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Minister hopes Gozo Channel fares would be the same for everyone on weekends

June 30, 2014, 9:28 am
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Gozo minister Anton Refalo said today that he looked forward to the day when fares on the Gozo Channel ferries would be the same for the Maltese and Gozitans during weekends. Replying to parliamentary questions, Dr Refalo said the government had inherited serious financial problems at Gozo Channel but it was successfully addressing them. The management was insisting that spending projections were not exceeded, and efforts were being made to clamp down on excessive overtime and sick leave, among other measures. Once the company was brought on financial even keel, Dr Refalo said he looked forward to the day being the same fares would apply for Maltese and Gozitans on weekends, encouraging more Maltese to cross to Gozo.
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Three hurt as car overturns in San Gwann

June 30, 2014, 10:58 pm
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Three persons were hospitalised after a Fiat Cinquecento overturned in Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann, last night. The police said the incident happened at about 3.15am when a 21-year-old man lost control of the vehicle. The driver and two passengers, an 18-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man were slightly injured.
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Update 2 - San Blas owner claims works were 'for personal use'

June 30, 2014, 8:44 am
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Updated 5.45pm Mepa said this afternoon that it had stopped works on a site adjacent to San Blas Bay in Gozo, a  Grade 3 scheduled area. An iron gate and a metal frame were assembled on site and maintenance work on existing rubble walls took place, Mepa said. Concrete was used to install a number of metal poles. During Mepa’s inspection, Joseph Portelli who said he was the sole owner of the site said the works were carried out last week for ‘personal use’. Since, the site in question is listed as Grade 3 Area of Ecological Importance, the Mepa officers immediately stopped the illegal work and an enforcement notice together with a daily fine (maximum fine of €50 per day) was issued against Mr Portelli. Mepa said it will continue to monitor the site to ensure that the removal of all illegal structures. Earlier today, Environment NGO Din l-Art Helwa said that it strongly condemned any illegal development at San Blas Bay. It said it was ironic, it said, that while Mepa's enforcement directorate was recently applauded for issuing enforcement notices on similar developments at Golden Sands and Paradise Bay, no such action was taken on this illegal and unacceptable land clearing...
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Maltese company acquires Poland’s largest Apple retailer

July 1, 2014, 2:22 am
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PTL International, a subsidiary of Hili Ventures, has acquired SAD, Poland’s largest retail network of Apple products. The acquisition also comprises SAD Corporate, SAD’s business-to-business arm and major provider of Apple solutions for business in Poland. Established in 1991, SAD is one of Poland’s fastest growing IT companies.It enjoys three key statuses as Apple Premium Reseller, Apple Authorised Training Centre, and Apple Authorised Service Provider. PTL International draws all Hili Ventures’ diversified technology activities into one business cluster. It is engaged in four core IT areas: retail, business solutions, borderless value added services, and communications. SAD encompasses a chain of 21 stores, operating under the iSpot brand. The stores are located in key malls in major Polish cities, including Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Gdynia, Wroclaw, Lodz, Poznan, and Katowice. A 22nd store, a two‐storey flagship, will be inaugurated in later this month and will feature a sizeable service centre. This will be the ninth iSpot in Warsaw.
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Man hospitalised after Hamrun argument

June 30, 2014, 8:33 am
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A man was hospitalised and another was arrested following a heated argument in Hamrun this afternoon. The argument started at the Hazzard Pub in Qormi Road. Sources said one of the man was injured when he apparently smashed a glass door. Broken glass could be seen littering the street, which was closed to traffic for some time. Police investigations are under way.
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Malta among countries which do most good to the world

July 1, 2014, 5:16 am
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Malta is one of the 30 countries which most contribute to humanity, according to Business Insider magazine. The Good Country Index ranked 125 nations based on how much they do for others globally in seven areas: science and technology, culture, international peace and security, world order, planet and climate, prosperity and equality, and health and well being. The ranking was created by merging of 35 data sets produced by organizations like the UN, WHO, and UNESCO over a period of nearly 3-years. "What I mean by a 'good country' is a country that contributes to the greater good," Simon Anholt, an independent policy advisor who made the index, told Business Insider. "We’ve given each country a balance-sheet to show at a glance whether it’s a net creditor to mankind, a burden on the planet, or something in between." Ireland occupied top spot followed by Finland and Switzerland. Malta was in 23rd position, behind the United States Costa Rica and ahead of Chile Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/good-country-index-2014-6#ixzz36Dcc15FU  
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Expert warns: everyone now texting and driving

June 30, 2014, 7:02 am
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Texting while driving is becoming an increasing danger on Maltese roads because “everyone is doing it and at all hours”, according to a traffic expert. The police recently uploaded a gory graphic on their Facebook page to raise awareness about the perils of texting at the wheel. Although the police do not have any statistics on the number of accidents caused by texting, former Assistant Police Commissioner Josie Brincat, who used to be responsible for the traffic section, said he even saw a biker sending an SMS. Texting, which now includes instant messaging applications, is considered especially dangerous because of the eye contact and attention it demands. “Drink driving happens normally in the evening or early morning but text driving is taking place all day and by all ages. It seems to be on the increase,” said Mr Brincat. He emphasised the need to have stronger deterrents and for the law to be enforced not just by the police but also the courts. An international study, published in the Traffic Injury Prevention journal, concluded that sending messages on a mobile phone led to risks com­parable to drunk driving. The study compared the effects of mobile phone use while...
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Political rules could spell Ajkla’s ballot sheet death

July 1, 2014, 3:24 am
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Nazzareno Bonnici has contested elections under the banner Partit tal-Ajkla but proposed new rules may bar him from using the name and emblem. The draft law regulating political party financing, released last week, will make it mandatory for political parties to register with the Electoral Commission if they are to be listed on the ballot sheet. But registration comes with a raft of conditions such as having a statute, administrative structures and an obligation to hold accounts and report on donations received. Mr Bonnici will have to ditch the Tal-Ajkla banner unless his political formation takes on the semblance of a political party. If he reneges on this obligation, Mr Bonnici’s name will next time appear on the ballot sheet in a list with other independent candidates. The independent title means no reference can be made to the party name and emblem on the ballot sheet. The new rules will block the one or two-men shows, disguised as parties, which sprout up at election time, most notably the European Parliament election, only to disappear soon afterwards. But they will also impose an obligation on political formations like Norman Lowell’s Imperium Europa to transform into an...
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Man registers for work for 22 years

June 30, 2014, 10:02 pm
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One person who has signed up for the Cleaner and Greener Gozo scheme had been registering for workfor 22 years, since 1992, Education and Employment Minister Evarist Bartolo said in Parliament. The scheme is open to persons who on January 1 this year were on the first part of the employment register. 166 applied for the scheme. Mr Bartolo said participants in training could choose to work between 20 and 40 hours a week, getting paid €75 or €145 respectively for 20 weeks of training. With their applications participants signed a declaration that they were joining the scheme voluntarily. All participants remain on the employment register and are still bound to attend for interviews or training as directed by the corporation.  
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Maltese surprise at Glastonbury

July 1, 2014, 5:25 am
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The Glastonbury music festival in the UK is well known for the weird and the wonderful. But view the video above to see what turned up on Saturday. It was all thanks to Nicky Bomba's Bustamento, a six piece band growing in popularity. The Glastonbury Festival  of Contemporary Performing Arts  is a five-day music festival held in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemporary music, the festival hosts dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret, and other arts. It is largest greenfield (and muddy) festival in the world,  with a turnout of some 175,000 people. The majority of staff are volunteers, helping the festival to raise millions of pounds for good causes. Nicky 'Bomba', a Maltese Australian, founded the band in 2003 and it has toured all over Australia as well as the UK and Canada. It mostly pays homage to the upbeat rhythms of the Caribbean, covering the Calypso, Mento, Early Reggae and Ska styles.
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Witness in Erin Tanti case testifies behind closed doors

July 1, 2014, 2:07 am
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A witness in the murder compilation of evidence against drama teacher Erin Tanti, 23, was this morning heard behind closed doors. Mr Tanti is pleading not guilty to the murder of 15-year-old drama student Lisa Marie Zahra on March 19 and assisting her to commit suicide. The court had heard that Mr Tanti had told police he did not kill Ms Zahra and that he loved her but planned to end their relationship. Her lifeless body was found on the rocks of Dingli cliffs and he “initially” told rescuers that he had fallen. Magistrate Audrey Demicoli had ruled that there was enough evidence for the indictment of Mr Tanti and, in a tense sitting on June 3, an emotional Tony Zahra recounted how he was informed that his daughter was missing when he was abroad. However, when he arrived in Malta, he was told she was dead. This morning, magistrate Audrey Demicoli upheld a request by lawyer Stephen Tonna Lowell, representing the Zahra family, to ban the publication of a name of a minor but initially refused to hear the testimony behind closed doors. Later she upheld the request and asked the press and the public to leave the court room. During today's hearing, psychiatrist Anton Grech, who...
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Transport Malta sets up mechanism to handle motorists' claims for damages - Ombudsman

July 2, 2014, 5:04 am
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Transport Malta has agreed to set up a mechanism to handle claims by motorists for damages caused by the state of the roads. The Ombudsman in a statement this afternoon said his office had investigated a number of complaints lodged by people who claimed payment for damages, which complainants claimed should have been addressed by Transport Malta.  A number of meetings were held with authority officials where it was agreed that a procedure and criteria to be adopted in processing such claims needed to be determined, formalised and published by Transport Malta. A document, indicating the procedure to be followed by the Roads and Infrastructure Directorate of Transport Malta (RID) and the manner in which the claims would be examined, assessed and decided was passed on the Ombudsman for his comments. The Ombudsman made a number of suggestions. They included: a)  the acknowledgement of all correspondence received from claimants within pre-established short time-frames; b) a clear indication of the time limits applicable for the review and decision of  claims; c) where the claim is considered as not having been adequately substantiated, claimants are to be provided with details...
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Many insurance firms idle as Ta' Xbiex suffers another power cut

July 1, 2014, 3:38 am
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Residents and businesses in Ta' Xbiex are having to do without electricity for a second day in a row. Yesterday, a fault in a transformer in the distribution system left the area without electricity from 1pm to 8pm. The power went out again today shortly after 1200, and many business owners contacted Times of Malta complaining that these outages were costing them a lot of money. “We never had anything of the sort – and Ta’ Xbiex is a hub of financial services and insurances companies. For the second day running we have workers sitting at their desk unable to work,” said one irate business owner. Enemalta said the areas affected by today's outage were Ta' Xbiex, Guardamangia and Marsa. The fault is related to yesterday's outage. Repairs are expected to take "not more than three hours".
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Maltese most satisfied with second-hand car market in the EU

June 30, 2014, 11:04 pm
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The Maltese are more satisfied than any other EU consumers with the second-hand car market in their country. They also consider it to be very competitive, according to the latest Consumer Markets Scoreboard, a survey of 52 different markets for goods and services across EU member states. The markets range from home appliances and ICT products to insurance and TV subscriptions. The people surveyed were asked questions about the ease of comparing the goods and services on offer, their trust in retailers and suppliers, the problems and complaints they might have, the choice of retailers and their overall consumer satisfaction. The second-hand car market in Malta obtained an 83.3 per cent scoring – a full 12.1 per cent higher than the EU average for this particular market. Importing a second-hand car used to be prohibitive in most cases before a regime of hefty registration fees – which sometimes even surpassed the value of the car itself – was overhauled in 2009. According to data published by the NSO, last year Malta imported more than 7,300 used cars and only 5,700 new ones. More in Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.
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Nuns appeal for help after blaze

July 2, 2014, 12:16 am
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The Sisters of Charity in Tarxien have issued an appeal for help after a fire destroyed sections of the upper part of their convent. The blaze destroyed equipment used for seminars and training as well as furniture in a conference hall. The hall is used by many associations and support groups free of charge. "It really needs to be redone as soon as possible, so that the services can start again without much delay," the nuns said. Donations can be made directly at Sisters of Charity, 152 Sisters Street, Tarxien; at Bank of Valletta, account name Sisters of Charity - IBAN MT07VALL22013000000040017426323 and at HSBC account name Sisters of Charity – IBAN MT72MMEB44130000000013075510051.
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Busuttil: Police Commissioner broke European law in Dalli case - Commissioner says Olaf request had no legal basis

July 2, 2014, 9:27 am
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Updated - Adds Police Commissioner's reaction to Giovanni Kessler's letter - Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said this evening that the failure by Police Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit to cooperate with Olaf in a new investigation about John Dalli was a clear breach of European law and the prime minister, who had personally appointed the commissioner, needed to assume his responsibilities. Referring to a letter published today by Olaf Director-General Giovanni Kessler, Dr Busuttil said in parliament that what had happened was a disgrace which shamed Malta. This sort of thing undermined democracy and rendered Malta a banana republic. (See Dr Kessler's letter at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140702/local/updated-dalli-says-he-wanted-to-confront-kessler-in-malta.526030 ) Dr Busuttil said that Dr Kessler's revelation that the police commissioner had not cooperated with Olaf, which sought his help three times, was a clear breach of European law, as Dr Kessler himself pointed out. This was also a clear case of government interference and hindrance in the work of an independent institution, similar to the situation between the Minister of Home Affairs and the Ombudsman...
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Enemalta could have saved millions through earlier hedging of oil purchases - adviser

July 1, 2014, 12:30 pm
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Enemalta could have saved millions of euros had it opted to heed advice to hedge oil prices earlier, an economics professor told the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee today. Prof. Joe Falzon, a board member and chairman of the corporation’s fuel procurement advisory committee between 1999 and 2003, recounted how he had always been a staunch believer in hedging of oil prices, but it had been an uphill struggle until the board had given its first-ever approval in mid-August 2005. Hedging when he first suggested it, with oil prices at rock bottom, would have saved the corporation $111 million in 18 to 24 months, he said. But the corporation had never saved a cent in this sense because the board did not approve, even though he was only pushing for the hedging of part of the supplies. Some amount of hedging had only been done between 1996 and 1998 under the government of Alfred Sant. He also recounted how Enemalta had received a cash injection of €33 million simply by converting a $120 million loan back from euro to US dollars in 2000. The transaction had also saved $6 million in interest. Prof. Falzon said that even in 2000 there were millions of liri in unpaid utility bills,...
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Briton fined €3,000 for traffic accident involving MPs

July 1, 2014, 10:53 am
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A Briton whose car crashed into a car used by two MPs and then drove off the scene of the incident was this evening fined €3,000. James Malcolm Towers, 46, who lives in Pieta', was arraigned on Thursday when he pleaded not guilty to driving without a licence and insurance, dangerous driving, exceeding the speed limit, failing to stop to give his particulars, causing €1,400 in damages to Mr Azzopardi's car and fleeing the scene of a crime. MPs Frederick Azzopardi and Censu Galea were slightly injured in the accident which happened in Pieta'.  The Briton, who was driving a Volvo with German number plates, initially got out of the car to argue with the MPs, then drove off without giving his particulars. He was arrested on the following day.
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Transport Malta receives first BMW i3

July 1, 2014, 7:36 am
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The Transport Ministry and Transport Malta recently took possession of the first BMW i3 ever to be brought over to Malta as part of the ongoing EU-Funded PORT-PVEV project, which is being spearheaded by TM. The i3 which is BMW's first zero emissions mass-produced vehicle, comes from the first production line since production only started earlier this year. It is also the first vehicle to be exported outside the German and Austrian territory and the first one to be used by any government in Europe. It will be used mostly in relation to transport activities within port areas by the authority and the ministry. It is one of 13 fully electric vehicles that are being purchased through the EU project, part of which demonstrates electro-mobility. The project is part financed by the operational programme 'Italy-Malta' Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2007-2013 with a total budgetary allocation of €2.5 million. It will also see the purchase and installation of fast electric car charging infrastructure at TM buildings, the installation of a solar photovoltaic plant on top of the Malta Transport Centre, and the first solar-powered car ports with complimenting electric car charging...
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Update 2: Dalli says he wanted to confront Kessler in Malta

July 2, 2014, 7:40 am
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(Adds Mr Dalli's statement, Lawrence Gonzi reaction) Giovanni Kessler, director-general of Olaf, the EU anti-fraud agency, has written to Speaker Anglu Farrugia saying, among other things, that on three occasions Olaf asked Police Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit to collaborate on a new Olaf investigation concerning John Dalli but it had not received any replies. Dr Kessler also claimed that on June 19, 2014 a source informed him that during a meeting which took place on the same day in Brussels, Mr Dalli asked the source to convey the message for him not to go to Malta because he might be arrested. But in a counter-statement, Mr Dalli said he wanted to confront Dr Kessler in Malta and would not have warned him not to come. He published a letter he had sent the Speaker last month asking to be allowed to confront Dr Kessler when he testified in Malta. "When I was in Brussels on the 19th June to meet my lawyers, I also met some journalists. I gave my opinion that with the evidence that is now coming out, Kessler might be in trouble. One of the journalist met me again later and told me that he had given Kessler this information and that Kessler told him that 'they must have the tapes...
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