Новости за 07.12.2017

FC Copenhagen emerged from a three-way qualification fight to reach the Europa League knockout stages thanks to a 2-0 win over Sheriff. Goals from Pieros Sotiriou and Michael Luftner were enough to send the Danish capital outfit into the round of 32 at the expense of Sheriff, who had Jairo sent off. Lokomotiv Moscow joined Copenhagen as the other side to progress from Group F, the Russians prevailing 2-0 at Zlin thanks to second-half goals from Aleksei Miranchuk and Jefferson Farfan. Zoran Gajic's... Читать дальше...

Five firefighters in the UK spent an hour working to release a prankster who cemented his head inside a microwave. The 22-year-old and a group of friends mixed seven bags of Polyfilla before they poured it around his head, which was protected by a plastic bag inside the appliance. Their intention was to use the microwave as a mould, and by the time emergency services were at 1.49pm on Wednesday to the garage of a house in Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, the group had already been trying to free him for 90 minutes. Читать дальше...

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the Ballon d'Or for world player of the year on Thursday for a joint-record fifth time, going level with eternal rival and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi as the player to have won the prize the most times. The Real Madrid forward won the award, handed out by magazine France Football, for the second consecutive year having led his side to the La Liga title with 25 goals and a successive Champions League crown, netting 12 goals including two in the 4-1 win over Juventus in the final.

Maltese photographer Darrin Zammit Lupi was among the winners of the 10th edition of the Mediterranean Journalist Awards announced by Princess Rym Ali of Jordan at the European Parliament in Brussels. The event brought together the Mediterranean Journalist Awards Alumni, young leaders from across the Euro-Med region and civil society and international organization representatives. The Winners of the 10th Edition of the Mediterranean Journalist Awards were selected during a jury Members  composed of Princess Rym Ali... Читать дальше...

Premier League leaders Valletta have acquired the services of forward Albert Prosa until the 2018/2019 campaign, in an attempt to bolster their offensive department as the commitments in both league and FA Trophy start to become more intensive.  Prosa, 27, is an Estonian international having represented his nation seven times and was recently on the books of FC Tallinn, with whom he scored 27 goals in 33 games in the 2017 championship.  He was part of the team which faced Malta champions Hibernians... Читать дальше...

London will host seven games during Euro 2020 after UEFA handed the four fixtures scheduled for Brussels to Wembley on Thursday. UEFA decided to reallocate the three group-stage games and one last-16 game originally given to the Belgian capital because of delays in the project to build a new 60,000-capacity Eurostadium on the site of Heysel. Cardiff's Principality Stadium and Stockholm's Friends Arena - the venues for last season's finals of the Champions League and Europa League, respectively - had hoped to pick up Brussels' games. Читать дальше...

A man who three years ago had made the crossing from Sicily to Malta on board the catamaran carrying almost 1.5 kilos of cannabis grass in his luggage, was handed a seven-year jail term and a €23,000 fine by the Criminal Court on Thursday. Kenny Johnson, a 33-year old Nigerian tile layer with an Italian identity card,  pleaded guilty instead of undergoing a trial by jury. He was arrested shortly after making the trip from Pozzallo on November 26, 2014 when officers from the Drug Squad became suspicious... Читать дальше...

Roma forward Diego Perotti has renewed his contract until 2021, the club said on Thursday (www.asroma.com). The Argentina international, capped four times, joined Roma from Serie A rivals in 2016 on a half-year loan which was turned into a permanent move at the end of the season. "I have enjoyed some of the best moments of my career here, and I hope to experience many more," said Perotti on the club's website. The 29-year-old has made 11 league appearances this season, scoring three goals.

Cavaliers 101, Kings 95 LeBron James scored 32 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Sacramento Kings 101-95 on Wednesday to tie a team record for consecutive wins. The Cavs won their 13th straight, and they can set a franchise record Friday against the Indiana Pacers. Cleveland previously won 13 in a row in March 2009 and in January-February 2010. Kevin Love scored 18 points with 13 rebounds for the Cavs, while Jeff Green scored 17 off the bench. Kyle Korver added 15 points as Cleveland rallied... Читать дальше...

The MSE Equity Price Index erased some of Wednesday's gains as it slipped by 0.24% to 4,413.276 points on Thursday. Overall, the drops in the share prices of five equities, including BOV & HSBC, outweighed the gains in RS2 (+1.3%) and Lombard (+0.5%). Today’s trading session was also characterised by various company announcements issued by BOV, MIA, Farsons and Malta Properties. During this shortened week, the local equity index shed 0.23% Bank of Valletta plc moved back to the €1.75 level (-1.1%)... Читать дальше...

The Planning Authority has approved planning permission for a mixed use complex  for persons with disabilities in Naxxar. The complex will be sited next to the former trade fair grounds. It will consist of four fully detached blocks, surrounded by a large landscaped open area, and an underground car park. The complex will feature residences, retail outlets, office space, workshops, a hostel, a therapy centre and gym. Its purpose is to create a community hub, where persons with disability living on... Читать дальше...

Specific laws are required before mass-scale facial recognition CCTV is introduced in Malta, the Malta Information Technology Law Association insisted today. It was reacting to a report in MaltaToday that Paceville could be a test case for facial recognition CCTV before it is deployed nationwide. It was reported that a new government company called Safe City Malta is planning to present a proof of concept for Paceville through the deployment of a system utilising high-definition CCTV cameras with... Читать дальше...

The 9th edition of the Bethlehem f’Għajnsielem live crib will open on Sunday, and this year is once again expected to attract thousands of visitors before it closes on January 7. The 20,000 square metre site – until October of 2008, just an abandoned piece of land – is animated by over 150 actors. Bethlehem f'Ghajnsielem will also include re-enactments of the ‘trip’ from Nazareth to Bethlehem of Joseph and Mary as well as the Adoration of the Magi on the Epiphany (first Sunday after New Year's day)... Читать дальше...

The Office of the Prime Minister has hailed EU survey findings about Malta, which found positive levels of satisfaction across a number of sectors. The survey was conducted among all countries in 2016. The Maltese placed second, after respondents from Luxembourg, in expressing most satisfaction about the state of the economy.  A total of 72% of Maltese said they were optimistic about their future and 77% were optimistic about the future of their children. The Maltese were the least worried about... Читать дальше...

The Office of the Prime Minister has hailed EU survey findings about Malta. The survey was conducted among all countries in 2016. The Maltese came second, after respondents from Luxembourg, in expressing most satisfaction about the state of the economy.  72% of Maltese said they were optimistic about their future and 77% were optimistic about the future of their children. The Maltese were the least worried about losing their job in the whole of the EU with only 5% expressing concerns. The Eurofound... Читать дальше...

It lies some 300 kilometres away but Europe's largest volcano was visible from different parts of Malta on Thursday. This picture of snow-covered Mount Etna, towering over Sicily, was taken by Times of Malta photographer Jonathan Borg from Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq.

Amidthe controversy over the demotion of Villa Ignatius in Balluta, the Planning Authroity on Thursday said 25 properties which exhibit a neo-classical design have been scheduled in Sliema. The properties, which are in two clusters, have all been given a Grade 2 protection status. One cluster of 20 houses is located in the vicinity of St Patrick’s School, in Triq Dun Mikiel Rua, Triq Guze' Howard, Triq Poutiatin Tabone and Triq San Gwann Bosco. The other cluster, comprising of five properties is located in Triq il-Katidral. Читать дальше...

The Islamist group Hamas urged Palestinians on Thursday to abandon peace efforts and launch a new uprising against Israel in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as its capital. The Israeli military said it was reinforcing troops in the occupied West Bank, deploying several new army battalions and putting other forces on standby, describing the measures as part of its "readiness for possible developments". Protests so far have been scattered and largely non-violent.... Читать дальше...

President Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was a precious gift to the so-called Islamic State, according to the Imam. Relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was an injustice against the Palestinian people, the true original owners of the whole historic Palestine,he said. Mohammed El Sadi said in a statement that President Trump's act was one of defiance against 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world who believed that Jerusalem was as sacred as Mecca and against millions of Christians... Читать дальше...

A driver pulled over in La Conchita, California on Wednesday night to save a rabbit from harm amid intense flames from massive wildfires.  The fire erupted on Monday evening and has since burned more than 90,000 acres, destroyed more than 150 homes and forced the evacuation of 50,000 people from Ventura, about 50 miles (80 km) northwest on Los Angeles.

Malta International Airport achieved double digit growth in passenger movements last month for the 14th consecutive month. In a notice on the Malta Stock Exchange, the airport said it hosted 55,000 passengers more in November than it did in the same month in 2016, closing off the month with 405,724 movements. This translated into an increase of 15.8% over last year. This record number of passengers for November was observed in parallel with an increase of 18.1% in aircraft movements and a 19.2% improvement in seat capacity. Читать дальше...

The Maltese man currently facing drug trafficking charges has been granted bail following his arrest in October. Rudolph Said, a 35-year old Fgura resident, had been arrested together with two Sicilians from Catania, Angelo Penna, 60, and Cristoforo Paratore, 42, all three suspected of participating in a drug trafficking and money laundering racket. The illicit business had been uncovered after a surveillance operation in St Julian’s which led members of the Drug Squad to discover 530 kilogrammes... Читать дальше...

The fourth edition of the Malta International Organ Festival reaches its climax this evening with a grand finale. The programme concluding the three-week-long festival will feature works for solo organ by Bach and organ and orchestra pieces by Handel, Telemann and Mozart. The musicians chosen by artistic director Joseph Lia are organist Marco D’Avola from Sicily, Brendan Ball from the UK as the solo trumpet in Telemann’s Concerto for Trumpet, Continuo and Orchestra, and Riccardo Bianchi from Italy... Читать дальше...

The promise of sale agreement for the Sliema Old Exchange has been delayed, according to Malta Properties Company. In February, Malta Properties announced that SLM Property Company Ltd and Toncam Properties Ltd had entered into a promise of sale agreement for the complex. A company announcement said on Thursday that the promise of sale agreement had been extened to August 1, although no reason was given. Upon the final deed of sale, the property will no longer form part of the property portfolio... Читать дальше...

Allowing babies to feed themselves solid foods rather than spoon-feeding them does not increase the risk of choking, research has found. A study by Swansea University found no difference in how often babies choked when they fed themselves from as young as six months old. More than 1,000 mothers with a baby aged between four and 12 months took part in the research. They reported how they gave their baby solid foods, what foods they gave them and whether their baby had ever choked. Overall, there was... Читать дальше...