Новости за 15.05.2016

The Maltese love a good slice of pizza but are not willing to learn how to make it the proper Italian way, says a Sicilian pizzaiolo who has set up a school in Malta to pass on the tricks of the trade. Having grown up in Sicily before moving to Malta 10 years ago, pizza maker Angelo Paolini was constantly surrounded by relatives punching flour into pizza dough before throwing it up in air. “Every member of my family made pizza, my father, my grandfather, even my brother. They selected the best ingredients... Читать дальше...

Chelsea 1 Leicester City 1 Leicester City's Premier League winners were given a guard of honour by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and then ended their glory season with a late equaliser from Danny Drinkwater in a 1-1 draw with the outgoing champions. The home team, their fans and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich applauded Leicester on to the field and there was a particularly fond reception for their former manager Claudio Ranieri, who was given a special presentation before the game. Chelsea had looked... Читать дальше...

Olivier Giroud scored a hat-trick as Arsenal overwhelmed relegated Aston Villa 4-0 today to pip their arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur to second place in the Premier League table. French striker Giroud put Arsenal ahead after five minutes with a neat header from Nacho Monreal's cross and the home team dominated possession. News of Newcastle's third goal against Spurs caused a huge cheer at the Emirates Stadium and Giroud added Arsenal's second goal 12 minutes from time before completing his hat-trick with a fine left-footed finish. Читать дальше...

A British former priest wanted for child sex abuse lived as a historian in Kosovo, was treated to cakes by his neighbours and almost died in a freak accident a year ago, local people told Reuters. Lawrence Soper was arrested on Wednesday in the town of Peja following an international arrest warrant. Soper is accused of sex offences while he was a teacher in the 1970s and 1980s in Britain. British media said the former abbot from Ealing, west London, now in his 70s, had jumped bail in 2011 and a European warrant was subsequently issued. Читать дальше...

Mario Zaffarese, 51, was granted bail today after pleading not guilty to having grievously injured a neighbour in a brawl in Zebbug yesterday. he was taken to court this afternoon. The incident happened at 8.45am during an argument over a parking space. The victim, John Tanti, suffered a broken arm, three broken ribs and facial injuries. The court heard Mr Zaffarese's lawyer, Franco Debono, argue that Mr Tanti had threatened to slash the tyres of the car belonging to Mr Zaffarese's daughter. Dr Debono... Читать дальше...

The English Premier League game between Manchester United and Bournemouth was abandoned this afternoon after two stands at Old Trafford were evacuated before kickoff, Sky News and the BBC reported. Police said they were dealing with a suspect package found at the ground, the broadcasters said.

Roped in as a star candidate for Joseph Muscat’s Labour movement, top criminal lawyer Manuel Mallia’s fall from grace came in December 2014 after a shooting incident involving his gung-ho driver. He was sacked after refusing to resign as home affairs minister. But his star shone again 18 months later when the Prime Minister appointed him Competitiveness Minister. He speaks to Ariadne Massa about his ‘rehabilitation’. Why did you accept to come back? First of all I didn’t immediately accept. In other words... Читать дальше...

Max Verstappen, 18, became Formula One's youngest ever race winner today when he held off Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen to win the Spanish grand prix in his debut race for Red Bull Racing. It was a dramatic end to a race which also started dramatically when Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton collided on the first lap after the German passed pole sitter Hamilton. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel came in third and Red Bull's Ricciardo held on to fourth despite a puncture two laps from the end. Bottas drove his Williams to a distant fifth. Читать дальше...

Malta finished third in the Eurovision semi-final last Tuesday before stumbling to yesterday's disappointing 12th result in the Grand Final, tied with the Netherlands. Ira Losco finished behind pre-competition favourites Russia and Armenia in the semi-final, from which 10 countries qualified. Russia went on to finish third in the final while Armenia finished seventh.   In the semi-final, the singer obtained 209 points in total. As in the final, Malta was a hit with the jury and managed 155 points, the highest tally in the semi-final. Читать дальше...

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said today that three years after having taken over as PN leader, he was promising a different style of government based on honesty from which everyone would benefit. Addressing the final session of the PN general council meeting, Dr Busuttil reflected on his decision three years ago to become PN leader, saying it had been a difficult decision because, contrary to somebody else, when he took over, the PN was at a low ebb rather than having lost the election by a few hundred votes. Читать дальше...

Work has started on converting the BWSC power plant to use gas instead of heavy fuel oil, the prime minister said today. Thanking minister Konrad Mizzi and the Enemalta management, Joseph Muscat said that half of the BWSC power station was stopped last week and the heavy fuel oil infrastructure started being dismantled to be replaced by gas-firing equipment. He said the gas storage tanker would arrive in the coming months for use in the first phase of the project until, in a few years' time, it is replaced by a gas pipeline from Sicily. Читать дальше...

The Seabank Group is selling high-end residential apartments in two towers planned on the former ITS site in St George’s Bay – on land still owned by the public and where residential development is not permitted by planning laws. The group, owned by Silvio Debono of Seabank Hotel in Mellieħa, is accepting deposits for the luxury apartments, one prospective customer told this newspaper. Plans being shown to potential clients by Remax, the real estate agency, show one tower of 29 floors and another of 23. Читать дальше...

Bank of Valletta's Cards systems are down this morning because of a technical issue, the bank said. The issue affects point of sale systems, e-commerce and the ATM network. The bank said it is working towards rectifying the matter in the shortest possible time.

Manuel Mallia was offered the job at the European Court of Auditors before former Labour deputy leader Toni Abela was nominated but he turned it down. The offer came three months before the former home affairs minister, who was sacked by the Prime Minister over his driver’s gung-ho shooting incident in November 2014, was appointed Competitiveness Minister. “The post was offered to me first and I immediately turned it down,” he said in an interview. The top criminal lawyer admitted he had initially... Читать дальше...

Boris Johnson is at the centre of a political storm after he compared European Union efforts to build a superstate to Hitler's attempt to dominate the continent. While the former London mayor acknowledged the EU was using "different methods" to the Nazis, his incendiary comparison to the Third Reich drew a furious response from Remain campaigners. Mr Johnson - seen as the de facto leader of the UK's Leave campaign - said the past 2,000 years of European history had been dominated by doomed attempts... Читать дальше...

Minister Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri wanted to avoid informing Maltese banks about their New Zealand trusts, new evidence in the Panama Papers shows. E-mail exchanges between Nexia BT’s senior partner Karl Cini and Mossack Fonseca New Zealand show that two bank reference letters were being requested in order to set up the trusts for Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri. Mr Cini balked at this and asked Mossack Fonseca if there was any way to get around it. “It is not common... Читать дальше...

The following are the top stories in the Maltese newspapers. The Sunday Times of Malta reports that The Seabank Group is selling high-end residential apartments in two towers planned on the former ITS site in St George’s Bay – on land still owned by the public and where residential development is not permitted by planning laws. The newspaper also reports that Manuel Mallia was offered the job at the European Court of Auditors before former Labour deputy leader Toni Abela was nominated. MaltaToday... Читать дальше...

At least three people are dead and dozens were wounded in a mass brawl at a cemetery in Moscow that witnesses said was sparked by rivalry between ethnic groups battling for control of the burial service business. About 200 people, some armed with guns and other weapons, took part in the clashes at the vast Khovanskoye cemetery in southwest Moscow and more than 90 people were detained after riot police broke up the brawl, police and witnesses said. Moscow's city health department said three people were killed and 23 were hospitalised... Читать дальше...

Legendary classic rock band Uriah Heep will be setting Valletta's Grand Harbour alight this coming July.  The band, who made it big with classic tracks such as Easy Livin', Sunrise and The Wizard, will be playing a concert at Ta' Liesse.  With a back catalogue that has sold over 40 million records and comparisons to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, the event will be an undoubted highlight in the local rock scene calendar.  The band have been touring for over four decades but show no signs of slowing down. Читать дальше...

Ira Losco finished 12th in the Eurovision Song Contest last night, as Ukraine emerged victorious on the night, stealing victory right at the last from Australia who had led for most of the night. Malta’s entry Walk on Water obtained 153 points on the night, following a characteristically strong and confident performance by Losco. The song performed well in the jury vote, earning 137 points and ranking fourth overall. The country, however, faltered in the televote, garnering just 16 points and tumbling to 12th place. Читать дальше...

Fashion designer and artist Saz Mifsud merges the frailty and ephemerality of a beautiful flower with the long-lasting permanence of a fashion print in her latest collection, Pollen’s Poetry, being launched today. The exhibition is Saz’s first at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Malta. On exhibit is her new collection of luxury silk scarves in various hues and sizes. The unique designs were created by means of the artist’s idiosyncratic combination of her own photo-graphy and digital manipulation.... Читать дальше...

The welcoming ambience of the church of Santa Marija ta’ Bir Miftuħ in Gudja (in the vicinity of the airport), with its medieval architecture and frescoes and perfect acoustics, provides a truly unique setting for the concerts of the 20th edition of the Bir Miftuħ International Music Festival by Din l-Art Ħelwa. The first concert, a classical accordion recital by Pietro Roffi, will be held on May 21 at 8pm. The concert, held under the patronage of the Embassy of Italy and with the support of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura... Читать дальше...

On the last evening but one of this year’s Gaulitana Festival, which also happened to be in its 10th edition, the festival very justly marked the second centenary of the premiere of Rossini’s great masterpiece The Barber of Seville. What a bubbly event it was with the Aurora Opera House almost full for this event. There was much to recommend this production, which was directed by Enrico Castiglione who was also the set designer, and with a frequently effervescent Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (leader... Читать дальше...

Putting on the International Spring Orchestra Festival for the 10th consecutive year must be a feather in the cap for its artistic director Karl Fiorini, who also happens to be one of Malta’s well-known composers of his generation. Space does not permit me to mention all events because in any case I was only able to attend three of the many concerts and recitals beginning with the second night, at the Manoel. This was the European Union Chamber Orchestra led by Hans-Peter Hofmann who launched into a crisp and fresh-sounding Simple Symphony, Op.

The highlight of the closing concert of the International Spring Orchestra Festival at the Mediterranean Conference Centre was the world premiere of Karl Fiorini’s de dioses y de perros (of gods and dogs) for soprano, chorus and large orchestra, completed earlier this year. Living in Paris, Fiorini studied with Charles Camilleri and Joseph Vella, and then in London with Diana Burrell at the Guildhall and Michael Zev Gordon at the Royal College of Music. Befitting his formative years under Camilleri... Читать дальше...