Sicilian mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro absents himself from the first hearing in the ongoing appeal trial against him for the 1992 murders of Sicilian judges Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borsellino and their police escorts. The mafia boss, arrested after 30 years on the run, is being detained in the maximum security prison of l'Aquila where he could follow the trial via video link. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES