Новости за 22.08.2018

A former executive with Swiss bank Julius Baer pleaded guilty on Wednesday for his role in a billion-dollar scheme to launder money embezzled from the Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA, the US Justice Department said. A Sliema-based private wealth management firm, Portmann Capital Management is being investigated for its role, allegedly helping to launder $1.2 billion in funds looted from Venezuela’s State fuel company. The story hit the international headlines in recent weeks after a criminal complaint... Читать дальше...

Update 5 at 11.20pm A total of 98 turtles hatched and waddled down to the sea at Gnejna Bay on Wednesday night, right on cue. The eggs were laid by a loggerhead turtle on June 25. Nature Trust – FEE Malta (NTM) and volunteers who were present immediately informed the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) as soon as it was clear that the moment had come, and ensured that the hatchlings got safely to the water’s edge. Hatchlings are naturally attracted to moon light shining on the sea surface and their first response... Читать дальше...

Updated 3 at 10.30pm Around 90 turtles hatched and waddled down to the sea at Gnejna Bay on Wednesday night, right on cue. The eggs were laid by a loggerhead turtle on June 25. Nature Trust – FEE Malta (NTM) and volunteers who were present immediately informed the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) as soon as it was clear that the moment had come, and ensured that the hatchlings got safely to the water’s edge. Hatchlings are naturally attracted to moon light shining on the sea surface and their first response... Читать дальше...

Los Angeles prosecutors said on Wednesday they were reviewing a second sexual assault case involving Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey. "A sex assault case was presented yesterday to our office by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department involving Kevin Spacey. It remains under review," Los Angeles District Attorney spokesman Greg Risling said in an e-mailed statement. Risling declined to give any details on the latest case. Representatives for the actor did not immediately return requests for comment on Wednesday. Читать дальше...

Chancellor Angela Merkel is focusing on securing the European Commission presidency for a German candidate, rather than backing Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann to succeed Mario Draghi at the helm of the European Central Bank (ECB), Handelsblatt reported. Such a move could prove significant because it would appear to reduce the prospect of Weidmann, the ECB's most hawkish policymaker, taking over leadership of the ECB just as it is likely to start exiting its ultra accommodative policy stance. At the same time... Читать дальше...

Italian far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Wednesday resisted increasing pressure to allow 177 migrants who have been held on a coast guard ship in a Sicilian port for two days to disembark. A public backlash against the seaborne newcomers helped put Salvini and his anti-immigration League party into office in June, alongside the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement. The coast guard's Diciotti ship is docked in the port of Catania, but Salvini has said he will not let the migrants - including... Читать дальше...

Saudi Arabia has called off both the domestic and international stock listing of state oil giant Aramco, billed as the biggest such deal in history, four senior industry sources said on Wednesday. The financial advisors working on the proposed listing have been disbanded, as Saudi Arabia shifts its attention to a proposed acquisition of a "strategic stake" in local petrochemicals maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp, two of the sources said. "The decision to call off the IPO was taken some time ago... Читать дальше...

Wim Wenders’s film Pope Francis: A Man of his Word will be screened at the Embassy Cinema, in Valletta, on Friday in aid of Caritas Malta. The film’s release coincides with the fifth anniversary of the Holy Father’s pontificate. The director and his crew interviewed Pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio, an Argentinian Jesuit, over the years. They were also given access to the archives of the Pope’s voyages. The film’s screening, at 6.30pm, will take place under the patronage of Archbishop Charles Scicluna... Читать дальше...

A powerful hurricane packing heavy rains and potentially devastating winds was headed toward Hawaii on Wednesday, and US forecasters warned the storm could be the most powerful to hit the Big Island in recorded history. Hurricane Lane bears 258 kph winds and threatens to drop as much as 50 cm of rain over parts of the islands, the US National Hurricane Center said. It posed a new threat to the island chain of 1.4 million people, which is already coping with the three-month eruption of Kilauea volcano on the Big Island. Читать дальше...

An archaeological survey in connection with the Santa Luċija tunnel project has prompted complaints by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage on grounds it was carried out without its consent. The superintendence has also expressed concern that a building earmarked for demolition could have cultural value. However, the heritage watchdog did not object to the project in view of its “urgency”. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage made its comments in a letter it sent to the Planning Authority a few days ago. Читать дальше...

Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against five human rights activists from the kingdom's Eastern Province currently on trial in a secretive terrorism court, groups including Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. Among the detainees is Israa al-Ghomgham, whom Saudi activists said was the first woman to possibly face the death penalty for rights-related work. Charges against her include incitement to protest and providing moral support to rioters. "Any execution is appalling, but... Читать дальше...

One week after Rita Ora and Martin Garrix wowed the crowds at the Summer Daze music festival, the debris of thousands of concert-goers still litters the festival grounds at Ta’ Qali National Park. Images shared on social media on Tuesday show plastic bottles, cans and other little over a wide area where some 20,000 people attended the festival organised by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) and BBC1 on August 14.An MTA spokeswoman told Times of Malta the clean-up job had been the responsibility of the Directorate for Parks... Читать дальше...

From surrealist art and notable women to beer and chips, streets in a Brussels district undergoing regeneration are being named according to the whims of the Belgian public. The eclectic mix of new names chosen by Brussels residents range from Passage de la Kriek, named after a famous Belgian cherry beer, to Ceci n'est pas une rue (This is not a street), inspired by the art of Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte. "To give a street a name, it gives it a certain identity," Kris Verhellen, CEO of the Extensa... Читать дальше...

A farm caught fire for the second time in less than 24 hours between Tuesday and Wednesday, raising suspicions of arson. Fire fighters scrambled to turn out a blaze at around 11pm on Tuesday night which started after several bales of hay caught fire at a Rabat farm. They were then called out to the same spot a second time on Wednesday afternoon after the same farm, located on Triq Ħad Dingli, caught fire again. It is not yet know why the bales caught fire in the first or the second incident. Speaking after the first fire... Читать дальше...

US President Donald Trump, in tweets about the stunning legal setbacks involving two of his former lieutenants, on Wednesday attacked the one who has turned on him and defended the one who has remained loyal. Trump lashed out at former longtime lawyer Michael Cohen in a Twitter post by saying the campaign finance violations Cohen pleaded guilty to in federal court in New York on Tuesday were "not a crime" - even though prosecutors and Cohen agreed that they were. Trump made the claim without offering any evidence. Читать дальше...

Updated at 5.45pm Police asked people to avoid the Regional Road heading from Marsa to Kappara, after a bus skidded and blocked both lanes. The road was re-opened at 5.30pm. No one was injured in the accident.

Police have asked people to avoid the Regional Road heading from Marsa to Kappara, after a bus skidded and blocked both lanes. No one was injured in the accident.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull clung to power on Wednesday as rebel Liberal party lawmakers pressed for a second leadership contest just a day after he narrowly survived a challenge from former home minister Peter Dutton. Turnbull, whose Liberal Party is the senior partner in the coalition government, had won a party-room vote by 48 to 35 on Tuesday, but the unconvincing victory had left him vulnerable to another challenge. Australian lawmakers told reporters that party rebels were petitioning for another vote as early as Wednesday... Читать дальше...

A waste-collection bin left in the water has amassed a collection of polystyrene, cigarette butts, and plastic pens after being left in the sea for just under two weeks. A spokesman for the eNGO Zibel said the exact amount of waste collected had not yet been determined, but it was "above the average" amount expected. In fact, while seabins abroad are emptied twice a week, the seabin left at the Marina di Valletta at Pieta' had to be emptied daily.  "Seabins usually collect around half a ton of waste a year... Читать дальше...

US and Chinese officials are set to resume contentious trade talks on Wednesday under the cloud of a prediction by US President Donald Trump that there would be no real progress. The discussions among mid-level officials could set a framework for further negotiations as each country prepares to hit the other with new tariffs on Thursday in a deepening dispute over China's economic policies. Trump has threatened to impose duties on virtually all of the more than $500 billion of Chinese goods exported... Читать дальше...

The unmistakable beat of drums and military bands will fill the air and wow crowds in September at St George’s Square during the Malta Military Tattoo. The event, now in its 15th edition, will make the move from the Malta Fairs and Convention Centre in Ta’ Qali, where it was held last year, to Valletta. The Malta Military Tattoo said hosting the event in the “superb environment of St George’s Square was a must”, in light of the fact that Valletta is the European Capital of Culture title this year. Читать дальше...

In a bid to crack down on alcohol-related violence, the British government is preparing a new strategy to reduce the risks associated with excessive drinking. Crime fuelled by alcohol is estimated to cost £11 billion per year in the UK, and 40% of all violent incidents are committed by those believed to be under the influence of alcohol. When he was in office, London’s deputy mayor for policing, Kit Malthouse (now housing minister), scoured the world for a novel answer to such violence. And the solution he found in the US was 24/7 Sobriety. Читать дальше...

Pilatus Holdings Ltd must pay the costs of an administrator appointed by the MFSA to oversee its bank, a court said on Wednesday.The company had filed a warrant of prohibitory injunction seeking to block payments to veteran US banking regulator Lawrence Connell. Mr Connell was appointed by the MFSA after it forced the bank’s former chairman Ali Sadr Hasheminejad out following his arrest in New York on charges of money laundering and violation of US sanctions. As lawyers for both sides exchanged arguments in open court on Wednesday... Читать дальше...

The Salesian brigade had a "whale of a time" at the annual summer camp, participating in flag assemblies, paintball fights and intercultural nights, camp commandant Joe Camilleri said. The summer camp spanned eight days and was centred on the theme "Green Earth, Better Earth". Participants took part in two clean-ups, a visit to the Gaia foundation and a visit to Wasteserv. No fewer than 27 young participants took part in the event, 13 of whom were from France as part of an Erasmus+ exchange. A fundraising... Читать дальше...

Some Chinese coal traders handling US imports have begun sourcing future supplies domestically, people with knowledge of the matter said, as they await delivery of the last US cargoes to arrive before hefty tariffs kick in on Thursday in a deepening trade row between the world's top two economies. At least six cargoes of US coal were due to arrive this month, Thomson Reuters Eikon shipping data showed, but at least three were still en route or waiting off ports to unload cargo on Wednesday. From Thursday... Читать дальше...