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Works in Tigne’ Tunnels

May 12, 2015, 6:32 am
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Works on the laying of an underground cable will be carried in the Tigne’ tunnels tomorrow and on Thursday during the night. Transport Malta said traffic heading towards Valletta will be diverted onto the other lane whilst traffic coming from Sliema to Qui Si Sana, including public transport, will be diverted onto Tower Road. The diversions will apply from 9pm to 6am. 
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Traffic accidents up 10% - Sundays have worse casualty-to-accidents ratio

May 12, 2015, 6:36 am
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The number of reported traffic accidents rose by 10.1% in the first three months of this year, compared to the first quarter of last year, the National Statistics Office said.  The number of traffic accidents reached 3,572. Increases were recorded in all districts. The Northern Harbour district registered the most accidents, with 1,374 cases, or 38.5 per cent of all accidents. 362 traffic casualties were reported - including two fatalities. 207 drivers were injured, of whom 31 were reported as grievous. During this period, 33 other persons (10 passengers and 23 pedestrians) suffered grievous injuries, while 120 (86 passengers and 34 pedestrians) were slightly injured. The injuries suffered by one passenger and one pedestrian, both men, were fatal. The majority of casualties (29.6 per cent), fell in the 26-40 age bracket. The largest number of traffic casualties (76.5 per cent), were caused by passenger cars, followed by motorcycles (16.6 per cent), and goods-carrying vehicles (5.5 per cent). The highest traffic casualty rate occurred on Sundays, accounting for 17.7 per cent of total casualties while the highest number of accidents was recorded on Fridays, totalling 564 cases. The...
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Cars vandalised in Swieqi

May 12, 2015, 7:08 am
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A number of car mirrors were vandalized in Swieqi late last night. The local council said that in collaboration with the police, it is seeking information from the public in order to prosecute those responsible. Anyone with information should contact jusfenech@gmail.com. The council reiterated its call for more police patrols. 
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Malta sixth from last in migrant integration policy index

May 13, 2015, 2:22 am
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Malta has ranked 33rd out of the 38 countries assessed in terms of migrant integration, according to the Migrant Integration Policy Index (Mipex) launched today. Malta scored at 40 per cent on the index, making it ‘slightly unfavourable’ for integration. The index noted that over the last seven years, integration in Malta had become increasingly restrictive, while public attitude towards migrants and integration remained a critical barrier to effective integration. The national integration strategy currently being developed was an opportunity to tackle these issues and to significantly improve Malta’s track record on migrant integration, it said. Mipex has 168 policy indicators, covering eight policy areas. It was developed to create a rich, multi-dimensional picture of migrants’ opportunities to participate in society. The fourth edition of this project was led by the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs and the Migration Policy Group. The national partner in Malta is The People for Change Foundation. The national findings are available here.  
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President opens Commonwealth Youth Gender and Equality Network conference

May 13, 2015, 2:26 am
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President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca opened the Commonwealth Youth Gender and Equality Network conference this morning, the first in a series of conferences being held ahead of the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting in November. Addressing the gathering of youths from a number of different commonwealth States, Ms Coleiro Preca said Malta recently made a number of strides forward in the field of civil liberties. Barely visible from behind the podium, the President pointed to the Civil Unions Act and the Gender Identity Act as two major steps forward. The conference will last five days, and is aimed at enabling the youths to head back to their home countries and inspire change.
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Inflation up

May 13, 2015, 2:31 am
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The annual rate of inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices last month stood at 1.4 per cent, the National Statistics Office said. A year earlier the annual rate was 0.5 per cent. The largest upward impacts on annual inflation were brought about by the food and nonalcoholic beverages index (0.4 percentage points), the clothing and footwear index (0.4) and the miscellaneous goods and services index (0.2). These were mainly due to higher prices for vegetables, garments and jewellery. The main downward impact was recorded in the transport index (0.2 percentage points), due to lower fuel prices. The 12-month moving average rate was 0.7 per cent.
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Donations for Nepal

May 13, 2015, 2:44 am
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€80,000 have so far been collected by SOS Malta for the rebuilding of villages in the Dhading District in Nepal. Thousands of fear-stricken people spent last night outdoors after a new earthquake killed dozens of people and spread more misery in Nepal. The country is still reeling from a devastating quake that killed more than 8,000 nearly three weeks ago. In a statement this morning, SOS Malta said efforts for Nepal had to be scaled up and once the initial relief work was complete SOS Malta would transition to support longer-term recovery efforts in partnership with locally run organisations. “We are in touch with Save the Children in Kathmandu. “SOS Malta will be strategising long-term building by adopting small villages to assist in reconstruction of homes, rain water harvesting systems and livelihood recovery,” it said. Donations can be deposited to APS account 20000245111, BOV account 40013974950 or HSBC account 006070932050, or by SMS on 50616125 (€4.66), 50619226 (€11.65) or online here. RED CROSS Donations are also being collected by the Malta Red Cross at t BOV account 40018210703 or by SMS on 5061 8179 (€4.66) or 5061 9280 (€11.66).  
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Moas/MSF rescue 96 people, heading towards second boat in distress

May 13, 2015, 3:27 am
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Migrant Offshore Aid Station and Medcines Sans Frontiers (MSF) have just completed the rescue of 96 people, Medcines Sans Frontiers said in a tweet. The organisation said they were now heading towards a second vessel in distress.Moas and MSF have this year joined forces to create the only private search and rescue service in the Mediterranean. It is feared that this year will be the deadliest year yet for those risking the Mediterranean crossing. So far, an estimated 1,750 have drowned compared to 96 during the same period last year.
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Temporary distribution mechanism for migrants to be proposed by end of month

May 13, 2015, 3:56 am
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The European Commission will be proposing a temporary distribution mechanism for persons in clear need of international protection within the EU by the end of May. A proposal for a permanent EU system for relocation in emergency situations of mass influxes will follow by the end of 2015, according to a European Agenda on Migration presented by the European Commission today. It proposes taking in 20,000 refugees over two years and distributing them across Europe but giving Britain, Ireland and Denmark the option not to accept any. The United Kingdom and Ireland have an 'opt-in' right under the Treaties, whereby they may choose, within three months of a proposal being presented to the Council, whether they wish to participate in the measure. Denmark, on the other hand, has an 'opt-out' right whereby they do not participate in certain treaty measures. Malta will be allocated 138 refugees. Germany will take the most at 3,648. The agenda outlines the immediate measures that will be taken to respond to the crisis situation in the Mediterranean as well as the steps to be taken in the coming years to better manage migration in all its aspects. The agenda sets out a European response,...
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Organ donation register may list both donors and non donors - Parliamentary Secretary

May 13, 2015, 4:58 am
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The government is leaning close to having a voluntary register listing people who want to be organ donors and those who do not, Health Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne said this afternoon. Speaking during a consultation meeting with experts, a week before the consultation period on organ donations comes to an end, Mr Fearne said that the register would be legally binding but one would be able to change his or her decision. When people who were not on the register were declared dead, their next of kin would be consulted on organ donation. The consultation document had proposed allowing  minors as young as 14 to become donors. The consensus seemed to be setting to be to set the donation age at 16, Mr Fearne said. He said the government was also looking  into ways to clamp down on any possible organ trafficking as well as signing up as donors for financial gain. Mater Dei clinical director Joseph Zarb Adami noted that according to a study carried out in 2012 by an organ transplant NGO, 94 per cent of people felt comfortable giving up their organs.
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'Arrogant' bus driver fined €300

May 13, 2015, 5:04 am
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An "arrogant" Italian bus driver was this afternoon fined €300 and will also lose his job with the public transport service provider after a magistrate ruled that his arrogance and attitude made him unfit for the job.  As he ordered that a copy of the decision be transmitted to Transport Malta to take action it deemed fit, Magistrate Carol Peralta found 48-year-old Antonio D'Antuono guilty of verbally threatening a British passenger who had drawn his attention to the fact that he was using his mobile while driving.  During the rowdy hearing, the magistrate also fined him a further €20 for contempt of court after he was repeatedly warned not to smile and gesticulate while witnesses were testifying.  Mr D’Antuono was charged with using a mobile phone whilst driving, failing to be in full control of a moving vehicle, public blasphemy and threatening the passenger, John Oliver Kane, who was in turn charged with offending the driver during an altercation. He was, however, cleared of the charges.  The court heard Mr Kane explained how on October 29 last year, he had caught a bus to Mater Dei from the Bugibba bus terminus. During the trip, Mr D’Antuono had threatened to hit him after...
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EU lifting excessive deficit procedure on Malta

May 13, 2015, 5:18 am
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The European Commission, as expected, recommended today that the EU's Council of Ministers should close the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) for Malta and Poland. With regard to Malta, it noted that the general government deficit was reduced to 2.1% of GDP in 2014 and is forecast to remain 3% of GDP in 2015-16. Malta has also complied with the debt rule in 2014, a necessary condition for exiting the EDP given that the procedure was based on the breach of both the deficit and the debt criteria. The Commission said economic growth is projected to remain robust, supported by strong domestic demand. Labour market gains have been the main driver for growth in recent years. Investment has 'stagnated' after being a prominent driver for growth in the first half of the past decade. Price inflation is projected to remain moderate in historical terms, but still higher than the average in the euro area. Despite the challenging external environment and the high import-intensiveness of domestic demand, Malta’s exports continued to outpace imports and the net external position is expected to have improved over the past year. Malta's budgetary performance over the past decade exhibited varying...
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Excessive bureaucracy at ARMS forcing people to queue for hours

May 13, 2015, 5:24 am
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A lawyer today filed a judicial protest against ARMS Ltd complaining about its excessive bureaucracy that was forcing people to queue for two to three hours.  Joe Brincat, on his behalf and on behalf of others, filed the protest after he spent two hours waiting at the ARMS office when all he wanted was something basic.  He protested against the company's "self-imposed" requirement of examining the legal title to properties before entertaining request for people to be registered for water and electricity.  Dr Brincat said that he had called at ARMS in person on March 20 and spent two hours in a long queue of people who were mostly there to have the utility meters registered on their name.  He insisted that the company had no right to check whether these people were the property owners, saying there were many properties in Malta which were not registered in the names of the owners but in the name of the person using the utility meter.  When a property is inherited, heirs are made to jump through hoops to transfer the services which had been registered in the name of the deceased, he said, adding that in view of the excess bureaucracy people are opting to leave the registration...
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Antoine Cachia Caruana, long-serving headmaster, passes away

May 13, 2015, 5:27 am
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Antoine Cachia Caruana, former headmaster of St Edward's College passed away today aged 87. Mr Cachia Caruana was the father of Richard Cachia Carauna, Malta's permanent representative to the EU. He served as headmaster from 1976 to 1989 and was considered as being a strict disciplinarian. He was involved in education for most of his life, mostly in teaching at St Edward's. He was also honorary life president of the Old Edwardians Association. Mr Cachia Caruana was made a Member of the National Order of Merit in December 2000.   The funeral Mass will be held on Monday at 9.30am at St Edward's.
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Share index slumps to two-week low

May 13, 2015, 5:34 am
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The share index shed a further 0.2 per cent during this morning’s session to drop back to a new two-week low of 3,773.428 points largely reflecting the deceases in the share prices of HSBC and International Hotel Investments. The equity of HSBC eased by 0.5 per cent to €1.86 on volumes of 43,913 shares. Similarly, International Hotel Investments dropped 1.4 per cent back to the 68c level on volumes of 29,400 shares. The only other negative performing equity was 6pm Holdings with a 1.3 per cent decline back to the 74p level on a single trade of 11,041 shares. On the other hand, Bank of Valletta inched minimally higher to close this morning’s session at the €2.28 level albeit on shallow volumes of 4,300 shares. Similarly, the share price of RS2 Software edged 0.6 per cent higher to recapture the €3.18 level across 6,500 shares. Yesterday evening, RS2 published its interim directors’ statement confirming a new agreement with a Vietnamese bank whilst also revealing contract negotiations with a UK processing company. The announcement also stated that works on the Gozo office is at an advanced stage and expected to commence operations in the third quarter of this year. In a separate...
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Psychiatric drugs ‘cause more harm’

May 13, 2015, 5:44 am
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People should stop taking antidepressants and drugs for dementia and ADHD, as their benefits are exaggerated and they would be healthier in the long-term without them, a leading professor has suggested. Peter Gotzsche said psychiatric drugs are responsible for the deaths of more than half a million people aged 65 and older each year in the Western world. Writing in the BMJ, he said: “Their benefits would need to be colossal to justify this, but they are minimal.” Gotzsche said drug trials do not accurately evaluate the effects of many types of medication, as patients are usually taking others at the same time. He also hit out at an under-reporting of deaths in such trials, highlighting a study by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in which he had estimated there to have been 15 times more suicides among people taking antidepressants than claimed. He also said his analysis of a trial of dementia patients, which he studied because they would be less likely to be on other drugs, found the death rate to be one per cent higher than those who took a placebo. Gotzsche, who is director of the Nordic Cochrane Centre at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, calculated that three...
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Two players fail doping tests after Div. One match

May 13, 2015, 5:57 am
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Two players have tested positive for doping after the Division One match between Melita and St George's, played on April 7. This was announced during a meeting of the Malta FA council, currently underway at the Centenary Hall, Ta' Qali. The two players, who have not been named, have been suspended provisionally, pending the outcome of the Malta FA's disciplinary proceedings. Today's council meeting will be followed by an Extraordinary General Meeting where a series of amendments to the player status and transfer regulations will be put forward for approval by the Malta FA council members and delegates.
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Updated - Fuel station claims its petrol tanks were filled with diesel by Enemed - motorists demand compensation

May 13, 2015, 6:11 am
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A petrol station that had its unleaded petrol tanks filled with diesel is holding Enemed responsible for damages it and its clients suffered as a result of the mix-up. Enemed is the state-owned fuel procurement and distribution company which was formerly Enemalta's petroleum division.   Mario Mizzi, on behalf of Joston Company Limited, which operates the Yellow Service Station in Floriana, filed a judicial protest against Enemed Co. Ltd, holding it responsible for damages. He explained that last Saturday, an Enemed employee went to the station to supply it with fuel as the weekend was approaching. It resulted that Enemed supplied diesel instead of unleaded petrol, which in turn led to a large number of complaints from clients that their vehicles were not working properly. Mr Mizzi said that as a result of Enemed's mistake, motorists who filled their fuel tanks between Friday and Tuesday, damaged not only their fuel tanks but even their car engines. These were holding the fuel station responsible for the damages they had suffered. However, the responsibility for the damage was to be borne by Enemed as this was the result of a mistake committed by one of its employees. Moreover,...
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Bus strike tomorrow

May 13, 2015, 6:16 am
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The GWU has ordered a bus strike tomorrow because of a disagreement with Spanish-owned Malta Public Transport. The union said the bus company had reduced drivers' wages  and despite protests, it had not refunded the deductions.   The company had said when the dispute erupted last month that the bus drivers had not worked all the hours they were contracted for.  The union said the bus strike will be effective between 8am and 11am and 4pm to 7pm.   
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Speaker commends policemen who foiled theft

May 13, 2015, 6:48 am
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The Speaker of the House of Representatives has written to the Police Commissioner to commend three policemen who foiled a theft next door to the new Parliament House. Speaker Anglu Farrugia, himself a former police superintendent, said the three officers, who form part of the security unit assigned to Parliament, on Saturday while on patrol arrested a person who allegedly made his way into the offices of Teatru Rjal to commit a theft. The officers, Dr Farrugia said, deserved to be commended for their dedication.
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