Новости за 12.07.2017

Former Air Malta chairman Marisa Micallef will be heading the National Oil Corporation, being set up by the Office of the Prime Minister. The OPM said that Ms Micallef, who in 2014 was appointed chairman of Air Malta, achieved remarkable financial improvements during the three years of her tenure. "Her skills will now be used to make a turnaround in this area, particularly in the field of oil exploration." The new set-up will be in line with the government’s manifesto to set up a new entity to focus... Читать дальше...

Parliament this evening approved the introduction of gay marriage through the new Marriage Equality Act with Nationalist MP Edwin Vassallo voting against. Malta became the 15th EU state to introduce same-sex marriage, just six years after the introduction of divorce. Clarifying his vote, Mr Vassallo said he could not reconcile his principles with a Bill that was "immoral". Although he agreed that the state and church should be separate, he said he was a Christian and could not abandon his religious beliefs on parliament's doorstep. Читать дальше...

The European Union has announced that Greece is no longer breaking budget rules. Wednesday's recommendation from the EU Commission to end the so-called "excessive deficit procedure" on Greece comes after a sharp improvement in the country's finances following years of spending cuts and tax increases, and a recession that wiped out a quarter of the economy and caused unemployment and poverty to swell. "This is a very symbolic moment for Greece," said Pierre Moscovici, the EU's top economy official. Читать дальше...

Three-times Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic retired injured during his quarter-final against Czech Tomas Berdych on Wednesday. The second seed had just lost the opening set and was down a break in the second when he walked to the net and shook Berdych's hand, having received a medical timeout. He appeared to be struggling with an arm injury.

Parliamentary Secretary Julia Farrugia Portelli was on the verge of boycotting the MPs swearing-in ceremony earlier this month after she was told she could not get her four-year-old child as a guest. Speaking in Parliament this evening, Ms Farrugia Portelli said that MPs were asked to submit three names of guests they wanted at the ceremony. Her list, she said, included her daughter’s name. But she was told that she was not allowed to bring her daughter. Ms Farrugia Portelli pointed out that she... Читать дальше...

Malta International Airport welcomed 578,827 passengers in June, a 17.5% increase over the same month last year. June’s growth partly resulted from Malta International Airport’s recently launched summer schedule, which is it’s busiest yet, featuring an average of 130 flights a day. Aircraft movements in June grew by 11.7%, reaching a total of 4,071. Seat capacityincreased by 15.5%, while seat load factor improved by 1.1 percentage points. The airport’s top five markets in June were the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France, and Spain. Читать дальше...

Juventus have signed Bayern Munich winger Douglas Costa on loan until June 2018 for a fee of six million euros ($6.9 million), the Italian champions said on Wednesday (www.juventus.com). The Brazil international, capped 21 times, could make his move permanent if the Serie A club exercise an option to pay 40 million euros by the end of the loan. "Technique, acceleration, unpredictability and talent... features that the green and gold talent will now make available to Juventus," Juventus said in a statement. Читать дальше...

A man was injured when he was hit by a motorbike in Ħamrun this afternoon. The police said the accident happened in St Joseph High Road at 5.30pm. A 30-year-old motorcyclist from Sta Venera was riding the bike in the direction of Sta Venera.

Charles Mangion has replaced Maria Micallef as the chairman of Air Malta in the first shake up since the election. Mr Mangion, a former Labour justice minister, had been widely rumoured to be the leading contender for the chairmanship of the Malta Financial Services Authority, and this appointment would seem to indicate that this is now unlikely. He recently turned down the chairmanship of Bank of Valletta, following the resignation of John Cassar White. Government-appointed chairmen hand in their resignation after an election... Читать дальше...

A tell-tale trace of blood led to the arraignment of two men over a violent robbery at an Armier boathouse last year, shortly before the murder of Eleanor Mangion Walker, another episode allegedly linking the two men. Read: Andrew Mangion charged with murder of wife Eleanor Mangion Walker Andrew Mangion, 41, from Swieqi and Adhamjon Niyasov, also known as Kristjan Zekic, 34, from Mosta were arraigned before duty magistrate Charmaine Galea this afternoon, charged with the aggravated theft, as well... Читать дальше...

Whistleblowers acting in the public interest must be protected across the EU, David Casa, the Nationalist Party’s head of delegation in the European Parliament said. Many member states still did not have laws protecting whistleblowers and those that did, in many cases, failed to adequately enforce the law, he said. David Casa, who is the EPP’s coordinator on the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, made his comments following the adoption of a dossier on Protecting Whistleblowers, which he... Читать дальше...

Hundreds of German special police have raided several buildings in Berlin, arresting four suspects over the heist of a 100-kilogram Canadian gold coin stolen from one of the city's museums earlier this year. Heavily-armed masked police arrested the suspects, one wearing a hood over his head, in Berlin's Neukoelln neighbourhood. Another nine people are being questioned in the case. All suspects are related to one another and aged between 18 and 20, police said. The raids of 13 different buildings lasted several hours... Читать дальше...

Hobbling defending champion Andy Murray was beaten 3-6 6-4 6-7(4) 6-1 6-1 by big-serving American Sam Querrey in the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Wednesday. The 30-year-old world number one led by two sets to one but was clearly troubled by an injury in the fourth set as 24th seed Querrey levelled the match. Querrey broke early in the fifth set and despite the Centre Court crowd getting behind the home favourite there was no way back for the Briton whose reign ended in disappointing fashion. Querrey... Читать дальше...

Manchester City have missed their chance to sign Dani Alves after the Brazilian full-back instead joined Paris St Germain. The 34-year-old decided to leave Serie A champions Juventus after just one season in Turin and, despite being linked with a summer move to Premier League side City, he has opted to sign for Unai Emery's PSG. A tweet from the capital club's official account announced the former Barcelona player's arrival on Wednesday. Attack-minded right-back Alves, who won the Champions League three times with Barca... Читать дальше...

The share index extended yesterday’s decline by a further 0.36% to a one-week low of just above 4,700 points. This largely reflected the declines in the share prices of four large companies by market capitalisation (namely, BOV, HSBC, RS2 and MIA) which outweighed the 0.6% gain in GO which recaptured the €3.49 level on volumes totalling 15,800 shares. The total value of trades across the equity market fell to €0.22 million today from yesterday’s four-day high of €0.35 million. Bank of Valletta dropped... Читать дальше...

The owner of a Gżira store was fined €500 after being declared guilty by a magistrate's court of selling counterfeit Nokia phone covers which he had allegedly purchased from a trader who was not his regular supplier. Back in 2005, police had received a complaint by Nokia Corporation who alleged that Stephen Ritchie, owner of the Gżira telephony shop, was selling counterfeit Nokia merchandise. A police search at the store yielded some 24 mobile phone covers. The shop owner was subsequently charged with having breached the Trademarks Act... Читать дальше...

The functionality of the MSE’s e-Portfolio online portal has recently been enhanced to include a number of new features aimed at facilitating investors’ communication with the CSD requesting modifications to their MSE account details. e-Portfolio was originally launched in 2016 and for the first time it enabled the MSE's 70,000 account holders to view and download their statement of holdings, registration advices, access issuer annual reports and view their portfolio valuation on line in an easy and secure manner. Читать дальше...

A lawyer tasked with purchasing property and handling local business affairs on behalf of a foreign couple who intended to take up residence in Malta, was cleared of misappropriating funds entrusted to him in the course of his brief. Lawyer Pio Valletta had allegedly been instructed by Rakhat Shoraz and his wife Elnara Shorazova to purchase property on the local market. A complaint was registered by the woman after discrepancies allegedly cropped up between the funds transferred and the receipts issued by the lawyer. Читать дальше...

Nationalist MP Edwin Vassallo says today’s vote on the gay marriage Bill is the final chapter of his stand-off with the party leadership on the issue but warns his fight for what is right will continue. Mr Vassallo was asked by the Times of Malta yesterday about his voting intentions ahead of this evening’s parliamentary session in which legislators are expected to give the go-ahead for the introduction of same-sex marriages in Malta. Following today’s vote at third reading stage, the Bill will... Читать дальше...

Updated at 6.30pm with GO's statement An in-depth investigation on the integration of Vodafone Malta into MelitaLink Ltd, the current holding company of Melita Ltd, has been opened by the Office for Competition within the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority. Read: Vodafone and Melita to merge into combined company The Office said it feared that the transaction could limit competition, mainly in the mobile telephony market and possibly in the fixed markets, without providing sufficient pro-competitive effects. Читать дальше...

US President Donald Trump today defended his eldest son as "innocent" following e-mails that showed Donald Trump Jr welcomed Russian help against his father's rival in the 2016 presidential election, deepening the controversy over purported Russian meddling. Trump Jr released a series of e-mails on Tuesday that revealed he had eagerly agreed to meet a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who might have damaging information about Democratic rival Hillary Clinton as part of Moscow's official support for his father. Читать дальше...

Ten teachers, five of whom have since retired, have filed a judicial protest claiming that the granting of an ex-gratia pension in recent weeks to a number of less senior colleagues, amounted to unjust and discriminatory treatment in their regard. The group filed the judicial act against the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, the Family Minister, and the respective permanent secretaries within the latter two ministries. The protesting parties, who had been engaged in the public service, some even as far back as 1976... Читать дальше...

Alexander Demarco has been appointed deputy governor for monetary policy at the Central Bank of Malta, with Oliver Bonello as his counterpart for financial stability. Mr Demarco has been a deputy governor of the Central Bank of Malta since January 2014. Economist Alfred Mifsud was appointed the deputy governor for monetary affairs in 2015, for a period of five years, but announced last June that he would be relinquishing his office, in the course of a civil dispute with his former partner Anna Zelbst.

Australians have been caught red handed trying their hand at different ways of moving furniture - via the train system. Queensland Rail posted CCTV footage from April of this year of men trying to move a fridge and a couch onto trains at the Bowen Hills train station in Brisbane. The man moving the fridge was discovered by transit officers and was fined. According to Queensland Rail, it is illegal to board a train with an item that cannot be stored either below a seat, in an overhead rack or in a designated storage area.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has joined Crystal Palace on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea. The midfielder becomes new Eagles manager Frank de Boer’s first signing at Selhurst Park after completing the move on Wednesday. “I had the option of coming to Palace and I thought that it would be great for me,” Loftus-Cheek told Palace’s official site. “I live not too far away, I was born in Lewisham and Palace is a good club so I thought it’s a good chance to play here and be a part of the team.”