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MT 5 October 2014

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Events 40 maltatoday, Sunday, 5 OctOber 2014 Successful third edition of 8km Road Race at SmartCity Malta The 3rd edition of the SmartCity Malta Road Race, organised by St Patrick's Athletics Club around Ka- lkara and Xghajra was a huge suc- cess once again, as over 130 adult athletes participated in the 8km race and walkathon, while 25 young runners participated in the 2km juniors' race. First to cross the finish line in the men's category was St Patrick's Ath- letics Club's Ibrahim Hussen Ahmed in a time of 26 minutes and 23 sec- onds, followed by Jonathan Balzan, also of St Patrick Athletics Club's, and Brian Magri of Pembroke Ath- leta who came in third place. In the females' race, the first entrant was Carmen Hili of St Patrick's Athlet- ics Club in a time of 31 mins and 41 seconds, followed by Josianne At- tard Pulis of Starmax and Sandra Schembri of B'Kara St Joseph, re- spectively. The juniors' 2km girls category race was won by Martha Spiteri of Żurrieq Wolves in a time of 8 min- utes and 12 seconds, followed by Maria Ghigo of St Patrick's Atletics Club and Pamela Camilleri of Gozo Greyhounds. The boys' race was won by Dean Ellul of St Patrick's Athlet- ics Club in a time of 8 minutes and 21 seconds, who was followed by Matthew Camilleri of Gozo Grey- hounds and Roderick Cassar of St Patrick's Athletics Club. The sponsors of the event were SmartCity Malta, Nestlé Fitness, Crix, Gioia Bananas, Raysun Prod- ucts, Gatorade, Nutrend and Kee K lamp. MAPFRE to acquire Direct Line Group's subsidiaries in Italy and Germany MAPFRE has signed an agreement with UK insurer Direct Line Group to acquire its motor insurance sub- sidiaries in Italy and Germany for 550 million euros. The transaction reflects the Spanish company's firm commitment to online direct insur- ance, and reinforces its presence in Europe. The businesses in Italy and Ger- many add premiums of 714 million euros and 1.6 million clients, and generate profits before taxes of 19.5 million euros, as per the latest re- sults from 2013. Direct Line Italy leads the Italian direct motor insurance segment, with a market share of approximate- ly 28 percent, producing premiums of nearly 500 million euros annually from its one million clients. Direct Line Germany ranks third in the German direct motor insur- ance market, with an approximately 13 percent market share. The com- pany generates over 200 million euros in premiums and has close to 600,000 clients. Direct insurance has been a high- growth segment in both countries recently - it has grown by 74 per- cent and 38 percent over the last five years in Italy and Germany respec- tively. "The assets acquired in Italy and Germany are clearly a key invest- ment for MAPFRE, given that they underpin two central pillars of our global growth strategy: increasing our presence in Europe, and their alignment with our firm commit- ment to the digital business", stated Antonio Huertas, MAPFRE's Chair- man and CEO. Direct Line Group acquired both subsidiaries in Italy and Germany in 2001, and during the last 13 years both companies have diver- sified their distribution channels: at present, direct insurance con- tributes 45 percent of premiums, while the various distribution alli- ances with car manufacturers and finance companies account for 32 percent, with the remaining 23 per- cent coming from insurance price comparison websites. This strategy is perfectly aligned with MAPFRE's multi-channel customer-centric ap- proach. The transaction will be formalized conditional upon authorization be- ing granted by the relevant market regulators. Malta's first ever tattoo convention Rejects Events are organising the first ever Tattoo Convention in Malta, appropriately titled "Malta Tattoo Expo 2014" and is happening between the 7 and the 9 November at The Diamond in Qormi. Over 30 of the best local tattoo artists will be exhibiting their art as well as 2 foreign guests from Tattoo Lucio (Spain). Of course, a tattoo convention won't be complete with- out tattoo competitions, where the artists will be going head to head with their art and competing in dif- ferent tattoo categories. The 3 full days will be hosting a huge variety of live entertainment ranging from Rock to Hip-Hop, acoustic sessions and also EDM. Friday's opening concert is some- thing the public doesn't want to miss. Beyond the Skin, a band formed specifically for the Malta Tattoo Expo, features some of the best musical talent on the island such as Wayne Camilleri, Frank Calleja, Leo Stivala, Chris Curmi, Mikaela, Paul Sky, Jonathan Ellul and Robert Spiteri.! Other performers include Sugar Rush, Forty Days of Rain, Bernie & Pod, Jack's Fusion, Cryptic Street, a standup comedy set by Malcolm Alden as well as Dj performances by Dj Hades and NecroSpasm. Saturday evening will see Dana McKeon taking the stage and open- ing for local Hip Hop act 'Marmalja' which is made up of Claude 'Lapes' Agius and Adrian 'Drinu' Delicata, who are both members of the local Hip Hop legends 'No Bling Show'. Stephen Davids from 'The Rock- stars' will be spinning his sig- nature EDM mixes on Sunday evening to open for the band that is taking a lot of stages by storm, Milk Mi, who are sure to set the crowd on fire with their energy. The event is sponsored by The AV Warehouse, Chocolate Dis- trict, Antonio's Barbershop, Hades Malta, Furban Malti and Hard Rock Cafe. The event will be immortalised on photos by the exceptional local photographer, Tamsin Pace Decesare. Weekend Early bird tickets are out and already they're almost sold out with a last few available for €15 from http://tinyurl.com/ pfphp5a or all participating tat- too artists as well as the Embassy Cinema Complex in Valletta and City Concierge Desk at the Plaza in Sliema. Children under 12 years go free if they are accompanied by adults. Monetary policy decisions At yesterday's meeting, which was held in Naples, the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facil- ity will remain unchanged at 0.05%, 0.30% and -0.20% re- spectively. The President of the ECB will comment on the consid- erations underlying these de- cisions at a press conference starting at 2.30 p.m. CET today. From left: Winner of the 8km Road Race (male category), Ibrahim Hussen Ahmed, President of St Patrick's Athletics Club, Stephen Spiteri, and winner of the 8km Road Race (female category), Carmen Hili

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