Новости за 28.03.2016

Kim Dalli takes another look at a new book about the murder of Maltese women and highlights more of these heinous crimes from history: a teenager shot dead by a child, a prostitute who had her throat slit and a rape victim strangled and thrown down a well. It was 1867 and Mosta dome had just been built. Sixteen-year-old Vittorja Vella was playing beads with another girl her age in the streets of the town when an argument erupted over the game. The incident was witnessed by Ġużeppi Sammut, 13, the brother of Vittorja’s playmate. Читать дальше...

Updated 9.50pm -  A woman was injured by shrapnel in the US Capitol Visitors Center this evening (Malta time) when a man fired a gun. Police said a suspect was taken into custody with wounds after shots were fired.  A U.S. government official told Reuters that initial reports were that a suspect walked into the Visitors Center, pointed a gun at one of the police officers on duty and a shootout erupted. The incident happened at a security checkpoint.  Congress is in recess, with few lawmakers in... Читать дальше...

Renewable energy sources added more generation capacity than all other technologies combined in 2015, with significant investment coming from developing countries in particular, a new UN report has found. The findings contrast with Malta’s own slow progress on renewables ahead of the 2020 target agreed with the European Commission, by when 10 per cent of Malta’s energy is expected to come from renewable sources, a goal currently considered unlikely. The UN Environment Programme’s annual ‘Global trends... Читать дальше...

The Nationalist Party this evening accused the Broadcasting Authority of an 'obscene u-turn' after it rejected its replies to comments made by Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi on Dissett, despite having originally awarded the party three minutes of airtime. In a strongly-worded statement the PN recalled that last week the Broadcasting Authority awarded it three minutes of airtime to react to comments made by Dr Mizzi after finding that some of his comments in reply to questions on Dissett were political... Читать дальше...

The owner of several dogs and farm animals kept in squalid conditions in a field in Luqa has been warned by the authorities to remedy the situation. The case was flagged a fortnight ago up by environmentalist Alan Deidun who uploaded photographs on his Facebook account of a site close to Council of Europe Road, an arterial road behind the Addolorata Cemetery. Prof. Deidun said a number of dogs locked in steel mesh cages started barking when he approached the field where mounds of dirt concealed behind a row of prickly pear trees could be seen. Читать дальше...

Antiquities experts are anxious to re-enter the Syrian city of Palmyra after it was recaptured from Islamic State by Syrian forces over the weekend. Many of Palmyra's temples and tombs were blown up by Islamic State in what the U.N called a war crime. Artifacts inside the city's museum were badly damaged. But drone footage shows at least some colonnades and structures, including the theater and the old citadel still stand.  The desert oasis north-east of Damascus is a Unesco world heritage site and dates back to the 2nd millennium... Читать дальше...

British budget fashion chain Primark has ramped up checks on the factories it uses in Turkey to ensure Syrian refugees are not exploited as part of a growing company policy to ensure its workers are fairly treated. Paul Lister, head of Primark's ethical trading team, said the retailer known for cheap, high turnover fashion is on a mission to ensure its supply chain is ethical and workers are not exploited - and that consumers know about its efforts. Primark has said little over the years as it faced... Читать дальше...

A man widely reported to be the third individual in CCTV footage of two suspected suicide bombers at Brussels airport was released today for lack of evidence. Belgium's federal prosecutor's office said it had freed a man it had named only as Faycal C., adding it had no evidence to justify holding him. He had been charged on Saturday with "terrorist murder". Belgian media had identified the man as Faycal Cheffou and a source close to the investigation had said officials believed he was the man in the footage. Читать дальше...

A total of 752 migrants were rescued from six dinghies in the Mediterranean today, the Italian coastguard said. Coastguard vessel CP941 picked up 246 migrants while the Romanian frigate Mai, deployed in a Frontex operation, rescued a further 252. Britain's HMS Enterprise, also deployed with Frontex, picked up 129 and the vessel Aquarius, belonging to the NGO SOS Méditerranée rescued 125.

A new residence and visa sale scheme just launched in China is part of a global push spearheaded by private companies to attract rich individuals to Malta. A spokesman for Economic Growth Parliamentary Secretary José Herrera, who launched the new scheme in China last week, confirmed that the programme would be marketed around the world by private companies with successful applicants paying a fee of €10,000 each. Applicants will have to invest €250,000 in government bonds and buy or rent property on the Maltese islands. Читать дальше...

Former MEP and Prime Minister's advisor Glenn Bedingfield will contest the second and fifth districts on behalf of the Labour Party in the next general election, Times of Malta has learnt. Mr Bedingfield's candidacy on the fifth district (Marsaxlokk, Birzebbuga, Zurrieq, Kirkop Safi, Mqabba) puts him among the favourites to win a seat in the next parliament since Marlene Farrugia and Karmenu Vella will not be re-contesting the district for the party. The candidacy on the second district would put Mr Bedingfield... Читать дальше...

A three-year-old girl has been decapitated in an apparently random attack outside a Metro station in the Taiwanese capital. Local media said police arrested a man following Monday's attack in Taipei.According to reports, the man, grabbed the girl from behind and decapitated her with a cleaver.. The girl was with her mother, who was unable to prevent the attack. Hours later, an angry crowd gathered outside the police station where the man was taken. The government-run Central News Agency said the... Читать дальше...

Russian President Vladimir Putin could meet British singer Elton John when he visits Russia in May if room can be found in the two men's schedules, the Kremlin said today. Putin telephoned Elton John in September to say he would be ready to meet for a chat after the entertainer requested a meeting to discuss his concerns about gay rights in Russia. "When they spoke by telephone several months ago, they agreed ... they will meet during Elton John's stay in Moscow," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a teleconference with journalists. Читать дальше...

Pope Francis has condemned the Easter suicide bomb by Islamist militants that killed at least 70 people in Pakistan, many of them Christians, describing the attack as "hideous". Addressing thousands of people in St. Peter's Square on Easter Monday, a religious holiday, the Pope demanded that the country's authorities protect religious minorities. "Yesterday, in central Pakistan, Easter was bloodied by a hideous attack that massacred so many innocent people, mostly families of the Christian minority... Читать дальше...

A 47-year-old man and his son have been acquitted of defrauding a Żebbuġ petrol station and robbing it of diesel by using fake banknotes after it was not proven that the pair knew that the money was forged. The case dates to June 30, 2005, when Joseph Mary Cardona and his 27-year-old son Christian (then 16) were charged with forging money bills, receiving and handling forged banknotes, defrauding the petrol station of Lm25 (€58.23), robbing it of fuel and handling stolen goods. Prosecuting officer... Читать дальше...

A court has dismissed an appeal by the Attorney General after teen party promoter Joel Caruana was acquitted of  slandering and defaming the police on Facebook. The 25-year-old - who was twice convicted of engaging in sexual activity with minors - had taken to Facebook to write that he had not been granted a permit to organise a party.  Superintendent Carmelo Bartolo testified that he had learnt of an impending party at a Paceville establishment, which was being promoted through a poster bearing the logo of "JoelC Events and Marketing". Читать дальше...

A Zejtun shopkeeper and his two sons have been acquitted of grievously injuring a man they caught trying to shoplift from their store twice.  The case dates to December 2012 when Joseph Micallef, 57 and his sons Clydon, 30, and Luke, 26, were also charged with the illegal arrest and destruction of evidence after CCTV footage capturing the incident was allegedly "erased by mistake". The police had received a phone call from the shop owner reporting that Anthony Seisun had been apprehended stealing whisky bottles from GM Discount Store in Zejtun.

The parents of seven-year-old Summer Grant, who died when the bouncy castle she was playing on blew away, have paid tribute to their "bright, beautiful and most loving little girl". The seven-year-old died from multiple injuries at a fun fair after a strong gust of wind apparently swept the inflatable 150 metres across a park in Harlow, Essex, on Easter Saturday. Cara Blackie, the girl's mother, said she was "truly heartbroken" in a tribute released by Essex police. She said: "Words just can't explain how I am feeling right now... Читать дальше...

An elderly man is being questioned by the police after threatening a Sicilian couple with a shotgun this morning. The incident took place at about noon during an argument over a parking space in Marsa. The police seized the weapon and are questioning the elderly man.

The police are holding an internal investigation after a photo uploaded to Facebook showed two armed officers whiling away the time on their mobile phones at Malta International Airport. The person who uploaded the photo raised questions over security preparedness in Malta. "If it transpires that what they (the policemen) were doing was not for duty purposes, disciplinary action should be taken by the police," the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

Electronic voting and the replacement of voting documents with new ID cards should be introduced by the 2023 general election, the Nationalist Party has said. The Labour Party agrees with these upgrades, but hopes they do not jeopardise voter anonymity. The two parties were asked for their reaction to a report in The Sunday Times of Malta last week in which Electoral Commissioner Joe Church said that cutting-edge technology would be tested at the next round of local council and MEP elections in 2019. Читать дальше...

Research that found Maltese 15-year-olds were the most likely – among their youthful counterparts in 42 countries – to drink alcohol was “proof” that teens were not being kept away from adult entertainment, a veteran psychologist has warned. “Youths that age want to start having more of a social life, yet they find almost nothing on offer. To make matters worse, not much effort is made to keep them from getting in or coming back,” child psychologist Charles Grech told The Sunday Times of Malta. Dr... Читать дальше...

The Malta U-17 national team returned home to a warm welcome today after its  successful participation at the EU Nations tournament in Vienna. On Sunday, Karl Izzo’s lads maintained their stranglehold on the competition when they defeated South Africa 11-10 in the final to secure their third successive triumph in the annual tournament. Parents and officials from the Acquatic Sport Association welcomed the Maltese delegation to a warm applause as they headed out of the Malta International Airport Arrivals Lounge yesterday.

Mepa has confirmed that a development planning site notice affixed to the Rialto Cinema Building in Cospicua was a fake. The site notice (minus a proper date) tried to give the impression that a planning application was submitted to Mepa for the change of use of the former theatre into a mosque. The authority has no pending development planning application for the site. Mepa has contacted the police to investigate the case. In 2010, the authority had scheduled the Rialto cinema as a Grade 2 protected national monument.

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna hailed a ‘big’ improvement registered in recent years in public procurement procedures, saying that an EU benchmark report ranked Malta’s performance above the European average. Prof. Scicluna made his remark in a brief address at a public procurement conference organised this morning by the Contracts Department, in the run up to a series of changes which will be introduced in three weeks’ time. He noted that public procurement accounted to about €300 million of the government’s annual expenditure. Читать дальше...