Weekly News highlights

Wasteserv has presented a full development application to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority for work to start on the controversial upgrading of the Sant'Antnin waste recycling plant.

Received by the authority on July 24, the application was published yesterday week. Stakeholders have up to next Sunday to submit their representations.

The project is being financed mainly through EU cohesion funds. The plant will process a third of waste produced in Malta and Gozo.

WasteServ CEO Vince Magri said on Monday that the work should be ready within nine months from starting.

Man charged with human trafficking 'flees country'

The Court ordered the arrest on Monday of a man who jumped bail and allegedly left Malta.

Sitting in the Court of Criminal Appeal, Chief Justice Vincent Degaetano upheld a request filed by deputy attorney general Mark Said to revoke Victor Philip Bajada's bail.

Dr Said said the police were informed that the accused had left the island illegally.

Last May, 28-year-old Bajada and his father Emanuel Bajada, 52, were accused of trafficking in humans for prostitution purposes.

Migrants land in Birzebbuga

A group of illegal immigrants landed in Birzebbuga early Tuesday morning.

The police said 20 men, six women and two children, who arrived on a boat, were spotted at about 6.30 a.m. just after they had landed in St George's Bay.

The immigrants were taken into custody by the police.

Investigations are underway.

Nine officials resign from GWU

Nine members of the executive committee of the GWU's public service section are resigning en bloc in solidarity with former section secretary, Josephine Attard Sultana, and its president, Francis Buttigieg, who were sacked by the union recently.

Vice-president Saviour Frendo, assistant secretaries Andrew Howard and Mary Rose Mifsud as well as members Joe Attard, Lawrence Darmanin, Paul Mizzi, Ottiglia Terribile, Jeremy Camilleri and Sandro Portelli are leaving all the posts they may hold within the union.

Delegates Joe Brincat and Charlie Attard are joining them.

This means there will now be only four members left on the committee.

This was announced on Wednesday during a press conference held by Ms Attard Sultana. Formal notice of the resignations had not yet been sent to the union but they will take effect as of last Wednesday.

In the meantime, calls for a new independent trade union are growing as the General Workers' Union "drives itself into a brick wall", former GWU assistant secretary general Emanuel Micallef claimed on Thursday.

Mr Micallef told The Times he had been approached by several house unions and their members who wanted to see him steering a new workers' movement. He said: "I hate management by crisis and I prefer to examine the situation."

Acts of vandalism

Paola was a target of two acts of vandalism over the past few days, one of which was on the local council premises.

Three sides of the building were defaced with spent oil while a number of round glass lampshades and a fountain at Lorry Sant garden were damaged.

Council employees found the burnt oil on Monday morning while the vandalism at the garden was reported on Wednesday morning.

In a separate case, Zurrieq National Party local councillors condemned the destruction of Snails Garden in the village by vandals on Wednesday night. Councillor Melvyn Mangion said the garden had been built with much dedication over many years by an elderly resident.

Mr Mangion, together with Mario Paul Ellul, another Nationalist councillor, also condemned the misuse of an open skip at Il-Karmelitani Square, Zurrieq.

Last Friday week, a number of dead rabbits were thrown in, to the disgust of residents who had to suffer the stench and inconvenience for three days before the private contractor finally emptied it.

The councillors insisted this skip should be removed and will further press their council on the issue during their next meeting tomorrow.

New proposal for Old Opera House

A proposal to turn the ruins of the Royal Opera House in Valletta into a permanent open-air performing space is to be submitted to the Prime Minister shortly by Culture and Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech.

Conceptual plans detailing the different uses of one of the most under-utilised areas of potential in Malta, have already been drawn up and are expected to be discussed at Government level.

Should the plans go through, Malta could soon have one of its largest cultural venues, at minimal cost.

When contacted, Dr Zammit Dimech said the plans show that the venue could provide a seating capacity of 1,200 during the summer months, roughly the equivalent of Malta's largest indoor venue, the Mediterranean Conference Centre.

The idea is to cover it in winter, when seating will be reduced to 1,000. Apart from all sorts of cultural activities, the venue could also be used for live television programmes.

The designs, drawn up by architect Adrian Mamo, include the creation of a makeshift stage and the addition of soft structures.

Search for missing man goes on

The search for Salvatore Xuereb, 78, who was reported missing last week, goes on. The man, 5'2" tall, thin and tanned, has brown eyes and grey hair. He was last seen wearing green trousers and a light yellow shirt.

The police are carrying out searches in different parts of the island. Anyone having information on his whereabouts can contact the police on 2122-1111.

New CEO at Malta Tourism Authority

David Mifsud, a former managing director of an electronics company, has been named as the new CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority.

He takes over on September 1, the second major appointment at the authority following the selection of Sam Mifsud as chairman.

The two take over at a difficult time for the industry, as arrivals hit a 10-year low and the MTA comes under increasing pressure to deliver. It recently launched a Brand Malta campaign aimed at getting everybody involved in plugging Malta's selling points.

Malta 'still on course to join euro'

Government insists that Malta is still on course to join the euro in 2008 despite rising inflation figures, but is "very concerned" about the effect it is having on people's standard of living.

The National Statistics Office announced on Thursday that the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices increased last month to 3.1 per cent - which is 0.3 of a percentage point above the current limit set by the EU to join the euro.

Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech told The Times on Friday: "We are still very close to the (EU's) reference value so it is not an insurmountable issue".