Новости за 12.02.2016

Pope Francis has met the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, in an historic development in the 1,000-year-old schism that divided Christianity. Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill embraced and kissed one another three times on the cheek as they met in a wood-panelled VIP room at Havana airport. It was the first time a pope and Russian patriarch had ever met. The Vatican sees the meeting as an important new step in its ecumenical efforts, but many Orthodox observers see Kirill's willingness... Читать дальше...

Up to 1,000 people living in a sprawling migrant camp by Calais must leave their makeshift dwellings, the top official in France's northern Pas-de-Calais region announced. Prefect Fabienne Buccio said the plan to move out those taking shelter in tents and lean-tos concerns about half the surface of the camp by the northern French city, known locally as The Jungle. Officials would not say whether the move is part of a larger plan to close the squalid camp, which Ms Buccio has suggested she wants to do. Читать дальше...

Kanye West has said he "did not diss Taylor Swift" in his new track, Famous. In a series of posts on Twitter, he denied reports that she had warned him over "misogynistic" language, writing that she "gave her blessings" to the controversial lyric. The rap star apparently references Swift in the song, with the words: "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b***h famous." But Swift's representatives denied that West had called the star to seek permission before putting the song out. Читать дальше...

Migrants could not expect to choose where they would be given asylum in Europe and they should be “returned” if they did not qualify for protection, the European Migration Commissioner said. As the number of migrants fleeing to Europe remains high, Dimitris Avramopoulos is calling for the implementation of the “agreed response that strikes a balance between responsibility and solidarity”. “It must be clear for people arriving in the [European] Union that, if they need protection, they will receive it; but it is not up to them to decide where ... Читать дальше...

A seven-year-old terrier had to be rescued by firefighters after it got stuck in a wood stack in the New Forest. Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service sent its animal rescue specialist to help the effort to retrieve seven-year-old Bernie, a Parson Jack Russell cross, after it got trapped under the wood at Beaulieu. A spokeswoman said: "Crews from Lyndhurst and an animal rescue specialist rescued Bernie the seven-year-old Parson Jack Russell cross yesterday after he barked up the wrong tree. "Bernie had... Читать дальше...

Two teenagers have been shot at a high school in Arizona, but there is no more danger to the rest of the campus, police said. A spokeswoman could not confirm whether the victims at Independence High School, in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, were students. She did not discuss the conditions of the teenagers. She did not say who fired the shots but said there is no longer an active shooter. Numerous police and fire units descended on the school, and streets were closed to traffic in the residential area around the campus. Читать дальше...

Brussels-based Health and Environment Alliance (Heal) has teamed up with cancer advocacy and support groups to pressure European governments to stamp down on glyphosate, a chemical that is used in herbicides. “With WHO’s agency on cancer saying that glyphosate is a ‘probable carcinogen’ on one hand, and European law saying that such carcinogens should not be allowed on the market on the other, we’re asking European governments to say no to this weed killer,” Lisette van Vliet, from Heal, told this newspaper during a visit to Malta. Читать дальше...

Make them an offer they can't refuse and a massive collection of The Godfather author Mario Puzo's papers can be yours. The 45-box archive, which includes multiple drafts with handwritten revisions to both the novel and the screenplay, is being sold by Boston-based RR Auction on February 18. The collection covering Puzo's entire career includes manuscripts of his early books and late-career screenplays, and even his old typewriter. But there is no doubt that its thousands of pages of Godfather documents are the highlight. Читать дальше...

A Spanish court has ruled that a civil servant who failed to show up to work for years in the southern city of Cadiz must pay back nearly €27,000 in wages. The ruling said the employee of a city-owned water utility did not appear at the office for up to six years and "did absolutely no work" from 2007 to 2010 before his retirement in 2011. The judgment did not specify how the worker's absence went undetected for so long. The decision marked the end of a legal process lasting for years after Cadiz... Читать дальше...

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna today expressed disappointment that the proposed European Anti-Tax-Avoidance directive was not accompanied by an impact assessment which would have indicated the effect on Member states and the EU as a whole. Speaking at an Ecofin meeting of EU Finance Ministers in Brussels, Prof. Scicluna said the reasons put forward in the Commission’s report for not having such an assessment were not satisfactory. In its absence, he said, the Maltese government was commissioning an impact assessment for the country. Читать дальше...

The Scottish Greens have unveiled a new election weapon - their own brand of craft beer. Harvie's Hoptimistic is named in honour of co-convener Patrick, who said it reflects the party's positive attitude going into May's vote. Launching the beer at vegan venue Mono in Glasgow, he said: "With our hugely increased membership and some positive poll ratings, what else could we call our beer?" Real ale fan Mr Harvie, whose head and spectacles outline graces the bottle's green label, is hoping to be elected... Читать дальше...

Air Malta insists international safety rules were met after eyebrows were raised over what appeared to be ‘contradictory’ instructions on the use of passenger seats next to the overwing emergency exits. Flight personnel told this newspaper the national air carrier had recently issued written instructions to cockpit and cabin crew to leave the seats in question unattended if these were not sold at premium in line with company policy. The crew members who spoke to this newspaper said the latest decision... Читать дальше...

Possible Zika vaccines are at least 18 months away from large-scale trials, according to the World Health Organisation. WHO assistant director-general for health systems and innovation Marie-Paule Kieny said the UN health agency's response is "proceeding very quickly" and 15 companies or groups have been identified as possible participants in the hunt for vaccines. She told reporters in Geneva that the WHO also believes the link between the mosquito-borne virus and abnormally small heads in some newborn children is "more and more probable". Читать дальше...

Completion of restoration works on the Ċittadella in Gozo must be fully funded by the government, a European Commission official said. However, the same official told this newspaper that, according to EU funding regulations, the €1.1 million that were not spent on the project by the end-of-year deadline were still available to the government. This money, he added, could be used to settle pending bills on other EU-funded projects provided such payments were due by the end of 2015. Last week, the Times... Читать дальше...

Entertainer Rolf Harris has been charged with seven more counts of indecent assault against girls as young as 12. Harris, 85, is currently serving a six-year sentence for sex offences at Stafford Prison. The alleged offences date from 1971 to 2004 and relate to seven complainants who were aged between 12 and 27 at the time, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. A CPS spokesman said: "We have carefully considered the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police Service as part of Operation Yewtree in relation to Rolf Harris. Читать дальше...

European Union countries are poised to restrict passport-free travel by invoking an emergency rule to impose controls at several borders for two more years because of the migration crisis, according to EU documents. The switch will reverse a decades-old trend of expanding passport-free travel in Europe. Since 1995, people have been able to cross borders among Schengen Area member countries without document checks. Each of the 26 countries in the Schengen Area is allowed to unilaterally put up border controls for a maximum of six months... Читать дальше...

Scientists are to explore for the first time the long-term effects of so-called "broken heart syndrome". The condition, known to medics as takotsubo cardiomyopathy, often follows an episode of acute stress such as a bereavement, accident or divorce. Sufferers experience heart attack-like symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath but, while the heart muscle is weakened, there is no evidence of a blockage in the coronary arteries. Researchers at Aberdeen University will study the long-term... Читать дальше...

The man who reportedly attacked a pregnant policewoman on Tuesday was a warden, the Local Enforcement Agency confirmed in a statement this afternoon. It said the police were currently investigating the incident and it was in contact with the private company which employed the warden. The Police Officers Union within the General Workers' Union said on its Facebook page on Wednesday that a man who claimed to be a warden attacked an eight-month pregnant policewoman who had to be treated for shock. The... Читать дальше...

Thousands of migrants are being funnelled into Europe’s black market economy because the reception system does not cater for those ineligible for asylum, according to Stefano Mallia, the EU’s Economic and Social Affairs Committee rapporteur on migration. The EESC has, over the past few weeks, undertaken 12 country missions to gather information on the migrant situation in Europe. Mr Mallia, who led three such visits to Greece, Italy and Malta, said that specially set up migrant hotspots were catering... Читать дальше...

Facebook has lost a crucial legal battle in France as a court ruled the social network can be sued over its decision to remove the account of a user who posted a photo of a famous 19th-century nude painting. The ruling by the Paris appeals court could set a legal precedent in France, where Facebook has more than 30 million regular users. An appeal could go to the country's highest court. It means a French court can hear the case of a 57-year-old Parisian teacher and art lover, whose Facebook account... Читать дальше...

Glorious, sunny days in winter are welcome by the majority but farmers are warning that if the dry spell persists it will wreak havoc on crops throughout the year. With the world’s temperature forecast to rise by 2°C over the next four to six decades, the chances are this could become the new norm. But what are the implications for local food production, our infrastructure and the economy? Is Malta prepared for the changing weather? Presented by Herman Grech and Mark Micallef, Times Talk is aired on TVM on Tuesday at 10.05pm... Читать дальше...

The share index reversed yesterday’s decline as it advanced by 0.76 per cent to 4,469.040 points, largely on the gains of three of its heavyweights (IHI, MIA and GO) which outweighed the declines in another two large caps - BOV and HSBC. Trading volumes increased noticeably to just over €570,000 on particularly strong activity in FIMBank and BOV. Week-on-week, the index closed marginally higher after trailing in negative territory for most of the week. The equity of International Hotel Investments... Читать дальше...

A 24-year-old man from Hamrun who is undergoing treatment at Mount Carmel Hospital this morning denied threatening and intimidating his former partner and children. He was also accused of relapsing. The court heard that the man, who had a long history of violent behaviour, turned up at his former partner's residence a few days ago and damaged the front door. Initially, the accused did not request bail, asking to be transferred to Mount Carmel Hospital. But when he was told this was not possible, he filed a request for bail... Читать дальше...

A man has been charged with the murders of ex-EastEnders actress Sian Blake and her two children, police said. Ms Blake and her sons Zachary, eight, and four-year-old Amon vanished from their home in Erith, Kent, on December 13. Ms Blake's boyfriend, Arthur Simpson-Kent, 48, will appear in custody later today at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court. Simpson-Kent, 48, was arrested by Metropolitan Police officers earlier today after agreeing to be extradited from Ghana. The bodies of Ms Blake and... Читать дальше...

Major powers agreed today to a "cessation of hostilities" in Syria to begin in a week, doing nothing in the meantime to halt Russian bombing poised to give government forces their biggest victory of the five-year-old war. If implemented, the deal would allow humanitarian aid to reach besieged towns. It has the potential to be the first diplomatic breakthrough in a conflict that has fractured the Middle East, killed at least 250,000 people, made 11 million homeless and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing into Europe. Читать дальше...