Новости за 21.06.2016

A 46-year-old lawyer today pleaded not guilty to charges of threatening to kill his estranged wife. The man cannot be named by court order so as to protect their three children, one of whom is a minor. Prosecuting officer Godwin Scerri told the court that, on June 16, the police received a report from the victim, who is currently undergoing separation proceedings from the accused. The court heard that there were other instances of domestic violence cases before the family court but the threats had... Читать дальше...

Well-known actor Alan Montanaro has resigned as founder and president of an NGO which helps street children in Cambodia following claims of "insensitivity" made in a private Whatsapp chat. The claims, which included financial impropriety were made through an anonymous source in Glenn Bedingfield's blog as well as Malta Today. Mr Montanaro has vehemently denied the claims, insisting they were taken well out of context. In a statement, Mr Montanaro said the allegations of financial impropriety were... Читать дальше...

An Egyptian court has ruled that its government's deal to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia is illegal. The demarcation border agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, under which Cairo would surrender control over two Red Sea islands to Riyadh, was rejected by the administrative court as illegal. The verdict could deal a blow to President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's government, which has strongly argued that the agreement would bring economic benefits for Egypt. The government also maintains... Читать дальше...

Spanish winger Pedro is used to stiff competition, having started his top-flight career at Pep Guardiola's Barcelona team before moving on to Jose Mourinho's Chelsea.  But the pacy attacker has clearly had enough of competition at a national team level, telling the press that he wasn't sorry for having publicly complained about a lack of playing time during Euro 2016.  Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque had previously said that the winger had apologised for the comments.  "I don't regret the comments, no," Pedro told reporters yesterday. Читать дальше...

A man appeared in court today to plead his innocence to charges of being in the possession of 1.7 grams of cannabis sporting a cannabis-motif shirt. Eritrean Awet Estifanos Weldetinsae, 25, was remanded in custody. He was also charged with stealing a mobile phone valued at around €400, handling stolen goods and relapsing. He was arrested yesterday night in Paceville after patrolling police noticed him acting suspiciously. On seeing the police, he tried to hide the phone and the cannabis resin beneath the tyre of a parked car. Читать дальше...

An area known as the ‘scar’  which housed two illegal scrapyards long plaguing the countryside area of Ix-Xerriek, limits of Birżebbuġa, has been cleaned out and returned to its original state. The Planning Authority said in a statement that its direct action team removed, more than 400 truckloads of scrapped cars, trucks, white goods, tyres and mixed material from a 10,000m2 area where the two illegal scrapyards sat. This was done over a week with the assistance of the Works and Infrastructure Department and Cleansing Directorate. Читать дальше...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined some 30, 000 people in a mass yoga workout to mark the second International Yoga Day today. During the event in northern Chandigarh city, Modi called on the world to embrace yoga to lead better lives. Wearing a white T-shirt and track pants, Modi performed breathing and stretching exercises with both young and old yoga enthusiasts at Chandigarh's Capitol Complex. An enthusiastic yoga practitioner himself, Modi set up a new ministry for yoga last year to... Читать дальше...

One hundred Austrian singles looking for love, Austrian journalists and VIPs were recently in Malta as part of a collaborative exercise between the Malta Tourism Authority’s Austria office and Austrian national private television channel Puls 4. The visitors, accompanied by Puls 4 cameras, were taken on a sightseeing tour of Valletta and Mdina followed by a barbecue at Popeye Village, complete with cocktails, DJ Gitta Saxx and lots of good vibes and fun. The MTA said that as a result of the event... Читать дальше...

The annual rate of inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index in May went up to 0.74 per cent from 0.41 per cent in April. The monthly inflation rate was 0.12 per cent, down from 0.56 per cent registered in April. The main upward impacts were due to higher prices of vegetables, cigarettes and insurance services. Price reductions in package tours, garments and gas pushed inflation lower.

Close to 11,000 single parents are currently receiving children’s allowance, Social Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia said in Parliament. He gave a breakdown of the 10,913 single parents following a parliamentary question by Ċensu Galea (PN). Most of the single parents, 8,339, are female and 2,574 male. Ninety-six per cent live in Malta (10,445), while 465 females and 124 males live in Gozo. The number of male single parents (27 per cent) living in Gozo is marginally higher than the 23 per cent registered in Malta (2,449 male and 7,996 female).

A city in southern China has gone ahead with an annual dog-meat eating festival despite heavy criticism and protests from animal rights activists. Vendors slaughtered dogs and cooked their meat in dozens of restaurants across the city of Yulin today, in an event that has come to symbolise the cruelty and potential for spreading disease associated with the largely unregulated industry. Activists bought dogs from dealers who had been planning to slaughter them, while local residents complained that... Читать дальше...

I find myself in London ahead of one of the biggest events of the quarter - Rihanna at Wembley! Just kidding, it's Thursday's Brexit vote that takes centre stage.Investors seemed to have rediscovered their risk-on appetite yesterday, out of safe havens and back into risky assets across the board, as the Remain campaign seems to be marginally leading in recent voting polls. Volatility around the vote has been expected and for many, the polls have been too unreliable to justify rational risk-reward position trade-offs. Читать дальше...

Some 41 tourism police finished their training today and will begin rounds in Sliema and St Julian's this afternoon. The police officers went through several weeks of training at the tourism institute and at the Police Training Academy at Ta Kandja. Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said during the certification ceremony today that the officers had all the powers and responsibilities of ordinary policemen with the added duty to inform tourists of tourism related offences, as well as be on the look out for such infractions. Читать дальше...

GO employees’ working conditions would not be affected in any significant manner by an eventual acquisition by Tunisie Telecom, the Maltese company’s board of directors said.In an opinion issued this morning, GO’s board of directors said the Tunisian firm’s takeover bid proposed to retain senior management and leave the company’s management structure unaltered.Employees, the board said, also had little to fear, saying Tunisie Telecom considered them to be “critical” to GO’s long-term success. “In the absence of unforeseen circumstances... Читать дальше...

A video of a trainer spanking Chinese banking company employees with what appears to be a wooden plank has sparked a public outcry. The video, originally posted by the Chinese People’s Daily, shows a trainer publically punishing employees for not succeeding at work, while an audience watches. The video was filmed by someone in the audience. “Why did you rank the lowest today?” the trainer was caught on tape asking. The workers, lined up in a row, answered “Because I have not exceeded myself”, one by one. Читать дальше...

A horse was lucky to survive after being shot with a longbow in what the RSPCA called a "wicked attack on a sociable little chap". Hertfordshire Police are appealing for witnesses after Widget, a white and brown Cob-type yearling colt, was found injured in a field on Saturday evening. Detective Sergeant Dan Stoddart, the investigation officer, said: "This is a senseless, cruel crime and we are doing all we can to find the person responsible." Widget is said to have had a "lucky escape" after the attack... Читать дальше...

Belgian police detained a man possibly carrying explosives near a central Brussels shopping centre early today, triggering a meeting of the Prime Minister and the national crisis response centre. The area around the City2 shopping centre, a major commercial hub in the centre of the Belgian capital, was sealed off. "A man was arrested at 5.30 this morning, possibly in possession of explosives. The bomb disposal team of the army is verifying whether this is the case," a spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor said. Читать дальше...

The Marsascala Sports Club will not be evicted from Żonqor Point to make way for Sadeen’s American Institute of Malta, at least for the time being. Mr Justice Mark Chetcuti yesterday temporarily upheld the club’s request for an injunction to stop its eviction from the facilities on land, which, it said, the government leased to Sadeen Education Investment Limited through an agreement signed on March 11. The club said that in 2005 it was granted the land in question, including the water polo pitch... Читать дальше...

Remain campaigners have warned voters will be hit hard in the pocket if Britain quits the European Union, while the Leave camp has highlighted immigration pressures as the referendum campaign enters its final stages. Unions warned families face an extra £580 a year bill if the country backs Brexit and retail chiefs said the impact of quitting would be "catastrophic". David Cameron's former policy guru, meanwhile, claimed the Prime Minister was told four years ago that it was "impossible" for the... Читать дальше...

Pro-choice campaigners are planning to deliver abortion pills to women in Northern Ireland using a drone. The stunt, described as an act of solidarity, is to highlight the strict laws around terminations that exist on both sides of the Irish border. A number of groups, Alliance For Choice; Rosa; Labour Alternative and Women On Waves which staged a similar flight from Germany into Poland, have collaborated on the issue and claim no laws are being broken. In a statement: "The 'abortion drone' will... Читать дальше...

The following are the top stories in national newspapers today. Times of Malta says the Prime Minister has avoided saying whether Central Bank of Malta deputy governor Alfred Mifsud should step aside as government probes corruption allegations against him. In another story, it says the Marsascala Sports Club will not be evicted from Żonqor Point to make way for Sadeen’s American Institute of Malta, at least for the time being. In-Nazzjon says Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has admitted he had meetings... Читать дальше...

The Prime Minister has avoided saying whether Central Bank of Malta deputy governor Alfred Mifsud should step aside as government probes corruption allegations against him. Joseph Muscat yesterday urged caution, insisting the Central Bank was an autonomous institution. Mr Mifsud was appointed deputy governor of the bank in May last year and has been touted as the next governor. But the Prime Minister yesterday insisted that to date no official nomination had been made for the post. “Given the sensitivity of the post one expects prudence... Читать дальше...

Suspending Nationalist MP Toni Bezzina from the party is “not warranted”, according to PN leader Simon Busuttil. The PN MP lost two libel cases last week on stories that hinged on his actions as a government employee in 2012. Dr Busuttil, who has made it his mantra to champion high standards in public life, has come to the MP’s defence. Asked whether his defence of Mr Bezzina compromised the credibility of his rallying call, Dr Busuttil insisted things had to be done “with a sense of proportion”. Читать дальше...

Sir Cliff Richard was left fearing he would die as a result of the stress of being publicly named as a suspect of sex crimes he did not commit. The singer, 75, said he was left physically and emotionally exhausted by a two-year ordeal that began when South Yorkshire Police raided his home live on the BBC after an apparent tip-off. Sir Cliff told the Daily Mail he is now undergoing medical tests to establish if he has suffered any long-lasting ill effects from the strain. Describing one episode the... Читать дальше...

A missing cat has been reunited with its owner, months after the animal lover left England never expecting to see the long-lost pet again. Gizmo vanished in August last year after his owner, Milene Letertre, originally left their native Belgium to study and work in the UK, having temporarily taken her beloved pet with her. Despite an extensive search around Ms Letertre's home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, the eight-year-old cat could not be found before Ms Letertre's return to her homeland. Ms Letertre said... Читать дальше...