Новости за 01.02.2016

A court has ordered a father and son to pay for a supercar they purchased and which was crashed on the day of purchase, before the transfer paperwork had been filed.  The case was filed in 2010 by Paul Camenzuli, demanding payment for the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 he had sold to Duncan Delia and his son Charles. The car had been delivered to the purchasers’ house and parked in their garage in Qrendi. Charles Delia took the car for a drive on the same day and crashed it, causing extensive damage.... Читать дальше...

The World Health Organization has declared the mosquito-borne Zika virus to be an international public health emergency as the disease linked to thousands of suspected cases of birth defects in Brazil spreads rapidly. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan told reporters on Monday an international coordinated response was needed to improve detection and speed work on a vaccine and better diagnostics, although curbs on travel or trade were not necessary. The emergency designation was recommended by a... Читать дальше...

A substantial part of the former waste dump at il-Qortini, Xaghra, Gozo, has been transferred to Enemalta which willl be installing photovoltaic (PV) panels there, Environment Minister Leo Brincat said in reply to a parliamentary question. Gozo shadow minister Chris Said had asked why work on a family park planned on the site had been discontinued. He pointed out that the site was closed seven years ago.   Speaking later on the adjournment, Dr Said said the former government had been on its way to develop the family park. Читать дальше...

27,425 foreigners are working in Malta - a figure which is way above the population of Malta's largest town - Birkirkara. Figures given in parliament today show that 19,087 citizens of the European union and 8,338 from other countries are working in Malta, according to the latest figures of the Employment and Training Corporation. The data was given by Education and Employment Minister Evarist Bartolo in reply to a question by Labour MP Etienne Grech. (Birkirkara's population is  23,000, according... Читать дальше...

Just under €120 million have been deposited with Identity Malta so far as proceeds from the individual Investor Programme (the passport scheme) Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said in reply to a parliamentary question this evening. Replying to a question by Nationalist MP Claudio Grech, the minister said  the contributions deposited with Identity Malta in the IIP account was €119,875,100.00.  Revenue this year is projected to be €80m. He said that given the PN's opposition to the scheme, Malta would have lost this revenue... Читать дальше...

935 students in post-secondary education who are repeating a year are being given a stipend by the government. Education Minister Evarist Bartolo told Luciano Busuttil (PL) in reply to a parliamentary question today that outlay on these stipends so far this year was €147,658. Some students were also eligible for supplementary assistance, the minister said. The annual outlay on students who are repeating a year is projected to be €738,000.

The Maltese government is to commission a study on the impact on the Maltese economy of the Anti-Tax Avoidance Package proposed by the European Commission last week, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna told Parliament this evening. He regretted that the Commission had itself not carried out an impact assessment. Some of the proposals could be accepted, he said, but one needed to see flexibility in some other measures. Some proposals  went beyond what was needed to tackle tax avoidance. However it was too early to adopt a position. Читать дальше...

Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne said in parliament this evening that the flu vaccine made available months ago to the general public covered the current variant of the flu found in the community and the prisons, and people could still call at health centres to be vaccinated. Replying to questions by Nationalist MP Claudette Buttigieg, he said 80,000 vaccines were imported and made available to everyone for free.  64,000 had been used so far. Anyone could call at health centres to take his jab. Читать дальше...

An electric, driverless shuttle bus will take to the Dutch public streets on Thursday, taking six passengers along a 200 metre (yard) stretch of road. The WePod, one of a fleet to be rolled out in coming years, will ride back and forth in the central Dutch agricultural town of Wageningen. Several trials of so-called autonomous vehicles are under way in the automotive and technology industries, from Tesla's Model S sedan, which can change lanes with minimal driver input, to plans by Google and Daimler to introduce driverless vehicles. Читать дальше...

The public administration should adopt a “private sector mindset”, according to Opposition leader Simon Busuttil. Speaking during a meeting with the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU), Dr Busuttil called for enterprise to truly be considered the prime economic mover, with the government’s role limited to light regulation and ensuring fairness. During the meeting, the PN presented a policy document – An Economy for the People – laying out a vision for the economy “in which hard work pays... Читать дальше...

Fire-fighters of the Civil Protection Department this afternoon used their ladders to evacuate residents of a block of flats in Sta Lucija after a blaze developed in a fourth-floor apartment. The blaze was reported at about 5pm. A woman and four children who were in the flat which caught fire were hospitalised for treatment for smoke inhalation. Other people were treated on site.    Enemalta technicians were on site to disconnect electricity. The police advised motorists to avoid Luqa Road, Paola / Sta Lucia especially Xintill roundabout... Читать дальше...

Vienna Airport has bought Canadian SNC Lavalin Group's indirect stake in Malta Airport for approximately €63 million. The deal will increase the Austrian airport operator's stake in Malta international Airport by 15.5 percentage points to more than 48 percent, the group said in a statement.  http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150825/local/vienna-airport-set-to-increase-mia-stake.581852

Two days ago, a Maltese board game about stealing diplomas from a blind rector during a graduation ceremony did not exist. Neither did a fully-fledged 3D game where players navigate blind through an ancient Aztec maze. Both experimental creations are products of this year’s Global Game Jam, a unique event where game designers, writers and artists are tasked with conceiving and developing a new game entirely from scratch in just 48 hours. As Malta’s fledgling game industry continues to grow, the worldwide event... Читать дальше...

"What did I do? I didn't do anything," asked Emilia Kamvisi, an 85-year-old grandmother from the Greek island of Lesbos, when she heard she'd been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Kamvisi's flash of fame came after she and two friends aged 89 and 85 were photographed bottlefeeding a Syrian baby last autumn, as they helped refugees who had survived the treacherous boat journey from Turkey. Four months later, she is among three people nominated for the Nobel prize to symbolically represent the "behaviour and attitude of Greece... Читать дальше...

A court has upheld a libel suit filed by former Malta Developers Association president Michael Falzon against GRTU president Paul Abela and former director general Vince Farrugia.   The case centred on a 2013 press release issued by the GRTU on the day that Mr Falzon testified in criminal proceedings against MDA vice president Sandro Chetcuti who was accused of beating up and attempting to kill Vince Farrugia.  Mr Chetcuti was found guilty of causing Mr Farrugia slight injuries. Mr Farrugia was irritated... Читать дальше...

The government is to host a national conference which will discuss the role of NGOs in the provision of healthcare. The Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Chris Fearne, said that while the government had a duty to provide an excellent level of healthcare to all, NGOs had an important role as well, such as advocacy and support groups. The conference, later this year, will discuss how the NGOs can work better in the health service. Dr Fearne made his comments during the presentation of a foetal ultrasound... Читать дальше...

Republican front-runner Donald Trump puts his precedent-shattering campaign to the test later today when Iowa voters begin the nationwide process of choosing a new U.S. president, as polls show a tight battle with Ted Cruz that could hinge on turnout and a large bloc of undecided voters. On the Democratic side, front-runner Hillary Clinton also faces a stiff challenge in Iowa from insurgent Bernie Sanders in the first contest in the state-by-state battle to pick candidates for the Nov. 8 election to succeed President Barack Obama. Читать дальше...

Njongo Priso is to continue his season with Sliema Wanderers after agreement was reached with with Premier League leaders Valletta over his transfer. The Cameroonian winger had been widely tipped to join a foreign club after rescinding his five-year contract with Valletta but his proposed move to Turkish side Samsunspor failed to materialise. Priso, who scored eight goals for Valletta in the Premier League this season, is now expected to sign a short-term deal with Sliema Wanderers who have concluded... Читать дальше...

A court has dismissed a libel suit filed by Birdlife against the hunting federation’s president Joe Perici Calascione, holding that the FKNK had a right to complain about an anti-hunting bias in booklets distributed to schoolchildren by Birdlife. Birdlife president Joseph Mangion and secretary Desiree Falzon had requested damages for a 2009 press release issued by the FKNK, titled ‘Birdlife Malta infiltrate Education Department’. “Birdlife is renowned for its anti-hunting lobby and more so for its... Читать дальше...

Water seepage has pushed back the public opening of the underground War Headquarters in Valletta. However, the authorities “are on the ball”, according to the foundation that looks after the complex of tunnels. Earlier this week, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna warned that irrigation of the Upper Barrakka Gardens, situated right above the tunnels, was causing extensive damage to the complex from where the defence for the Battle of Malta was coordinated. The tunnels were meant to have opened to the public last year. Читать дальше...

The US Embassy has invited Maltese youths between the ages of 16 and 18 to apply for the 2016 Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship. The Fellowship workshops will be held in the United States this summer. The program honours American statesman and diplomat Benjamin Franklin, whose life and career strengthened transatlantic cooperation. The purpose of the initiative is to foster relationships among young Europeans and Americans, to promote freedom globally and advance shared values. About 45... Читать дальше...

The European Union warned the UK that any breakthrough in talks on a better membership deal would have to be hard-won after senior officials were given an extra 24 hours to iron out differences. Prime Minister David Cameron and European Council President Donald Tusk left a dinner yesterday saying they had failed to reach a deal, and the two sides were sombre in their assessments of how the negotiation stood today. Eurosceptic British lawmakers said the divergence was being played up to make an eventual agreement seem like a triumph... Читать дальше...

Scientists have been given permission to genetically modify human embryos for the first time in the UK. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) regulator has approved a licence to use gene editing in research. Scientists, who are searching for clues to what happens in the first seven days after fertilisation and want to investigate miscarriage, will not be able to implant the embryos into women. A statement from the HFEA said: "Our Licence Committee has approved an application from... Читать дальше...

Snow, as well as presidential hopefuls, may storm across Iowa, but voters say bad weather will not keep them away from the crucial caucuses to choose a presidential candidate today.  Presidential hopefuls are storming across Iowa, making a final plea for support before tonight's caucuses. Soon, they'll be joined by a very different kind of storm, according to Kurt Kotenberg with the National Weather Service.  "Some areas will get up to a foot of snow." He said that the snow isn't expected to begin until late in the evening... Читать дальше...

Popular British television show "Dad's Army" gets a cinema reboot this week in a new comedy hoping to garner the same laughs the sitcom did nearly 40 years after it ended. The BBC show, running from 1968 to 1977, followed the antics of an incompetent Home Guard platoon in the fictional English town of Walmington-on-Sea during World War II. It is now a TV re-run stalwart In the new film, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Gambon, Bill Nighy and Toby Jones, the platoon is faced with a spy threat. Читать дальше...