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Victims
Tests to identify the corpses of four of the five victims of last Wednesday’s St Helen’s fireworks factory explosion are underway and it is hoped that they will be successfully concluded without the need for further tests abroad. The victims were Vincent Galea, Paul Bonnici, Richard Cardona, Sunny Borg and Carmelo Farrugia, of whom Borg has been identified.
Monday. 2 July
Portuguese Presidency
The incoming Portuguese presidency of the EU will be striving for a deal among all member states by December on a new “global migration policy” dealing with legal and illegal migration, Portuguese Prime Minister José Socrates said. Mr Socrates was speaking at a press conference after a meeting between his government and the European Commission at the Customs House of Porto, in northern Portugal. The meeting marked the start of Portugal’s six-month presidency.
Eia at Cambridge
The government has still not received a letter of formal notice from the European Commission insisting on the need of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) over the proposed development of Fort Cambridge in Sliema, the government said in a statement. It said it will be replying in detail to any technical or legal points which may be raised by the Commission vis-à-vis the lack of an EIA for this project.
Tuesday, 3 July
Development
A permit for 30 new units at the Mellieha Holiday complex, which is co-owned by the GWU, was awarded just weeks after the union’s president Saviour Sammut actively lobbied with the office of the Prime Minister to hasten planning procedures. Sammut, who marched alongside environmentalists protesting against development at Ramla l-Hamra last week, confirmed he asked a senior government official to intercede with MEPA on the union’s behalf to enquire why the authority was procrastinating in getting the project approved.
Tony Gauci, the Lockerbie star witness whose testimony has now been called into question, would not comment after Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, 55, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of 270 people in the Lockerbie bombing, was granted a second appeal after a fresh investigation uncovered evidence suggesting he may have been unjustly convicted. Gauci would not comment on how his testimony, which was central to Megrahi’s conviction, had been quashed and discredited through new evidence.
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Wednesday, 4 July
Bus 13
Labour MP Joseph M. Sammut’s proposal to introduce a segregated bus service for immigrants travelling to Birzebbuga smacked of apartheid, Neil Falzon, head of the UNHCR’s office in Malta, insisted Labour Party general secretary Jason Micallef also distanced himself from Sammut’s comments in Parliament yesterday, insisting this was his personal opinion and not the MLP’s stand. In his adjournment speech, Sammut complained that migrants were turning parts of Marsa into no-go areas, adding that Birzebbuga residents were having to wait long hours for bus No. 13 because it was always full up with migrants going to the Hal Far camp. He proposed that the ADT either increase the number of buses on the route or introduce a different service for migrants.
EPP in Malta
The European People’s Party (EPP) accepts Malta’s burden sharing proposals and believes in the need to have a common European policy to deal with migration, the party’s parliamentary chairman Joseph Daul said. Mr Daul kicked off the group’s three-day conference, known as the Study Days, being held at the Radisson Bay Point in St Julians. He said the EU lives the principle of solidarity on which it is founded on a day-to-day basis but insisted that it had to be translated into facts when it comes to the migration issue.
Thursday, 5 July
Frontex
The flow of illegal migrants in the Mediterranean has dropped by 40 per cent since the start of the patrols by EU border agency Frontex, according to Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini. However, figures given by Frontex director Ilkka Laitinen indicate that the border agency is like a net with a gaping hole, as the illegal migrants intercepted so far decided to continue with their journey to Europe. Four boats with a total of 99 immigrants on board were stopped by Frontex vessels since the start of the operation on June 25, but three of the boats decided to venture to Malta and another to Lampedusa.
Mouth to Mouth
A 34-year-old Danish diving instructor owes her life to her doctor friend who gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after she was seen descending under water. Police sources said a group of Danish divers were at Wied iz-Zurrieq at about 11 a.m. when the instructor fainted and went down to the sea bed. Her friend, who realised she was in difficulty, immediately gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and brought her up to the surface.
Friday, 6 July
Gay Pride
Around 50 people turned up in Valletta for Malta’s fourth Gay Pride manifestation, a few of whom were actually supporting the activity and did not form party of the gay community. Besides Miriam Christine Borg, who kicked off the event with a couple of songs, the march was attended by British MEP David Bowles, Education Minister Louis Galea, Labour MP Evarist Bartolo and Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Harry Vassallo.
ADT Denial
The denial by ADT chairman Joe Gerada that neither he nor his board had anything to do with the decision to put the brakes on the sacking of two officials convicted of bribery was met with a wall of silence by the government. His comment, made in a letter published in The Times today, contradicts a statement by Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett in Parliament on Tuesday that the decision had been taken after a collective discussion involving the chairman. When contacted, the minister declined to comment, saying he would be issuing a statement in due course.
Saturday, 7 July
Vassallo on Mepa
AD Chairperson Harry Vassallo said that the MEPA approval for a proposal that would turn a government owned sports facility into a commercial beach club was evidence of an attempt to deprive Birzebbugia residents of an important sports facility. Dr Vassallo said that AD will be referring the case to the Ombudsman and to the MEPA Audit officer inviting them to make policy recommendations to avoid attempts at fraud involving public land and in particular the abuse of commercial secrecy to prevent public scrutiny of the use of public property.
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