Новости за 09.06.2016

US President Barack Obama endorsed fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton for president this evening, saying he did not think there had ever been a nominee so qualified for the White House. "I'm with her. I am fired up, and I cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary," Obama said in a video released by the Clinton campaign. The endorsement increases pressure on Clinton's rival in the Democratic primary contest, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, to concede the race so the party can focus on campaigning against Donald Trump... Читать дальше...

Work has started in Veccia Wharf, St Paul's Bay, on the demolition of the well-known Sunderland House, which is set to be replaced by a garage at semi-basement level and overlying apartments. Plans for the works had raised a storm of protest on Facebook, with many people posting old photos of this house and recalling its history. During World War II, the house was a base for the Air-Sea Rescue launches of the RAF Marine Branch which, together with its counterpart at Kalafrana, saved 123 allied as well as 246 downed enemy airmen from the sea... Читать дальше...

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this evening dismissed the PN's suggestion that development outside development zones should be subject to approval by a two-thirds majority in Parliament. He said he did not agree with this recommendation as he didn’t want politicians to decide on such projects, as this should be left in the hands of experts. "I don't want to turn the clock back and leave these decisions up to politicians, as that is the recipe for corruption, Dr Muscat said an extraordinary meeting of the Labour Party's general conference... Читать дальше...

Labour’s three-horse race for the election of the deputy leader for party affairs will not chose one winner and throw away the other two, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this evening. “I thank all three for their honest and positive campaign. Through this election, we will not have chosen one to put the other two to the side. We would have chosen one of them to work alongside the other two.” The Labour leader was speaking ahead of the opening of the voting by more than 700 delegates to elect the party’s new deputy leader for party affairs. Читать дальше...

A pink flamingo landed at the Salina salt pans this morning, drawing admiring bird-watchers. BirdLife Malta said the bird is ringed and it is trying to trace its origin. It is being kept under constant observation.

Two foreign men were injured, one of them critically, when the two leased jet skis they were riding collided at around 2.30pm in Buġibba Bay. An Austrian man, 55, suffered several injuries but his 38-year-old German friend was only slightly injured. First Aid was provided on site by lifeguards from the Red Cross who assisted in the operation, along with the police and Transport Malta officials, to bring the two men to land where an awaiting ambulance rushed the Austrian man to Mater Dei Hospital. Читать дальше...

Brazil has banned the local unit of Swedish construction company Skanska AB from doing government work for at least two years, having accused it of involvement in a bribery and kickback scandal, the Ministry of Transparency said. The ministry said Skanska Brasil Ltda belonged to a cartel that fixed prices on contracts with Petroleo Brasileiro SA . It also said the company paid 3 million reais ($890,000) in bribes to obtain a 1.3-billion-real ($386 million) contract for the expansion of an oil terminal for the state-run company. Читать дальше...

Two major car dealerships are to merge, bringing under one company the importation of Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Hyundai, Iveco, Jeep, Kia, Opel, SAAB and DFM cars. The merger involves Pater Holding Co Ltd and Cars International Ltd (a co-owned company between Tum Invest Ltd and United Group Ltd). They will merge the automotive dealership operations of Cars International Ltd, UCIM Co. Ltd, Meridian Enterprises Co. Ltd. and Waldorf Auto Services Co. Ltd. in a new joint-venture operation. The new company,... Читать дальше...

The president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, Tony Zahra, today expressed scepticism at the planned minority buyout of Air Malta by Alitalia. Addressing a conference which discussed tourism and the performance of hotels in the first three months of this year, Mr Zahra questioned why Air Malta could not remain a national airline. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the government and Alitalia last month with the Italian airline signalling its intention to buy a 49 per cent stake in Air Malta. Читать дальше...

A seagull turned bright orange after he plunged into a vat of chicken tikka masala. The bird fell in to a container of the food while trying to scavenge a piece of meat from a food factory bin in Wales. It was picked up by a volunteer for Vale Wildlife Hospital near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. Staff at the centre used washing up liquid on the seagull to remove the bright orange from his feathers. They managed to return him back to his original white colour but have not been able to wash away the smell of curry. Читать дальше...

One of the owners of the Valletta property at the heart of the €3.4 million expropriation scandal involving businessman Mark Gaffarena told a court today that they only learnt “by chance” that part of the property, owned by Mr Gaffarena had been expropriated.  David Cefai was testifying before Madam Justice Anna Felice, who is presiding the case instituted earlier this year by the Prime Minister against Mr Gaffarena, for the revocation of this controversial deal. During examination by Attorney General Peter Grech... Читать дальше...

A judge today rejected a request by the Nationalist Party to stop the Planning Authority from removing its billboards, pending a final decision by another court. The dispute revolves around a legal notice issued on April 3 which restricted political billboards to three months before an election. Any other political billboards put up outside those months would be subject to a licence fee of €1,500 per billboard, as in the case for commercial billboards. The PN had argued that the move  was meant to muzzle it and stifle its freedom of expression.

The first Maltese to captain an Air Malta flight has retired. The airline recalled today how Capt Charles Massa, then 31, had been in command of Flight KM116 to Gatwick on October 8, 1985. Up to that time, all Air Malta flights were captained by foreign pilots . Capt Massa flew for Air Malta for 41 years, 31 of them as captain. He flew 25,000 hours and piloted over 8,000 take-offs and landings. His last flight KM 612, Malta – Rome – Malta was on May 5.

The Malta Association of Public Health Medicine raised concerns yesterday about the newly appointed head of disease prevention, agreeing the post should be filled by a medical doctor. Doubts have been raised over whether dentist Paula Vassallo, the person selected to head the health promotion and disease prevention unit, has the necessary qualifications for the post. News of her appointment earlier this week prompted the Medical Association of Malta to file a judicial protest in a bid to reverse the decision... Читать дальше...

Environment NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa said today that it agrees with the suggestion  by the Nationalist Party that proposals for development in areas outside the development zone would require a two-thirds majority approval in Parliament.  "The introduction of the new Policy for Rural Areas in 2014 has done nothing to slow down development in the countryside. Beside the wholly objectionable decision to construct a new educational institute on rural land at Zonqor, which led to the largest ever environmental protest rally held in Malta... Читать дальше...

The MSE Share Index lost some of the gains of the past two trading sessions as it retreated by 0.04% to 4,441.671 points today on subdued volumes as just over €123,000 worth of shares traded – the lowest level of activity in over two weeks. Today’s decline in the local equity index reflected the drop in the share prices of MIDI plc and Mapfre Middlesea plc which retreated by 1.0% and 0.5% to €0.38 and €2.20 respectively on trivial volumes. In an Interim Directors’ Statement issued recently, MIDI... Читать дальше...

The shadow minister for animal welfare has welcomed the cancellation of a pigs' race, due to have taken place in Zejtun later next month. "Commons sense has prevailed" Mario Galea said of the decision. He had been among the first to raise objections after the race was revealed on Times of Malta. The race was to have been part of a bacon festival to raise funds for Dar Nazareth, but the board of the foundation responsible for the home decided to cancel it. The Bacon Festival will be held on Saturday... Читать дальше...

Islamic State insurgents have posted a video showing a 3,000-year-old temple being blown up at the Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq, in their latest assault on some of the world's greatest archaeological and cultural treasures. The United Nations confirmed in a statement that satellite imagery showed "extensive damage to the main entrance" of the temple of Nabu, the Babylonian god of wisdom. Nimrud was a 13th century BC Assyrian city, located 30 km (20 miles) south of the modern city of Mosul... Читать дальше...

A man who allegedly beat up his former partner at her workplace and subsequently resisted police arrest has been remanded in custody by a court after pleading not guilty to the charges against him. The incident happened on Monday at about 10.30pm when the defendant, 33 from Birkirkara, turned up at a restaurant in Msida and assaulted his partner in front of her work colleagues. The man, whose name cannot be published by court order to safeguard the identity of his estranged partner and her two children... Читать дальше...

The Malta Union of Teachers has protested over comments made by the Mayor of Sliema, Anthony Chircop, regarding objections to the local council's proposed residents’ parking scheme. The mayor reportedly said that teachers working at schools in Sliema were the only ones who complained when the scheme was originally introduced. The MUT said the mayor seemed to have forgotten that the proposed parking scheme would have meant that every employee providing a service in Sliema, including teachers, would... Читать дальше...

A 24-year-old man who six years ago caused a horrific injury during a Paceville fight has been spared jail by a court which opted for a suspended sentence. The victim had suffered a broken cheekbone and a dislocated eyeball and underwent bone-reconstruction surgery. The incident happened in the early hours of September 18, 2010, when the accused, Darryl Debono from Burmarrad, got embroiled in a fight following some disparaging remarks to a girl who was with him. The comments had not been made by the victim, but by some of his friends. Читать дальше...

The Griffon Vulture rescued by BirdLife Malta from the Malta Freeport last Friday is now safe in Sicily. Nicknamed ‘Maximus’, the vulture is by far the largest bird to have been taken into BirdLife's care. The bird is believed to have arrived last Friday after it hitched a ride on a cargo ship while crossing the Strait of Gibraltar. After four days in BirdLife's care, Maximus was yesterday transferred to a wildlife centre in Sicily to gain health and independence before being released at the Nebrodi Park... Читать дальше...

Former president and prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami underwent a surgical procedure related to a heart condition, Times of Malta is informed.  The intervention on the 82-year-old had been planned, his son and MP Beppe Fenech Adami said.  "He is OK and is now recovering in a ward. He's expected to be discharged in a few days," Beppe Fenech Adami said. Dr Fenech Adami who has a history of heart problems, was admitted to hospital last August after suffering a slight heart attack while on a boat trip with his family.

Malta registered a trade deficit of €247 million in April, compared to €108.6 million in the corresponding month of 2015, preliminary figures show.   Provisional data for international trade show that the trade deficit in April was up by €138.4 million when compared to the corresponding month in 2015. Imports increased by €59.6 million while exports decreased by €78.7 million, according to the National Statistics Office.   The increase in the value of imports was primarily due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€60m). Читать дальше...

Two luxury hotels, one of which housed in a tower, upmarket residences and boutique retail areas are among the Corinthia Group's plans for St George's Bay.  International Hotel Investments plc today presented shareholders, at the company’s annual general meeting, with further details of its plans to develop an upscale mixed-use resort on its 77,000 square metre site. The proposals remain subject to zoning, planning and land use considerations under discussion with the relevant authorities. The project... Читать дальше...