Новости за 21.07.2017

The son of Cecil the Lion, whose death at the hands of an American tourist in Zimbabwe caused international uproar, has also been shot dead by a hunter in Zimbabwe, scientists said. The lion, known as Xanda, was shot on July 7 just outside the boundary of Hwange National Park, close to where his father died, according to a group of researchers from Oxford University who were tracking him. As Xanda was shot outside the park, his killing was legal. "Xanda’s death was almost two years to the day after Cecil’s... Читать дальше...

Two maps – one dating back to World War II – were found during restoration works at the underground war headquarters in Valletta. Restoration by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna of the vast underground military complex, covering an area of 28,000 square metres below the Upper Barrakka Gardens, has been going on for the past years. The job included the restoration of an original military wall map, dating back to when Nato was in Malta (1954 - 1971), which is now nearing its final stages. The wall map was used... Читать дальше...

The four men vying to become the Nationalist Party's next leader set their political disagreements aside this afternoon as they met for a drink on Republic Street in Valletta. Adrian Delia, Alex Perici Calascione, Frank Portelli and Chris Said met on the latter's initiative, and in between smiles and handshakes, the four leadership candidates chatted about their respective ideas for the party.  In a brief statement marking the meeting, the PN said that the meeting revealed that the leadership contest is "a race between friends... Читать дальше...

Manchester United have unveiled a new third kit in grey, the first time they have used the colour since the team’s memorable half-time shirt swap in 1996. United have released images of the new fan-designed strip, which features a silhouette of the ‘Holy Trinity’ statue of Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law, but the most striking aspect for fans whose memories stretch back 21 years is the familiar hue. United were wearing their grey shirt for the fifth time when they took on Southampton... Читать дальше...

Updated 8.30pm White House spokesman Sean Spicer resigned today, ending a brief and turbulent tenure that made him a household name, amid further upheaval within President Donald Trump's inner circle. A White House official confirmed the departure of Spicer, 45, and said Trump had named former Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci as his new top communications official. While not a surprise, Spicer's departure was abrupt and reflected the turmoil in Trump's legal and media teams amid a widening... Читать дальше...

With cabinet having approved a blockchain strategy and gaming operators pushing for regulators to give cryptocurrencies the green light, Malta appears ready for a Bitcoin revolution.  But as anyone who has dabbled in Bitcoin knows, buying and withdrawing the digital currency can be a technical bridge too far for the average user.  A local start-up is now hoping to change that, through a crowdfunding campaign to build and install Malta's first Bitcoin ATM.  The ATM would allow users to buy and sell Bitcoin within minutes... Читать дальше...

An unemployed man was this afternoon denied bail after pleading not guilty to a string of thefts from petrol stations over the past weeks.  Dennis Cremona, 42, from Marsa, was charged with having stolen amounts of cash, on three separate occasions, from a service station in Attard. The station was allegedly targeted on July 4, July 17 and again yesterday at around 3.30am. Another petrol station in Għaxaq was also allegedly robbed, with Mr Cremona allegedly making off with more cash during the night between July 6 and 7. Читать дальше...

Edvald Boasson Hagen won stage 19 of the Tour de France as Chris Froome crossed safely in the pack to retain the yellow jersey with two stages to go. Norwegian Boasson Hagen has been on the wrong side of two photo finishes so far in this Tour but made certain of victory in Salon-de-Provence as he attacked out of the breakaway with three kilometres to go and soloed to the line. That all happened a good 12 and a half minutes before the peloton crossed the line, with the contenders taking it relatively easy after two hard days in the Alps. Читать дальше...

The government spent over €11,000 on Facebook adverts during the election campaign, with the European Affairs Ministry forking out more than half that amount. Figures tabled in Parliament this week show that between the day Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced the election on May 1 and the June 3 election, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Home Affairs, European Affairs, Education and Energy Ministries spent €11,460 on Facebook adverts. The European Affairs Ministry spent over half the total amount – €6,991. Читать дальше...

The eclectic programme for this evening's Malta Jazz Festival first show at Ta' Liesse should appeal to all, artistic director Sandro Zerafa said.  "It should be a great show which should appeal to everyone, for jazz enthusiasts and those not familiar with the genre," Mr Zerafa said.  The festival started last night with a series of jazz concerts around Valletta. Ta' Liesse takes centre stage from this evening with the Joe Debono trio, Mark Guiliana and Nicholas Payton Afro Caribbean Mixtape. The... Читать дальше...

A guest at a five-star St Julian's hotel who admitted to causing a ruckus in his room in the early hours of the morning was handed a suspended sentence and ordered to pay a fine today.  Adam Kazimierz Antonowicz, 38, was arraigned on charges of having threatened or harmed the police officers, disobeying their lawful orders and disturbing the public peace. The man was also charged with having threatened a woman, allegedly also residing at the hotel, while under the influence of drink. Mr Antonowicz... Читать дальше...

A years-old Facebook post asking people to donate blood to save a baby girl is going viral after resurfacing on social media feeds.  The post urges people with B- (negative) blood to get in touch with Puttinu Cares, adding that an eight-month old child is in urgent need of blood to save her life.  But according to Puttinu Cares CEO and co-founder Rennie Zerafa, the post dates back years and the organisation has not launched any emergency appeal for blood. "We've been inundated with phone calls, at... Читать дальше...

More than half the companies in Germany have been hit by spying, sabotage or data theft in the last two years, the German IT industry association Bitkom said on Friday, and estimated the attacks caused around €55 billion worth of damage a year. Several high-profile attacks have occurred recently, such as the WannaCry ransomware attacks in May and a virus dubbed "NotPetya" that halted production at some companies for more than a week. Others lost millions of euros to organised crime in a scam called "CEO Fraud". Читать дальше...

Bank of America has become the first Wall Street bank to pick Dublin to be its new base for its European Union operations as Britain prepares to leave the bloc, the firm said in a statement on Friday. International banks are planning to set up subsidiaries in the EU to ensure they can continue to serve clients if their London operations lose the ability to operate in the bloc after Britain leaves in March 2019. Details of banks' Brexit arrangements are starting to emerge following a July 14 deadline... Читать дальше...

Two young men’s thirst for adventure landed them in court after they were caught sneaking on to the catamaran to Sicily by onboard security.  The twenty-year olds, Miguel Alberto Armas Zambrano of Venezuela and Javier Ocana De Lucas from Spain, were handed a suspended sentence after they admitted to having entered a restricted area at the boarding quay, boarded the catamaran without authorisation and attempted to depart from Malta without having notified immigration authorities. The two accused, wearing t-shirts... Читать дальше...

The Addolorata Cemetery remains in a shambles a year after the government announced a €16 million private-public partnership for its extension, maintenance, and restoration. Health Minister Chris Fearne made the announcement over a year ago, yet despite the promise to enter into the partnership “soon”, overgrown weeds, rusty signs and bags full of garbage still mar Malta’s largest burial ground. Once complete, the project would see an additional 2,800 graves added to the “crowded” cemetery, with... Читать дальше...

Enemalta is embarking on another phase of its €1.6 million project to replace the old overhead high voltage lines that supply electricity to Gozo. Through this project, which started earlier this year, the company will be removing the longest remaining stretch of high voltage 33 kV aerial lines in Malta, between Mellieħa and Armier. They are being replaced by 10 kilometres of new underground cables, to improve the reliability and flexibility of this connection supplying electricity to the northernmost part of Malta and Gozo. Читать дальше...

German car maker Audi is to fit up to 850,000 diesel cars with new software to improve their emissions performance. Audi, a unit of Volkswagen, said it "aims to maintain the future viability of diesel engines" and believes the voluntary retrofitting programme "will counteract possible bans on vehicles with diesel engines". The free programme, which will apply to Europe and other markets outside the US and Canada, applies to cars with six-cylinder and eight-cylinder diesel engines. On Tuesday, Daimler... Читать дальше...

A 54-year-old worker was grievously injured this morning after falling 1.5 metres at a hotel in St Paul's Bay. The victim fell off scaffolding while working at the hotel in Triq Dawret il-Gżejjer at around 8.30am. The police said the worker, a Serb who lives in Msida. He was taken to Mater Dei Hospital by ambulance.

For three years, Laurence Fischer, a triple world champion of karate, has been teaching self-defence to rape survivors. Often living in fear of being victimised a second time, the classes give the women the courage to live again.

EPP chairman Manfred Weber has expressed concern after the Prime Minister’s chief of staff filed a criminal complaint against Opposition leader Simon Busuttil. Keith Schembri yesterday filed the complaint after the Opposition leader asked the courts for a magisterial inquiry to investigate money-laundering allegations stemming from the Panama Papers. Mr Weber said that the fact that a Prime Minister's chief of staff filed a criminal complaint against an Opposition leader was a worrying sign for democracy and the rule of law. Читать дальше...

A man whose daughter was fined £150 for setting up a lemonade stall has described how four council officials told him to shut it down as he held the crying five-year-old in his arms. Andre Spicer, a business school professor, let the youngster set up a stand near their home to sell refreshments to people heading to the Lovebox music festival in Victoria Park, east London, last weekend. "She basically suggested it herself," Professor Spicer told the Press Association. She made a sign and starting... Читать дальше...

A magistrate today ordered a nationwide search for a couple currently wanted to face criminal proceedings. Magistrate Joseph Mifsud, presiding over the Valletta district sitting, ordered the police to conduct the search for the couple, who have not been served with a notice of summons since February 2016. Carmel and Josephine Dimech, aged 58 and 55 respectively, from Żebbuġ, are to face charges over an incident at a lawyer's office in Valletta in October 2015 when they allegedly threatened and insulted... Читать дальше...

Persons convicted of sports-related offences should be banned from all sports venues and face harsher penalties, a magistrate said this morning when delivering judgment against a man accused of match-fixing. Valletta resident Ronnie Mackay, 36, was jailed and fined for conspiracy and complicity in the bribery of players signed up with the under-21 Maltese national team. Allegations first came to light in March 2016 when the Malta Football Association integrity officer alerted police that the match... Читать дальше...

The annual rate of inflation in June was down according to the Retail Price Index. The rate decreased to 1.24 per cent, from 1.38 per cent registered in May. The National Statistics Office said the 12-month moving average rate increased to 1.11 per cent, from 1.07 per cent in the previous month. The largest upward impact on annual inflation mainly reflected higher fish prices while the largest downward impact was attributed to lower garment prices.