Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1468033
6 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 18 MAY 2022 NEWS LAURA CALLEJA NATIONALIST MP Graziella Galea has lam- basted the government for failing to answer questions about why the car park underneath the new Qawra primary school is still not ac- cessible to the public two years on. In a parliamentary question to Education Minister Clifton Grima, Galea asked for in- formation as to when the car park will be open to the public. But Grima would only say the information will be released during a lat- er sitting. "Will another summer pass and this car park remain unused by residents? I hope not!" Galea said in a subsequent Facebook post. The Qawra primary school which opened its doors to students in 2020, has an under- lying car park that can host 400 vehicles. The school was opened after a three-year delay, with a cost of €13 million to build. At the time, government had made a whole song and dance on the fact that new schools in Qawra and Marsaskala will have communi- ty parking facilities incorporated to alleviate the problem in the respective areas. Howev- er, despite the Qawra school having opened in 2020 and the Marsaskala school in 2019, none of the two underlying parking facilities are being used by the community. So far, no plausible explanation has been given for the lack of use of the parking facili- ties in both localities. The Qawra school was built to house 650 students and boasts an underlying car park for 400 vehicles Qawra school car park remains unused despite government fanfare on building schools with parking facilities MATTHEW AGIUS AN 18 year-old MCAST student was ar- raigned for covertly filming students using the college bathrooms, charges which he is denying. Arraigned by Inspector Godwin Scerri be- fore Magistrate Josette Demicoli on Tuesday afternoon, the San Gwann man was charged with taking pictures of a sexual nature and misuse of electronic telecommunications equipment, after allegedly being caught us- ing his mobile phone to film other unwitting students using the men's toilets. Videos relating to two different individuals were found, with the prosecution telling the court that more victims could come forward. The charges carry a potential prison sen- tence of up to two years, as well as a fine of up to €5,000. Members of the accused's immediate fami- ly were present in the courtroom during the arraignment. The validity of the arrest was not contested by the defence lawyers, who entered a plea of not guilty on the youth's behalf. The prose- cution exhibited a written statement, signed by the accused. Police received a report from another stu- dent who said the accused had been filming him from above from an adjacent toilet stall. He had detained the accused and informed the authorities. There were also other vide- os, said the inspector. Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri, defence counsel, requested bail and a ban on the publication of the names of the parties involved. A request for a temporary supervision and treatment order was also made. Azzopardi stressed this was not to be construed as an admission of any sort, but the investigation had revealed a number of things which would best be addressed by a specialist acting as the "long arm" of the court. The accused is currently suspended from school, said the lawyer, suggesting that he be prohibited from entering the school prem- ises. The accused's mobile phone has been seized by the police and contained all the ev- idence, the lawyer said. Inspector Scerri did not object to the re- quest for the ban on publication of the names of those involved, but said the public needed to be aware of the place where the alleged offences took place. The prosecution also did not object to bail, but insisted the accused be prohibited from approaching the school and that the court impose a strong financial deterrent. Magistrate Demicoli upheld the request for a ban on the publication of the name of the accused and the details of the alleged victims. The court addressed the accused directly, telling him that he would have to attend ap- pointments with a court-appointed medical professional and follow his advice, or face a fine of nearly €2,000 which would be con- verted to jail time if he was unable to pay. She asked him whether he accepted. The accused, who appeared to have difficulty ex- pressing himself, eventually said "I accept", in English. Setting bail at €2,000 with a personal guar- antee of €6,000, the court placed the accused under temporary supervision and treatment orders, a curfew, and ordered him to stay away from his college campus. Student charged with covert filming of colleagues using MCAST bathrooms WIZZ Air is setting up a new airline with its principal base being Malta, the Transport Ministry and the airline an- nounced on Tuesday. The low-cost airline will file an appli- cation for its Maltese subsidiary, Wizz Air Malta, to be granted an Air Oper- ator's Certificate (AOC) with the Eu- ropean Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and an Operating Licence (OL) with Malta Civil Aviation Directorate. The company said that subject to con- firmation of its AOC and OL from the EASA and CAD, Wizz Air Malta may begin operations in October 2022 with Malta-registered aircraft. Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia said this was another indication that Malta was "truly the preferred jurisdic- tion in the aviation industry." The minister said the announcement was made after months of discussion between the CAD and EASA. He ex- plained that the airline would register a substantial amount of aircraft in Malta, further increasing the already strong 9H fleet on the island. 9H is the Malta registration. Farrugia said the creation of the new airline would positively impact Malta's economy and generate additional jobs significantly. It will also lead to further opportunities and initiatives. Wizz Air Chief Executive Officer József Váradi said the airline was con- stantly evaluating its business structure and exploring options to establish new AOCs and bases in Europe and beyond. "The successful establishment of Wizz Air Malta later this year will help to reinforce our strong position and support our expansion plans in Europe. We look forward to working with EA- SA and the Maltese CAD to take this application forward," Váradi said. Civil Aviation Directorate Head Capt. Charles Pace said the announcement was a feather in the cap of the directo- rate staff, who are engaged in "support- ive and fair regulatory oversight" Wizz Air to set up Malta base, fly Malta-registered aircraft from October