Woman guilty for locking vulnerable woman in unsanitary room with dogs

Jan 27 2022

Anna Maria Jimenez, a 38-year-old woman resident of Birżebbuġia, was sentence to two years in prison suspended for three years after she was found guilty of locking up a woman with intellectual disabilities for 17 hours a day.The woman, 39-years-old, was locked in a room filled with unbearable smells and two dogs. The culprit used to work as a cleaner at the hospital, locking the other woman in her bedroom between 10am until she goes back home at 3pm.

She was also found guilty of threatening another woman who lived with her in the same apartment to give her money for rent, demanding she hand over her credit and PIN number. The case came under investigation by the police after a report was filed at Aġenzija Appoġġ. When police went to the home of Jimenez, the woman was found assembling Playmobil toys alongside two dogs in a room with a wretched stench.

In her testimony, the vulnerable woman said that Jimenez used to lock her up in a room without electricity and was forced to use a bucket as a toilet and to wash the room. She was allegedly only let out of the room to assemble toys and take the dogs out. The woman was threatened with lack of food if she were not to finish assembling the toys. A witness from Playmobil confirmed that Jimenez used to take around 2,000 toys daily and they used to pay her for putting them together.

The other woman also testified that the salary used to go into Jimenez’s bank account. Magistrate Claire Stafrace Żammit said that the testimony of the two women sounded truthful. The Magistrate also confirmed that Jimenez used to threaten the women that they would be kicked out of the house or from work. She however did not find her guilty of threatening the victim because no certificates were presented to show that the woman had sustained any injuries. This is not the first time Jimenez had a brush with the law. In 2016, she was sentenced to four years in jail after she was found guilty of pimping a 15-year-old girl out for prostitution.

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Photo Source: The Local Italy, ConstitutionNet

€626.3 million in aid for families and business during pandemic

Jan 27 2022

During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, government expenditure was characterised by a substantial increase in costs for the economy and health. Social expenditure remained the highest in 2020.

The largest expenditure in the social sector was pensions, wherein costs reach up to a billion in euros. The second largest expenditure of €626.3 million was for financial aid given to families and businesses during the pandemic.

Slightly more than half a billion euros were spent on hospitals. This was revealed by official digits published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in a review of public finances for 2020.

The government spent around €946 million and a half in public finances when compared to the previous year at around €6,002 million.

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Disney+ streaming service confirmed for Malta this summer

Jan 27 2022

If you’ve delved into every possible show on Netflix and are frustrated you can’t keep up with what Marvel’s doing with their series – fret no more!The popular streaming service from the Walt Disney Company, Disney+, has just confirmed that it will be launching its streaming service to 42 new countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa this summer.

And yes, Malta is one of them! So far, the only streaming services available on the island are Netflix and Amazon Prime. Disney+ will bring yet more shows and content to our shores as it collaborates with Marvel, Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and even National Geographic. The current registration to streaming service in Italy amounts to €8.99 a month or a yearly subscription fee of €89.90. This also comes just as Netflix announced an update to its prices this year.

The streaming service launched in the fall of 2019, made available to only a handful of European countries. As it expands, it posits some competition for Netflix – but we’ll doubt people are willing to give up on Netflix just like that.That means more subscriptions, but also more fees, for TV lovers. Disney+ has long been awaited however, as it has content which people are absolutely obsessed over. We’ll see how it impacts other services on the island.

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Bernard Grech calls to remove ‘discriminatory’ vaccine rules for culture and sports

Jan 27 2022

Opposition leader Bernard Grech urged the government to scrap the COVID-19 vaccine certificate requirements for sports and cultural events along with those authorities announced will be retracted.

Grech described the current rules as ‘discriminatory’, saying that measures keep getting introduced and scrapped.

‘Now that the PN has spoken in favour of freedoms and against discrimination, the people have risen up against you and the election is approaching, the government has suddenly realised that the rules introduced on the 17th of January had to be removed’ said the PN leader in Parliament yesterday.

He said that the PN speak out of conviction and the Labour government speak out of convenience. ‘This is the main difference between us’ said Grech.

Grech brought up a discussion he had with a mother who welcomed the news of easing measures but was worried due to her unvaccinated daughter not being able to go to training yet. He said that he told her to ‘have faith’ because the Opposition will speak on her behalf. ‘In [the PN’s] eyes, you and your daughter are both important.’

Grech went on to accuse the government of displaying a complete lack of empathy for people who are concerned about the booster for medical reasons and urged it to provide a sense of certainty as to whether village feasts will be allowed in summer.

This comes as Health Minister Chris Fearne announced, ten days after vaccine entry rules came into force, that there are plans to ease them in the coming weeks. The Deputy Prime Minister argued this was possible because some 75% of the population has been boosted with hospitalisations remaining low.

Jab certificates will no longer be obligatory to enter restaurants, snack bars, or każini as of 7th February, and they will not be obligatory for bars, gyms and pools as of the 14th. However, the rules will remain obligatory for casinos, nightclubs, travel, sports and events.

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