Turtles released after rehab

Two loggerhead turtles were released from Ġnejna Bay after months of rehabilitation at Fort San Luċjan. The first one, Popeye, was found entangled in abandoned fishing debris and had a lung infection following the ingestion of plastic. The second turtle, Catherine, was also found entangled in marine debris and bits
of plastic but also has an old, visible injury indicating a boat strike.

What made the headlines

Ex-senior policeman to be charged in drink-driving incident: Former Assistant Police Commissioner Mario Tonna is to be charged in relation to a drink-driving hit-and-run incident in November. Mr Tonna was expected to be arraigned by summons last Monday following a car accident last March, but when the case was called, one of the lawyers was unable to attend. Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace put the case off till November.

Warning over low groundwater levels: Malta continues to have “significant problems” with its groundwater levels, according to the EU’s environmental watchdog. The European Environment Agency’s European Waters report for 2018 says that Malta is among the three southern Member States, the others being Cyprus and Spain, where groundwater levels are drying up fast. The main pressure on the subterranean reservoirs, the agency said, was water extraction – the pumping out of water for public supply, agriculture and industry.

Hugo Chetcuti, 52, dies: Well-known entrepreneur Hugo Chetcuti died six days after he was stabbed in Paceville. Mr Chetcuti was stabbed by a former employee on a busy Friday night outside one of his own establishments. The attack was witnessed by several individuals. Sources said the entrepreneur died after post-operation infections brought on by the three stab wounds to his stomach.  Bojan Cmelik, 35, a Serbian national, was charged with the attack after the police chased him all the way from Paceville to Sliema.

Marsa flyover project goes to Turkish firm: Turkish firm Ayhanlar Yol Asfaltlama will be constructing one of the largest road projects in Malta – a seven-tiered flyover in Marsa – after the Maltese consortium that made a bid for the lucrative project lost its appeal, the Times of Malta revealed. The Public Contracts Review Board decided that Ayhanlar should be awarded the project for €38.8 million, which was €500,000 cheaper than the rival bid.

EBA says FIAU breached anti-money-laundering directive: The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) breached the requirements of a directive on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, the European Banking Authority (EBA) concluded. “The EBA concluded that the FIAU failed to conduct an effective supervision of Pilatus Bank due to a number of failures, including procedural deficiencies and lack of supervisory actions by the FIAU after its decision to close the case without imposing any sanctions on the bank,” the authority said. The EU’s banking watchdog was in February asked by MEPs to open a preliminary enquiry on the possible breach of EU law by the Maltese authorities in relation to Pilatus Bank. The authority made a series of eight recommendations to the FIAU, calling for it to ensure that it takes the appropriate measures to ascertain it carries out its obligations under EU law. The PN called for an independent investigation into what led to the shortcomings at the FIAU identified by the EBA.

Simon Busuttil wins case on recusal of Antonio Mizzi: A court upheld a request by former Opposition leader Simon Busuttil that a case surrounding the Panama Papers not be heard by Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi because of a conflict of interest stemming the judge’s wife being a Labour MEP. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, his chief of staff, Keith Schembri, and Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi, together with businessmen Brian Tonna, Karl Cini, Malcolm Scerri and Adrian Hillman each filed separate appeals against a magisterial decision to green light an inquiry in their regard. Those appeals were assigned to Mr Justice Mizzi, prompting a challenge by Dr Busuttil on the grounds that the judge’s wife, Labour MEP Marlene Mizzi, had expressed her views on the Panama Papers scandal.

20-year-old arraigned over traffic accident fatality: A young motorist accused of having killed a 19-year-old Dutchman and injuring seven other tourists in a traffic accident in St Julian’s last week wrote in a statement that he could not forgive himself and he “hated” himself for causing the tragedy. Twenty-year-old Michael Caruana-Turner of Birkirkara was arraigned in court and cried occasionally in the dock, while his mother sobbed behind him. A plea of not-guilty was entered. The charges against Mr Caruana-Turner include drink-driving.

What trended

‘Incompetence galore’

The news that four patients at Mount Carmel Hospital had been rushed to Mater Dei Hospital, three of them unconscious, suffering from a synthetic drug overdose, led to a chorus of criticism aimed at the authorities. 

“Mount Carmel has become like a horror movie. People are dying there right left and centre,” one reader said. Another added: “The authorities are clueless on how to run Mount Carmel. Total incompetence.”

“Disgusting, incompetence gal-ore! And as always no one will assume responsibility and res-ign,” one reader remarked. One criticised the fitness of the facility: “Drug addicts should neither be at Mount Carmel nor in prison. They should be in appropriate places where there are programmes aimed at helping them recover, and we need more of such places.”

Another reader called for a thorough public inquiry: “The goings-on at Mount Carmel Hospital are a national disgrace. The situation calls not for an ‘internal investigation’, which will inevi-tably attempt to hush things up and to limit collateral damage, but for a proper public inquiry on the lines of that being conducted following the Grenfell Tower incident in London.”

He added: “Only a proper independent and public inquiry can reassure the public that the rights of patients are being safeguarded, while at the same time ensuring that systemic deficiencies are identified and individual responsibility, if any, properly apportioned. Everything else, including statements by the Health Minister and by the Commissioner for Mental Health, are just claptrap.”

Government silence

Finance Minister Edward Scic-luna’s refusal to comment on the European Banking Authority’s conclusion that the FIAU had breached EU money-laundering laws in supervising Pilatus Bank – except to say he “never interfered” in regulatory authorities’ work – led to a barrage of criticism.

“Prof. Scicluna, identifying shortcomings of a unit that is under your responsibility is not interference, but your duty,” one observer stressed.

Another said the minister must resign, adding: “But then again, shouldering responsibility is not really a quality most Maltese politicians subscribe to. And I mean politicians of both colours.”

One person identified a conflict of interest in the matter: “The point at issue is whether the Ministry of Finance is in a position to identify that the FIAU is breaching EU law. There is a clear conflict of interest in this case, since Attorney General Peter Grech is in fact the chairman of FIAU. So, in fact, the government is relying on the advice of Dr Grech (as Attorney General) on whether that Peter Grech (as chairman of FIAU) is breaching EU law.”

What they said

“Children still in school, and students in sixth form. This is who we are creating jobs for – the next generation.”

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat defending his government’s economic record while speaking on Labour’s One Radio.

“Europe’s inability to address this humanitarian crisis shows it is seriously sick, it has lost its social bearings. Europe has thrown its founding principles overboard, principles such as solidarity, justice, equality and others.”

Gozo Bishop Mario Grech speaking in a hard-hitting homily in Kerċem about Europe’s failure to tackle the migration crisis .

“Is it possible that we are living in such a shameful country that you have to speak to people to get an appointment in the State’s hospital?”

Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia claiming, in an interview on Net FM, that people have to speak to those close to the Labour Party in order to see a doctor.

“Can I be just if my conscience tells me I have imposed conditions that might make it difficult for a person to be reintegrated into society?”

Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera speaking during her inaugural sitting, where she stressed the importance of being both a good and a just judge.

“We cannot afford weak links in our fight against money laundering. I already made this point when I visited Malta.”

Věra Jourová, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, commenting on the European Banking Authority’s confirmation that the FIAU  had breached EU law when it failed to conduct an effective supervision of Pilatus Bank.