timesofmalta.com newsletter - 24 Aug 2016

Copyright © 2016 timesofmalta.com Newsletter for Wednesday, 24 Aug 2016 [Times of Malta] [Castille Resources] National - [Police consider action against medical visa ‘whistleblower’] The police will be seeking the Attorney General’s advice to see whether to arraign a Libyan national who accused a government official of bribery in relation to the issue of medical visas, this newspaper has learnt. In the meantime, the government... - [Today's newspapers in review] These are the leading stories in today's local newspapers. The Times of Malta reports that the government intends on hiving off all Air Malta ground staff to a new company as part of its deal to sell 49 per cent of the airline to Alitalia. The... - [Air Malta ground staff to join new company] All Air Malta ground staff will be transferred to a new public company that will be servicing the national airline, the Times of Malta is informed. Although the plans were communicated to the workers involved during meetings last week, a spokesman... - [Industry slams Air Malta southbound rerouting] The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association and the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry have criticised the business plan proposed by Alitalia whereby many Air Malta flights will go south. At the same time, the Tourism Ministry... - [You can now get a Masters at MCAST] Postgraduate students can now add MCAST to their prospective academic options, with the college adding two Masters degrees to its list of courses for the first time. The two Masters courses, in Business Administration and Business Informatics,... World news - [Frenchman shouts 'Allahu Akbar' as he kills woman in Australia] A 29-year-old Frenchman shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) as he stabbed a British woman to death and wounded two people at a backpackers' hotel in northern Queensland, police said today. The man was in Australia on a valid tourist visa and... - [North Korea fires submarine-launched ballistic missile towards Japan] A North Korean submarine fired a ballistic missile early today that flew about 500 km (311 miles) towards Japan, a show of improving technological capability for the isolated country that has conducted a series of launches in defiance of UN... - [Watch: More than 20 people believed killed as earthquake strikes central Italy] Update 9.35am - Hotline set up A strong earthquake brought down buildings in mountainous central Italy early today, trapping residents and sending others fleeing into the streets, with scores of people believed killed. The quake caused serious... - [Russians suspected in hack of New York Times: CNN] The FBI and other U.S. security agencies are investigating cyber breaches targeting reporters at the New York Times and other US news organisations that are thought to have been carried out by hackers working for Russian intelligence, CNN reported... - [What would Sarkozy do if re-elected as French president?] Nicolas Sarkozy will run for president in 2017, hoping to return as France's head of state after being unseated in 2012 by the now deeply unpopular Francois Hollande. Sarkozy will join more than a dozen contenders vying for the Les Republicains... Opinion - [To live on a crazy island] Ijust cannot understand the mentality of the people of this tiny island of ours. According to a 2015 UN report, Malta remains by far the... - [Boycott the developers] I was encouraged by the public reaction to my article last week on high-rise towers (‘Barbarians at the gate’) from Maltese people... - [Labour’s track record] In the realm of politics nothing is ever very easy to predict. A few hours, a few votes, even a missing receipt can make all the... - [Public pathways at Simblija] I write to exercise a right of reply to the piece ‘Farmers unite to allow access to Simblija’ (July 7). As a private person, I reject any... - [The pragmatic approach] Months of speculation about which strategic partner Air Malta would end up discussing a partnership with eventually brought Alitalia to... Letters - [Two weights, two measures] After some six months since the Panama data dump, the long knives in Malta are still out, and endlessly sharpened, in an unrelenting... - [The Å»onqor method] ■The photomontage of the Townsquare tower (August 16) gives me the feeling that the effect of distance on perspective may have been... - [Salt pans walkway] It is about time that a study is conducted into building a walkway to link Salini to Qawra via the retaining four-metre wide wall of the... - [In search of an old workmate] ■I am trying to trace a long lost friend, Joe A. Buttigieg, who worked for Ralph M. Parsons in Brenford, London between 1970 and 1990. I... - [Losing its attraction] The citadel in Gozo has been given a real facelift. The result is simply magnificent. Why couldn’t the authorities see this before they... Sport - [Neptunes widen gap in title race] Neptunes Grimaldi again produced supremely confident fare to lower the colours of current champions San Ä iljan Salini Resort and in so... - [Bravo’s impending City arrival set to signal Hart exit] Claudio Bravo was pictured leaving Barcelona Airport yesterday and his expected move to Manchester City is likely to trigger the... - [Gold medallist Peaty keen on further honours] Swimming sensation Adam Peaty has admitted he has one eye on becoming a knight of the realm after his Olympic heroics in Rio. Peaty beat... - [Allardyce open to talks with Terry over England return] England manager Sam Allardyce has said he may consider holding talks with defender John Terry on a possible return to international... - [Schultheis siblings excel] “Switzerland’s Max Wallenberg and Victoria Schultheis, of Malta, are the new Optimist world champions, and the United States Team Racing... Business News - [Federal Reserve under growing pressure to reform system, goals] The US Federal Reserve has two guiding goals when designing monetary policy: maximum employment and stable inflation. But as the... - [VW, suppliers settle dispute after marathon talks] Volkswagen and two of its parts’ suppliers yesterday resolved a contract dispute that had hit output at more than half of the carmaker’s... - [When standard consumer terms don’t apply] A recent judgment delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) touched upon questions concerning unfair terms in... - [Housing sector helps global stocks advance while US dollar drops] World shares crept up yesterday with a boost from housing sectors while the dollar lost ground as investors awaited further clues on... - [Tunisie Telecom seals GO deal with 65.4 per cent takeover] Tunisie Telecom has concluded a majority takeover of GO after acquiring 65.4 per cent of the Maltese firm's share capital in a voluntary... Social - [Announcements] BALDACCHINO. On August 23, at Mater Dei Hospital, VICKY, passed away peacefully at the age of 79, comforted by the rites of Holy Church. - [Authors and poets in Malta for Mediterranean literature festival] The 11th edition of the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival kicks off tomorrow, August 24 at Fort St Elmo, Valletta, at 8pm. Twelve... - [Gianna Nannini live in concert] The last leg of Siennese singer Gianna Nannini’s 2016 tour will be taking place in Malta this Sunday, August 28. The rocker will be... - [Dance music tribute in Malta] A tribute act is usually the sole domain of pop stars and rock bands. However, with the explosion in popularity of dance music in recent... - [International wines and spirits festival] The first edition of the International Wines and Spirits Festival is being held this weekend at Smart City, Kalkara. The festival will... Blogs - [Fiscal conservatives and a dormant opposition] Bar a few hasty comments here and there, the PM’s recent interview with Il Foglio did not exactly arouse much excitement. While this is... - [Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha walk into a bar…] Look, I get it. Some people take offence when others joke about their beliefs. After all, religion is a very personal thing. For many it... - [Syrian children and American puppies] Another photo of another boy victim of war grabbed the world's attention. It shocked all those who saw it and drove many to tears.The... - [Victim Shaming 101] The Salott on Facebook – it has a lot to answer for. Free speech is all very well and good, but it does prompt all the ugly lice to crawl... - [Have I got news for you?] When I watched John Oliver's 19-minute rant on the doom and gloom facing the newspaper industry, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. 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