebook on Friday, two days after Sarkar's attack sparked a two-hour lockdown of UCLA's sprawling urban campus. Читать дальше...

An unusual number of suicides by top executives in Switzerland has prompted introspection in its business community over how senior managers are dealing with stress as its companies struggle to retain their status in the global economy. The death last week of the former chief executive of Zurich Insurance, Martin Senn, came less than three years after the insurer's finance chief, Pierre Wauthier, took his own life. Wauthier had blamed pressure from the company's then chairman Josef Ackermann in a suicide note... Читать дальше...

A scholarship scheme for postgraduate study abroad has been renewed for a further year, EU funds parliamentary secretary Ian Borg announced today. The €7.5 million EU-funded Endeavour scholarship scheme is expected to help 500 students further their studies overseas. It will continue where previous Endeavour scholarship programmes have left off. Dr Borg said that 247 students had received scholarships as part of the scheme's Group A, with 57 benefiting from Endeavour group B scholarships.   Youth... Читать дальше...

Novak Djokovic was in unplayable mode as he cantered into the French Open final by crushing flat Austrian tyro Dominic Thiem 6-2 6-1 6-4 today, moving closer to the only grand slam title missing from his collection. The Serb comfortably contained the 22-year-old Thiem to set up either a rematch of last year's final against defending champion Stan Wawrinka, or a world number one v number two showdown with Andy Murray. Djokovic, who will be playing his fourth Roland Garros final, wasted no time in the first two sets... Читать дальше...

Curators from some of the world’s most renowned art institutions will be in Malta this August as part of a school for emerging local curators.The curatorial school will combine lectures and interactive workshops to help over 150 local art practitioners and students exchange ideas with international counterparts and initiate more long-term projects and relations with foreign institutions.International guest speakers include Yuko Hasegawa (The Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo), Fumihiko Sumitomo (Arts Maebashi... Читать дальше...

Government departments have signed an agreement pledging to make it easier for investors to start a business in Malta.  The agreement was signed at the end of public service week, which included various public fora allowing members of the public to meet and speak with civil servants about the public sector's services.  Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that "drastic" action was necessary to loosen bureaucratic red tape. He noted how Malta consistently ranked poorly on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index... Читать дальше...

Where should the Sette Giugno monument be?  Originally in St George's square, the monument languished in storage for some time before being moved to Valletta's Hastings garden in 2010, where it remains to this date.  But the government is now asking the public to suggest where it should be permanently placed.  The public consultation was announced by Infrastructure Minister Joe Mizzi at a press conference today. Mr Mizzi argued that, given the historical importance of the Sette Giugno uprising, the... Читать дальше...

Freeport workers are to be represented by UHM Voice of the Workers after a court today ruled in the union's favour in a dispute between itself and the General Workers' Union.  The two unions had been locked in a dispute over the results of a vote over union representation. Although UHM had won a majority of votes in the election, GWU had argued that its rival had not obtained a majority of the entire Freeport workforce. In a statement following today's ruling by judge Laurence Mintoff , UHM said that the court had... Читать дальше...

The MSE Share Index posted its third consecutive daily negative performance today as it eased by a further 0.22 per cent to 4,433.079 points – the lowest level since mid-January 2016. Trading activity was spread across eight shares, with two closing in the red (BOV & RS2), another two shares registering gains (Malita & MIA) whilst four equities traded unchanged. Trading activity declined notably as just under €0.19 million worth of shares changed hands today. Week-on-week, the local equity... Читать дальше...

A teenage Sicilian worker was fined €466 by a court today after pleading guilty to the importation of 0.7 grams of cannabis.The incident happened yesterday when customs officials grew suspicious of the 19-year-old furniture worker from Ragusa, who arrived in Malta aboard the catamaran. A search operation revealed a "crusher" containing traces of cannabis and a container containing brown pills which fuelled even greater suspicions. However, the latter proved to be a false alarm as they proved to be... Читать дальше...

The Louvre and Orsay museums in Paris moved scores of art works and precious artefacts to safety and soldiers evacuated residents trapped in some of the capital's outlying suburbs as the swollen river Seine hit its highest level in 30 years. France's environment minister, Segolene Royal, said the Seine had breached 6 metres (19 feet) in central Paris, submerging roads running along the river, swamping small businesses on quaysides and forcing the closure of an underground commuter line. The worst affected areas lie to the south of the capital. Читать дальше...