Новости за 19.07.2016

The search for lucre was filthy indeed for six Italians jailed this week over a bid to burrow up from the sewers of Naples into luxury shops and make off with jewels worth hundreds of thousands of euros. Three were caught in the act last November and dragged out of the underground tunnels in handcuffs by agents who specialise in underwater operations, Carabinieri police said. The same three, together with three accomplices, were detained on Monday and have been jailed pending trial. The band targeted boutiques including jeweller Bulgari... Читать дальше...

The police have tracked down the driver of a truck which left a trail of dust behind it on the Rabat road yesterday, and legal action will be taken against him, Transport Malta said. Times of Malta yesterday uploaded footage showing the truck being driven in Attard, leaving a cloud of dust.  "The video says it all. There were clouds of dust everywhere as obviously other cars are forced to drive over the dust dropped by this truck," said the reader who took this video after he filmed the truck at about 2.30pm. To add insult to injury... Читать дальше...

Hunters have joined environmentalists in an appeal for Swieqi’s scenic valleys to be protected from development following several planning applications in recent weeks. The hunters’ federation (FKNK) yesterday said further development in Wied il-Kbir would mean the destruction of another natural Maltese valley, covering an area of some 5,000 square metres. “This valley leads to another valley, Wied Għomor, which has recently also been eyed by speculators for development,” the federation said. The development was stopped... Читать дальше...

UK Labour MP Angela Eagle said today she is withdrawing from the race to oust party leader Jeremy Corbyn, saying she would give her support to rival Owen Smith instead, in order to boost the chances of a change of leadership. Labour's left wing and more moderate factions have been locked in a bitter power struggle ever since Britain voted to leave the European Union on June 23, with critics saying Corbyn had not campaigned hard enough to prevent Brexit. Eagle said she would withdraw from the leadership... Читать дальше...

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said otoday it would take far too long for him to apologise for the "rich thesaurus" of rude comments and insults he has directed at world leaders and others over the years. Johnson, a former journalist with a talent for trenchant comments that his critics say sometimes tip over into untruth, said his utterances over a three-decade career had often been "misconstrued". Appointed Foreign Secretary, to widespread surprise, in a government reshuffle following... Читать дальше...

The International Olympic Committee has postponed a decision on whether to ban the entire Russian Olympic team from the Rio Games but has announced a raft of measures in response to yesterday's report of state-directed doping. The World Anti-Doping Agency had joined calls from national anti-doping agencies and athletes' groups for the IOC to issue a blanket ban to Russia but its executive board has asked for more time to consider its options. After a four-hour meeting, Olympic bosses said they would... Читать дальше...

Italy's new coach Giampiero Ventura, officially presented today, said he should not be judged by his lack of major titles and that he had enjoyed "other victories" in his long career. Ventura, the second oldest coach to occupy the post, praised the work of his predecessor Antonio Conte who led Italy to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 before they lost on penalties to Germany. The 68-year-old Ventura has enjoyed a long, steady coaching career although, apart from one season at Napoli, he has never... Читать дальше...

The operator of a five-a-side football pitch and a groundsman have been fined after an incident during a charity tournament left a player suffering from a permanent disability. Anthony Zahra, 71, a director of Green Investments Limited and Mark Piscopo, 47, who was not an employee but took care of the day-to-day management of the ground, were charged with having, through negligence, caused a grievous injury to architect Hector Zammit. Mr Zammit suffered a head injury during a charity tournament held at the Floriana football ground in June 2012.

Wealthy individuals buying a Maltese passport have the option of not having their name published in the electoral register – a ‘right’ denied to the rest of the Maltese, it has emerged in court. Electoral Commission representative Savio Borg confirmed that he was aware of an Identity Malta form giving applicants the option of not having their name listed in the electoral register. Mr Borg was testifying in a court case involving three of the 91 people whom the Nationalist Party wants to be struck... Читать дальше...

More than 2,500 migrants were plucked from overcrowded boats off the coast of Libya on Tuesday and one dead body was recovered, Italy's coast guard said, as people smugglers operating in Libya took advantage of calm seas and warm weather. A coast guard spokesman said the smugglers had sent at least 26 boats toward Italy, the latest in a tide of migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Three Italian navy ships participated in the rescues, picking up more than 1,000 of those brought to safety so far, a statement said.

Substantial amendments to the Police law are in the pipeline so as to remove the absolute powers enjoyed at present by the commissioner and to empower officers in lower ranks to take certain decisions, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said today. The changes are part of a 10-year strategy for the police force which is being drafted on the strength of a survey carried out among members of the force itself.  The main highlights of this plan, drafted by Prof. Saviour Formosa were unveiled in a press briefing addressed by Mr Abela. Читать дальше...

Children and adolescents should receive age-appropriate and evidence-based education about sex and sexuality from schools, parents, professionals and paediatricians, American Academy of Pediatrics recommends. Sexuality education has been proven to prevent and reduce risks of adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Sexual education based on abstinence has also been shown to increase the risk of sexually transmitted infections on adolescents. The subject is still hushed about in the... Читать дальше...

A man has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment suspended for two years after admitting to having thrown a dog into a well, which was full of water. He was also fined €1,000. The case happened on May 22 last year. Eugenio Galea was accused of having caused unnecessary suffering to the dog. He initially pleaded not guilty but later changed his plea.

A man has been arrested after a woman and her three daughters were stabbed at an Alps resort in southern France, authorities said. Jean-Marc Duprat, a deputy mayor for the town of Laragne-Monteglin in the Hautes-Alpes region, said the mother and her girls, aged eight, 12 and 14, were on holiday at a nearby resort when they were attacked this morning. He said the suspect, who is not related to them, was upset they were wearing shorts and T-shirts. The condition of the woman and her daughters was not immediately known. Читать дальше...

Turkey's Education Ministry has suspended 15,200 personnel in connection with a failed military coup, private broadcaster NTV reported. The decision follows earlier purges of thousands of people in the armed forces, police, the judiciary, the national intelligence agency, the Finance Ministry, the prime minister's office and the religious affairs directorate after an attempted coup on July 15 in which more than 200 people were killed. TV STATIONS LOSE LICENCE Turkey's broadcasting watchdog also cancelled... Читать дальше...

The Office of the Prime Minister would not give a date when the new gas-fired power station in Delimara will come on stream. As sources close to the project indicated the facility was still “far from complete”, noting that “important parts, such as the regasification terminal, are still being built”, questions sent to Castille remained unanswered at the time of writing. Two deadlines have already been missed. The Office of the Prime Minister was asked repeatedly about the state of play of the project... Читать дальше...

No progress has been made in the pay dispute between Air Malta and the pilots’ union, although progress had been made in talks with other unions on the sale of a stake in the airline to Alitalia, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today. “The government is not trying to stop industrial action but to ensure the action is not disproportionate to the extent that it could cripple or destroy the company,” he said. Last week a court provisionally upheld an Air Malta request for an injunction to stop the... Читать дальше...

UK Prime Minister Theresa May's efforts to forge a close relationship with Washington got off to a bumpy start as US Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to bang his head on the door of Number 10. Mr Kerry, visiting the new Prime Minister in Downing Street, posed for photographers before turning to enter the famous black door - unaware it had been partially shut behind him. But there was no sign of discomfort inside Number 10 as Mr Kerry and Mrs May chatted ahead of their meeting. Mr Kerry will... Читать дальше...

Negative sentiment on the local equity market persisted as the Malta Stock Exchange Share Index retreated by a further 0.37 per cent to its lowest level in over four weeks of 4,465.562 points – the sixth consecutive decline in as many trading sessions. Furthermore, total trading activity was particularly poor as merely €0.06 million worth of shares changed hands today – the lowest level of daily volumes year-to-date. Today’s drop in the local equity index reflects the declines in the share prices of RS2 Software plc and Bank of Valletta plc. Читать дальше...

A woman from Florida was paddle boarding with a friend when she encountered a pair of friendly manatees. Celine Chasteen said one of the manatees seemed particularly playful as it repeatedly rolled over onto its back before putting its flibbers on Chasteen’s board, propping itself up. She told the WPTV the encounter was “the craziest thing ever”. "At first, I was like, 'What is going on?' But honestly, it was so cool. I've never experienced anything like that before," Chasteen told The Dodo. "I thought he was really cute. Читать дальше...

Pippa Middleton, sister of Britain's Duchess of Cambridge and possibly the country's most eligible single woman, is engaged to marry a hedge fund millionaire, the Daily Mail reported. Boyfriend James Matthews went down on one knee to propose to Pippa, 32, on a walk last weekend in the picturesque Lake District in northwest England. Pippa said “Yes”, the newspaper's royal correspondent reported citing sources close to the couple. Pippa turned heads when sister Kate married Prince William in 2011,... Читать дальше...

Two men appeared in court this afternoon in connection with police investigations which uncovered a local child sex abuse ring. The arraignments came a day after three men were charged in court with similar offences involving underage boys. It is alleged that the men paid the adolescents in exchange for them performing sex acts on them. The first man arraigned today was a 66-year-old from Zejtun, who pleaded guilty to coercing a 15-year-old boy into prostitution or into participating in a pornographic... Читать дальше...

The Inspire Foundation is banking on tech-savvy generosity to help it extend its therapeutic horse-riding services to Gozo.  A campaign launched on local crowdfunding platform Zaar is asking people to donate anything from €5 to €250 to help the organisation finance the service.  "Therapeutic horseback riding can prove very beneficial to people with special needs," an Inspire Foundation spokesperson said. Aside from the physical benefits of improving trunk strength and balance, the spokesperson also highlighted the less obvious benefits. Читать дальше...

A man who set up a crane without a licence has been jailed for two years after being found guilty of the involuntary homicide of a 23-year-old youth who drove into the illegal crane. Baskal Saliba, 61, had been charged with manslaughter after he set up the crane in Triq Ghajn Qatet, Victoria, Gozo, without obtaining a permit from the local council. The case dates back to October 2007 when Sammy Spiteri crashed into the crane while driving in the early hours of the morning.The The high-speed impact caused the crane to lean over to its side... Читать дальше...

Turkey has vowed to root out allies of the US-based cleric it blames for a failed coup attempt last week and says it has sent Washington evidence of his wrongdoing. The drive to identify perpetrators has already led to a deep purge of the army, police and judiciary. Authorities have suspended or detained close to 20,000 soldiers, police, judges and civil servants in the days since the coup bid. President Tayyip Erdogan and the government accuse Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating an attempted military... Читать дальше...