Новости за 20.07.2017

The planning policy objectives for Floriana was coming at the detriment of the residential community, the local council has warned.  This primary concern for the Floriana Local Council is specifically recognised by so-called Policy GF 15, a policy which is designed to strictly control new office development in Floriana. The council asked if the Planning Authority was adhering to Policy GF 15 since recent years have witnessed a surge of new office spaces where this involves a change of use from residential buildings to business spaces... Читать дальше...

Hotelier Silvio Debono’s plans to build a new beach lido in Bugibba and excavate a tunnel linking to the San Antonio Hotel received the green light from the Planning Authority earlier today. The application was approved with just one vote against, despite objections by the St Paul's Bay local council over the increase of the built-up area on the perched beach, from 74 to 113 square metres, narrowing the existing public passageway. The council also objected to the take-up of public land for private... Читать дальше...

Malta registered the biggest surplus in the EU and one of the largest decreases in debt in the first quarter of 2017, according to Eurostat data. According to the statistical arm of the EU, Malta saw a surplus 3.5% of GDP, followed by Germany and the Netherlands at 1.5%. The biggest deficit was reported in Romania (3.5%). Compared to the same quarter last year, Slovenia registered a positive change in its surplus (3.1%), followed by Austria (2.7%) and Malta (2.1%).  In the first quarter of 2017,... Читать дальше...

Parliament's Public Accounts Committee has been requested to probe two controversial land contracts carried out by the former Nationalist administration.  Labour's representatives on the committee, Robert Abela, Clayton Bartolo, Julia Farrugia Portelli and Silvio Schembri said the deals showed a lack of governance and transparency by the former PN administration, especially former Minister Jason Azzopardi.  The case in question revolves around two reports carried out by the Auditor General's Office on properties at il-Fekruna and 83... Читать дальше...

Alvaro Morata has waved goodbye to his Real Madrid team-mates as the Spanish striker heads to England to complete a move to Chelsea. On Thursday, Chelsea announced they have agreed a deal to the sign Real Madrid striker, subject to the Spain international agreeing personal terms and passing a medical. The 24-year-old, who had been strongly linked by British media with a move to Manchester United earlier in the transfer window, helped Madrid win a second successive Champions League title last season.

Keith Schembri has filed a criminal complaint against Simon Busuttil calling on the police to investigate the Opposition leader for filing a false report in court, perjury and lying. "Mr Schembri has asked the police to seek advice and take action against the Opposition leader. As he has done throughout the entire process, Mr Schembri is prepared to present all proof and urged the Opposition leader to bring forward any proof he claims to have," said a statement from the Department of Information. Читать дальше...

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel announced a range of steps against Turkey in response to the detention of a German human rights activist, signalling a more confrontational stance to the NATO ally after an escalation in tensions. Sigmar Gabriel said Germany would talk to EU partners about Turkey's aspirations to join the bloc and made clear Berlin could no longer guarantee German corporate investment in Turkey. He also said he could not envisage talks on expanding the customs union to Turkey... Читать дальше...

Axeheads and grinding stones from a cave in Australia's far north suggest humans arrived on the continent about 65,000 years ago, or 18,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to research published on Thursday. A technique called luminescence dating was used to date the ancient tools which were found in a rock shelter at the bottom of a cliff, on the edge of a sandy savannah plain some 300 km (186 miles) east of Darwin. Finding of a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia... Читать дальше...

Cruise passenger traffic during the second quarter of 2017 was down 8.6 per cent over the same period last year, official statistics show. Total traffic amounted to 183,143, even though there were 115 cruise liner calls during the second quarter of 2017, seven more than last year, the National Statistics Office said. At 78.6 per cent, transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 143,918. A total of 4,179 passengers visited Gozo, while 14,517 passengers spent at... Читать дальше...

The Public Contracts Review Board has been ordered by the Court of Appeal to reassess the case of a failed bidder in a tender for a hearing device for children and adults after the court observed that there had been "a lack of clarity" in the contracting authority's call. OK Ltd had filed an objection before the Public Contracts Review Board arguing that the device offered by the successful bidder, namely German company Med-El Elektromedizinische Geraete GmbH, did not cater for patients under the age of five years. Читать дальше...

Tesla will start delivering the first of its Model 3 cars in the coming months. The Model 3 is Tesla's most important model to date since it is the first real mass market car to emerge from the auto company. Success for the Model will go a long way in appeasing investors that continue to believe in the dream created by Elon Musk. However, the dream to date has a few hiccups. One important hiccup is that to-date Tesla has not made a cent. That being said, the share price still increased by 850 per cent in the past five years. Читать дальше...

Passengers riding a bus had to be evacuated this morning after a passenger set off a fire extinguisher on board.  The incident happened around 8am on St Andrew's Road, between Pembroke and Paceville. Witnesses said they could see passengers evacuating the bus and dusting themselves from what appeared to be white powder. People at the back of the bus exited from the emergency door. Nobody was injured in the incident, which sparked off a traffic jam. Police and Malta Public Transport are investigating the incident.

Traffic problems in Gżira have become a major cause of frustration for both residents and motorists, with long tailbacks all the way up Testaferrata Street as vehicles head towards Sliema. Apart from having to run the gauntlet of construction and roadworks throughout the locality and the surrounding areas, motorists’ frustrations peak when the two-lane road leading from Testaferrata Street to the Gżira Strand funnels into one. Instead of using the outer lane to turn towards Ta’ Xbiex, drivers often... Читать дальше...

Welcome to this new initiative by Times of Malta's sports desk. We are looking to keep our readers and social media followers updated with all the latest news and gossip regarding the summer transfer window. 1.00pm Aston Villa have signed Stoke midfielder Glenn Whelan in a deal which could rise to £2million. The 33-year-old has put pen to paper on a two-year contract at Villa Park, bringing to an end his nine-year association with the Premier League side. "I have enjoyed happy times at Stoke City... Читать дальше...

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY Barcelona are lining up a move for Monaco star KYLIAN MBAPPE as a potential replacement for NEYMAR, reports the Daily Mail. The Brazilian looks increasingly likely to join PSG for a world record fee of over £180million and the Spanish club could splash the cash on the young French striker. The Mirror are reporting that Manchester United could be ready to swoop for Everton midfielder ROSS BARKLEY. The paper claimed on Wednesday that Barkley wants to become Tottenham's highest-paid player... Читать дальше...

Half of pupils expelled from schools have a mental health issue, according to a UK think tank's analysis. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said official figures showed that 99% of pupils permanently excluded from mainstream schools fail to gain the five good GCSEs required by many employers. According to IPPR estimates, 63% of the prison population was excluded from school at some point. One in every two excluded pupils experience recognised mental health problems, compared with one... Читать дальше...

On March 16, I had written an article entitled ‘MGS sell-off gathers momentum’ in which I had explained how the overall downward trend in the prices of Malta Government Stocks (MGSs) had persisted in the first few months of 2017 following the initial slump triggered by the election of Donald Trump as President of the US in early November 2016. Indeed, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index – which gauges the daily movements in the indicative opening bid prices of MGSs quoted by the Central Bank of Malta (CBM) ... Читать дальше...

Prime Minister Theresa May will chair a discussion on Brexit and the economy at the first meeting of a new business council today, a bid to rebuild bridges with companies concerned over Britain’s departure from the European Union. After losing the governing Conservatives’ parliamentary majority at an ill-judged election last month, May has stepped up efforts to engage with business after some firms criticised her government for failing to address their worries over Brexit. Many companies have urged... Читать дальше...

Cyclists have expressed concern about the potential hazards the current roadworks may bring to people on bicycles, particularly, the addition of concrete block retaining walls. These barriers lower the effective width of the shared foot path for cycling phase, while posing a crush hazard of long vehicles and HGVs for cyclists caught on the inside of such vehicles a serious threat, the Bicycle Advocacy Group said in a statement. The group suggesting that riders on the road take the lane to avoid this... Читать дальше...

In 1974-75 Floriana celebrated their 75th anniversary. That season, the Greens won the championship after a long struggle with their oldest rivals, St George’s.  In those days, the Saints had a formidable team. It was probably the best since the heady days of the Mile End Sports Ground. In the end, however, Floriana  once again jinxed the Saints to add another championship to their tally.  During that campaign, three foreign teams paid a short visit to Malta. Early in 1974, the Italian amateur club... Читать дальше...

O.J. Simpson is headed for a parole hearing in Nevada on Thursday after serving nine years for a botched armed robbery. His conduct in prison has reportedly been exemplary, making him a good candidate for release. Simpson expressed regret over the 2007 crime, at a parole hearing four years ago. Simpson became infamous after his acquittal in the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.

Research carried out by Net Check GmbH, a leading, independent German firm specialising in performance testing of mobile networks (www.netcheck.de), has conclusively shown that GO has the best mobile network in Malta. The research, conducted nationwide, also revealed that GO’s mobile internet service is significantly faster than that of any of its competitors. Net Check’s research covered three main areas: network coverage, voice quality, and data quality. Overall, GO came out on top, particularly in mobile internet... Читать дальше...

A growing number of governments are moving away from cash to accrual accounting. Private companies adopted accrual accounting more than a century ago because it was considered to be a better way of reporting their financial activities and results. Under cash accounting, transactions are recognised only when the associated cash is received or paid and economic events are not reported if there is no immediate exchange of cash. A 2016 IMF report said that governments were tempted to exploit the system... Читать дальше...

For one calf in rural Cambodia who popped out near the home of the recently-widowed Khim Hang, being (re)born was much like hitting the jackpot. The 74-year-old woman has taken the calf under her wing, believing him to be the reincarnate of her husband Tol Khut, a Cambodian farmer who died unexpectedly just over a year ago in Cambodia's northeastern Kratie Province. She is not the only one to hold this belief - so too do her seven children and her neighbours. Inside the wooden stilted house, the calf is fed... Читать дальше...

US Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee known for political independence during more than three decades in the Senate, has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, his office said. The 80-year-old lawmaker and former Navy pilot, who was re-elected to a sixth Senate term in November, has been recovering at home in Arizona since undergoing surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix last Friday to remove a blood clot from above his left eye. Tissue analysis since that... Читать дальше...