Новости за 22.02.2017

The third Panama company belonged to someone who was far more important than Minister Konrad Mizzi and OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri because the name of its owner was not mentioned in writing, PN leader Simon Busuttil said this evening. Speaking on TVM’s programme Dissett, Dr Busuttil said that e-mails leaked showed that what Nexia BT owner Brian Tonna was saying that the company was his was not true. For his partner Karl Cini had said in an email that the owner would not be Nexia BT, with BT standing for Brian Tonna. Читать дальше...

Manchester United strolled into the Europa League last 16 despite having Eric Bailly sent off after Henrikh Mkhitaryan's first-half goal secured a resounding 4-0 aggregate victory over St Etienne. The only negatives in a comfortable win for United were injuries to Mkhitaryan and midfielder Michael Carrick, who could both miss Sunday's English League Cup final. United will be joined in the next round by Schalke 04, whose 1-1 draw in their last 32 second-leg tie with PAOK Salonika was enough to secure a 4-1 aggregate win... Читать дальше...

The Pana Committee visited Malta on a fact-finding mission into the Panama Papers, taxation and money laundering on Monday. Philip Leone-Ganado unpacks the outcome of a day of high-profile meetings. With a wide remit to lead an inquiry into money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion, Pana Committee MEPs largely aimed to steer clear of the local political controversy surrounding the Panama Papers leak. While Minister Within the Office of the Prime Minister Konrad Mizzi and OPM chief of staff... Читать дальше...

An investigation is underway by the Education Ministry to see why a seven-year-old Marsascala Primary student did not take the school transport at noon and was found in another locality, the government said. The transport was early as examinations are currently underway, it said. No other information was given by the government but sources told the Times of Malta that an extensive search for the boy was carried out in Marsascala in the afternoon but he was later found in Msida.

Life may have evolved on at least three planets in a newly discovered solar system just 39 light years from Earth, scientists believe. Astronomers have detected no less than seven Earth-sized worlds orbiting a cool dwarf star known as TRAPPIST-1. The six inner planets lie in a temperate zone where surface temperatures range from zero to 100C. Of these, at least three are thought to be capable of having oceans, increasing the likelihood of life. No other star system known contains such a large number of Earth-sized and probably rocky planets. Читать дальше...

Updated at 9pm with PN statement An amendment to the Criminal Code was this evening moved in Parliament by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici to amend the law which saw Dorianne Camilleri sentenced to five years in jail for having involuntarily killed a man and injured his sister in a traffic accident in 2011. Dr Bonnici described the law as it stands as “draconian” insofar as the magistrate had his or her hand tied and had no option but to send the driver to jail. The amendment would now leave the sentence at the discretion of the magistrate. Читать дальше...

Health Shadow Minister Claudette Buttigieg has called on the government to confirm or deny whether monetary compensation had been offered to couples whose IVF process had failed following a power outage at Mater Dei Hospital’s IVF incubator last month. Speaking during the adjournment on Tuesday, Dr Buttigieg said it seemed there were people who thought that everything could be bought at a price. “Because there were people who failed their duty to protect embryos, parents of the would-be babies were being offered compensation. Читать дальше...

How would you go about throwing away a fridge? Which garbage bag should you throw those old shoes in? When is recycling picked up in your town?A new app released today by the Environment Ministry can answer these questions and help guide you in disposing of your waste correctly.The Don’t Waste Waste app also gives users the ability to check waste pick-up schedules for organic, recyclable and residual waste, find their closest bring-in site and receive notifications based on users’ interests and needs. Читать дальше...

Frederick Ofosu’s death was a start reminder of how devastating the impact of living in a state of constant uncertainty was, 14 non-governmental organisations said in a joint statement. READ: Man who took his own life had applied for assisted return, minister says Mr Ofosu, 33, was found strangled with an electric cable in a Qawra building site on Saturday night. He left a recorded message for friends explaining his despair, saying he was being forced to feel like a criminal when he had done no wrong. Читать дальше...

A man's claim that his fundamental right to a fair hearing was violated owing to a procedural error was upheld by a constitutional court which declared there had been a "clear and unequivocal" breach of rights. Christopher Cassar, 38, from Żabbar had been sentenced to four years in jail in 2007 after a magistrate's court had found him guilty of trafficking drugs within 100 metres of a boċċi club while under the operative period of a suspended sentence. However, the accused later filed an application before the First Hall... Читать дальше...

A navigation error has forced SpaceX to delay its shipment to the International Space Station, following an otherwise smooth flight from Nasa's historic moon pad. SpaceX's supply ship, the Dragon, was less than a mile from the orbiting outpost when a problem cropped up in the GPS system. The approach was aborted, and the Dragon backed away. Nasa said neither the station nor its six-person crew were in any danger, and another attempt would be made on Thursday. "As a pilot it is sometimes better to... Читать дальше...

Nexia BT accountants Brian Tonna and Karl Cini could only answer six of 20 questions posed to them by MEPs investigating the Panama Papers data leak, citing their legal obligations to client confidentiality and anti-money laundering rules.  Answering the questions posed by MEPs, the accountants wrote, would cause them to breach regulations and could in at least one case cause the firm to be "guilty of a tip-off offence". "We would have thought that this would have been considered in advance," the firm admonished the Pana Committee. Читать дальше...

The wrought iron gate to the Nazis' Dachau concentration camp that was stolen two years ago, prompting an international outcry, has been returned to the German memorial site. The gate, bearing the slogan "Arbeit macht frei" or "Work sets you free", was located in the Bergen area of Norway after authorities received an anonymous tip late last year. Bavaria's culture minister, Ludwig Spaenle, called the return of the gate an important day for the memorial, German news agency dpa reported. The gate will not be returned to its original position... Читать дальше...

Malta International Airport’s profits increased from €19.3 million to €21 million last year.  In a notice on the Malta Stock Exchange, the company said increases in revenues were registered by the company’s aviation and non-aviation segments. The group’s global sum for the year was €73,064,828, up from €66,965,843 in 2015. Aviation revenues, which grew by 10.9 per cent to €51.5 million, were largely attributable to a new traffic milestone with over five million guests welcomed at the airport last year. Читать дальше...

The Maltese soft drinks industry has announced it will reduce added sugars in its products by 10 per cent by 2020, as part of a recent European soft drink industry 10 per cent sugar reduction commitment. This initiative responds to changing consumer preferences and calls from member states and the European Commission for a coordinated approach to reformulation and sugar reduction. In soft drinks, reduction in added sugars leads to reduced calories. To reach its target, the soft drinks sector in Malta ... Читать дальше...

The Nigerian-born team manager of Pembroke FC, currently in the midst of a match-fixing scandal, was today in court as the case involving the bribery of players and match fixing conspiracy by his team against Mosta FC on February 11 continued. Uchenna Anyanwu, 30, stands accused of attempting to bribe two Mosta players to secure a win for Pembroke, in the hope that his bottom-side team retained its standing in the Premier League. Taking the witness stand, Inspector Elton Taliana recalled how the... Читать дальше...

A bearded man in a leather jacket and stetson hat stands before a whooping crowd waving American flags.  "Cheer for your leader!" he yells as he soaks in the adulation. A voice cuts into earshot. "They're mocking you," it warns.  A newly-released trailer for Malta-made feature film Limestone Cowboy hints at the dark side of delusions while also displaying a lighter touch.   The film tells the story of 55-year-old Karist, an eccentric man who is convinced he has what it takes to contest - and win - a general election. Читать дальше...

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici this afternoon hailed the reduction in the number of pending civil court cases to the lowest ever levels since statistics started being gathered, saying this achievement was also being recognised by foreign institutions like the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund. He noted that this development was also important from an economic aspect, as delays in court litigation could put off investors. Dr Bonnici was addressing 93 lawyers and legal procurators... Читать дальше...

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat lied last October when he said that an audit of his minister Konrad Mizzi's offshore company and trust was a "work in progress", the Nationalist Party said this afternoon.  The audit opinion released by Dr Mizzi on Monday was dated September 21, 2016 - more than two weeks before Dr Muscat's statement.  In a statement, the PN said that the Prime Minister had "lied to the Maltese people" because he already had the audit "in his hands" when he had claimed that it was still underway. Читать дальше...

A guide outlining the best practices for the rights of transsexual people was launched this afternoon, giving practical examples on how to implement such rights. Speaking during a press briefing ahead of the high-level ministerial conference being held tomorrow, Richard Kölher, Transgender Europe senior policy officer said that trans rights had advanced “in leaps and bounds” since the first edition was published in 2011, commending Malta for the progress made. “It is actually very fitting to launch this edition in Malta... Читать дальше...

The share index extended yesterday’s gains as it advanced by 0.51% to a new nine-year high of 4,752.876 points following strong increases in the share prices of GO (+2.9%) and MIA (+2.4%) as well as the more moderate gain of 0.5% in HSBC. Meanwhile, GlobalCapital was the only negative performing equity with a drop of 3.7% to the 39c5 level across 23,588 shares. After GO published its 2016 annual financial statements yesterday afternoon, the equity jumped 2.9% today to the €3.59,9 level across 12 deals totalling 17,550 shares. Читать дальше...

A hunter found himself in hot water when he turned up near a police patrol just as a protected eagle was shot down, but BirdLife volunteers who were close by quickly confirmed that he was not the one who pulled the trigger, a court heard this morning. The court was hearing evidence against Justin Chetcuti, 23, from Mosta, another man who was eventually accused of shooting down the rare booted-eagle last November 2. A member of the police Administrative Law Enforcement unit testified how he and colleagues... Читать дальше...

Three projects worth around €7 million will be undertaken through the European Regional and Development Funds (ERDF), Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg announced today. The first project – Invest - aims to increase physical infrastructure for the provision of vocational education and training (VET) to secondary school students. The project involves the conversion of laboratories in various schools in Malta and Gozo into VET Labs. The investment will involve the setting-up 44 VET labs in 11 schools in Malta, and four VET labs in a school in Gozo.

The European Commission has praised the progress of Malta's economy but warned that public administration still suffers from some inefficiency, and access to finance continues to pose structural challenges to investment, particularly for the private sector. It also said that traffic congestion continues to generate considerable economic and environment costs. The country report was the second today praising Malta's economy, after that by the International Monetary Fund. The EU's country report on... Читать дальше...

The police Rapid intervention Unit has taken delivery of 23 new patrol cars following a €230,000 investment, the Ministry of Home Affairs said. A further 17 cars were assigned to the district police over the past year.  Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela attended a blessing ceremony with Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar at the RIU base in Ta’ Kandja.  Mr Abela said RIU police last year made 472 arrests, including 20 of wanted persons. 247 of the arrested persons were involved in fights, 101 were involved in drugs and 54 in thefts.