Новости за 13.05.2016

The MSE Share Index closed in the black today for the third consecutive trading session as it reached a five-day high of 4,563.341 points (+0.03 per cent). Trading activity was spread across twelve equities with five registering gains, another six shares ended in negative territory whilst only 6pm Holdings finished unchanged. Despite the broad activity, total value of equities traded was very low with only €217,000 worth of shares changing hands. Week-on-week, the MSE Share Index closed minimally... Читать дальше...

One in three diners was foreign last winter, a new survey has concluded. The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association today unveiled the results of its 2015-2016 Restaurant Performance review, which found overall growth in the sector.Valletta had the highest portion of foreign diners with 44 per cent being from overseas. Conducted among 64 outlets by Deloitte, the survey found that 55 per cent of industry players reported revenue growth. Around a third reported losses with the rest reporting no major changes.Overall... Читать дальше...

A prison warder who posted a comment online saying he hoped refugees were burning inside a refugee shelter has been acquitted of inciting racial hatred because the court’s hands were tied by an outdated law.In his judgment, Magistrate Aaron Bugeja called upon legislators to expand the law’s definition to encapsulate inciting racial hatred against people overseas.Vincent Debono was charged with misuse of electronic equipment and with using abusive and insulting language aimed at inciting racial hatred.The case dates to October 2015... Читать дальше...

Environment minister Jose Herrera today hit out at the “amateurish” pruning of 60 olive trees around the University track.Dr Herrera called it shameful that such an incident was allowed to happen.He said he had asked the environment and resources authority to investigate the incident and establish if there are regulatory shortcomings that needs fine-tuning.“Similar incidents have occurred in the past and it seems that we have not learnt from them,” Dr Herrera said. He noted that the university had... Читать дальше...

One of Malta's largest catering firms is to invest €16 million in a new factory in Bulebel.  James Caterers' The Food Factory will feature over 2,000 solar panels and a rainwater well with a capacity of 150,000 litres. Once completed, the plant will allow the firm to add employees to its existing workforce of 1,800 and allow it to go beyond the 10,000 meals it already produces every day.  Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who visited the ongoing works, said the development reflected growth in the hospitality sector. Читать дальше...

Two heavy drug users staged a robbery and purposefully let themselves be caught in a desperate attempt to fast track their way into a drug rehabilitation programme. The tragic situation unfolded before Magistrate Gabriella Vella this morning as Alan Caruana, 36, and Ruth Borda, 33, pleaded not guilty with making off with a Peugeot 406 parked in Marsascala containing a laptop, smartphone and camera. They were also charged with being repeat offenders. Prosecuting officer Josric Mifsud told the court that the pair fully cooperated with the police.

A man from Sierra Leone has been granted bail after being charged with possessing and trafficking 16 grams of cannabis resin. Prosecuting officer Maurice Curmi told the court that Awal Mohammed, 37, was arrested after the police were tipped off that someone was selling drugs in a bar in Triq il-Hgejjeg, St Paul’s Bay. The accused was arrested after he was seen throwing a cigarette packet onto a pool table when the police entered the bar. That packet was found to contain 17 individually wrapped sticks of cannabis resin... Читать дальше...

Unifaun Theatre has launched its first crowdfunding project to create a new multi-discipline arts production for Malta. The company has adopted a new strategy to finance its next project, a project called Collapse, which will be a collaboration between local artists of different disciplines and their colleagues from California. “We are experimenting with this new idea to keep up with modern ways of making our work viable," Unifaun artistic director Adrian Buckle said.   Through www.zaar.com.mt, Unifaun... Читать дальше...

4.38pm Updated with Tourism Ministry statement A new “tourism tax” should be postponed until after the busy summer period, tourism spokesman Antoine Borg said today. Addressing a press conference an hour before tourism industry leaders meet for a conference on the sector’s performance, Dr Borg said the new 50c nightly eco levy should be postponed until operators developed systems to properly collect and manage it. Announced in the last Budget, the levy was originally meant to come into effect last... Читать дальше...

Hanging an alligator foot from a dashboard is apparently not a good luck charm. A Florida driver learned that the hard way when he was stopped in a Palm Beach County wildlife management area by two Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers who were checking for permits. The commission said in a news release that the officers noticed alligator parts scattered throughout the truck, including a foot sticking out of the dashboard. After first denying it, the driver admitted that he had killed... Читать дальше...

Salvino Busuttil, a former director-general of the Foundation of International Studies, passed away yesterday, aged 80. An economist and philosopher, Prof. Busuttil served as director of the Malta Development Corporation and as dean of the faculty of acts. He held various positions at Unesco, was vice-president of the Mediterranean Centre for Human Rights and for several years chairman of the Malta Council for Economic Development and of the Valletta Rehabilitation Project.

A top commander of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group has been killed in Syria. Mustafa Badreddine, who was supervising Hezbollah's military operations in Syria, died in an explosion in Damascus, a major blow to the Shiite group which has played a significant role in the conflict next door. Badreddine, 55, had been the mastermind of the group's involvement in Syria's civil war since Hezbollah fighters joined the battle on the side of Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces against those trying to remove him from power... Читать дальше...

Skipping meals in order to save calories to consume more alcohol – a pattern of behaviour called drunkorexia – is becoming worryingly popular Pasta or pinot grigio? A healthy meal or a half pint? As the weekend arrives, these are the questions considered by a drunkorexic – someone who skips meals so they can binge drink without putting on weight. The preferred option is usually the liquid one. Drunkorexia is a phenomenon which can be traced back to the cocktail bars of New York in the 1960s. A recent... Читать дальше...

A team of Pizza Hut employees have set a new Guinness World Record for the highest altitude pizza delivery by land. Professional guides led the team to the top of 5,894m Mount Kilimanjaro, where slices of pepperoni pizza were passed around to celebrate the chain's new store in Tanzania. With its entry into the African country, Pizza Hut is now represented in 100 countries around the world. The company is a division of Yum Brands Inc, which is based in Louisville, Kentucky.

The threat was spelt out in no uncertain terms: “If U dont publish my comment I will sew you (sic)”…  The reader, let’s call him Joe Bloggs, took umbrage at Times of Malta’s online moderator for deleting two comments he had posted in reaction to a story. The reason for the red light was simple: the content was libellous, full of vitriol... and was signed off by, yep, a Walt Disney cartoon character. Welcome to the world of an online moderator, a chore recently described as the “worst job in the world”... Читать дальше...

Transport Malta is being sued for damages after the owners of a Kappara villa argued that the construction of the flyover at the town's junction would drastically reduce their property's value. John and Isabelle Azzopardi, who own a fully detached villa in Triq l-Alwett, and who have been living there for the past 11 years, have complained that the flyover will cause them to suffer "considerable damages". The villa comprises two plots which face and protrude over Regional Road. The plaintiffs have obtained technical advice stating that... Читать дальше...

The relocation of the ducks at il-Magħluq in Marsascala is still under way because of a group of waterfowl which is difficult to capture. The lagoon, a Natura 2000 site and home to endangered Maltese killifish is undergoing a conservation project, and the transfer of the waterfowl started in May of last year. One year on, there are still ducks – and a stench – on site. There have been repeated appeals to save the marshland, and the introduction of ducks at the wetland over the years contributed to the degradation of the protected site. Читать дальше...

The provisional squad list called up by national coach Pietro Ghedin for the two upcoming friendly matches against the Czech Republic on May 27 and Austria on May 31 follows: PROVISIONAL LIST        GOALKEEPERS Player Name Club Date of Birth Henry Bonello Valletta F.C. 09 June 1981 Justin Haber Hibernians F.C. 13 October 1988             DEFENDERS Player Name Club Date of Birth Andre Agius Hibernians F.C. (MLT) 12 August 1986 Cain Attard Birkirkara F.C. (MLT) 10 September... Читать дальше...

Lately, emerging market investors were surely following with certain detail the ongoing political saga which has pushed the largest emerging market economy in dire straits. The political impeachment put forward against Rousseff, Brazil’s current President, for breaking budget laws led to huge uncertainties from political point of view. From an investor’s perspective, the market reacted positively on the view that the removal of Rousseff could trigger a change of management style and possibly a turnaround in the current sluggish economy. Читать дальше...

A hooded man armed with a knife entered a grocery shop in St Julian's early today and made off with the cash register after pushing the 20-year-old employee aside, the police said. No one was injured in the hold up in Triq San Ġorġ at 5.45am. The police went on site after they were informed that a man was seen running with a cash register. Preliminary investigations show the man grabbing the register before rushing out.

Recent released photomontages visualise for the first time the impact of the proposed 38-storey Town Square tower on the Sliema skyline. Last June, the tower was included in the project for the redevelopment of the old Union Club site as part of the application which has been pending with the Planning Authority since 2005. PA records show that over 300 representations against the proposal were submitted to the authority since the tower proposal was made public last summer. The proposal includes excavation of the site... Читать дальше...

Ira Losco will perform close to the end of the Eurovision Song Grand Final on Saturday, typically considered an advantageous position as the song will still be fresh in voters' minds.  Malta will perform 22nd out of 26 countries in the final, having been consistently ranked within the top eight songs by bookmakers. Losco also performed in the very last position during the first semi-final on Tuesday, from which she qualified along with 10 other countries. Competition favourites Russia will perform... Читать дальше...

A group of actors performed a song from the hit musical "Oliver" to mock British Prime Minister David Cameron, outside the venue of an anti-corruption summit in London yesterday. The group sang "Pick a Pocket or Two" from the musical, based on Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. "In this life one thing counts. In the bank, large amounts. I am afraid these don't grow on trees," they sang in chorus. "Why should we break our backs, stupidly paying tax," the actors sang, as they waved wads of currency notes... Читать дальше...

The owner of a family car swallowed up by a sinkhole said he is "thankful" his family were not hurt in the "crazy" incident. The blue seven-seater Vauxhall Zafira fell into the large crater which opened up on Woodland Terrace in Greenwich, south London, in the early hours of yesterday morning, forcing roads to be shut off and bus routes diverted. Ghazi Hassan told the Press Association: "In life you have good days and bad days. This morning wasn't a good day. "It's just a car, it's insured so someone will come and pull it. Читать дальше...

I am writing this under its title in the full knowledge that I will be accused of treason and assorted other crimes against the state, including lese majeste'. Frankly, m'dear, I don't give a damn, because it is necessary for the truth to be told, in clear and unequivocal terms Premier Joseph Muscat has just addressed a bunch of his colleagues from a bunch of countries, some upright and some so bent that they can contemplate their own navels without having to use a mirror. The subject was the Panama Papers scandal that has rocked the world... Читать дальше...