Новости за 17.11.2017

The ŻiguŻajg international arts festival for children and young people, starts today and continues until November 26. It features a trove of over 150 performances and workshops at various venues by critically acclaimed international and national companies. Details are available at www.ziguzajg.org. Tickets may be purchased online or from St James Cavalier’s box office (tel. 2122 3200). The following are a few highlights of the programme. Parade and the Velvet Gentlemen This show celebrates the 100th anniversary of the ballet Parade... Читать дальше...

The 2016 vintage of Gran Cavalier Merlot, DOK Malta, Superior, has been awarded a gold medal as well as the Premio Della Stampa at the 2017 Emozioni dal Mondo Merlot e Cabernet Insieme international wine competition, which was recently held in Bergamo, Italy. This cask-aged Gran Cavalier varietal tastes delicate and is reminiscent of the classic French style that made Bordeaux claret popular, but with that added pleasurable dusty and faintly savoury Maltese hallmark to it. Previous vintages of the... Читать дальше...

A grand performance of Handel’s Messiah will be staged at Valletta’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral in aid of the €3 million appeal to save the iconic building from collapse. The performance will feature the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Goldberg Ensemble, and a special appearance from the University of Western Australian Choral Society. The Valletta Skyline Appeal said today that the Australian performers were flying over especially from Perth to take part in the fund raising show. With a history stretching over eight decades... Читать дальше...

Updated 12.40pm Clyde Puli will be the Nationalist Party's next general secretary, with the MP running uncontested for the party executive post.  The man rumoured to have an interest in the position, former The Malta Independent content director Pierre Portelli, will become executive chairman for PN media after being offered the job by party leader Adrian Delia during a meeting this morning.   Another potential candidate, MEP David Casa, yesterday said he would not be contesting the general secretary post and would instead remain in Brussels. Читать дальше...

Former head of content at the Malta Independent Pierre Portelli has agreed to take on the role of executive chairman for the Nationalist Party media. Mr Portelli was offered the job by PN leader Adrian Delia himself during a meeting this morning. His position will be formally confirmed once the new board has been appointed. Dr Delia stressed that it was important for the PN media to disseminate the party’s message not only to the faithful but to all the Maltese. Mr Portelli has 25 years’ experience in journalism and the media. Читать дальше...

Former lawyer Patrick Spiteri has had his bail revoked following an appeal by the Attorney General.  In a decision this morning, the court ruled that house arrest, which was essentially what Mr Spiteri's strict bail conditions decreed,  was a form of arrest rather than bail.  Had the magistrate's court wanted to grant Mr Spiteri bail, judge Edwina Grima ruled, it should have granted him effective liberty rather than confining him in a state of arrest at his house.  Citing European Court of Human Rights judgements... Читать дальше...

What exactly is Brexit and what impact will it have on the lives of the British people? This documentary gives voice to opponents and supporters of Brexit, including the former leader of the populist UKIP party, Nigel Farage.

It’s been a month since an act of horror happened. The whole world looks on and feels the horror that has gripped this land. Yet, the ones who know, who should act, just look on and snigger away. After saying what is expected of them – expressing deep remorse about the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia – they snigger. Yes, snigger because whatever happened and is happening does not worry them since the people are behind them. The powers that be – some of the ones waiting anxiously to be, like Adrian Delia ... Читать дальше...

The resignation of St Paul’s Bay councillor Robert Piscopo last night came after he had repeatedly voted against measures put forward by the Nationalist Party members, the PN said. Addressing a press conference,party local councils spokesman Robert Cutajar said that on Thursday evening, a number of votes had to be taken on different issues - Mr Piscopo and a second PN councillor, Joseph Vella voted with the Labour Party councillors. At the end of the meeting, Mr Piscopo handed in his resignation... Читать дальше...

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe arrived at a university graduation ceremony in the capital on Friday, his first public appearance since a military seizure of power that political sources say is aimed at ending his 37 years in office. Wearing a blue and yellow academic gown and mortar board hat, the 93-year-old sat in large wooden chair at the front the hall. He was greeted by ululations from the crowd as he declared the ceremony open.

Rush hour traffic might be maddening, but the figures show you're far more likely to be involved in a traffic accident when driving between 9am and 3pm.  Statistics published by the National Statistics Office reveal that there were 3,891 traffic accidents - approximately 43 a day - in the third quarter of the year. The figure is 1.9 per cent higher than that of Q3 2016, although casualties fell by 2.1 per cent to reach 502.  Almost half of those accidents - 1,696 - happened at some time between 9am and 3pm... Читать дальше...

A musical and cultural event will be held today at L’Isle Adam Band Club, Palazzo Xara, Rabat, to commemorate former band director Philip Gatt. During the event, the band, directed by Joe Galea, will perform compositions by Gatt. A bust of the former director, made by Rabat artist Michael Agius, will be unveiled. The event will end with the inauguration of a commemorative exhibition at Palazzo Xara which will be open tomorrow and on Sunday from 10am to noon and 5 to 7pm, and between November 20 and... Читать дальше...

A number of firms active in the maritime field have politely pointed out that the Maltese VAT scheme on yacht leasing is similar to that in France and Italy – and that nothing has been altered since it was approved in 2009. The Malta Maritime Law Association, the Malta Maritime Forum, the yachting trade section within the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, and the Super Yacht Industry Network Malta issued a joint communique after they heard that French Commissioner Pierre Moscovici... Читать дальше...

The American premiere of the Met Opera production of Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel, inspired by the classic Luis Buñuel film of the same name will be screened live at St James Cavalier tomorrow. The Exterminating Angel is a surreal fantasy about a dinner party from which the guests cannot escape. Tom Cairns, who wrote the libretto, directs the new production and Adès conducts his own new opera. The Exterminating Angel will be screened live at St James Cavalier Cinema, Valletta, tomorrow at 6.55pm... Читать дальше...

For the past months, High Yield (HY) debt continued to register very decent returns for investors. However, as I have opined in my previous writings, asset managers and investors alike have continued to question the sustainability of these returns given the fact that yields tightened albeit to record lows, but yes to extreme levels. This week, we witnessed the first notable sell-off since the beginning of the year. Over the past week, in my view the main triggers for the said correction are both... Читать дальше...

China's Singles' Day online discount sales bonanza on Saturday saw bargain-hungry buyers spend over $38 billion, flooding the postal and courier businesses with around 331 million packages - and leaving an estimated 160,000 tonnes of packaging waste. The annual Nov. 11 buying frenzy is a regular fillip for giant online retailers like Alibaba and JD.com, but the mountains of trash produced from just one day of conspicuous consumption have angered environmentalists. "Record-setting over-consumption means record-setting waste," said Nie Li... Читать дальше...

Award-winning postal services and logistics automation tool Swift featured at the world's largest annual conference for the postal and mailing service, Post-Expo. The Geneva conference attracted more than 3,000 delegates and 150 exhibitors from more than 100 countries.  Swift was among the exhibitors, showcasing its state-of-the-art Swift NEO platform for logistics operators. Swift NEO offers an end-to-end software platform for couriers, 3PLs, fulfilment providers and last mile delivery operators. Читать дальше...

A driver was stopped in a Massachusetts town after police officers spotted his vehicle had a licence plate made from a pizza box. The Hopkinton Police Department discourages people from making their own plates and joked in a Facebook post that a cardboard box and felt-tip pens were definitely off-limits. Officers say the driver is facing charges that include operating an uninsured and unregistered vehicle and attaching "fake home-made" plates.

Cats of all breeds will compete to see which is the fairest of them all at a national cat show to be held at SmartCity early next month. Balinese, Bengals, Persians,  Siberians, Siamese, Sphynx, household cats and many more will be looking their best at the Grand International Cat Show on the 9th and 10th December.  Two all breed judges from the World Cat Federation, Marina Zhuravleva and Elena Ignatova, will be at the show to pick the winners.  For the first time locally, the competition will feature a Golden Cat prize... Читать дальше...

Ruben Abela, structural projects manager at Heritage Malta, tells Ronald Cassar about a new initiative to promote Għar Dalam as a prime historical cave after it was declared a Natura 2000 site. Heritage Malta has embarked on a plan to increase public awareness and appreciation of Għar Dalam and its environs after the cave was declared a Natura 2000 site. One of the first initiatives is a community outreach project. The agency is inviting the public to participate in the project by coming forward with stories... Читать дальше...

The Police Force has still not set up an internal audit and investigations unit despite a recommendation made by the Auditor General four years ago. An exercise conducted earlier this year to establish whether the force had made any progress following an audit on police emoluments in 2013 discovered that, although certain minor changes were introduced, the most crucial control aspect, the appointment of an internal auditor, did not happen. The National Audit Office flagged other shortcomings, including... Читать дальше...

Akkwarellisti, an informal group of watercolour artists, will stage their third annual exhibition from tomorrow to December 3 at the Ministry for the Elderly, Children’s Rights and Social Solidarity, Valletta. The participating artists are Fabiola Agius Anastasi, George Apap, John Caruana, Godwin Cassar, Grace Cassar, Michael Gauci, Lino Magro and Madeleine Vella Satariano. The exhibition, entitled Brushes, is curated by Joe Hamilton and comprises a varied collection of landscapes, portraits, buildings... Читать дальше...

Partit Demokratiku has called for the use of medical cannabis to be speeded up, saying that recreational use was a different issue which should not hold up the former. It said it was of the firm opinion that legislation that enables patient access to Cannabis for Therapeutic Purposes (CTP) is long overdue. Although further research is necessary, there is ample evidence to support the claims that CTP has the potential to alleviate pain and suffering in many patients affected by a wide range of ailments. Читать дальше...

Older women with cataracts who get surgery to treat the eye problem may be less likely to die prematurely than those who don’t get the operations, a recent US study suggests. Researchers examined data on 74,044 women with cataracts, including 41,735 who underwent cataract surgery. Compared to women who didn’t get operations, those who did were 60% less likely to die from all causes during the study period. “The results of this study suggest that cataract surgery may have benefits beyond improving vision even in patients who are elderly or sick... Читать дальше...

Tesla Inc upstaged its own debut of an electric heavy duty truck on Thursday when a red Roadster pulled out of the big rig's trailer and chief executive Elon Musk said the new $200,000 sports car would be the fastest production car ever. The showmanship wowed the crowd although some analysts’ heads started throbbing at the variety of new projects launched as the company is struggling to produce the more affordable sedan upon which its future depends. As the presentation appeared to end, the Tesla Semi opened its trailer... Читать дальше...