Shocking revelations as the Abner Aquilina case continues

Feb 4 2022

The court case of Abner Aquilina, the murder suspect in the Paulina Dembska tragedy, continued today. The suspect was set to appear in court today, but he could not attend the sitting because he was transferred to Mount Camel.

Despite pleading not guilty, several new revelations as the sitting continues emerge. The accused allegedly refused his medications several times, and went on to shave his head and show more strange behaviours. He had to be injected three times with calming drugs, with officers having to be extremely hard on him to inject him. Aquilina also said that there is a cross ready for him and he will be crucified upside down.

Aquilina also stripped off his clothes and told psychiatrists to kneel before him today, with parte civil lawyer Stefano Filletti saying that Aquilina had displayed similar behaviour when under interrogation and that he refused to believe he is mentally unwell.

Filletti said that the case reached a legal impasse as the court only has the power to listen to the case in the accused’s absence if the magistrate finds prima facie evidence for the Attorney General to issue a bill of indictment.

Filletti also said that the accused is telling people how proud he is of what he did to Dembska, with the two lawyers agreeing that they are asking the court to suspend the terms of the procedure as per the terms of Article, 402, 1b.

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Andrew’s Snack Bar beloved member Lorry passes away

Feb 4 2022

Andrew’s Snack Bar sadly announced the passing of one the iconic family members, their dearest Lorry.

Posting a sorrowful farewell on their social media, ‘a brother, an uncle and a great friend to numerous patrons, Lorry was a unique character, colourful, joyous, humorous and truly kind.’

The post by the Birkirkara food hub expressed the family’s mourning for the loss ‘but remains comforted that he is now in a better place.’

‘Good bye Lorry, we love you dearly and shall cherish every memory of your cheerful and fun-loving life.’

Our deepest condolences from the MaltaDaily team.

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MEP Josianne Cutajar becomes Vice Chair of SEArica at European Parliament

Feb 4 2022

MEP Josianne Cutajar has been appointed Chair of the SEArica Intergroup at the European Parliament, which focuses on islands, seas, rivers and coastal areas. Cutajar’s work in this role will be focused on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) as well as digitisation. She will be working on policies that assist businesses, specifically small and medium sized ones.

The work has intensified due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the MEP also working towards a universal digital transition which incudes small business hailing from islands like Malta and Gozo. Cutajar expressed her gratitude that her colleagues demonstrated their trust in her and the work she is doing. She said this trust will translate into more work towards stronger and relevant European policies in these areas.

The Labour Party addressed the appointment, saying that as a Gozitan, ‘Josianne Cutajar fully understands the challenges that islands, including those such as Gozo which suffer from double insularity, face. Therefore, she is focusing her efforts to ensure the the European Union enters into a new pact with its islands.’

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EU proposing to extend COVID certificates for travel till July 2023

Feb 4 2022

The European Commission has proposed this Thursday to extend by an entire year the usage of COVID certificates for travel across the 27-nation bloc. This means that the certificates will be extended until the end of June 2023, and comes despite an announcement by the director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Europe office that it is entering a ‘plausible endgame to the pandemic.’

The EU however said that the virus is still very prevalent on the continent and that at this stage it is not possible to determine the impact of a possible increase in infections or variant emergence in 2022’s second half.Commissioner for justice Didier Reynders said that a failure to extend the scheme could lead to confusion and obstacles if it expires while the pandemic is not over. To come into effect, EU members and EU parliament must all accept the proposal.

So far, EU countries have issued over 1.2 billion certificates after they entered into force in July of last year. They were largely successful in helping EU citizens travel without quarantines and other restrictions due to COVID. Under current rules, EU countries must accept vaccination certificates for a period of nine months following the latest dose of the primary vaccination or after the booster. A negative PCR test obtained no more than 72 hours before travel or a negative rapid antigen test no more than a day old can also be included in the certificate as proof of recovery no more than six months ago.

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