Army and police troops killed the attackers at the Agriculture Training Institute in the northwestern city of Peshawar about two hours into the attack
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Thursday, November 30, 2017
Pakistan: gunmen storm agriculture college killing nine
Putin welcomes football world to Kremlin for World Cup draw
Vladimir Putin welcomes soccer luminaries to the Kremlin on Friday for a World Cup draw that provides a global audience for the Russian president to attempt to burnish the image of a country scandalized by sports corruption.
By staging the ceremony for the 32 World Cup finalists at the seat of Russian power and draping the Kremlin in FIFA branding, soccer's governing body is undercutting its pretense that sports and politics should not mix — and in a country where the association has proved so damaging.
FIFA is on the final countdown to the first World Cup in Russia as it continues to assess the extent the 2014 World Cup squad was embroiled in the country's state-sponsored doping scheme. FIFA President Gianni Infantino still plans to share a stage Friday with Vitaly Mutko, the Russian deputy prime minister accused of overseeing the elaborate scheme that saw positive samples across Russian sports destroyed or hidden.
Infantino, though, is still trying to rebuild FIFA's image after far-reaching bribery scandals threatened the future of the organization. The draw comes one day short of the seventh anniversary of the World Cup vote from which so many of FIFA's legal travails stemmed.
Russian authorities deny government involvement in doping and the country has weathered FIFA corruption investigations, concerns about hooliganism, racism around games, deaths on World Cup construction sites and a sponsor shortfall to stay on track to host soccer's biggest tournament for the first time.
The draw is the moment fans can start to plan their journeys across Russia, with 11 host cities spread from Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea in the west to Yekaterinburg in the Ural mountains which separate Europe and Asia.
Germany will discover the path to defending the title won in Brazil, while Iceland and Panama will be in the draw for the finals for the first time. Two teams are returning after long absences: Peru hasn't contested the World Cup since 1982 and Egypt is returning for the first time since 1990. But there is no space for four-time champion Italy, two-time reigning Copa America champion Chile, while the United States is missing for the first time since 1986.
___
HOW DOES THE DRAW WORK?
The draw ceremony starts at 1500 GMT on Friday at the State Kremlin Palace and is set to last for an hour. The 32 finalists will be split into eight groups featuring a team from each pot. Only Europe can have two teams in the same group.
The draw will be presided over by former England striker Gary Lineker, who has previously called for FIFA to be disbanded over bribery scandals and questioned Russia's legitimacy to host the World Cup over the doping across sports.
Greats from the eight World Cup-winning nations will serve as draw assistants: Diego Maradona (Argentina), Gordon Banks (England), Laurent Blanc (France), Cafu (Brazil), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy), Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Miroslav Klose (Germany), Carles Puyol (Spain), and Nikita Simonyan for host Russia.
Russian sports journalist Maria Komandnaya is the co-presenter.
WHO IS IN EACH POT?
FIFA changed how it allocates teams in the draw and now uses rankings alone for all four pots. At previous World Cups, only Pot 1 was for seeded teams, and the other three pots were decided by a geographical spread.
October FIFA ranking in brackets:
Pot 1: Russia (65), Germany (1), Brazil (2), Portugal (3), Argentina (4), Belgium (5), Poland (6), France (7).
Pot 2: Spain (8), Peru (10), Switzerland (11), England (12), Colombia (13), Mexico (16), Uruguay (17), Croatia (18).
Pot 3: Denmark (19), Iceland (21), Costa Rica (22), Sweden (25), Tunisia (28), Egypt (30), Senegal (32), Iran (34).
Pot 4: Serbia (38), Nigeria (41), Australia (43), Japan (44), Morocco (48), Panama (49), South Korea (62), Saudi Arabia (63).
WHEN IS THE WORLD CUP?
Russia will play the tournament opener on June 14, 2018. The World Cup final will be held on July 15. Both showpiece games are at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Games will also be hosted in St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Sochi and Rostov-on-Don.
More than 740,000 tickets out of a total of 2.6 million have already been allocated and the next phase of sales starts on Dec. 5 through a ballot.
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Jonathan Ferris given police protection… but only for the night
Former FIAU investigator Jonathan Ferris has been given police protection, but only for the night, The Malta Independent has learnt.
Ferris claims he was unfairly dismissed from the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit because he was investigating serious crimes involving top government officials. He has given a number of interviews, in which he described Malta as a corrupt country.
This was contradicted by the government which said that Ferris had already been given protection, but later Ferris himself said that such protection had not been afforded.
"If such (protection) holds true they are being the paragon of transparency and subtlety as I have not seen a hair on their head," he told The Malta Independent when asked to react to the government statement. "I can tell you that to date neither me nor my family have seen or felt police presence or protection."
Yesterday evening, a fixed police point was granted to Ferris outside his residence for the first time. But this morning it was realised that the fixed point would only be made available during the night. No protection is being given to the former police inspector during the day.
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Japan's Emperor Akihito to abdicate on 30 April, 2019
Japan's much admired Emperor Akihito is set to abdicate on April 30, 2019, at age 85 in the first such departure from the Chrysanthemum Throne in about 200 years, the government said Friday.
Akihito's elder son Crown Prince Naruhito will ascend the throne a day later, beginning a new as yet unnamed era.
The decision was made Friday at a meeting of the Imperial House Council, which was chaired by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and included parliamentary leaders, supreme court judges and imperial family members.
Akihito expressed his apparent wish to abdicate in August 2016, citing his age and health.
Abe will provide the summary of the meeting at the next Cabinet session early next week ahead of the formal approval expected on Dec. 8, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters.
"I feel deeply moved that the decision was made smoothly by the Imperial House Council, marking a major step toward an imperial succession," Abe said.
Suga said the timing was chosen so that Akihito can abdicate after reaching his 30th anniversary on the throne, a milestone. Late April is also more appropriate for many Japanese to embrace the change of an era after settling down from a busy period of travel and job transfers around April 1, the beginning of a new fiscal year.
The events also mean longer Golden Week holidays — up to 10 straight days for those who can take May 2 off.
Legislation allowing Akihito to abdicate within three years was enacted earlier this year.
There will be more preparations to come, including deciding a new era name and a new home for the emperor and the empress, Suga said.
"We would like everyone to celebrate an abdication of the emperor and succession of the crown prince," he said.
Akihito's desire to leave the throne revived a debate about the country's 2,000-year-old monarchy, one of the world's oldest, as well as discussion about improving the status of female members of the shrinking royal population. The current male-only succession rules prohibit women from succeeding to the Chrysanthemum Throne and female members lose their royal status when they marry a commoner.
Akihito was 56 years old when he ascended the throne in January 1989 after the death of his father, Emperor Hirohito, beginning the Heisei Era. Naruhito will be 59 when he becomes emperor.
The emperor and his wife, Empress Michiko, who was born a commoner, are an elegant, stately pair often seen making visits to disaster victims and carrying out other official duties.
The legislation for Akihito's case was needed because the 1947 Imperial House Law does not provide for abdication. The last emperor to abdicate was Kokaku in 1817.
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EP delegation to meet Chief Justice, PM today; no reply from Schembri
The EP delegation that is currently in Malta on a fact-finding mission is this morning expected to meet the Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri. The MEPs, from the PANA and LIBE committees, are also expected to hold talks with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Minister for Justice Owen Bonnici.
The delegation wants to hold talks with the Chief Justice after his strong speech on the rule of law in Malta last October, during the opening of the new forensic year. In his speech he had said that we need to safeguard the rule of law, commenting that without proper law enforcement this cannot take place.
The same delegation had also invited the Prime Minister Chief of Staff Keith Schembri. By the time of going to print late last night Schembri had still not replied to the MEPs. When the PANA committee came to Malta on a similar mission earlier this year, Schembri had refused to meet.
Later in the afternoon, the delegation will be meeting the Chairman of Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) Joe Bannister and other MFSA officials regarding the financial institutions in our country.
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Air Malta cabin crew approve collective agreement with overwhelming vote
With 168 votes in favour and 68 against, Air Malta cabin crew have agreed to new work conditions, making them the second category of workers at the national airline to close a collective agreement
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Four candidates vying for Eurogroup presidency and Edward Scicluna is not one of them
Finance Minister Edward Scicluna had expressed an interest in putting forward his candidacy to become the president of the Eurogroup but his name is not among the four announced today
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Head of Libyan mission to Malta: No slavery phenomenon in Libya
Elhabib Alamin stressed that the Libyan state and its people could not be held responsible for the action of criminal gangs, while calling on the international community to help efforts to stablise the country
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Investigative Coring works in Għajnsielem, as part of the Malta-Gozo tunnel project – Ian Borg
Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg, visited investigative works which are being carried out as part of the project towards the proposed Malta-Gozo tunnel. At the moment, these works known as 'Investigative Coring', are being carried out in two sites in Għajnsielem.
A few weeks ago, the Ministry issued a press release which explained how contractor GEOTEC SPA who won the tender in June of this year, is extracting a series of investigative samples through the digging of a number of boreholes in nine different places on land and at sea.
The Minister said that this is an extremely important stage in this big project. He explained how the work started in October as Transport Malta did not wish to disrupt the heavy activity which takes place in these areas during summer. He noted that Transport Malta collaborates continuously with ERA, both prior to the commencement of the works and even during the works themselves. He reminded the attending press that Transport Malta is also working with the University of Malta, which has already carried out a series of seismic investigations with OGS Trieste in the last few months.
Borg concluded by saying that the results and analysis of the seismic and geological investigations will be used to establish a geological model of the zone under investigation, and said that this is an important step in the process as it will be an essential guide toward the design of the proposed tunnel.
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Local council official acquitted of misappropriation
The court observed that the prosecution had produced no evidence of any claims of missed payments or shortfalls in deposits or anything to substantiate the former mayor's claim of a discrepancy of Lm10,000, much less that the sum had been used by the former council official for his own purposes.
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Libyan ambassador denounces any form of slavery, says inquiry into leaked videos ongoing
Libyan ambassador Elhabib Alamin has denounced any form of slavery which is occurring in his country. He insisted that his homeland respects diversity and people from different countries.
Addressing a press conference this afternoon at the Libyan Embassy in Balzan, the Ambassador spoke to journalists about the recent news reports emerging from parts of Libya showing slave traders selling African migrants for slave work. The videos spread across the social media and international news agencies have followed the story in depth to shed light on this modern day slavery happening a few kilometres away from our country.
"Whatever mistreatment is happening, it does not represent the behaviour of the Libyan people. These slave traders are criminals. They even target Libyan children. There are criminals and gangs who commit a lot of crimes in Libya," the Ambassador said.
The ambassador insisted that his government believes in diversity and that Libyans have millions of dollars invested in all of Africa. He also highlighted the fact that many African embassies in Libya do not cooperate with solving the migration issues in Libya.
"We don't believe that building walls is a morally good thing to do and does not solve any problems", he added.
"African nationals have been living in our country for tens of years. They are respected and the Libyan people do not believe in slavery. We need the international community to understand before making any accusations. I am hopeful that things will be solved when the government situation in Libya is more stable."
The ambassador said that despite the situation, it has to be made clear that no country can force another to change its laws. He referred to recent declarations by international communities to have migrants become residents of the country.
He also referred to the fact that the African countries have failed to make a declaration or warning to its citizens not to travel to Libya because of certain dangers. The Embassy of Ghana in Libya has also denied that there is any slavery for Ghanaian citizens in Libya.
The ambassador said that the videos which are circulating online are being investigated. He said that the government has called for a full investigation by the Attorney General of Libya. The Minister of Justice in Libya has also publicly denounced such alleged behaviour. The same minister has called on international community not to use such events for political purposes.
"The road is clear. We need to stop the terrorism and the civil political conflict in Libya. There are two governments, one is recognised, other is not. There's no money and the health system has collapsed. We have an agreement with Italy or France separately. Europe is not united to solve this problem," he added while referring to international help.
"We should be spending money in Africa not throw it into the sea. Africans leave their country to improve their life and chances to survive. Throughout the history, it has been a natural process for people to move when they look for better life. So we need to work in the country of origin."
He then warned against other videos, not the ones posted by CNN, which were deemed false and for the international community to be careful before judging.
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[WATCH] Theresa May: we are not afraid to criticise Trump
Chaos was sparked when Trump re-tweeted propaganda videos by leader of far-right Britain First, a move which has been condemned by many including May
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[WATCH] Ukraine: grieving father detonates grenades in courtroom, killing two
Two were killed and seven others injured when a grieving father detonated grenades in a courtroom
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INDEPTH: Dalli and Casa in heated debate on rule of law, protection of informers
Labour MEP Miriam Dalli and Nationalist MEP David Casa clashed over the rule of law and the protection of informers in a special edition of Indepth recorded in Brussels.
Interviewed by The Malta Independent editor-in-chief Rachel Attard, Casa said that even though the government has offered police protection to sacked FIAU police officer Jonathan Ferri, till today he has been given none.
In responded Dalli said that that the rule of law in Malta still reigns but added that, "the PN MEPs are constantly attacking local institutions and this is harming our country."
Another issue that was raised was the credibility of Pilatus Bank and whether its licence should be revoked or not. Casa has revealed that the European Central Bank has replied to him but when pressed he did not divulge anything. Casa last week wrote to the ECB in relation to Pilatus Bank and for its licence to be revoked.
Dalli countered by telling Casa that instead of letting the investigations take their course of action, he is acting the judge and jury.
Full programm will be uploaded tomorrow
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Reformed thief has sentence slashed on appeal
Judge Giovanni Grixti said the court was impressed with the real progress registered by Roderick Tabone since his imprisonment for stealing a chequebook and multitool from a car, and reformed the appellant's 16-month jail sentence to three years' probation
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London: footage released of man suspected of attacking over 25 women and girls
CCTV footage released by authorities showed a man police believe is responsible for the sexual assaulting of more than 25 women and girls
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Enemalta completes development of new 33 kV electricity distribution centre
Enemalta plc completed the development of a new 33 kV electricity distribution centre and new facilities for its technical support teams, as part of an ongoing commitment to increase the quality of its electricity services.
This new €5 million investment at Mriehel is increasing the electricity network's reliability and capacity in the area's industrial zone and nearby localities, whilst introducing new resources for over 70 employees who provide technical assistance to the Company's customers.
On Thursday, Ing. Fredrick Azzopardi, Enemalta plc Executive Chairman and the Company's management team welcomed the Hon. Joe Mizzi, Minister for Energy and Water Management at Mriehel, to visit the new facilities and meet the employees using them.
This new distribution centre is the fifth of six new distribution centres developed by Enemalta during the last three years. The sixth one, at Ricasoli is nearing completion and will be energised shortly, taking up the total number of 132 and 33 kV distribution centres in Malta and Gozo to 26.
The Mriehel Distribution Centre receives electricity at 33 kV through underground cables from other nearby distribution centres. It includes a 33 kV switchgear room controlling the incoming high voltage feeder cables, and a 15/22.5 MVA transformer to step down electricity to 11 kV. An 11 kV switchgear room controls 10 outgoing feeders, which supply electricity to several 11kV substations in the area and in nearby localities, before it is distributed to customers in different residential and commercial properties.
The distribution centre will reinforce the reliability of service to existing residential and commercial customers in the Mriehel Industrial Zone and nearby areas. At the same time, it is providing the necessary additional capacity to meet the requirements of several large-scale industrial and commercial investments that are being developed nearby.
Next to the distribution centre, Enemalta also built new offices, tool rooms, stores and other facilities for the employees of its Mriehel Regional Office and the Customer Response Section. The Customer Response Section was set up in 2016 as part of a process to strengthen Enemalta's technical support services to its customers. It includes several teams of highly-trained electricity distribution technicians on duty day and night, seven days a week, to assist customers who experience difficulties in their electricity services. They also assist the Company's engineers in responding to network difficulties that may affect customers' electricity services, including natural faults, storm damages or other emergencies.
The six new distribution centres added to the network during the last three years form part of the Company's €100 million network reinforcement investment launched in 2014. Through this project, Enemalta also upgraded three existing distribution centres with new equipment and extended the country's underground high voltage network by another 100 kilometres of new high voltage cables. At the same time, the Company installed new switchgear and transformers in over 200 new or existing 11 kV substations, to meet increasing demand in new development areas or to replace old equipment in existing installations.
Ing. Azzopardi thanked the Enemalta employees and contractors who completed this project in the shortest time possible. "Through the new distribution centre and other similar electricity distribution network reinforcements we are introducing the necessary redundancy and flexibility to reduce the risk of service interruptions. In fact, during the last two years we have registered a 60% drop in the frequency and duration of power cuts across Malta and Gozo."
"At the same time," he added, "through the introduction of the Customer Response Section, we have doubled the number of employees dedicated to customers' requests for new services or other technical assistance. We have already registered significant improvements in this regard as well. Customers applying for new services are now getting connected to the grid in less than 10 days, down from over 30 days two years ago. A few days ago, a European Commission report announced that market studies carried out in Malta confirm that the level of electricity services customer satisfaction increased significantly in recent years, surpassing the EU average."
"Enemalta will maintain this effort to increase the quality of its services through different infrastructural and administrative initiatives. We will soon be launching our new Customer Charter, clearly defining the different types of support we can offer, as well as the service levels that our customers can expect to receive when requesting our assistance," Ing. Azzopardi concluded.
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TMID Editorial: Delimara power station - Maltese taxpayers being inordinately burdened
From state guarantees to the possibility of having to purchase an entire private power station, and from having to pay higher prices for electricity to being saddled with an 18-year power purchase agreement, it seems the Maltese taxpayer is being inordinately burdened by a power station that they arguably do not even need.
By this newspaper's count, the man on the street is exposed to the deal in at least four ways.
Firstly, the state guarantee on the power station's debt. This had started out with a secret €88 million loan guarantee that was only brought to light by the media. That €88 million was later increased to a whopping €360 million state guarantee. That guarantee, The Times has reported, was extended just days before the June snap general election, and it was extended yet again in September.
The delay, according to the government's version, is down to an increased amount of paperwork necessitated because the number of banks wanting to participate in the power station loan has doubled from four to eight.
The government's version is that the project and financial vehicles are so great that more institutions wanted a piece of the action. That could very well be true, but, on the flipside, it could also very well be the case that the original four lenders caught a case of cold feet and wanted to reduce their exposure.
And in the meantime, it has also been reported that the loan itself is at serious risk of default. That means that the Maltese taxpayer is looking at a more plausible possibility of having to dig deep and purchase of the entire power station, should the company that built and runs the power station default on its loan, which is guaranteed by the state. That Share Call Option Agreement (SCOA), which was written specifically into the contract the government signed with the company, remains in place until the state guarantee is lifted.
This heavy exposure the government has left itself open to in the form of a Share Call Option Agreement commitment stands over and above, but is related to, the government's controversial state guarantee of €360 million for loan facilities amounting to €450 million that it had granted to Electrogas.
Added to all this is the price of electricity purchased from Malta's interconnector to the European electricity grid compared to that of the new power station. Recent figures showed how in 2015, the year in which the interconnector was commissioned, Malta had sourced 47 per cent of its electricity from the European grid while last year that amount had increased to no less than 68 per cent.
As a study published earlier this year by this newsroom showed, in 2016, when close to 70 per cent of the country's energy needs were purchased from the interconnector, the sole use of the Delimara power station would have cost the country €84 million more in 2016 than it had using the interconnector.
The study based its findings on the agreed price that Enemalta will purchase electricity from the Delimara facility, 9c5 per unit, compared with the cost of electricity from the interconnector rate (€0.03-€0.06, and using an average price of €0.045 per unit).
The government has contracted the country to purchase its electricity from Delimara at 9c5 for the first five years of the installation's lifespan and for a total of 18 years from the Azerbaijani state corporation SOCAR for a presumably still to be negotiated unit price.
Moreover, given that the government chose to tie the country in to purchasing its natural gas for the power station from SOCAR, what would happen should Azerbaijan fall foul of international human rights, or other, norms? Will we still be constrained to do business with them? It would appear so, but such considerations will be pleasures for another day.
The long and short of it is that the Delimara power station may be running on cleaner natural gas, but something nevertheless certainly does stink.
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Former Local Council executive secretary acquitted of charges related to misappropriation of funds
A man who used to occupy the post of executive secretary at a Local Council and who was facing charges related to misappropriation of funds was acquitted by the court of Magistrates.
66-year-old Alfonso Anastasi from Tarxien stood charged with misappropriation of funds which amounted to €2,329. Anastasi, who was elected on the PL ticket, was entrusted with this sum of money which was to be used for the council. He also stood charged with theft, aggravated by the amount stolen. The thefts allegedly took place in July 2007.
The court, presided by magistrate Doreen Clarke, heard how the court proceedings started when Paul Chetcuti Caruana, the Mosta mayor of the time, suspected that money was stolen from the Local Council funds. It noted that the council has to handle a certain amount of funds as part of its daily workings, including MTA licenses and parking fees.
The council had a system by which such money collected is put into envelopes and given to the executive secretary of the Local Council. When the first police report was filed, a number of envelopes carrying cheques and cash were found on the accused's desk and safe. The day after, Anastasi allegedly deposited the sum of Lm 17,000 in the APS account which belonged to the Council.
Paul Chetcuti Caruana had testified how after March of 2007, he started receiving letters from local wardens saying that the parking fees deposits were not being deposited. Caruana, who at the time was mayor, had spoken with the accused a number of times on the matter. Anastasi had replied that he will take care of the issue at a later stage as he was busy.
On one occasion, the mayor told Anastasi to let them into his office where they found envelopes with cash and cheques. The mayor decided to file a police report.
An accountant who used to visit the Local Council said that she had noticed that a number of deposits were not made. She had contacted the accused on the matter. Anastasi had explained that the deposits were being made quarterly, something which the accountant did not find a problem with.
In its judgement, the court noted that the money received by the accused was destined for the council's bank account. It was also considered that the deposits, though later than stipulated, were being made.
On the charge of theft, the court said that this is not the case as the money being handed to Anastasi freely as normal work procedure and that no proof was presented to implicate theft. The money which was allegedly stolen was eventually deposited in the Council's account, the court added.
Anastasi was acquitted from all charges.
Assistant Police Commissioner Ian Abdilla led the prosecution. Lawyer Joe Giglio appeared for the accused.
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Minister Joe Mizzi visits wind farm project in Montenegro
Energy Minister Joe Mizzi visited a site in Montenegro where a first wind farm project is under construction through an investment made by the International Renewable Energy Development together with Enemalta plc, Envision and Vestigo.
The project includes 23 wind turbines, each producing two megawatts, built over eight kilometres, at a cost of €70 million.
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Government launches one-stop shop, Grievances Board for public officers
A one-stop shop for public officers, which will offer all workers assistance related to their conditions of work, was launched by the government today.
Addressing the media, principal permanent secretary Mario Cutajar also announced the setting up of a Grievances Board where public officers could seek remedy to injustices they allegedly suffer. This shows that the administration is not afraid of being scrutinised, Cutajar said.
Public services offered were not affected by Malta's European Union presidency and the general election, he said, and 70% of budgetary measures were implemented without a hitch.
Improvement was also registered in terms of public tenders, Cutajar said. This year, it has taken an average of 84 days for tenders to be adjudicated, whereas in 2013 the average was 242 days. The European average is 120 days.
Cutajar said that in 2017, 21 mobile apps offering government services were introduced. Some 800 government services and application forms associated with them have been gathered on one website, making public access easier.
Cutajar said that the Public Service Institute had offered courses to 8,000 workers during the year. 2017 was a positive year for the public service, one that reaped the results of four years of work, he concluded.
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Iceland: new PM takes the reins to bring back political stability
Katrín Jakobsdóttir, 41, took office on Wednesday after formally signing a new government accord with the centre-right Independence and Progressive parties
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Labour MEP Marlene Mizzi accuses EPP leader of ‘shameful’, ‘offensive’ letter
Labour MEP Marlene Mizzi has written to the head of the European People's Party chief Manfred Weber complaining about the "shameful letter" he wrote to European Parliament President Antonio Tajani.
In her letter, Mizzi said Weber had been "offensive to the State of Malta and to the majority of Maltese people, because it is a misrepresentation of the factual situation in Malta".
"I suspect that you are repeating what you have been told by persons who only have partisan interest at heart. I would have expected a more responsible behaviour from a head of a major political group."
"The atrocious murder of (Daphne) Caruana Galizia has shocked all Maltese persons and rest assured that we all want justice to prevail. Nobody needs to tell us so," Mizzi wrote.
"But to exploit this assassination to throw aspersions on a country, when atrocious acts, unfortunately happen everywhere, including your own country, is shameful and irresponsible," she said.
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Armed forces retrieve corpse found at sea off Xatt l-Ahmar in Gozo
The Armed Forces of Malta have retrieved a body that was spotted in the sea of Xatt l-Aħmar in Gozo late this morning.
The police said details were still scarce but the body was being transferred to Mgarr Harbour on an AFM vessel.
The body is believed to be that of a diver since Xatt l-Ahmar is a popular diving spot.
This was the second incident at sea since Wednesday, when a Polish man died after being found face down in the water at Ghajn Tuffieha.
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Unidentified corpse retrieved from the sea in Gozo
The body was spotted at roughly 1.30pm, the police said
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Man who pierced partner’s skull with screwdriver over custody feud jailed for 10 years
Court says it cannot show mercy to who uses violence against their own family, as Gozo man gets 10 years' jail for attempted murder
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10 years in jail for man who struck partner in the head with screwdriver
A man was jailed for 10 years today after he was pleaded guilty to attempting to kill his partner using scissors and a screwdriver.
The crime took place in Xaghra, Gozo, in April 2014 when Xandru Mamo, now 46, struck his partner Salvina Zammit, with the screwdriver, which was embedded in her head.
She survived thanks to urgent medical attention.
Mamo pleaded guilty to attempted murder, causing serious injury and threatening his partner. He had initially pleaded not guilty.
The incident happened in the presence of the couple's 10-year-old son. The man had reportedly been angry about limited access to him.
In handing down sentence the court said it had considered the drug problem suffered by the accused but said such violence could not be tolerated.
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Social welfare services foundation to be streamlined into agency
FSWS to become an agency in its own right, with four service pillars of family, adoption, children and community.
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US-led coalition: 800 Syrian and Iraqi civilians have been killed since start of campaign
According to monitoring group Airways, a total of at least 5,961 civilians were killed by coalition airstrikes; a figure the coalition says is in truth, much lower
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Woman pushing baby grievously injured when hit by a car in Paola
A woman is being treated for her injuries after being struck by a car whilst pushing her child in a pushchair
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PN leader requests Prime Minister to offer protection to Jonathan Ferris and family
Adrian Delia also reiterated calls for the resignation of Foreign Minister Carmelo Abela after the latter confirmed that he was the minister alleged by a former investigator to have interfered in police work
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Woman and baby in pushchair hit by car in Paola
A woman and a baby in a pushchair were hit by a car this morning, the police said.
The baby, a five-month old boy, was unhurt, but the 32-year-old woman, of San Gwann, was seriously injured and taken the hospital.
The two were hit by a car driven by a 19-year-old man of Zejtun.
The accident happened in Santa Lucija Avenue at 10am.
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Malta with second lowest unemployment rate in the EU
Figures released by the NSO for the month of October show Malta leapfrogging Germany, leaving the Czech Republic as the only EU country with a lower unemployment rate
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Malta average rental prices increase by 47% between 2013-2016, signs of ‘overheating’
Average rental prices in Malta, excluding Gozo, have risen by roughly 47 per cent between 2013 and 2016, a report commissioned to KPMG shows.
While head of the Malta Developers Association (MDA) Sandro Chetcuti maintains that that there is no property bubble on the horizon, backed up by studies commissioned by the MDA itself, prices in the rental market are rapidly increasing. The report attributes the main upward trend in rental prices to expats who are being charged what they can afford to pay.
The study warned that the rental market is 'overheating'.
Between 2013 and 2016, prices in the central region of Malta went up by 45 per cent (€565 to €822), the Grand Harbour saw an increase of 49 per cent (€751 to €1,118), the Northern harbour region saw an increase of 49 per cent (€721 to €1,074), the North West experienced at 47 per cent increase (€554 to €814) and lastly, the South also experienced an increase of 47 per cent (€554 to €814).
In total, this translates to a global average increase of €47.4 per cent.
KPMG commented that for properties around the Sliema and St Julian's area tend to "be rented out to working expats, and prices according to their ability to pay".
The report was commissioned by the MDA to KPMG.
"During consultations with real estate agencies, we were made aware that in some instances, rental rates are increased in a bidding war between potential tenants".
Affordable rental prices
Perhaps of most concern for low-income families or single young-adults wishing to leave the family home is the fact that listings for properties priced under €400 per month were "proportionately highest in 2013 at 11 per cent" of the sample used for the purposes of this study. At this stage unfortunately, no listings of rental homes priced under €400 per month in the 2016 sample size.
Therefore, those on the national minimum wage of €735 per month are finding it very difficult to find affordable rental prices across Malta, as has been highlighted by various media stories and NGOs.
The database use for rental properties is much thinner than that of properties for sale, however the study uses a total of 20,257 observations across four years and across various localities.
"Inflation in the rental market should be carefully monitored, as a shortage of affordable properties would negatively impact low-income households who are unable to put together the necessary savings to afford the down-payment required by a bank for a mortgage.
"Additionally, rising rental prices will also be problematic for expatriate workers in low-paid occupations who must find permanent accommodation from day one of their arrival in Malta."
Market disequilibrium in rental market
Researchers noted a steady level of market disequilibrium in the rental market with both ends of the spectrum – high-end and low-end – being largely effected.
It noted a shortage of rental properties in the €400-€700 monthly price range, with demand far outstripping supply. Further to this, a shortage was found in the supply of very high-end rental properties where around €3,500 per month is normally charged.
On the other hand, consultations with rental agencies and other stakeholders found that apartments in the €1,500-€3,000 per month price range are in high supply, however "demand for such rentals is low, particularly since Maltese families would not typically afford such rates".
Properties for Sale
Property prices rose by an average of 24 per cent between 2013 and 2016, with the average apartment costing some €228,000. It was observed however that prices in the Northern Harbour district could be double that of other districts across the island.
The report also confirms how garage space has increased the value added to a property significantly, adding an average 35 per cent premium to the value of a property.
Properties with a seafront could have their value raised by some 50-70 per cent depending on where the property is situated.
Properties within the €100,000-€150,000 range are among the most in demand, with the report noting that "due to their limited supply, market forces are continuously pushing prices for properties upwards, making it even less affordable for certain segments of the population".
"..demand for two/three bedroom apartments in the €100,000-€150,000 price range is not being fully satiated."
KPMG's study concluded that single individuals earning a median wage, or a couple were both parties are earning the minimum wage, are likely to find difficulty in finding affordable properties due to restricted supply.
A recommendation was also made for the launch of a specialised working group with the aim of detailing specific policy to tackle those parts of the population who suffer from the supply gap in the low-end property market.
Headline figures from the report
Headline figures highlighted in the report are as follows:
The total direct, indirect and induced output from the construction industry is estimated to be around €2.55 billion.
In terms of Gross Value Added, which is a subset of output, the total direct and indirect contribution to GVA (excluding induced effects) from construction and real estate industries is estimated to be around €1.22 billion, which is almost 15 per cent of total GVA.
The direct contribution to GVA (excluding indirect and induced effects) from the wider construction industry as defined in this report is estimated to be around €0.91 billion – roughly 11 per cent of total GVA.
The wider construction industry as defined in this report generates employment of around 16,491 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) – 9.58 per cent of total. When indirect employment is considered, the figure goes up to 31,451 jobs created (18.27 per cent of total) and again to 35,275 jobs (21.66 per cent of total) when induced employment is added.
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Delia calls on PM to provide protection to former FIAU investigator
PN leader Adrian Delia today requested the Prime Minister to provide former FIAU investigator Jonathan Ferris with adequate security protection after Ferris claimed former Minister Carmelo Abela interfered with his investigations.
Abela has denied the claim, but the Opposition is now calling for his resignation.
Addressing the media this morning, Delia said he had sent a letter to Muscat requesting protection for Ferris and his family.
Ferris, who claims he was unfairly dismissed from the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit because he was investigating serious crimes involving top government officials, has given a number of interviews, in which he described Malta as a corrupt country.
"Abela's statement only confirms what Ferris said," Delia said.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the latest version.
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Number of unemployed persons drops by nearly 27% in October - NSO
In October, the number of persons registering for work stood at 2,319 decreasing by 26.8 per cent when compared to the corresponding month last year, the NSO said.
Data provided by Jobsplus for October indicate a decline of 732 persons registering under Part I and a decrease of 115 among those registering under Part II of the unemployment register, when compared to October 2016. Registered unemployment dropped among all age groups.
Most of the registrants for work decreased when compared to October 2016, irrespective of how long they had been registering for work. The only increase was recorded among females registering for over one year. On the other hand, the most significant drop in registrants was recorded among persons who had been registering for less than 21 weeks.
The number of persons with a disability who were registering for work also declined by 72 when compared to the previous year reaching 295. Men accounted for 78.0 per cent of total registrants with a disability.
The largest share of men and women who were on the unemployment register sought occupations as clerical support workers with 19.1 per cent and 36.7 per cent respectively.
The registered unemployment rate in April 2017 stood at 1.4 per cent of the labour supply, (excluding part-time employment) and varied from 1.6 per cent among men to 1.0 per cent among women.
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IVF vote: PN mum on whether action will be taken against abstaining MPs
The Nationalist Party has remained mum as to whether any action has or will be taken against the six MPs who abstained during last week's vote on a motion put forward by their own party.
The six abstained on an Oppossition motion that called for the revocation of a legal notice granting prospective parents leave to undergo medically assisted procreation. The MPs who abstained were were Mario De Marco, Therese Comodini Cachia, Karl Gouder, Karol Aquilina, Chris Said and former party leader Simon Busuttil.
In their statement, the aforementioned MPs had said that they had requested a free vote, but that it was not accepted. They had said: "In these circumstances, we think the best path to take is one which respects our opinion that this motion runs counter to the principles in which we believe while at the same time respect the decision of the majority of the Parliamentary Group who felt that this motion should be presented. We believe the best way is that we do not participate in the vote called this evening by the Opposition. In matters of conscience, every member of Parliament is obliged to express his vote and we have chosen to express ourselves against this motion through this statement. We are choosing this method since this is the first time when a vote on matters of conscience is being discussed under the leadership of Adrian Delia. We will decide how to proceed on each future vote on matters of conscience."
This newsroom specifically asked the Nationalist Party whether any action has or will be taken against the MPs who abstained, whether anyone from the party leadership has spoken with them about the issue, and for the party's comment on six MPs abstaining from a vote when no free vote was given.
The PN, in in its response, did not answer the first two questions.
"The Nationalist Party is all for assisting couples suffering from infertility problems so much that IVF was introduced in Malta during its time in office. Only Labour's spin states otherwise," the spokesperson said.
"Government's recent legal notice lacked and still lacks coherence with the principle act known as the Embryo Protection Act. It is clear that this legal notice does not agree with the principle legislation and that government wanted to push through the backdoor changes to the principle act, including the introduction of surrogacy, embryo freezing and gamete donation because it lacks the courage and the mandate to do so."
"The Opposition leader is on record stating that he is ready to give a free vote on issues of morality, but it calls for a serious, transparent and informed parliamentary debate where MP's can vote according to conscience. Will the Prime Minister do the same? The Nationalist Party notes that the MP's in question have not voted in favour of government."
Questions were also sent to Former PN Leader Simon Busuttil and former PN Deputy Leader Mario de Marco.
De Marco had, when contacted a few days prior to the PN's response, told this newsroom that "no action has been taken. My decision to abstain was not taken behind anyone's back. My position on the motion when initially proposed was moreover made clear to all from the moment it was discussed."
Asked whether anyone from the party administration met with him after the vote and what was said, de Marco said: "I attended a Party Executive meeting wherein we voted for the Secretary General, Executive President, Administrative President, Treasurer and International Secretary. I am not aware that the matter was raised at any stage."
This is the second time a no free vote situation has seen PN MPs disagree with such a decision, the first having been the marriage equality act, where PN MP Edwin Vassallo did not toe the party line and voted against.
Mario de Marco was asked whether expecting a free vote now, given that when he formed part of the Party leadership no free vote was given to Vassallo, was a contradiction. He said that "Gay marriage was proposed in the PN electoral manifesto for the June 2017 general elections and the vote in parliament on the bill introducing gay marriage was taken only a few weeks after the June 2017 general election. This is why a decision was taken by the Party leadership not to grant a free vote given that all candidates for the PN June 2017 general election had accepted the electoral manifesto when accepting to contest the said general election. There is therefore nothing contradictory in our request for a free vote in these circumstances as they are different."
He went on to say that his abstention has nothing to do with the need or otherwise to change the definition in the Embryo Protection Act. "It has to do with granting leave to all those seeking IVF treatment without fear, favour or distinction."
Simon Busuttil said the party is better placed to reply to the questions sent, and left it up to it to reply.
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PM Muscat and six others join Attorney General in constitutional case
The Prime Minister and six other high profile individuals involved in the Panama appeals have joined the Attorney General who until now was the defendant in the constitutional suit filed by Simon Busuttil calling for Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi to refrain from hearing the case.
The First Hall of the Civil Court, presided over by Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon, today upheld a request by the Attorney General, meaning that PM Joseph Muscat, his chief of staff Keith Schembri and Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi, together with businessmen Brian Tonna, Karl Cini, Malcolm Scerri and Adrian Hillman, will now join the suit with the Attorney General.
This case started in July when the former PN Leader had called upon a Magistrates' Court to launch an investigation into the revelations emerging from the Panama Papers.
Magistrate Ian Farrugia had decreed that the prerequisites for an inquiry had been met. The seven individuals involved had filed separate appeals calling for Magistrate Farrugia's decree to be revoked.
Their appeals were assigned to Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi, which Dr Busuttil challenged on the grounds that the judge's wife, Labour MEP Marlene Mizzi, had expressed her views on the Panama Papers scandal.
Mr Justice Mizzi ruled that he would continue with the case, prompting Busuttil to file a separate constitutional case claiming a violation of his right to a fair hearing and requesting that the appeals be assigned to a different member of the judiciary.
The case continues in January.
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Garnishee orders against Caruana Galizia filed for removal by Cardona days after murder
The orders, instituted by Chris Cardona and aide Joe Gerada led to the freezing of some €47,460 in Daphne Caruana Galizia's bank account
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Minister Edward Scicluna fails to answer on FIAU – CSN
The Civil Society Network said today that Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has failed to give answers raised in the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit.
In a statement, the CSN said that five days ago it had asked Minister Edward Scicluna to inform the public whether he had any involvement, even if indirect, in the decision to terminate the employment of FIAU officials Jonathan Ferris u Charles Cronin immediately after the result of the last general election. The said individuals had until a few days after the last June election been heading the financial analysis section and the compliance section of the FIAU respectively.
CSN's demand was made in view of the fact that the termination of the said officials' employment was made in the same period of time that Minister Edward Scicluna had publicly asked whether FIAU reports had been written with the intention of being leaked.
Whereas the Network notes that even though five days passed Minister Edward Scicluna still did not answer its question, CSN declares that it will insist on Minister Scicluna to give an explanation on such an important matter.
For this purpose, by means of this press release the Civil Society Network said it is requesting the help of members of the House of Representatives to ask on its behalf the following Parliamentary Question to Minister Edward Scicluna:
Can the Minister of Finance state:
(i) whether he was ever involved in a conversation (whether in person or by means of any other form of communication) with any member of the Board of Governors or with any official or employee of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit or with any member of the Police Force in which were mentioned the former Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit officials Jonathan Ferris and Charles Cronin or any one of them;
(ii) whether he ever received from any member of the Board of Governors or from any official or employee of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit or from any member of the Police Force any communication in which the former FIAU officials Jonathan Ferris and Charles Cronin or any one of them were/was mentioned; and
(iii) whether he ever requested (whether directly or indirectly) from any member of the Board of Governors or from any official or employee of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit or from any member of the Police Force any information in relation to former FIAU officials Jonathan Ferris and Charles Cronin or any one of them; and
(iv) if such conversation/s and communication and/or request took place, whether such conversation and/or communication and/or request took place before or after Jonathan Ferris and Charles Cronin were informed that their employment with FIAU was being terminated and the name and surname of the person/s with whom such conversion and/or communication took place or to whom the said request was made?
The Civil Society Network will be organising a demonstration in favour of justice on Sunday 3rd December at 4 pm in Valletta. The main speaker will be the former Magistrate against corruption Antonio Di Pietro.
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Cardona filed for removal of garnishee orders against Daphne days after her murder
Economy Minister Chris Cardona has told The Malta Independent that he filed a request for the removal of garnishee orders against slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia days after her grizzly murder.
Cardona was asked by this newspaper to react to statements made in Parliament on Tuesday evening.
Garnishee orders were instituted by Cardona and his aide Joe Gerada against Caruana Galizia in February of this year after she made a series of scathing allegations, which were vehemently denied by the former. The requests were approved by the courts, which led to some €47,460 being frozen in the bank account of Caruana Galizia.
While Parliament was discussing the second version of the Media and Defamation Bill on Tuesday evening, Nationalist Party (PN) MP Beppe Fenech Adami harshly criticised Cardona for supporting the government bill which would no longer allow people to file garnishee orders against journalists, while at the same time having two orders in place against Caruana Galizia.
"What use is it removing precautionary warrants when only a few months ago, a Cabinet minister filed one against a journalist," said Fenech Adami told Parliament.
Asked for a reaction to the claims, Cardona said:
"Had Dr Beppe Fenech Adami had the decency to check facts prior to making parliamentary statements, he would have realised that through my lawyers I filed a request for the garnishee orders to be removed a few days after the tragic death of Mrs. Daphne Caruana Galizia. However, unlike my counterparts from the Opposition I did not feel, due to the sensitivity of the circumstances, that I should make any public statements that could possibly be spinned or interpreted as me trying to get political mileage from the situation."
Caruana Galizia had alleged that on 30 January, when Cardona and Gerada were on a state visit in Germany, the pair had visited a brothel named FKK Acapulco in a town called Velbert. Cardona and his aide vehemently denied the claims, while others criticised the controversial journalist for releasing the story without any pictures to accompany the allegations. She claimed a credible source had spotted the pair at the brothel.
This prompted Cardona and Gerada to file two libel cases each, and request precautionary warrants worth the maximum possible damages awarded at law, roughly €11,750. When the news broke, a crowd-funding website was set up to cover the €47,460 frozen in Caruana Galizia's bank accounts. Close to €70,000 was raised in just a few days.
After her brutal murder on 16 October, the money remained frozen with her husband and sons expected to continue defending the cases instituted by Cardona.
During the course of the libel proceedings, Caruana Galizia's legal defence had filed a court application to preserve the phone records of Cardona and Gerada on the night in question, because had they switched on roaming while they were allegedly at or within the vicinity of the brothel, this would be traceable through mobile communication records.
This was objected to by Cardona's legal defence, however the court ultimately upheld the request.
Following the murder of Caruana Galizia, at another court hearing on the libel case instituted by the minister, her son boldly said that Cardona has "an interest" in stopping the case from proceeding and that the family is ready to continue the case in their mother's name.
At law, when somebody files for libel against a person and that person passes away, those who instituted the case have the option to drop it or continue against the deceased person's family members.
PN leader Adrian Delia was criticised for dropping the libel cases instituted against Caruana Galizia due to claims she made of serious impropriety, with his detractors saying that through such a move, the truth will never see the light of day.
In addition to Delia, chairperson of the Malta Council of Science and Technology Jeffery Pullicino Orlando also dropped a libel case against the slain journalist which had previously been instituted due to comments she allowed to appear under a blog-post about him. He had remarked that it would be insensitive to continue a libel case of that nature in light of the gruesome events that took place.
All other libel cases against Caruana Galizia are ongoing.
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Muscat, Mizzi and five others to be defendants in Busuttil Constitutional case
The seven public figures involved in the Panama appeals are to join in the constitutional suit filed by Simon Busuttil against the AG
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Rohingya crisis: girls as young as 12 married off for 'more food'
The UN World Food Programme rations are allocated by household and now, girls as young as 12 are being married off just to create new households with food quotas of their own
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Armed Forces patrol vessel undergoes €7 million overhaul
Over the last 12 years, the P61 has patrolled 72,000 nautical miles and has now undergone a complete overhaul to continue 'securing our country's external borders'
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MUT announces one-day strike at MCAST on 15 December
The Malta Union of Teachers has announced a one-day strike at MCAST as part of a list of industrial directives it issued following the declaration of a trade dispute because of "lack of adherence to agreed deadlines in which the college had to provide counter proposal for the financials of the Collective Agreement being negotiated."
In correspondence with the MCAST management, the MUThad noted that it is clear that whilst the Union is taking agreements seriously, with all the necessary commitment towards its members, MCAST is instead dragging its feet and finding excuses to refrain from adhering to commitments to the detriment of educators and ultimately students.
Following yesterday's dispute declaration with MCAST, the Malta Union of Teachers announced its directives on its website, which amount to 14 directives effective as from Tuesday 5 December and a full-day strike on Friday 15 December 2017.
The list of directives for all members affected by the Collective Agreement at MCAST is as follows:
– No submission of assignment results
– No submission of written assignment feedback
– No Institute tours with students
– No participation in student graduation ceremonies
– Ignore all management-imposed deadlines
– No participation in official extra-curricular events/activities
– No participation in media events
– No communication with students beyond time-tabled lectures and contact hours
– No answering of emails
– No use of personal telecommunication devices
– No use of Virtual Learning Environment (VLEs) such as Moodle, Schoology, etc
– No staff meetings
– No Continuous Professional Development (CPD) meetings
– No apprenticeship monitoring
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Live: MEPs hold meetings with top Maltese officials
MEPs from the PANA and LIBE committees of the European Parliament are in Malta holding meetings with various top officials, following a rule of law debate held in the European Parliament.
At 9am, the delegation started their day by meeting Attorney General Peter Grech and various FIAU officials. The meeting is ongoing. Later, they are expected to meet members of the police force.
The PANA committee was set up to investigate money laundering, tax evasion and tax avoidance issues following the Panama Papers revelations, while the LIBE committee is responsible for civil liberties, justice and home affairs.
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North Korea's new ballistic missile: analysis
'This system has much greater advantages in its tactical and technological specifications and technical characteristics than the Hwasong-14'
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Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Watch: Konrad Mizzi convinced agreements on Air Malta will be reached by end of year
Minister for Tourism Konrad Mizzi yesterday told this newspaper that he is positive that the stakeholders and Air Malta employees will agree on the collective agreements proposed by the government. Speaking to The Malta Independent, Minister Mizzi said that he is convinced that the agreements will be concluded by end of this year.
Mizzi recently announced that the national airline will have all the agreements in place by end of this year. When speaking during a 'Gvern li Jisma' event on Monday, the Minister said that through cooperation, the financial situation of the airline can be turned around.
"The truth is that for the year that ended in March 2017 Air Malta lost money. Things have to change and we want 2018 to be a turnaround year for our national airline," he added.
Mizzi said the new target is for Air Malta to break even in the financial year ending in March 2018.
"I am convinced we can do this. We have already started to implement certain changes such as adding new routes."
The minister had said that a meeting with the General Workers Union was held on Tuesday. A meeting was then held yesterday (Wednesday) with the cabin crew . The minister met with the staff in three meetings to give a detailed presentation on the proposals and the packages on offer.
"It's important we all realise the importance of this agreement. If we want things to improve, we will need to have certain changes," he had said. A vote by the cabin crew will be taken today (Thursday) to see if the agreement will be given the green light or not.
He explained that the agreement will see that the number of staff on the plane will be reduced from five per each plane to four, which is the required minimum. Mizzi said that the discussions with pilots are ongoing, hoping that agreements will be concluded by end of year so that the airline can then focus on breaking even and eventually have revenue.
He announced that the airline will be adding an aircraft in March and each aircraft would be used for 12 hours a day, up from the current seven. This will result in 1,500 more flights as of next year.
Minister Mizzi had already announced that the national airline would now be flying to St Petersburg, Casablanca and Lisbon. Other destinations are being considered. He had also mentioned the potential changes in the frequency of flights to Sicily and further changes in catering and cargo services.
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Manchester City win again after late goal, Rooney scores from own half
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola burst onto the field with his fists clenched and leapt into the air. Benjamin Mendy, currently out with a long-term knee injury, hobbled down the touchline in a desperate bid to get a selfie with teammate and match-winner Raheem Sterling.
Ninety meters away, Southampton's players were on their backs in their own area, distraught at conceding in the sixth minute of injury time.
In a wild finale that sparked an extraordinary explosion of joy from City's players and coaching staff, Sterling curled home a last-gasp goal with virtually the last kick of the game to give the Premier League leaders a 2-1 victory over Southampton on Wednesday.
It needed something special to upstage Wayne Rooney's hat-trick goal from his own half for Everton on an incident-packed night in England's top flight.
Sterling managed it.
"It was an astonishing end to the game," said Guardiola, who was told to calm down by the referee amid his frenzied celebrations. "It means a lot."
City re-established its eight-point lead over second-place Manchester United thanks to a 12th straight league win. Late goals used to be United's forte during the glory days under Alex Ferguson, but now it is City mastering the art of scoring the last-gasp winners.
In particular Sterling, who grabbed an 84th-minute winner against Huddersfield on Sunday and also a winner in the seventh minute of injury time against Bournemouth in August.
"I could not control it," Guardiola said of his behavior after Sterling's goal, which included a bizarre confrontation with Nathan Redmond as the Southampton winger walked off the field.
"We want to win the league but you have to celebrate when you score in the last breath like that."
In the night's other highlight, Rooney demonstrated his enduring class by meeting a goalkeeper clearance with a superbly struck first-time shot from just inside his own half that arrowed into an empty net. It was his, and Everton's, third goal in a 4-0 win over West Ham.
There were also victories for Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Here's a closer look at the action:
___
LAST-GASP STERLING
Raheem Sterling has now scored three late winners — two in the league and one in the Champions League — in City's last three games, a personification of the spirit Guardiola has forged in his side.
The way he took his winning goal against Southampton showed the confident mood Sterling is in, the winger taking his time in a crowded area to curl home a finish into the far corner.
He has 13 goals now this season, making him City's top scorer.
Oriol Romeu looked as if he had earned a point for Southampton in the 75th minute, after Virgil van Dijk had sliced a free kick from Kevin De Bruyne into his own net to gift City the lead in the 47th minute.
___
ROONEY HAT TRICK
Rooney's technique for his long-distance goal was perfect, the former England captain striking the ball firm and true as it arrowed over a raft of West Ham defenders and into the net.
"Not many in world football who could do that," injured Everton midfielder Ross Barkley tweeted.
Rooney had already scored two goals, one from the penalty spot, on what proved to be a painful return to Goodison Park for West Ham manager David Moyes, who spent 11 years in charge of Everton (2002-13). Ashley Williams scored the fourth goal as Everton moved five points clear of the relegation zone.
Sam Allardyce was in the stands and is on the verge of becoming Everton's next manager, five weeks after the firing of Ronald Koeman.
___
FIVE-STAR ARSENAL
Mesut Ozil inspired Arsenal to a third straight Premier League win as Huddersfield was thrashed 5-0 at Emirates Stadium.
Alexander Lacazette opened the scoring after three minutes before Ozil took over the game, setting up goals for Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez and then adding a fourth himself — all in the space of four minutes.
Giroud added his second to complete the rout as Arsenal climbed to fourth place.
___
SALAH'S DOUBLE
Mohamed Salah came off the bench to score twice in Liverpool's 3-0 win over Stoke and make it 12 goals for the season for the Premier League's leading scorer.
Sadio Mane opened the scoring for Liverpool, lofting the ball into the net as Stoke's defenders claimed it had gone out of play earlier.
Liverpool jumped to fifth place.
___
CONTE SENT OFF
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was sent to the stands for the second half as his team beat Swansea 1-0 for a fifth league win in six games.
Conte was dismissed from the touchline by referee Neil Swarbrick moments before the interval after furiously protesting the awarding of a Swansea goal kick.
The Italian at first sat behind the dugout, but then had to move due to the proximity of his new seat to his coaching staff.
Antonio Rudiger scored the winner with a 55th-minute header.
Chelsea stayed 11 points behind City.
___
WIN FOR BURNLEY
Burnley moved above Tottenham and into sixth place thanks to a 2-1 win at Bournemouth, with its goals coming from Chris Wood and Robbie Brady.
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Over 100 babies born through IVF at Mater Dei hospital
Since the treatment was introduced in January 2015, 61 girls and 43 boys have been born
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Argentina: former navy captain 'angel of death' sentenced to life imprisonment
Alfredo Astiz and Jorge Eduardo Acosta were found guilty of grave human rights violations and sentenced to life in prison, over and above pre-existing life sentences
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AFM’s patrol boat P61 given a new lease of life
The AFM said today it has successfully completed a re-fit of its offshore patrol vessel P61, costing around €7 million, with 75% of the costs being covered through the European Union Internal Security Fund (Borders and Visa) 2014-2020 and the remaining 25% from national funds.
Offshore patrol vessel (OPV) P61 was built for the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) in 2005 by the Fincantieri Navali shipyard in Muggiano (La Spezia), Italy and is a modified 53-metre variant of the Diciotti Class Patrol Boat. Designed to cater for the AFM's diverse offshore tasks, P61 has the capability to land and re-fuel a small-to-medium sized helicopter and has an incorporated rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) notch in order to safely launch and recover its RHIB in adverse sea conditions.
Over the past 12 years, this vessel was used extensively for various missions and patrolled an impressive 72,000 nautical miles—the equivalent of sailing round the globe three times—in order to successfully secure our country's external borders. This extensive and continuous use and reliance on this vessel has undoubtedly taken its toll on its on-board systems, despite the regular and rigid maintenance schedule which is in place for operative vessels forming part of the AFM fleet.
The refit was thus aimed at overhauling the platform by replacing or upgrading most of the ship's systems with modern state-of-the-art equipment, thereby restoring and enhancing the vessel's original capabilities. The main focus of the refit work was the complete re-powering of the vessel, through the replacement of its main propulsion engines and gearboxes and a completely new integrated automation system. Other works carried out included the overhaul of most of the on-board systems, the introduction of a new integrated platform management system (IPMS), the installation of new navigation and communication equipment, and the expansion of on-board personnel accommodation facilities.
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Donald Trump attacks Theresa May over her criticism of far-right tweets
'Don't focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom', tweeted the US president
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More than 100 children born through IVF in less than three years
More than 100 children have been born through the free IVF services being offered at Mater Dei Hospital, the Health Ministry said in a statement today.
The target was reached when three sets of twins were born at the hospital in the past few days.
The total is now 104 children of whom there are 13 sets of twins and one set of triplets.
IVF services have been offered since January 2015, and 572 cycles have been offered. So far, 61 girls and 43 boys were born, while another 24 women are pregnant with children conceived via IVF.
Health Minister Chris Fearne said that these 89 couples would never have been able to experience the joy of parenthood were it not for IVF services at the hospital.
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‘Keith’ welcomes European Parliament delegation to Malta
A string of banners were installed on bridges in main roads to "welcome" the European Parliament delegation which is in Malta to hold meetings on the rule of law.
They are signed by "Keith", a clear reference to OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri who has refused to meet the PANA committee last February and is still to give an answer on whether he will accept to meet the EP delegation this time round.
Schembri is only on of the many people the EP delegation has asked to meet. The list included the Prime Minister, the attorney general, the police commissioner and the chief justice.
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New judge set to be appointed to address appeals backlog
Cabinet to discuss appointment of new judges to address backlog on appeals cases
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MEPs lead fact-finding mission to Malta today on rule of law and financial system
Following a resolution adopted in November expressing concerns on the rule of law in Malta, an EP delegation will visit on a fact-finding mission
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PN leader calls for Carmelo Abela’s resignation, as minister denies interference accusations
In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, the minister questioned the credibility of former investigator Jonathan Ferris while 'strongly' denying he had ever interfered with police investigations
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Lack of law enforcement, integration framework contributing to ghettoization, parliamentary committee hears
Various stakeholders stressed that the problems being experienced today were the result of years of inaction and neglect on the part of the Maltese government
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Carmelo Abela ‘strongly’ denies ministerial interference, questions inspector’s credibility
Former home affairs minister Carmelo Abela has strongly denied interfering in investigations carried out by former police inspector and sacked FIAU official Jonathan Ferris.
Ferris, who claims he was unfairly dismissed because he was investigating serious crimes involving top government officials, has given a number of interviews, in which he described Malta as a corrupt country and claimed that there had been political interference by a minister.
Speaking to LovinMalta this evening, Ferris claimed that then home affairs minister Carmelo Abela (now foreign affairs minister) had applied undue pressure related to an investigation he was leading and which ultimately prevented him from carrying out his duties.
In response to this, Abela issued a statement to expand on the matter, saying that the defrauded party in the case, meaning the victim, had filed a complaint with his ministry due to a lack of information being given to him by Ferris on how the case was progressing.
Abela questioned Ferris' credibility.
"According to Mr Ferris, the pressure was because the Minister's secretary sent an email to the then Inspector, and copying the Minister (then responsible of Home Affairs), asking what progress had been achieved in a fraud case he was investigating," the ministry said in a statement.
"The request was filed, in writing, after a complaint made by the defrauded party in this case, to the Minister. The defrauded person complained that the Police were not giving any information about the case in which he was a victim.
As remarked by the journalist reporting the case, the request for such information clearly falls within the Minister's remit, especially when faced with a complaint, and can in no way be misconstrued as undue pressure or interference, as Mr Ferris incorrectly concluded.
Minister Abela strongly denies any interference. The result of this "revelation" goes a long way to define the credibility of Mr Ferris and his recent statements," the statement read.
Abela must resign - Delia
PN Leader Adrian Delia spoke about the LovinMalta report in Parliament this evening.
Speaking during adjournment time, Delia said "black on white evidence" had just surfaced on Minister Abela, who should resign immediately.
"Information has arrived to me, that in the month of May, emails from the ministry of home affairs and security has started to ask Ferris about a particular case," Delia said, adding that the minister was later added to the email thread and "continued to ask certain questions."
Ferris asserted that he could not answer such questions due to data protection.
"These are facts, not allegations, but facts," Delia said, adding that the country has a minister in government who is intervening in police matters.
"There is only one consequence to this. The minister must resign immediately," Delia said, adding that the political responsibility fell onto the PM's shoulders.
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Caruana Galizia family threatens Home Affairs minister with criminal proceedings
They said they were prepared to use all legal means at their disposal to prevent the Government from 'sabotaging' the investigation
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Daphne’s family accuses minister of harming police investigation, warns of legal action
The husband and sons of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia have accused Home Affairs Minister Michael Falzon of harming the ongoing murder investigations by divulging confidential information publicly.
In a legal letter sent to Falzon on 28 November, the Caruana Galizias, through their lawyers wrote:
"My family and I are prepared to use all legal means at our disposal to ensure that you and the Government you represent are not permitted to sabotage either the magisterial inquiry or the police investigation, which according to law must be independent, impartial and expedient".
Caruana Galizia was brutally murdered after the car she was driving was blown up just meters away from her Bidnija resident on 16 October.
As the minister responsible for the police force, the family expressed dismay that Farrugia responded to a parliamentary question where he said "I am also informed that the magistrate has access to certain personal items which belonged to Daphne Caruana Galizia".
The Caruana Galizia family cautioned that this reply was in breach of law and wrote "it is not in the public interest that the items of evidence available or not available to the police and to the inquiring magistrate be named or that the existence of any evidence be publicly acknowledged unless there is an overriding need, for example for allowing the public to identify a suspect at large – and in that case it will fall on the police force to communicate that need through their community and media relations unit, and not via your ministerial office".
The family wrote that communicating confidential information are in breach of Articles 2 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and more than that, "it has serious implications for you personally were you to have consciously or not sabotaged the investigation".
Article 135 of the criminal code was also cited "as a person vested with public authority, on having hindered the execution og the law, you shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for up to three years".
They went on to remind the minister that divulging information obtained by a police man by virtue of the functions of their office is an ethical breach.
"We trust that the next time a member of the force communicates such information to you, you will instead file a complaint of breach of confidence with the police commissioner in order to initiate disciplinary proceedings, rather than relaying it to the world".
Many media stories have surfaced regarding alleged details of the murder investigation through unknown sources. The Caruana Galizia's wrote that they expect an internal investigation to be launched by the police over leaked information coming from members of the police force.
Government statement
In response to the legal letter, a media statement was sent out on behalf of the government:
The Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Michael Farrugia, yesterday evening received a letter, that is being published with this press release, from family Caruana Galizia. In this letter they objected to a statement made by the Minister when he was answering a parliamentary question by Simon Busuttil during the parliamentary sitting of 20th November 2017, which concerns the Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder investigation.
The sentence they objected to related to information that was already in the public domain, after the Court granted the application made by the Institute of Maltese Journalists on 30th October 2017.
In the letter, Minister Farrugia is being threatened with criminal legal action that may lead to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of thousands of Euros. The letter interferes with his Ministerial and Parliamentary responsibilities, that can even be considered as a breach of parliamentary privilege.
Minister Michael Farrugia considers that all claims interpreted in the letter; which similar claims do not seem to have been addressed against Dr Busuttil's question, as unfounded and he reserves the right to take all steps to protect his Ministerial and Parliamentary duties.
In the meantime, Minister Farrugia continues to respect where possible the family's wishes.
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Court acquits undertaker after noting case began through rivalry, insufficient proof raised
An undertaker was acquitted over a string of charges after a court ruled that there was insufficient proof and that the case began through rivalry between competitors.
It was noted that the case started due to rivalry between Laferla and another competitor who expected to be re-commissioned to provide funeral services for the male family member since they had previously been commissioned to provide services for his late wife.
"It is a practice that relatives of a deceased person end up bombarded by various people offering their [funeral] services at such a sensitive time," the court observed.
Magistrate Joe Mifsud, presiding over the case, highlighted a lack of understanding on how the Health Department of the day issued a permit in favour of the accused to work as an undertaker while he was employed at the Addolorata Cemetery.
"The lack of wisdom by whoever issued the permit has led to allegations of conflict of interest and with reason has raised suspicions in a case such as this."
Salvatore Laferla, 64, was accused of making unlawful gains through his position as a public official, fraud, making false declarations, making personal gains through false declarations, using official computers without authorisation in order access data and tampering with computer data without authorisation.
The case relates to the burial of a husband and wife, Salvina and Joseph Agius. Salvina was buried on 29 October 2010 while Joseph was buried on 11 October 2011. Both burials took place at the family grave owned by the Agiuses.
Salvina Agius' funeral services were undertaken by Michelle Colombo while Joseph Agius' were undertaken by the accused, Salvatore Laferla and his wife.
Colombo had filed a complaint about the lack of conformity to regulations with regards the burial of Joseph Agius.
Police began investigating the case after a report was filed on 31 October 2011 by the Senior Principal Environmental Health Officer Mario Cassar and by the burial administrator of the health department, Paul Micallef.
Tipped off by Colombo, Micallef and Cassar filed the complaint on the basis that supervisor at the Addolorata Cemetery – the accused – was permitted to deliver funeral services which should not have been the case.
Police discovered that data inputted in the official burial records on the burial of Joseph Agius had been inputted by Laferla, who was a supervisor at Addolorata at the time.
Cassar and Micallef testified to say that the burial could not have taken place in the grave used for Agius, because a burial had taken place at that grave less than a year prior which is prohibited under sanitary regulations.
It had been proved however that the Agius family had approached Laferla and his wife, and not the other way round. It also emerged that the Agius family could have availed themselves of another family grave. This means that it would not have made sense for Laferla to fraudulently input data in order for that particular grave to have been used, since the Agius' could have used another one and Laferla would still have received the proceeds of the funeral service offered.
The accused had confirmed that he had inputted information on the burial of Joseph Agius.
The prosecution maintained that the information had been changed by the accused because he had a private interest in his conflicting roles of undertaker together and government supervisor at Addolorata.
Through the testimony of various other cemetery employees it emerged that the system used to maintain burial records was defective.
He was therefore cleared of misusing the official computers and tampering with data.
On the first charge of making personal gains through his position in a public role, Laferla was acquitted of this after witnesses related to the deceased testified that no pressure was exerted by the accused against her family.
It was highlighted that Laferla simply applied for an undertaking license and was granted one, without any of such activity taking place in hiding. The courts therefore found that the level of proof required to find the accused guilty was not sufficient.
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