Новости за 07.02.2017

The deal the government reached for the ITS site was the highest price ever paid for public land concessions, Minister Konrad Mizzi told parliament this evening. Replying to questions after his ministerial statement on the deal, the minister described the contract entered into between the government and db San Ġorġ Property Limited as “very robust”. Most of the questions were from Nationalist MPs who asked how had the government arrived at the figure of €56 million. Marlene Farrugia (Partit Demokratiku)... Читать дальше...

YouTube is to give mobile live streaming capabilities to any vlogger with more than 10,000 subscribers, the video service has announced. As part of an update to the app, any YouTube creator with a large enough following will be able to start a live broadcast on YouTube from their smartphone or tablet and stream directly to their followers. Video-blogging through the website has launched the careers of hundreds of online personalities, including Zoella and gaming star PewDiePie, who has more than 53 million subscribers. Читать дальше...

US President Donald Trump offered to destroy the career of a Texas state senator after the county sheriff complained about him. Trump made the comments during a White House meeting with sheriffs from around the country. When Rockwall County Sheriff Harold Eavenson told Trump the state senator wanted to make it tougher for law enforcement to obtain control of assets forfeited by drug traffickers, Trump responded, "Do you want to give his name? We'll destroy his career." The people in the room laughed... Читать дальше...

Malta U-21 international Myles Beerman grabbed the winning goal as ten-man Rangers U-20 beat Hibernian 2-1 in the Scottish Development League. Rangers took the lead through Joe Dodoo early in the first half. However, their hopes were jolted early in on the restart when the Gers had Billy Gilmour dismissed for a dangerous challenge. Hibs looked to have grabbed a point when they levelled matters with only four minutes to go. But in stoppage time, Beerman picked up on a slack pass out from the Hibs... Читать дальше...

Nationalist MPs walked out from Parliament en masse this evening as soon as Minister Konrad Mizzi rose to make a ministerial statement - but they were soon back in to ask questions and each held a board saying Jien m’għandix kumpanija sigrieta fil-Panama  and 'I do not have a secret company in Panama'. Dr Mizzi made a ministerial statement on the government agreement with db San Ġorġ Property Limited for a €300 million investment. Most questions were directed at Dr Mizzi and the prime minister on... Читать дальше...

Singer Madonna has been granted permission to adopt twin girls from Malawi, it has been reported. The 58-year-old star is said to have been present in the courtroom when the High Court made the ruling in the capital Lilongwe. Following the ruling, she will now be able to take the two children back to the US. In January, the Like A Virgin singer released a statement contradicting Mlenga Mvula, a judiciary spokesman in the African country, who was quoted as saying the singer had applied to a judge for permission to adopt two children. Читать дальше...

Two women were injured when their cars collided in Rabat just after 6pm. Their condition is not yet known. The women were driving an Opel Corsa and a Volkswagen Polo which crashed at the traffic lights just before turning into the Ta' Qali Junction from the Rabat Road. While one could get out of her car on her own, the other had to be assisted out of the wreckage by members of the Civil Protection Department.

No correction can be ordered by the Speaker to a report in In-Nazzjon, whichHome Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said attributed to him things he had not said. Mr Abela said the report was instigated by the leader of the Opposition who had jumped to the conclusion that Minister Konrad Mizzi was being investigated by the police. He insisted that he during his speech, he did not mention any names. During last Wednesday’s winding up of the debate in second reading of the Police Bill, in response to Mr... Читать дальше...

Partit Demokratiku leader Marlene Farrugia has criticised the deal for the sale of the former Institute of Tourism Studies site in St George’s Bay and reiterated her call for a national high-rise masterplan. Speaking in Valletta ahead of a parliamentary statement on the issue by minister Konrad Mizzi, Dr Farrugia said the public had not got the best deal it could for the lucrative site, raising doubts about the agreement. The db Group, who will be developing a €300m hotel and leisure centre on the site, will pay €60m for the land. Читать дальше...

An army of robots has invaded London's Science Museum on a mission to teach humans their 500-year-old history. Opening tomorrow, a major new exhibition explores humanity's centuries old quest to re-imagine people as moving, talking and thinking machines. More than 100 robots are on display, ranging from a 16th century automaton monk to characters from science fiction films and research lab creations. "Robots" explores the role played by humanised machines in religion, the industrial revolution, science and popular culture. Читать дальше...

A 25-year-old Briton was grievously injured today after falling from a quad-bike he was riding in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq. The police said the accident happened at the Coast Road at 12.30pm. The victim and his 24-year-old British passenger fell off the bike when he lost control of it. The woman was not injured.

The owner of a rabbit which has been mistaken for a dog owing to its size is looking to get her pet back into shape. Zeus, thought to be a Californian breed, weighs in at 8.2kg - the same as a one-year-old child, pet charity PDSA said. His companion Nala, a Lionhead, is 900g overweight and owner Sharon Close, of Leicester, took in the pair after finding them abandoned five years ago. The 46-year-old is looking to help the rabbits shift the pounds as part of the PDSA Pet Fit Club competition. She said... Читать дальше...

Ireland is to open its first pilot project "fix room" for heroin-users to inject under medical supervision. The location of the unit in Dublin city centre has yet to be decided but the Government decision signals a radical shift in drug policy and follows examples set in Switzerland, Sydney, Paris and Glasgow. Proposed new laws will allow the Health Minister to issue a licence for a facility staffed by medics trained to deal with overdoses where users can access sterile needles and rooms to inject drugs they have brought with them. Читать дальше...

Twitter is to stop people who have been suspended from the social media site creating new accounts as part of a new clampdown on abuse, the technology firm has said. The social platform said it was taking steps to identify those people who had been previously removed from Twitter so that it could block future attempts they made to create a new profile, particularly those who had harassed or abused others. A new safe search feature that filters out potentially explicit or sensitive content from search results is also being introduced. Читать дальше...

Kanye West, one of Donald Trump's biggest celebrity supporters, appeared to have deleted his tweets about his meeting last year with the then US president-elect in which the two discussed multicultural issues. The influential rapper's handful of Twitter entries from their December 13 meeting at Trump Tower in New York, where West said he had wanted to discuss "bullying, supporting teachers, modernising curriculums and violence in Chicago," were missing from his account on Monday. After the meeting... Читать дальше...

The board of directors of Allied Newspapers Limited has condemned the allegations made by bloggers, from both sides of the political spectrum, who have a "blatant agenda to politicise for their own ends" the declaration on an out-of-court agreement between former managing director Adrian Hillman and the company. The company's efforts to ensure the observance of the highest level of corporate governance within the Allied Group of Companies are, and will remain, an ongoing exercise, the board said in a statement. Читать дальше...

Emmanuel Macron, the independent centrist who is favourite to win the French presidential election, yesterday dismissed rumours that he has a gay relationship outside his marriage to Brigitte Trogneux. In comments made during a surprise appearance at a political meeting in Paris, Macron brushed off rumours he was in a relationship with Radio France chief executive Mathieu Gallet. Talk of an affair has circulated for years and was recently picked up by Russian media. "For those who want to spread the rumour that I'm deceitful... Читать дальше...

A 31-year-old man from Valletta was denied bail by a magistrate's court following his arraignment for cocaine and heroin possession after being caught yesterday allegedly trying to traffic the drug in a place visited by young people. Gilbert Busuttil, who had allegedly come clean of his drug addiction but later experienced a relapse, pleaded not guilty to the charges and requested bail. The prosecution objected to the request and explained how the accused was allegedly caught red-handed in a hotel... Читать дальше...

After climbing five places to 96th in the latest Fifa women’s rankings, the Malta women’s team will get their 2017 schedule up and running with two friendly games against Lithuania at the Centenary Stadium this week. The first friendly is being played tomorrow at 6.30pm while the second match is on Friday and kicks off at 11am. These warm-ups are part of the national women squad’s build-up for the Aphrodite Cup, to be staged in Cyprus in March, and the matches against Greece, hosts Albania and Kosovo... Читать дальше...

Following the declines suffered in the previous two trading sessions, the share index rebounded by 0.15% to 4,711.969 points as the gains registered in the share prices of Plaza Centres (+4.5%), BOV (+0.9%) and Tigne’ Mall (+0.1%) outweighed the drops in Farsons (-1.4%) and MaltaPost (-0.5%). Trading activity eased to a four-week low of €0.2 million. Bank of Valletta erased yesterday’s decline as it recaptured the €2.17 level (+0.9%) across 48,503 shares. In the property segment, Plaza Centres surged... Читать дальше...

A man from Ghana was condemned to a two-month jail term after he admitted he tried to leave Malta with a forged Italian identity card. Emmanuel Tawaih Fuah, 31, was arrested yesterday at the Malta International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Catania. This was one of many similar cases recently brought to light following the suspension of the Schengen Agreement and stricter border controls. Inspector Mario Haber prosecuted.

A man with no fixed address was remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to drug possession under circumstances which indicated that it was not intended for his personal use. Michael Portelli, 34, was charged with possession of heroin, cocaine and cannabis. He was also accused of trafficking heroin. The court, presided by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, after hearing the accused plead not guilty remanded the man in custody since no request for bail was made. Inspector Gabriel Micallef prosecuted. Читать дальше...

More than 300,000 passengers used Malta International Airport last month with the figure for the month being exceeded for the first time. Hosting 301,289 passengers, the airport’s traffic for the month increased by 27.3% over 2016. This growth was registered on the back of an upturn in both aircraft movements and seat capacity, which grew by 22.1% and 27.7%, respectively. Enhanced connectivity to markets such as Germany, Spain and Italy was an important contributing factor to this growth. Moreover... Читать дальше...

A self-confessed drug addict was remanded in custody after he was charged with five instances of theft last month within 12 days. Wayne Falzon, 31, from Birkirkara, pleaded not guilty to having between January 19 and 31, stolen various amounts of cash from five service stations located in Attard, Iklin, Qormi and Żebbuġ, with one of the stations being targetted twice within one week. The accused was also charged with damaging third party property. The court, presided by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech... Читать дальше...

The Nationalist Party will not be nominating its representative to sit on the board of governors of the Lands Authority as it was clear this was to be a smokescreen for the government who would be nominating eight of nine members. In a statement this afternoon, the PN said it was clear that the government intended to pull the authority’s strings from Castille. The authority, it said, was set up not because it was needed but because the Prime Minister thought he could hide the disgusting acts which... Читать дальше...