Новости за 13.09.2015

Thousands of devotees took a dip in the waters of a reservoir on the banks of India's sacred Godavari river, during the second royal bath (shahi snan) ritual of the Kumbh Mela, or pitcher festival. The royal baths are a high-point of the festival and is said to be timed to match an auspicious planetary alignment, when believers say spiritual energy flows to earth. The festival has its roots in a Hindu tradition that says the Lord Vishnu wrested a golden pot from demons containing the nectar of immortality. Читать дальше...

Thousands of cyclists and bikers took part in the annual pilgrimage to Zabbar this morning, where the feast of Our Lady of Graces is being celebrated this evening. Jim Wightman, who has been taking part in the pilgrimage for the past 12 years said participation this year was "massive", probably even higher than in previous years The 64th edition of the pilgrimage started in Rabat for the cyclists and Mosta for the bikers. They headed towards Zabbar behind vans with a big painting of Our Lady of Graces... Читать дальше...

Migrants will not get to choose what country they go to under a proposed European Union quota system to share the burden of new arrivals, a German government official has warned. Germany, which is a favoured destination and has taken the most asylum seekers in the 28-nation EU, wants an agreement on quotas but faces resistance from several other countries. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told the Tagesspiegel daily that if refugees get protection in Europe they must accept being distributed around the EU. Читать дальше...

No wall can stop the migration phenomenon, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this morning as he called this “an ugly period” for Europe. He was alluding to the four-metre-high fence erected by Hungary along its border with Serbia in a bid to stop thousands of migrants entering the country. Dr Muscat was speaking at the Labour Party club in Sliema ahead of a crunch EU emergency summit this week that will address the issue of migration. Hungary has taken a hard line stand and on Tuesday new laws are... Читать дальше...

When the phrase “work of genius” is applied to a TV series, it’s usually in the context of Breaking Bad or Mad Men. But one American professor has recently proposed an unlikely addition to that list – the Maltese series Deċeduti. “It is an exemplary distillation of the problems that surround taking the sacred out of history and bringing the secular periphery into the European mainstream,” said Michael Cooperson, a professor of Arabic at the University of California. Speaking during a public lecture last Thursday, Prof. Читать дальше...

TV's fantasy saga Game Of Thrones is the Emmy Awards front-runner after winning eight technical achievement awards. The HBO show was honoured at Saturday's creative arts Emmys in Los Angeles, the precursor to the main ceremony next Sunday, in categories including special visual effects and casting. FX Networks's American Horror Story: Freak Show, was next with five awards. The creative Emmys also recognised guest actors for drama and comedy series, with trophies going to Reg E Cathey for House of... Читать дальше...

The Opposition fully supports the GRTU’s call for a 30 per cent reduction in electricity tariffs for prices to reflect the drop in the price of oil, party leader Simon Busuttil said this morning. Speaking on Radio 101, Dr Busuttil said the Opposition also believed petrol and diesel prices should go down and would keep putting pressure on the government until this was done. The Nationalist Party leader also reiterated his call for an independent inquiry into how thousands of residency permits and visas were being issued. Читать дальше...

Four sea lions were released back into the wild after two months of treatment at a Peruvian ecological preserve. The rescued sea lions were seven months old when marine biologists took them in for treatment of symptoms related to hemorrhagic gastritis, pneumonia, malnutrition and severe dehydration. After being released from their cages the sea lions swam towards the island of Palomino, where thousands of sea lions call home. Scientists said the animals became sick because of higher temperatures... Читать дальше...

A San Ġwann baker who fatally shot his brother-in-law in 1998 but walked free after jurors ruled he had acted in self-defence, has been convicted of the theft of €55,000 in electricity. Martin Mifsud, 52, was found guilty of having tampered with the electricity meter at Martin’s Bakery in Mensija Street, San Ġwann. He was jailed for a year, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay an additional €200 in court expenses. The theft took place between October 2000 and October 2005 but criminal proceedings against Mr Mifsud only began in 2008. Читать дальше...

A 35-year-old man from Pieta was grievously injured in a traffic accident in Main Street, Qormi, at 7am. He is not in a critical condition. The police said the victim was driving a Honda that was involved in a collision with a BMW that was being driven by a 24-year-old man from Qormi.

Demonstrations both for and against the arrival of mostly Muslim migrants into Europe spring up across the continent. Julie Noce reports.

Speaker Anġlu Farrugia has been on nearly as many official trips abroad in two years as his three predecessors in the past two legislatures combined, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt. Dr Farrugia has been on 41 official visits since being appointed Speaker in March 2013, according to figures provided by the Clerk of the House, Ray Scicluna. That is just six short of the 47 trips taken by his three predecessors between 2003 and 2013. The trips were made following official invitations, and Dr Farrugia’s travels... Читать дальше...

Thousands of people rushed to escape a massive wildfire charging across California's tinder-dry Sierra Nevada foothills and another out-of-control fire that broke out in Northern California, injuring four firefighters. The northern fire began in Lake County, 160km north of San Francisco, and grew to about 39 sq km in just a few hours, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. The blaze has since exploded to more than 262 sq km amid triple-digit temperatures and land parched from several years of drought. Читать дальше...

A controversial development permit issued for the construction of a three-storey commercial building in an Outside Development Zone in Burmarrad was only possible after the involvement of the Land Department, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt. This newspaper revealed last week that a permit for a commercial development was approved by the planning authority on a site that could only be used for agricultural activities until 2063. The public land was given to Farmer’s Wine Co-operative in 1965... Читать дальше...

Eighteen people were stung by bees swarming a highway in western Turkish province of Mugla after a truck carrying hives crashed and the bees got loose, Turkey's state-run Anadolu agency reported. Beekeepers sprayed suppression foam on the hives and in the air to kill the bees and clear the highway. The highway road remained closed for two hours as injured people, including two Finnish tourists, were taken to the hospital for treatment.

An 18-year-old Dutch man was critically injured and and five other men were hurt by a knife-wielding Libyan man who is now under arrest, the police said this morning. The incident happened during an argument in Paceville at 4am. The injured are two Dutch men aged 19, the 18-year-old, two Libyans aged 31 and 38 and a 29-year-old Maltese from Kirkop. The police said the aggressor, a 20-year-old Libyan, was arrested after a search. A magisterial inquiry is under way.

Sir Elton John has said he wants to hold talks with Vladimir Putin over what he called the Russian president's "ridiculous" stance on gay rights. The Rocket Man singer extended the offer of talks after speaking at a conference in neighbouring Ukraine, where he met with the country's president Petro Poroshenko to lobby him about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights. Sir Elton accused Mr Putin of saying "stupid things" in reference to his warning to gay people travelling to the Winter Olympics to "leave the children in peace". Читать дальше...

New UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has appealed to critics to respect his "huge mandate" as Labour leader as he sought to assemble a shadow cabinet that could accept his radical left-wing programme. Details of the top new-look top team are expected to be revealed over the next 48 hours, as Ed Miliband's successor gears up for his first appearance before the Parliamentary Labour Party in the Commons tomorrow. The scale of the veteran MP's victory among party members as well as trade unionists and... Читать дальше...

Flavia Pennetta won her first grand slam singles title over Roberta Vinci in an improbable all-Italian U.S. Open final last night, then added one more shock to a stunning fortnight by announcing her retirement. With the 7-6(4) 6-2 win, the 33-year-old Pennetta becomes the fourth oldest grand slam winner in the Open Era and joins 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone as the only Italian women to win a major singles title. But as the celebrations kicked into high gear, Pennetta dropped a bombshell... Читать дальше...

The Malta Developers Association is objecting to the proposed Lidl supermarket on virgin land outside development zone on the Birkirkara Bypass, insisting it is a “no go”. Since the development is not a project of national importance there is no reason for the take-up of uncommitted ODZ land, MDA President Sandro Chetcuti told The Sunday Times of Malta, insisting his association was in favour of sustainable development. Lidl has applied for a development permit on a site over 5,000 square metres along the Birkirkara bypass. Читать дальше...

Summer signing Paulo Dybala netted a late penalty to earn Juventus a 1-1 draw against Chievo as the Serie A champions' poor start to the season continued. The Bianconeri were facing a third straight league defeat when Perparim Hetemaj gave Chievo an early lead, with Juventus squandering several chances to equalise before Dybala levelled matters 10 minutes from time. Juve sit 16th in the table with Chievo leading the way at the top, despite missing out on a third successive win. Massimiliano Allegri's... Читать дальше...