Новости за 06.02.2017

An Opposition motion to amend a legal notice which allows for the electronic revocation of powers of attorney and other mandates was defeated in parliament this evening.  The Opposition has called for a division which would be taken on Wednesday week.Opposition spokesman Jason Azzopardi acknowledged that the legal notice was intended to simplify matters for those who make use of such legal instruments on a daily basis, but pointed out a conflict between the new provisions and existing ones in the... Читать дальше...

Parliament this evening paid tribute to former Labour MP Rokku Abdilla of Żurrieq, who died last month aged 85.Veteran Labour MP Joe Debono Grech recalled how Mr Abdilla was one of the so-called “soldiers of steel” who decided the contest the 1962 general election under the penalty of mortal sin. At the time, the Malta Labour Party could not find people to contest on its behalf. Mr Abdilla was sent to prison for putting up a board over the Żurrieq club which criticised former Archbishop Mgr Michael Gonzi. Читать дальше...

The finalists of the Sport Malta Awards – Sportivi Nazzjonali were announced during a ceremony at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. Last year’s winners Steve Camilleri (waterpolo), Charlotte Wingfield (athletics), waterpolo coach Karl Izzo, Ben Plumpton (waterpolo) and Sara Xuereb (bowling) are all again in contention for this year’s event. Football also made a return among the finalists with Coach Silvio Vella and his Malta U-21 football national team also shortlisted among the finalists along with retired referee Esther Azzopardi. Читать дальше...

Relatively unknown US building materials supplier 84 Lumber set social media ablaze with its Super Bowl ad on a migrant Hispanic mother and daughter's journey to the United States, an advert initially rejected by Fox Television for being too controversial. The TV version of the ad tapped into the political climate under US President Donald Trump, showing portions of the difficult journey and asking viewers to watch the full version online. The 90-second spot ended up crashing the company's website... Читать дальше...

French conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon has vowed to fight on for the presidency despite a damaging scandal involving taxpayer-funded payments to his wife for work that a newspaper alleges she did not do. At a news conference in Paris, Fillon, 62, apologised for what he said was his error of judgment regarding the employment of family members - though he said his wife's work as parliamentary assistant over 15 years had been genuine and legal. But he said the campaign of "unfounded... Читать дальше...

Crime in the capital city is on the rise, with pickpockets contributing to a surge in reports, official figures show. Figures tabled in Parliament by Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela show that the number of crimes reported to the Valletta police station increased by 44 per cent between 2014 and last year. The biggest contributor is pickpocketing, with the number of people reporting it having jumped from around 100 in 2014 to some 320 last year. Nine reported muggings were also investigated, while... Читать дальше...

Jimmy Magro has been removed as a director of the Water Services Association, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici told parliament this evening.  Former Local Councils Association executive secretary Mr Magro is being investigated by the police's economic crimes unit after the Permanent Commission Against Corruption found that he had sought a bribe in the procurement of waste collection equipment. READ: Commission 'morally convinced' Jimmy Magro requested money From the commission’s report, which Dr Bonnici laid on the Table of the House last week... Читать дальше...

Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela this evening complained that an article which appeared in Nationalist Party newspaper in-Nazzjon attributed things to him which he had never said. Speaking in parliament, Dr Abela told Speaker Anġlu Farrugia that the article in question had been instigated by Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil concluding that Minister Without Portfolio Konrad Mizzi was being investigated by the police in connection with his offshore financial affairs. The incident took place last... Читать дальше...

A story concerning Gozo whistleblower Joseph Cauchi was a fabrication and the Education Ministry would be issuing a denial in due course, minister Evarist Bartolo told parliament this evening.  The story, which appeared in yesterday's The Sunday Times of Malta, alleged that Mr Cauchi had asked Mr Bartolo to reinstate a Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools supervisor relieved of his duties following suspicions of corruption, and that he had subsequently won several FTS contracts.  Mr Bartolo insisted... Читать дальше...

The Kremlin has demanded an apology from Fox News over what it said were "unacceptable" comments one of the channel's presenters made about Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with US counterpart Donald Trump. Fox News host Bill O'Reilly described Putin as "a killer" in the interview with Trump as he tried to press the US president to explain more fully why he respected his Russian counterpart. O'Reilly did not say who he thought Putin had killed. "We consider such words from the Fox TV company to be unacceptable and insulting... Читать дальше...

More than 50 new correctional officers have joined the ranks of Corradino Correctional Facility officials following their graduation from the Academy for Disciplined Forces, the Home Affairs Ministry announced today.  The 54 new recruits, including four women, underwent a 16-week training course which included both practical and academic modules. Graduates received inmate-focused and scenario-based training, studied employment law and CCF regulations, and underwent first aid and basic fire-fighting training. Читать дальше...

Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is refusing to rest on his laurels after becoming the oldest player to net 15 goals in a Premier League season when he scored in yesterday's 3-0 win at Leicester City. The 35-year-old has shrugged off suggestions he may struggle to adapt to the pace and intensity of the English game, scoring 20 goals in all competitions since moving to Old Trafford on a free transfer in July. "I have a target in my head but I will not say it, and we are not there yet," Ibrahimovic... Читать дальше...

A Brazilian woman has become the world's oldest fiancée after getting engaged to a man 40 years her junior at the ripe old age of 106.  Valdemira Rodrigues de Oliveira said that it was love at first sight from the moment she met 66-year-old Aparecido Dias Jacob at a retirement home.  Doctors warned the two that their health and advanced age meant they needed medical supervision and could not live alone, but the two were determined to go ahead with engagement plans and prove that it's never too late to find love. Читать дальше...

A Nigerian-born woman with an Italian ID card was today given a suspended sentence after admitting in court to having attempted to travel out of Malta with a forged passport. Aborisade Abidemi, 21, was arraigned before magistrate Monica Vella after immigration officers at Malta International Airport discovered her to be in possession of a false document. "I did it" the woman stated in court, after being asked whether she understood the nature of the charges leading to her arraignment. The court, after taking note of the woman's guilty plea... Читать дальше...

Updated 7.25pm - Parliament postpones statement to tomorrow Documents related to the transfer of Institute of Tourism Studies land to DB San Ġorġ Property Limited have been published in their entirety, the government said this afternoon.  In a statement, the government said the contract was made public when the agreement was announced last Thursday. This was the first time ever that a contract related to transfers of public land was published immediately, the government said. Annexes to the contract... Читать дальше...

An 83-year-old woman who tripped over a carpet at a Bank of Valletta branch has filed a judicial protest against the bank.  Catherine Seager was an independent lady leading an active life when her life was turned upside down following a visit to the bank's Naxxar branch on July 15, 2016. Upon entering the premises, the plaintiff allegedly tripped over a badly-positioned carpet and fell, fracturing the lower part of her right leg. The woman spent days in hospital, where she had to undergo surgery... Читать дальше...

The European Central Bank and Germany are not currency manipulators, and the bloc's monetary policy reflects the state of its economic recovery and not a desire for a weak euro, ECB President Mario Draghi said today. US President Donald Trump's top trade adviser last week claimed that Germany is using a grossly undervalued currency to take advantage of the US, accusing the eurozone's biggest and strongest economy of currency manipulation. "First and foremost: we are not currency manipulators." Draghi... Читать дальше...

A former police sergeant who stole €26,498 from police headquarters has been placed under a three-year probation order and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service after pleading guilty to the crime. Adrian Lia, 42, from San Gwann was found guilty of having taken the money on 16 separate occasions between 2006 to 2011. The court, presided by magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona, heard the accused admit to having kept for himself sums which were regularly confiscated in the course of police... Читать дальше...

Young children with asthma may be more likely to become obese by adolescence than their peers who don't have asthma, a new study suggests. Researchers examined data on 2,171 non-obese children in kindergarten and first grade and found they were 51 per cent more likely to become obese over the next decade if they had asthma. When children with asthma used rescue medications, however, their risk of becoming obese dropped by 43 per cent, researchers report in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Читать дальше...

The flyblown corpses of Islamic State militants have been rotting along a main street in north Mosul for two weeks, a health risk for passersby. Suicide bombers' belts beside the fighters can still explode, killing anyone nearby. But the Iraqi army has no intention of burying the jihadists and hopes as many people as possible will get a good look at their blackened bodies, torn apart by bombs and bullets. As Iraqi forces prepare to expand their offensive against Islamic State from east to west Mosul... Читать дальше...

Nearly 100 companies, including Apple, Google and Microsoft, banded together yesterday to file a legal brief opposing President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban, arguing that it "inflicts significant harm on American business." The brief, filed in the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, included Facebook, Twitter, Intel, eBay, Netflix and Uber, as well as non-tech companies such as Levi Strauss and Chobani. Trump's executive order of January 27, the most contentious policy move of his first two weeks in office... Читать дальше...

A 27-year-old father from Żebbuġ was granted bail against stringent conditions after being charged with having yesterday afternoon, in a fit of rage, slammed his car repeatedly into another vehicle his estranged partner was seated in. The man was charged with having attempted to seriously injure the woman, with having driven in a reckless and dangerous manner and with having damaged the two vehicles involved. The man, who is also a relapser, was accused of having on two other occasions in February... Читать дальше...

A large, possibly unique collection of memorial cards has been presented to Heritage Malta, underlining a popular funerary tradition and providing a wealth of information on thousands of Maltese. The donation was made by Alfred Calleja, who started collecting them 35 years ago. He amassed a collection of thousands of cards which range from the late 19th century to more recent examples to illustrate the developments of this funerary tradition. "The collection is a treasure trove of ethnographic details such as hobbies... Читать дальше...

A bus driver was hospitalised this afternoon after a collision involving two route buses. The accident happened at about 2pm on the Coast Road. Two passengers were treated for shock but were otherwise unhurt.

Malta needs to speed up the implementation of the EU’s waste managementrequirements as extremely high volumes of waste are going to landfill while recycling rates remain very low; better water management is also necessary to ensure protection of water bodies and prevent flash floods, the European Union said today. An Environmental Implementation Review presented by Commissioner Karmenu Vella also says that Malta needs to improve air quality in the most urbanised areas by introducing systemic solutions to ease transport congestion. Читать дальше...