Новости за 19.01.2016

Former Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson triggered scenes of chaos in France's parliament today as journalists fought and shoved to hear her campaign for a ban on the force-feeding of ducks and geese for foie gras. A photographer and a cameraman came to blows as those in the media scrum struggled to get shots of Anderson at a news conference. Some 25 other journalists were left stuck outside for want of sufficient space for them in the room. The Canadian-born star was campaigning for a bill tabled by an environmentalist lawmaker... Читать дальше...

BALZAN 2 Micallef 20, Grima 57 MELITA 0 Two goals either side of half-time gave Balzan a safe passage to the FA trophy quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory over Melita. Lydon Micallef carried the star-studded Balzan to victory, striking first in the 20th minute and then he turned provider to serve Dylan Grima to seal the one-sided contest. With Balzan, pressing forward with guile and style, the Melita defence stood little chance from the word go. With most of the action condensed in the Melita territory... Читать дальше...

Twitter has confirmed a technical problem that affected access to the site for more than six hours has now been resolved. The social media site posted an update to its status page, which read: "The intermittent issue affecting some users between 00:40 to 06:50 PST (Pacific Standard Time) has now been resolved. "The issue was related to an internal code change. We reverted the change, which fixed the issue. Thank you for your patience." A tweet from the site's support account also confirmed the fix. Читать дальше...

The White House believes former FBI agent Robert Levinson, an American who went missing in Iran eight years ago, is no longer in the country.  President Barack Obama and his administration have repeatedly pressed Iranians to provide information on Levinson. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the White House believes Levinson is no longer in Iran but will continue to press the Iranians for "as much information as they have about his whereabouts." Earnest said the White House have been in touch... Читать дальше...

448 prisoners have followed drug rehabilitation programmes since 2004, information given in parliament this evening shows. The biggest number, 184, went to programmes hosted by Caritas, while 142 followed programmes by Sedqa, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela told Anthony Agius Decelis in reply to a parliamentary question.

A total of 604 migrants were living in open centres at the end of last year, according to information given in Parliament by Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela in reply to a question by Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici (PN). He said 146 were living at Hal Far open centre, 167 at MEC Apartments, 98 at MEC Balzan, 70 at Hal Far 'tent village,' 60 at Marsa open centre, 37 at the Peace Lab in Hal Far, 20 in community registration and six at Dar il-Liedna. The biggest community was made up of 170 Ethiopians, followed by 100 Eritreans. Читать дальше...

Spending on liquid hand wash at the government garage rose to €1,599 last year from €931 just two years previously, according to information given in parliament. Transport Minister Joe Mizzi gave the following information in reply to a question by Clyde Puli.

The government spent €200,560 on an information campaign on the last Budget, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this evening in reply to a parliamentary question by Clyde Puli (PN). The spending, he said, covered filming, editing, lights, sound, production of information adverts on newspapers, television, radio and online, press conferences and logistics. The outlay was €19,440, or 19% less than for the Budget 2015. Contracts were awarded to Force 5, webee, Que Sound, Nexos, TEC, HALO, AF Signs, Matthew Cesareo... Читать дальше...

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici this evening avoided giving a direct reply to a question in parliament by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil over whether he has confidence in Ray Zammit (former acting police commissioner) as head of the new agency running the warden service. Dr Busuttil asked if the minister could have confidence in Mr Zammit as a person responsible for enforcing the law when he was involved in a number of scandals. Dr Bonnici said he had given all the necessary explanations when he was confronted by journalists last week. Читать дальше...

The Speaker of the House, Anglu Farrugia, said this evening that there had been no unauthorised leakage of information from his Office or the Office of the Auditor General regarding a report in Times of Malta on Saturday about the Audit Office report on the Gaffarena case. Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon, who is being investigated by the auditor over the way how property belonging to Mark Gaffarena was expropriated, yesterday complained to the Speaker, saying that it appeared that not only... Читать дальше...

Transport Minister Joe Mizzi held talks in Teheran over the weekend, the first EU minister to visit Iran following the lifting of sanctions, the government said today. The talks focused on cooperation in various areas, notably the maritime sector.  Mr Mizzi met ministers responsible for transport and oil production. Talks were also held with ship operators where registration under the Maltese flag was discussed. The Maltese shipping register used to include a substantial number of Iranian ships before the sanctions were imposed. Читать дальше...

A 23-year-old man was sentenced to a six-month suspended jail term and fined €1,000 this evening after admitting before the Gozo court to having made a bomb threat to the same court earlier in the day. Gabriel Zammit was arraigned before Magistrate Paul Coppini after he was arrested following a tip-off to the police by Magistrate Joe Mifsud. Mr Zammit had appeared in court in the morning and was convicted of not paying alimony to his estranged wife. He was given an hour to pay €600 in backdated maintenance payments. Читать дальше...

With the continued controversy surrounding the American University of Malta, a foreign university planning to open its doors in Malta in the coming months has largely slipped under the radar. European Graduate School president Hubertus von Amelunxen, however, is not at all concerned that the AUM controversy could negatively affect his university – because, as he describes it, the two could hardly be more different. “We are a non-profit university that has never had and will never have any property,”... Читать дальше...

A car chase in Los Angeles, California, ended with police scrambling to capture six dogs, some of which darted from the suspect's car onto the freeway. The incident began after the driver failed to stop for California Highway Patrol officers in Orange County, local media said. The suspect maintained speeds of around 70 to 80 miles per hour before slowing down to about 30 mph on the freeway shoulder in Long Beach. That's when her car, a late-model Mercedes, was reportedly spun out by police. But when the woman emerged from the vehicle... Читать дальше...

Mepa has defended a decision it took in 2009 to seal two apartments which were being used by groups of Muslims for prayers, arguing that they were not covered by permits allowing people to congregate. Evidence was given in court today by Mepa representatives in a case instituted by Mouwafak Toutoungi, Tariq Razee Hidayathullah, Haroun Ali, Mouhanad Toutoungi, Elkatwy Houssein, Ahmed Hussein and Ashraf Abde Azzedine against the Commissioner of Police and the Mepa chairman. The seven plaintiffs are requesting payment for damages... Читать дальше...

The Opposition is insisting that the controversial New Year broadcast by the Prime Minister was a form of political advert which is prohibited unless part of a Broadcasting Authority schedule, and it  is requesting a remedy from the broadcasting watchdog. PBS refuted such claims but has urged the BA to issue clear guidelines on such broadcasts especially the format, which this year moved away from the traditional fireplace with a slick video production in a kitchen. The arguments were made this afternoon... Читать дальше...

Juventus have signed midfielder Rolando Mandragora from Genoa for 6 million euros , the Italian champions said on their website on Tuesday (www.juventus.com). The 18-year-old, who has signed a five-year contract with Juventus, will stay on loan for the rest of the season with Delfino Pescara 1936. Mandragora, one of the brightest young prospects in Italian soccer, has made 16 appearances in Serie B for Pescara. "Mandragora ... is doing well at Pescara, he has many margins for improvement because... Читать дальше...

The MSE Share Index surpassed the 4,500 points level for the first time since early December. The equity benchmark edged up 0.7% to 4,500.949 points on strong trading activity (the highest for 2016). Seven equities traded positively whilst another two remained unchanged. Almost €719,000 worth of shares changed hands today on increased activity in the equities of RS2, BOV and MIA. In the banking sector, HSBC Bank Malta plc and Bank of Valletta plc closed higher by 2.9% and 0.1% to €1.79 and €2.25 levels respectively. Читать дальше...

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anġlu Farrugia, has won the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) Award for 2015. Ambassador Sergio Piazzi, Secretary General said the award was being given to dr Farrugia for his “continuous commitment to the Mediterranean region,” and his “advocacy in favour of parliamentary independence, parliamentary diplomacy and the strengthening of the relations with civil society and the citizens.” ean. The presentation ceremony is expected to take place in Tirana, Albania.

T’Alla w Ommu Hill is to be closed for traffic between tomorrow and the end of the month because of maintenance work on storm water systems, Transport Malta said today. Problems in the storm water systems there were blamed for rainwater flooding in the Coast Road a month ago, Transport Malta said the maintenance work will be carried out between tomorrow at 10am and Sunday evening, during which time the road will be completely closed to traffic in both directions. Access will be allowed to residents... Читать дальше...

Glenn Bedingfield, the former One journalist now serving as consultant to the prime minister, this afternoon denied any involvement in his cousin’s promotion in the Malta Tourism Authority. Referring to comments made in Parliament yesterday by Nationalist MP Antoine Borg, Mr Bedingfield said he only came to know about the promotion after Mr Borg’s comments. Mr Borg said yesterday that the woman was promoted from executive secretary to Manager EU Affairs within two years.  But Mr Bedingfield said she had been working in tourism for 28 years... Читать дальше...

Thousands of Russians have taken a dip in icy waters to celebrate Epiphany, a major holiday in Orthodox Christianity which marks the birth and baptism of Jesus. Water blessed by a priest on the Epiphany week in Orthodox tradition is considered holy and pure, and bathing is believed to have healing powers. In Moscow, authorities set up 60 official bathing sites for believers on Monday night, from open-air pools to holes in ponds. Temperatures in the city were minus 10C overnight. For some Russians this year... Читать дальше...

A 74-year-old woman froze to death after she tried to help her wheelchair-bound husband outside their US home, according to authorities. Maria Riffe died as her immobile husband lay about 18 metres from her, both unable to help each other, said Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills. Roy Riffe, 86, was in a motorised wheelchair going down the concrete path at their home in central Georgia when he ran off the walkway and fell out of the wheelchair. Mr Sills said Maria Riffe, who relied on a walking frame... Читать дальше...

The government welcomed the formation of the Libyan Government of National Accord by the Presidency Council, announced this morning. This followed the signing of an agreement in Schirat, Morocco in December. Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella hailed the development as a very important step towards the general stabilisation of Libya. He thanked UN special representative Martin Kobler for his efforts to enable this accomplishment and appealed to those who remained hesitant on endorsing UN efforts... Читать дальше...

A new report has unveiled a "staggering" civilian death toll in Iraq, with nearly 19,000 people killed in less than two years. At least 18,802 civilians were killed and another 36,245 wounded between January 1 2014 and October 31 2015, according to the UN report. The report details killings by the Islamic State group including by shooting and beheading, as well as by being burned alive or thrown off buildings. The report also stated that the Islamic State group is believed to be holding approximately 3,500 people... Читать дальше...