Man had rights breached after spending 274 additional nights in jail
A man who endured an additional 274 days of incarceration while awaiting an appeal regarding his conviction for assaulting his former partner, Yana Mintoff Bland, and her son, has been awarded €10,000 in compensation following a court ruling that his human rights were violated. The court determined that Gheorghe Popa had spent an extended period behind bars due to judicial delays, as his appeal remained unresolved for over five years. Popa, a 45-year-old Romanian national, had originally been sentenced to six years in prison for the assault on Mintoff Bland and her son in October 2016.Yana Mintoff Bland, the daughter of the late Prime Minister Dom Mintoff and a former electoral candidate for the Labour Party, was the victim of the assault. (Times of Malta)
No more migrants residing at Marsa Open Centre
Marsa Mayor Josef Azzopardi declared that the Marsa Open Centre is now officially devoid of migrants. “I am pleased to announce on this program that the Marsa Open Centre no longer houses any asylum seekers,” Azzopardi stated during Monday evening’s broadcast. Addressing the issue on TVM’s Xtra, Azzopardi emphasized one of the most significant challenges faced by the Marsa community: the overcrowding of the Open Centre. The mayor elaborated on how, despite its capacity designed for 500 individuals, the centre consistently operated at full capacity, with migrants seeking refuge or asylum. (Maltatoday)
PN laments removal of Maltese as cabin crew requirement
The Nationalist Party insisted that proficiency in the Maltese language should be a requirement for the crew of the new national airline, KM Malta Airlines. Tourism Shadow Minister Mario De Marco expressed concern over the revelation that the cabin crew of Malta’s new national carrier would not be mandated to speak Maltese, emphasizing that this marks a significant departure from the past 50 years. The statement comes following revelations that Malta’s new national carrier’s cabin crew will not be required to speak Maltese. “Of course, the use of other languages can and should be used together with the Maltese language, but not to its exclusion. In this way, the national and international elements are respected,” de Marco said. (The Malta Independent)
