Новости за 14.03.2016

President Vladimir Putin said today that Russian armed forces would begin pulling out of Syria and he instructed his diplomats to step up the push for peace, as U.N.-mediated talks resumed in Geneva on ending the five-year war. Syria said President Bashar al-Assad had agreed on the "reduction" of Russian forces in a telephone call with Putin. Russia's military intervention in Syria in September helped to turn the tide of war in Assad's favour after months of gains in western Syria by rebel fighters... Читать дальше...

The Public Accounts Committee is to summon former Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon and Charles Camilleri, former director of the government's Estate Management Division to question them about the sworn statements they issued recently on the Gaffarena scandal. In his statement Mr Camilleri had said that he did not expose Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon’s involvement in the case because he “felt threatened” by a man from Dr Falzon’s secretariat – Clint Scerri. The decision was taken at... Читать дальше...

The House of Representatives is this evening debating a motion for Labour MP Franco Mercieca to chair the parliamentary environment committee instead of Marlene Farrugia. The motion also nominates Labour whip Godfrey Farrugia to sit on the committee. Marlene Farrugia left the chairmanship when she resigned from the Labour parliamentary group, although she stayed on in the House as an independent MP. The Opposition and several NGOs have called for Dr Marlene Farrugia to be retained in the chair, but Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis... Читать дальше...

National funds will be used for the purchase of food items which will be distributed to thousands of low income families and individuals who used to get EU food packages but are no longer eligible under the new, tighter regulations. Social Policy Minister Michael Farrugia revealed the scheme in parliament when he answered questions by Anthony Agius Decelis (PL). He said recipients are still being identified. He said the new scheme would be run in parallel with the EU’s own food distribution scheme. Читать дальше...

Eighteen medicines have had their prices reduced, the Social Dialogue Ministry, which is also responsible for consumer affairs, said. The reductions vary from 3% to 47%. The reductions were achieved after talks between the ministry and private importers. A number of new, cheaper generic medicines have also been introduced on the market. See the lists on pdf below.

The recent madness that has gripped this island seems to have no end in sight. The longer the wise man at Castille lingers in taking proper note of it, taking action or resigning from his position as prime minister, the worse it is for this blighted land. Only resignations are now in order. And yes, the prime minister, by defending the indefensible, has rendered himself beyond salvation. Malta needs action—and it is not stupid, politicking garbage that is needed. Labourites need to forget their... Читать дальше...

A woman, 56 from St Paul's Bay, was hospitalised after she was injured when her car overturned in Burmarrad. The incident happened at about 4pm when the woman's car hit the kerb. No other vehicle was involved.

Italian father and son have been shot dead by a ranger in a wildlife park in Zimbabwe, the parks and wildlife agency said, saying the pair had been mistaken for elephant poachers. The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) said Claudio Chiarelli and his son Max Chiarelli were members of volunteer anti-poaching organisation Zambezi Society, which was conducting patrols in Mana Pools National Park on Sunday. The two men had been with a group sent out to relieve a team of rangers deployed... Читать дальше...

The National Commission for Higher Education should censure the prime minister for having yesterday referred to the Zonqor project as the American ‘university’ of Malta, the shadow minister for education, Therese Comodini Cachia said. She pointed out that it was the commission itself which had stopped the Sadeen Group from promoting their project as a university, since it is only a an institute of higher education.  The commission now needed to be consistent and act against Dt Muscat in the same way as it acted against the investors. Читать дальше...

A hiker has found a rare, nearly 2,000-year-old gold coin in Israel, the country's antiquities authority said. The ancient coin appears to be only the second of its kind to have been found, the authority said. The British Museum possesses the other coin, it said. The coin, from the year AD 107, bears the image of Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. It was minted as part of a series of coins honouring Roman rulers. The coin may have paid part of the salary of a Roman soldier, authority official Donald T Ariel said. Читать дальше...

Two Somalis who are resident in Gozo were accused in court today of having tried to steal from cars. The two, aged 24 and 20, were arrested on Saturday after a Gozitan man saw them trying to open one of the cars. They were accused of having tried to steal from several cars. The 24-year-old was also accused of violating previous court order.   They pleaded not guilty and were remanded in custody.

A German man has filed an application against a Maltese brokerage company for releasing funds before the terms of the contract had been fulfilled. In an application filed by lawyers Veronique Dalli and Frank Testa, Richard Häring, explained that he had reached an agreement with Italian national Luigi Celentano to purchase a Ferrari and a Lamborghini at €160,000. The agreement stipulated that Mr Häring was to pay €1,000 with immediate effect and that the remaining €159,000 was to be paid upon the vehicles’ arrival in Italy. Читать дальше...

An American fighting for Islamic State has been taken into custody in northern Iraq after emerging from territory controlled by the militant group in Syria. CBS News, citing two sources with the Kurdish peshmerga military force, said the American fighter was trying to return to Turkey. He was identified as Muhammad Jamal Amin, 27, of Virginia, it said, citing Kurdish news organizations. The State Department said it was aware of the reports that a U.S. citizen allegedly fighting for Islamic State... Читать дальше...

Anthony Mifsud is being appointed Ombudsman, relinquishing his post as Auditor-General. The appointment was announced by the prime minister, who said it had been agreed with the leader of the opposition. Dr Muscat said Charles Deguara is being appointed Auditor-General. The Accountant-General, Noel Camilleri, becomes the new Deputy Auditor-General. Former Chief Justice Joseph Said Pullicino this morning gave a press conference to mark the end of his term as Ombudsman (see separate story). Mr Mifsud had a busy time as Auditor-General... Читать дальше...

The MSE Share Index extended last Friday’s negative performance by a further 0.08% to 4,547.517 points as the declines in six equities outweighed the gains in Simonds Farsons Cisk and FIMBank. Moreover, another seven equities closed unchanged. Trading volumes improved as just over €406,000 worth of shares changed hands. RS2 Software plc closed in negative territory for the first time in the last seventeen trading sessions during which the equity registered new record highs on a daily basis. The equity... Читать дальше...

Spanish police arrested 30 people accused of robbing, kidnapping and torturing drug traffickers, the Interior Ministry said. Police detained 21 Moroccans, eight Spaniards and one person from Senegal and are investigating another five people, it said. Those detained are accused of fixing tracking devices to drugs sold to the traffickers before they left Morocco en route to Spain, where members of the group, dressed as security officials, confiscated the drugs. The suspects also kidnapped and tortured... Читать дальше...

Serbian authorities found two U.S.-made guided missiles that arrived on a civil flight from Lebanon and were bound for the United States, a source at the prosecutor's office said. The Lebanese army said the Hellfire missiles were training models, without any explosives in them, that it was returning to the manufacturer. They were discovered in wooden crates by bomb-sniffing dogs at Belgrade airport on Saturday, the Serbian source said. They had arrived from Beirut on an Air Serbia flight and were... Читать дальше...

Ira Losco will be singing a new song, Walk on Water, at the Eurovision Song Contest and not Chameleon - the song which secured the Malta contest, Eurovision Song Malta said. Walk on Water was selected by an international and Maltese jury. Juries in 13 European countries, comprising of music industry professionals, listened to 10 songs (nine new compositions and Chameleon), together with a panel of music experts from Malta. Walk on Water was the overwhelming favourite to represent Malta in Stockholm. Читать дальше...

A Swedish software tester was acquitted of assaulting and threatening the police, who were rapped by the court for not handling the situation correctly. The case dates to May 2014, when Mikko Henrik Carl-Johan Sebenius clocked in overtime until 1am and headed to Paceville for a beer. At around 3am, an altercation erupted when the accused, who was on his way home, allegedly bumped into a van with several police officers seated in it and uttered rude words. The accused however insisted he was not the... Читать дальше...

Parenthood may be hard but those challenges can also lead to new ideas. Ask Robert Ilijason, for whom a broken baby food jar eventually led to the opening of Sweden's first around-the-clock unstaffed convenience store. The store is located in Viken, where Ilijason lives, a village of around 4,200 inhabitants on Sweden's south east coast. Late night stores are scarce and the nearest large town is Helsingborg, 20 minutes drive away, a problem for Ilijason when one night he was in urgent need of food for his baby. Читать дальше...

A mother trapped by fire in her second-floor apartment dropped her two-day-old baby and two-year-old toddler from a window to rescuers. The children were uninjured by the fire and the 20ft fall, police in Sydney said. They were apparently caught by neighbours holding a bedsheet over scattered mattresses before firefighters arrived. The 27-year-old mother was rescued by fire crews using a ladder and was taken to hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and cuts. The fire, which broke out in a kitchen... Читать дальше...

The allegations against Allied Newspapers' managing director came like a bolt out of the blue, and shocked our news organisation's employees to the core. So you can imagine the hurt most of us felt when our editorial credibility was put into question when a story implicating our company's managing director (who has since stepped down) was uploaded to Daphne Caruana Galizia's blog. While it has been made repeatedly clear that management cannot interfere in any way in Times of Malta's editorial, the... Читать дальше...

Malta's provisional squad for the Malta-Moldova game on March 24 at Ta' Qali is as follows: Goalkeepers:Andrew Hogg (AEL Kalloni FC), Justin Haber (Hibernians FC), Henry Bonello (Valletta FC) Defenders:Andrei Agius and Clayton Failla(Hibernians FC), Jonathan Caruana and Ryan Camilleri(Valletta FC), Steve Borg (Aris Limassol FC), Zach Muscat (SS Akragas Citta’ Dei Templi), Justin Grioli (Balzan FC), Joseph Zerafa (Birkirkara FC). Midfielders:Roderick Briffa (Valletta FC), Ryan Scicluna and Gareth Sciberras  (Birkirkara FC)... Читать дальше...

Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino reached the end of his tenure this week but is looking forward to Constitutional reform which will give his successor broader powers. “This office is not an NGO or a pressure group, it is a Constitutional body which stands for the people, ensuring their right to good governance. Future reforms should ensure further autonomy and grant this office an even stronger voice,” he said. Chief Justice Emeritus Said Pullicino was addressing a press conference to mark the end... Читать дальше...

Two plane pieces found in Mozambique will be sent to Australia to verify if they belong to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, Malaysia's transport minister said. Liow Tiong Lai said a part found recently by an American in Mozambique is now in Malaysia for safekeeping. He said a Malaysian team is expected to return this week from South Africa with another part found by a family holidaying in Mozambique. The family took the piece with them when they returned home to South Africa. Mr Liow said both pieces... Читать дальше...