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Britain's Johnson links poison attack to Russian election

March 21, 2018, 12:43 pm
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British foreign minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that the timing of an attack using military-grade nerve agent against a former Russian spy in England was probably connected to the weekend election won by Russia's president Vladimir Putin. Johnson was being questioned by lawmakers in the House of Common's Foreign Affairs Committee over the chemical poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in the English city of Salisbury this month. He said Putin wanted to cause trouble wherever he can so he can portray his country as strong again after the collapse of the Soviet Union and clarified that Britain's quarrel is not with Russian people, but with Putin's Kremlin. Johnson also said Putin will try to bolster Russia's image through hosting the World Cup in a similar way to how Adolf Hitler used the 1936 Olympics when it was held in Nazi Germany, adding that the safety of soccer fans and players is of "crucial importance".
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Labour's Parliamentary group united behind IVF Bill

March 21, 2018, 12:59 pm
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Labour’s Parliamentary group was unanimous behind the IVF bill which was based on equality and favoured life, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this evening. Speaking during a ceremony to celebrate Freedom Day, he said the debate would be put on Parliament’s agenda after the Easter recess. This was a Bill, he said, which should unite and not divide. The Prime Minister said that in its first five years the government addressed wealth and its distribution. This was at a time while important changes were also undertaken, such as equal marriage for all, the removal of censorship and the granting of supremacy to the civil courts over ecclesiastical ones. This was, however, not enough. “We have to renew our commitment to freedom by renewing the country,” he said. He warned that there would be those who will try to instill fear of change but as the generation that acquired freedom 39 years ago had not been afraid, neither should the present generation. Changes leading to a greater representation of women in decision making position, he said, should be based on the principle of equality. Another planned change, the Prime Minister said, was to the Constitution to prepare this for future...
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Pilatus Bank chairman: US authorities expected in Malta after police offer to help

March 21, 2018, 1:12 pm
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A delegation from the US should be arriving in Malta in the coming weeks after the Malta police offered its assistance in the case regarding the alleged breach of sanctions by Pilatus Bank chairman Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad. Mr Sadr was arrested by US authorities in New York and charged with secretly funneling $115 million through the US banking system, circumventing the country's sanctions against Iran. Earlier today, Mr Ali Sadr was ordered to step down by Malta's financial regulator. Read: Pilatus chairman and the MFSA: what could happen next The police said in a statement this evening that it contacted the American authorities on the case on Wednesday and established that no Maltese entities or people were involved in the breach of sanctions and no transaction had passed through Malta. The Malta police were not involved or informed by the American authorities of the arrest but the police, together with the Maltese judicial authorities, offered the US authorities their assistance. The police said they were committed to investigate all breaches of the law on Maltese territory and to assist all foreign authorities that requested such assistance, and this according to law.
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Washing machine placed on top of plaque commemorating opening of Pilatus Bank

March 21, 2018, 2:10 pm
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A washing machine has been placed on top of a plaque commemorating the opening of Pilatus Bank in Malta, hours after its chairman was charged in the US with money-laundering activities.  The bank was inaugurated by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in January 2014. Another washing was placed outside the offices of the Malta Financial Services Authority. The bank's chairman, Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad, has been arrested by US authorities in New York and charged with secretly funneling $115 million through the US banking system, circumventing the country's sanctions against Iran. The Malta Financial Services Authority has ordered him to step down as bank director, suspended his voting rights as a shareholder of the bank and ordered him to refrain from exercising legal and judicial representation of the bank. Pilatus Bank has been accused of facilitating corrupt activities and money laundering, claims which the bank has denied. 
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Down the rabbit hole we go

March 21, 2018, 2:17 pm
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Down some rabbit hole where all is upside down there is, I like to think, a parallel world where all is rosy, where it is truly L-Aqwa Żmien (the best of times) as sloganed, oh so pathetically, by Joseph Muscat and his cronies. Some time ago, down that hole, an intrepid Police Commissioner read Daphne Caruana Galizia’s Running Commentary. He immediately stopped feasting on rabbit, downed his fork and went in search of the crooks targeted by the revered journalist. He summoned all his major officers and rushed down to Ta’ Xbiex, land of the nefarious and shady Pilatus Bank. There the police took all the steps needed to stop the bank’s chairman from spiriting out of the country, in the dead of night, any document from his safe. Said chairman and all connected to him, including various high-ranking Labour politicians, were investigated regardless of their positions. Many dots were connected, and many conclusions reached. In fantasyland even dullards are sometimes bright. The Commissioner of Police unearthed a trail of material leading to unimaginable shades of illicit gains, money laundering and international sanction-busting. The whole world was alerted and Malta shone as a...
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Donald Trump warns 'crazy' Joe Biden he would lose 'crying all the way' in brawl

March 22, 2018, 7:28 am
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Image: Shutterstock

President Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden are in a rhetorical fight over which of them would prevail in a brawl. Mr Trump, reacting to comments Mr Biden made about him earlier in the week at an anti-sexual assault rally, tweeted on Thursday: At the University of Miami on Tuesday, Mr Biden cited lewd comments the Republican president made in a 2005 Access Hollywood tape about grabbing women without their permission. "If we were in high school, I'd take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him," said Mr Biden, a Democrat. He also said any man who disrespected women was "usually the fattest, ugliest S.O.B. in the room". Mr Biden, 75, made similar comments in the closing days of the 2016 campaign. He has kept open the possibility of a 2020 bid for president and is gearing up to play a big role campaigning for Democrats running in this year's midterm elections. Mr Trump, 71, dismissed the prospect of a Biden run recently at the annual Gridiron Dinner with Washington journalists, calling him "Sleepy Joe" and saying he could "kick his ass". Mr Trump also attacked Mr Biden on Twitter in 2016, calling him "Our not very bright vice president."
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Watch: NBA roundup: LeBron, Love power Cavs over Raptors

March 22, 2018, 8:03 am
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LeBron James hit two free throws with 7.8 seconds left and finished with 35 points, 17 assists and seven rebounds to lead the host Cleveland Cavaliers to a 132-129 win over the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors on Wednesday. Kevin Love scored 23 points, including a 3-pointer with 27.5 seconds left to put Cleveland up 128-124, and added 12 rebounds. George Hill had 22 points on 10-of-11 shooting for the Cavaliers, who won their third straight and posted a fourth victory in five games. Kyle Lowry had 24 points and DeMar DeRozan had 21 to lead the Raptors, who came into the game winners of 19 of 21 but have now lost two of three. Hornets 111, Nets 105 Dwight Howard totaled 32 points and 30 rebounds while Kemba Walker converted the go-ahead three-point play with 18.3 seconds remaining as visiting Charlotte overcame a 23-point deficit and stunned Brooklyn. Howard had the NBA's first 30-30 game since Kevin Love had one in November 2010, and only the second since Moses Malone achieved the feat in 1982. Howard had 26 points and 20 boards after halftime and nine points and eight rebounds in the fourth quarter, when Charlotte outscored Brooklyn 36-18. Howard shot 10 of 17 from...
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Council was ‘not consulted on new €7m shooting range’

March 22, 2018, 8:18 am
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The Siġġiewi council was not consulted on the new €7 million shooting range being built on the outskirts of the locality and so it could not raise safety, noise and traffic issues, the Times of Malta was told. This was confirmed by Siġġiewi mayor Alessia Psaila Zammit when she was asked whether the council had been brought in by the government on the matter. The paper approached her in view of the fact that the government is refusing to publish studies connected to the project. Read: Police may lose out to sportsmen at Ta’ Kandja shooting range Located within the academy for disciplined forces at Ta’ Kandja, the facility will be less than 500 metres from a Malta International Airport runway and less than a kilometre away from the closest residential areas. The project is expected to be ready by June, when Malta will host the world shooting championships. Despite its massive footprint, the facility was exempted from the need to go through the normal planning procedures on the strength of a legal notice that was published last August. In accordance with the legal notice, projects within the property of the police force only require a fast-track application, known as development...
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Millions more hungry in 2017 amid famine, conflict, and numbers rising-report

March 22, 2018, 8:25 am
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Image: REUTERS

Conflicts and climate disasters, particularly drought, drove the number of people facing crisis levels of hunger up by about 15 percent last year and the situation is getting worse, a report said on Thursday. Last year 124 million people in 51 countries faced crisis levels of hunger compared to 108 million people in 48 countries in 2016 and 80 million in 2015, according to the Food Security Information Network (FSIN). The FSIN is a global project set up to strengthen food and nutrition security information systems that is sponsored by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme and the International Food Policy Research Institute. "We are clearly seeing a trend now, from 80 million to 108 million, from 108 to 124 million, people literally marching to the brink of starvation around the world," said David Beasley, WFP's executive director. "We will never address the issues of the day until we end some of these conflicts," he added at the report's launch. The FSIN report said the rising numbers in 2017 were largely due to new or intensified conflicts in Myanmar, north-east Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Yemen. In...
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MSE Equity Price Index reaches 19-week high

March 22, 2018, 9:01 am
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The MSE Equity Price Index advanced by 0.6% to reach a fresh 19-week high of 4,523.680 points as eight equities, including BOV, HSBC and IHI, trended higher on Thursday. A further three equities ended the session unchanged while Mapfre Middlesea plc was the only negative performing equity. The share price of Bank of Valletta plc trended higher for the second consecutive session ahead of the bank’s full-year results publication on Friday. The equity added a further 1.1% to recapture the €1.86 level for the first time since mid-December 2017 across 17 deals totalling 117,335 shares. Similarly, HSBC Bank Malta plc edged 0.5% higher to regain the €1.87 level across five deals totalling 15,372 shares. On Thursday, shareholders should have received the 2017 annual report as well as other documents related to the upcoming annual general meeting scheduled to be held on 12 April. International Hotel Investments plc edged 1.6% higher to close the session at the €0.62 level albeit on shallow volumes of 3,619 shares. In the property segment, Midi plc moved 1.2% higher to close at the €0.35 level across three deals totalling 105,000 shares. Significantly lower volumes were transacted in...
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Tech giants express concern over Singapore plan to fight fake news

March 22, 2018, 9:07 am
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Image: Shutterstock

Global tech giants including Facebook and Twitter on Thursday expressed concern about a possible Singapore plan to bring in a new law to tackle the threat of fake news, saying sufficient rules are already in place. Officials of Facebook, Twitter and Google attended a parliamentary hearing on how to counter the threat that Singapore said it was particularly vulnerable to due to its size, its role as a global financial hub and its ethnic and religious mix. They were among 79 people asked to speak in parliament over the eight days set for the hearing. The wealthy city state is among the countries looking to introduce legislation, so far unspecified, to rein in fake news, a trend that has stirred concern that such laws could be used to exert government control over the media. "We do not believe that legislation is the best approach to addressing the issue," Alvin Tan, Facebook's head of public policy for Southeast Asia, said in a written submission. READ: Maltese believe fake news is a big worry for Malta – EU study "Singapore already has a variety of existing laws and regulations which address hate speech, defamation and the spreading of false news." Singapore ranks 151 among 180...
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'Hero of Ukraine' loses Parliamentary immunity amid 'coup plot' claims

March 22, 2018, 9:09 am
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The Ukrainian parliament has stripped a celebrated former military pilot and presidential hopeful of her immunity as a politician, sanctioning her arrest on charges of plotting an attack on parliament with grenades and automatic weapons. Nadiya Savchenko was served a summons minutes after the parliamentary session, where she denounced the Ukrainian government for "killing and dividing" the Ukrainian people. A court was to consider putting her in custody later in the day. Critics say the dramatic charges against Ms Savchenko were part of authorities' efforts to get rid of a powerful challenger ahead of the next year's presidential vote. In Thursday's speech to politicians, prosecutor general Yuriy Lutsenko accused Ms Savchenko of plotting an attack on parliament with hand grenades, automatic weapons and even heavy mortars. Mr Lutsenko claimed Ms Savchenko was acting in cahoots with Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine to stage a "terrorist coup in the interests of Ukraine's enemies". He presented wiretapped recordings in which Ms Savchenko discussed smuggling weapons from the east and went over plans for the attacks. Ms Savchenko said she was aware of being wiretapped, and...
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Dinosaur museum Altmuehltal exhibits real Dracula

March 22, 2018, 9:24 am
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Image: Press Association

The special pterosaur exhibition "Emperors of the Skies" presented by the Altmuehltal Dinosaur Museum in Germany features 24 important exhibits from the Altmuehl Jurassic along with a sensational find from Transylvania. Nicknamed "Dracula" because of its origin in Transylvania, this pterosaur has a physique that is different from other previously known species. Because of its excellently preserved remains, researchers conclude that it is the most powerful pterodactyl ever excavated. "The carpal bone alone was larger than that of a mammoth, and the neck was the width of a full-grown man," says paleontologist Mátyás Vremir, member of the Transylvanian Museum Society. He discovered the first bone on a steep slope near the Romanian town of Sebeș in 2009. Scientists estimate Dracula's weight to be at least half a ton and its wingspan at more than 12 meters. "The pterodactyl may have had a wingspan of up to 20 meters, and standing upright, it was probably as tall as a giraffe," says Mark Norell, Curator, Division Chair and Professor Division of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Norell was involved in the excavations in Romania. "No large predators...
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18th century house conversion into hotel 'will encroach' Ċittadella ditch

March 22, 2018, 9:34 am
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An 18th century house of character in Victoria's ‘It‐Tokk’ is to be converted into a boutique hotel as commercial interests continue to encroach on the newly restored Ċittadella ditch, according to an NGO. Wirt Għawdex said in a statement it did not object to the rehabilitation of an unused and derelict house but it could not close its eyes to the flagrant abuse by the authorities in granting permission for alterations which affected other important monuments, in this case the Ċittadella. As part of this permit, the Planning Authority approved the opening of a door and two windows on the back wall of the property which abutted the Ċittadella ditch. It also approved the construction of additional storeys which would obliterate the view of the historic clock tower from It‐Tokk, Gozo's main square. Should this new doorway onto the terrace eventually lead to tables and chairs being set out for hotel guests, it would mean an obstruction on the ramparts, a popular walk around the Ċittadella. This would also lead to excessive wear and tear on the parts of the original walls that were carefully preserved during the restoration. Another important negative impact was that it would now...
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Delia addresses EPP summit

March 22, 2018, 10:00 am
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The European Union could not allow others to dictate its agenda or the terms of how it should operate, Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia said on Thursday. Addressing the European People's Party summit in Brussels, Dr Delia said the Brexit process should be one of strong negotiations during which the interests of European and British citizens should always be the focus. This was besides the fact that one of the EU’s current challenges was to speak with one voice, and react quickly to developments taking place around the world, including in the United States and China. On immigration, Dr Delia said people did not care about laws, but about the fact that the European demography was changing quickly with people from countries which lacked resources seeking to move to richer ones. On Turkey, he said the EU had the duty not to let countries such as Cyprus, Greece and Italy on their own because when one state was in danger, the Union should be united and act as one.
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Two cleared over Paceville fight

March 22, 2018, 10:08 am
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Two young men were cleared of attacking police officers while resisting arrest in the course of a scuffle which broke out one Saturday night in St Julian’s four years ago. Liam Mallia, 23, and Darren Agius, 26, ended up at the centre of a fight which had broken out in the street outside a Paceville club on August 17, 2013 involving a number of persons, including security officials. Some four policemen had intervened to break up the fight with one of the officers later claiming to have been shoved and punched by Mr Agius who later had to be restrained through the use of pepper spray. The other co-accused, Mr Mallia, leaving the club in search of his friends had been grabbed by the hand by a man, later identified as a police officer, and led to a police van parked nearby. The two young men were eventually arrested and prosecuted for having allegedly attacked two constables, violently resisting arrest, insulting and threatening them, refusing to obey legitimate police orders and breaching the public peace. Magistrate Francesco Depasquale, assigned the case after the retirement of magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona, observed that the court was faced with two conflicting...
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Donald Trump moves to impose tariffs on imports from China

March 22, 2018, 10:51 am
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President Donald Trump has signed an order that paves the way for imposing tariffs on as much as 60 billion US dollars worth of Chinese imports to punish Beijing for what he said is the theft of American technology and Chinese pressure on US companies to hand it over. "It is the largest deficit of any country in the history of our world," Mr Trump said of the US-China trade imbalance, blaming it for lost American jobs. He said his action would make the country stronger and richer. China has already warned that it will take "all necessary measures" to defend itself, raising the prospect of a trade war between the world's two biggest economies. The White House said Mr Trump would direct the Office of the US Trade Representative to publish a list of proposed tariffs for public comment within 15 days. USTR has already identified potential targets: 1,300 product lines worth about 48 billion US dollars. The president is also asking Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to come up with a list of restrictions on Chinese investment. Financial markets skidded on the risk of growing commercial conflict between the US and China and the possibility that China will impose retaliatory tariffs on...
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Minister hints new subject will have same status as Maltese

March 22, 2018, 11:11 am
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Education Minister Evarist Bartolo has indicated that the subject ‘Maltese as a foreign language’ will enjoy the same status and recognition as the proper SEC Maltese, and insisted standards would not be compromised. The idea behind this new approach to teaching Malta’s native language, he said, was to make it easier for foreign students to grasp it and to offer alternate pathways to Maltese students struggling to master it. Mr Bartolo outlined the government’s plans when the Times of Malta sought his reaction on Wednesday to the harsh criticism levelled by academics, particularly to offering Maltese as a foreign language to Maltese students. While no definite decision has been taken so far, the Education Ministry said it would launch a public consultation, including on offering the course to Maltese students with a foreign parent. Read: No, Maltese is not a foreign language - Chris Gruppetta The head of the Maltese Department at the University of Malta, Bernard Micallef, has warned that giving such an option would deal a huge blow to the country’s first official language. Concern was also expressed by renowned local author Trevor Zahra, who described the new subject as...
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Water scarcity affecting 40% of world's population, UN boss says

March 22, 2018, 11:59 am
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United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres has said 40% of the world's population faces water scarcity. The UN chief, speaking on World Water Day, told diplomats and activists at Thursday's launch of the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development that "water is a matter of life and death", stressing that humans, cities, industries and agriculture depend on it. But Mr Guterres said more than two billion people lack access to safe water, over 4.5 billion lack adequate sanitation, "and more than 90% of disasters are water-related". The secretary-general said he has prepared an action plan for the Water Decade to achieve UN goals for 2030 which include providing clean water and sanitation.
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Former junior minister lands yet another consultancy job

March 22, 2018, 12:10 pm
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Former parliamentary secretary Deborah Schembri has been given a €56,000 job as a consultant at Identity Malta, in addition to a €126,000 direct order from the planning watchdog and another at the Lands Authority. The allocations were made after last year’s general election, when Dr Schembri failed to be re-elected to Parliament on the Labour ticket. Details on consultancy jobs awarded by the Office of the Prime Minister were tabled in Parliament in reply to a question by Opposition MP Jason Azzopardi. It transpired that 14 consultants had been engaged by entities falling under the OPM’s direct responsibility. The consultants cost taxpayers €423,000, the highest paid being Dr Schembri, who received €56,000 in connection with citizenship unit legal services for Identity Malta. The OPM specified that she had been engaged after the June 3 election. The former junior minister was also engaged by the Planning Authority, a State entity she was politically responsible for until she lost her parliamentary seat. Her engagement dates to August last year, when she was engaged as a legal consultant to the authority’s executive council regarding the technical aspects of implementing the...
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