Новости за 17.05.2016

Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford scored to lift Manchester United to a comfortable 3-1 win over Bournemouth this evening that secured fifth place in the Premier League table. The game was hastily rearranged after the match on Sunday was abandoned due to a bomb scare and the first half was very low key in front of a sparse Old Trafford crowd. The one moment of quality produced a fine goal, however, just before the interval when United's French forward Anthony Martial injected pace down the left and... Читать дальше...

Members of the cast and crew of Brazilian film Aquarius staged a protest in support of President Dilma Rousseff on the Cannes red carpet today. Brazil's Senate voted last Thursday to put leftist Rousseff on trial for breaking budget laws, automatically suspending her from office for up to 180 days as the trial takes place. Rousseff denies wrongdoing and says she is the victim of a coup. As they reached the top of the steps of the red carpet at the Palais des Festivals main building, director Kleber... Читать дальше...

Mexico's president today proposed allowing same sex marriage nationally, the latest in a series of progressive policies in a traditionally conservative country. The presidency said on Twitter that President Enrique Pena Nieto had "announced the signing of a reform initiative which includes the recognition of the right to get married without any form of discrimination." Same sex marriage is currently permitted in Mexico City, as well as in several states, including Coahuila, Quintana Roo, Jalisco, Nayarit, Chihuahua and Sonora. Читать дальше...

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the giraffe for the first time, uncovering DNA quirks that help explain how the tallest animals on earth developed their remarkably long necks. Being a giraffe is not easy. To pump blood two metres up from the chest to the brain calls for a turbo-charged heart and twice the blood pressure of other mammals. Giraffes also need special safety valves to let them bend down for a drink and raise their heads again without fainting. The animals' unique body configuration has long been a puzzle for biologists... Читать дальше...

Maltese tourists are less likely to use the internet to book flights and holiday accommodation than their European counterparts, new figures show.Two out of every three air trips within the European Union in 2014 were booked online, Eurostat figures have revealed. The statistics also revealed that more than 50 per cent of all accommodation reservations across the EU that year came from online bookings.But while 90 per cent of Finnish people use the internet to book their flights, in Malta a shade under 60 per cent do. Читать дальше...

Business tycoon, US presidential candidate and self-confessed bigmouth Donald Trump has every right to be “offensive and bigoted”, Harry Potter author JK Rowling has said.Speaking at Pen America’s annual gala in New York, Ms Rowling said she disagreed with a petition calling for Mr Trump to be barred from entering the UK. The petition racked up almost 400,000 signatures in 24 hours.“If my offended feelings can justify a travel ban on Donald Trump, I have no moral grounds on which to argue that those offended by feminism... Читать дальше...

Libyan military forces said today they had recaptured one of the main checkpoints south of the city of Misrata from Islamic State, reversing some of the gains the militant group made earlier this month. Three members of the armed forces were killed and 10 wounded in a mine explosion as they took control of the checkpoint at Abu Grain, said Mohamed al-Gasri, a spokesman for an operation room set up by Libya's U.N.-backed unity government. Islamic State fighters had overrun the Abu Grain checkpoint... Читать дальше...

Seventeen local councils failed to submit audited financial statements for 2015 in time, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici told parliament this evening.  Three local councils - Valletta, Ghaxaq and the Northern Region [Regjun Tramuntana] have missed the deadline to present audited financial statements for the past three years running.  Birgu, Birkirkara, Gharb, San Lawrenz and the Gozo Region have missed deadlines in 2015 and 2014, the minister said.  The information provided by Dr Bonnici does not include... Читать дальше...

Denying MPs the right to debate a motion of no confidence against the Prime Minister's chief of staff was an act of "legal acrobatics", Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil charged this evening.  Dr Busuttil was speaking in parliament after Times of Malta had reported that a motion of no confidence against Keith Schembri was deemed inadmissible by Speaker Anglu Farrugia. The motion presented by Independent MP Marlene Farrugia was amended, shifting the focus to the Prime Minister, after the Speaker had... Читать дальше...

Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis has rejected calls for exemptions from a new 50c bed-tax.Dr Zammit Lewis told Times of Malta that the eco-contribution levy was capped at €5 per tourist, the lowest amount in Europe, and was ultimately aimed at pumping some €6 million back into the sector.“This will not be a burden on our tourism industry which is achieving one success after another,” he said.Dr Zammit Lewis was reacting to calls by the Chamber of Commerce for, among other things, foreign students... Читать дальше...

A sergeant major caught making "colourful" comments against Nationalist MPs on Facebook will no longer work at parliament after his request to be transferred was accepted by the Police Commissioner.  Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil had yesterday threatened to lead PN MPs out of parliament if no further action was taken against the police officer in question.  Sergeant Major Eugenio Caruana was given a warning by Dr Farrugia last week after he was caught posting "colourful" comments insulting PN MP Claudette Buttigieg on Facebook. Читать дальше...

A camel in a garment that looks like a swimming suit is an odd sight - unless happen to be in a desert just outside Abu Dhabi. Camels there are being used to test out pressure suits made by a Finnish textile company. The Lymed Oy-manufactured suits are designed especially for racing camels, as they help the camels recover better after races and calm the animal down. Camel racing is a popular sport in Middle Eastern countries, such as United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Similar clothes... Читать дальше...

At least 72 people were killed and more than 140 wounded by three bombings in Baghdad today, police and medical sources said, extending the deadliest spate of attacks in the Iraqi capital so far this year. Islamic State claimed one suicide bombing which killed 38 people and wounded over 70 in a marketplace in the northern, mainly Shi'ite Muslim district of al-Shaab. A car bomb in nearby Shi'ite Sadr City killed at least 28 dead and 57 wounded, and another car blew up in the mixed Shi'ite-Sunni neighbourhood of al-Rasheed... Читать дальше...

France will deploy anti-drone technology over stadiums during the Euro 2016 championships, the tournament's security chief has said.Ziad Khoury said the technology will interfere with and take control of any flying machines that violate no-fly zones over all 10 stadiums and training grounds for the 24 teams at next month's football tournament.He said it will be deployed at most of the 51 matches and will "interfere with drones and take control of them if they are spotted".French authorities have... Читать дальше...

Malta and Montenegro are to sign a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the health sector tomorrow.  The MOU will be signed as part of a visit Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic is paying to Malta.  Mr Djukanovic will be welcomed in Castille Square late in the morning before meeting with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. The two dignitaries will subsequently tour Valletta before paying a visit to the power station site in Delimara.  Dr Muscat and Minister without portfolio Konrad Mizzi had... Читать дальше...

A man facing a long listed of charges including fraud, misappropriation, and using force against two other persons, was acquitted by a court due to insufficient evidence.In 2007, 51-year-old Lawrence Rizzo from Paola had been charged in connection with a fight which had broken out in Żabbar between himself and two other men – Kevin Portelli and Antoine Cassar.The latter had claimed that Mr Rizzo had failed to deliver two televisions to them despite having been paid €460 for them. Though Mr Rizzo had refunded them €150... Читать дальше...

Keith Schembri said yesterday that his company in the British Virgin Islands “held various investments”. The Panama Papers show that, in 2014, Mr Schembri’s BVI company held cash assets amounting to $725,091. Contacted by the Times of Malta, Mr Schembri, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, said the BVI company held the investments on his behalf and did not carry out “a specific trade”. He said the company “as such” did not form part of the loss-making Kasco group of companies. “All monies retained... Читать дальше...

Thirty one athletes from six sports could be banned from this year's Rio de Janeiro Olympics after 454 doping samples were re-tested from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the IOC said today. A statement from the International Olympic Committee said its Executive Board had stepped up the fight against drugs cheats and the re-tests had been carried out in conjunction with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and international federations. It said the re-tests were focused on athletes who could potentially take part in the Rio Games this year. Читать дальше...

Oscar winner Robert De Niro premiered his latest movie, boxing drama "Hands of Stone", at the Cannes Film Festival yesterday, walking the glamorous red carpet on the French Riviera. The movie looks at the life of famed Panamanian fighter Roberto Duran, portrayed by Edgar Ramirez, and his trainer Ray Arcel, played by De Niro. "Hands of Stone", which also stars singer Usher, is featuring out of competition at the 69th Cannes Film Festival.

Bank of Valletta has appointed a new chief operations officer and chief business development officer (credit).  Ernest John Agius will make the step up to chief operations officer after having served as BOV's change management executive. He will be responsible for the management and delivery of change projects within BOV. Mr Agius joined the bank in June 2015. Albert Frendo has been made chief business development officer (credit). Mr Frendo joined BOV in 1992, and has occupied various key positions... Читать дальше...

Ira Losco has said Maltese artists cannot afford to be snobbish about the Eurovision Song Contest, stressing the increasing quality and relevance of the competition to the music industry. “That is what makes the competition much harder than it was back in the day,” she said, speaking after a brief congratulatory meeting with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.“The industry is cut-throat, as every artist knows. It’s great to go and busk and try your luck in another country but this is an experience that should also be one to aspire to... Читать дальше...

People smugglers made over €4.4 billion ($5 billion) from the wave of migration into southern Europe last year, a report by international crime-fighting agencies Interpol and Europol said today. Nine out of 10 migrants and refugees entering the European Union in 2015 relied on "facilitation services", mainly loose networks of criminals along the routes, and the proportion was likely to be even higher this year, the report said. About 1 million migrants entered the EU in 2015. Most paid €3,000-6,000 ($3,400-$6,800)... Читать дальше...

A man who got paid €3,000 to cast a spell on a woman involved in an extra-marital affair with a married man, with the aim of reuniting her with her own husband, was today acquitted of fraud, by a Gozitan court. The police had pressed charges against Mario Cardona, 36, from Victoria following a police report that the ‘client’ had filed against him when it transpired that the spell had not worked. The case dates back to October  2014, when a woman asked Mr Cardona to cast a spell on another woman with whom her husband... Читать дальше...

With the rapid pace of change in the local business scenario, today’s entrepreneurs are facing new challenges when it comes to sourcing finance for their business ventures. At the same time, financing options have increased exponentially, and these now include crowdfunding and angel investor options. Which is why it is important that, whether it is a start-up or an ongoing business concern that is looking at expansion, raising capital is done wisely to minimise the risk of collateral damage. At Grant... Читать дальше...

Foreigners who buy Maltese passports are being given the right to vote in general elections despite declaring that they are not living in Malta, PN deputy leader for party affairs Beppe Fenech Adami said today. The government, he said, was already trying to buy votes in order to make up for the continued loss of the people's trust due to unprecedented corrupt practices. Speaking at a press conference, Dr Fenech Adami showed applications for a voting document filed by passport buyers from Russia, China and Azerbaijan. Читать дальше...