Новости за 18.06.2016

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, winning a record 128th cap, missed a penalty and had a late headed effort disallowed for offside as they were held 0-0 by Austria at Euro 2016 tonight for their second straight draw. Portugal dominated the Group F match with Ronaldo in the thick of the action and had a golden chance to win when they were awarded a penalty when he went down under a challenge from Martin Hinteregger in the 78th minute. However, Ronaldo, who also missed a penalty in a friendly defeat by Bulgaria in March... Читать дальше...

Updated 11.30pm - Reports of haze across the island A thick fog descended on Sliema at around 10pm, bringing visibility down to just a few metres.  The haze was so thick that pedestrians on the Strand could barely make out Valletta just across the water.  Readers subsequently reported haze in many other parts of the island, from Mellieha to Attard and Fgura.  These two photos of the view in Sliema were sent in by Times of Malta readers.

Belgian prosecutors charged three men with terrorism offences today following overnight raids that took place amid heightened security in Belgium and France due to the Euro 2016 football tournament. Three months after Islamist bombers killed 32 people in Brussels, police searched dozens of houses across the country and arrested 12 people the night before Belgium's Euro 2016 game against Ireland. Nine of them were released after questioning but three Belgian nationals identified as 27-year-old Samir C.... Читать дальше...

A temporary Sliema car park, the dust from which has fuelled numerous complaints, will not be allowed to operate beyond July 2017 unless it is covered by a full development permit. This was confirmed by a Planning Authority spokesman, who said new regulations enacted this year no longer allowed such a facility to be run through a simple development notification order, a fast track procedure used for minor developments. Located in Tower Road, in front of the iconic Villa Drago, which formerly served as the Libyan Embassy... Читать дальше...

Portugal and Austria were Group F's two favourites before Euro 2016 got underway, but both came away disappointed from their opening fixtures.  Cristiano Ronaldo's men could not go beyond a 1-1 against Iceland and will be looking for three points here. Austria were unexpectedly beaten by Hungary and know that another defeat will seriously compromise their chances of making it to the final 16.

Triple Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton blamed a rare 'off day' for an error-filled qualifying performance today at the Baku street circuit that hosts Azerbaijan's first grand prix. The Briton, winner of the two previous races in Monaco and Montreal, will start in 10th place after clipping a wall and breaking his car's suspension while Mercedes team mate and rival Nico Rosberg took pole position. Hamilton also ran off the track twice. The champion is nine points adrift of the German after... Читать дальше...

Iceland were within two minutes of a famous victory on their first appearance at a major tournament today only for Birkir Saevarsson to put through his own net to hand Hungary a 1-1 draw that leaves Euro 2016 Group F wide open. Iceland had taken the lead with a Gylfi Sigurdsson penalty six minutes before halftime after Tamas Kadar brought down Aaron Gunnarsson after a goalmouth scramble, with Hungary keeper Gabor Kiraly at fault for spilling a simple catch at the corner. Hungary dominated possession... Читать дальше...

A clothing megastore spread over a massive 1,2000 square metres opened its doors in Iklin today.  Terranova megastore is part of a €1.6 million investment by businesswoman Diane Izzo, who is planning to open a second Terranova megastore in Fgura in September 2016. The store's size - Ms Izzo says it is the largest such store in Malta - will allow her to bring Terranova's full product line over from Italy, including lingerie, beachwear, sportswear and eventually Terranova's homeware items.  “I’m extremely excited to be opening this megastore. Читать дальше...

Six people, including two Al-Jazeera journalists, have been sentenced to death by an Egyptian court for allegedly passing documents relating to national security to Qatar and the Doha-based TV network during the rule of Mohammed Morsi. The former Islamist president was also sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was ousted by the military in July 2013 and has already been sentenced to death in another case. Saturday's verdicts can be appealed. The two Al-Jazeera employees - identified by the judge as... Читать дальше...

Frans Ghirxi, former editor of L-Orizzont, and lawyer Allessandro Lia have been appointed members of the Broadcasting Authority. They were nominated for the post by the Prime Minister after last month’s resignations of Rose Sciberras and Reno Borg. Dr Borg resigned following his appointment as financial services arbiter, and Ms Sciberras, the wife of former Labour MP and former judge Philip Sciberras, stepped down for “health reasons”. Both were the Labour Party’s nominees. The authority was advised... Читать дальше...

Belgium coach Marc Wilmots was happy to encourage speculation that Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku would be dropped for today's 3-0 win over Ireland at Euro 2016 in which both not only played but were key performers. De Bruyne himself did nothing to discourage suggestions he would be replaced for their second Group E match after a poor performance in the opening 2-0 loss to Italy. "I bluffed," Wilmots told reporters. "But the players were aware of it. Our lineup was the right lineup today." Like Antonio Conte... Читать дальше...

Malta was among the participants of a United Nations conference on the rights of persons living with disability held last week.  The ninth session of the Conference of states parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was held at the UN headquarters in New York.  Parliamentary Secretary Justyne Caruana used her speaking time at the conference to outline Malta's progress in improving the quality of life of people living with disability.  Dr Caruana, whose portfolio includes... Читать дальше...

The use of reserved parking spaces in Castille Square late at night and during weekends is not allowed, despite a government spokesman saying otherwise, Valletta mayor Alexiei Dingli is insisting. His assertion was made in reaction to a story published by the Times of Malta on Wednesday, which highlighted how parking in this part of the capital had become next to impossible as government entities had reserved nearly 50 bays. The story also quoted a spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister saying... Читать дальше...

Iceland held Portugal to a draw in their opening fixture, with a bitter Cristiano Ronaldo fuming that the tiny island-nation's team had played with a "small mentality."  Hungary beat their border rivals Austria and now lead Group F. Victory here would allow them to cruise in their final game, but a draw would also suit them fine.

Pop star Rick Astley has returned to the top of the UK charts after a 29-year absence.  The singer of 80s hit 'Never Gonna Give You Up' beat Paul McCartney to the top of the chart with his new album 50. Astley spent much of the 90s and early 2000s in relative anonymity, before an internet meme shot him into the consciousness of a new generation of listeners.  'Rickrolling', as the meme became known, involved duping internet users into watching Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up' video, awkward dancing and all. Читать дальше...

Yoga enthusiasts and those intrigued by the ancient Indian practice might want to keep Tuesday morning free.  A 75-minute free yoga session will be held at the Radisson Blu Resort, St Julians on Tuesday June 21 to mark the second-ever International Day of Yoga. The session will start at 10.30am.  An Indian yoga expert is being flown down to Malta from the UK for the event. The event is sponsored by the Indian High Commission, Indian Tourist Office in Milan, and Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Читать дальше...

Belgium rediscovered their most blistering form to batter group E rivals Ireland 3-0 thanks to a brace from Romelu Lukaku and an Axel Witsel header today. The victory of the world's second-ranked team was in stark contrast to their limp defeat in their opening Euro 2016 match against Italy. Despite dominating the opening half, it still took until the opening minutes of the second period for Belgium to take the lead when Lukaku finished a counter-attack by rifling a shot into the far corner. Ireland... Читать дальше...

Czech Airlines flew its maiden flight to Malta International Airport today, with the airline now set to connect Malta to Prague twice a week throughout summer. Founded in 1923, Czech Airlines is the Czech Republic’s flag carrier and also one of the five oldest airlines in the world. It will fly between Malta and Prague on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  MIA welcomed the airline's first flight with a traditional water salute, and airport CEO Alan Borg said that the event would spur the airport on to "persist... Читать дальше...

The bodies of nineteen Ethiopians who suffocated in the back of a Zambian container truck were discovered earlier this week by authorities in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a provincial official said today. Another 76 Ethiopians were found alive inside the container on the truck when it was stopped just outside the town of Mwenda near the Zambian border on Thursday, the interior minister for the province of Haut Katanga, Ufwa Kasongo Kibali, told Reuters. Kasongo said it was unclear why... Читать дальше...

Updated 5.05pm - PN statement  The Gozo, St Luke’s and Karin Grech hospitals will formally transition to their new private owners over the next two months, Vitals Global Healthcare announced today. The company that was chosen as the preferred bidder in June last year for the public-private partnership will be injecting €220 million in a total revamp of the three hospitals.During a media briefing held today, Ram Tumuluri, a director of VGH, said the concession was for 30 years and the capital injection... Читать дальше...

UEFA has said it has opened disciplinary proceedings against the soccer federations of Croatia and Turkey for crowd trouble during two games at the Euro 2016 tournament in France this week. They could face sanctions due to fans "throwing objects and setting off fireworks" during Friday's matches and a hearing into the unrest will take place on Monday, UEFA -- European soccer's governing body -- said in a statement. Croatia faces additional charges over alleged "racist behaviour", while Turkey faces... Читать дальше...

Roger Federer's bid to win a ninth Halle Open title was ended in the semi-final today by teenage German Alexander Zverev, who defeated the 17-time Grand Slam champion 7-6(4) 5-7 6-3. Reigning champion Federer, on the comeback trail after back problems, was looking to reach the final of his traditional pre-Wimbledon tune-up in Germany for an unprecedented 11th time, but found the big-serving 19-year-old home favourite too formidable. The Swiss world number three had not lost to a teenager for nearly... Читать дальше...

The restoration of the Citadel in Gozo has so far exceeded the budget by almost €3.3 million, the Times of Malta has learnt. Documents show variations of almost 23 per cent in payments to individual contractors engaged in the €14.5 million project, launched in 2011. Sources close to the project said some of the variations were due to ‘surprises’ encountered during excavation works. Questions sent to the Gozo Ministry to explain divergences in the value of the contracts awarded by the government remained unanswered by the time of writing. Читать дальше...

Belgium came into the tournament as the highest-ranking team in FIFA's world rankings. Now they find themselves dead last in Group E, though victory here would see them leapfrog Ireland and Sweden into second place. Ireland played their hearts out against Sweden, and only an own goal prevented them from taking all three points. Victory would ensure qualification, but even a draw would leave them in a decent position to make it through to the next round.

It's bad enough when it happens with a drink or plate of food. Now imagine doing it to a 200-year-old violin.  An orchestral performance in Portugal was brought to an abrupt halt after the conductor gesticulated just a tad too animatedly, knocking the violinist's instrument out of his hands. The crash the violin makes as it hits the ground will have musicians grimacing, and the stunned silence that follows the accident suggests the audience was equally shocked.  But as first violinist Romulo Assis... Читать дальше...