Новости за 06.11.2021

The Nationalist Party has put government MPs on notice with a judicial protest claiming a budget vote in favour of giving Steward Healthcare €23 million more will make them “complicit in a crime”. Addressing a press conference side-by-side, PN leader Bernard Grech and his predecessor Adrian Delia said the hospitals' concession deal is “illegal”. Grech said the Opposition had again taken to the courts to file the judicial protest (see pdf link below) against Prime Minister Robert Abela. The PN... Читать дальше...

The MSE Equity Total Return Index suffered a week-on-week decline of 0.8 per cent to 7,912.252 points. As a result, on a year-to-date basis the local equities’ index is 6.6 per cent lower. Five out of the 19 traded equities headed north, with Bank of Valletta plc, Malta International Airport plc and Loqus Holdings plc among  the positive performers. On the flip side, eight equities fell in value, while six remained unchanged. In the banking industry, Bank of Valletta plc (BOV) advanced by 0.6... Читать дальше...

A worker was injured while using grass-cutting machinery in Luqa on Saturday. The Occupational Health and Safety Authority said in a statement it is investigating the incident. It did not give any details but said that, as the investigation is ongoing, it is not in a position to comment. The police have, so far, not been informed of the incident.

A poacher was caught trapping birds illegally 24 hours after he was convicted for the same offence, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) said on Saturday. In a statement, it said one of its teams on Friday filmed and reported a man who was trapping finches on an unregistered trapping site and without any permit at Miġra I-Ferħa. "The police responded very quickly, arrested the trapper and confiscated 20 live finches as well as a large set of clap nets,” it said. It added that its video... Читать дальше...

The Maltese basketball community woke up on Saturday to the news of the death of former player and coach Tony Camilleri. Camilleri was a popular figure in the local basketball arena and enjoyed spells with several clubs, including Ħamrun Liberty and Mellieħa, throughout his career both as a player and coach. Camilleri formed part of the Malta national team side that won an historic bronze medal at the 1985 Games of the Small States of Europe in San Marino. The Malta Basketball Association issued a statement to pay tribute to Camilleri. Читать дальше...

Real Sociedad, Real Madrid, Sevilla or Atletico Madrid could all sit top of La Liga on Monday but none of them yet look much like champions. Barcelona are ninth and concerned more about finishing in the league’s top four than first.  Xavi Hernandez, the expected replacement for Ronald Koeman as coach, will have a tough task putting the Catalans back into the title race.   Continue reading this article on Sports Desk, the new sports website by Times of Malta

The Church’s Environment Commission (KA) on Saturday criticised the government’s procrastination in reviewing local plans and abandoning the Paceville Masterplan and said that planning has also taken a back seat in the case of certain government agencies. In a critical statement, the commission expressed concern that the Planning Authority is failing to carry out its function of curbing unsustainable development on an ongoing basis. It asked why people are shocked at the uglification of Xlendi or the destruction of the ridges in Xagħra... Читать дальше...

Updated 12pm with restaurant owner's reaction A councillor and a restaurant owner filed a police report after both claimed they were assaulted by the other on Friday. Marsaxlokk local councillor Daniel Zerafa said he filed the report after he was assaulted by the owners of Ir-Rizzu Restaurant when he tried to stop him from setting up tables and chairs instead of his market stall. An argument ensued and the owner allegedly pushed Zerafa, who is a market hawker. “I held on to a nearby umbrella not... Читать дальше...

Face masks have made it harder for deaf children to understand their teachers in the classroom, so a Gozo NGO is installing systems that amplify the teacher’s voice across the whole classroom. The sound system is not expensive and is portable, meaning it can be moved from one classroom to another, and also benefits students with normal hearing, especially if they are soft-spoken, or are sitting at the back of the classroom. Face masks have made life more challenging for deaf people the world over. Читать дальше...

Freiburg face the acid test of their unbeaten record in the Bundesliga on Saturday at league leaders Bayern Munich, where they have never won in Germany’s top flight. Third-placed Freiburg, from Germany’s picturesque Black Forest, are the only Bundesliga club still boasting an undefeated run after eleven rounds. “We go into every game with the feeling that we can win – even in Munich, we won’t be thinking ‘the main thing is not to concede many goals'”, Freiburg defender Lukas Kuebler told Kicker. Читать дальше...

At least eight people died and several were injured in a crush at the Astroworld music festival in the southern US state of Texas on Friday night, authorities said. Houston fire chief Samuel Pena said the incident began at around 9 pm when "the crowd began to compress towards the front of the stage". "That caused some panic and it started causing some injuries, people began to fall out, become unconscious and it created additional panic," Pena said at a press conference outside NRG Park. "We had... Читать дальше...

The work being done at the Marsa incinerator will get rid of the unbearable stench that is making people sick, Enviroment Minister Aaron Farrugia promised on Friday. “Improvements have already been registered and the issue will be solved,” Farrugia said, after Times of Malta on Thursday reported that the smell from exposed animal carcasses was making workers in the area vomit and a business’s foreign clients had to leave the nearby boating facility. A spokesperson for the environment ministry... Читать дальше...

Manchester United are relying on Cristiano Ronaldo to show Manchester City what they missed out on when they meet at Old Trafford on Saturday with both sides in need of the points. Ronaldo continued to dig United out of holes in the Champions League in midweek with a double in a 2-2 draw at Atalanta as he struck late to salvage points for the third time in four European games. The 36-year-old now has nine goals in 12 games since returning to the club that first made him a household name. Had things... Читать дальше...

HSBC Bank Malta has reaffirmed its commitment to become a net-zero organisation by 2030. Speaking during the ‘Financing a Green Transition’ session at the recent National Climate Change Conference, Michel Cordina, HSBC Malta’s executive director and head of business development, highlighted that the low-carbon transition is a strategic priority for the HSBC Group and that HSBC will be supplying up to US$1 trillion globally. These funds will be used to support customers to  transition to net zero... Читать дальше...

Emergency crews were scouring waters for a missing swimmer off Australia's west coast Saturday after reports of a shark attack, with witnesses telling local media two predators were involved. Western Australian police said they were called to Port Beach near Fremantle, about a 30-minute drive south of Perth, over reports of a shark attack on Saturday morning. "Water police are currently coordinating a marine search for a person believed to be missing in the area," police said in a statement, with officials yet to confirm further details. Читать дальше...

The Environment Planning Review Tribunal has revoked a permit for a massive 11-storey hotel in a narrow residential street in Sliema, sending the file back to the Planning Authority to consider a scaled-down proposal. The application for the 82-suite hotel in Howard Street had originally been recommended for refusal but was overturned at the hearing in January last year after developer Josef Dimech from J&J Holdings signed an agreement that the development in question will be used exclusively as a hotel. Читать дальше...