Новости за 27.02.2017

Seven nominees have received a special thanks and recognition – Star – award from the Malta Tourism Authority. Patricia Flores Martin, a tourist guide; Warren Galea, falconer, Malta Falconry Centre; Natalene Smith, sales representative, Supreme Travel; Ridha Ben Moussa, front office manager, Salini Resort Hotel; Mark Dove, boatman, Paradise Diving and Water Sports; and Martin Hall, diving instructor, Neptunes Diving Centre, all received an Mdina Glass-designed trophy, a certificate and monetary gift. Читать дальше...

Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini has quit his post with the Serie A club, he said today, after overseeing nearly 40 coaching changes during 15 turbulent years at the helm. The famously volatile 75-year-old businessman said his replacement would be a representative of an Anglo-American fund which had agreed to invest in the relegation-threatened club. "The president Maurizio Zamparini has announced that he has resigned from his post," Palermo said in a statement on their website (palermocalcio.it)... Читать дальше...

The Malta Under-19 team suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Albania in their opening Group B game at the Roma Caput Mundi Tournament this afternoon. Led by coach Wayne Attard, Malta led 1-0 at half-time after Jan Busuttil had broken the deadlock inside the opening 12 minutes at the Roberto Abbafati Stadium in Lariano. In the initial stages of the second half, the Maltese youngsters wasted a string of inviting chances to add to their lead. They paid a high price for this as Albania netted two goals, both from set-pieces... Читать дальше...

Like a headmaster addressing rowdy pupils, the United Nations envoy for Syria began peace talks in Geneva last week by telling the warring parties to behave and show respect. But five days into the latest attempt to end the Syrian conflict, there are scant signs that Staffan de Mistura's strictures are making much difference. "Respect my directions regarding the confidentiality of meetings, documentations, conversations and communications," says the first point of a working paper handed out by the 70-year-old diplomat... Читать дальше...

Lung cancer was the most common form of cancer to kill men last year, with breast cancer the most common in the case of women. Data on cancer deaths in 2016 tabled in Parliament by Health Minister Chris Fearne shows that 710 people died of cancer. Of these, 403 were men, one was younger than 15, and 51 were over the age of 85. The most common age group was between 65 and 74. Mr Fearne was replying to a question by Labour MP Anthony Agius Decelis. READ: Lung cancer remains top respiratory killer across... Читать дальше...

Updated 7.34pm A man's dead body has been found inside a home in Swieqi, police have confirmed.  51-year-old David Abela's body was reportedly discovered by his partner, a foreign national, in a pool of blood upon her return to their home in Triq il-Gizi at around 5pm. Mr Abela's hands and legs were bound with duct tape, police sources said, and investigators believe he was stabbed to death. He was the owner of 21st Century Travel and 21st Century Limousines. He also owned 21st Century Boat Taxis, which was in the process of being dissolved. Читать дальше...

A Chinese accountant who has worked in Malta for more than 20 years is to replace Sai Mizzi as Malta Enterprise's representative in China, the Economy Ministry announced today.  Shen May speaks English, Mandarin and Cantonese fluently and has "knowledge of business dynamics in Malta," the ministry said in a statement announcing her appointment.  READ: 'No record' of Sai Mizzi Liang's performance appraisals Ms May's main responsibility will be to target and attract potential foreign investment from China. Читать дальше...

US President Donald Trump will seek to boost Pentagon spending by $54 billion in his first budget proposal and cut the same amount from non-defence spending, including a large reduction in foreign aid, a White House budget official said today. Trump will let the Department of Defense decide how to spend the extra billions and most federal agencies will see reductions in funding, an official from the Office of Management and Budget told reporters. The official said Trump's first budget will not address taxes or mandatory spending. Читать дальше...

A man today pleaded guilty to having bribed a VRT tester after his vehicle had twice failed the test. Godfrey Formosa, 38, from Naxxar, was charged with trading in influence, making use of certificates containing false declarations, making a false declaration to a public authority, forgery of a private writing and using a vehicle without a valid road licence. The prosecution explained that the accused had contacted a VRT garage to make the necessary arrangements before the date of inspection. After having obtained the necessary certificate... Читать дальше...

Updated 5.15pm  A 25-year-old Żebbuġ man was hit by a car in St Julian's this afternoon, police have confirmed. The incident happened on Triq George Borg Olivier at around 3.15pm. A 47-year-old Czech woman was driving the Citroen C1 that hit the man, police said.  The victim was taken to Mater Dei hospital for treatment. No information about his medical condition was available at the time of writing.

Pedestrians are up in arms about fencing that was erected at the crossing point on the Birkirkara bypass, which had been used by students on a daily basis. The fence was erected by the transport authority to discourage people from crossing the busy junction. Many students who parked their cars in Swatar tended to cross the road, despite there not being any zebra crossings. In a statement, the Bicycle Advocacy Group chastised the government for installing fencing that discouraged people from walking instead of making use of private cars. Читать дальше...

The accounting firm responsible for the counting and collation of votes for the Oscars has apologised for its part in the blunder that saw La La Land announced as the winner of best picture instead of Moonlight. The mix-up saw the musical announced as the victor due to duplicate sets of cards, held by the only two people who knew the results, being mistakenly handed out to presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. A statement from accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) said: " We sincerely apologise to Moonlight... Читать дальше...

With carnival celebrations in full swing, Brazilian expats could be forgiven for feeling a pang of homesickness.  The six-day celebrations are the country's biggest holiday and the colourful parades that mark the event draw thousands of tourists to Brazil every year.  But rather than mope, five Brazilian footballers plying their trade in Malta have decided to bring some samba to Maltese shores.  In this brief video captured in Birżebbuġa, Valletta FC's Romeo Romao, Żebbuġ Rangers duo Rodrigues Britto Mauricio and Rafael Da Silva Gomes... Читать дальше...

Three men have admitted animal cruelty charges after they were arrested yesterday during a police raid on a cockfighting den in Qormi.Construction worker Johann Saliba, 37, Adrian Pace, 22 and 21-year-old Wasteserv employee Matthew Micallef were charged with a series of animal welfare offences, including causing animals unnecessary suffering and mistreating animals in their care.Offences under the Animal Welfare Act are punishable with fines ranging between €1000 and €55,000 and up to three years in prison. Читать дальше...

Local businesses donated almost €140,000 to cultural organisations in 2016, taking advantage of a 150 per cent tax deduction scheme introduced last year.  The 40 donations were made by 34 separate companies, which received a collective tax benefit of €24,222 through the scheme, Arts Council Malta said in a statement.  Under the tax deduction scheme, companies that give donations to non-profit cultural organisations, public cultural organisations or Arts Council Malta itself as an intermediary on behalf of a beneficiary... Читать дальше...

Updated 3.40pm - Added PN reaction Finance Minister Edward Scicluna today warned against a pre-election “race to the bottom” where the government would be pressured to match unsustainable promises made by the Opposition. Addressing a press conference, Prof. Scicluna expressed his hope that the Opposition’s proposals would be doable. “Wild statements” about the minimum wage and the energy sector risked creating instability, the Finance Minister said. Prof. Scicluna said damage to Malta’s reputation was being done by “certain individuals”... Читать дальше...

Updated 3.35pm - Added PL reaction An "unprecedented" petition by Broadcasting Authority workers against their chairwoman Tanya Borg Cardona required the Prime Minister to take action, PN broadcasting spokesman Clyde Puli said today.  Dr Puli slammed Ms Borg Cardona, saying the PN no longer had any faith in her ability to lead the BA, having previously reserved judgment "despite reservations" about her lack of experience in broadcasting affairs.    The Times of Malta last week reported that a majority... Читать дальше...

Three men are expected to be arraigned and charged with drugs possession, the police said today. The men, aged between 22 and 25, were caught with a considerable volume of ecstasy pills and a substance believed to be cocaine from an entertainment establishment in Rabat.  The police are investigating.

A float in Rio de Janeiro's world famous carnival parade has crashed, injuring 12 people with at least one victim in a serious condition. The incident involved the last float of the first samba school parading through Rio's Sambadrome, but organisers carried on with the show. The float of samba school Paraiso de Tuiuti crashed into a fence that separates the stands from the pavement, injuring spectators and revellers. Police began an investigation as soon as the float finished its journey through the Sambadrome. Читать дальше...

Thousands of party-goers travelled to Gozo last weekend for the annual pilgrimage of debauchery at the Nadur Carnival, which for some would have included casual drug use. Ivan Martin reports on how experts are grappling with the rise of a new phenomenon on the drug scene: Chinese synthetics. Chemist Godwin Sammut has been testing drugs seized by the national authorities for 17 years and is signalling a warning about a relatively new trend on the market: synthetic cathinones, more commonly known as ‘bath salts’. Читать дальше...

A large majority of Britons think children should be taught about pornography and sexting in schools, according to a new survey. The findings will fuel demands for sex and relationship education to be made compulsory in all schools in the UK. The poll of 2,000 adults found 75 per cent of Britons want children to be taught about the impact of pornography, while just 7 per cent were opposed to the move. The survey, commissioned by the charity Plan International UK and carried out by Opinium, also found 71 per cent want lessons on sexting. Читать дальше...

The Philippines condemned the "barbaric beheading" of a German captive by Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf militants, who posted a video of the killing after a deadline for a $600,000 ransom passed. The video showed a machete-wielding militant behead the elderly German hostage, Jurgen Kantner, who had appealed for help twice in short video messages, saying he would be killed if ransom was not paid. Jesus Dureza, presidential adviser on the Philippine peace process, said officials had exhausted all efforts to save Kantner... Читать дальше...

The company representing the owners of the Armier boathouses today informed the court it was abandoning the appeal it had filed against an earlier judgment ordering their eviction from the controversial structures. Armier Developments Ltd today informed the court of appeal, presided by Mr Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri and Mr Justices Giannino Caruana Demajo and Noel Cuschieri, that it did not intend to proceed with the appeal. The First Hall, Civil Court, presided by Mr Justice Anthony Ellul, had... Читать дальше...

A board of inquiry made up of three former judges had been tasked to look into the allegations, and investigate why the police had failed to pursue an investigation into money laundering by an international firm when Beppe Fenech Adami's name cropped up as a director of a company linked to CapitalOne. The inquiry was completed and had been handed to Dr Muscat but has not yet been published. Dr Muscat this morning told reporters he was seeking advice on the inquiry's findings. He rejected claims it... Читать дальше...

A product produced by Magro Brothers has won an award at the Gulfood Innovation Awards in Dubai. Pinto's Pride Spoon Stock won the Best Condiment or Sauce category at the awards, which form part of the Gulfood Exhibition. Gulfood is the world's largest annual food and beverage exhibition, welcoming professionals from all over of the globe to meet for five days of business. Over 4,000 exhibitors took part this year. The Maltese product was shortlisted among several other contestants and placed among... Читать дальше...