Новости за 24.02.2016

Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a Missouri state jury to pay $72 million of damages to the family of Jacqueline Fox - a woman whose death from ovarian cancer was linked to her use of the company's talc-based Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for several decades. Jere Beasley, a lawyer for the Fox's family, says the powder should be pulled from the shelves. "We had an uphill battle. We had to convince them that this was a company that had shown no concern, no remorse, who absolutely had no concern... Читать дальше...

Parliament this evening started to debate a “temporary solution” to enable the Industrial Tribunal to keep functioning following a Constitutional Court’s ruling that the tribunal’s current set up was unconstitutional. A few days ago, an Appeals Court upheld a decision by a judge who last year ruled that the Industrial Tribunal law was unconstitutional as it did not guarantee independence and impartiality. Social dialogue minister Helena Dalli said the employment law amendments being proposed included... Читать дальше...

The staff of Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery is packing up some of Russia's finest paintings to send to London for a landmark exhibition. The 26 portraits being sent to the National Portrait Gallery for an exhibition March 17 to June 26 are part of an exchange that also includes major British works loaned to Russia. The Tretyakov portraits going to London show elite artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tretyakov director Zelfira Tregulova singles out two - portraits of writer Fyodor Dostoevsky... Читать дальше...

The Opposition will be voting in favour of a bill that proposes to criminalise gay conversion therapy tomorrow, the Nationalist Party said this evening. The bill proposes fines up to €10,000 and up to a year’s imprisonment for people carrying out such therapy. The PN parliamentary group met to discuss the bill this evening ad decided to support it once it was moved for debate in Parliament The party said it also discussed the matter in the party’s executive committee last night where a position against conversion therapy was also taken. Читать дальше...

A plane has dropped the first cargo of aid to the Syrian city of Deir el-Zour, the UN humanitarian chief said. Stephen O'Brien told the UN Security Council that 21 tons of aid were dropped on the city which is surrounded by the extremist Islamic State group early on Wednesday. He said initial reports from Syrian Arab Red Crescent teams on the ground say the pallets landed in the target area. Mr O'Brien said the UN and its partners have reached 110,000 people in besieged areas and have approval to reach a further 230,000 people... Читать дальше...

The Opposition sought to win the sympathy of animal welfare activists and opt for political sensationalism when it sided with farmer Ġianni Attard after he lost his bid to save his flock of sheep from being culled, Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes said today. He said in a ministerial statement in Parliament today that the government would not budge on public health issues and put in jeopardy the gains registered in the eradication of animal diseases. The sheep, he said, were... Читать дальше...

The Opposition’s private member’s bill on judicial appointments cannot be debated without the President’s assent, Speaker Anġlu Farrugia ruled today. The Speaker was asked for a ruling during yesterday’s House Business Committee meeting on whether the bill could be debated without the President's assent and if next Thursday was an Opposition or government business day. In his ruling, the Speaker gave an overview of what was said during the meeting leading to the call for a ruling. He also ruled that... Читать дальше...

Malta International Airport’s profits increased from €16.8 million to €19.3 million, the company announced today. It said the increase signalled that the company was on the right path to proceed with the next stages of its ambitious investment plan for this year and beyond.  Increases in revenues were registered by both the company’s aviation and non-aviation segments. The global sum of group revenues for last year was €66,965,843, up from €64,290,433 in 2014. Aviation revenues, which grew by four per cent to €46.4 million... Читать дальше...

Availability is tight for an Airbnb rental in Chicago designed to look like a Vincent Van Gogh masterpiece. Openings for the space the Art Institute of Chicago modelled after Van Gogh's famous painting of his bedroom have sold out quickly. The promotion for the museum's Van Gogh's Bedrooms exhibition was announced earlier this month, and future dates will be announced in waves on the Art Institute's social media channels. Curator Gloria Groom said Van Gogh's bedroom in the south of France represented... Читать дальше...

A concert was given in Parliament today as part of the Music Educational Programme by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in collaboration with the Malta Youth Orchestra, the Johann Strauss School of Music and students of local band clubs.

A 29-year-old man from Rabat was this afternoon handed a suspended sentence after he admitted to mugging a 73-year-old woman whose purse only contained €20. Clinton Bugeja, who has a serious drug addiction, admitted to the theft and to injuring Michelina Buhagiar as she was walking through a street in Mosta. The incident happened on Monday. Magistrate Monica Vella condemned Mr Bugeja to 13 months in jail suspended for three years, placed him under a three-year supervision order and ordered him to... Читать дальше...

Late applications for entry into church schools at first and second year kindergarten, first year primary and first year secondary are being accepted on Friday between 9am and 1pm at the Curia in Floriana. The call is being made to fill the remaining vacant places - first year secondary: 106 boys and 15 girls; first year primary - 234 boys and 115 girls, second year kindergarten - 90 boys and 201 girls and first year kindergarten - 36 boys and 58 girls, a total of 855 places More information can be obtained from the Church in Malta website.

Nationalist MEP David Casa and the UKIP’s Nigel Farage faced off in the European Parliament today as the former challenged Mr Farage to say whether he would retire from politics if the British people opted to remain part of the EU. “We all know that Mr Farage has been working for Britain to leave the EU for at least 11 years, he failed at local elections and he failed at general elections securing a bigger majority for David Cameron. “If, in the referendum, which he always wanted, the Brits opt to stay part of the EU... Читать дальше...

After being rescued from Islamic State captivity in Iraq, a Swedish teenager says she was duped by her boyfriend to travel to Mosul to live in the Sunni militant's so-called caliphate. Mana Rabiee reports.

The Nationalist Party’s updated environmental policies will be published midyear as the public consultation process is still ongoing, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said today. Speaking during the presentation of a report compiled by the head of the PN’s environment convention Simone Vella Lineker, Dr Busuttil said the PN would not conduct backroom deals and would be open and transparent with its environmental policies. Dr Busuttil said the party was against development on ODZ land except in “exceptional” circumstances. Читать дальше...

Two Msida youths this afternoon admitted to stealing a television and some 50 bottles of alcohol from a residence in their hometown. Keith Mallia, 31, and Sean Micallef, 22, pleaded guilty to the theft that took place in December last year and again last month. Mr Micallef was further accused of breaching the conditions of the previous release. Magistrate Monica Vella heard how Mr Mallia is currently attending a drug rehabilitation programme at the Caritas Centre in San Blas. He was jailed for 11 months suspended for three years... Читать дальше...

Following fans' complaints about high prices charged for Jimmy Carr’s live show in Malta, Eden Cinemas announced a new pricing system that sees tickets for the acclaimed UK comedian's show priced between €40 and €65, with the venue moving from Cinema 16 to the InterContinental Arena & Conference Centre in St Julian's.   The show went on sale last week, but a Facebook page set up to promote the show was immediately inundated by disappointed fans claiming that, with ticket prices starting at €50 and going up to €120... Читать дальше...

Identical twin sisters from Utah each recently gave birth to identical twins - again. Kerri Bunker and Kelli Wall delivered twins within weeks of each other at a hospital in Orem, south of Salt Lake City. Years ago, they gave birth to their first sets of twins, now four- and five-year-olds, at the same hospital a few months apart. Ms Bunker's newest twins arrived on February 13. Ms Wall's youngest twins were born about three weeks earlier. Ryan White, spokesman for Timpanogos Regional Hospital, said... Читать дальше...

Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan has avoided a criminal conviction and been fined €6,000 for head-butting and spitting on a police officer following an alleged air rage incident. The multimillion-selling artist pleaded guilty last December after being arrested at Shannon Airport in Ireland on November 10, 2014 following a disturbance on a transatlantic flight. The singer, who was diagnosed as suffering bipolar disorder after the incident, admitted four offences including three assaults and obstructing... Читать дальше...

The Syrian president has assured Russia's Vladimir Putin of Damascus's commitment to a Russia-US proposed truce, even as a spokesman for a Saudi-backed alliance of Syrian opposition and rebel factions expressed "major concerns" about the ceasefire, due to begin later this week. Salem Al Meslet, spokesman for the alliance known as the High Negotiations Committee, said his group is worried that Russia and Syrian president Bashar Assad's forces would continue to strike at mainstream rebels under the... Читать дальше...

A meeting of the Commission for the Administration of Justice held on Monday did not discuss the controversial nomination of lawyer Caroline Farrugia Frendo as magistrate. Appeals have been made to the government to ask for the commission’s advice to ensure there are no doubts about her appointment, after questions were raised over her eligibility to become a magistrate. The Chamber of Advocates, the Opposition and the man behind the government’s justice reform blueprint, Giovanni Bonello, have been among those making the appeals. Читать дальше...

More than one in every 10 people living in Cospicua were handed out food packages as part of a new EU food aid programme for Malta’s most deprived. According to an exercise carried out by this newspaper based on figures tabled in Parliament this week, 11 per cent of Cospicua’s population received bags of food as part of the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) rolled out last month. The two other localities with the highest concentration of food aid recipients were Floriana (nine per cent) and Valletta (eight per cent). Читать дальше...

The share index registered its fifth consecutive positive performance as it advanced by a further 0.11 per cent to 4,540.440 points – the highest level since late April 2008. Trading volumes declined to a two-week low of €351,000. Today’s gains were principally led by RS2 Software. The equity advanced by a further 2.4 per cent to yet another all-time high of €3.61,5 across reduced volumes totalling 22,500 shares. Medserv and Simonds Farsons Cisk closed at €1.64,9 (+1.8 per cent) and €6.30 (+0.8 per cent) respectively on low volumes. Читать дальше...

Times Talk on Tuesday discussed gender gap, a sector in which Malta remains among the worst in the world, especially in areas like economic participation and political empowerment although women score high in educational attainment. Present for the programme were Renee Laiviera (National Commission for the Promotion of Equality), Dr Emmy Bezzina (lawyer and TV presenter) and Sylvana Brannon (businesswoman) in what turned out to be a very animated edition. Watch a repeat of the programme above.

Facebook said today that "Reactions", an extension of the "Like" button, was now available worldwide. The social network launched a pilot of "Reactions" - which allow users able select from seven emotions including "like" and "wow" - in Ireland and Spain in October. To add a reaction, users have to hold down the "Like" button on mobile devices or hover over the button on desktops to see a menu of reaction images, Facebook said in a blog post.