Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1498713
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 MAY 2023 NEWS PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT OF CALLS / INITIATIVES UNDER CAP SP 2023-2027 The Ministry responsible for EU Funds pre-announces the issuing of an Expression of Interest (EoI) for registered foundations to act as Local Action Groups under the following Intervention of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP SP) 2023-2027: • Intervention 77.3: Cooperation: L.E.A.D.E.R. The EoI, including the relevant documentation, will open on Monday 15 th May 2023 and will close on Thursday, 15 th June 2023 at noon. These will be available on the website fondi.eu. For more information, the Managing Authority can be contacted by email on fondi.eu@gov.mt or on telephone number 2555 2634. An information session, details of which will be communicated in due course on the website fondi.eu, will be held on Wednesday 24 th May at 15:00. Those interested in participating in the information session are kindly invited to register their interest by Friday 19 th May 2023 by sending an email to fondi.eu@gov.mt. Same court clears motorist whose driving caused victim disability CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 It transpired from the pro- ceedings that the accident was not in fact a hit-and-run, as the accused had emerged from the car to help the victim's sister. Before criminal procedures were initiated, the victim's law- yers had already settled damages with the driver's insurance, with insurers contesting neither the responsibility or the amount. Handing down the judgment on 2 May, Magistrate Yana Mi- callef Stafrace cleared the man of all charges in the criminal court. This transpires from the fact in criminal proceedings, any doubt runs in favour of the accused, as both parties were insisting they were not in the wrong. The verdict was delivered by the same magistrate who con- victed 27-year-old Renald Aqui- lina of causing grievous injuries to the victim, with dangerous and reckless driving, at 110km/ hr in a built-up area, but handed him a suspended sentence (See page 6: No justice for woman run over by taxi driver). The decision has been wide- ly criticised for its leniency, with many calling for the need to amend the Criminal Code so that penalties for dangerous driving reflected the gravity of the act. Speaking during a parliamen- tary debate on a bill amending the Traffic Regulation Act to raise the fines and penalty point deductions for traffic contra- ventions, Opposition shadow minister for home affairs Joe Giglio said it was not enough to raise the fines, but the pro- visions of the Criminal Code needed to be updated as well to serve as a proper deterrent. Article 226 of the Criminal Code only speaks about a mo- torist causing grievous or slight injuries, without a proper defi- nition of either. "It was clearly the time to in- troduce a graded system where the penalty fitted the crime, in this case the consequences of reckless driving," he said. The Criminal Code lays down a fine not exceeding €11,600 and a prison term of not more than four years for anyone who causes the death of a person while driving "through impru- dence, carelessness, unskilful- ness in his art or profession, or non-observance of regulations." Where grievous bodily harm ensues, the offender shall, on conviction, be liable to impris- onment for a term not exceed- ing one year or to a fine not ex- ceeding €4,658.75. When the injury does not cause permanent debility of any organ of the body, or any per- manent defect the punishment is a prison term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceed- ing €2,329.37. If the harm is slight, the punishment is as that for contraventions. MATTHEW AGIUS TWO men have died following a road accident in Mosta early on Saturday. In a statement, the police said that the fatal collision, involving Smart Fortwo, driv- en by a 41-year-old man from Mellieha and a Yamaha Cryp- ton motorcycle had occurred at around 6am on Triq ta' Że- jfa, Mosta. Two men, aged 41 and 33, from St. Paul's Bay had been on the motorcycle. One of the riders was certified dead at the scene, the other died lat- er in hospital. The other mo- torist's injuries were subse- quently classified as "slight." A magisterial inquiry has been appointed and police are also investigating the in- cident. *** In a separate accident, a 16-year-old youth from Bormla suffered serious inju- ries when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a car in Birżebbuġa on Friday after- noon. In a statement, the police said that the incident had oc- curred at around 4:30pm on Saturday in Triq San Tumas, Birżebbuġa. Initial investigations at the scene had established that the 16-year-old had been riding the Yamaha motorcy- cle involved in the collision with a Honda Fit driven by a 54-year-old woman from Birżebbuġa. The motorcyclist was taken to hospital by ambulance and was certified as having been grievously injured. Police investigations are on- going. but comes from a mixed family - his mother is Maltese and his father Syrian – said he expect- ed more from their reaction. "I expected these so-called Syrian Community to issue a state- ment to denounce any form of ISIS practices and ideologies and Islamic practices that go against human rights, such as under-age marriages (which we know are happening in Malta) not an empty statement that means nothing," he said on a Facebook thread. "I met with Syrians in Mal- ta who believe ISIS are good and they are doing a good job in Syria and that is why I am writing this comment," Rabba- bah said. "Let us call a spade a spade as we are still in time be- cause we may go to a point of no return." Two die, multiple injured in separate accidents