News

US warns Syria of firm and appropriate measures if ceasefire is violated

The US has warned Syria it will take "firm and appropriate measures" if government forces violate a ceasefire by launching an anticipated assault on the rebel-held region of Daraa. Emboldened…

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The ‘voice’ which led to the conclusion of Russia’s involvement in the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17

Radio Free Europe reports that Oleg Vladimirovich Ivannikov's atypical voice led to the conclusion, the 51-year-old was "with very high certainty", as being a missile specialist who was in charge of military operations…

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Malta’s Newspaper Review – 27th May, 2018

Good morning, Sunday's Newspapers Reviews follows. Don't forget to support the local press and buy the newspapers from your local newsagents. (more…)

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Di Maio issues ultimatum to Mattarella – Or close discussions within today or elections.

"This government game either closes within the next 24 hours or does not close anymore, we have already waited long enough". This was stated by the political leader of the M5s,…

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Kim Jong-Un committed to complete denuclearisation – Moon Jae In

South Korean President Moon Jae-In said that the North Korean President Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his commitment to 'complete' the denuclearisation process in the Korean peninsula. He is also committed…

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Editors’ Perspectives

The editorial of The Times entitled <<An unwarrented decision>> argues that The President and the Minister of Justice should put the decision to go ahead with granting warrants to two…

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Malta’s Newspaper Review – 26th May, 2018

FRONTPAGES The Times carries a warning by the Malta Employers Association that reliance on foreign workers could push the population up to 700,000 in a few years. The frontpage story…

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Disagreement with Mattarella on the appointment of Minister of Finance lead to tensions and increases the risk of new elections in Italy.

Italy risks to go back to vote. 82 days since the last Italian election, the country is still without a government. Although M5s and Lega have agreed on the appointment…

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More flight cancellations for Liverpool fans

BBC reports that a second travel company has cancelled a flight for Liverpool fans to the Champions League final in Kiev. Myriad Travel said the flight had been cancelled by its…

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Berlin braces itself for the worse in view of protests from opponents and supporters of the right-wing populists

Deutsche Welle reports that thousands of supporters and detractors of the right-wing populists will confront one another in the German capital on Sunday. The situation is sure to be tense,…

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€24.5 million found in handbags and homes linked to former Malaysian Prime Minister Razak Najib

Malaysian authorities announced that they had found cash worth €24.5 million in family homes and more than 400 luxury handbags linked to former Prime Minister Razak Najib. Najib, who suffered a…

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German churches intervened in almost 500 deportation of asylum seekers in Q1 2018

Deutsche Welle reports that German churches intervened in 498 deportations of asylum seekers who they believed required reconsideration, in the first quarter of 2018 in line with a 2015 law. According…

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Putin denies that missile which brought down Malaysian aircraft was a Russian military equipment

Vladimir Putin denied that the missile which brought down a Malaysian airliner in July 2014, killing almost 300 people was a Russian military piece of equipment. This was the first…

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Weinstein charged with rape

Harvey Weinstein has been charged in New York with rape and several counts of sexual abuse. Weinstein turned himself in to police in the city earlier in the day. Mr Weinstein…

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JCPOA remaining partners convene after US withdrawal from Iranian Nuclear deal. They welcome the fact that the (IAEA) has again confirmed the continued adherence by Iran to its nuclear-related commitments

China, Russia, France, the UK and Germany have expressed their commitment to maintain the Iranian nuclear deal, but a solution has not yet been found on how to diffuse and…

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Exit Polls – Overwhelming majority vote to change Ireland’s abortion law

British media outlets report that "exit polls on Ireland's abortion referendum show more than two thirds of voters want to change the country's strict law." There were two polls quoted.…

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Developing Story – School shooting in Indiana USA

Various US media reported that at least two people (one teenager and one adult) were injured following a shooting in a Indiana middle school in the United States. The episode took place…

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Malta Institute of Accountants holds 9th SME Forum

The future development of Malta’s economy requires sustainable SMEs. The 2018 SME Forum organised by the Malta Institute of Accountants discussed growth opportunities in the digital revolution. Held on May…

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US – North Korea Summit : On again, Off again, On Again, perhaps!

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that it was possible a planned summit with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un could still take place on June 12 as originally…

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Editors’ Perspectives – 25th May, 2018

The Times editorial focuses on the NAO report about the Mater Dei project. Entitled <<Evidence of maladministration>> The editorial argues that “The findings again confirm a national malady – unpreparedness…

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Malta’s Newspaper Review – 25th May, 2018

<<Il-President ta’ Malta issa hi l-aħħar tama>> is the leading story of In-Nazzjon referring to the comment by Paul Vincenti (President of the Gift of Life Foundation) following the vote…

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Toronto: 15 people injured after two men detonate explosive device in restaurant

CNN reports that two men detonated an "improvised explosive device" on Thursday, injuring 15 people inside a restaurant in Mississauga, Ontario, police said. Peel Regional Police say the suspects walked…

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Weinstein to surrender to NYPD on charges of rape

Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced movie mogul, is expected to turn himself in to the NYPD on Friday morning on charges that he raped one woman and forced another to perform…

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Ireland votes in abortion referendum

IRISH voters are preparing to go to the polls in a tense referendum that could legalise abortion, as the opposing sides use the final hours to win a debate that…

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11 arrested for being ‘traitors’ and pushing for women’s right to drive in Saudi

The New York Times reports that "Saudi Arabia is escalating its crackdown on activists who had pressed for the right of women to drive, bringing the number arrested to at least 11…

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Libya exports first natural gas shipment to Italy after four years

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) shipped on Wednesday its first quantity of propane gas from the Zueitina port to Italy, estimated at approximately 61,761 barrels. The NOC said in…

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Spain: 32 years prison sentence for politician for kickbacks-for-contracts scheme that operated during Spain’s decade-long construction boom

The Financial Times report that the Spanish court has handed a series of fines and prison sentences to politicians and businesspeople connected to Spain’s ruling centre-right party, as part of a long-running…

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Over 1,000 Liverpool fans will not make it to the final in Kiev as flights get cancelled

You'll never walk alone" the anthem says, but 1,000 Liverpool fans won't fly to walk with them on Saturday. Three planeloads of Liverpool fans due to fly to the Ukrainian…

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“The Singapore summit (between the US and North Korea), for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world, will not take place.” – Donald Trump

The BBC and CNN amongst others, reported that the planned summit between US President Donald Trump North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will not happen. Claiming that it would be inappropriate to have…

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Investigators: Buk Missile From Russian Antiaircraft Brigade Downed Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 in Donetsk, Ukraine

A Dutch-led international criminal investigation has established that the Buk missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine in 2014 came from Russia's 53rd Antiaircraft Missile Brigade. The…

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Thursday’s Morning Briefing – 24th May, 2018

Good morning The Maltese newspapers lead with the story related to a bomb which exploded yesterday in Gharghur. In this explosion a man Kevin Ellul (43), who happens to…

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Editors’ Perspectives – 24th May, 2018

The editorial of The Malta Business Weekly focuses on the average wage. <<Average wage in Malta almost near average wage of migrants>> refers to Eurostat figures which showed that the…

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Malta’s Newspaper Review – 24th May, 2018

The Malta Independent, In-Nazzjon, L-Orizzont, and The Times lead with the story related to a bomb which exploded yesterday in Gharghur. In this explosion a man Kevin Ellul (43), who…

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Royal Wedding goodie bag sold on eBay for £21,400

Sky News reports that a royal wedding goodie bag being sold on eBay has received a winning bid of more than £21,000. The souvenir item was offered to "community champions" invited…

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Three Libyans arrested in Zuwara, accused of trafficking migrants, 20 injured in gun fire from trafficker

Zuwara Security Directorate said Tuesday it had foiled an illegal immigration attempt by over 200 illegal immigrants from different African countries, who were arrested in a farm west of the…

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BBC: Trump’s personal lawyer received secret payment to arrange meeting between the US and Ukrainian Presidents

Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, received a secret payment of at least $400,000 (£300,000) to fix talks between the Ukrainian president and President Trump, according to sources in Kiev…

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NFL players will be fined if they kneel during US anthem

Various US media outlets report that N.F.L. players will be allowed to stay in the locker room during the national anthem, but their teams will be fined by the league if they…

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New York Times : Iran established a secret missile research facility

The New York Times reports that Iran has established a secret missile research facility in the desert where it may be developing technology for long-range missiles. California-based experts came to this conclusion…

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Laptops and Hard-Disks belonging to Daphne Caruana Galizia passed on to German police

Euronews report that German police said on Wednesday that relatives of murdered Maltese anti-corruption blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia had given them two of her laptops and three hard drives and these…

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Yulia Skripal speaks for the first time after Salisbury poisoning

Yulia Skripal, who survived an assassination attempt that UK authorities blame on Russia spoke for the first time following her release from hospital. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Skripal…

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Reuters : Cyber researchers, Ukraine warn of possible Russian attack

Reuters reports that "hackers have infected at least 500,000 routers and storage devices in dozens of countries, some of the world’s biggest cyber security firms warned on Wednesday, in a campaign…

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“I will be the defence lawyer of the Italians” – Giuseppe Conte accepts official mandate to form government

The President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella gave Professor Giuseppe Conte the task of forming the new Italian government. The decision was announced by the secretary general of the Quirinale…

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Italy: Truck hits train and derails. One dead, 18 injured

One person died and 16 got injured when a regional train hit a truck, which is used for special transport on the Turin-Ivrea railway line, at Caluso . The regional train 10027 has hit…

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Trump’s blocking of critical Twitter users violates the First Amendment

The New York Times reports that a federal judge in Manhattan has ruled that President Trump’s practice of blocking Twitter users who are critical of him from seeing his posts…

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First public appearance for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – have made their first public appearance since their royal wedding during a garden party to honour Prince…

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Italian President Mattarella calls Giuseppe Conte for a decisive meeting, an indication that soon, Italy might have a Prime Minister

The Italian President Sergio Mattarella, has called for Giuseppe Conte, the person indicated by both M5S and Lega as the next Prime Minister for a meeting. The meeting is expected to take place today at 1730. According to…

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