Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1467437
2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 11 MAY 2022 2 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Zelenskyy reiterated his call for weapons and military equip- ment to be made available to his country as it defended itself from Russian aggression, draw- ing comparison with Malta's de- fence by British Spitfires during World War II. He delivered a speech to the Maltese parliament at 4pm on Tuesday through a video call, af- ter which the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition also re- plied back with a short speech. The Ukrainian President ap- peared wearing a green shirt, flanked by two Ukrainian flags. Speaker Anglu Farrugia gave a brief message to Zelenskyy be- fore the address. "Excellency, as you are surely aware, Malta's neutrality as entrenched in our constitution does not allow us to contribute militarily. This doesn't mean we turn a blind eye to the humanitarian crisis your country goes to." "As a nation, we remain com- mitted to providing humanitari- an assistance, on the ground and locally." He said that parliamentary di- plomacy plays an important role in conflict resolution, providing dialogue while fostering solu- tions. He encouraged the Ukrainian and Russian parliaments to en- gage in dialogue as a solution to the conflict. Addressing the House, Zelen- skyy spoke in his native lan- guage, while an interpreter gave an English translation. "We don't have a conflict, we have a war," he said of Farrugia's mes- sage. "This is why words are not it these days, but torturing and killing isn't happening between Russia and Ukraine but on our territory." He said that his government is doing all it can to bring peace to Ukraine. Zelenskyy went on to recall Malta's experiences in World 'The future of Europe LUKE VELLA DAVID Cooley, a 70-year-old pensioner from Cork in Ire- land, who had been severely injured by a drunk driver in Malta in 2019, was awarded €3.1million by the Irish High Court. Cooley had been living in a nursing home and has had to use a wheelchair ever since the accident occurred, the Irish Examiner reported. The acci- dent occurred on 5 April 2019 at 1am at Windsor Street in Sliema, when Cooley had been walking back to his hotel with his wife and friends, when he was hit by a car and thrown in- to the air. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, as well as injuries to his chest, hip, leg and arm and was in an induced coma. Soon after the accident, the Maltese driv- er from Mosta had been taken in by police for questioning and failed a breathalyzer test. Cooley's lawyer, Daniel Wall, alleged that the driver had been five times over the legal drinking limit when arrested and criticised the way the case was handled by the Maltese authorities. "David, on holidays in Malta, was knocked down by a drunk driver who was five times the drink-driving limit when ar- rested. There has been no prosecution to date in Malta. David left Malta in an air am- bulance in April 2019. Since then, there has been no com- munication from the police service in Malta or the Mal- ta Justice Department," Wall said. Cooley had sued Mapfre Middlesea, the insurance com- pany for the driver. His counsel, Thomas Creed, said Cooley made excellent progress and regained cog- nitive functions. He said his wife Margaret and their three daughters wanted to be able to care for Mr Cooley at home. Irish pensioner wins €3 million compensation after Maltese drunk driver left him severely disabled 70-year-old David Cooley was hit by a drunk driver in Sliema in 2019, suffered a traumatic brain injury, as well as injuries to his chest, hip, leg and arm