Новости за 06.09.2016

Wesley Sneijder rifled home a second-half equaliser to cancel out Marcus Berg's cool chip as the Netherlands claimed a point in their opening World Cup qualifier away to Sweden. The Dutch, who came third at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but failed to qualify for this year's European Championship, struggled for long periods against a resolute Sweden side coming to terms with the departure of record goalscorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Having last played at a World Cup finals in 2006, Sweden have recalled... Читать дальше...

Switzerland struck twice in quick succession to stun Euro 2016 champions Portugal 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier and hand them a first competitive defeat in two years under coach Fernando Santos. Ninteeen-year-old Breel Embolo headed Switzerland ahead in the 23rd minute and Admir Mehmedi doubled the lead six minutes later as Portugal's defence, almost impregnable in France in June, dramatically unravelled. Portugal, missing talismanic forward and record scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, regained their composure... Читать дальше...

Spanish football boss Angel Maria Villar has withdrawn from next week's UEFA presidential election, he said in a statement on his federation's website. "Although I have received plenty of support to continue with my campaign, I have, after a deep reflection, decided to withdraw my candidacy," Villar said. Villar, the acting UEFA President, said he made the decision after many representatives of Spanish football asked him to stand for re-election this year as head of his own country's federation.... Читать дальше...

A Frenchwoman who received the world's first partial face transplant has died, 11 years after the surgery that set the stage for dozens of other transplants worldwide. The Amiens University Hospital in northern France announced Isabelle Dinoire's death on Tuesday. It said she died aged 49 in April after a long illness, but her family wanted her death kept private. The hospital went public with the death after Le Figaro reported on it. The hospital did not release any further details and it was not... Читать дальше...

All roads will lead to Kalkara on September 16 from 6pm for the Futbol Festa being organised at the Kalkara football ground in aid of the Dar tal-Providenza. Details were given during a press conference by Alex Farrugia and Martin Meilaq, two members of the organising committee, and Fr Martin Micallef, drector of the Home. Some former Kalkara players were also present. A good number of Kalkara residents aged over 40, including several ex-national team player, will be taking part. All players will be donate €10 towards the Dar tal-Providenza. Читать дальше...

The Ombudsman’s pending caseload is one-third lighter than it was last September, after the office concluded 44 per cent more cases over the past eight months when compared to the same period last year. Between January and August, the office concluded 488 cases – an increase of more than two-fifths over the first eight months of last year. This saw the pending case load to date go down to 285 cases – 29 per cent less than the pending case load for the same period last year. Aware that investigations should take the least possible time... Читать дальше...

WARNING: The above video contains footage that may be disturbing to some viewers.  A suspected chlorine gas attack on an opposition-held neighbourhood in the Syrian city of Aleppo caused dozens of cases of suffocation today, rescue workers and a monitoring group said. The Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue workers' organisation which operates in rebel-held areas, said government helicopters had dropped barrel bombs containing chlorine on the Sukari neighbourhood in Aleppo's eastern sector. The Syrian... Читать дальше...

The wonders and woes of the brain will be the focus of the annual Science in the City – European Researcher’s Night where the latest science and inspiring research on the human brain will be explained through interactive exhibitions, artworks, live experiments, music, theatre, and symposiums. The fifth edition of the science and arts festival will be held in Valletta on September 30 from 6pm until midnight. Participation is free of charge. The Science in the City festival is part of European Researchers’... Читать дальше...

European clubs are anticipating another windfall after changes to the Champions League and say the new system will be fairer as well as making them richer. The European Clubs Association (ECA) said it expected revenue from the Champions League and Europa League to jump from €2.35 billion (2 billion pounds) per season to around €3 billion from 2018-19, when the changes, announced by UEFA last month, come into force. ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also ruled out talk of a breakaway Super League in the foreseeable future... Читать дальше...

The MSE Share Index extended yesterday’s negative performance by a further 0.44 per cent to 4,441.442 points as the declines in the share prices of six equities outweighed the gains registered in BOV and GO. Most notably, the 4.0 per cent fall in the share price of RS2 Software plc weighed heavily on the Index today. RS2 retreated to €1.68 – its lowest level since November 2015 – on relatively weak volumes totalling 6,020 shares. Also among the large companies, HSBC Bank Malta plc and Malta International Airport plc trended lower today. Читать дальше...

A Sicilian woman who spent four years in a coma has reawakened with songs by Italian singer Claudio Baglioni on the tip of her tongue.  Rosalba Giusti, 68, immediately called for a nurse and asked about her children upon emerging from a 45-month coma, Italian media reported.  Doctors said that she could recognise people she knew and readily sang songs by Claudio Baglioni and Massimo Ranieri. "I've never seen anything like it in 25 years," said the consultant charged with her care. Despite the medical wonder of her reawakening... Читать дальше...

Former Romanian prime minister Victor Ponta is being investigated for alleged financial improprieties connected to another political figure's 2012 visit to Bucharest - reported to be Tony Blair. Anti-corruption prosecutors did not identify the prominent visitor, but Sebastian Ghita - a businessman who was questioned by officials on Tuesday - told the Mediafax news agency that the probe focused on a visit by the former British prime minister. Prosecutors also questioned Mr Ponta on Tuesday. They are... Читать дальше...

Waitrose’s orange and milk chocolate cookies - durability date March 30, 2017, must not be consumed by people allergic to hazelnuts, the Environmental Health Directorate said. The product contains hazelnuts that are undeclared on the label, the directorate said.

Why is the ugly duckling considered lesser than the swan, when both go through the same experience, asks an illustration in the foyer of the new Parliament building. The drawing, by Nicole Pisani, showing a black duckling and a white swan, is one of the series of sketches inspired by the European Union’s motto “United in diversity”. Promoting equality in spite of differences and varied beliefs, the exhibition by Qormi and St Paul’s Bay Skolasajf students will be open until September 14. Launching the exhibition yesterday... Читать дальше...

A young Maltese singer has won awards in two categories in a Swedish song festival.  Giorgia Borg, 8, added a Grand Prix prize to the first place she achieved in her age category at the Thank You For The Music festival in Gävle, Sweden.  Judges praised the young singer for her confidence on stage and diva-like rendition of Beyonce' hit Listen.  "It was a great experience, and of course Giorgia was very excited to win," her mother Pamela told Times of Malta. "Giorgia is used to competition as she's been singing for three years... Читать дальше...

Malta’s role in an international operation to remove dangerous industrial chemicals in Libya was restricted to the transfer of a few sealed samples from ships to aircraft, the Foreign Ministry said this afternoon. Reacting to media reports, the ministry explained that Malta was obliged to take part in the operation as a member of the Organisation for the prohibition of Chemical Weapons and also as a country with an interest in ensuring that such materials did not end up in the hands of extremists. Читать дальше...

A couple who refused to pay a £120 (€142) fine for taking their son to Malta on holiday during term time have been vindicated by a UK court.  Richard and Tania Davey were each hit with a fine of £60 after their son missed five days of school due to the holiday.  They refused to cough up, and won the case after magistrates in Swindon found the couple would not be breaking the law if their son's attendance over the scholastic year was sufficiently regular.  The Daveys told the Daily Mail that their... Читать дальше...

Local research into Alzheimer's, epilepsy and other central nervous system diseases has been given a boost thanks to an agreement between the University of Malta and the University of Warwick.  The agreement will see the two universities exchange students and researchers, with both institutes also keen to establish joint M.Sc and Ph.D programmes in neuroscience research.  "In many areas of neuroscience there are similarities in approach at Malta and at Warwick and the collaboration will be very profitable... Читать дальше...

Environmental NGOs have asked the public to help them fight plans to develop skyscrapers across Malta. The eNGOs, which are presenting a joint front in opposing developers' plans to send Malta's skyline shooting up, say they need funds to help bankroll the battle. Lodging an appeal with the Planning Authority costs €3,800 - money the NGOs say they simply do not have.  Din l-Art Ħelwa's  'Stop Skyscraper Greed’ campaign is urging people to help it raise the €8,000 it estimates it will cost to challenge... Читать дальше...

Airport passenger movements in August reached a record 598,515, Malta International Airport said today. That was 2.3 per cent over last year, indicating that the airport was bustling with an average of 19,300 passengers a day. The airport had initially projected that on its busiest day it would welcome an estimated 22,500 passengers. It marginally surpassed this figure and hosted 22,908 passengers.   "August’s numbers can be attributed to an increase in seat capacity, together with a high seat load factor (SLF) of 88.8 per cent... Читать дальше...

A staggering 35 per cent of all expected VAT revenue in Malta went uncollected in 2014, according to figures released by the European Commission today. Malta's VAT Gap, or difference between expected VAT revenue and the amount actually collected, was the third-worst across the EU. Only Lithuania (37 per cent) and Romania (38 per cent) did worse.  In total, Malta lost out on €351 million in uncollected revenue during 2014.  But despite Malta's poor overall showing, the statistics showed that it was... Читать дальше...

Queen fans, dig out your moustache combs and yellow jackets.  Hard Rock Cafe is organising a celebration of the rock band and its iconic frontman, complete with tribute band and costumed fans, as part of a worldwide Freddie for a Day initiative.  The initiative seeks to bring fans together to raise awareness and much-needed funds in support of the Mercury Phoenix Trust, which fights HIV and AIDS across the globe. Some fans go the whole hog and kit themselves out in the full Mercury gear. Others simply... Читать дальше...

Economic growth in the second quarter of this year slowed to half of what it was last year but, at three per cent, it was still considerably faster than in most member states of the European Union.  The NSO said this morning that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2016 amounted to €2,277.6 million, an increase of €102.7 million or 4.7 per cent when compared to the corresponding period last year. In real terms, GDP went up by three per cent. Gross Value Added (GVA) increased... Читать дальше...

German and Latvian troops have begun a joint exercise in Latvia, not far from the Russian border, as part of a broad drive by NATO to shore up air defences against a possible Russian attack. Germany has around 80 troops and 400 tonnes of equipment, including a deployable mobile control centre, for the exercise, which will continue through October. Five German Eurofighter jets are also flying Baltic air patrols out of Amari, Estonia. "Our biggest concern is the unpredictability of Russia, which has... Читать дальше...

Next time you grudgingly reach for the vacuum cleaner, spare a thought for Italian women.  Women from Malta's northern neighbour spent a disproportionate amount of time doing housework over the past 50 years, researchers at the University of Oxford have found.  Italian women had it bad twice over, with chores seemingly a zero-sum game: not only did they do more housework than women from 18 other countries studied, but they had to put up with men who did less than their counterparts anywhere else, too. Читать дальше...