Новости за 08.01.2018

Maltese people spend less than their European counterparts on items of clothing and footwear, a Eurostat study found. Local households spend 4.5 per cent of their total expenditure on clothes and shoes, compared to households in the EU which spent 4.9 per cent in 2016. Households’ annual expenditure on clothes and footwear is slightly higher than the amount Europeans spend on their health, the study noted. At 6.8 per cent, those from Estonia devote the largest share of their total expenditure to clothes and shoes. Читать дальше...

British Prime Minister Theresa May named an ally to run the ruling Conservatives and promoted younger ministers on Monday to try to give her divided party and government a new start after a year marred by an ill-judged election, rows over Brexit and scandals. May, weakened by the loss of the Conservative Party's majority in June's election gamble, hoped to reset her agenda and further Britain's departure from the European Union after winning a deal to move to a second phase of Brexit negotiations. Читать дальше...

League Two side Yeovil will host Manchester United in the FA Cup for the second time in four seasons having been pitted against Jose Mourinho's men in the fourth round. The Glovers were the lowest-ranked side in Monday night's draw and were handed a home clash with the 12-time winners, as they were in 2015 when United won 2-0 thanks to goals from Ander Herrera and Angel Di Maria. Fellow League Two side Newport will entertain Tottenham while Mansfield, another club from the fourth tier, have the carrot... Читать дальше...

Gozitan university students are calling on the education authorities to invest in equipment which would enable students to follow lectures without the need to travel to Malta. The proposal was made by the Gozo University Group, which called for the provision of video conferencing services to accommodate Gozitan students and save them from excessive travel every each day. The group said that the Planning Authority had issued a permit for the enlargement and development of the Gozo university campus. Читать дальше...

Some 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants allowed to live and work in the United States since 2001 will lose their right to remain in the country in 2019, officials said on Monday, marking the Trump administration's latest move to tighten immigration enforcement. The United States will end the Salvadorans' temporary protected status (TPS) on September 9, 2019, giving them 18 months to leave or seek lawful residency, and for El Salvador to prepare for their return, officials said. The status was granted... Читать дальше...

A ban on plastic microbeads, used as exfoliants in toothpastes, face washes and shower gels that end up in the oceans, will come into force in Britain on Tuesday, but lawmakers said more needed to be done to tackle plastic pollution. The tiny plastic beads pollute waterways and oceans, where they can be eaten by marine life and end up in the human food chain. A report by lawmakers in 2016 said the industry's commitment to phasing them out was inconsistent and recommended a ban. "Microbeads in cosmetics are an avoidable part of the problem... Читать дальше...

The American University’s campus in Cospicua should be handed over to the overflowing Higher Secondary School in Naxxar, the Democratic Party said yesterday. In a statement, the PD reacted to news reports that the AUM had applied for an extension to its campus, saying that this was simply unnecessary. The university, PD said, could “barely fill a garage with the number of students” it currently has. Instead, the party had a different proposal:  the site should be used to ease pressure on the Naxxar Higher Secondary ... Читать дальше...

The British government pledged on Monday to ease the potential harm to more than 100,000 companies that may have to pay sales tax upfront on goods imported from the European Union for the first time after Brexit. The changes included in a new taxation bill, one of many Brexit laws passing through parliament, have alarmed company bosses, who said the move would create cashflow problems and increase the cost of doing business. "It is an issue, (for) which the government and the Treasury has sympathy," Mel Stride... Читать дальше...

A Sinn Fein MP has been suspended by his party for three months for posting a social media video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head on the anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre. West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff said he accepted the sanction imposed by the Sinn Fein leadership but reiterated his insistence that the contentious post was not meant as a reference to the sectarian murders of 10 Protestant workmen at the village of Kingsmill in 1976. Announcing the punishment, Sinn... Читать дальше...

The family of Italian designer Gianni Versace has distanced itself from a long-awaited US television series about his violent death. The nine-part series, made by 21st Century Fox and premiering next week, stars Spanish actress Penelope Cruz and Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin. Versace was gunned down in 1997 at the entrance gate of his Miami beach mansion by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. The Versace company "did not authorise and was not involved in the television series," it said in a statement on Monday. Читать дальше...

A cyclone that hit eastern Madagascar over the weekend killed at least 29 people and injured three others while two people were reported missing, authorities said on Monday. Tropical Cyclone Ava passed through Madagascar on Friday and Saturday, hitting mostly the eastern coast of the island with wind speeds of between 140-190 kph. "The provisional report of cyclone Ava hitting Madagascar, (shows) 29 people were killed," Melisa Venance, communications officer of the National Office of Risk and Disaster Management, said. Читать дальше...

A man accused of kidnapping his estranged wife, sexually abusing her and holding her in an underground cave remains behind bars in preventative custody, more than two months after he was first arraigned.  Roddy Williams, the 37-year old Seychelles-born man, allegedly held his estranged wife in a dark, secluded underground chamber beneath Fort Ricasoli in Kalkara. The victim, Natalie Williams, is due to be examined by a psychiatrist on Tuesday, January 9. The appointment had been set in November,... Читать дальше...

Nominations for the 2018 Malta EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award open on Monday and will run until February 9. The competition is open to entrepreneurs from all sectors, established and new. The EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award was launched in the US in 1986 and has now spread to 165 cities in over 60 countries. It is the world's biggest and most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs and the only one with a truly global dimension. The Maltese winner will be flown to Monaco to compete for the grand prize... Читать дальше...

Former Labour Minster Joe Debono Grech will be facing court charges after allegedly threatening a police officer, the Times of Malta is informed. The fiery 78-year old former Labour politician, who did not contest the last general elections after decades in parliament, was allegedly involved in an altercation with the police at the Mġarr port a few weeks ago on his way to catch the Gozo ferry to Malta.Gozo Channel sources told the Times of Malta that the former Transport Minister had an argument... Читать дальше...

Twenty years ago, Alfred Cassar headed to Albania in a van loaded with basic necessities, including blankets and stationery supplies. In 1997, he was answering an appeal from his uncles, Dominican brothers the late Fr Ġwann Frendo OP and Mgr Ġorġ Frendo OP. The two had just started missionary work in Albania after a call from Pope John Paul II to religious orders to support those who had suffered the most cruel and anti-religious form of communism, said Mgr Frendo, who went on to become the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Tirana-Durres diocese.

The MSE Equity Price Index opened the week in negative territory as it eased by 0.24% to 4,490.475 points, mostly reflecting the drops in the share prices of IHI (-1.6%) and GO (-1.1%) which outweighed Medserv’s 0.9% rise. Over 60% of today’s total value of equities traded took place in Bank of Valletta plc which maintained the €1.80 level across 86,120 shares. HSBC Bank Malta plc also closed the day unchanged at the €1.76 level after recovering from an intra-day low of €1.71 (-2.8%). A total of 28,023 shares changed hands. Читать дальше...

Thousands of German workers staged strikes at metals and engineering firms on Monday in support of wage claims by union IG Metall, which announced a further wave of walkouts for Tuesday. With the economy in robust health and unemployment at record lows, the country's biggest union is demanding an inflation-busting 6% pay hike this year for about 3.9 million workers. Ahead of a round of regional negotiations due to begin on Thursday, employers have so far offered 2% plus a one-off €200 payment in the first quarter. Читать дальше...

The European Union's next long-term budget has to be larger than the current 1% of EU GDP (gross domestic product), despite the loss of major net contributor Britain, the head of the European Commission said on Monday. Speaking at a conference on the next seven-year budget of the EU, which starts in 2021, Jean-Claude Juncker said it would have to finance joint EU policies in the areas of defence, security, migration, climate change, cohesion and agriculture. "Britain will be leaving us..., so we... Читать дальше...

The price of gas cylinders will be locked at €16 for one year, Energy Minister Joe Mizzi said on Monday.  12kg gas cylinders currently cost €15.50, having gone up in price by €1 last August.  He said that following discussions between the ministry, Liquigas, and the regulator for the energy sector, price stability had been reached. "We wanted to have a stable price for families to ensure no surprises or upsets," he said. Mr Mizzi said that currently a price of a 10kg cylinder of LPG was around €30 in Italy... Читать дальше...

A man whose truck driving turned him into a social media sensation was again denied bail on Monday, with a magistrate saying he was "dangerous" and could end up killing somebody on the road.  Marius Camilleri, 57, has a criminal record nearly 40 convictions long over a 23 year span. He was charged in December with 11 offences ranging from dangerous driving to driving without a valid licence or insurance cover, overspeeding as well as displaying the licence of a 125cc motorbike on his 35 tonne truck. Читать дальше...

Updated 4.35pm Former Malta long-distance champion Gerald DeGaetano has passed away, aged 53. DeGaetano, who enjoyed a successful career in the Armed Forces of Malta, will be fondly remembered for his exploits in the track and field events, both locally and on the international scene. He was attending a course of guiding when he suddenly collapsed, his brother-in-law told Times of Malta. He was rushed to hospital but it was too late. "He was totally active and probably the fittest man his age on the island," David Griscti said. Читать дальше...

Former Malta long-distance champion Gerald DeGaetano passed away yesterday, aged 53. DeGaetano, who enjoyed a successful career in the Armed Forces of Malta, will be fondly remembered for his exploits in the track and field events, both locally and on the international scene. DeGaetano established himself as one of Malta’s top long-distance runners. In fact he was the first Maltese runner to win a medal at the Games of the Small States of Europe when placing third in the 10,000 metres race in Cyprus in 1989. Читать дальше...

It’s January, so it’s likely that you have set yourself goals to be more physically active and less stressed in 2018. Paradoxically, better goals would be to stop worrying about how much exercise you’re getting and to stop worrying about being too stressed. A recent study of over 60,000 US adults examined the link between perceptions of exercise and mortality. The researchers found something curious: people who worried about being less active than others were up to 71% more likely to die in follow up period 21 years later... Читать дальше...

Firefighters responded to an early morning fire at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan, with two injuries reported, one of them serious, the New York Fire Department said on Monday. US President Donald Trump was in Washington at the time. The fire - described by Eric Trump as a small electrical one - was believed under control and no injuries were reported, NBC News reported on Twitter. CBS News said the fire broke out shortly before 7am EST (noon GMT) near the roof of the 68-storey structure, which... Читать дальше...

Investors in the eurozone felt more upbeat in January as they shrugged off the lack of a new government in Germany and the global economy picked up, a survey showed on Monday, but research group Sentix warned there was a risk of overheating. Sentix's index for the eurozone, based on a survey of 929 investors, rose to 32.9 in January from 31.1 in December. That beat the Reuters consensus forecast for a reading of 31.5 and came after a hefty fall at the end of last year. A subindex tracking the current... Читать дальше...