Новости за 22.12.2016

Investigators have found fingerprints of Tunisian suspect Anis Amri on the truck used to kill 12 people in the Berlin Christmas market attack on Monday. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack in which a truck smashed through wooden huts selling gifts, mulled wine and sausages on Monday evening. It was the deadliest attack on German soil since 1980. Germany's chief federal prosecutor also confirmed the arrests of four people who had contact with Anis Amri, the Tunisian suspect in... Читать дальше...

Dramatic footage of a cyclist coming within centimetres of being killed by a train have prompted fresh warnings about the dangers of level crossings in the UK. The near-miss was filmed by trackside cameras and CCTV on board trains as they passed the Ducketts level crossing in Pudsey, Leeds, in the summer. The man is seen pushing his bike across the tracks as soon as one train passes, after another man opens the gate for him, but he fails to spot a second train coming in the other direction and it passes him with inches to spare. Читать дальше...

A heritage NGO has written to the Planning Authority insisting that there is no valid reason for a home for the elderly to be build in an ODZ site at Wied tal-Ħawli in Vittorosa. The Socjeta’ Storiko Kulturali Vittoriosa said the valley is the only open space for the people of Vittoriosa and the proposed development by a private developer would ruin it. The society urged the developers to seek an alternative site, such as adjacent to the sports complex or through an arrangement with the tenants of the disused Fort Salvatore... Читать дальше...

A group of animals at Sydney's Taronga Zoo received Christmas-inspired enrichment treats on Wednesday to celebrate the season. Keepers at the Australian Sea Lion enclosure prepared frozen treats in the shape of baubles and Christmas trees each with a fish inside, much to the delight of the animals. "We do give them enrichment all year round, but it's a bit of fun at this time of year to make it a little bit Christmas themed with the Christmas trees, the red and green and the baubles. They love ice... Читать дальше...

A group of people gathered yesterday to sing 'We are the world' in front of the church in Berlin where a truck attack killed 12 people. German police are looking for an asylum-seeker from Tunisia after finding an identity document under the driver's seat of the truck. The federal prosecutor's office offered a reward of up to 100,000 euros for information leading to the capture of the suspect, whom it identified as 24-year-old Anis Amri. "Beware: He could be violent and armed!" the prosecutor's office said in a statement... Читать дальше...

Dramatic aerial video of Tultepec shows what remains of a fireworks market, razed to the ground in a massive series of explosions yesterday. Forensic investigators are searching for clues as to what caused the explosions that killed at least 32 people.   It was the third time in just over a decade that explosions have struck the popular marketplace in Tultepec, home to the country's best-known fireworks shopping and about 32 km north of Mexico City in the State of Mexico. Forty-six of the injured remain hospitalised... Читать дальше...

The following are the top stories in the Maltese newspapers today. Times of Malta reports that a food bug has spread in four government hospitals and intensive investigations are underway to track its source. The newspaper also reports that as the debate on whether to lie to children about Father Christmas rages on, their belief in him remains strong. The Malta Independent gives prominence to an interview with parents whose children have a rare condition. In-Nazzjon highlights an attack on the auditor-general... Читать дальше...

The symptoms that gave rise to a suspicion of food poising at Mater Dei and Karin Grech hospitals last week have now been noticed in the Sir Paul Boffa physiotherapy department and St Vincent de Paul home for the elderly. “We are taking this very seriously, and the Superintendence of Public Health is conducting extensive investigations,” Health Minister Chris Fearne told the Times of Malta yesterday. This newspaper reported on Saturday that an estimated 30 patients had taken ill at Mater Dei, while... Читать дальше...

Fire crews have released CCTV footage of the moment an e-cigarette battery exploded in the user's pocket - inches from a baby's pram. Images captured inside the Trinity shopping centre in Leeds show the man casually unaware of the plume of smoke coming from his pocket until it begins fizzing violently, emitting a bright light as it explodes and sending shoppers scampering for safety. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the explosion occurred when a spare lithium-ion battery in the man's pocket came into contact with another metal item... Читать дальше...

A new airline, Eurowings, is to operate flights between Malta and Vienna during the summer season, while another airline Wizz Air has added an airport in Romania to its services to Malta. One way fares on the Eurowings Vienna service start from €49. Flights will be operated from April 3 with Airbus 320 aircraft having a capacity of 180 seats.The flight schedule is as follows:Tuesdays:EW5874   VIE-MLA   0550-0815EW5875   MLA-VIE   0855-1115Sundays:EW5874    VIE-MLA  0610-0835EW5875    MLA-VIE  0915-1135 Eurowings is a recently-established... Читать дальше...

No major shift was recorded in expenditure patterns by families since 2010, preliminary results from a survey of household budgets shows. The findings form part of the Household Budgetary Survey, which determines the weighting given to various goods and services when calculating the price index on which cost of living adjustments are worked. The last household survey was published in 2010 and is considered by economists an important tool in the current debate on raising the minimum wage. A spokesman... Читать дальше...

The VLTC Nexia BT U-16 European tournament was held earlier this month. In the boys’ final, second seed Eric Vanshelboin, of Ukraine, and Matas Vasiliauskas, the third seed from Lithuania, fought hard and gave their utmost. Vanshelboin lost the first set 2-6 but came back strongly in the second, winning it 6-2. In the third and final set, both players blazed shots across the court and battled for each and every ball. It was Vanshelboin who came out on top 7-6 to secure the title. In the girls’ final... Читать дальше...

Formula One’s post-season shake-up took another spin this week with Williams announcing the departure of technical head Pat Symonds while Valtteri Bottas moved closer to Mercedes and Felipe Massa’s retirement looked to be coming to an end. Williams said Symonds, 63, would be leaving them on December 31, the news coming amid speculation that Paddy Lowe is set to join them from dominant world champions Mercedes to take up a similar role. Symonds, who worked with the late Brazilian great Ayrton Senna... Читать дальше...

Matthew Asciak (right) claimed the BOV Tennis Masters title for the sixth time in his career. The tournament, played on the courts of the Gordon Asciak Tennis Academy at the Marsa Sports Club, was contested by the top eight-ranked players who were divided into two groups of four each, playing on a round robin basis. Asciak and Denzil Agius topped their respective groups to progress to the semi-finals. Here, Asciak beat Bradley Callus 6-0, 6-0 while Agius had the better Omar Sudzuka 6-3, 6-4 to proceed to the final. Читать дальше...

A total of 17 fully crewed yachts took part in the Royal Malta Yacht Club’s final race of the year, an annual appointment that is kept by many returning crews for the Medcomms Round Malta Race. The selected course was to take the yachts on a southerly route, leaving the Munxar Cardinal buoy to starboard then on around Malta via the South Comino channel to finish at Marsamxett. Yachts started in two groups, heading into a moderate East South Easterly breeze with grey clouds looming. Four yachts started at 08:31 in the cruiser class... Читать дальше...

It is understandable that matters do not go as efficiently as expected in an organisation undergoing restructuring or a merger but there is a limit to what ought to be regarded as acceptable. In the case of the VAT Department, now in the process of merging with Customs and the Inland Revenue Department, far too many weaknesses were flagged in a recent Auditor General’s report to excuse it on grounds of its present state of flux. The National Audit Office listed no fewer than 10 shortcomings. Abuse... Читать дальше...

No one expected much to come out of the visit to Malta by Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament. It was a formality, but that did not deter Simon Busuttil, Opposition leader, from sending Schulz back to Brussels carrying a few uncomfortable truths. Busuttil spoke for millions of European citizens when he said the EU pokes its nose into unnecessary areas while it shies away from speaking about things that matter to them. Two such areas are migration and corruption. Faced with a question... Читать дальше...

The new multi-coloured (one will not be far wrong to describe it as bordering on the psychedelic) lighting system for the President’s Palace, one of Valletta’s most iconic architectural and artistic legacies (December 17), is the last example of the bad taste in good design that has, sadly, become institutionalised as a leading national characteristic. This newspaper has very appropriately described it as Las Vegas casino/nightclub style. It is a classic example of what I habitually refer to as the immorality of bad taste. Читать дальше...

Tokyo 2020 organisers unveiled yesterday a budget of $16.8 billion for hosting the next Summer Games and vowed to seek further savings in co-operation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which has been calling for them to cut costs. At an a open meeting of a four-party working group that includes the IOC, organisers said they estimated overall costs of 1.6 to 1.8 trillion yen ($15-$16.8 billion), the first official figures they have released since winning hosting rights. At a previous meeting about three weeks ago... Читать дальше...

Reference is made to the article ‘FTS staff double, costs triple since 2013’ (December 20). The article is grossly misleading and unfair because it gives the wrong impression that there is no justification for the increase in staff. Below is a list of the jobs carried out by the FTS between April 2013 and today. In 2013-2014, the new administration introduced two principles in education in Malta and Gozo, namely: co-education in all secondary schools and the establishment of ‘middle schools’ within the secondary education level. Читать дальше...

Two-time Wimbledon tennis champion Petra Kvitova faces around six months out of the sport while her playing hand, wounded in a knife attack, recovers its strength, the surgeon who operated on her said yesterday. Kvitova was injured on Tuesday when she fought off an intruder in her apartment in the Czech Republic. “When we talk about (competitive) pressure on the hand, we are talking about a period of around six months (before that is possible),” Radek Kebrle said in a televised news conference. “She is a young athlete... Читать дальше...

On December 9, Pope Francis received in audience the delegation from Malta and Trentino for the gift of the crib and the Christmas tree that are now set up in St Peter’s Square. After thanking the bishops and the government of Malta who donated and constructed the crib, which is the work of Gozitan artist Manwel Grech, the Pope commented on the representation “of the luzzu, typical Maltese boat”, which features in this year’s crib”. The luzzu, the Pope said, “recalls the sad and tragic reality of migrants on barges directed to Italy”. Читать дальше...

Italy's parliament yesterday gave the green light for a €20 billion plan to prop up the country's weaker banks, starting with a bailout as early as this week for the third largest, Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The Tuscan lender, recently judged the weakest of the EU's major banks, needs to erase a mountain of bad loans and raise €5 billion in capital by the end of this month or risk being wound down by European regulators. But its hopes of raising the money from private investors, via a debt-for-equity swap and a share placement that ends today... Читать дальше...

VALLETTA-2, SLIEMA WANDERERS-1Valletta FC wrapped up their commitments for 2016 on a brilliant note as they beat Sliema Wanderers 2-1 to win the Super Cup for the 11th time in their history. This annual clash between the champions and FA Trophy winners of the previous season was a lively affair with Sliema stunning their opponents with an early goal only for Valletta to overturn the deficit by half-time. Sliema did react in the second half and had a great chance to level matters when they were awarded... Читать дальше...