timesofmalta.com newsletter - 14 Dec 2016

Copyright © 2016 timesofmalta.com Newsletter for Wednesday, 14 Dec 2016 [Times of Malta] National - [€40 million IHI bonds issue oversubscribed] An issue of €40 million in bonds by International Hotel Investments has been oversubscribed. The issue was of 4% unsecured bonds 2026. The intermediaries’ offer which was scheduled for Friday has been cancelled, the company said. It will be... - [PN fund-raiser yields €417,711] The Nationalist Party raised €417,711 in its annual December fund-raising telethon yesterday. PN leader Simon Busuttil thanked all who contributed, saying this was an investment in the country and the party. The PN had raised €518,038 in a... - [Malta newspapers review] The following are the top stories in the Maltese newspapers today. Times of Malta leads with a reaction by the Economy Ministry after the Auditor General flagged expenses on drinks. It also gives prominence to remarks by the President yesterday,... - [Economy Ministry's reaction to audit report: 'Dubai drinks are expensive'] A hefty drinks bill racked up by Economy Minister Chris Cardona and two top aides during an overseas trip was the result of Dubai’s “expensive” alcohol. An Economy Ministry spokeswoman told this newspaper that the €758 bill from a three-day... - [Speaker elected chairman of small branches of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association] Speaker AnÄ¡lu Farrugia has been elected the first-ever chairman of the Small Branches of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. This election was held during the 35th Small Branches Conference held within the 62nd Commonwealth Parliamentary... World news - [North Atlantic wave was biggest ever recorded] A 19-metre wave in the North Atlantic last February set a world record, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization has announced. The wave was measured by an automated buoy between Britain and Iceland on February 4 at 6am. The wave built up after... - [United States grounds Osprey aircraft in Japan after Okinawa crash] The United States military grounded its tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey aircraft in Japan today after Tokyo called for a halt to flights following a crash southwest of Okinawa island, the first accident involving the aircraft in Japan. A U.S.-operated... - [Italy's new government wins first of two confidence votes] Premier Paolo Gentiloni has won a vote of confidence from the Italian Parliament's lower chamber for his new government, overcoming opposition outrage that his cabinet and agenda essentially mirror those of his humiliated predecessor. The chamber... - [Italian judge convicts pair in sinking that claimed 700 migrants] A judge in Sicily has convicted a ship captain and crew member in the April 2015 sinking that left 700 people dead in one of the Mediterranean's worst migrant disasters. The Tunisian captain, Mohammad Ali Malek, was sentenced to 18 years in prison... - [Facebook ordered to take down hateful posts in landmark judgment] Facebook has been ordered to take down hateful posts by a fake profile in a landmark ruling in Austria which could create a precedent for thousands of other cases around the world. The Green Party in Austria had launched a court action against... Opinion - [Taking free press for granted] There’s a big hoo-ha going on in Brussels at the moment about copyright. Please keep reading – it’s not about the niceties of nerdy... - [Fallacy of a ‘Euro-army’] No American president since 1941 has failed to acknow-ledge his country’s obligations to those who share its democratic values. In that... - [Judicial appointments] Inertia is a funny old thing. It is defined, in many physics textbooks, as that desire – possessed by all material things – for things to... - [Well ahead, and so behind] Equality for all. My Facebook newsfeed was alight with news about the new laws passed to make gay conversion therapy illegal in Malta. - [A distinguished career] The Faculty of Laws at the University of Malta is holding its fifth foundation day commemoration tomorrow. It will be conferring its... Letters - [Making inclusion education a reality] As a former educator and head of school, the leader, ‘Steps toward equity in education’ (December 9), aroused in me the urge to share... - [Shameful] The Prime Minister said “we have nothing to hide”. Good for him. Then why has he kept hidden the sale of hospitals’ contract, the... - [Two points] Is it not about time that we seriously consider rebuilding, to its former glory, the Royal Opera House in Republic Street? As it is, it... - [Can’t the warden help?] Last week I was passing by a private school in Pembroke and watched a warden giving a ticket to a parent who had just picked up his child... - [Expression in Maltese] The Maltese language is definitely richer than it seems. I fell in love with my native language when I was quite young and I believe we... Sport - [Improving sport at all levels at the heart of proposed national policy] Plans to implement a National Sports Policy for the period 2017-2027 are gathering momentum. Last weekend, marked another important step... - [Kavallieri fight back to beat Falcons at the death] Kavallieri 19Qrendi Falcons 15 In the last Cisk Lager League game for 2016, Kavallieri won it in the last minute, scoring a try to snatch... - [Sporting briefs] Pulisic: Borussia Dortmund’s director of sport Michael Zorc has told Liverpool they would be wasting their time making a bid for USA... - [Williams heads Everton to 2-1 win over Arsenal] Ashley Williams powered home a towering header in the 86th minute as Everton fought back to claim a 2-1 win over Arsenal as the title... - [Sports round-up] American Football: Three NFL franchises will play in London for the first time next year as part of a four-game schedule that will see... Business News - [EU countries vote to allow higher cheap imports tariffs] European Union countries agreed yesterday to reforms giving the bloc the possibility of imposing higher duties on excessively cheap... - [UniCredit to raise €13bn in Italy’s biggest share issue] Italy’s largest bank, UniCredit, unveiled plans yesterday to raise €13 billion in the nation’s biggest share issue, to shore up its... - [Stock indexes up as dollar holds flat before Fed] Global stock indexes rose while the dollar held steady yesterday as investors turned their focus to the US Federal Reserve’s expected... - [Sale of computers with pre-installed software] Under the EU law regime, commercial practices are heavily regulated, mostly through the 2005 Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices... - [Oil jumps to highest since mid-2015, Fed rate hike looms] Oil prices surged to their highest level since mid-2015 yesterday after the world’s top crude producers agreed to the first joint output... Social - [Announcements] ARRIGO. On December 12, SHAUN, aged 49, passed away peacefully comforted by the rites of Holy Church. He leaves to mourn his loss his... - [British theatre legends in live performance tomorrow] Beloved actors Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart star in the National Theatre’s production of No Man’s Land, screening live tomorrow in... - [Miriam Gauci and Michael Laus in concert] Soprano and pianist husband-and-wife Miriam Gauci and Michael Laus will perform in Valletta on Friday. Internationally-renowned soprano... - [Valletta’s development through time] The development of the spatial distribution of the capital city of Valletta over the course of four centuries is the focus of a talk... - [Last Magic Box event for season] The last event within the Magic Box 2016 series is a talk taking place today entitled Le tradizioni gastronomiche Siciliane legate alle... Blogs - [Dom Mintoff’s and Mgr Scicluna’s yachts] I remember a speech by the late Dom Mintoff militating for social justice in Malta. He said that a society in which you find some people... - [Jungle all the way] When the news emerged on January 10 that rock legend David Bowie had died, I was among the army of fans who went into overdrive to try to... - [If I may, Your Grace…] I often find myself defending Archbishop Charles Scicluna for the wrong reasons, though this time I might be right. Over a year ago, in... - [Joseph Muscat is right] I thought that would get your attention. Don’t go running away with the idea that I have been converted to slavish adherence to the... - [Hail to Mr Minority President] As at the point of writing Hilary Clinton has 1.75 million votes more than President elect Donald Trump; and that big gap is bound to... 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