21 year old accused of raping two women 24 hours apart

Aug 22 2022

A 21-year-old Tarxien student has been charged with raping a woman and a girl in separate incidents situated 24 hours apart.

The man’s name was not issued due to a court order, and was charged with two counts of rape and illegal arrest. He pleaded not guilty, with the court being informed that the first of the alleged incidents took place close to midnight on June 3rd.

The other incident occurred at a similar time on June 4th at Little Armier. A bail was requested, as well as a ban on the publication of the name of the accused and his two victims. The bail request was denied.

The prosecution objected to the bail, with the prosecutor pointing out that the victims were still yet to testify in the case. There were also some alleged civilian witnesses.

Police inspector John Spiteri added that the alleged victim of the first assault had been intoxicated with alcohol and could not describe her assailant.

Several people, who were with the victim at the time, said that what little she remembers is very important. The accused and the victim had no connection or form of communication between them. The remaining witnesses are CCTV owners as well as people who will testify that the victim was drunk.

The second case involved a minor. The lawyer said that the accused is a 21-year-old, first time offender with a clean criminal record. ‘He’s still a student, living with his parents, who are prepared to guarantee his bail.’

Inspector Spiteri agreed in part with the defence, but said that although the accused was still a student, the fear of tampering with evidence remained.

Bail was denied and the request for a ban on the publication of the names was upheld. The case is ongoing.

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Maltese football fans fuming due to ‘potato football pitch’ for season opener

Aug 22 2022

Local fans of football were left fuming at the state of the pitch at the Tony Bezzina Stadium for the season opener.

The match concerned was Valletta versus Hibernians, which finished in a 1-1 draw. However, despite the usual passion for the game, the attention was diverted to the ground’s physical state, with some describing it as a literal ‘potato field.’

Many commented on the state of the pitch. ‘I hope that the pitches are way better come next weekend. I haven’t seen them in such a sorry state for years’ said one commenter.

Another said that ‘a ploughed field is in better state than the Hibernians ground. Shameful.’

‘With all due respect, this is not a ground which footballers play in in 2022. Not even a potato field looks like this.’ Another directed criticism at the Malta Football Association, saying that the players seemed to be playing ice hockey instead of football.

Still, one commenter also noted the positive atmosphere during the match despite the state of the pitch, highlighting how the experience can only be improved were this to be fixed.

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Football pundit Gary Neville says Malta is his favourite destination abroad

England coach Gary Neville says Malta is his favourite destination abroad

Aug 22 2022

Former Manchester United player and English football pundit Gary Neville stated that his favourite destination abroad is in fact the island of Malta.

During a casual interview, Neville was asked which country stole his heart and why. He went on to answer by saying that it used to be but it would probably still be Malta if pushed.

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In terms of reasons, he pointed to his friends as well as the tradition of the islands. The reason why he second guesses the answer is due to him also finding a passion for skiing and mountains – two things Malta is unfortunately not blessed with.

Gary Neville had co-owned, along with Welsh football coach and former Manchester United player Ryan Giggs, properties at Malta’s Golden Sands Resort. This gave them both enough time to get acquainted with it as well as establish some long standing connections.

One thing he had revealed he was fond of however was the Maltese heat, and this explains why he’s swerved in the other direction towards skiing and colder environments.

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Whopping €46,000 raised in Mgarr auction to carry Virgin Mary statue

Aug 22 2022

The Mġarr tradition of publicly auctioning the rights to lift and carry the statue of the Virgin Mary during the village feast reached a whopping €46,000 yesterday.

The auction has entered its 100th year, with two men representing two community groups participating in the auction in front of a massive audience.

Mġarr parish priest Fr George Schembri moderated the auction as the two groups continued raising up the stakes. The back and forth lasted around two minutes but racked up the massive monetary amount.

The group who won the rights was represented by deputy mayor Wistin Vella as the amount reached record levels. This smashed 2019’s record of €17,000, which was the last time the auction was held before the pandemic hit.

Fr Schembri informed Newsbook that the money will go to the church and will be mainly spent on community projects and charities. Meanwhile, TVM was informed by historian Mario Vassallo that the tradition has roots during the construction of the Mgarr parish church.

The community desired a statue of the Virgin Mary, but the parish priest insisted that funds be used to build the church. The community raised enough money to buy the statue without using Church funds.

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Photo Source: Talk.mt