Новости за 15.08.2018

Tough new rules on marine fuel are forcing shipowners to explore liquefied natural gas as a cleaner alternative, in a development which will be welcomed in Malta, where fumes from cruise liners in Grand Harbour are reaching toxic levels 10 times higher than the island’s most congested roads. From 2020, International Maritime Organization rules will ban ships from using fuels with a sulphur content above 0.5 percent, compared with 3.5 percent now, unless they are equipped to clean up sulphur emissions. Читать дальше...

Two white storks were shot out of the sky on Wednesday, raising to five the number of birds known to have been shot down since a flock of 18 arrived over Malta and Gozo last week. BirdLife Malta said the dead birds were found at Magħtab and a vet confirmed they had been shot. And there are fears that more birds may also have fallen victim, since only seven could be seen flying on Wednesday. Three protected white storks were shot down on Friday and a man was subsequently arraigned and accused of the crime. Читать дальше...

Two AFM patrol boats and a helicopter on Wednesday afternoon intercepted a small boat packed with migrants some two miles off Għar Hasan on the south-west coast of Malta. Informed sources said the boat was carrying approximately 28 people. Some could be seen on top of the boat's cabin.   The migrants were transferred onto one of the AFM vessels and the migrants' boat was then taken in tow, heading for the AFM maritime base at Hay Wharf. On Monday an AFM patrol boat rescued 114 migrants after coming... Читать дальше...

The Armed Forces of Malta have launched their second migrants rescue operation near Malta in a week after a boat was sighted off the south-west coast on Wednesday afternoon. Informed sources said the small boat, carrying approximately 28 people, was spotted about two miles off Għar Ħasan. A helicopter and two patrol boats have been deployed. On Monday an AFM patrol boat rescued 114 migrants after coming across their sinking dinghy some 53 miles south of Malta.  The operation is still ongoing.

Police have searched two addresses after a 29-year-old man drove into pedestrians and cyclists near Britain's Houses of Parliament on Tuesday. He's been named as Salih Khater - a British citizen of Sudanese origin. His actions are being treated as terrorism, although an exact motive is unclear. Police on Wednesday said that they are searching two addresses in central England. But that no further arrests have been made. Reports say the man who carried out the apparent attack was known to police, although not to intelligence agencies. Читать дальше...

A Dutch man, 19, died on Wednesday afternoon when he was hit by a jet ski in St George's Bay. The accident happened at about 3.30pm. The jet ski was being driven by another 19-year-old Dutch man. Both lived in Sliema. People who happened to be nearby helped the injured man to shore and gave first aid, but their efforts were to no avail and the man died on the scene. A magisterial inquiry has been appointed.  This was the second accidental fatality involving a Dutch man in as many months. Last month... Читать дальше...

A Dutch man, 19, died on Wednesday afternoon when he was hit by a jetski in St George's Bay. The accident happened at about 3.30pm. The jetski was being driven by another 19-year-old Dutch man. Both lived in Sliema. People who happened to be nearby helped the injured man to shore and gave first aid, but their efforts were to no avail and the man died on the scene. A magisterial inquiry has been appointed.  This was the second accidental fatality involving a Dutch man in as many months. Last month... Читать дальше...

After waiting for more than two years, the competition watchdog may finally rediscover its teeth and be in a position to impose fines, thanks to changes to the law, parts of which had been declared unconstitutional. Still, no time frames have been given on when the draft amendments, now open for public consultation, will be presented to Parliament. It is being proposed that the Competition and Consumer Appeals Tribunal will be abolished, and instead, decisions made by the regulator may be challenged before the Civil Court (Commercial Section). Читать дальше...

Two pet cats, both with new kittens, were poisoned within a week of each other in Baħrija, their owner says.Charmaine Vella, the cats’ owner, told Times of Malta the two cats were killed last Wednesday and Sunday. “They started drooling and shaking uncontrollably and eventually they stopped breathing,” she said, noting that these were usually signs of poisoning. “When they go outside, I have no control over where they go. I think someone is annoyed about it, but it doesn’t justify killing a cat.”Ms... Читать дальше...

Rescuers hunted for survivors among huge chunks of debris on Wednesday after a bridge collapse that killed 39, as furious government ministers rounded on the viaduct's operator, saying it should pay fines and compensation and lose its concession. The 50-year-old bridge, part of a toll motorway linking the port city of Genoa with southern France, collapsed during torrential rain on Tuesday, sending dozens of vehicles crashing onto a riverbed, a railway and two warehouses. Eye-witness Ivan, 37, evacuated... Читать дальше...

Welcome to the timesofmalta.com football transfer blog. With the World Cup coming to a close clubs will be stepping up their efforts to try and strengthen their squad ahead of the upcoming season. Stay with us to follow all the latest news. 1pm Sevilla midfielder Steven N’Zonzi has arrived in Rome ahead of his Roma medical this afternoon, according to Sky in Italy. N’Zonzi – who played for Stoke for three seasons before joining Sevilla in 2015 - has agreed a four-year deal with a salary in the... Читать дальше...

Men, women and plenty of children disembarked in Malta from the migrant rescue ship Aquarius on Wednesday afternoon, and the government announced a few hours later that Italy had agreed to join five other EU countries which have agreed to share them. The ship's arrival in Malta marked the end of a five-day saga which saw it denied entry by several Mediterranean states. Loud cheers from people aboard could be heard as the vessel made its way down the Grand Harbour to Senglea's Boilers Wharf, where... Читать дальше...

Men, women and plenty of children aboard the migrant rescue ship Aquarius reached Maltese shores on Wednesday afternoon, as they neared the end of a five-day saga which saw them denied entry by several Mediterranean states. Loud cheers from people aboard could be heard as the vessel made its way through the Grand Harbour and neared Senglea's Boilers Wharf, where it berthed across the creek from a luxury cruise ship. Police and Armed Forces of Malta personnel were on hand to oversee the disembarkation... Читать дальше...

American alligator Muja arrived at Belgrade Zoo on the eve of the Second World War and is believed to be the oldest of his kind in captivity, and still in good health with a hearty appetite for his age, his handlers said on Tuesday. Generations of Belgraders and tourists have come to watch Muja, and though he rarely moves around much, he is still agile at feeding time - when he munches on rats and quails. This is when his age shows, though, as he sometimes misses the target when he snaps at his food. Читать дальше...

The culinary and theatrical arts will become one in Teatru Malta’s latest production, a blend of a traditional dinner and contemporary performance at the Xwejni Salt Pans in Gozo. L-Ikla t-Tajba is described by the producers as an interactive take on the ultimate Maltese meal, featuring ingredients from our past, delicacies from the present and an unusual yet wonderful food experience for all audiences to enjoy. Under the direction of acclaimed Romanian director Nona Ciobanu, the show will be laced with Immanuel Mifsud’s poetry... Читать дальше...

Spazju Kreattiv is hosting Leanne Wijnsma’s audiovisual exhibition Subterranean Matter this week. The project – which involved the 3D scanning of the forgotten or once inaccessible underground spaces – has forged new connections with the Dutch province of Friesland. Through digitisation, these tunnels can now be accessed by the public and one can crawl through the 15th-century cisterns beneath Valletta’s Law Courts and the tunnel from Tytsjerk, as well as a solitary confinement cell in the Blokhuispoort, in Friesland. Читать дальше...

I'm an animal lover. I own two Persian cats which I sometimes treat like spoilt brats. I'm an advocate against any forms of animal cruelty. But when I see mass hysteria in reaction to incidents of animal cruelty (especially those spawned from fake or unreliable sources), dominating the social media and public discourse over stories of exploitation and human cruelty, you realise that not all is quite well in the state of Malta. Unless you’ve been too busy staring at the August sun, a story broke on... Читать дальше...

After five studio albums and worldwide success, the Swedish rock band are still at the top of their game. This performance was recorded at the Deichbrand festival in Germany on July 20th 2018.

A crowd of 20,000 people flocked to Ta’ Qali for the first day of the Summer Daze festival, where Rita Ora and Martin Garrix stole the show. Around 68 per cent of the partygoers were tourists, according to the Malta Tourism Authority, which organised the festival in collaboration with BBC Radio 1. Gavin Gulia, MTA executive chair, said that Malta was excelling as a festival destination, thanks to sound planning and clear objectives set by the authority and the Tourism Ministry. The second event... Читать дальше...

Police investigations into the illegal accommodation of 120 foreigners in a cow farm in the limits of Qormi might not result in anyone being arraigned, sources said on Tuesday. Planning Authority enforcement officers and the police on Monday closed off the farm that was found to be housing about 120 people. The sources told the Times of Malta that, apart from the fact that the issue was being handled by the planning watchdog, which had already sanctioned the building, the group of immigrants who... Читать дальше...

Children aged seven to 11 are being invited by Birdlife Malta to get up close and personal with Maltese wildlife next week. A Nature Week at Simar Nature Reserve, St Paul’s Bay, consisting of five indoor and outdoor sessions, will be held from August 20 to 24 from 8.30am to 12.30pm. The sessions will focus on the Maltese environment and wildlife, and offer participants an opportunity to discover the wild creatures and plants that may be seen at the Simar Nature Reserve during summer. The Nature Week... Читать дальше...

Emperor Akihito, in his last appearance as reigning monarch at an annual ceremony marking Japan's World War Two surrender, expressed "deep remorse" over the conflict, while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed never to repeat the horrors of war. Earlier on Wednesday, Abe sent a ritual offering to Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni Shrine for war dead but did not visit out of apparent consideration for ties with Seoul and Beijing. Past visits by Japanese leaders to Yasukuni have outraged China and South Korea... Читать дальше...

Updated 12.40pm with video Hundreds of motorcyclists roamed the island on Wednesday morning as they rode their bikes from Mġarr to Dingli for an annual charity ride in celebration of the Feast of Santa Marija. In its third edition, the charity ride is organised by the parish churches of the two villages, with all donations collected during the event going to the Dar tal-Providenza. In comments during the blessing of the motorbikes on the Mġarr church parvis, parish priest Mgr Kalċidon Vassallo said... Читать дальше...

Pay packages for the bosses of Britain’s 100 biggest listed firms rose 23 percent over the past year, fuelled by payouts for the CEOs of house builder Persimmon and industrial firm Melrose Industries, a survey showed on Wednesday. Excessive corporate pay has attracted public anger since the financial crisis and Prime Minister Theresa May has denounced the gap between the amounts paid to bosses and average workers as irrational and unhealthy. The survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and... Читать дальше...

Pyramid Suns and Super Sponge Trio will perform a concert at the Funky Monkey, Gżira, today at 8pm. Pyramid Suns will be playing prog rock and psychedelic elements with a hefty blues kick, while power trio Super Sponge, whose debut album will soon be released, will play sludgy riffs, funky blues and catchy grooves. Tickets will be on sale at the door.