New sea access between Grand Harbour and Esplora inaugurated

Aug 4 2021

A €2.5 million investment into the restoration of the Esplora bay in Kalkara was inaugurated today by Prime Minister Robert Abela as a new sea transport service between the bay and the Grand Harbour was established. During the inauguration, Prime Minister Robert Abela stated that this project will be one that will bring together innovation, infrastructure and environment.

Abela stated that we are once again witnessing an area of Malta which was once abandoned and dangerous transformed into a space where families can enjoy time together. The project is contributing to the environmental vision of the government. As part of the National Strategy and Plan for Transport, the government plans to reduce carbon emissions and environmental pollution whilst strengthening the maritime sector. A Malta which is innovative with the infrastructure that it deserves and operates projects which respect cultural heritage and the environment is the government’s goal, stated Abela.

The Prime Minister was joined by Minister for Research and Innovation Owen Bonnici who in turn expressed his satisfaction in seeing the iconic landmark restore and returned to the Maltese public in a respectful way.

Praising the initiative by the Maltese Council of Science and Technology (MCST), he explained how this work transcended its original goal and accepted the challenge to work on this project which is set to benefit the entire community. Minister Bonnici also emphasised the importance of people being exposed to science and how Esplora welcomes around 100,000 visitors per year.

MCST chairperson executive Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando described the rehabilitation of the bay as being the MCST’s latest achievement. Esplora was declared as a flagship project for Malta from the European Commission and is considered as one of the best interactive centres in Europe.

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Photo Source: Owen Bonnici FB, Robert Abela FB

Lawyer states two men who stole food were hungry

Aug 4 2021

Two men were arraigned in court for allegedly stealing food from a super market, with their lawyer defending their case as having been done out of hunger. The two men, both 48-years-old, admitted to Magistrate Rachel Montebello to committing the crime in a supermarket in Wied il-Ghajn, with inspector Clayton Camilleri revealing that CCTV cameras gave them away.

Daniel Attard, the lawyer standing in for the two men, stated that the act was committed due to hunger. He also pointed out that one of the men, Mario Campolo, is a drug addict, and the other, Mario Mifsud, had a disability.

Both the prosecutor and the defensive attorney recognised that both men required aid, with the Magistrate set to give the final sentence tomorrow. Both men will be kept under arrest until then.

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Photo Source: Kamra tal-Periti, Glasgow Times

WATCH: Paceville crowd protest no excessive noise sign with chanting

Aug 4 2021

A crowd in Paceville’s Entertainment Mecca mocked and waved around a sign which prohibited excessive noise in an area literally set up for loud music and noise.

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Huge amounts of people gathered in the Paceville street in front of bars and clubs hollering in mockery of the sign which, for all intents and purposes, failed in its purposes in every way. The Entertainment Mecca is well known for its celebratory nature as music pours out from clubs and party-goers enjoy meeting up and bar/club hopping.

Of course, despite being funnily ironic as to the sign’s unfulfilled destiny, such large crowds are still to be avoided and against the law due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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Old man defrauded out of thousands by man posing as priest

Aug 4 2021

A 28-year-old man by the name of Dillon Kenneth Junior Bartolo was arraigned in court for posing as a priest collecting money for charity. Remanded in custody pending sentencing, he plead guilty to defrauding a 90-year-old man of around €3,000. Appearing before magistrate Rachel Montebello, inspector Clayton Camilleri told the court that last July, the accused knocked on the elderly man’s door posing as ‘Dun Gwakkin’.

He claimed that he was collecting money for charity, and proceeded to meet the man several times after that. The police were notified of what was happening and moved in to arrest the accused, finding the two at an ATM where the victim was withdrawing money. Bartolo pleaded guilty to fraud charges, making fraudulent gain insulting or threatening persons in excess of the limits of provocation, assault, harassment, making threats and misusing electronic telecommunications equipment to commit extortion.

Bartolo’s lawyer Marouska Debono argued that when withdrawing cash from the account, Bartolo would give some to the victim and keep the rest for himself. With the total amounting to €3,000, the accused was confirmed to have manipulated the victim into believing he was someone else.

The crimes took place over the last two months, despite the accused knowing the victim for over eight months. The lawyer added that Bartolo was being chased by drug dealers to whom he owed money. As the accused allegedly wept during the hearing, the lawyer explained that he had almost lost an arm in a workplace accident and needs rehabilitation if not going to prison.

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Photo Source: Barker Collars