Swift action by the Gudja local council led to the removal within days of tarmac illegally laid across a country lane in the historic Bir Miftuħ area, raising concerns about nearby archaeological remains. The tarmac surfacing was removed by the contractor responsible at the authorities’ insistence on Tuesday, three days after it had been laid without a permit on a stretch of lane off Dawret il-Gudja, close to the airport. Upgrading works are being carried out in Dawret il-Gudja, the arterial road between Għaxaq and Gudja, by government agency Infrastructure Malta. The illegal tarmac surfacing was first flagged by local councillor Stefan Caruana, who said the Bir Miftuħ area was the site of historic remains including a dolmen and menhir and was located close to the Ħal Resqun catacombs. The lane itself, he said, was likely to have been in use since the time of the Knights of St John. Following the councillor’s complaints, the issue was taken up by newly-elected mayor Marija Sara Vella, who said she contacted the authorities to ask for the works to be reversed. “We insisted that, as a historical area, studies should be carried out before anything happens with that road,” she told...

England's long wait for a trophy since 1966 goes on as the Netherlands set up a Nations League final meeting with Portugal on Sunday with a 3-1 win after extra-time in Guimaraes. Marcus Rashford's penalty gave the Three Lions a first-half lead against the run of play, but Matthijs de Ligt made amends for his error in leading to the spot-kick to level 17 minutes from time. Jesse Lingard thought he had won the game late on for England only for his strike to be ruled out for offside by VAR and the Dutch took full advantage of that reprieve to deservedly earn their place in the final. England contributed to their own downfall with a comedy of errors for both goals in extra-time with John Stones and Ross Barkley at fault as Kyle Walker's own goal and Quincy Promes's tap in sent Holland into the final. Gareth Southgate's men were attempting to build on the success of reaching a first World Cup semi-final for 28 years, but England were largely outplayed to show much work is still to be done if they are to end their trophy drought on home soil next summer at Euro 2020.  The Netherlands failed to even qualify for the last two major tournaments. However, the young talent that has seen...

A court has cleared a family doctor of responsibility for the death of a female patient. The 56-year old married woman fell ill after having been to the beach on a Sunday in August three years ago. The following day she visited the family doctor, who attributed her complaints and localized symptoms to muscle pain and administered ordinary painkillers. He had reached that diagnosis since he knew that the woman suffered from osteoporosis, lived on the top floor of a block of flats with no lift, did all the shopping and cleaning and had arthritis in her spine, the court was told. Yet, the following day, the symptoms worsened, prompting the patient to call the doctor once again, complaining of general weakness. The doctor visited the patient, carried out a general clinical examination and checking her blood pressure, pulse and heart beat. He prescribed a lower dose of her blood pressure pills, since this was low whilst her heart beat was high. By Wednesday, the patient was running a fever and another medical check showed that her blood pressure was low, while her heart beat was high. Knowing that his patient took medication to control her anxiety and in the absence of other...

The Pilatus bank controversy was a lesson learnt for the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, its director Kenneth Farrugia said. Speaking at the Finance Malta annual conference, Mr Farrugia said the FIAU did not appeal decisions by the European Banking Authority on the matter because it decided to adopt the recommendations. The EBA had found the FIAU had breached the requirements of a directive on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing in the way it handled Pilatus Bank. The Ta’ Xbiex based bank had been embroiled in controversy since its inception. Last year, the bank had its licence revoked by the European Central Bank, two years after being implicated in money-laundering breaches. Mr Farrugia said the FIAU went on to implement most of the recommendations by the EBA.  He also pointed out that awareness of money-laundering and financial crime had increased. The  FIAU had already received almost 1000 reports of suspicious transactions this year, he said. Speaking on a panel on combatting financial crime, Police Economic Crimes Unit head Ian Abdilla said the police were also beefing up staff and were looking at raising the number of civilian financial crime...

House Speaker Anglu Farrugia is to consider tabling in the House any complaints he receives in writing from people who feel wronged by what is been said about them in the chamber. Speaking at a commemoration of the 1919 Sette Giugno riots, he recalled how in last year’s event, he had said that the time had come to address issues which arose when citizens felt aggrieved by statements made about them in Parliament under privilege and to establish a mechanism to grant redress. “Until such time that Parliament adopts such mechanism, I believe that the time has come for me to consider tabling in the House all the complaints I receive from citizens in writing when they feel wronged by what has been said about them in the House,« Dr Farrugia said. »As we commemorate the centenary of the Sette Giugno riots, I am of the opinion that without any further delay, we should move ahead with the introduction of some kind of mechanism so that whoever abuses their parliamentary privilege is made answerable for their actions. Members of Parliament represent the electorate…they should always be accountable for what they say… In his address, given at the foot of the Sette Giugno monument on...

President Vladimir Putin said Thursday Russia was prepared to drop a nuclear weapons treaty with the US and warned of «global catastrophe» if Washington keeps dismantling an international arms control regime. Speaking to heads of international news agencies at an economic forum in the city of Saint Petersburg, Putin said Washington showed no genuine interest in conducting talks on extending the New START treaty which caps the number of nuclear warheads well below Cold War limits. «If no-one feels like extending the agreement -- New START -- well, we won't do it then,» Putin said. «We have said a hundred times that we are ready (to extend it),» Putin said. «There is no formal negotiating process.» The treaty was signed by US President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Prague in 2010. It expires in 2021. Together with another agreement known as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, New START is considered a centrepiece of superpower arms control. Moscow suspended participation in the INF treaty in March after President Donald Trump's White House announced it would ditch the key agreement for alleged Russian violations of the terms. Putin accused...

A motorcyclist was seriously injured in a collision with a car in San Ġwann on Thursday. The incident happened in Triq tal-Mensija at 4.30pm. The injured man was a 44-year-old from Swieqi who had been driving a Yamaha. The car was a Renault driven by a 30-year-old woman from Naxxar. 

Donald Trump should be sent to «prison,» US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told fellow Democrats in a closed-door meeting about whether to launch impeachment proceedings against the president, Politico reported Thursday. Pelosi, Trump's political nemesis in Congress, has long stated she is not ready to proceed with what would be a deeply divisive impeachment action, and that she would prefer to see the president defeated at the ballot box next year. But in a meeting late Tuesday with House committee chairmen, she clashed with House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler over whether to kick off an impeachment inquiry, using language that ramped up the rhetoric surrounding top Democrats and Trump. «I don't want to see him impeached, I want to see him in prison,» Pelosi said, according to Politico, which cited multiple Democratic sources familiar with the meeting. Pelosi prefers to see Trump lose the 2020 election and then face prosecution for his alleged crimes, the sources told the US media outlet. Many Democrats say they believe Trump broke the law by allegedly seeking to obstruct investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 US election. He is also accused of paying...

American teenager Amanda Anisimova said she was «excited» and did not suffer from nerves after stunning defending champion Simona Halep on Thursday to reach a French Open semi-final against Australian eighth seed Ashleigh Barty. The 17-year-old downed Halep 6-2, 6-4 on Court Philippe Chatrier to announce herself on the big stage, while Barty saw off 14th seed Madison Keys 6-3, 7-5 to also become a first-time Grand Slam semi-finalist. «If I didn't look nervous is because I wasn't,» said world number 51 Anisimova, who is the youngest player to reach a major semi-final since Nicole Vaidisova at the 2007 Australian Open. «I was just super excited and I was really happy with the opportunity. »This is more than I could have asked for.« The last-four ties will be played on Friday, after Wednesday's downpour in Paris caused a backlog of matches, with the women's semi-finals held on Court Suzanne Lenglen and Simonne Mathieu to keep Chatrier free for the men's semis. »Actually, I'm really happy that I get to play tomorrow,« said Anisimova. »I don't have to wait a whole day, because I get really eager to want to go on the court, so I'm happy I get to play tomorrow." She is the youngest...

Guests at The Pink Fashion Show on June 15 are being catered for down to the slightest detail, with healthy food by eeetwell on the night at the Marsa Polo Club. Founded in 2015, eeetwell is the go-to destination for chef-inspired, flavourful food, juices and smoothies.Using fresh ingredients from the local market, with no artificial additives, eeetwell works closely with local farmers, committed to sustainable practices, aiming to create a farm-to-fork connection.“We believe that the daily choices we make about what we eat, where it comes from, and how it’s prepared have a direct impact on the well-being of individuals and communities,” said founder and managing director Ammar Soltan.With four locations on the island, including an outlet in Mrieħel which is officially opening this week, the company is now eyeing the global market. It will soon open a restaurant in Belgium and has plans to launch the brand on the market as a franchise chain internationally.

The MSE Equity Price Index dropped by 0.26% to 4,813.852 points as the declines in BOV and HSBC, coupled with the negative performance of Mapfre Middlesea, outweighed the gains in three other shares. Meanwhile, FIMBank, MIA and MPC ended the day unchanged while trading volumes improved to €0.33 million from €0.19 million on Wednesday. Bank of Valletta plc retracted by 1.4% to the €1.38 level after partially recovering from an intra-day low of €1.335 (-4.6%). A total of 30,019 shares changed hands. On Thursday morning, the bank published a prospectus in connection with the issuance of €50 million 3.75% unsecured subordinated bonds maturing between 2026 and 2031. Shareholders as at close of trading today will receive one bonus share for every 10 shares held. The equity turns ex-bonus as from next Monday June 10. Within the same segment, HSBC Bank Malta plc eased by 0.6% to the €1.63 level across 5,500 shares. Mapfre Middlesea plc shed 0.9% to €2.20 on trivial volumes. Conversely, BMIT Technologies plc added 0.9% to regain its highest closing price ever of €0.55 level on heightened volumes totalling 284,652 shares having a total market value of €0.16 million. GO plc recaptured the...

Dutch authorities have been left red-faced after revelations that hundreds of prisoners collect unemployment benefits behind bars despite the law specifically prohibiting the practice. Angry parliamentarians called Social and Labour Minister Wouter Koolmees to answer questions Thursday following a report by a Dutch TV news programme this week. «It annoys me enormously,» Koolmees told MPs, adding that he would investigate the matter. Some 550 prisoners were still receiving benefits from the country's unemployment and labour agency, which falls under Koolmees' ministry, according to a study quoted by the Nieuwsuur evening news programme on Monday. In one case a convicted drug dealer received unemployment benefits totalling €102,000, which the prisoner now has to repay in full, Nieuwsuur said. Another detainee received €24,000 over 19 months - while his address was «squarely registered as the prison», the prisoner's lawyer Rasim Kucukunal told De Volkskrant newspaper. The erroneous benefit payments happened partly because the unemployment agency was using an outdated database, Koolmees said, adding that the problem needs to be resolved. Koolmees told MPs he was unaware that...

A hunter accused of shooting down three white storks last August, in an incident that caused a nation-wide media frenzy, was cleared of six out of eight charges. He ended up with a fine and 2-year licence ban for carrying a loaded weapon in breach of law. James Magri, 42, from Dingli had been arraigned on Monday 13 over the episode which had allegedly taken place three days earlier in the limits of Dingli when a flock of some 18 of the protected birds, had flown to Malta. They had later headed in the direction of Rabat and Mdina, flying above the Dingli school while some of them came to rest on a pole close to the accused’s property. Early in the evening of August 10, two of Mr Magri’s friends had paid their habitual visit to the accused’s field in the limits of Dingli where they would meet up for a coffee and a chat. The two men later testified that they had spotted the flight of storks on that August evening, watching as some of the birds approached their viewpoint inside the accused’s field. Their friend was not present when the two had suddenly heard three shots in succession. The accused had walked away a while before, taking his hunting rifle with him. The accused had...

Xagħra councillor Kevin Cutajar said on Thursday that progress has been registered in the Nationalist Party regarding the seat vacated by David Stellini. In a post on Facebook, the lawyer, who is hoping to be co-opted to Mr Stellini’s seat, said that the issue was not yet concluded but he believed that results could be achieved with more work and Gozo would be able to hold on to what belonged to it. In a heated meeting, which saw the resignation of Mark Anthony Sammut from committee President, the Nationalist Party executive on Saturday voted to co-opt Jean Pierre Debono to Mr Stellini’s seat, but Mr Debono said he would not be taking up the seat after the decision was challenged by the Nationalist Party’s own regional Gozo committee. Besides Mr Debono, Dr Cutajar was the only candidate to express interest in the seat.

Sicilia Outlet Village has become a veritable shopping tourism destination, a purpose-built tourist hub catering to the needs of visitors with a wide range of high-end fashion brands, unparalleled hospitality services, convenient opening hours seven days a week and year-round savings of up to 70%. Set in an exclusive and stylish setting, the Village can be conveniently reached from Malta, thanks to daily air and sea connections, readily available limousine and shuttle bus services and numerous shopping trips and tours organised by Maltese and Sicilian tour operators. It offers visitors a unique and tailored shopping experience and is home to premium international fashion boutiques, such as Prada, Dolce&Gabbana, Gucci, Etro, Versace, Armani, La Perla, Trussardi, Hogan, Tod’s, Fay and Roberto Cavalli, as well as Jimmy Choo, the luxury footwear and accessory brand that is set to open on June 13. The Village’s rich selection of fashion brands also includes Pinko, Calvin Klein, Lacoste, Abercrombie&Fitch, Michael Kors and Furla, as well as the recently opened Diesel store, which chose Sicilia Outlet Village for the inauguration of its only single-brand store in southern Italy. This...

Maltese students have obtained overall second place in the 13th edition of the Supertmatik Mental Maths Challenge, which saw the participation of 257,259 students of 45 nationalities. This was the best result ever achieved by Malta in this challenge. The annual mental mathematics international championship is a competition for students aged between six and 15 years. Maltese students in different year groups, in both primary and secondary schools, have participated in one of nine categories depending on their age. The competition promotes interest in mental mathematics and provides students with another opportunity to reinforce their skills in number and mental calculations through constructive play. It aims at honing and celebrating talent in mental mathematics.

Chinese artist Badiucao, whose anonymous political satire infuriated Beijing and earned him comparisons to Banksy, on Thursday announced a protest campaign against Twitter over what he says is its pandering to China. This is the second time the social media giant has come under fire in the last week over its handling of China-related content, after it apologised for mistakenly suspending accounts critical of Beijing - just days ahead of the 30th anniversary of the brutal Tiananmen Square crackdown. The 33-year-old Badiucao said he reached out to Twitter ahead of the anniversary and offered to create a special tank man emoji that would appear next to the hashtag #Tiananmen30. Such emojis have been deployed on Twitter to mark a variety of special occasions and events, from the premieres of Hollywood blockbusters to national elections. But the platform - which is blocked in China - told Badiucao it would not be able to collaborate with him on this anniversary because «emojis are limited resources at Twitter,» according to an email exchange the artist shared with AFP. «I was a bit confused,» Badiucao told AFP. "How come they are a limited resource? I asked them if they had not...

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has threatened to issue directives to all its members unless sweets, sweet beverages and carbohydrates are reintroduced for staff in Mater Dei hospital.  The hospital had removed all «non-nutritional» and sugary drinks in an effort to encourage a change to a healthier lifestyle last year. «MUMN would like to make it clear that Malta is not a dictatorship country where a person is obliged to eat only what the Health Promotion department deems fit,» it said. Moreover, the starter given to staff, which was never a large portion, was also removed, it said, adding the Health Promotion Department should not «impose» a special diet on union members. In an e-mail sent to management, the union said the change in menu was introduced without any consultation.   A person has every right to have glucose beverages, to eat a sweet desert or pasta - irrespective of whether that person works in Mater Dei or not, it said. Over time, the union had been «bombarded» with «highly justifiable» complaints on staff meals, it said, adding this was a «cost-cutting exercise» by the Health Promotion Department Unless sweets, chocolates, sweet beverages and...

It was the ‘boys’ that separated themselves from the ‘men’ in the unfolding drama within the Nationalist Party over the past few days. Mark Anthony Sammut set the ball rolling when, in contrast with so many his senior – both in years and political clout – who failed miserably to walk the talk, he stood up to be counted and stepped down from his post of executive committee president, assuming responsibility for the PN’s miserable showing at the European and local council elections. He pointed out he did so notwithstanding the fact he had no say in the strategy adopted or the electoral campaign. So far, Mr Sammut remains the only senior PN official to take such concrete action. The resignation of party treasurer David Camilleri had nothing to do with the electoral defeat but was about voting rights when deciding who to co-opt in Parliament to fill the seat vacated by David Stellini who decided to resume his old job in Brussels. At least, that is what Mr Camilleri declared. PN leader Adrian Delia refuses to budge and insists he has no intention of either stepping down or calling for a vote of confidence. True, he has only been in office for under two years and was elected...

On a moonlit night off Italy’s coast, fishermen are hauling in the usual catch: cuttlefish, red mullet and plastic waste. But this time, they won't throw the rubbish back. The trash instead is being collected, analysed and, where possible, recycled in an initially month-long experiment to try to provide a blueprint for cleaning up the sea. «A lot of the fishermen used to throw the rubbish back into the sea, because the law says they can't bring it to land,» said Eleonora de Sabata, coordinator for Clean Sea Life, which runs the project. «They're not authorised to carry waste, in ports there's nowhere to put this kind of waste and it's not clear who should dispose of it.» That dilemma will hopefully not be an issue for the around 40 fishing boats sailing off the Adriatic resort of San Benedetto del Tronto who are taking part in the initiative. Since it started, the fishermen have collected around a tonne of waste a week for a month, of which 60 percent is plastic. Each day, volunteers catalogue and sort the smelly catch on the quayside. Some is recycled, some is disposed of along with household or industrial waste, but none goes back in the sea. The project had been due to wrap...

The Malta national team will conclude the 2019-20 season with two Euro 2020 qualifiers against Sweden in Stockholm, tomorrow (kick-off: 20.45) and Romania on Monday, at the National Stadium (20.45). After opening the qualification campaign with a 2-1 win over the Faroe Islands, the first competitive victory on home soil in 13 years, Malta fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Spain with both games having been played at the National Stadium. Despite the Spain defeat, the national team managed to draw the applause of the local football fans for the positive football they tried to implement and the injection of youth players in the team which helped to breed a new sense of enthusiasm around Ray Farrugia’s team. Andrei Agius, one of the senior figures in Malta’s team, is hoping that his side could take the enthusiasm shown against the Faroes and Spain in Stockholm, in their first away game of the campaign. “While we will be facing a tough team in Sweden, we are looking forward to maintain our style of play in order to build on what we have already started in this new project,” Agius told the Times of Malta. “No doubt that now we have to raise our level of play as we will be playing...

Wounded US veterans are taking part in an unusual kind of offensive this week dubbed «Operation Surf,» which is aimed at offering them a form of therapy and some healing. More than two dozens vets, some who have lost limbs during warfare, and active-duty military personnel have signed up for the annual weeklong program in Huntington Beach, south of Los Angeles. «It's very therapeutic and much needed,» said Jordan Sisco, who lost both legs after stepping on a mine while deployed in Afghanistan in 2014. «You know, being trapped in your head all the time, it's nice just to come out here and just kind of focus on one thing. That thing is just enjoying yourself,» he added, sporting a broad smile after surfing a few dozen meters on his own. The free event is sponsored by Amazing Surf Adventure, which launched «Operation Surf» 10 years ago after helping a wounded veteran learn to surf to overcome the pain and mental trauma of war. «A lot of our military heroes are trained not to surrender, and the very first thing that we tell them is: 'You have to surrender to the elements, you have to trust me as a surf instructor, I've got your back',» said Danny Nichols, one of the instructors and...

Original documents providing new details on the Sette Giugno disturbances are being published for the first time in a revised second edition of a book being launched on the 100th anniversary of that fateful day. On June 7, 1919, three Maltese protesters, Manwel Attard, Ġużeppi Bajada and Lorenzo Dyer, died when British troops fired at a rioting crowd in front of leading grain importer Anthony Cassar Torregiani’s house in Strada Forni (Old Bakery Street), Valletta, and those attacking The Daily Malta Chronicle offices in Strada Teatro (Old Theatre Street). Another protester, Carmelo Abela, was stabbed at the palace of Colonel John Louis Francia (Palazzo Ferreria) the following day and succumbed to his injuries a few days later. However, Sette Giugno is not only about these tragic deaths but revolves around a whole series of circumstances and events that led to and followed the uprisings.  Various factors were at play, especially unemployment, hunger and misery under British rule, newly-introduced taxes, which mostly affected merchants and the nobility, irate university students opposed to the introduction of a British education system, and various political developments...

Cristiano Ronaldo hit a hat-trick as Portugal withstood a huge moment of VAR controversy to beat Switzerland 3-1 and reach the Nations League final on home soil in Porto. Ronaldo's free-kick opened the scoring midway through the first half, but the Swiss levelled when the referee overturned his decision to award Portugal a penalty to give a spot-kick at the other end after a VAR review, and Ricardo Rodriguez levelled. The game seemed destined to head for extra time, but as ever Ronaldo stepped up to be the hero with two expert finishes in the final two minutes. Portugal made it to the last four without their all-time record goalscorer as Ronaldo took a hiatus from international football to concentrate on his first season at Juventus. However, the five-time world player of the year returned to the national team in March and was always likely to be the centre of attention on a day when it was reported a rape lawsuit against him had been dropped. In Porto, Ronaldo pulled his first big chance wide early on, but made the breakthrough on 25 minutes. Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer was fooled by the wicked swerve as Ronaldo's free-kick from the edge of the area flew into his bottom...

A doctor in the US state of Ohio was charged Wednesday with the murders of 25 critically-ill hospital patients for allegedly administering lethal doses of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl to hasten their deaths.  A grand jury indicted William Husel on 25 counts of murder for the deaths of patients under his care while he was employed by the Mount Carmel Health System hospital network in the Midwestern state's capital Columbus.  «I've been a prosecutor for 22 years and I have not seen a 25-count murder indictment,» Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien told a news conference.  The indictment was the latest salvo in a case that exposed the failure of multiple healthcare safeguards, raising questions about the roles of the dozens of nurses and pharmacists who worked with Husel. Husel's alleged actions spanned four years and may have involved as many as 35 patients who were near death or critically ill, with most not expected to survive, authorities said.  Cold-case homicide detectives at the Columbus Police Department focused their criminal investigation on 25 patients prescribed fentanyl dosages of 500 micrograms or higher, according to the prosecutor. "Dosage at that level...

Raymond Aquilina and Flavia Marmarà are two of a few artists specializing in mosaics. Raymond hails from Rabat and now lives in St Paul’s Bay. As a child growing up in Rabat, his fascination with the craft manifested itself in many a visit to the Roman Villa to sneak a peek at the magnificent work that sparked his imagination and inspired admiration at the skill and hard work required to create such a rich legacy. Flavia has been drawn to the Arts since her childhood, encouraged by the frequent sight of her mother, practising her painting - a cherished memory of the earlier family days. She attended Art classes from a young age, absorbing the skills and nurturing her artistic spirit until work pressures demanded that she puts aside her art for a while. The artist’s passion for creating mosaics took root about twenty-two years ago, after they signed up for a winter course at Mcast and instantly fell in love with the subject. A brief but intense training experience at Luciana Notturni School of Mosaic in Ravenna Italy furthered their skill in the field and fuelled their artistic energy which led them to their first joint exhibition. A common passion for this art and the artists'...

A rape lawsuit filed in the United States against Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo has not been dropped, the plaintiff's lawyer said Wednesday, dismissing a report to the contrary. «The charges were not dropped,» said Larissa Drohobyczer, attorney for Kathryn Mayorga, who claims she was sexually assaulted by the Portuguese soccer star in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009. A Bloomberg report that the case had been dropped stemmed from the filing of a notice of voluntary dismissal last month in Nevada state court in Las Vegas. «The state case was dismissed by us because we filed the identical claims in federal court due to federal court's rules on serving foreigners,» Drohobyczer told AFP. «We basically just switched venues but the claims remain.» Ronaldo, 34, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid player, has strongly denied the accusations against him. Mayorga, 35, said last year that while she had agreed to a financial settlement with Ronaldo shortly after the alleged incident, her emotional trauma at the time did not allow her to participate in the mediation process. Following her renewed accusations, Las Vegas police reopened an investigation. Ronaldo is one of the biggest stars...

Rohit Sharma hit an unbeaten century as India made a comfortable start to their World Cup campaign with a six-wicket win over South Africa in Southampton on Wednesday that dealt a fresh blow to the Proteas' tournament hopes. Chasing a modest 228, India cruised to victory on the back of Sharma's 122 not out as they won with 15 balls to spare and live up to their favourites tag in the showpiece event. For South Africa, a third straight defeat in as many matches this World Cup left their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals on a knife edge. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal laid the platform for victory as India restricted an injury-hit South Africa to 227 for nine in 50 overs. Chahal returned figures of 4-51 after Bumrah did the early damage by dismissing both South Africa openers. Sharma, who survived a dropped catch on one by South Africa captain Faf du Plessis at second slip then anchored India's chase. South Africa quick Kagiso Rabada struck early with the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan for eight but his team was short on runs to put pressure on the opposition batting. Wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock came up with a stunning catch behind the stumps to send...

Although a man suspected of staging his own hold-up in Msida 17 years ago was not given access to a lawyer during interrogation, his case was dealt with fairly, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. In February 2002, Antsat director Carmel Farrugia, 55, of Marsascala, and an employee, Anthony Farrugia, 44, of Luqa, had been charged with fabrication of false evidence, simulation of offence, fraud relating to insurance and making a false statement under oath.  The incident occurred the month before. The employee had been conditionally discharged for three years in June 2003 after being found guilty of filing a false police report. The judgment was confirmed by the Court of Criminal Appeal the following April. The director was acquitted of all charges in January 2007 due to reasonable doubts. The Attorney General appealed that judgment. The Court of Appeal found there had not been any evidence concerning the charges of fraud relating to insurance, making a false oath and fabrication of false evidence. However, Mr Farrugia was found guilty of simulation of an offence and was sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for four years. Mr Farrugia eventually filed a...

MALTA            0 BOSNIA            0 Malta and Bosnia Herzegovina shared the spoils in an Under-21 international friendly at the National Stadium. This match was the final test for Silvio Vella’s side ahead of the forthcoming UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifiers. Malta plays the first four matches away from home – the first two being against Northern Ireland and Ukraine in September. Malta started brightly and they came close on eight minutes. Jan Busuttil sent Zachary Brincat through but the latter’s effort hit the upright with the goalkeeper beaten. Three minutes later, off a Myles beerman freekick from the right, Shaw connected to Beerman’s free-kick and served Friggieri but his low shot was turned into a corner by Topolovic Bosnia responed on 19 minutes when Andreas Vella saved partially a Marko Brkic effort, Zinedin Mustedanagic was first to the rebound but was again denied by the Malta no. 1. Seven minutes later, Busuttil served Beerman on the left but his low shot was neutralised by the Bosnian goalkeeper. On the half-hour, the Malta goalkeeper performed a fine save to push away Mustedanagic’s inswinger. Two minutes in the second half, the visitors almost managed to...

Trees in a small Attard garden are to be uprooted to make way for more parking spaces, the Planning Authority has confirmed.  Residents in Triq il-Katlan first contacted the Times of Malta when a sign promising a “project financed by the PA through the development planning fund” first popped up on a fence outside the garden.  One resident, who requested to remain anonymous, said no information was forthcoming when inquiries were made at the local council about the project.  No PA number was spotted on the site.  A spokesman for the Planning Authority told the Times of Malta that a development notification order had been approved for the embellishment and revised parking provisions for the “junction”, including the introduction of 21 official parking bays to replace existing “informal parking”.  The spokesman said paving and proper pedestrian access would also be introduced.  All existing trees would be replanted on the same site together with 10 additional Olea Europea plants, the spokesman said.  Clearances had been issued from all relevant authorities, the spokesman assured.  'Trees will just be re-positioned' In a reply, the Attard local council insisted that it was "totally...

US President Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth II joined 300 veterans in paying tribute to their fallen comrades at a poignant ceremony on Wednesday marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Mixing sombre recitals of soldiers' last letters home with period song-and-dance numbers, the ceremony in Portsmouth drew more than a dozen world leaders including Canada's Justin Trudeau, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Angela Merkel. They took turns honouring those involved in the Allied cross-Channel invasion of the Normandy beaches, the largest amphibious assault in history, that left 4,400 troops dead on the first day. «I was 18 and I was hoping for some sort of great adventure, but yes, I knew something big was obviously happening,» former pilot Gregory Hayward, 93, told AFP. «It brings back the memories and I'm grateful... to be able to survive long enough to be here on the 75th anniversary.» With some in the audience shedding tears and a few of the surviving veterans, now all in their 90s, sitting upright in the front rows, Trump read excerpts from the prayer President Franklin Roosevelt delivered by radio on D-Day. "They will need Thy blessings for the enemy is strong. He may...

An elderly woman who needed to be medically evacuated while hiking along a mountain in Arizona, USA ended up being the victim of a nightmare helicopter rescue which has since gone viral. The 74-year-old woman was hiking in Phoenix Mountain Reserve when she tripped and fell and found herself unable to walk. Firefighters were dispatched to rescue her by helicopter, strapped her into a basket and began to airlift her. That was when things took a bizarre turn – several, repeated ones. As rescuers winched the woman up, the stretcher she was strapped into began to spin, picking up speed until it was rotating wildly like a windmill. Video footage of the shocking scene was quickly uploaded online and had been viewed millions of times on social media by Wednesday afternoon. The Phoenix Fire Department said the spinning was down to a line that did not operate correctly and said such occurrences were “very rare”. A spokesperson said the woman was in a stable condition and ““suffered no ill effect from that spin, other than being a little bit dizzy.”

Gianluigi Buffon will leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer after it was agreed to not renew the former Italy captain's contract, the French champions announced on Wednesday. «Following joint discussions, Paris Saint-Germain and Gianluigi Buffon have agreed to not renew the legendary goalkeeper's contract which expires on 30 June 2019,» PSG said in a statement. The 41-year-old goalkeeper, who won the World Cup in 2006 and is Italy's most-capped player with 176 appearances, did not say whether he would be retiring from the game after leaving the French capital. He joined PSG last summer after ending a trophy-packed 17-year career at Italian giants Juventus and played 25 times in all competitions for PSG last season, winning the Ligue 1 title and the pre-season Champions Trophy. «Today my adventure outside Italy comes to an end,» Buffon said in a statement. «Ernest Hemingway wrote that there are only two places in the world where people can live happily: at home and in Paris. Today onwards, this will also apply to me: Paris, in some way, will always remain my home.» This season's league title was the 10th of Buffon's career, adding to a bulging trophy cabinet that contains just...

Properties in Wied Għomor and Villa Frere should be expropriated and kept for public use, the shadow minister for the environment, Jason Azzopardi said on Wednesday. Speaking in Parliament during a debate on the estimates of the Environmental Resources Authority, Dr Azzopardi said the government should use its surplus «for the common good». Wied Għomor, a scheduled site of ecological and scientific importance between Swieqi and San Ġwann, has been threatened by a number of development applications in recent years. Giardino Zamitello, adjacent to Villa Frere, was also threatened by a planning application to transform the area into a giant hotel earlier this year. Dr Azzopardi also referred to an article in The Shift News that reported a developer had written to the Lands Authority to inform it that it was delaying plans to develop Villa Frere gardens. The Prime Minister had «promised his full cooperation» to the developer, according to the leaked documents, the report said. The developer went on to deny any untoward cooperation. Dr Azzopardi said «heads should have rolled» over the revelation, however, the country had become numb and deaf to allegations of wrongdoing. The...