Новости за 14.12.2015

Malta granted 518 visas for health reasons to Libyan nationals between February and September this year, according to information given in Parliament by Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela. The visas included relatives of the patients. The minister told Claudette Buttigieg (PN) that one visa was granted to a Lebanese person, five from Syria, three from Morocco and one each to persons from The Philippines and from Ukraine.

Both sides of the House of Representatives agreed today that a motion on the transfer of properties to the Sadeen Group for the setting up of the 'American University of Malta' will be debated in plenary tomorrow. The debate starts at 6.30 and there is no time limit - the debate can continue past midnight, Opposition whip David Agius said.

PBS made pre-tax losses of €954,285 and €1,378,912 in the years ending in September of 2013 and 2014 and according to the latest management accounts, up to 31 March 2015, the loss had already reached €1,164,858, the National Audit Office reported in parliament today. Due to such losses, working capital has been deteriorating over the years,recording a negative amount of €757,022 on  30 September 2013, deteriorating to €2,851,188) by the end of the following financial year. Furthermore, the management... Читать дальше...

The Audit Office found blatant cases of fraud during an audit of a sample of applicants for social assistance. In a report to Parliament presented today, the Audit Office said there is a lack of sufficient verification of applications for assistance by the Department of Social Security (DSS). The applicant is bound to declare all the relevant details at application stage, including details of members within the same household, bank account details, property and vehicle ownership, and inform the Department of any changes thereafter. Читать дальше...

Investigations carried out by officials of the National Audit Office have found that no independent testing was made of concrete used for a Child Development Centre in Gozo. The National Audit Office said this evening that the tender for the building of the Child Development Centre specified that components and materials, including concrete, reinforced steel, franka stone and hollow concrete blocks, were tobe delivered on site in time to allow the Supervisor to proceed with their acceptance. The latter was also required to inspect... Читать дальше...

An audit at the Malta Council for Science and Technology revealed instances where payments to employees were either unauthorised, not properly supported by evidence or inaccurate, the National Audit office said today. Other shortcomings, particularly to inventory management, were also noted. Concerns with respect to the filing of documents led this Office to question the completeness of information made available during the audit. The Office said that on 3 June 2013, the then Permanent Secretary... Читать дальше...

The Audit Office said today that an audit of expenditure at the Office of the Prime Minister revealed instances of lack of adherence to the Public Procurement Regulations.  Shortcomings were also identified in the areas of inventory, general-use vehicles and compliance with fiscal obligations. Expenditure on the Restoration of Forts, Fortifications and Historical Places, included substantial variations to the original tender, some of which were approved retrospectively, as well as over-payments.... Читать дальше...

The Opposition this evening reiterated its appeal to the government to acknowledge and tackle problems which the manufacturing sector is facing. The shadow minister for finance, Mario de Marco, said that over the past two years, the value of industrial exports shrunk, the average wage of the manufacturing sector's employees decreased, and the contribution of manufacturing to GDP growth went into negative territory.   "By refusing to acknowledge the problem and to adopt a clear plan of action, the... Читать дальше...

A Syrian national who landed at the Sicilian port of Pozzallo on December 4 has been detained by police in Ragusa because he is suspected of being a terrorists linked to ISIS, Ansa news agency said this afternoon. Police found Isis related images on his mobile phone and a message saying God is great, but Isis is greater.

Kosovo's ongoing political crisis is again bringing tears to the eyes of government officials. As they have done a number of times in recent months, opposition lawmakers fired off tear gas canisters inside the parliamentary chamber in Pristina. They continue protesting EU-brokered agreements that grant neighboring Serbia greater control of ethnic Serbian enclaves inside Kosovo and demarcate the border with Montenegro. Kosovo broke away from Serbia in 1999 and declared independence in 2008. For months... Читать дальше...

A prosecuting officer told a court today that he decided to arraign a 29-year-old man from Senglea for threatening his former partner after she had filed over 10 domestic violence reports in a year. During the sitting, it emerged that police inspector, Daryl Borg, had received reports from both ends of the warring parties.He told Magistrate Monica Vella that the former couple had two children, adding that the accused had threatened to run her over with his car."Over 10 reports have been filed. I... Читать дальше...

The government’s consultation process on the Maltese language is not transparent, a number of organisations have charged, also expressing concern that the recent moves will weaken the language. “We are not objecting to the Education Minister’s concern about the Maltese language but rather the way that he chose to express this concern. Instead of first doing so with the National Council for the Maltese Language, the council got to know of the minister’s concern from the media,” Olvin Vella told this... Читать дальше...

Works on The Strand and both sides of the Manoel Island bridge in Gzira contaminated the sea and the air and caused a traffic nightmare today. A trench was cut across the road from Gzira to the promenade near the bridge, whipping up a dust cloud for most of the day and causing a long traffic jam on the busy road as traffic was diverted to the opposite lane, with primitive signposting. In the morning, motorists driving from Tigne towards Ta' Xbiex were forced to switch to the bus lane with a solitary barricade alerting them at the last minute. Читать дальше...

A Serbian man was sentenced to nine months imprisonment today after admitting to stealing from a parked Land Rover in St Julian's on Friday evening. Aleksandar Stojanovic, 36, was charged with stealing a bag containing an iPhone, two Nokia mobile phones, a GPS and a small camera, totalling some €1,200. The court jailed him for nine months. Police inspector Trevor Micallef prosecuted. Leontine Calleja appeared as legal aid for the accused.Magistrate Monica Vella presided.

Two men were hospitalised this afternoon when a lifter tipped over in Triq it-Timu, Iklin. The incident happened at about 2.30. The two men, 48 and 29 from Siggiewi and Senglea respectively, were taken to hospital in ambulances. Their condition is being assessed.

Libyan Nizar El Gadi, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of his former wife Margaret Mifsud, was arraigned in court today for threatening police inspector Keith Arnaud and the victim's mother on the day the verdict was delivered.  Mr El Gadi was accompanied into the courtroom by an armed officer of the Special Response Team. He let out a deep sigh before he quietly seated himself before Magistrate Joe Mifsud.  Insp. Arnaud testified that after Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi had delivered the... Читать дальше...

The MSE Share Index trended lower for the third consecutive session with a further 0.2% drop to 4,475.627 points largely reflecting the 0.3% decline in the share price of Bank of Valletta plc to the €2.324 level across sixteen trades totalling just over 45,000 shares. The bank is scheduled to hold its Annual General Meeting next Thursday  during which shareholders will be asked to approve a number of resolutions including those related to the dividend and bonus share issue as well as the election of six directors from the seven nominees. Читать дальше...

Triple European champions Manchester United and their under-fire coach Louis van Gaal face a tricky task against little-known Midtjylland in the last 32 of the Europa League following Monday's draw. United, knocked out of the Champions League last week, meet the Danish league winners, an unsung club backed by owner Matthew Benham who are in their maiden European campaign and eliminated Southampton earlier in the competition. Midtjylland's pony-tailed chairman Rasmus Ankersen, appointed by former financier and professional gambler Benham... Читать дальше...

The Civil Court will decide in the coming weeks whether or not to intervene in plans to relocate Monti stalls to the top of Merchant Street. During a sitting held to consider Merchants' Street shop owners' requests for an injunction to stop the move, Mr Justice Joseph Zammit Mckeon said today that he would not exclude taking the full 30-day window to decide. The Merchant Street Business Community Association filed an application for the injunction last week and today's court proceedings saw some... Читать дальше...

Sevilla, knocked out of the Champions League last week, will launch their bid for a hat-trick of Europa League titles against Norwegian club Molde after the draw for the last 32 was made on Monday. Manchester United were paired with Danish team Midtjylland who take part in the competition for the first time. Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp will be back in Germany when the Reds face Augsburg. Former Champions League winners Borussia Dortmund and Porto also meet while exciting ties feature Olympique de Marseille against Athletic Bilbao... Читать дальше...

Champions Juventus have denied media reports that striker Paulo Dybala, who has scored eight Serie A goals this season including a late strike in the 3-1 victory over Fiorentina at the weekend, may leave the club. "We do not want to sell him neither this season nor in the following ones as we have invested a considerable sum on him," chief executive Giuseppe Marotta told Mediaset Premium television. "Dybala is a player who is growing and who has not yet shown his full potential." Juve's win on Sunday... Читать дальше...

The GWU has signed a new collective agreement for Bank of Valletta workers which, it said, ushers in a new wages structure which includes 'substantial' raises and removes injustices. The union said the new salaries are more in line with the rest of the financial services sector and new structures should help the bank improve its operations.

All a café or restaurant owner needs to do to turn his establishment into a strip club is fit in a pole and hire some dancers. According to industry leaders, who preferred to remain anonymous, the situation is so lax that owners can literally change their establishment into a gentlemen’s club without even having to inform the authorities. “There aren’t any rules and the way the industry is run reflects this,” one source, involved in the so-called gentlemen’s club sector, told the Times of Malta.... Читать дальше...

The annual rate of inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices stood at 1.3 per cent in November from 0.6 per cent in November last year. The NSO said the largest upward impacts on annual inflation were brought about by the Restaurants and Hotels Index (0.37 percentage points), the Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages Index (0.34 percentage points) and the Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Index (0.30 percentage points). These were mainly due to higher prices for restaurant services, vegetables and cigarettes respectively. Читать дальше...

Holders Barcelona will play Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League, 10 years after the sides faced each other in the final, following today's draw for the first knockout stage. Chelsea and Paris St Germain will play each other again after the French champions knocked out Jose Mourinho's team at the same stage last season. Another clash between big guns will feature former winners Juventus and Bayern Munich, while 10-times champions Real Madrid were drawn against AS Roma. PSV Eindhoven will take on Atletico Madrid... Читать дальше...