Новости за 28.02.2017

European Union member states today agreed on a negotiating position for a review of the EU's emission trading system.  The agreement, brokered by Malta as Council president, means negotiations with the European Parliament can now begin with the aim of reaching an agreement on a final text.  MEPs voted on amendments to the European Parliament approach earlier this month. With both sides having now established their respective positions, negotiations can begin in earnest.  The EU's emissions trading... Читать дальше...

Carnival celebrations draw to a close this evening following four days of colour, costumes and music.  Thousands made a beeline for Nadur to indulge in the irreverence that characterises the town's celebrations, while others headed for Valletta to admire the carnival floats and choreographed dancers that paraded through the city.  A big defile on Floriana's main thoroughfare, accompanied by a fireworks display, will bring the curtain down on this year's celebrations.  But Times of Malta readers have reported that while revellers celebrated... Читать дальше...

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici this evening invited the Opposition to come forward with a means of redress for people who filed criminal libel suits years ago and promised that he would consider their proposed amendments. Dr Bonnici was reacting Shadow Justice Minister Jason Azzopardi’s reiteration of the Opposition’s view that Clause 27 of the proposed Media and Defamation Bill was in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. The bickering between Dr Bonnici and Dr Azzopardi took place... Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump accused Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel of "pulling out the race card" because the other side is "losing badly" after the comedian thanked him for making the ceremony look more inclusive. The president stayed silent during the star-studded ceremony on Sunday night, failing to reply to the goading tweets Kimmel sent him during the broadcast. READ: Oscars blunder was our mistake, says accounting firm PWC In his opening monologue, the talk show host said: "Maybe this is not a popular thing to say... Читать дальше...

Parliament will start discussing the Media and Defamation Bill in second reading on Monday, March 27. The decision was communicated to the Opposition by government whip Godfrey Farrugia during this evening's meeting of the House Business Committee. Justice Minister Owen Bonnici presented the first reading of the Bill, which has caused widespread controversy, last October. Among other things, it seeks to update defamation laws, abolish criminal libel in media laws, introduce the new civil tort of slander... Читать дальше...

Only one of 10 government entities surveyed as part of a cyber security audit has a formal data retention and storage policy in place, the National Audit Office has said.  An NAO audit found that only Malta Enterprise had a clearly defined policy for keeping and deleting personal data, as required by the Data Protection Act.  The audit, which surveyed cyber security procedures implemented by 10 different government entities (see list below), found several lacunae in IT security procedures as well as some examples of good practice. Читать дальше...

El Salvador's widespread violence has reached an unexpected corner with the fatal beating of the national zoo's beloved hippopotamus Gustavito. Even among a population numbed by a huge human death toll due to gang violence in recent years, the hippo's death caused outrage. Salvadorans mourned through social media and some left flowers at the gate of the zoo, which has been closed until further notice. "Here we're used to seeing the dead every day," said Martin Castillo, a street vendor in central San Salvador. Читать дальше...

Updated 8.03pm - Added PN reaction Lawyer Frank Testa is to lead an inquiry into claims that  "two senior politicians" directly intervened in a case of alleged drug trafficking, the Office of the Prime Minister said this evening.  The allegations were published by Malta Today last weekend, with a report in the newspaper claiming that two Gozitan youths arrested on drug trafficking suspicions in 2014 were allowed to change their police statements a couple of days later following political intervention. Читать дальше...

An estimated 3.8 per cent level of error in 2015 payments made by the European Union to member states was disappointing but lower than that of the previous financial cycle, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said in a meeting with MEPs today.  Prof. Scicluna, representing the EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council, was addressing members of the European Parliament's Budgetary Control committee. The European Court of Auditors reported a 3.8 per cent level of error in 2015 payments but gave an overall... Читать дальше...

Updated 6.18pm A knife-wielding man in a hoodie and sunglasses robbed a Sliema toy shop this afternoon, police have confirmed. The man reportedly walked into Three Little Pigs toy shop on Tigne Street at around 5.15pm and demanded money from a 58-year-old shop assistant on duty at the time. Nobody was injured and the thief made a quick getaway with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.  Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona has ordered an inquiry into the hold-up.

A driver who crashed and caused a motorcyclist serious injuries was fined and temporarily banned from driving today.  Alfred Zammit, 55, was driving his BMW through Lija on November 19, 2014 at around 8.00am when he suddenly changed lanes without turning on his indicator, a court heard.  The court, presided by magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, declared that footage recovered from the scene of the accident clearly showed that the accused's sudden U-turn had caused the crash. Had Mr Zammit been looking out and taken the necessary precautions... Читать дальше...

Senior Maltese diplomats at the Foreign Office are fuming over a government decision to send a Labour activist instead of a seasoned diplomat to the European Commission’s Brexit team . The Times of Malta is informed that Randolph Debattista, until the last elections working in the communications office of the Labour Party, has been seconded by the government to the European Commission’s Brexit team. A spokesman for chief negotiator Michel Barnier confirmed that Mr Debattista was chosen by the Maltese... Читать дальше...

The current fear among parents of the possible outbreak of meningitis B in Malta and the lack of a vaccine is “overblown and exaggerated”, according to a leading paediatrician, who asked to remain anonymous. “Meningitis is serious, but the current panic is overblown and exaggerated, as already indicated by the Department of Health’s statement, which is factual and totally accurate,” he said when contacted yesterday. Parents have expressed their concern on social media about the shortage of a vaccine... Читать дальше...

Bright lava lit up the night sky on the Italian island of Sicily today as Mount Etna erupted for the first time this year. The volcano, one of the most active in the world, has been largely dormant for the last two years, but it sprung to life with bright orange lava spewing out high over the Mediterranean Island, eventually easing off by this morning. Catania airport, situated within 50 km (31 miles) of the volcano, remained open, but authorities were tracking the movements of the ash cloud. Etna... Читать дальше...

A man previously sentenced to 18 months in prison for drug trafficking is to get another shot at justice after a Constitutional court annulled that judgment and ordered his case to be heard anew.  Dominic Camilleri, 35, had had his right to a fair hearing breached because he had not been given the right to consult with a lawyer ahead of giving statements to the police, the court found. Mr had been arrested in February 2004 on suspicion of drug trafficking and had been arraigned four years later, in October 2008. Читать дальше...

The MSE Share Index erased yesterday’s gains as it lost 0.40% to 4,736.800 points today, reflecting the drops in the share prices of IHI (-3.1%) and RS2 (-2.8%) which outweighed the gains registered in GO (+0.6%), MPC (+0.6%) and Medserv (+0.1%). Trading volumes improved to a three-day high of €0.44 million. Three deals totalling 8,030 shares dragged the equity of RS2 Software plc 2.8% lower to the €1.65 level. The other negative performing equity today was International Hotel Investments plc which... Читать дальше...

La La Land star Ryan Gosling may have missed out on an Oscar but his composure amidst the chaos that surrounded the best picture prize has catapulted him into the running to be named the next James Bond. Gosling could be seen chuckling on stage as it was revealed that La La Land had mistakenly been given the biggest award at the Oscars instead of Moonlight. The actor was on stage with his co-stars and the filmmakers as they accepted the top gong of the evening, before it became apparent the wrong... Читать дальше...

Low-cost carrier Wizz Air is to start flying between Malta and Macedonian capital Skopje twice a week.  The flights will begin on July 14 and will run all year round, the airline has announced. Presently, passengers wishing to travel between Malta and Skopje must catch a connecting flight from Vienna or Istanbul.  Wizz Air is the largest airline operating in Macedonia.

Two fish shop owners have filed a judicial protest acccusing a former employee of disclosing their culinary secrets to a market competitor. Chef Adam Demanuele and Louis Genuis, joint owners of Adam's Gourmet Fish Shop, are claiming that Prakash Kunju Perath had acquired both expertise and knowledge of their recipes during his 19-month stint working at the shop. After resigning from the job, the defendant took up employment at a supermarket which is allegedly a direct competitor of the plaintiffs' business. Читать дальше...

GO is looking for a new chief executive officer with existing CEO Yiannos Michaelides set to leave the firm at the end of March.  Mr Michaelides, who has been at the helm of GO since July 2012, will vacate the CEO role on March 30 to "pursue other opportunities," the company said in a statement today.  GO said that Mr Michaelides had helped the company diversify its business, invest in technologies such as Fibre to the Home and Fibre-connected 4G and increase the firm's revenue and profitability. Читать дальше...

Three people were killed and two critically injured when their light aircraft crashed into a house yesterday evening, causing several fires in a residential neighbourhood in southern California.  "All of the victims are from the aircraft. No residents were involved on the ground. We're continuing to make sure we keep the fires down," said Riverside fire chief Michael Moore. The fire spread to several houses in the evening. At least five families were forced to leave their homes. The pilot and two passengers died. Читать дальше...

Updated 4.30pm Maltese people live on average 90 per cent of their life in good health, better than any other European country, a new report has found.The European Observatory’s Health Systems in Transition Report, published today, shows “exceptional progress” in the health of the Maltese people, Health Minister Chris Fearne told a news conference.The last report, published in 2014, had highlighted a number of challenges and shortcomings facing the health sector, but the latest instalment presents... Читать дальше...

The man accused of murdering Sylvester Farrugia in Marsa on February 12 allegedly panicked when he saw two men approach the front door of his residence, in the dead of the night, one of them cradling an object which the accused believed might have been a bomb. Deniro Magri, smartly dressed and head bent, listened as chief prosecutor Keith Arnaud explained how the accused had allegedly been gripped by panic when at 2.30am on the day of the murder, he had caught sight, on the monitor of his security camera, of two men approaching his house. Читать дальше...

With so many fashion weeks and different catwalk shows throughout the year, one would fear that over the years, the fashion crowd would tire of it and maybe lose their passion. The beauty of fashion, however, is that there’s always something new to discover and uncover: a new idea, a new concept a new way of wearing something that hasn’t been worn in a while. The excitement in the audience of the different shows and the often frantic crowd outside, trying to get in or get a glimpse of their favourite... Читать дальше...

The 30 British victims of a shooting at a hotel in Tunisia were unlawful killed, a UK inquiry found, with the judge severely critical of "cowardly" local security forces but not concluding that neglect had caused the deaths. A gunman murdered 30 Britons and eight other nationals on a Tunisian beach resort in 2015, having walked nearly two miles on his killing spree before being shot dead by security forces. Islamic State claimed responsibility. The British victims had booked their trips through Thomson Holidays, which is owned by TUI Group. Читать дальше...