263 Midweek 2nd May 2012

Transcription

WEDNESDAY EDITION
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WEDNESDAY • 2 MAY 2012 • ISSUE 263 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY
THE present parliamentary impasse has
been “provoked by a single individual… and
the sooner that individual’s bluff is called,
the better”.
This is the view of former Prime Minister
Eddie Fenech Adami, who also occupied the
role of Opposition leader in 1998, when a
similar backbencher revolt spelt an untimely
end to the 22-moth-old Labour government
under Alfred Sant.
“I have always been against any form of
appeasement policy,” Fenech Adami told
MaltaToday when asked what he thought of
government’s attempts to ‘rein in’ maverick
backbencher Franco Debono. “Appeasement
never solves any problems.”
On the contrary, the solution, according to
the former PM, is for government to “forge
ahead with its programme, come what may.”
AG appeals
against gangrape acquittal
RAPHAEL VASSALLO
THE Attorney General’s office
has filed an appeal against the
recent acquittal of three men
accused of ‘gang-raping’ an 18year-old woman in 2006, MaltaToday has learnt.
It is not as yet clear on what
grounds the AG will be seeking
to overturn the acquittal, delivered by Magistrate Consuelo
Scerri Herrera on April 10; but
questions have since been raised
about a ruling which appeared to
indicate that evidence of violence
and/or forced entry is somehow
required to secure a conviction
on rape charges.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
Without referring to Debono by name,
Fenech Adami said that until the current talk
of rebellion translates into concrete action,
there was no need for the government to do
anything at all. “The situation at present is
what it is. We have heard a lot of talk, but
until a vote is actually taken against the government, there is no reason for government
not to keep implementing its programme.”
Fenech Adami shrugged off any comparison with the situation 14 years ago, when, as
Opposition leader, he had put forward an adjournment motion similar to that presented
by Labour leader Joseph Muscat in recent
weeks.
“Back then the situation was different,” he
said, adding that unlike the present scenario,
a government MP had translated his loose
talk into action.
‘Too
conservative
for my party’
Adrian Vassallo bids
a poignant farewell
to politics in general,
and Labour in
particular
PAGE 5
Drone
wars
Pg 4
Death on the
Danube
Pgs 9
Malte
Maltese
docto
doctor’s
Ethio
Ethiopian
adventure
adv
ven
Backpage
Back
kpag
ALSO IN THIS
T
ISSUE
Editorial
Editor
rial ........... Pg 11
Business
Busin
ess ........... Pg 12
What’s
What’
’s On ......... Pg 16
...................
Pg 17
TV ...
.....
Cinema
Cinem
ma ............. Pg 17
Events
Pg 18
Event
ts ..............
...
Classifieds
Classi
ified ....... Pg 19
Sports .............. Pg 21
Sport
Weather ........... Pg 23
Weath
Newspaper post
THE SOONER
THEY CALL
DEBONO’S BLUFF,
THE BETTER –
FENECH ADAMI
2
News
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 MAY 2012
Different parties but similar
messages at yesterday’s May
Day celebrations
‘Poverty’ and ‘precarious employment’
unite party leaders’ May Day messages
MIRIAM DALLI
JURGEN BALZAN
PRIME Minister Lawrence Gonzi marked Workers’ Day with a
speech focused on the importance
of workers and government’s commitment to fight precariousness.
Reminiscing about his first corner meeting in Senglea in 1986,
which had been “abruptly interrupted”, Gonzi said Malta had
changed a lot since then: “Malta
has undergone big changes in
every sense since then, with the
biggest change being the country’s accession to the European
Union.”
Gonzi added that while government had always been committed
to creating jobs and investing in
the worker, he couldn’t but acknowledge that there were others
who are unemployed or that they
have precarious jobs.
“Over the past four years government created 20,000 jobs but
we cannot hide from the fact that
precarious work is an issue which
worries not only the unions whose responsibility is to represent the workers and not jump on
political bandwagons - but also
us,” he said.
“It is for this reason that last
January, government published a
legal notice to regulate self-employed workers in the private sector to prevent abuse. Government
has also gone a step further and
has stipulated working conditions
that successful bidders for government tenders must adhere to.”
Gonzi added that the “Nationalist Party truly looks out for the
workers’ interests”.
Speaking on education, Gonzi
urged students of all ages not to
give up on studying: “I urge you
not to ever give up on your studies. Even if you do not make it
University, there are other schools
which you can attend which are
extremely good and provide the
best education. We also pay you to
study, even when others oppose it.
But for us this is an investment...
we are investing in your future.”
The Prime Minister also spoke at
length about government’s investment in the health sector and acknowledged that there were times
when medicines would be out of
stock. “We are doing everything
we can to avoid such instances.
But I must remind you that when
other countries were succumbing
to the economic crisis, our health
services never deteriorated. We
continued to provide the best care
services with the best professionals,” he said.
Gonzi added that government
chose to “spend its money on families, rather than on weapons”…
a possible allusion to his earlier
comment, in a Sunday interview,
to Joseph Muscat’s alleged flirtation with the North Korean regime.
On his part, Labour leader
Joseph Muscat told an enthusiastic Valletta crowd the “best days of
this country are ahead of us.”
In an indirect reference to impending elections, Muscat told
the sizeable crowd in St George’s
Square “the time will come when
families will judge the government
and choose whether a change is
needed. We will come forward
with a clear roadmap on where we
want to take the country.”
He added that Labour will “embrace hope and overcome fear.” As
his address came to an end he told
the cheering crowd “have hope
and keep your feet on the ground.
We have the best vision and the
best plan for the country. Buoy up
and through work we will create
wealth.”
On the current political impasse,
Muscat warned the party support-
ers that the Nationalist Party will
not give up power easily and “they
will cling on till the very last day.”
He said the government was sacrificing the rules of democracy to
remain afloat, although “the majority in Parliament wants a decision to be taken immediately and
remove doubts on what should
happen.”
Muscat reiterated that the opposition is willing to find a reasonable solution but it would not
accept more dragging of feet from
government.
In the presence of a large number
of MPs and new candidates, the
Opposition leader repeatedly reassured the crowd that the party
is “serene” because it was on the
right side of history. “While others
are stuck in their ivory towers, we
are one with the people,” he said to
great acclaim.
In the first part of his address,
Muscat underlined his party’s
commitment to meritocracy and
social mobility. He said that each
and every child should be given
the chance for a better life, irrespective of the family name or
background.
Muscat said the social mobility
movement has a “common aspiration to the improve the life of the
next generation.” He explained
that is the dream of all parents to
see their children have a better life
than theirs.
“The key to social mobility is
education,” Muscat stressed, adding that education is a weapon to
destroy the barriers of privileges.
He explained that education is
facing the same predicament as
health. “Just as we have a new
hospital we also have new schools.
However, in spite of a new hospital, problems still existed in the
sector. The country also has new
schools but students are being left
in metaphorical corridors,” Muscat said.
He added that 36% of students
were not continuing with their
education after reaching the age of
16 and were leaving school without
basic skills.
“Labour will wage a war without
precedent against the social wound
of illiteracy,” he said. Muscat said
the party will guarantee that every
16 year old will either be studying,
in training or working.
The party will guarantee a future for all young people, including early-school leavers, Muscat
said. “We need to grant everybody
access to a better career and a better standard of living,” he added.
Ruling raises questions over definition of ‘rape’
PAGE 1 The same ruling also seemed
to overlook particular details that
emerged from testimony in court:
including an apparent admission
by one of the three suspects that
the girl in question had not given
her consent to the sexual act; that
she had been threatened not to report the incident; and that the alleged victim was being treated for
mental conditions, including depression, at the time.
The case goes back to 2006, when
three men – Rhys Fiteni, Ronald
Barbara and Keith Bartolo, all in
their 20s from the Cottonera area
– stood accused of raping an 18year-old girl, who was a cousin of
one of the three defendants.
In their defence they argued that
the girl had ‘challenged’ them to
have sex with her, and that the
resulting ménage-a-trois was consensual.
In delivering her verdict last
month, the magistrate observed
that no evidence had been presented of external violence on the alleged victim; and also that the girl
in question was not as ‘innocent’
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as she claimed to be where sex was
concerned, as she had had a sexual
encounter with another man that
same morning.
From the ruling itself it also transpires that one of the three men Roland Barbara - had admitted
that the girl had initially not given
her consent for the sexual activity
that ensued - but “at no point did
she ask (them) to stop”.
Furthermore, the ruling also
took note of the fact that Rhys
Fiteni had earlier admitted to the
police to having threatened the
girl, warning her not to tell anyone
about the incident.
The magistrate’s decision to acquit the three men was hailed by
numerous (mostly male) commentators as a triumph for Maltese
justice, while one of the three men,
Rhys Fiteni, was interviewed by
the Times, and even described in
heroic terms.
Elsewhere, bloggers such as Alison Bezzina also defended the
verdict, repeating the same legal
fallacy that ‘evidence of violence’
is a prerequisite to secure a rape
conviction.
It fell to Renee Laiviera, chair of
the Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations, to raise serious
questions about Malta’s cultural
attitudes towards sexual crimes,
which appear to be stuck in an archaic and largely misogynistic pre1970s mind-set.
“While it may be true that the
rape allegation was false, given the
facts as set out in the Times article – and nobody, women or men,
should be wrongfully accused
- other issues come to mind,” Laviera said.
The chair of the MCWO singled
out some questionable aspects of
the verdict, including its apparent
equation of ‘rape’ with ‘physical
violence’; and also treated the fact
that the girl in question was sexually active as if it were a mitigating
circumstance.
“The line of reasoning reported in
the article, whereby the magistrate
appears to assume that since the
girl in question had consensual sex
(with a man of any age), any sexual
encounter that occurred thereafter
must be consensual, is certainly
cause for concern,” she said.
“Moreover, being experienced
in sex, and not innocent, does
not preclude a woman from being
raped.”
3
News
Mifsud Bonnici takes back seat as
parties edge closer to agreement
JURGEN BALZAN
AS the Parliamentary House Business Committee is set to meet
again this evening, Leader of the
House Carm Mifsud Bonnici is
once again expected to take a back
seat during the meeting.
On Monday, although the parties
were very close to an agreement,
the committee could not agree on
a definite date when the Opposition motion of censure on Mifsud
Bonnici should be discussed.
In an unprecedented move, Foreign Affairs Minister and former
leader of the house Tonio Borg
participated in the committee
meeting on Monday for the first
time since he was replaced by Mifsud Bonnici as leader of the house
in January.
Borg went on to do most of the
talking while a tense Mifsud Bonnici set awkwardly in silence next
to him. It was evident from the very
start that the government’s intention was to push back the debate
on the Mifsud Bonnici motion as
further back as possible, with both
parties trying to out-manoeuvre
each other.
In January, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi removed Justice from
Mifsud Bonnici’s portfolio and
softened the blow by appointing
him as leader of the house instead
of Tonio Borg. The leader of the
house is responsible for organising the government business and
providing time and a schedule for
non-government business to be
put before parliament.
In a move which may come back
to haunt Gonzi, Mifsud Bonnici
was appointed leader of the house
just after the opposition tabled a
motion calling for Mifsud Bonnici’s resignation.
Despite a binding agreement to
have the discussion held by the
end of January, Mifsud Bonnici
has continously postponed the debate much to the Opposition’s and
Nationalist MP Franco Debono’s
annoyance.
The decision to side-line Mifsud
Bonnici during Monday’s meeting
vindicated the Opposition’s stance
that he should not have been allowed to handle parliament’s
agenda as he had a clear conflict of
interest.
On Monday, the two sides came
close to reaching an agreement
on the schedule of the two motions calling for the resignation of
Mifsud Bonnici and Malta’s Permanent Representative to the EU
Richard Cachia Caruana.
At the start of the meeting, Borg
proposed to discuss the Opposition’s motion on Mifsud Bonnici
on 4 June, very close to the summer recess. In one of his rare interventions, Mifsud Bonnici also
suggested to hold the debate on
the Opposition’s motion on Cachia
Caruana within a week of his grilling in Parliament’s foreign affairs
committee, which has not b een
scheduled yet.
Debono who was present in the
House Business Committee meeting and was given permission to
intervene expressed his disagreement and said the motion on Mifsud Bonnici has been pending for
too long to have it discussed in
June.
“The Carm Mifsud Bonnici motion is very important. It is crucial
for the government to get this vote
out of the way before the Budget
vote. Hopefully the government
will fulfil its term but things have
to be done seriously. Reason and
responsibility demand that the motion is discussed before the budget
bill. If you choose to bulldoze on
everyone there will be some kind
of reaction,” Debono said.
A restless Debono explained that
if the other votes were so important the government should not
have taken a four-week recess in
Easter. “All this haste to decide the
Budget vote on 9 May is deceitful,”
Debono said.
On hearing Debono’s tirade, Labour’s deputy leader Anglu Farrugia said: “It is now clear that
the majority of MPs in parliament
want to discuss the Opposition
motion on Carm Mifsud Bonnici
immediately.”
After patiently hearing both
sides squabble about dates and
schedules, Speaker Michael Frendo – who was flanked by constitutional law expert Ian Refalo – said
the difference between the two
positions is of four weeks and proposed 23 May as a compromise.
After a short suspension which
Carm Mifsud Bonnici
allowed both delegations to consult with their party leaders, Tonio
Borg agreed to the 23 May date
and vowed to hold the vote by not
later than 30 May. On the other
Major cocaine haul
destined for Lebanon
THE police yesterday intercepted one of the largest-ever consignments of cocaine, allegedly
bound for Lebanon, at the Malta
Freeport.
The haul amounts to around
140 kilograms of cocaine, of
which up to 70% was pure. The
drugs were hidden in olive oil
presses destined for Lebanon,
the police revealed.
The presses were in a container
which was unloaded on Sunday
and planned to be shipped off to
Lebanon.
Following its arrival in Malta
on Sunday the container was
kept under police and customs
surveillance.
The police explained that yesterday’s find was the biggest
cocaine discovery ever made in
Malta. The discovery was made
by the police assisted by Customs and the AFM’s Bomb Disposal Unit.
The drug discovery was made
possible after the collaboration
between the Maltese police force
and that of other countries. The
customs department also played
a part in the discovery.
hand, the Opposition said the debate should be held in the days
proceeding 23 May and have the
vote held on the day.
As Debono seemed to accept the
Speaker’s compromise, the meeting was adjourned to tonight in
order to give the parties time to
discuss the matter within their
parliamentary group.
4
News
No criminal action possible
over noxious gas dumping
MIRIAM DALLI
A board of inquiry appointed by
Finance Minister Tonio Fenech
to look into the disposal of mercaptan gas in the limits of Mgarr
in 2009, has found Enemalta to be
at fault of not properly disposing
of 45 gallons of a potentially noxious gas.
However, any possible criminal
action cannot be taken as yet since
it is time-barred.
The inquiry found a breach of
the Waste Management (Permit
and Control) Regulations that rendered one subject to a fine for a
first offence.
“However, with no such precedent as far as the Board of Inquiry
was aware and subject to there
being no such precedent, any offence committed by Enemalta now
is barred by a lapse of prescription and thus no further criminal
action is warranted,” the inquiry
said.
Likewise, for the same reason, no
criminal action is warranted with
regards to offences allegedly committed also under the Waste Management (Activity Registration)
Regulations, it added.
Fenech had launched an inquiry
after the MaltaToday news portal
revealed that Enemalta Corporation had kept an internal investigation under wraps. The investigation, conducted on a case of theft,
had inadvertently discovered the
cause of an incident three years
ago that resulted in a foul smell of
gas reported across Malta.
After the report appeared in
MaltaToday, journalist Julia Farrugia was asked to take the witness stand on 18 November. The
day happened to coincide with the
public announcement that former
Enemalta CEO Karl Camilleri had
resigned.
Various media reports suggested
that Camilleri was forced to resign
over the mercaptan case, as the
burning took place under his administration.
Reacting to the publication of the
government inquiry, Farrugia described the findings as “a true case
of bad governance”.
“It is shameful to say the least, to
learn that the authorities are apologetically claiming that the case is
time-barred and hence the police
cannot take action. Notwithstanding this, nothing stops the government from assuming political
responsibility of this whole mess after all Enemalta is a government
entity,” Farrugia said.
Farrugia added that when the
illegality took place in 2009, Enemalta had taken the country for
a ride: “When reports of foul smell
kept pouring in, the corporation launched a public statement
claiming that it has launched an
investigation to see what caused
the foul smell. Do we really need
a rocket scientist to realise that
whoever authorised the dumping
of the mercaptan, knew perfectly
well the details that linked the two
episodes together?”
“Today, five months after I was
summoned to take the witness
stand in this internal enquiry I
cannot but express my disappointment over the unacceptable behavior of one of the members serving
on this enquiry,” Farrugia said.
“This particular gentleman repeatedly forced me to reveal the
name of the source/s of my story.
Despite the fact of pointing out
that he was in breach of the Press
Act, he kept insisting on the matter in the most disgusting and arrogant way.”
Farrugia added that the questioning went off on a tangent,
giving her a clear indication that
“the only interest in the questions
posed, was to reach out to whoever
possibly tipped the journalist, and
not to reach out on who was morally, and politically responsible of
this illegality.”
The
government-appointed
board of inquiry slammed Enemalta for not only improperly
disposing the material, but for also
carrying it out without the necessary permits.
While the board insisted that
there were no reports of negative
health consequences, it warned
there were potential serious health
effects, however rare the more extreme effects may be, even for cases of inhalation of gases or fumes
released by mercaptan.
The board said there had “evidently” been serious shortcomings in decisions and actions by
Enemalta at different stages of the
disposal.
“However these should not be
seen in isolation of the context and
circumstances in which they took
place,” the board said. “While not
considered as justification, it is appreciated that there were several
factors that may provide a fairer
understanding and appreciation of
the situations and dilemmas faced
by the Enemalta management re
this case.”
The board of inquiry said Enemalta had found itself in a “perceived emergency situation”, to
The inquiry said that Enemalta can still pursue
disciplinary action against those responsible
have to dispose of the mercaptan
in the summer of 2009. Enemalta,
according to the board, was “satisfied” that the destruction was carried out under “as controlled conditions as there could possibly be
in the circumstances”.
“The burning of mercaptan by
Enemalta through its contractor,
though carried out with certain
safety measures, cannot be deemed
to have been done under the controlled conditions as referred to in
Material Safety Data Sheets and
corresponding standards of repute,” the inquiry found out.
“Neither were the disposal and
other activities by Enemalta concerning mercaptan undertaken
according to all the prevalent local
legislation at time.”
The board went on to list a
number of infringements of the
Waste Management Regulations.
The board went on to add that
if any Enemalta official is found
responsible to committing an
offence, that offence is legally
deemed to have been done by Enemalta.
“However in this eventuality, any
designated official of Enemalta is
deemed to be vested with such responsibility on behalf of Enemalta,” the board added.
The inquiry suggested that “at its
discretion” Enemalta may still opt
to initiate disciplinary proceedings against any of its professional and other employees who are
covered by the respective collective agreements and were directly
involved in the disposal of mercaptan, subject to such disciplinary proceedings not taking into
account any alleged “criminal offence” as this has now been barred
by prescription. “Consideration of
serious offences of the type “gross
negligence in performing one’s duties”, as listed in the stated collective agreements, may be applied,”
the board suggested.
“The institution of charges with
regard to any breaches of the personal engagement contract agreements of any senior management
officials directly involved in the
decisions and actions related to
the mercaptan case is also at the
discretion of the Enemalta Board
of Directors.”
The board concluded that the
presence of concentrated ethyl
mercaptan at Enemalta was “an
unintentional and unique occurrence which is unlikely to happen
again to Enemalta, given that now
the responsibility for LPG procurement in Malta has been taken over
by a private gas operator, albeit the
fact that the LPG is still presently
being stored at the Enemalta Gas
Division site in Qajjenza.”
Mercaptan
health hazard
Mercaptans are a group of
sulphur-containing organic
chemical substances which
smell like rotting cabbage.
If there is a leakage or a
spill of mercaptans, people
in the vicinity may develop
headaches and become
nauseated and vomit.
There may be coughing and
irritation of the lungs and
inflammation of the eyes,
nose and throat.
If the concentration is
very high, the affected
person may have difficulty
breathing and may turn
blue – medically described
as “cyanosis”. They may then
lose consciousness and have
generalised muscle spasms.
Prolonged exposure may
cause bronchitis and
breathing difficulties. In all
such cases immediate medical
attention is advised.
TODAY
FREE with maltatoday
Sunday 6 May
5
News
Adrian Vassallo:
‘I am more of an
embarrassment
than asset to PL’
RAPHAEL VASSALLO
LABOUR MP Adrian Vassallo has
bowed out of politics, with a short
but poignant resignation letter in
which he highlighted the ideological
gulf that now separates him from the
Labour Party leadership.
In a terse letter addressed to the
media, the family doctor from Ta’
Xbiex explained that he felt out of
place in Joseph Muscat’s ‘progressive
movement’, and added that his earlier communications to the Labour
leader were left unanswered.
The full text of Vassallo’s resignation letter reads: ‘Dear Sir: Just a
short note to inform you that I will
not be contesting the coming elections. Being rather conservative I
no longer feel I have a place in the
PL. I have expressed my opinion/intention to my party leader over two
weeks ago and as yet have received no
direct reply. I have therefore arrived
at the conclusion that I am more of
an embarrassment to the party than
an asset. Having been elected in four
consecutive elections quite comfortably, the party does not consider me
to be as moderate and as progressive
as the leadership wishes. I have therefore decided to retire from politics
and dedicate more time to my family,
hobbies and pastimes.”
Also a hunting and trapping enthusiast, Vassallo’s hobbies include
maintaining an aviary of some 400
birds.
Vassallo had been contemplating
resignation form Labour ever since
Muscat’s ‘progressive’ rebrand claims its first scalp: Adrian Vassallo
“The party does not consider
me to be as moderate and as
progressive as the leadership
wishes...” – Adrian Vassallo
last July, when, in an interview with
MaltaToday, he said there was a
“99.9% chance” he would not seek reelection. “Once you start in politics,
you have to know both when to enter
and when to leave,” he said on that
occasion. “From the second election
I contested onwards, I was elected
every time. I don’t want to contest
and not get elected… like what happened to Louis Galea, Helen D’Amato
and others. I will only contest if I am
confident of being elected.”
Announcing his retirement in the
House yesterday, Vassallo received
warm praise from parliamentary col-
leagues – including some who represented very different and at times
contrasting platforms.
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who piloted last year’s divorce bill (which
Vassallo opposed) gave his former
antagonist a resounding send-off: “Dr
Vassallo has been in Parliament for
as long as I have, we were both first
elected in 1996,” Pullicino Orlando
said. “Though we have diametrically
opposed views on a number of issues
I respect him for his sincerity.”
And in a throwaway barb that is
likely to have been directed at persons other than Vassallo, Pullicino
Orlando significantly added: “It is
always wise to exit gracefully at the
appropriate moment with your head
held high rather than to cling on to
power, come what may.”
Job in Malta for convicted thief who
ransacked police officer’s home
A 20-year-old man from Preston,
UK, has reportedly found a job in
Malta shortly after pleading guilty
before in court to burglary and
drug possession.
David John Roberts, 20 from
Thornton Grove, Preston is said
to have left the UK for Malta last
October and found a job at a call
centre.
He was given a deferred sentence
for six months to see if he could
stay out of trouble.
Roberts was arrested for burglary,
when he broke in to a police offic-
er’s home when he knew the family
were on holiday.
According to the prosecution,
Roberts ransacked every room in
the home, stealing cash and valuables.
Roberts, who was friends with the
police officer’s son, broke into the
house in Preston after discovering
the family were on holiday but was
caught when his blood was found at
the scene.
Prosecutor Jharna Jobes said:
“every drawer and cupboard had
been searched and every room en-
tered. He entered through the patio
doors.”
His blood was found at the scene
and he was arrested.
“The family had to come back
early from their holiday and were
devastated by what had happened.”
Besides the theft, Roberts also
pleaded guilty to possession of a
quantity of drugs and has been ordered to pay compensation.
Judge Jeremy Baker QC said “the
burglary was a particularly mean
offence because it was someone
known to you who you knew was
away and you went round to their
property and caused a significant
amount of damage and theft. I can
well imagine their anguish when
they heard about it on holiday.
“They returned to find a significant amount of damage and theft
had occurred.”
He told Roberts an immediate jail
sentence would have been normal
for the burglary, which happened
between 15 and 17 December,
2010.
He said: “However, various reports I have read about you say you
have begun to turn your life around
by gaining employment and becoming drug-free.
“With some hesitation, I decided
to defer sentence to see whether
what had you had been doing was
simply window dressing for court
or if you had made a determined
effort to turn your life around. I’m
quite satisfied from what I have
read about you it is the latter.”
Roberts has been sentenced to
serve nine months in a young offenders institute, suspended for 12
months.
PADRE PIO
28 June - 2 July 2012
Mousu Travel Services
4ELs
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6
News
Last week’s remote-controlled mini spy drone incident
Attack of the drones – when co
meets ‘counter espionage’
DUNCAN BARRY
EQUIPPED with a miniature
but top-of-the-range camera,
last week’s incident involving
aerial surveillance performed by
the Committee Against Birds
Slaughter seemed destined to be
put to the test over privacy.
Sharp-eyed bird hunters last
week spotted a mini ‘spy drone’
zipping around Marsascala. At
one time, it was reported that the
drone was flying around 50 to 100
metres over their heads. On spotting the model aircraft, equipped
with a camera, the hunters didn’t
seem to hesitate much and shot it
down within seconds.
The question that has lingered
concerns whether it is legal for
a private entity such as CABS
to perform techniques normally
associated with military or law
enforcement-related
surveillance. It transpires that CABS,
the German-based committee,
rented the spy drone equipped
with a camera from Germany to
film illegal trapping sites.
Replying to a question put forward by MaltaToday late last
week, the police said that they
were still investigating the legality of the method used, adding that investigations were still
ongoing and preferred not to go
into the merits of the case at that
point in time.
Meanwhile, Information and
Data Protection Commissioner
Joseph Ebejer told MaltaToday
that “the Data Protection Act applies to the processing of personal
data (which includes the record-
Antonio Ghio: “Filming of an individual’s face, in this
case it was the faces of hunters, prior to the person’s
consent, is a Data Protection issue”
ing, storage, and transmission of
images of identified or identifiable
natural persons on camera, not in
the course of a purely personal activity)”.
Ebejer added that “where the
images capture identified or
identifiable individuals, given
the applicability of the Act, such
processing would be permitted
only if it satisfies at least one of
the criteria established in Article
9 of the said Act.
“In the specific context, given
The Data Protection Act article on personal data
“Personal data may be processed only if:
(a) the data subject has unambiguously given his consent;
or
(b) processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in
order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract; or
(c) processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject;
or
(d) processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject; or
(e) processing is necessary for the performance of an activity that is carried out in the public
interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller or in a third party to
whom the data is disclosed; or
(f) processing is necessary for a purpose that concerns a legitimate interest of the controller or of
such a third party to whom personal data is provided, except where such interest is overridden by
the interest to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject and in particular
the right to privacy.”
Information and Data
Protection Commissioner
Joseph Ebejer
the absence of consent article
9(a) and the inapplicability of articles 9(b) (c) and (d), if identifiable individuals were captured by
the surveillance camera, unless
similar processing can be justified on public or legitimate interest grounds within the meaning
of articles 9(e) and (f), this may
constitute a breach of the Data
Protection Act.”
According to Antonio Ghio, who
heads the ICT law department at
Fenech & Fenech Advocates and
specialises in data protection and
intellectual property law, told
MaltaToday that “filming of an
individual’s face without an individual’s consent is a data protection issue”, comparing it to the
email leak involving Opposition
leader Joseph Muscat and RTK
journalist Sabrina Agius.
Church media house Media Centre had sacked the former acting
editor, after copies of her private
email conversation with Muscat
were published by Nationalist
Party media and became the subject of hacking allegations raised
by Muscat in parliament.
Ghio added: “If the police were
Police
said they
were still
investigating
the legality
of the
methods
used by
CABS
7
News
onservation
Less than 40 out of 240
illegal domestic boreholes
closed since January
JAMES DEBONO
conducting this method as a
form of surveillance it’s one
thing but if a private entity, in
this case CABS, conducted surveillance of this type, i.e. filming by means of a model aircraft,
is another.
“This is also similar to when
a news photographer captures
pictures of an individual in a
public area without the individual’s consent and publishes the
material.
“In this case, CABS was using
public land, therefore it all boils
down to how the Data Protection Office interprets these allegations.”
Both the hunter’s federation
FKNK and Kaccaturi San Umbertu (KSU) hit out at CABS following the incident.
FKNK said that it would be filing a report against CABS for
invasion of privacy and harassment while St Hubert Hunters told MaltaToday that this
was nothing but a PR stunt by
CABS.
However, Ebejer said that until yesterday “the Office of the
Information and Data Protection hadn’t received any official
complaint to investigate an alleged breach of the Data Protection Act through the use of such
drone” while also emphasising
that “harassment fell out of the
Office’s remit since it is considered a crime under the provisions of the Criminal Code”.
Earlier this year, it was reported in the press that FKNK said
that BirdLife (Malta) had been
warned by the Data Protection
Commissioner not to process
footage of individuals without
their consent.
High-tech ‘spy toys’
The imagery captured by a mini camera attached to the belly
of a remote-controlled model aircraft is sent to the ground
live during flight. This imagery can than be shared via the
web, among other means of communication.
In this particular case, data was transferred to members of a
German TV station in order to have the footage screened.
Mark Mifsud Bonnici, president of the Kaccaturi San
Umbertu, referring to the presence of German TV crew, told
MT that the fact that there was a TV crew’s presence showed
that “CABS was pulling a publicity stunt while making profit
financially”.
A recent incident involving such high-tech ‘spy toys’, this
time in the US, reportedly landed Los Angeles real estate
agents in trouble, who were warned by police to stop
using drones to take photos and videos of homes for sale,
according to the Los Angeles Times.
Spanish ecologists last year built a do-it-yourself unmanned
aircraft to spy on a remote colony of birds from above which
kept flying away before anyone could count them. The team
used a 4.6-foot-wide radio-controlled airplane, two cameras
and a GPS tracking unit, all for less than $2,000.
SINCE the beginning of 2011 the
Malta Resources Authority has
sent 239 closure notices to borehole owners, but only 37 have so far
been actually closed.
All these boreholes are located
in residential premises and used
for domestic purposes like filling
swimming pools or irrigating private lawns.
Water extracted from boreholes
is presently free of charge.
There are currently around 8,000
registered boreholes, the majority
of which are used by farmers.
Some boreholes are also used by
commercial operations like batching plants, car wash establishments
and producers of mineral water.
The government has decided to
install meters boreholes used for
commercial and agricultural purposes while closing domestic boreholes as stated in Legal Notice 241
issued last year.
An MRA spokesperson confirmed
that to date the Authority received
confirmation of the closure of 37
residential boreholes.
But according to the MRA, in a
number of cases users claimed that
the had operational or structural
difficulties in performing the necessary works, which require the introduction of construction equipment into their residence.
Specific technical guidelines were
sent to these users giving them instructions on how to close these
boreholes.
The works had to be performed
under the supervision of a warranted architect. The architect was
also requested to certify that the
works were performed according
to requirements.
Since 2011, 239 closure
notices were sent to
borehole owners
The Malta Resources Authority
also performs surprise inspections
to ensure that the works were carried out.
The Authority is now addressing
the requests received from the users that are appealing to the Authority’s decision.
The majority of these cases are
claiming that the borehole is being used for irrigation of land having an area greater than 1,000m2.
These cases have to be investigated
on a one-by-one basis.
To date only 20 such users have
given enough evidence to substantiate their claims and the boreholes
have been metered.
The others are still under investigation or awaiting a formal decision from the Appeals Board.
[email protected]
Career Opportunity
We supply water reliably and dispose of wastewater safely, to recognised
standards of quality, aiming to satisfy the expectations of all sectors of the
community, using resources effectively and economically, whilst safeguarding
health and the environment.
SCIENTIST
Vacancy no. 242735 | Permit No. 88/2012 | MPO Ref. MPO/89/2005/1
The selected candidate will be expected to perform the following amongst other duties:
s
s
s
s
s
s
The model plane equipped with a camera
used by CABS to monitor hunters and
trappers last week. Photo: CABS
To provide expertise in the performance and validation of chemical and bacteriological analysis in the matrices
of potable water, wastewater and sludges in accordance with the accepted standards and in any section/premises
of the lab.
To co-ordinate the performance of analytical work by subordinate staff, supervise the staff and be responsible
for any tests thereof.
To ensure that laboratory operations are maintained on a daily basis in all sections.
To participate in research/training duties undertaken by the laboratory.
To provide scientific assistance to Discharge Permit Unit personnel during on-site inspections and other duties.
To abide by the rules of and strive for the upkeep of the ISO17025 laboratory accreditation.
Applicants should hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and Chemistry at MQC level 6 or better, issued by the University
of Malta or any other recognised institution. A post graduate science related qualification/s would be considered an
asset. Candidates must also have a minimum of two (2) years experience in a Laboratory, preferably in the water
sector. Knowledge of ISO17025 laboratory accreditation is considered an asset.
Further details including the duties attached to the position, can be obtained by contacting
the Human Resources Section on telephone 22443320 or by e-mail on [email protected]
YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY
Applications including detailed CVs must be submitted to the Human Resources Department
via email on [email protected] or by post addressed to The Human Resources Manager, Human Resources Department,
Water Services Corporation, Qormi Road, Luqa. by no later than Wednesday 9th May, 2012.
8
News
Coast Road enlargement:
EIA warns of major
ecological impact
JAMES DEBONO
THE two options currently being
assessed to turn the Coast Road into
a dual carriage way will result in a
major impact on natural habitat, the
Environment Impact Assessment
for the project warns.
But Transport Malta’s favoured
option, which involves widening of
the existing road at Kennedy Grove
(Option B) will have a less negative
ecological impact than setting the
road further back from Kennedy
Grove (Option A) as originally proposed.
However, the favoured option will
still result in some loss of habitat:
mainly trees.
The EIA concludes that the largest loss of protected species will
be at Is-Salini. Both Option A and
Option B will result in a loss of protected trees, with Option B resulting
in a slightly larger loss of protected
species. A smaller number of protected trees will also be lost along
the remainder of the route. Loss of
protected trees at Kennedy Grove, in
also predicted.
The widening of the existing road
also impinges on the salt marsh
within the area that the road already
traverses, although the loss of the
salt marsh will be less than that in
Option A, which would result in the
loss of much of the area of the salt
marsh that borders Kennedy Grove.
Thus, in terms of habitat loss, Option B is likely to result in less disturbance to the existing habitats
and communities.
Although both options will affect
15,000 square meters of agricultural
land, land contained in Option A is
considered to be of better quality.
Both options include the widening
of the stretch of road between IsSalini and Bahar ic-Caghaq and will
include new roundabouts at Ghallis
and Qalet Marku.
A number of habitats will be impinged upon as a result of this widening, including garigue and steppe
communities as well as trees. A
small area of coastal garigue will also be lost. This impact is considered
major.
Considering the length of the road
and that a new alignment is pro-
The proposed dual carriageway on the
Coast Road, Kennedy Drive exit from
traffic lights junction
posed in certain areas (such as that
proposed in the area of It-Torri talGhallis, Il-Ghoqod and Bahar icCaghaq), the impact is considered
major.
The loss involved in the Bahar icCaghaq to Pembroke area stretch
will largely agricultural land, trees,
ermes and steppe.
Almost half of the ermes community will be taken up by the road and
therefore the impact is considered to
be major.
The aim of the project is to better
cater the predicted increase in traffic
on account of increasing movements
between Malta and Gozo.
It is also aimed at improving safety
standards to those required within
the trans European TEN T (Trans
European Transport Network).
According to the study, many sections of the present route are dangerous including a number of accident
black spots. One of the aims of the
project is to reduce accidents at junctions and bends.
British court
confirms jail term
for juror
who abandoned
trial for Malta
holiday
KARL STAGNO-NAVARRA
A juror jailed for contempt of court
after going on holiday to Malta during a trial lost a challenge against
her sentence.
Three judges at the Court of Appeal in London rejected a plea by
Janet Chapman, 52, of Blackpool,
Lancashire, that the 56-day term
imposed on her was “manifestly
excessive”.
Chapman, deputy manageress of
a residential children’s home, who
watched the proceedings via video
link from prison, is due to be released today after serving half her
sentence.
She had listened to three weeks of
evidence in a robbery trial at Preston Crown Court, but at the start of
the final week telephoned court officials to say she had back pain and
could not attend for two weeks.
But it emerged that Chapman
flew from Liverpool to Malta for a
week’s holiday with her partner.
The trial was delayed for two days
while inquiries were made. She was
discharged from the jury in her absence and the trial continued and
eventually concluded.
Chapman, who is of previous
good character, said she thought
that obtaining a sick note for sciatica meant she would automatically
not have to attend the trial.
She was found guilty of contempt
by Preston Judge Anthony Russell,
who told her he was “driven to the
conclusion that you pretended to
your doctor that you had a back
problem in order that you could
take a holiday in Malta”.
Judge Russell said: “Jury service is
one of the most important public
duties that a citizen of this country
can be called upon to perform.
“It is inconvenient, but an essential part of our democratic system.
It is essential that the duty of jury
service is taken seriously by those
called upon to perform it, and that
it is performed diligently and responsibly.
“You have manifestly failed to
perform your public duty. Further
it is clear that you deliberately deceived the court for your own ends
and pleasure, namely taking a holiday in Malta.”
Announcing the decision of the
three-judge court, Lord Justice Pill
said: “We agree with the judge’s approach and reasoning.
“Failure to attend a court when a
four-week trial had reached a critical stage was a serious contempt of
court,” they said.
TODAYNEWS
From Monday - Friday
at 3pm on
9
News
Murder, they claim
Libyan security sources claim that
‘drowned’ former PM was a victim of
political assassination
KARL STAGNO-NAVARRA
DESPITE insistence by Austrian Police that Libya’s former
Prime Minister Shokri Ghanem
– who was found dead in river
Danube in Vienna on Sunday –
had “drowned”, Libyan security
sources are claiming murder by
political enemies.
The 69-year-old former Gaddafi
Prime Minister and oil minister,
was found dead and fully clothed
in the Danube, a few hundred metres from his home. According to
a preliminary autopsy there were
no indications of foul play or suicide, spokesman Roman Hahslinger told reporters.
But Libyan security sources said
they were investigating the death
and believed he could have been
pushed into the Danube by former
Muammar Gaddafi agents.
His body was found at 8:40 a.m.
on Sunday by a passerby near the
entertainment area known as
Copa Cagrana, where a footpath
winds along the riverbank. He had
spent Saturday evening watching
television with his daughter.
“He was worried about the future course of politics in Libya
but he would not be the kind of
man for suicide,” a Libyan source
said.
The former Gaddafi confidante
who was also close to Col. Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam, was privy
to potentially damaging information, including oil deals with
western governments.
Ghanem had been chairman of
Libya’s state-owned National Oil
Corporation (NOC) before defecting last year at the height of
the Libyan revolution which ousted Col. Gaddafi.
Saad Djebbar, a UK-based Algerian lawyer who knew Ghanem
and advised the Libyan government, said the former prime minister was not the sort of man to
kill himself.
“He was worried about the future course of politics in Libya
but he would not be the kind of
man for suicide. He was very well
introduced internationally and
had lots of connections,” he said.
“Shokri Ghanem definitely is
one of the guys who knew a lot
and was one of the most powerful
guys in the old regime,” said David Bachmann, an Austrian Chamber of Commerce official who
knew Ghanem well and spoke to
Reuters news agency.
Bachmann said he would not
have been surprised to read that
former Libyan rebels had taken
revenge on Ghanem, but said
Gaddafi allies could also have
held a grudge.
“The problem was he was sitting between the chairs. For the
old guys [in the Gaddafi regime]
he was a defector, a kind of a rat.
For the rebels he was also a rat
because he did not defect early
enough,” Bachmann said.
Malta connection
Shokri Ghanem was not a new
face to Malta.
As prime minister, he was Libya’s main interlocutor for Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence
Gonzi beween 2003 and 2008.
His signature was immortalised
Ghanem’s
body was
found at
8.40am on
Sunday by
a passerby
near the
entertainment
area known as
Copa Cagrana
in a letter he sent on the eve of
the 2008 general elections to an
oil company engaged in exploration off Malta.
Ghanem had warned Heritage
Oil not to conduct operations
in a maritime area which Libya
claimed to part of its own continental shelf, referring to Area 7
granted by the Maltese government.
The letter called for an immediate ‘cease and desist’ in its south
Malta operations adding the
threat: “We hold you responsible
under Libyan and international
law for any activities you may conduct in that area and we reserve
all rights to act both de facto and
de jure to protect our interest in
the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya territories,”
Ghanem had said.
Central role
A fluent English speaker who
was educated in the United States
and worked abroad for years,
Ghanem was considered to be one
of the main reforming influences
inside the Libyan administration
for the past decade.
First as prime minister and later
as de facto oil minister, he played
a central role — often alongside
the Col. Gaddafi’s reform-minded
son Saif al-Islam — in working to
end Libya’s status as an international pariah.
But his plans were often blocked
by an old guard opposed to reform and by a system in which the
interests of the Gaddafi family
came before those of the State.
Ghanem was pushed out of the
prime minister’s job, and in later
years he talked often of giving up
public life. But he did not make a
final break with the Gaddafi administration until the end of May
last year, after opponents had risen up against the Libyan leader.
Ghanem appeared in Rome and
told reporters that he had defected because of the “unbearable
violence” being used by Gaddafi’s
forces to try to quell the rebellion.
By then, though, Ghanem was so
closely associated with Gaddafi’s
rule that the rebellion snubbed
him, harried by allegations of cor-
Libyan security sources believe that
former Libyan prime minister Shokri
Ghanem could have been pushed into the
Danube by Gaddafi former agents
ruption that came to the surface
after Gaddafi’s rule ended.
been a suicide.
Something to hide?
Italian link
Ghanem is also believed to have
had an Italian passport provided
by former Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi, at a time when the
State-run oil company ENI had
inked huge gas and oil contracts
with Libya.
A 2009 diplomatic cable from
the U.S. embassy in Libya cited
the Canadian ambassador in
Tripoli claiming that Ghanem
had accepted Italian citizenship,
perhaps because “he is looking for
a way out”.
“He was mixed up with politics, which is inevitable, if you
have a high profile in oil,” says
Manouchehr Takin of the Center
for Global Energy Studies in London, who knew Ghanem well in
comments to Time magazine. “He
obviously wasn’t a deft politician.
He looked like an honest man.”
Ghanem’s honesty, however, was
being tested in the months before
his death as Libya’s post-Gaddafi
authorities sought to discover all
that he knew about oil deals.
Oil analysts told Time that
Ghanem was increasingly being
quizzed, including by journalists,
about the oil industry’s corruption.
“He was always reticent to speak
about the past,” says Giulio Carini, a Libya campaigner on Libya
for Global Witness, an anti-corruption organisation in London,
who said that he had planned to
meet Ghanem sometime in May.
“But it is likely he had the wealth
of knowledge, and that he knew
everything about the contracts.”
That has prompted some to speculate that his death may have
There was, it seems, much to
hide.
Two weeks ago Global Witness
published a leaked internal Libyan
audit from 2010 about Ghanem’s
NOC. The findings were damning.
It suggested that the NOC may
have systematically underpriced
its oil and passed off some exports
as being of higher grade than they
really were. ExxonMobil, for example, complained that it had
received lower-quality Libyan
oil than the NOC had promised.
“The loss to ExxonMobil was
about US$4 million,” Carini said.
In addition, Ghanem’s NOC
had offered deep discounts to the
Norwegian oil company YARA
and others, prompting questions
over whether kickbacks had been
involved — although that is not
yet proven.
“We do know that there was mismanagement of millions of dollars of oil revenues, and that some
of the deals were murky, based on
documents we’ve retrieved.”
The contracts are now under
intense scrutiny by Libya’s new
leaders, who have ordered a review of all deals signed under the
old regime.
Libya’s deputy general prosecutor Abdelmajeed Saad told
the Wall Street Journal last
month that they were investigating Ghanem for “wasting public
funds, making illegal gains and
wasting and mismanaging of the
national oil production, and signing some oil contracts that had
some irregularities.”
Libyan officials have declined
to say whether Ghanem has been
formally charged with any wrongdoing in Libya.
The prosecutor also told the
Journal that Interpol was preparing a red-notice arrest warrant for
Ghanem.
Interpol spokeswoman Rachael
Billington said that the organisation had not issued any public
warrant, although she said it was
possible that one had been quietly
circulated among law-enforcement officials.
As prime
minister,
Ghanem was
Libya’s main
interlocutor
for Eddie
Fenech Adami
and Lawrence
Gonzi between
2003 and
2008
10
Tel: 21896290/1
E-mail: [email protected]
11
MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016
MANAGING DIRECTOR: ROGER DE GIORGIO
MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN
ACTING EDITOR: RAPHAEL VASSALLO
Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 • Fax: (356) 21 385075
Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: [email protected]
Editorial
Of rockets and reality checks
Judging by yesterday’s May Day speech, the
advice now being whispered into Prime
Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s ear must be to say
as little as possible, lest he further undermine
his already beleaguered position by unwittingly exposing his own desperate fear of
losing power.
This might explain why Dr Gonzi said so
very little worth reporting in yesterday’s May
Day event. It also contrasts sharply with his
comments just a few days before: when he
raised eyebrows by lashing out at the Labour
Party over the least likely issue imaginable:
Muscat’s presumed ‘support’ for North Korea’s controversial missile-testing programme.
Dr Gonzi picked on a single comment, in
which Dr Muscat allegedly told the North Korean ambassador that ‘Labour respected the
integrity of sovereign states’. This, the Prime
Minister said, indicated that Joseph Muscat
also approved of North Korea’s rocket launch
a few days earlier.
Immediately upon publication, this comment was greeted by a chorus of online
sarcasm – and rightly so, for the remark really
does make one wonder how a supposedly
hands-on prime minister could possibly hope
to score political points through such a patently contrived ploy.
In fact, one wonders whether the same Dr
Gonzi has ever heeded his own advice, and
listened to his own constituents in their
kitchens. If so, he would surely have realized
that North Korea’s missile programme does
not exactly top the list of Malta’s national concerns at the moment. In fact, it does not even
remotely show up anywhere on the radar.
Instead, if Malta’s kitchen talk features
complaints about ‘weapons’ of any kind at all,
these are far likelier have been the bills issued
by the aptly-named ‘ARMS limited’.
Listening to such talk, Gonzi would surely
have heard incessant grumbling about the disproportionate price of utilities such as water,
electricity, gas and petrol. He might even have
been asked how his own government – that
seems to encounter no problem raising €80
million for a lavish and unnecessary project
such as the new parliament at City Gate –
could somehow also be unable to afford a
€55 million Enemalta subsidy, that once upon
a time helped keep the cost of living under
some semblance of control.
Above all, Dr Gonzi would have realized the
sheer extent of popular resentment at the fact
that – while the people have been constantly
told to ‘make sacrifices’ and to ‘tighten their
belts’ – his own government did the very
opposite: committing the unpardonable offence of augmenting its own salaries without
actually informing anyone (not even its own
members) of its intentions.
These are among the many concerns Dr
Gonzi would surely have been exposed to,
had his finger really been on the pulse of
the nation right now. The very fact that he
evinced all such concerns last Sunday – and
instead spoke about North Korean rockets, of
all unlikely things – tells us the very opposite:
that he is incapable of disguising the fact that
his government is simply out of touch with
real-life popular preoccupations.
It also illustrates that his fear of losing
power is now so very real, that any form of
ammunition that can possibly be used against
the Opposition is considered justified… no
matter how laughably unsound the resulting
claim may come across.
If this is the case, then Dr Gonzi ought to
really rethink his entire strategy before it
becomes too late. There are, after all, many
real and valid concerns a serious Prime
Minister could be raising at this stage about
the Opposition’s credentials as a governmentin-waiting. He could criticize Joseph Muscat’s
apparent inconsistency on environmental
matters, for instance – as evidenced by the PL
representative’s vote on the Portomaso extension. He could pick on the evident wishywashiness of the same Opposition’s electoral
proposals (many of which are little more than
empty sound-bites). Or he could challenge
the Opposition to come up with workable
strategies, instead of merely replicating the
same kitchen talk that Gonzi himself has so
far ignored.
Besides, there is yet another reason Dr
Gonzi ought to be more careful in his choice
of political rheotirc. By focusing on North Korean, the Prime Minister also exposed himself to the charge of hypocrisy, for accusing
the Opposition of a shortcoming that his own
government has been guilty of for decades.
Dr Gonzi after all had nothing to say when
his own foreign minister, Tonio Borg, also
had meetings with the outgoing North Korean ambassador.
And not only did Dr Borg stop short of criticising Pyongyang over the same rocket tests;
but he even boasted about the size of Malta’s
shipping register, in a rather transparent bid
to interest the North Korean government in
possible future registration of Korean vessels
under the Maltese flag.
In all honestly it is difficult to envisage a
situation more totally and utterly hypocritical, than that whereby Dr Gonzi now accuses
Muscat of attempting to do what his own
government had only just done a few weeks
earlier.
All in all, this is not the serious style of leadership that has traditionally been associated
with the Nationalist Party in decades past.
And from this perspective, Lawrence Gonzi
is damaging not only his own credibility by
making such ludicrous claims – the same
credibility that used to be his greatest asset –
but also that of the party as a whole.
12
BUSINESS & FINANCE
The ever-changing tr
DUNCAN BARRY s peaks to Steven Calascione, Director at FX Capital Group (Malta), about the new foreign exchange
technology being spearheaded by his company and how the traditional trading methods have changed over the years
Could
you
briefly
discuss
your
background, insofar as it brought you into
the foreign exchange market? What were
the circumstances under which you and our
partner founded FX Capital Malta?
“FX Capital Group (Malta) is a joint
venture between London-based FX Capital
Securities and the M. Demajo Group, both
being household names in their respective
areas. FX Capital Group (a trading name of
FX Capital Securities) was founded in 2008
and immediately attracted seed funding by
London-based venture capital Anthemis
Group and the City of London Group plc – a
major investment firm listed on the London
Stock Exchange. In November 2011, we
received a further four million dollars in
‘Series A’ funding from Atlas Venture – a
large US venture capital firm.
“On 1 January 2012, the very experienced
Mike Laven took over the helm. Mike has the
leadership skills and global outlook needed in
this line of business.
“Our local venture was formed in 2011
after I met up with FX Capital Founder and
Executive Chairman Nigel Verdon, an old
school friend from my boarding school days.
My own background is in global sales and
more recently, technology research in the
global market context.”
And what other services does your firm
offer? What strategies are being used to
deliver trust and transparency to the Forex
market through your web trading platform?
“We are unique in that we have developed
two core competences not normally seen
together, namely we are specialists in
technology particularly as it is applied in
the financial services space. We are also a
licensed MSB (money services business)
specialising in foreign exchange delivery and
international payments.
“It is important to differentiate foreign
exchange delivery from speculation. We are
not an investment services company. Our
technology allows companies to develop
better execution strategies in their foreign
exchange dealings. Needless to say, they are
also given direct and live access to foreign
exchange markets and when they do execute a
trade, we provide them with a digital record of
that transaction, leading to full transparency
and auditability.
“Because we are a technology company,
we are flexible. In theory, we can integrate
our proprietary APIs and infrastructure (our
core technology) to any platform. This leads
to savings in payroll (process driven) and
transaction costs. In the current environment,
our proprietary technology gives our clients
the leading edge they need to stay ahead of the
game and focus on their core business, instead
of for instance, chasing service providers
for the “best price”. This is hugely a timeconsuming exercise and a “hidden cost” that
is impinges on a company’s ability to remain
focused and competitive.”
Can you tell me more about your currency
brokerage FX2.0 technology system?
“Under The Currency Cloud™ (TCC)
brand, we offer a fully scalable infrastructure
to payment firms. By engaging with us,
clients can avoid the extremely lengthy and
expensive process of developing their own inhouse offering. With TCC the client is assured
of extremely rapid ‘go live’ timeframes, and
more intuitive and manageable processes that
drive customer acquisition and growth.
“Ultimately, this translates into better
margins across all transaction channels
including by phone. TCC provides a unique
solution for any firm seeking to grow their
international payments business. We enable
firms to quickly and easily enhance their
client offering with a functionally rich online
payments application.
“Undoubtedly, technology
has been the biggest driver
of the foreign exchange
and financial services
sector in the last decade...
the banks are well aware
of this trend and are
investing heavily in this
sector. This is expected to
fundamentally change the
way people interact”
“Our TCC client application is an “out of the
box” online solution that is easily customised
with the client’s brand identity and logo.
The client retains ownership of the client
relationship and we provide the technology.
Clients access the web-based platform to
perform their transactions based on the
client’s terms of service.”
How does your firm’s newly set-up system
differ from other brokerage companies
and banks offering more or less the same
services? What makes traders choose you
as their Forex broker? I mean the main
features they look for when they select you
among others?
“We offer full transparency and consistency.
We are able to do so because we have developed
cutting-edge cloud-based technology that is
automated and customised to client needs.
This gives us the edge. We understand what is
happening in the technology universe and also
the specific needs of our clients in foreign
exchange.”
What do you think have been the biggest
changes and challenges both in terms of
the industry makeup and the way in which
traders interface with the market?
“Undoubtedly, technology has been the
biggest driver of the foreign exchange and
financial services sector in the last decade. To
illustrate this point, a PricewaterhouseCoopers
report is predicting that the global payments
sector will grow at an average CAGR of 70%
between 2010 and 2015, to $250 billion.
The banks are well aware of this trend and
are investing heavily in this sector. This is
expected to fundamentally change the way
people transact.”
Can you comment on how traders are
changing? Are there perhaps some tools/
strategies which are fading, and some which
are rising to replace them? Has Forex online
taken over the traditional trading methods?
“I read a report that in Germany, 64% of
foreign exchange was conducted online
in 2010. This shift in trading behavior has
occurred at the expense of the traditional
method of trading, which was over the
phone.
“Online is more convenient, and you have
round the clock access to the markets, instead
of just during working hours which frequently
means a cut–off time of three o’clock. If
technology can enable seamless trading, why
should our clients have to wait for the banks
to open to book a trade, if the markets are
open 24 hours a day during the week?”
How is FX Capital positioning itself to stay
ahead? Will you be updating infrastructure?
“Because we are a ‘fin-tech’ company
(a technology company operating in the
financial services space) our technology is
updated continuously. In fact our clients will
be benefitting from a major new release next
Issue of numismatic coin under
the Europa Programme 2012
On Monday, the Central Bank of
Malta issued a numismatic coin
as part of the Europa Programme
‘European Artists’ commemorating
the renowned Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino (1879 -1947). This
coin was issued in gold and silver
versions with a face value of €50
and €10 respectively. This will be
the second coin issued by the Bank
in its 2012 Coin Programme.
Antonio Sciortino was born in
Malta and at an early age went to
continue his art studies in Rome
at the Regio Istituto di Belle Arti.
He spent much of his life in that
city, where he eventually became
the Director of the Accademia
Britannica.
He was strongly
influenced by the French sculptor
Auguste Rodin, and much of his
best works reveals this influence.
His favourite medium was bronze.
The coin features Sciortino’s
Spring and Summer collection
masterpiece
‘Les
Gavroches’
(Street Urchins), which was
sculptured in 1904 inspired by the
poor street urchins in Victor Hugo’s
renowned novel ‘Les Miserables’.
The bronze statue was placed
at the Upper Barrakka Gardens
in Valletta, but following its
restoration in 2003, it was moved
to the National Museum of Fine
Arts in Valletta and a replica was
placed in its stead. A sculptured
Ingram
model of the ‘Les Gavroches’
statue was presented to Queen
Elizabeth II when she visited Malta
as a princess in 1951. The model
forms part of the Royal Collection
at Buckingham Palace.
For further information, the public
is kindly requested to contact the
Malta Coins Distribution Centre of
the Bank by an e-mail to mcdc@
centralbankmalta.org or by calling
2550 6008.
Republic Street, Valletta
Tel: 2723 3386
(next to the Courts)
13
rading trends
Company announcements
BoV Chairman Roderick Chalmers warned that he believed that it
would be a mistake to regard the eurozone crisis as being “over”
BoV announces improved interim profit and
dividend declaration
• Mood of “ heightened caution” on outlook for eurozone
month.”
Is your clientele based mostly on
foreign or local? And how many
members does or website currently
have? Will you be expanding into new
markets?
“Our clientele are based all over the
world. Because our client application is
web based, it is very scalable.”
What role will e-currencies play in
this future?
“A newspaper article I read today
spoke of the possibility of using cash
for online purchases. Will we start
seeing apps built into bank notes?
“Of course this was tongue-in-cheek,
but I believe it says much about the
practicality of paper money in the
global economy.”
The Bank of Valletta Group reported pre-tax profits for the first six
months of the Financial Year 2012 (FY 2012) amounting to €49.1 million. This compares with profits of €45.2 million for the equivalent
period ended 31 March 2011. The board declared a gross interim dividend of €0.06 per share, which represents an increase of eight per cent
over last year’s interim dividend of €0.0555 per share.
BOV Chairman Roderick Chalmers presented the results to the media
starting off by putting the bank’s results into a macro-economic context.
He noted that the first three months of the current financial year saw
a deepening of the eurozone crisis, which was alleviated somewhat
by the measures taken by the European Central Bank (ECB), which
made available unlimited three-year liquidity to European financial
institutions through its Long Term Refinancing Operations. In March
2012 the Greek government debt was rescheduled under the so called
Private Sector Initiative, which involved all private sector institutions
taking losses (or “haircuts”) of 75% on their Greek holdings.
Concurrently, the EU member states signed up to a Fiscal Pact, which
involved the enactment by the Parliaments of individual member
states of legislation obliging governments to conform to “golden rule”
limitations on deficit and debt.
Chalmers warned that he believed that it would be a mistake to regard
the eurozone crisis as being “over”, as further corrective measures were
needed to tackle “the root cause” of the crisis, and it was uncertain
whether the austerity measures would receive the necessary degree of
public support in a number of countries.
Company announcements
Corinthia Palace Hotel
Company Limited
The Audited Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 December 2011
of Corinthia Palace Hotel Company
Limited as guarantor of the bond issues
of Corinthia Finance p.l.c. are available
for inspection at the Company’s
registered address.
MedServ plc
Annual General Meeting
At the annual general meeting of
the Company held on the 27 April
2012, the shareholders considered and
approved the following resolutions:
Ordinary Business Resolutions
1. That the Consolidated Financial
Statements for the financial period
ended 31 December 2011 and the
Directors’ and Auditors’ report thereon
be hereby received and approved.
2. That the appointment of KPMG
as auditors of the company be hereby
approved and that the Board of
Directors be hereby authorized to fix
their remuneration.
3. That a final net dividend of €0.06c
per share which represents a net
payment of €600,000 be and is hereby
approved.
The Company had five vacancies for
Directors. Five valid nominations have
been received from each of Anthony
J. Duncan, Anthony S. Diacono,
Johannes Jacobus van Leeuwen,
David Roberts and Joseph FX Zahra.
In view of the fact that there were
as many nominations as there were
vacancies on the board, the nominated
persons were automatically appointed
directors.
Mediterranean Bank
The
Board
of
Directors
of
Mediterranean Bank plc has approved
the Company’s Annual Report for the
period ended 31 March 2012.
The Board of Directors has authorised
the issuance of this Annual Report,
which is available for viewing on the
Company’s website (refer to Downloads
section) or at the Company’s registered
address at 10, St Barbara Bastion,
Valletta, VLT 1961, Malta.
YOUR FIRST CLICK
OF THE DAY
14
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Switzerland: funds managers
concerned over passporting options
F
irst off all, what is the passporting process? Typically
we see how the German
Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)
describes the passporting process as a
routine needed before banks, financial
institutions, investment companies,
insurance companies or pension funds
can take on third party business, they
need a written permission from the
BaFin.
An exception exists for companies
that originate from another Member
State of the European Economic Area.
These companies only have to be
registered at the BaFin in Germany,
if they exercise under the freedom
to provide cross-border services,
or with a subsidiary. This is called
the notification procedure or the
“European passport”.
This article discusses the position of
Switzerland which opted not to join
the European Economic Area in 1992,
as it argued that the membership to the
common internal market for mutual
funds – UCITS (Undertakings for
Collective Investment in Transferable
Securities) was unnecessary.
The background to this decision can
be better appreciated when recalling
how Switzerland was and is still
considered ‘the fund centre’.
In practice this move has resulted
in lost market share which migrated
increasingly to EU financial centers
such as Luxembourg, Dublin and
recently also to Liechtenstein,
because of the chosen bilateral
approach and because of the lack of
free movement. The damage to lost
business was exacerbated with the
recent introduction of the UCITS IV
Directive – an EU-harmonisation
scheme which, as one of its targets,
is the creation of an EU passport
for management companies (fund
management) – facilitating crossborder mergers, the introduction of
a UCITS master-feeder fund and
the replacement of the simplified
prospectus with the new one page ‘Key
Investor Document’. The document is
a formal simplified prospectus which
shows the customers’ transparent
product information and gives each to
compare key efficiency indicators on
a two year comparison which is easy
to comprehend.
The changes in the new EU UCITS
Directive lead to an acceleration of
the notification procedures and the
improvement of the cooperation
between supervisory authorities.
These measures would be attractive
to EU full member states, because
they make the UCITS market more
efficient and give understandable
information to investors.
By comparison one notices how
due to a global slowdown and
Daniela Vogel
other measures the funds market
in Switzerland is stagnant, because
the admission of foreign UCITS is
very much facilitated by UCITS IV
directive, whereas the exportability of
Swiss products is isolated. In addition,
this latest directive has resulted in
Switzerland being forced to expand
only in tight niches such as funds
for qualified investors and other
funds for traditional and alternative
investments.
The situation could be further
aggravated by the Directive on
Alternative Investment Fund Managers
(AIFM), because the directive does not
regulate the individual situations, but
rather the managers and all investment
strategies, which are not covered by
the UCITS Directive yet. If these
non-UCITS should be distributed to
professional investors – even if this
happens within national borders – the
managers need to apply for an “EU
passport”.
In response to the financial market
crisis, the European Commission
pursues the ambitious goal to
subject all players and focuses on
those activities, which deal with
significant risks, to a reasonable but
firm regulation. For the past three
years, the Commission published a
draft directive on the regulation of
alternative investment fund managers
(AIFM) for full consultation. The
proposal has attracted a lot of attention
in the industry and the governments of
some Member States. After lengthy
negotiations, the final draft Directive
was adopted by European Parliament
on November 11, 2010.
Naturally, the process of full
integration takes some time as
following the approval by the
European Council, national legislators
have to implement the rules into
national law within a two year
timeframe. It is important to reflect
that the Directive does not regulate
the funds directly, but the managers of
alternative investment funds (AIFM).
This happens regardless of whether
they are based in the EU or a third
country.
The application is intended broadly
and includes all open and closed-end
funds (AIF) based in the EU or a
third country, which are not already
regulated and which fall under the
UCITS Directive (Council Directive of
20 December 1985 on the coordination
of laws, regulations and administrative
provisions relating to Undertakings for
Collective Investment in Transferable
Securities).
It relates to the management and
distribution of hedge funds, private
equity funds, real estate funds,
commodity funds, infrastructure
funds and other types of institutional
funds, regardless of the legal structure
of the AIF. If an AIFM falls below
certain thresholds, it is only subject
to registration in its home Member
State.
Certainly it is supposed to regulate
managers who are now expected to
inform the competent authorities
regularly of the main tools with which
it trades, and the major risks and risk
concentrations in the AIF. In order to
benefit in particular from the EU-wide
passport of the AIFM Directive, the
opportunity for small AIFM exists, to
be approved by the AIFM Directive.
Although further regulations for
alternative assets are welcome as
a result of the experiences of the
financial crisis, there is a considerable
emphasis to keep the business within
the single market.
The EU wants to introduce an EU
passport in particular in these EU-wide
not yet harmonised niche areas, like
hedge funds and funds of hedge funds,
which are attractive to the financial
center of Switzerland, because they
have good growth potential and
until now there were no significant
competitive disadvantages having
no harmonisation in the European
market. Naturally all this has lead to
some disagreements. Some observers
mention the greatest injustice occurs
when the directive prohibits the
delegation of management to managers
in third countries such as Switzerland
or the United States.
In turn these third countries may
apply under certain conditions
(for
example
OECD-compliant
double taxation treaties, reciprocity,
equivalent supervision, assistance)
for the authorisation for distribution
of AIF, for which the Commission
developed strict regulations.
In addition, to protect the single
market the delegation of administration
to firms in third countries shall be only
permitted under specified limitations.
The same applies to the outsourcing
of the assessment, which must be
done by an independent “valuator”.
In this manner European institutional
investors, such as pension funds, will
be restricted in their selection of asset
managers. Thus, in the short term the
asset management of large pension
funds in Switzerland is in the balance.
In the past there have been a lot of
inquiries from foreign hedgefund
firms which have now dried up, said
Günther Dobrauz and Benjamin De
Zordi from PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC) at an event in Zurich.
Foreign managers, who actually
had the plan to come to Switzerland,
have temporary placed their plans on
hold because of legal and regulatory
uncertainty. Through the Alternative
Investment Fund Managers Directive
(AIFM) the Swiss financial sector is
threatened by a significant competitive
disadvantage. The sector of the
independent asset managers could be
particularly affected besides the hedgefund industry. Moreover, in recent
times, locations like Liechtenstein
and Malta have increasingly become
Switzerland’s competitors succeeding
better than in the past in attracting
these industries. It is no surprise that,
Liechtenstein wants to significantly
improve the project “fund center in
2011” as quickly as possible so as to
become a sustainable and attractive
funds location for investment
companies and their managers, and
compete with other leading funds
centers in Europe.
As they say competition never sleeps
and regarding sales or service on the
UCITS funds sector Switzerland is
likely to remain popular although it
has now to position itself in niches.
The Swiss Funds Association (SFA)
is trying to win approval from the
EU so that together with other
organisations and agencies it can
ensure that investment decisions can
also be managed by managers from
third countries. But to succeed they
must prove that they are subject to
equivalent supervision and that an
appropriate administrative assistance
agreement is reached between the EU
/ Switzerland.
The regulation activism in the EU,
as heavily triggered by the financial
crisis, has in turn created a much larger
market for collective investments.
Observers lament that in the short
term, unless equivalence is quickly
reached, there is a threat of an exodus
of managers, who are now domiciled
in Switzerland. Ironically, this is
happening in a time when Switzerland
becomes more attractive than ever
to foreign asset managers due to
its stable financial position, quality
of life and of its clear tax climate.
This is the comment uttered by a
commentator in the Swiss magazine
‘Die Volkswirtschaft’.
To get access to the European
market, Switzerland wants to revise
the Swiss Funds Act CISA “Collective
Investment Schemes” by mid-2012.
One hopes that Consultations shall
take place until within this year.
Quoting Scott Sullivan, Group General
“In recent times,
locations like
Liechtenstein
and Malta have
increasingly become
Switzerland’s
competitors
succeeding better
than in the past in
attracting hedgefund industries”
Counsel and member of the GAM
Holding he warns that “Switzerland
will have to ensure that appropriate
cooperation agreements will be
concluded with EU Member States,
otherwise it will not be possible for
Swiss fund managers to market their
fund products in the EU”, it is within
reason to argue that to access funds in
Europe there is a need of simplified
licensing procedures in reciprocity,
as provided in Article 120 CISA, and
for the asset management a need of an
AIFMD Passport.
Once this mechanism works then
by simple adaptation of the CISA
to the AIFM Directive, Swiss asset
managers would have the opportunity
to sell alternative investment funds in
the EEA to qualified investors. That
would be appealing, especially for
smaller asset managers, who cannot
afford or don’t want a foreign presence
and undoubtedly this may also open
doors in the field of European pension
funds. In terms of UCITS IV there is
already the opportunity for regulated
asset managers in Switzerland to
participate at the market through
structures of EU countries such as
Luxembourg. As it happens, a number
of major fund providers have solved
the problem of market access – but not
for Swiss funds.
As a consolation not all is lost since
quoting KPMG, Swiss asset managers
have the possibility to obtain an EU
passport under certain conditions, that
allows them the administration of EU
AIF and the cross-border distribution
of non EU AIF to professional
investors in the EU but probably this
will not occur before 2015. In the
meantime there may be an exodus of
funds looking for a EU shelter.
The author is a Media Economics
Graduate at PKF
Announcing the arrival of a new fixed
deposit account from FIMBank
The 1000 Day Deposit is a term deposit account denominated in euro offering an
interest rate of 4.25% p.a. on a term of 1,000 calendar days. Interest is payable
every 90 days with an option to compound.
p.a.
There are no transaction fees or bank charges and other term deposit account
options are available in all major currencies.
FIMBank p.l.c. is a licensed credit institution in Malta, regulated by the MFSA and listed on the Malta Stock Exchange. This euro based
product falls within the Depositor Compensation Scheme established under the Depositor Compensation Scheme Regulations, 2003.
Rates are correct at time of going to press. Terms and conditions are applicable and available upon request.
15
Money Market Report for week ended April 27
On Monday, April 23, the
ECB announced its weekly Main
Refinancing Operation (MRO). The
auction was conducted on Tuesday,
April 24, and attracted bids from
euro area eligible counterparties of
€46.37 billion, €5.41 billion lower
than the bid amount in the previous
week. The amount was allotted in
full at a fixed rate equivalent to the
prevailing main refinancing rate of
1.00%, in accordance with current
ECB policy.
On Tuesday, April 24, the ECB
conducted an auction for a sevenday fixed-term deposit intended to
absorb €214 billion. This operation
was designed to sterilise the effect of
purchases made under the Securities
Markets Programme that were
settled but had not yet matured by
the previous Friday, April 20.
The auction was carried out at a
variable rate, with euro area eligible
counterparties allowed to place up
to four bids at a maximum rate of
1.00%. It attracted bids amounting
to €411.45 billion, with the ECB
allotting €214 billion or 52% of
the total bid amount. The marginal
rate on the auction was set at 0.26%,
with the weighted average rate at
0.26%.
On Wednesday, April 25, the ECB
conducted a three-month LongerTerm Refinancing Operation to
be settled as a fixed rate tender
procedure with full allotment, with
the rate fixed at the average rate of the
MROs over the life of the operation.
The auction attracted bids of €21.34
billion from euro area eligible
counterparties, which amount was
allotted in full, in accordance with
current ECB policy.
Furthermore, on Wednesday, April
25, the ECB conducted a seven-day
US dollar funding operation through
collateralised lending in conjunction
with the US Federal Reserve. This
operation attracted bids of $1.13
billion, which was allotted in full at
a fixed rate of 0.64%.
On the same day, the ECB, in
conjunction with the US Federal
Reserve, conducted an 84-day US
dollar funding operation through
collateralised lending. This attracted
bids of $5.20 billion, which amount
was allotted in full at a fixed rate of
0.64%.
Domestic Treasury Bill Market
In the domestic primary market for
Treasury bills, the Treasury invited
tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills
maturing on July 27 and October
26, 2012, respectively. Bids of
€27.42 million were submitted for
the 91-day bills, with the Treasury
accepting €11.59 million while bids
of €15 million were submitted for
the 182-day bills with the Treasury
accepting €7 million. Since €12.65
million worth of bills matured during
the week, the outstanding balance of
Treasury bills increased by €5.94
million, to stand at €223.87 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill
auction was 0.891%, i.e. 0.4 basis
Europe heads smartphone market
A recent study has revealed that
Europeans, who were primarily dependent on desktops and laptops to
surf the internet are now leaning towards accessing the net with mobile
devices like smartphones.
The study reveals that Nokia,
Google and Apple are the key
players in the European market.
Nokia’s Symbian and Google’s
Android have the highest market
share among smartphone platform
but Apple’s iOS leads others in the
connected device market with 30%
share.
Symbian has lost hold of the
European market in recent years
because of heavy competition from
other platforms like Android and
iOS. Virtually dumped by Nokia,
Symbian’s growth has declined by
6.2% while Android has increased
by a whopping 330.2%. Android
– the 2nd largest platform – holds
28.1% of the market. Although
Android leads the smartphone
market followed by Symbian, Apple
leads the overall digital market with
a 30% share. The largest share of
Apple’s devices came from iPhone
(20 million) followed by iPad
(8.9 million) and iPod Touch (7.7
million).
With
Android’s
increasing
popularity, niche device makers
are adopting it as their preferred
platform. D5 Mobile, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Readen Holding, Corp
has launched 2 new Android based
smartphones to be available to the
public on 15 June, 2012. The D606
is a dual function touchscreen with
a full QWERTY keyboard aimed at
the professional market, while the
D707, a full touchscreen device is
aimed at the consumer market.
The rates quoted above are against the EURO.
point higher than that on bills with
a similar tenor issued on April 20,
2012, representing a bid price of
99.7753 per 100 nominal. The yield
from the 182-day bill auction was
1.104%, i.e. 1.1 basis points higher
than that on bills with a similar
tenor issued on April 20, 2012,
representing a bid price of 99.4450
per 100 nominal.
During the week under review,
Treasury bill trading on the Malta
Stock Exchange amounted to €0.34
million and was conducted by the
Central Bank of Malta in its role as
market-maker.
On Tuesday the Treasury invited
tenders for 91-day bills and 182day bills maturing on August 3, and
November 2, 2012, respectively.
16
THIS WEEK
WHAT’S ON
NIGHTLIFE
MAY 4
Jam Factory
Party at Stardust, Sliema
featuring DJs Squeak! vs Fat 32,
Orange City, Bart Nickson, Nioxin
Vitae and Simon Sauter. Tickets at
€10 can be bought from Dr. Juice
(Spinola/Bay Street), Riot (Plaza/
Bay Street), Fact (Qormi). Doors
open at 22:00.
MAY 5
A Li’l More Funk
A night of funk music at Coach
and Horses, Valley Road, Msida
from 21:30. DJ will be spinning
the likes of The Commodores,
Fatback Band, James Brown and
other less known acts most of
which will be played off vinyl.
MUSIC
MAY 4
Joe Gideon & The Shark
Critically-acclaimed indie
rock brother-sister duo will be
performing at V-Gen, Paceville.
They will be supported by local
acts The Clandestines, The Shh
and Skimmed. Tickets at €12 can
be purchased from Hairyamp
productions (search for them on
Facebook). €15 at the door. Doors
open at 20:30.
Manoel Theatre, Valletta, 20:00.
Featuring pianist Yozef Ormeny
performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano
Concerto No. 2 and Rimsky
Korsakov’s colourful narrative
Scheherazade. Tickets are at
€30, €20 and €10. Bookings:
[email protected],
21 246389.
MAY 5
The V-Gen Birthfest 2012
V-Gen, Ball Street, Paceville will
celebrate its first birthday with a
concert featuring the rock bands
Falcon’s Flying Circus, Frenzy
Mono, Angelcrypt, Batteries
not Included, Nomad Son and
Kontroll. DJs Noel Agius and
Kinnie will be spinning music
throughout. Entrance is at €10.
Doors open at 20:30.
MAY 6
Light, Hope and Music
Concert by the Al Nour Wal
Amal orchestra from Egypt at the
Manoel Theatre, Valletta, 20:00.
The unique orchestra is entirely
composed of blind persons who
play western classical music as
well as oriental music. Organised
in aid of the Malta Society of
the Blind. Tickets are at €25, €15
and €10. Bookings: bookings@
teatrumanoel.com.mt, 21 246389.
THEATRE
MAY 4-6
Simon’s Pub Music Festival
MAY 5
She Stoops to Conquer
Three-day live music festival
featuring local and international
bands at Simon’s Pub, Depiro
Street, Sliema. Headlined by
foreign acts Rajan Saxong, Saskia
Laroo and Warren Byrd, the
festival will feature Colourblind,
Red Electrick, Norm Rejection,
Bridget Bone, KOI, 12th Ode, The
Myth, Purple Haze, Julian Casha,
Charlie Busuttil, NV, Jail Jam, No
Red Tape, Skarlet, Fiona, Infinite
Loop, R30 Project and Dusk.
Starts at 19:30.
NT Live production of the Oliver
Goldsmith play, beamed live
from London to St James Cavalier
cinema, Valletta. Live show and
encores at 20:00. Tickets are at
€12 for the live show, €10 for the
encore, with €8 concessions and
€5 tickets for children. Bookings:
21 223200, [email protected].
MAY 4
Rimsky-Korsakov and
Tchaikovsky Concert
Concert by Malta Philharmonic
Orchestra under the baton of
Gintaras Rinckevicius at the
MAY 11-13, 18- 20, 25, 27
Ghost Writer
DnA and FM Theatre production
of David Tristram’s comedy
thriller at St James Cavalier,
Valletta, 20:00. Directed by Polly
March. Cast includes: Edward
Mercieca, Alan Montanaro,
Denise Mulholland, Marika
Fenech, Taryn Butler and Stefan
Farrugia. Tickets are at €15, €17.
An exhibition of paintings by
the renowned Italian artist
Aligi Sassu is being held at The
National Museum of Fine Arts,
Valletta
Bookings: [email protected], 21
223200. The play is rated 16.
Monday to Friday: 10:00-12:00,
15:30-18:00. Saturday: 09:3012:00.
EXHIBITIONS
UNTIL MAY 31
Aligi Sassu, Memories on
Paper
UNTIL MAY 7
Exhibition of paintings by
Charles ‘ic-City’ Gatt
Exhibition of paintings by veteran
jazz drummer and founder of
the Malta Jazz Festival at Agog
Contemporary Art Gallery, Mdina
Road, Zebbug. Opening hours:
Exhibition of paintings by
renowned Italian artist Aligi
Sassu at The National Museum of
Fine Arts, Valletta.
UNTIL JULY 29
Metal Magic – Spanish
Treasures from the Khalili
Collections
Exhibition at the Salon of the
National Museum of Archaeology,
Valletta. Admission to the
exhibition will be included in the
admission price to the Museum:
Adults €5; Students (12 years
upwards) and Seniors €3.50;
Children (six to 11 years) €2.50.
(Heritage Malta members enter
for free). More information: www.
khalili.org.
WORKSHOP
MAY 5, 6
Masterclass and audition by
UK director
Chris Cooper from Big Brum
Theatre Company will be in
Malta to direct a Masterclass
in Contemporary Acting based
mainly on the scripts of leading
British playwright Edward Bond,
as well as hold an audition for an
upcoming production of Bond’s
Olly’s Prison. Held at St James
Cavalier, Valletta. To apply send
an email to Adrian Buckle on
[email protected] or visit
http://www.unifauntheatre.com/
page23.php.
PUBLIC
LECTURE
MAY 4
Leonardo da Vinci: Science
and Spirituality
Prof. Marius Zerafa will be giving
a talk on spirituality in the work of
Leonardo da Vinci at Angka Cafe,
Marsa on May 4
British indie-folk duo Joe Gideon & The Shark will
peform at V-Gen, Ball Street, Paceville
Lecture by Prof. Mario Zerafa at
Angka Cafe Rejuvenation Centre,
Aldo Moro Street, Marsa, 17:00.
The lecture will focus on science
and spirituality in the work of
Leonardo da Vinci. Entrance
is free but donations to the
Angka Cafe Rejuvenation will be
accepted.
17
THIS WEEK
TV/CINEMA
AT CINEMAS
TODAY
TVM
Mediashopping
20:00 L-Aħbarijiet 20:40 Freddie Micallef 21:45
Mixage 22:30 Minn Lenti Interkulturali 23:15
L-Aħbarijiet 23:30 Leli ta’ Haz-Zghir (repeat)
ITALIA 1
TVM 2
19:45 Madwarna 20:00 Aħbarijiet 20:45 Public
Lecture by Prof. Norbert Lammert 21:45 Planet
Earth
NET TV
19:45 Net News 20:30 Simpatici 21:30 Net News
21:32 Iswed fuq l-Abjad 23:00 Net News 23:30
Bejni u Bejnek
20:30 – Qui Radio Londra – Rai Uno
ONE
19:30 One News 20:15 Tezori 20:30 TX 22:05
Fresh & Funky 22:50 Ieqaf 20 Minuta 23:15 One
News 23:40 Minuta Wahda 23:45 Kalamita
18:30 Studio Aperto – Meteo
19:00 Studio Sport 19:25 CSI Miami 21:10
Le Iene Show 00:30 Controcampo – Linea
Notte 01:40 The Shield 02:30 Studio Aperto
– La giornata 02:45 Saving Grace
RAI UNO
20:00 Telegiornale 20:30 Qui Radio Londra
20:35 Affari Tuoi 21:10 Mine vaganti 23:17
Tg1 60 Secondi 23:25 Porta a Porta 01:00
Tg1 – Notte 01:23 Tg1 Focus
RAI DUE
18:15 Tg2 18:45 Ghost Whisperer 19:35
Squadra Speciale Cobra 11 20:25 Estrazioni
del lotto 20:30 Tg2 – 20.30 21:05 Criminal
Minds 22:40 Speciale 90 minuto 00:30 Tg2
RAI TRE
CANALE 5
19:25 – CSI Miami – Italia 1
01:40 – The Shield – Italia 1
20:00 Tg5 – Meteo 5 20:30 Striscia la notizia
21:10 Le tre rose di Eva 23:10 Matrix 01:30 Tg5
Notte – Meteo 5 02:00 Striscia la notizia 02:30
19:00 Tg3 19:30 Tg Regione 19:51 Tg Regione Meteo 20:00 Blob 20:15 Un posto
al sole 21:05 Chi l’ha visto? 23:15 Volo in
diretta 00:00 Tg3 Linea notte 00:10 Tg Regione 00:13 Tg3 Linea notte
Films released by KRS Distributors
Lockout
Starring Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace and set in the near future, Lockout follows a falsely convicted ex-government agent (Pearce), whose one
chance at obtaining freedom lies in the dangerous mission of rescuing the President’s daughter (Grace) from rioting convicts at an outer space
maximum security prison.
Showing soon
The Devil
Inside
In Italy, a woman becomes involved in a series of unauthorized exorcisms during
her mission to discover what happened to her mother, who allegedly murdered
three people during her own exorcism.
Showing soon
Embassy Cinemas
Valletta
Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818
Marvel Avengers Assemble (3D)
(PG)
10:30, 14:30, 18:00, 21:00
The Hunger Games (12)
15:00, 18:00, 20:50
The Cold Light of Day (12)
16:45, 18:45, 20:50
American Pie Reunion (18)
11:30, 14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 21:05
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (12)
13:40, 16:15, 18:45, 21:10
Wrath of the Titans (PG)
14:20, 16:35, 18:45, 21:00
Eden Cinemas
St Julian’s
Tel. 23 710400
14:30, 18:00, 20:50, 23:40
Mirror Mirror (U)
14:05, 16:20, 18:35, 20:50, 23:05
Cleanskin (18)
14:15, 16:30, 18:45, 21:00, 23:15
14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 21:15, 23:35
21 Jump Street (18)
14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 20:55, 23:10
Titanic (3D) (12)
14:00, 17:35, 21:15
Jack and Jill (PG)
14:15, 16:15, 18:20, 20:45, 22:50
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (12)
14:25, 18:35, 21:05, 23:35
This Means War (14)
14:20, 16:30, 18:40, 20:55, 23:00
Safe House (16)
14:00, 16:20, 18:45, 21:10, 23:35
Wrath Of the Titans (3D) (PG)
14:15, 16:35, 18:45, 21:10, 23:25
The Woman in Black (14)
14:05, 16:20, 18:35, 20:45, 22:45
Wanderlust (16)
14:30, 16:35, 18:50, 21:10, 23:15
14:25, 16:25, 18:30, 21:05, 23:05
A Dangerous Method (18)
14:25, 16:30, 18:35, 21:00, 23:05
Avengers Assemble (3D) (PG)
14:30, 17:45, 21:00, 23:45
Dear Dom (English) (U)
14:00, 16:50, 19:45, 22:50
Dear Dom (Maltese) (U)
15:25, 18:20, 21:15
Empire Cinemas
Bugibba
Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909
Titanic (3D) (12)
13:30, 17:30, 21:20
Marvel Avengers Assemble (3D)
(PG)
13:55, 20:45
Marvel Avengers Assemble
(subtitled) (3D) (PG)
17:50
The Woman in Black (14)
14:10, 16:20, 18:35, 21:10
13:35, 16:05, 18:25, 21:05
14:30, 18:00, 21:00
Imhabba Fuq il-Gholja (U)
14:00, 16:15, 18:30, 20:45
13:55, 16:05, 18:20, 20:55
18
Events
Bank of Valletta
launches another
edition of the
Guard Account
BANK of Valletta is launching the
second edition of The BOV Guard
Account, a six-year term deposit offering a full capital guarantee and
the possibility of attractive interest/
return on the whole deposit at the
end of term of the deposit.
The BOV Guard Account is a
Structured Deposit Account denominated in euro, US dollar or
pound sterling, offering a 100% capital guarantee if held until maturity.
The deposit is offering a potential
JPA to discuss
social media
at the BOV B2B
Networking
Forum
FOLLOWING the success of
last year’s event JP Advertising
Ltd. will be participating as a
sponsor for the second consecutive year in the BOV B2B Networking Forum, which will be
held between today and Friday at
the Grand Hotel Excelsior.
As part of the sponsorship
agreement JPA’s Chris Pace will
be addressing the discussion forum today in the morning where
he will be sharing his thoughts on
how SMEs can use social media
as an integral part of the marketing strategy. Mr Pace will also be
talking about the phenomenon
of social media and how one can
deploy effective campaigns using social media. Speaking about
social media, Mr Pace said that
businesses need to embrace the
changes in market forces and
adapt to this new form of communication where the main advantage is that businesses can now
talk directly to their customers.
JPA’s participation in the BOV
B2B also involves the setting up
of an innovative stand where visitors can discuss ideas with the
company’s management and staff.
Another innovation is that during
the forum JPA will be sending live
feeds on the proceedings on the
forum. All those who cannot attend can keep updated on all proceedings by visiting our website
www.jpadvertising.com.
The B2B Forum provides a
unique podium for local businesses to find resources, support
and information on how to best
identify and use existing business
opportunities by bringing together key players in the industry
in a single, interactive workshop.
The event also aims at providing an arena for businessmen to
network, discuss current matters,
source human resources and seek
support within the corporate context. There will also be an exhibition showcasing various aspects
of finance, marketing, taxation,
legal issues and joint ventures.
The event is organised by Network Publications in conjunction
with Bank of Valletta, MSV Life,
JPA and The Economic Update.
aggregate return of 33% on deposits
denominated in Euro, 28% on accounts denominated in Pound Sterling and 23% on accounts denominated in US Dollars. The return is
payable if the level of the Euro Stoxx
50 Index on the Final Valuation
Date (i.e. 11 June 2018) is equal to or
higher than the level on the Initial
Valuation Date (i.e.11 June 2012).
The EURO STOXX 50 Index is
Europe’s leading equity index for
the eurozone. It covers 50 stocks
from 12 eurozone countries, representing their respective super sector
leaders.
The account is available to the general public as from the 30 of April
2012 and the offer will close on the
9 of June or earlier, at the Bank’s discretion.
Further information can be obtained from any BOV branch, the
Bank’s website www.bov.com, or by
calling Customer Service Centre on
2131 2020.
Nescafè photo booth tour competition
NESCAFE 3-in-1 has enabled coffee
lovers in Malta to enjoy a creamy and
sweet cup of coffee anywhere and anytime. As its name implies – the new
three-in-one sachet containing coffee, milk and sugar is poised to make
a huge impact in Malta, thanks to its
convenience, taste and price.
The new product is aimed at enhancing the growing trend for more
convenient coffee formats among the
younger consumers. This new Nescafe product offers a convenient solution for those people always on the
move as well as for those looking for
perfect cup of Nescafe when they are
away from home. In fact, the Nescafe
3-in-1 is ideal for families enjoying a
BBQ, a picnic or any other out-home
activities.
A well thought out campaign by
Nestlé Malta supported the recent
launch of NESCAFÈ Original 3-in-1
with the engagement of the social media functionality that has generated a
lot of excitement.
A purposely designed photo booth
took centre stage as it travelled to different locations throughout March
and April in the Nescafe photo booth
tour competition which immediately
turned into a social gathering enticing
people of all ages and walks of life.
Hundreds of hilarious photos of
people holding the Nescafe red mug
were uploaded on the Nescafe Malta
facebook page. Photo Booth Competition was launched simultaneously at
the University Campus and The Point
Shopping Complex.
The photo booth travelled to Pavi
Shopping Centre and next to Smart
Supermarket in Birkirkara. Hundreds
of Nescafe 3-in-1 samples were served
during the events to the joy of those
present.
Out of more than 250 photos, 3
were chosen by a popular vote on the
Nescafe Malta Facebook fan page and
won a Nescafe 3-in-1 fan hamper.
Runner-ups were also awarded with
freebies.
The competition had been running
for a number of weeks where winners
were announced at the end of each of
the three phases.
Over 1,500 people posted their vote.
With almost 9,000 Facebook fans the
competition on the Nescafe fan page,
the competition had a viral spread
as most of the NESCAFÈ fans made
their photo booth images into the
profile pictures
“We knew in our heart that Maltese people would embrace this event
in the same way they drink Nescafe,
that is, with enthusiasm. It was an opportunity for all to experience the essence behind Nescafe 3-in-1,” Joanna
Micallef Farrugia, Group Product
Manager Nestlè Malta explained.
“Now, all the participants have the
opportunity to extend their Nescafè
3-in-1 experience beyond the event.
Nescafe 3in1 is a refreshing convenient coffee made to fit your taste, to
fuel your everyday on-the-go hustle
and bustle life. Nescafe 3-in-1 is the
sum of pure Nescafe coffee with added milk and sugar,” Alfred Borg, Corporate Communications Manager
Nestlé Malta said.
Grand prize of €30,000 to be won
with Vodafone Play and Win
VODAFONE customers will be excited to participate in Vodafone’s latest initiative – one that can win them
a grand prize of €30,000. Launched
on April 25 all Vodafone customers
have the opportunity to participate
in the Vodafone Play and Win Competition and get the chance to win
prizes.
Participation is easy. Customers are
to send an SMS to 50913606 with the
word WIN. A random trivia question
will be sent via SMS which customers
must answer. The question will be accompanied by two possible answers
from which customers need to choose
one. Each SMS costs €1.16, and each
reply will gain the customer points.
Correct replies carry 20 points and
incorrect ones get 10 points.
Every day, a participant to be cho-
sen randomly will win a €100 prize,
and the customer with most points at
the end of each week will win €300.
Customers can answer as many trivia
questions as they want – the more
replies, the greater the chance of winning one of the prizes.
Customers may also increase their
chances of winning during a Bonus
Phase in the Vodafone Play and Win.
Bonus phases carry more points for
each SMS and will last for any specific time from 30 minutes to one day,
and will be equally accessible to all
participants. Information about bonus phases will be sent via SMS.
The top scorer at the end of the
trivia competition will win the Grand
Prize of €30,000.The Vodafone Play
and Win ends on June 14. To participate, customers must be over 18 years
of age and a Vodafone customer.
Terms and conditions apply. More
information can be obtained from
www.vodafone.com.mt/playandwin.
19
Classifieds
ALUMINIUM WORKS
MANUFACTURERS of aluminium
security roller shutters for windows
and doors. Aluminium shutters for
garages (roller or ceiling systems). All
types of aluminium, apertures, aluminium thermal insulation, PVC apertures,
security main doors, aluminium railings for stairs and balconies (chrome/
stainless steel finish). A45 Industrial
Estate, Marsa. Call on 21226320,
99891899. Email: horvin@waldonet.
net.mt. Visit www.horvin.eu
VIN Aluminium (ex-Joevin), manufacturers of doors, windows, insect
screens, etc. We also make repairs.
Call on 21898999, 99465666
ANTIQUES
BARGAIN Prices: For sale large gild
ormolu mirror, Maltese mahogany
desk, marble dressing table, chiffonier, biscuttin table, marble chest of
drawers with grotesque lions, pair
Victorian chairs, glass domes, clocks
under domes, lusters, opalin and
ceramic vases, figurines, Persian carpets and more. Call on 21415949,
99420241, 77415949.
RAGS AND RICHES BUY AND SELL
- the shop dedicated to quality second hand furniture. Our items can
be viewed on our Facebook page:
rags and riches buy and sell. Call on
21661983, 79593666
WE BUY ANY ANTIQUES such as
clocks, mirrors, figurines, paintings,
furniture and silver in any condition.
Very good prices paid in cash. Call on
21237597, 21470128, 99869519
ART GALLERY
ORIGINAL paintings and drawings by
a local contemporary artist. Also modern artworks, abstract, faces, figures
and landscapes. Reasonable prices.
Visit the artist at the Artist Studio and
Art Gallery in Mellieha. Call artist on
99827638
ART LESSONS
ART lessons for students, beginners,
intermediate and advanced in small
groups. North area: Qawra, Bugibba,
St Paul’s Bay, Xemxija and Mellieha.
Call on 99827638
AUTO-AIRCONDITIONING
TECNOPLUS LTD, for auto air-conditioning. Check and prepare your airconditioning now, repairs, servicing
and parts. Avoid summer rush. Call on
21468402, 79468402, 99468402,
99498371
BOATS
10 ft fibre trailer, 4HP, Johnson 4HP
outbaord, two oars and cover. Price
€700. Call on 79904109
A good selection of sailing yachts for
sale from €25,000 up. To view visit
Used Boats on bjmarine.net or call
27019356
FAIRLINE Targa 34 for sale. Built
1994, twin volvopenta, 230HP
engines. Sleeps six. With built-in generator, tender and many extras. In
excellent condition. Well maintained.
Call owner on 99498125, 99887741
CAKES
GENUINE, mouth-watering homemade cakes. Visit Facebook page:
Cake Designs by Rachel and benefit from a 5% discount on cakes on
menu when selecting like. Call on
99869826
CAR WASH
GERMAN MAKE EHRLE TOUCHLESS
CARWASH operated round the clock
at Galea General Services Ltd, Mgarr
Road, Xewkija, Gozo. Self-service with
no brushes and hence spotless wash
and no scratches. Other washing
equipment available. For trade enquir-
ies call on 21561122, 99494618; fax
21554277; www.ggs.com.mt
CLEANING SERVICES
TOTAL CLEANING AND RESTORATION
SERVICES LTD, cleaning of all kinds of
carpets, upholstery and curtains (on
site) and fire places. Insurance claims
for fire and water damage accepted.
Call on 99455152 or email info@
tcrcleaningmalta.com
COMPUTERS
ALL kinds of computer repairs at
your Home. FREE USB Pendrive with
every Format. Wireless setup, Virus
cleaning. Upgrades and technical
assistance. Call Josef on 99460939,
21227614 - www.computech.com.
mt.
COURSES
KEUNE
PROFESSIONAL
HAIRDRESSING COURSES for beginners and advanced including hair
extensions. Limited number of students accepted. Courses, given by
hairdressers trained overseas, mornings and evenings both in Maltese and
English. For bookings call on 2143
4636, 99476170. Keune Hair Centre,
St Michael Street, Lija. Salons worldwide: Amsterdam, Berlin, London,
Sydney and Tokyo.
sewing machines, three-pieces sitting
room, loose furniture, brick knacks,
gilted sotto specchio with mirror and
chandaliers. Call on 77688668 or
email on [email protected]
rial, including coving, ceiling roses
and interior decorations. Showroom
at Testaferrata Street, Ta’ Xbiex. Call
on 21334323, 99475239 or email on
[email protected]
This licence satisfies the requirements
of the Italian, Greek and French Coast
Guard. Contact us on 79432526,
[email protected], www.
maltasailingacademy.com
TWO bedroom suites, one sitting room
set, one dining room suite, old Singer
sewing machine, vetrine with bevelled
glass, front chandeliers and other various loose furniture. Call on 77633663
or email on [email protected]
W.P. LTD Specialists in waterproofing membrane. Ten-year guarantee.
For free estimates and professional
advice call on 21438326, 99445527,
99493840; email: [email protected];
www.wpmalta.com
NAUTICAL Licence courses, costing €120 + €35 exam fee + €23.18
Licence for a total of €178.18.
Alternatively join us for a two day RYA
Powerboat Level2, course fee €300.
Exam done on second day. Contact us
on 79432526, [email protected], www.maltasailingacademy.
com
GENERAL
HYPNOTHERAPY
MEMORIAL Works. Memory slabs
(marble or granite), ceramic plaques
and photos, additional inscriptions on
graves and monument cleaning on
site. Starting from €130. Call Austin
Muscat on 21449909, 79449909.
www.austinmarbles.info
TEDDY’S Detergent Shop at 590, St
Paul’s Street, St Paul’s Bay. Best prices in town. We also offer free delivery
to nearby areas. Find us on Facebook.
Call on 27333357
TEDDY’S Fashion on 571, St Paul’s
Street, St Paul’s Bay. Latest women’s
fashion at lowest prices. All items
under €20. Find us on Facebook. Call
on 27889987
HEALTH & BEAUTY
CHAIRS AND TABLES for all occasions including children’s parties, weddings, Gala dinners, etc.Variation of
chairs and tables of any colours and
sizes. Call Gino ta’ Hal Qormi on
99492732, 7949 2732, 21472838.
Facebook: Gino ta Hal-Qormi
BEAUTY Culture Centre, in Santa
Venera, offers professional waxing,
beauty kits, couches and equipment
including pressotherapy lymphatic and
slimming machines. Sale of portable
couches, steamers and beauty equipment at favourable prices. Special
offers on student packages. Ask for
the special offer of the month. Smart
cards accepted. Call on 21440424
TRAILERS FOR HIRE - Box trailers
length 1.44m or 2.04m with lockable
plastic cover and soft plastic cover
respectively.EC approved for EU countries.Towbars also available for sale.
Apply Acheck VRT station, Mosta.
Call on 21432656, 99441297. www.
acheckgarage.com
FOR a well and relaxed mind and
body, take a ‘stress-free’ Chinese hand
massage by an experienced Chinese
masseuse at San Pawl Hotel on Triq
il-Kahli, St Paul’s Bay. Open also to
non-hotel residents. Open from 9am
to 7pm. For an appointment call on
99575488
FOR HIRE
FOR SALE
CLOVER (silla), a stock of 65 bales
at the price of €5 per bale. Call on
79031640
COLOUR bulbs or clear 15w filament.
See-through or matt light bulbs, ideal
for feasts, festoons, holders, LEDs,
etc. Call on 99497336
SNOOKER and Pool tables, foreign,
made in solid mahogany. Complete
with accessories. Professional and
commercial cues, soccer tables and
air hockey tables. Maintenance and
recovering of all types of tables. Call
on 21227209, 99475092 or email on
[email protected]. Visit us
on http://houseofsnooker.wordpress.
com or 25, Market Street, Floriana
FURNITURE
CARMELO Delia kitchen, less than
two years old, with island 2.4m, wall
cupboards 3.9m and hanging cupboard, modern style Rovere griglio
with panna top. Price €3,000 which
includes stainless steel appliances.
Call on 21376518, 99853197
FAIR DEAL FURNITURE where you
will find bedroom prices starting from
€1,375. Leather sofas at unbelievable prices. Fair Deal Furniture, Mdina
Road, Zebbug. Call on 27282828 or
visit www.fairdealfurniture.com.m
JOINWELL Reprodux dining room,
consisting of large table, six chairs,
sideboard and large show case. As
new. Price €2,300. Call on 21376518,
99853197
SITTING room suites for sale at moderate prices. Part exchange accepted.
Also second hand ones and re-upholstery. Call 21374823, 99824139
TWO bedroom suites, one sitting
room set, one dining room set, two
MADAME Marie Health and Beauty
Salon, for all beauty treatments and
make-up for all occasions. Visit us
at 96, Triq il-Kbira, Qormi or contact Claire Chetcuti on 21495103,
99423894
NEW beauty Spa ‘Honey Girl’ is now
open from Monday to Saturday, offering oriental massage, nail art, etc.
Slimming treatments also available.
New Chinese masseuse available. 37,
Valley Road, Balzan. Contact Ms Lin on
99210180, 27556688
NEW Chinese masseuse available
in Huaxia Chinese massage centre in Pitkali Road, Attard. Call on
79800298
HOLIDAY ACCOMODATION
GOZO, XLENDI
apartments. Call
79592764
new furnished
on 21555026,
TA’
Rummiena
Holiday
Accommodations - If you are looking
for a premium holiday on the Island of
Gozo, staying in an authentic Gozitan
farmhouse rented directly from owners, this is the right place for you.
We can guarantee you a memorable
holiday in style in one of our luxury yet
traditional farmhouses in Gozo at the
most competitive of prices. Call on
21554466, 99821550, 79821550.
Email: contact@farmhouseingozo.
com, Website: www.farmhouseingozo.
com
ALL kinds of works of spray, brush
painting and works on antique furniture.
We also do works on spray painting
for other carpenters. Moderate prices.
Call on 27406731, 99406731
HOME IMPROVEMENTS
DEO’S Interiors: turnkey contractors, gypsum works, importers/suppliers and installers of Italian mate-
HYPNOTHERAPY, qualified help to
quit smoking, self-esteem, phobias,
panic attacks, depression, impotency,
jealousy, anger management, weight
control, positive thinking, social interaction and stuttering. Phone C. Barlow
MAPHP, MNRPC on 27339320,
99881165
LETTING
4,457 Properties To Rent on Malta’s
Best Rated Property Website: www.
simonestates.com CHECK IT OUT! Call
on 23880034, 79861510
BUGIBBA - limits of St Paul’s Bay, apartment with sea views, two bedrooms,
sitting, fitted kitchen, bathroom. Front
back balcony. Fully furnished. Must
be seen. Price €350 monthly. Call on
21570123, 99428930
CENTRAL areas, properties for long
rent from 1, 2 or 3 bedroom. Visit
our website www.baronproperties.org
or call on 99442756, 79706219,
99443311
MARSA - warehouse in Racecourse
Street, 329sqmx18 courses high,
3-phase installed, plus a cold room.
Price €10,000 yearly. Call on
99492965
MGARR - luxuriously and superbly fully
furnished apartment and ground floor
maisonette. In excellent location. Must
be seen. Price €480 monthly. Call on
21570123, 99428930
ZEBBUG, 2 or 3 bedroom apartments
in Vjal il-Helsien. Shop in Birkirkara
in Old Church area. Call owner on
99486496
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
MUSIC LINK - We stock a huge
range of musical instruments such
as Acoustic and Electric Drum Kits,
Cymbals, Percussion, Digital Pianos,
Baby Grand Pianos, Digital Sound
Mixers and Sound Cards, DJ equipment, Sound Systems, Electric,
Acoustic and Classical Guitars, Bass
Guitars, Brass Instruments, Wood
Winds, Violins, spare parts and loads
of accessories. We also stock Music
Tuition Books: ABRSM, LCM and
Trinity. Kindly call at Music Link, 262,
Fleur De Lys Road, Birkirkara. Call on
21482796
PIANOS Upright/Grand: Hyundai,
Kohler & Campbell, Seiler, Schulze
Pollmann. For hire and for sale at easy
monthly payment terms. Keyboards,
synthesizers, digital pianos: Farfisa,
Viscount. Jazz organs: Hammond.
Church organs: Viscount, Ahlborn.
Drum kits: Ludwig, Tamburo. Cymbals,
gongs: Ufip, Istanbul, Wuhan. Acoustic
guitars: Alhambra, Strunal. Electric guitars: G&L, Burns. Trumpets, clarinets,
saxophones: Selmer Paris. Strings:
Pirastro Other musical instruments and
accessories: concert harps, hand held
percussions, Latin percussion, violins,
violas, mouth organs, piano accordions, recorders, melodicas, amplifiers
and sound systems. Apply Barbara
Music Shop, Triq Misrah il-Barrieri,
Santa Venera. Call on 21484151,
21485343. Email: barbara.trading@
go.net.mt
NAUTICAL LICENCE
INTERNATIONAL Marine Licence for
small crafts. RYA Day Skipper licence
courses that gives you the possibility
of sailing beyond our territorial waters.
NURSERY SCHOOL
VICTORIA Nursery school in San Pawl
Tat-Targa. Playgoup/Kindergarten.
Ages between 18 months to 5 years.
Accepts registrations for October
2012. Qualified teachers. Spacious
classrooms/playground. Arts, crafts,
singing, playing, etc.Caring environment. Call on 21419740, 79431813.
Webpage: Victoria nursery school
Malta
NURSING
CARE AND CURE GROUP LTD - Trained
nurses, caring assistants, nannies,
companions, home help and night sitters. 24-hour service. Wheelchairs,
hoists, commodes, walking frames
and Hospital beds for hire. Call on
21376946, 99470178
OPTICIANS
SPECTACLE
FRAMES, contact
lenses and solutions, sunglasses,
with eye specialists in attendance.
Prop. Mario Cassar and Annabelle
Cassar, Shop 3, Regent Place, Tumas
Fenech Street, Birkirkara. Call on
21494198, 27494198, 99884445;
fax: 21677916; email: [email protected]
THE CATHEDRAL OPTICAL one-hour
service, frames start from €27.96.
Attard: 21418315; Guardamangia:
21226020: Fgura: 2167 3332;
Zebbug: 21465768; Birkirkara:
21490213; Naxxar: 21431152;
Rabat: 21450845; Luqa: 21895248;
Pinto Opticians (Qormi): 21488950;
San Gwann: 21383947. We are now
open in Birzebbuga: 21421976. Polar
and Cebe sunglasses.
PETS
TEDDY’S Groomin at 101, Main
Street, St Paul’s Bay. Pet grooming
and accessories at affordable prices.
No tranquillisers used. Find us on
Facebook. Call on 27017555
PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS
A - Z PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS, all
type of investigations in Malta and
abroad. Cheating partner, missing person, corporate investigation, monitoring, forensic tests, debt collecting
and property surveillance. The bill can
be paid in instalments without interest. Best price on the market. Call on
99494643 or email on [email protected]
PROPERTY FOR SALE
18,437 Properties for Sale on Malta’s
Best Rated Property Website: www.
simonestates.com CHECK IT OUT! Call
on 23880034, 79861510
ATTARD - Very spacious 130m² and
highly finished three bedroom apartments situated very close to everyday needs. Two bedroom penthouses
also available. Each unit finished with
Satariano bathrooms and tiles with
double glazing throughout. Lock up
garages optional. Price €151,000.
Call owner on 21387082, 99473354
BALZAN - a traditional detached bungalow having a huge underlying garage
(6 cars) and semi basement making it
ideal for a young family as well as for
anyone who needs lots of storage
(or recreational) space! Main accommodation comprises hall, sitting/din-
20
Classifieds
ing room, fitted kitchen, 3 double
bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (1 ensuite),
laundry, car port, driveway (with easy
level access to the kitchen) and a second garage/utility area at street level!
Great property offering practical living,
not to be missed! Price €542,000.
Call on 79429400
BALZAN - house next to HSBC bank,
with two entrances, permit obtainable
for shop and accomodation. Must
be seen. Price €139,800 or nearest
offer. Call on 21570123, 99428930
BINGEMMA MGARR - farmhouse in
need of attention, 50ft front by 60ft
depth. Must be seen. Price €140,900.
Call on 21570123, 99428930
CENTRAL areas, properties for sale
from 1, 2 or 3 bedroom. Visit our
website www.baronproperties.org
or call on 99442756, 79706219,
99443311
HAMRUN - one-car garage, ground
level. Freehold. Price €7,000 ono. Call
on 77688668
MARSA - warehouse, 105sqmx18
courses high. Airspace included.
Freehold. Price €140,000 yearly. Call
on 99492965
NAXXAR - a fantastic business opportunity at a throw-away price.75sqm,
sold at the best offer over €130,000
(Lm55,810). Call on 79440424,
79392114
NAXXAR - shop for sale. Finished to
very high standards. Ideal for any kind
of business and centrally located. Can
be sold only at €130,000 or lock,
stock and barrel at €146,000. Call on
79525990
QAWRA - a modern, superbly finished and presented apartment just a
stone’s throw from the popular and picturesque Qawra promenade. Served
with lift and intercom, this attractive
property offers a hallway, open plan,
state of the art kitchen with dining and
lounge areas, a study, 2 double and
1 single bedroom, family bathroom
and en suite shower and a utility/
laundry. Included in the sale are the
fitted kitchen, suspended ceilings with
light fittings, air-conditioning units, curtains and blinds. A great bargain! Price
€175,000. Call on 79429400
SAN PAWL TAT-TARGA - Ground /
first floor three bedroom apartment
each with its own private roof, situated close to the Chapel in St Paul’s
Street. Price €149,000. Call owner on
21387082, 99473354
SAN PAWL TAT-TARGA - situated in a
quiet street yet close to most amenities is this quaint and comfortable
top floor semi detached apartment
having a practical bright layout and
ready to move into! Hall, sitting/dining
room with large balcony, fitted kitchen,
2 double bedrooms, TV lounge/3rd
bedroom, bathroom and utility/ store
room. Full ownership of a large roof,
enjoying panoramic views and ideal for
summer entertaining! Must be seen!
Price €184,000. Call on 79429400
SAN PAWL TAT-TARGA - situated in
this desirable residential location
and enjoying open country views,
this semi detached bungalow built
on a plot measuring approximately
400m2 offers great value for money!
Comprises a welcoming entrance hall,
lounge, fitted kitchen/dining, 3 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, laundry
at roof level with potential for further
expansion! An underlying garage having space for 4 cars and a large workshop and store room together with
a surrounding garden having ample
space for a swimming pool further
complements this desirable property.
Highly recommended! Price €620,000.
Call on 99429400
SAN PAWL TAT-TARGA - Well kept,
bright and nicely finished semi-detached villa offering comfortable living
in tranquil seclusion. Accommodation
comprises a welcoming entrance hall
with a lovely open plan kitchen, breakfast and TV lounge area on one side
and a smart, formal sitting and dining room on the other! This charming
home also boasts 4 double bedrooms,
family bathroom and en suite shower.
At basement level there is a 3 car
garage and 4 storage rooms with independent entrance. Plenty of outdoor
area surrounds this home with a wonderful pool with ample deck area and
pool facilities! Highly recommended!
€799,000. Call on 79429400.
SLIEMA - second floor apartment
in St Patrick’s area, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, one ensuite,
=
€3
large sitting/ dining room, kitchen, lift
and entry phone. Lovely layout, large,
bright and airy. Must be seen. Call
owner on 79428592, 99825880
MINICABS 24/7, minicabs and
mini buses. Competitive rates. Call
Wembley’s on 21374141, 27374141,
79374141
SWIEQI - lovely terraced house!
Bargain! Highly finished, spacious layout, lounge/dining with functional log
fireplace, fitted kitchen/breakfast,
study, three double bedrooms, main
with ensuite, and a fourth bedroom/
study, currently used as a walk-in
closet, main bathroom, guest toilet,
laundry room, good sized backyard,
garage and car-port. Must be seen!
€310,000. Call on 79429400
PRIVATE investigations Malta, fully
licensed. Separation, divorce, civic,
commercial, DNA and other cases.
Locally and abroad. Call on 79590000.
Visit www.privateinvestigationmalta.
com
SWIEQI - semi detached villa set
on a plot measuring approximately
35x120ft, in a very central and convenient location. Welcoming hall, sitting room, separate dining, study and
guests’ toilet. A good sized kitchen/
breakfast room overlooking a spacious garden with ample space for a
swimming pool! The first floor comprises 3 bedrooms, bathroom and
spare toilet, terraces and balconies.
A laundry at roof level. This property
also enjoys a 2 car garage and a driveway that can accommodate another 5
cars! Must be seen. Price €534,000.
Call on 79429400.
TWO/ three bedroomed ground floor
apartment just off proposed Gzira
Yacht Marina. Freehold. 3/4 bedroomed flat overlooking Manoel Island
in a quiet block. Spacious rooms.
Call on 77633663 or email on xifa@
melita.com
ZEBBUG - 2 or 3 bedroom apartments in Vjal il-Helsien. Call owner on
99486496
SERVICES
COUNSELLING
service: child,
youth or family related problems,
Fibromyalgia, bullying, bedwetting,
relationships, addictions, grieve and
abuse among other issues. You are
not alone. Service offered 24/7 Call
on 99666663
EXPRESS WATCH REPAIRS on all
types of watches and clocks specialising in grandfather clocks. Also selling
all types of watches and clocks. 110,
Eucharistic Congress Road, Mosta.
Call 21417235, 99840431.
TREAT yourself to a combination of
full body massage and reiki therapy
for total relaxation and healing, delivered by David, for only €35. Weekend,
mornings or weekday evenings. Sms
only on 99809351. No sex requests
please.
VISIT Glassfibre Industries for all your
boating needs including resins and
fiberglass, rubber fenders, made to
measure canopies and a large variety
of boat accessories being sold at discounted prices. Glassfibre Industries,
San Gwakkin Road, Mriehel. Call on
21470282
CALIGARI Spray Painting and Pane
Beating specialising in 2K, metallic
and water-based paints. Low back
booth and computerised mixing room.
MSA insurance approved. De La Rue
Avenue, Gzira. Call on 27333879,
99426198 or email on caligari@onvol.
net
MICHELLE
Colombo,
daughter of Victor Galea, funeral director, St Gregory’s Sacristan; 24-hour
service. Apply 43, Blanche Huber
Street, Sliema. Call on 21339579,
99490846
SITUATIONS WANTED
NEED a care worker or helper with
elderly people? Available night and
day. Call on 77934356
STONE WORKS
J. Vella Stone Works (Ta’ Comba), for
all types of stoneworks (lavur), columns, troughs (hwat), balustrades, fireplaces, fountaines, etc. More than 30
types of stone cladding, old building
stone and imported stone. Also flagstone (cangatura), stone slabs (xorok)
and doors for farmhouses. Open from
7am till 4pm at Triq ir-Razzett l-Ahmar, Iklin. Showroom: 19, Main Street,
Mosta. Call on 21432352, 21412216,
2 CLASSIFIEDS
FOR 3 WEEKS
Choose category. Fill in the boxes provided. Write in block letters. Your advert will appear for three weeks in both MaltaToday, MaltaToday Wednesday, and www.maltatoday.com.mt.
This offer does not apply to Real Estate agents. Send your form to:
MaltaToday Classifieds, Media Today, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016.
Together with a €3 cheque payable to MediaToday Co. Ltd.
Name: ________________________________ Address: _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________ Tel: ___________________ email: _________________________________
ANTIQUES
BOATS
FURNITURE
GENERAL
LETTING
PETS
PROPERTY
SITUATIONS WANTED
SITUATIONS VACANT
SERVICE
TUITION
VEHICLES / PARTS
WANTED
ANTIQUES
BOATS
FURNITURE
GENERAL
LETTING
PETS
PROPERTY
SITUATIONS WANTED
SITUATIONS VACANT
SERVICE
TUITION
VEHICLES / PARTS
WANTED
99477167
TOILET SEATS
WE manufacture pine coloured toilet
seats, made to measure, complete
with fittings. For more information call
on 79675053, 21675053
TUITION
NEED homework help? Need to
improve in Italian, French, English or
Maltese? We can give you the individual attention you need! Lessons in
Paola by an experienced tutor. Also
primary years 4,5,6 and revision for
annual exams. Call on 99804695,
21697187
PIANO and theory lessons for all ages
and levels up to grade 8. Small groups
with individual attention. Experienced
teacher. For more information call
on 79377429 or email joannaellul@
gmail.com
PIANO private lessons in the comfort of your home. Teacher speaks
Lithuanian, Russian and English. Call
98116774
WE aim to provide a stimulating
environment in which our children
can thrive to their full potential while
providing a home away from home.
Registration for October 2012 and
summer school now open. Visit www.
noddyskindergarten.com, Facebook:
Noddys Kindergarten, email: noddys@
maltanet.net. Call on 21339655,
99441863
WE can help you improve your English
to find a better job or to sit for
an exam. Lessons for adults and
school leavers in Paola. Also Forms
1 to 5: English, Italian, French and
Maltese. Lessons by an experienced
tutor. Start now. Call on 99804695,
21697187
VEHICLES/PARTS
A.G.R. Auto Japanes Parts, wholesaler & retailer. Supplies for Japanese
& Korean parts such as Kia, Toyota,
Isuzu, Daewoo, Mitsubishi, Honda and
Subaru. Importers of oil/ air filters,
shock absorbers, brake pads, clutches, etc. Genuine parts. We also do
servicing & repairs on all types of
cars. Call on 21446839, 99474504,
fax 21470295. Visit us at Triq inNassab, Qormi. Email on [email protected]
ATTENTION ALL ROVER AND JAGUAR
OWNERS: we supply new and secondhand Rover and Jaguar parts. We also
carry out service and repairs on all
types of Rover and Jaguar. We also
have close to manufacture diagnostic tool for Jaguar. Apply at British
Car Specialist. Call on 21483024,
99425122
BMW 316, always garaged, one owner. Purchased from local distributor
and serviced regularly. Colour: white
and with full accessories. Engine 1.8
litres petrol, model year 2000. Price
€5,500. Call on 99323922
PEUGOT 307, white, in good condition, one owner and always garaged.
Only 50,000 miles. Price €5,800.
Call on 79427578
TWO hydraulic piston motors at €465.
Call on 79031640
WANTED
COLLECTIBLE items such panini
albums and loose stickers, old postcards and posted envelopes, medals, militaria, coins and paper money,
books, toys, stamps, badges, etc.
Call on 21310238, 99246632
ENGINE outboard, 2 ½ or 1½ HP.
Any make in good working order. Call
79904109
ALL PRICES INDICATED FOR YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE MUST BE IN EURO
HOUSEKEEPER for general duties to
work from Tuesday till Thursday and
Saturday for four hours per day. Call
on 99253431
21
Sport
SPORTTODAY
FOOTBALL
English FA confirm
Roy Hodgson as
England manager
THE Football Association have confirmed Roy Hodgson as the new England manager, yesterday afternnon.
The 64-year-old has signed a fouryear deal, taking him to the end of
Euro 2016.
Hodgson will remain in charge of
West Brom for the final two games of
the Premier League season, although
he will be released for England duties as required.
There has already been much
speculation as to why bookies’ favourite Harry Redknapp was not
approached, but Hodgson has called
for supporters to back the national
side.
The Tottenham boss was widely
perceived to be the popular choice
for the position, but the Football Association have confirmed Hodgson
was their first and only choice.
Roy Hodgson Factfile:
1947: Born on August 9 in Croydon.
1965-75: Player with Crystal Palace,
Gravesend and Northfleet, Maidstone and South African side Berea
Park.
1976: Starts managerial career with
Halmstad in Sweden, winning two
championships.
1980: Joins Bristol City as assistant
manager.
1982: Appointed manager at Ashton
Gate but dismissed within four
months after poor run of results
when club is taken over by new
owners. Returns to Sweden, where
he manages Orebro and then
Malmo, who won five consecutive
championships and two Swedish
Cups under him.
1990: Leaves Sweden for Switzerland, taking over at Neuchatel
Xamax.
1992: Becomes manager of
Switzerland, whom he takes to the
1994 World Cup finals in the United
States. Also in charge when they
qualified for Euro 96.
1995: Appointed manager of Inter
Milan.
1997: Agrees to become Blackburn
manager in the summer. While still
at Inter, his side lose to German club
Schalke in the UEFA Cup final on
penalties.
1998: May: Takes Blackburn into
European competition for the first
time since 1995 but Rovers win only
two of their final 11 Premier League
matches to fail in chase for title.
November: Sacked by Blackburn
with the club bottom of the Premier
League, having taken just nine
points from 14 games.
1999: Shortlisted for Austria job.
Returns to Inter on April 27 as
technical director until the end of
the season.
Joins Swiss side Grasshopper.
2000: Appointed coach of Danish
side FC Copenhagen. Linked with
England job after resignation of
Kevin Keegan.
2001: May - Takes Copenhagen to
the Superliga title.
August: Takes over as coach of Serie
A club Udinese.
December 10 - Udinese and Hodgson part company.
2002: April - Appointed manager of
the United Arab Emirates.
2004: January - Sacked after leading
side to fifth place at the Gulf Cup.
May - Joins Norwegian side Viking
FK.
2005: August - Agrees to take over
as boss of Finland national team.
2007: November 30 - Quits after
failing to secure qualification for
Euro 2008.
December 30 - Appointed Fulham
manager.
2008: Fulham win four of their last
five Premier League games of the
season to stave off relegation.
2009: Guides the Cottagers to their
highest ever top-flight finish, seventh, and ensures Europa League
qualification.
2010: March 18 - Oversees a stunning second-leg comeback against
Juventus in the Europa League
quarter-final as a 4-1 win takes
Fulham into the quarter-finals 5-4
on aggregate.
May 12 - Hodgson’s side go down
2-1 to Atletico Madrid in extratime in the Europa League final in
Hamburg.
July 1 - Announced as new manager
of Liverpool on a three-year contract.
September 23 - Dumped out of the
League Cup on penalties at Anfield
by League Two side Northampton.
October 3 - Poor form continues
with a 2-1 defeat to newly-promoted
Blackpool - again at Anfield.
October 15 - US company New
England Sports Ventures, owner of
the Boston Red Sox, complete their
takeover of Liverpool.
December 29 - Criticises Reds fans
after another home defeat - this time
1-0 to Wolves.
2011: January 8 - Liverpool announce Hodgson has left the club.
February 11 - Takes over as West
Brom coach after the Baggies part
company with Roberto Di Matteo.
May - Takes West Brom to 11th in the
table after a strong end-of-season
run.
April 22 - Leads his side to a 1-0 win
over Liverpool on his first return to
Anfield.
April 29 - West Brom grant the
Football Association permission to
speak to Hodgson about the vacant
manager’s position.
May 1 - The FA confirm Hodgson as
the new England manager on a fouryear contract.
“It is a very proud day for me, I’m
a very happy man to be offered the
chance to manage my country,” he
said.
“I’m looking forward to the task
ahead. Everyone knows it is not an
easy one but I’m hoping that everyone, fans and supporters will get behind the team.
“It’s the team that counts, they go
out and win football matches.
“What I’ll do is try to make sure the
team is well prepared for the challenge ahead.
“I’m really looking forward to it.”
Hodgson acknowledged he did not
have much time to settle into the job
before Euro 2012 but said: “It’s going
to be difficult of course but hopefully I’ve got time. Obviously I’ve been
working here for the last five years
so the players are pretty well known
to me even though I haven’t worked
with them all.
“I’ve done as much research and
spoken to as many people as I can.”
Hodgson preferred not to answer
questions about picking John Terry
and Rio Ferdinand in his squad, or
the possibility of selecting Steven
Gerrard as captain, but was forthcoming about the prospect of Wayne
Rooney going to Ukraine and Poland.
Rooney is suspended for England’s
opening two games, but Hodgson
appeared to put to bed any debate
about whether the Manchester United striker would be part of the final
squad or not.
“I’m looking forward to Wayne
Rooney coming to the Euros with
us and making a contribution even
though he cannot play the first two
games,” he said.
Asked about England’s prospects at
the Euros, Hodgson added: “England
always have to go in tournaments
to win them because we are a major
football nation. I certainly think the
players would be very disappointed
if we expected anything less of them
than to win the tournament.”
Hodgson also confirmed he is set
to wait until after the end of the Barclays Premier League season on May
13 before naming his squad for the
European Championships.
He said: “It’s going to be very important after this press conference to
get straight down to the task, making
certain that when the time comes to
name the squad, which we are likely
to put back as a matter of fact until
after the last game of the season, that
I’ve done as much research as I can
and spoken to as many players as I
can.”
Hodgson also confronted his troubled spell at Liverpool head on.
He was in charge at Anfield for just
half a season before the fans got their
wish to see Kenny Dalglish restored
to the hot-seat.
Some commentators have ex-
New England boss Roy Hodgson
“The Liverpool chapter is in the
past and I’m concentrating on
the future. There are lots of
other chapters in my past I could
concentrate on if I wanted to
put a smile on my face. (Former
club) Inter, I would submit, wasn’t
exactly too easy when it comes to
scrutiny and size of club.”
pressed concern over Hodgson’s ability to deal with the level of scrutiny
he endured on Merseyside, which is
only likely to increase as soon as he
takes the reins of the national side.
“I’m prepared. The fact is I took it
(pressure and criticism) at Liverpool
and I’ll take it here,” he said.
“But the Liverpool chapter is in the
past and I’m concentrating on the future. There are lots of other chapters
in my past I could concentrate on if I
wanted to put a smile on my face.
“(Former club) Inter, I would submit, wasn’t exactly too easy when it
comes to scrutiny and size of club.
“The England manager’s job is the
pinnacle of success for every English
manager and it certainly brings with
it a lot of scrutiny and criticism and I
have to be prepared for that.”
Redknapp has spoken magnanimously over the last couple of days
about being overlooked for a job he
has coveted for some time and Hodgson today returned the favour.
“I have great respect for Harry,” he
said. “He sent me a voicemail, which
I will of course reply to.
“He’s been very gracious in everything he’s done. I hope we remain
friends, we have unwittingly become
rivals.”
FA chairman David Bernstein was
less forthcoming about the Spurs
boss.
“I’m not prepared to talk about
other people or other candidates or
other managers,” he said when asked
about Redknapp.
“We are here to present the new
manager, Roy Hodgson. It’s a closed
book as far as I’m concerned.
“I’m not commenting or discounting him (Redknapp) or anyone else. It
was not a two-man race. Other candidates were looked at very seriously,
whose names I won’t give out.”
22
Sport
MOTORSPORTS
All Wheel Drive Club Croatian Trophy update
AT the half way mark of this week
long endurance off-road race, the
difficult part is just starting. Try
to get the vehicles over the finish
line in a couple of days time would
already in itself be a very successful result.
Day 1
The event started on Friday with
mixed fortunes for team AWDC
Malta. The starting grid for the
prologue/pole position was decided with a draw. Adrian was
lucky enough to pickup 4th while
Stefan managed a 13th place while
Maurice draw number 17. It wasn’t
Kenneth’s luck number as his team
picked number 45 from the hat.
This meant that while the teams
in front found the going easier, the
teams at the back of the starting
grid found a somewhat different
environment. To use Kenneth’s
words “By the time we got to the
off-road parts we found a ‘soppa’
waiting for us not mud” Pole results put Stefan, first of the Maltese in 11th position. Adrian was
next in 13th. Maurice and Kenneth only manages a 45th and 47th
place respectively.
Day 2
The vehicles started according to
the results from yesterday’s prologue. Adrian had a very steady
run and finished relatively easy.
The same cannot be said for Ste-
fan who hit a tree stump that was
hidden in the mud. This resulted
in extensive damage to the front of
the vehicle with a bent front end.
This meant that they had lost all
traction at the front transforming
the vehicle in a 2WD. This could
have spelt disaster for the team
hadn’t it been for Maurice’s Team.
They showed huge team spirit
when they decided to stop and
help Stefan finish the race. Both
teams finished the race at about
23:00hrs, a good 15 hours of pulling and winching and 10 hours behind the leaders. As soon as Stefan
got back to base he found his back-
up team from Kamoy Engineering waiting. By 9 am the following
morning they had completely replace the front end of the vehicle.
Kenneth had a good day without
any problems, the ideal situation
for an endurance race.
Following these mishaps the
teams were in for a surprise. It
turned out that only 26 vehicles
managed to complete all the Route
Checks with Stefan being the only
Maltese team to do so. This was
a huge moral boost as they found
themselves in 30th position. Maurice was rewarded for his efforts
helping Stefan the previous day
and placed 29th. Adrian who had
missed a Route Check managed to
place 32nd while Kenneth placed
47th.
Day 3
Day 3 is composed of 2 events
Trophy Day and a night stage. For
the trophy day teams are grouped
in fours and thanks to the current
classification it meant that Maurice, Stefan and Adrian were in
one team. Kenneth and his team
had a very successful run and
finished 2nd in the Trophy Day.
As Kenneth’s always smiling codriver Neville told us later “Communication was difficult with the
other teams but we found a common language off-road”.
The night event went smoothly
for all the Maltese teams. And the
current classification was proof
of that with all with most of the
teams moving up the provisional
standings. Adrian was now 14th
overall, followed by Stefan in 20th
position.
Maurice had a small setback that
moved in back a couple of places
to 32nd while Kenneth recover
more than 10 positions and is now
in 34th place. After the night stage
Alistair co-drive for Kamoy racing
had these words for us “ At night
the co-driver has to pay a lot more
attention to the route, but the offroad wasn’t that hard. Moderate, I
would say.
Day 4
Monday was an uneventful day,
with a short stage after the long
trophy day. All Maltese teams successfully completed the stage and
although we don’t as yet have official results our correspondent Mark
Schembri , had this to say “Adrian
and Stefan finished the day’s racing
early which augurs well. Maurice and
Kenneth also had good runs but it’s
still too early.”
Maurice, our Croatian Trophy veteran had these words of wisdom for
the team “The Trophy starts now! It’s
an endurance race and finishing every day is vital. All four Maltese teams
are still in the run.” The Croatian
Trophy runs until Friday and Team
AWDC Malta will be back on our island Monday. Best of luck guys.
Team AWDC Malta is made up of
Kamoy Engineering Racing Team
Driver: Stefan Mallia
Co-Driver: Alistair Caruana
Team M
Driver: Maurice Farrugia
Co-Driver: David Abdilla
Ciappella Racing Team
Driver: Adrian Bezzina
Co-Driver: John Zammit
Coleiro Racing Team
Driver: Kenneth Coleiro
Co-Driver: Neville Ciantar
SWIMMING
World swimming champ, 26, dies
during training camp in US
NORWAY’S Alexander Dale Oen,
the defending world champion in
the 100 breaststroke and a top contender for a gold medal at the London Olympics, was found dead in
his bathroom late Monday night.
The 26-year-old, who was training with the Norwegian national
team in Arizona, died of cardiac arrest. The country’s swimming federation said he was found sprawled
on the bathtub. Teammates became
worried when repeated knocks on
the door went unanswered. A team
doctor performed CPR before an
ambulance arrived, but the young
swimmer was never resuscitated
and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
“We’re all in shock,” Norway
coach Petter Loevberg told reporters. “This is an out-of-the-body
experience for the whole team over
here. Our thoughts primarily go to
his family who have lost Alexander
way too early.”
Even at 26, Dale Oen was already
the greatest swimmer in Norwegian
history. He won the nation’s first
swimming medal in Beijing, a silver
in the 100 breast. Three years later,
he won the same race at the world
championships, solidifying himself
as a favorite for the upcoming Sum-
mer Olympics. It was that race that
turned Dale Oen from an athletic
star into a national hero.
He led wire-to-wire and won by
half a body length over a field that
included one of the greatest breaststrokers in history, Kosuke Kitajima.
His time of 58.71 narrowly missed
the world record in the event. But
the athletic achievement was only a
small part of the overall meaning.
Dale Oen’s victory came three days
after the Norwegian massacre that
killed 77 people. With the country
still reeling from the attacks, Dale
Oen’s win provided a brief sense of
diversion. He dedicated his victory
to the victims, pointing to the flag
on his cap after touching the wall.
“We need to stay united,” he said
after the race. “Everyone back home
now is of course paralyzed with
what happened but it was important for me to symbolize that even
though I’m here in China, I’m able
to feel the same emotions.”
In Beijing, Dale Oen entered the
final as the top seed but was defeated in the final 50 meters by Kitajima. He seemed to carry that defeat
ever since. Quotes on his personal
website and Twitter page often had
a theme of redemption. London was
supposed to provide it.
Alexander Dale Oen
23
Sport
OPINION
Blue moon rising
which includes the unmarkable Yaya
Toure. What baffled many more is the
omission of Antonio Valencia, who has
been the key to United’s eight point
gap over the last six weeks. Bringing
him on with 10 minutes to go left him
with no chance to settle, and his impact was marginal.
The 1-0 result was just what they deserved, and truth be told they also do
have a better squad than United. Sir
Alex has done a remarkable in dragging United to within inches of the
summit, and it takes class to do that.
There remain two games, and the
gap is now of eight goals, six of which
where shipped at Old Trafford in the
league’s first Manchester derby this
season. Next Sunday City will travel
to Newcastle, while United face Swansea at home. The early kick off went to
Man City, so all the pressure is now
on them, and they have not dealt with
high stakes well this season. Newcastle will be desperate too for a result
as they look for a spot in the Champion’s League, however City’s cause is
stronger... it would be their first league
victory since 1968, and the lust could
be seen on everyone’s face at the City
of Manchester stadium on Monday
night.
The final day sees Man City facing
QPR, who no doubt will have their
lives to fight for in order to beat the
drop, while a trip to Sunderland fancies United three points, as O’Neil’s
men look settled after a good recovery
this season. In this game, anything
is possible, however the odds have
MARK STRIJBOSCH
ROBERTO Mancini took on Sir Alex,
and won. The Italian masterminded
a fantastic victory over the reds during that derby on that Monday night,
where the Premier League climaxed,
in what may have been a boring encounter, potentially seen in 165 million homes, but helped City put one
hand on the trophy as they look to re
write the history books.
With United having gone no less
than eight points clear, City had no
pressure, and United were in cruise
control. What we didn’t expect was for
United to slip up twice, once to Wigan
whose 3-4 line up was literally unplayable, and the second time to Everton,
who came back from two goals in a
four all thriller.
United have always showed up for
the big games, however their resiliance
lifted last Monday night, and it was
not because of lack of effort. They may
have only managed three shots on target however they were not that bad. Its
just that Manchester City were better,
by a long mile and deserved the three
points on the night. Mancini got the
tactics spot on, they crowded United
out of possession, and ensured United
simply had no chance of getting forward.
Many will point to Sir Alex after
his decision to play his unused card:
Ji Sung Park, who without a game in
eight had to make do with the lining
up against City’s physical presence
Vincent Kompany celebrates scoring the opening goal
shifted once more and City are now
favourites.
To his credit, Mancini still claims
its United that are favourites, however we all know he has been sharpening his teeth as he looks to win on
two fronts: the war of words, and the
battle on the pitch, and in this case he
has taken Sir Alex on and won again.
Truth be told the moment I saw Sir
Alex arguing with Mancini last night
I knew it was over. Clearly troubled
and irked after De jong slid recklessly
into Welbeck, Sir Alex finally let all
his frustrations out on a manager he
respects well.
Has Sir Alex realised that his team
can not compete with money bags
Man City? Prior to their Abu Dhabi
revolution, City were just the noisy
neighbours, and have now taken pole
position for the run in of the season.
The only thing United have to console
themselves with is that these things
only happen once in a blue moon, and
2012 seems to be the year of the blue
moon rising over Manchester.
It is not over yet for both clubs, however casting an eye into next season
will be interesting as United are now
in a critical position: will the invest
in fresh blood and bring in players
like Sneijder and Robben, who seem
readily available, or perhaps take on
youth in players like Hazard? We all
know City will have another limitless
pot to spend, and should they lose
the league a complete overhaul will
take place, however Man United have
reached that point where this squad
needs a few adjustments, and no one
knows where the funds will come
from at this point in time.
To compete in this modern day
means cash, and though Sir Alex has
done well with little during the last
few seasons, the noisy neighbours
have been waving their daddy’s credit
card high in the sky, and that is the
deciding factor this season. Never the
less it is time for the final showdown,
as for the first time ever, goal difference might settle another epic battle
for the Premier League title.
Pursuits
Across
1. Wave riders
5. Restraint
8. Marine crustacean
9. Moment
10. Small common brownish bird
12. Internal part of poultry
15. Impertinent
18. Abduct
20. Postmortem examination
23. Capital of Georgia
25. Incomplete
26. Visage
27. Listener
Sudoku
Sudoku rules are
extremely easy: Fill all empty
squares so that the numbers 1
to 9 appear once in each row,
column and 9x9 box.
Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday
Last week’s solution
Chess
Today’s Weather
8
8
WEATHER: Fine
7
6
7
VISIBILITY: Good
5
4
6
3
5
WIND:
North Northeast force 3
becoming North Northwest
SEA:
Slight
SWELL:
Negligible
2
1
4
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
3
Qc3+
Qe3+
Nd3#
2
1
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
White to play and mate in three moves
Kf4
Ke5
FAIR
25ºC / 15ºC
UV INDEX: 8
Down
1. Slender cord
2. Clarets
3. Angers
4. Old sailors
5. Venomous snake
6. Member of a Rotary Club
7. Muscular strength
11. Select
13. One-celled organisms
14. Makes brown
16. Ceded
17. Downy
19. Actor
21. Composure
22. Seaport in the Crimea
24. Resting place
News
Maltese doctor
puts smiles back on
Ethiopian children
KARL STAGNO-NAVARRA
A Maltese doctor has set off on a
six-week medical mission to pro-
Dr Joseph Azzopardi with
his smiling patients
vide facial surgery for children in
rural Ethiopia.
42-year-old Joseph Azzopardi – a
consultant in pain medicine and
anaesthesia, at London’s Guy’s &
St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
– is heading a team of 14 medics,
providing treatment for up to 50
patients with complex facial disabilities, including burns and the
facial gangrenous disease, noma.
It is the second trip that Azzopardi is making to Ethiopia on behalf of UK charity ‘Project Harar
Ethiopia’, since 2009, saying he felt
compelled to help once again.
“For many of the kids, the operation is a life-changing event. Many
are living in remote communities
ostracised by other children and
unable to eat,” he said.
Pre and post operative care will
be provided at a nearby specialist rehabilitation centre, Cheshire
Home, with the aim of providing kids with a new life and new
smiles.
“The strength of the charity is
that they send scouts out in remote
areas and find people with deformities. They hold clinics and see all
the candidates who are suitable for
surgery.”
In addition to providing surgeries, the team will be carrying out
research and helping to train local
medical staff by improving their
skills so that they perform facial
operations in the future.
It is hoped that this will have
“long-term benefits” for the com-
Dr Joseph Azzopardi performing
facial micro-surgery
munity.
While the bond with the children
makes it a “worthwhile experience”,
the basic conditions can make the
practicalities of carrying out the
medical work equally tough.
“It’s difficult because you are
working out of your comfort
zone. It’s like a logistical challenge. You’re not working with
NHS equipment,” Azzopardi said,
adding however, that he was “very
proud to be involved” in the operation.
Project Harar, which is based in
Hampstead UK, aims to provide
a responsive and comprehensive
outreach service, to help remote
communities in Ethiopia with the
best possible healthcare.

263 Midweek 2nd May 2012

Transcription

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