Новости за 08.07.2017

Balzan striker Bojan Kaljevic could be set to leave the BOV Premier League as the Montenegrin striker is attracting interest from a club from Saudi Arabia. Vladimir Simovic, Balzan’s sporting director, confirmed to timesofmalta.com that the Premier League club have received an offer for the forward but so far no decision has been made. Kaljevic enjoyed an excellent campaign for Balzan last season as he was the Premier League top scorer with 23 goals, helping the club to finish second in the league standings. Читать дальше...

Malta International Airport was on alert this evening after an Air Malta flight from Geneva reported a technical problem as it approached landing, according to reports. The flight, which was carrying 170 passengers and six crew members, landed around 8.30pm. According to TVM, the captain reported to the control tower on approach to Malta that the aircraft had a possible technical problem in its landing gear.  But, according to the report, the message was understood to mean that the plane was being forced to make an emergency landing... Читать дальше...

Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has been released from prison and placed under house arrest after more than three years behind bars. The unexpected move fuelled hopes for a broader amnesty for dozens of jailed activists as the country slides deeper into political turmoil. Venezuela's government-stacked Supreme Court said it had granted Mr Lopez the "humanitarian measures" for health reasons and "serious signs of irregularities" in the handling of the case. A euphoric Mr Lopez briefly... Читать дальше...

Actor Shia LaBeouf was arrested in Georgia on charges of disorderly conduct and public intoxication early on Saturday after he became unruly in downtown Savannah, police said. LaBeouf, best known for his role as Sam Witwicky in the "Transformers" action movie franchise, was in the bustling City Market neighborhood before dawn when he approached a bystander and a police officer and asked for a cigarette, Savannah police said in a statement. "When LaBeouf wasn't given a cigarette, he became disorderly... Читать дальше...

Wied Għomor will not be considered for public domain status for at least another year – due to a late submission by Environment Minister Josè Herrera. Back in April, Mr Herrera announced that he had personally proposed the threatened valley, between Swieqi and San Ġwann, for protection under the Public Domain Act, along with Indawar Nature Park near Żonqor Point. However, when the Planning Authority released a list of 24 proposed sites for public consultation last week, Wied Għomor was not among them. Читать дальше...

Ajax’s pre-season friendly against Werder Bremen was abandoned after Abdelhak Nouri required emergency ambulance treatment on the field. The Ajax midfielder, just 20, collapsed with around 20 minutes remaining in the game in Austria and there was immediate concern for his condition. An ambulance and even a helicopter were called onto the pitch while the ground was cleared, though Nouri was eventually airlifted to hospital in what Ajax described as a “stable” condition. A series of tweets from Ajax’s official account read... Читать дальше...

Wayne Rooney appears close to finalising his return to boyhood club Everton after being pictured arriving at the Toffees' training ground on Saturday. Sky Sports News HQ showed footage of the 31-year-old driving into the Merseyside club's Finch Farm base in the afternoon as he nears a switch from Manchester United. Rooney, who is both United and England's all-time record scorer, originally left Everton for Old Trafford in 2004 and talks about him rejoining the Toffees have gathered pace in recent days. Читать дальше...

The sudden increase in waste generated at Ġnejna Bay proved to be too much for the Cleansing Services Directorate to handle. The directorate’s director, Ramon Deguara, said efforts were being made to clear the beach from all the rubbish. Residents and people who frequent the popular beach told Times of Malta that a person cleans the beach bins and the actual beach in the morning and puts the rubbish in garbage bags. He lines the beach with the bags and leaves them there for pick up by the Cleansing Services Directorate throughout the day. Читать дальше...

French President Emmanuel Macron said he had not given up on trying to get U.S. counterpart Donald Trump to change his mind about withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate change agreement. The final statement from the Group of 20 leaders meeting in Hamburg on Saturday exposed the divide that remains between the United States and other G20 members on the 2015 Paris accord aimed at combating climate change. But Macron also said he would host a summit on Dec. 12 to move the Paris deal forward. Читать дальше...

Revenue continued to outstrip expenditure in the first quarter, making it the third period in a row in which government finances registered a surplus. The National Statistics Office figures released yesterday, which cover the extended government including its agencies and local councils, recorded a surplus of €44 million. This is the figure used by Eurostat to determine the strength or otherwise of public finances. It is the first time that a surplus was registered in the first quarter, traditionally a bad period for government finances. Читать дальше...

Having a pet dog or cat more than doubles the odds that humans will find a tick on themselves, and that could raise the risk of contracting Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases, researchers say. “Ticks can transmit disease to people and their pets, particularly in the warmer months when they are most active,” said lead study author Erin Jones of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in Baltimore. Jones’ team analyzed data collected by a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiative called TickNET... Читать дальше...

Former Nationalist minister Tonio Fenech kept up his anti-gay marriage crusade and said the parties' decision not to grant a free vote on the matter was akin to North Korean methods. "If the two parties are scared to grant their MPs a free vote on Wednesday, then it would truly mean that Malta has become like North Korea, that punishes objectors, and not a true European country," Mr Fenech wrote on his Facebook wall. He tagged the comments to a Times of Malta interview with Edwin Vassallo uploaded... Читать дальше...

The appointment of l-Orizzont's editor to a post in the Office of the Prime Minister confirms how Joseph Muscat wanted to sow division, the Nationalist Party said today.  In the last months, Josef Caruana had relentlessly attacked the Nationalist Party, journalists, the Church and anybody who dared to express an opinion, the PN said in a statement.  One editorial referred to journalists from Times of Malta and The Malta Independent, saying they had "worked against the progress of the country", calling them deviants... Читать дальше...

Valtteri Bottas qualified on pole position for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix with his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton down in eighth after a five-place grid penalty. Hamilton was only quick enough to set the third fastest time in Q3 as his main title rival Sebastian Vettel took second for Ferrari to start alongside Bottas on the front row of the grid. Vettel holds a 14-point lead heading into the race and will be hopeful of extending the gap to second-placed Hamilton, who drops down the field after an unscheduled gearbox change.

The Opposition is not excluding taking further action “at a later stage” to ensure something is done on the contents of two leaked reports from the government anti-money laundering agency (FIAU), PN shadow justice minister Jason Azzopardi said yesterday. The FIAU reports, presented to the courts in May by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, highlighted the agency's suspicions that the Prime Minister’s chief of staff was involved in criminal activity. Under Maltese law, money laundering is punishable by up to 18 years in jail. Читать дальше...

An acrobat fell to his death during a rock music festival in Madrid just before US band Green Day performed. The organisers of the Mad Cool festival expressed their condolences to the acrobat's family in a statement after his death on Friday. They said they "regret the terrible accident". Spanish national television showed images of what appears to be the acrobat falling from a box suspended several metres in the air. The performer is thought to have been wearing a harness as the box was suspended from a crane. Читать дальше...

Malta Public Transport driver Tonio Borg says he wastes 20-30 minutes on each bus trip stuck in traffic – and that much of it could be easily prevented if people stuck to the law. Malta Public Transport CEO Konrad Pule explained that there are four main causes why drivers are getting stuck: roads which are too narrow for the buses, parking spaces which make a road too narrow, vehicles parked illegally and delivery trucks unloading. The last two are a matter of enforcement, while the second would... Читать дальше...

Times of Malta presents a selection of its photographers' choice of their best photos over the past days.

Health inspections on fruit and vegetables previously found with excessive pesticide levels have been increased following a damning report by the Auditor General. The Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority said the collection of samples of produce which had been found to contain high levels of pesticides had become more regular. Last month, a damning NAO report had found that oranges, carrots, beans, spinach, cucumber, potatoes, sweet peppers and olive oil were all not tested by the Market... Читать дальше...

Sebastian Vettel showed Ferrari can match Mercedes for pace at the Red Bull Ring as he came out on top of final practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. The German traded fastest laps with title rival Lewis Hamilton before posting a new lap record to finish clear of the field. Hamilton’s run ended with a big brake lock-up into turn three as, having dominated Friday practice, he had to settle for second best. That does not bode well for the Brit heading into qualifying as the three-time world champion... Читать дальше...

Before you get the Dettol out, take a moment to appreciate the beautiful world that we will never be able to see. Tiny microrobes don't just make us ill: they also give us the fish in the sea and the air that we breathe. No microbe, no us.

Iraqi security forces expect to take full control of Mosul in the coming hours as Islamic State's defensive lines collapse in its former de facto capital in Iraq, state television reported. Air strikes and artillery salvoes pounded the jihadists' last bastion in the city as black smoke billowed over it, a Reuters correspondent said. Some Iraqi soldiers celebrated, dancing with rifles and machineguns and waving the national flag as they reached their assigned targets, without waiting for a formal victory announcement to be made... Читать дальше...

Owen Farrell kicked a penalty two minutes from time as the British and Irish Lions claimed a dramatic 15-15 draw against world champions New Zealand at Eden Park. In doing so, a pulsating Test series also ended 1-1, with one Test drawn, as both sides fought themselves to a standstill. The All Blacks thought they had a chance to win it with just seconds left, but as Beauden Barrett lined up a kick at goal, referee Romain Poite consulted television replays and awarded a scrum to New Zealand instead for accidental offside. Читать дальше...

US President Donald Trump has described his lengthy head-to-head encounter with Russian president Vladimir Putin as a "tremendous meeting". Mr Trump is meeting a long list of world leaders, including UK Prime Minister Theresa May and President Xi Jinping of China today as he wraps up his second trip abroad. His comments about meeting Mr Putin came as he sat alongside Mrs May for a morning exchange on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany. It was his first comment on the high-profile talks with... Читать дальше...

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today that he will outline his vision for the Labour Party and a particular aspect it should focus on when he addresses an extraordinary session of the Labour general conference on Thursday. The conference wil l be meeting to elect a new Labour deputy leader for parliamentary affairs, succeeding Louis Grech, who has stepped down. The election is being contested by ministers Helena Dalli, Edward Scicluna and Chris Fearne. The winner will become deputy prime minister. Читать дальше...