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16 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 JULY 2023 NEWS ACROSS 1) Part of Einstein's formula 5) Against property, in law 10) Cause for stitches 14) Gets off the fence 15) Apt to pout 16) Friend in war 17) "Easier Said __ Done" 18) Put forth, as a theory 19) One-for-one deal 20) Fish caught in a pot 21) Be extraordinary, in an annoying way 23) Place of refuge 25) Pain reliever brand 26) Divulge a secret 32) Ecological community 33) Noted 2001 bankruptcy filer 34) Kendrick of "Pitch Per- fect" 35) "Psycho" motel name 36) Book's ID 40) Way out there 41) Toastmaster's opening 42) Meet expectations 45) Massey of old movies 47) Gas in Vegas 48) Drink too much 53) Hair cream smidgen 56) In the know about 57) Rude sort 58) Scarlett's estate 59) Take it all off 60) Door creaker 61) Singer-actor Kristofferson 62) Bunker filler 63) Author Joyce Carol __ 64) Tote board stat DOWN 11) "G'day" speaker 2) Need 25-Across, perhaps 3) Creed's nickname for Balboa 4) Payroll ID 5) Pass on, as wisdom 6) Cozy spot 7) Tudor __ (emblem of England) 8) Trim to fit, maybe 9) It's not really true 10) Container in a shed, perhaps 11) Without fail 12) Satisfy, as thirst 13) All worked up 21) Flooring piece 22) Abba of Israel 24) __ mater 26) Start-up helper (Abbr.) 27) One of at least two in a split 28) Ledger of "Brokeback Mountain" 29) ___ nous (confidentially) 30) Silvery fish 31) Dawn goddess 35) Short-order sandwich, in short 36) Fascinated by 37) Like some transmissions 38) "It's freezing!" 39) Gesture while saying 41-Down 40) Rocky Mountains state 41) "Understood" 42) Joseph of "Shadow of a Doubt" 43) Incalculable, as wealth 44) Family men 45) Stack-selling eateries 46) Top part of a form 49) Tunnel bounceback 50) Sect of Islam 51) Counterpart of 44-Down 52) Overpowering itch 54) Like Death Valley 55) Male voice 58) Bout outcome, for short F Solution to last week's crossword The answers to today's crossword will be published in next week's Midweek edition Weather Rather cloudy Visibility Good Wind East Southeast force 3 to 4 becoming East Northeast force 5. To the South of Malta: East Southeast force 4 to 5 becoming East force 5 to 6 TOMORROW Crossword WEATHER HOT & SUNNY 40 0 / 27 0 TODAY HOT & SUNNY 39 0 / 27 0 FEELS LIKE 40 0 FEELS LIKE 41 0 SHADOW justice minister Karol Aquilina has called on the Attorney General to pub- licly provide a comprehensive account of the contacts she had with Prime Minister Robert Abela and the justice minister Jon- athan Attard. Aquilina was referring to comments made by the PM upon announcing a pub- lic inquiry into the death of 19-year-old Jean Paul Sofia, claiming that Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia had requested a two- month 'extension' to the ongoing magiste- rial inquiry. The magisterial inquiry is separate to the public inquiry. "Attorney General Dr Victoria Buttigieg must provide a comprehensive account of the contacts she had and the informa- tion passed on to Robert Abela and Jona- than Attard in relation to the magisterial inquiry into the tragic death of Jean Paul Sofia," Aquilina said. "It is unacceptable and entirely deplora- ble that information in the possession of the Attorney General regarding an on- going magisterial inquiry is being used by Robert Abela and Jonathan Attard for political purposes. This is a clear abuse of power and a betrayal of the obligations the Attorney General has towards the Maltese and Gozitan people." Aquilina insisted that the Labour minis- ters were deceiving the public after months of strong resistance to the Nationalist Par- ty's parliamentary motion for a parallel, public inquiry into the construction inci- dent that claimed Sofia's life. "If Buttigieg fails to provide a compre- hensive account of the contacts she had and the information passed on to Abela and Attard, it would once again confirm that she is being manipulated and con- trolled by them, violating her constitution- al obligations to act independently and not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority," Aquilina said. The controversy over the Jean Paul Sofia magisterial inquiry is drawing the inquir- ing magistrate into a propaganda war be- ing registered on social media. A vigil for Sofia, the 19-year-old victim of a construction collapse, was held out- side Castille Square in Valletta on Monday evening after Abela relented on his refusal for a public inquiry. On Abela's U-turn, communicated per- sonally to Sofia's mother Isabelle Bonnici, news also emerged that the inquiring mag- istrate had requested a two-month exten- sion on the inquiry. Government critics, chiefly former Na- tionalist MP Jason Azzopardi, accused the Abela administration of misinformation in its bid to pin procedural delays on the So- fia magisterial inquiry on Magistrate Mar- seann Farrugia. Abela has long criticised delays in this inquiry by way of explaining his refusal to launch a public inquiry into the Sofia construction death. "Victoria Buttigieg is in collusion with the government to foment the lie on the inquiring magistrate, to induce the magis- trate to submit a simple note on the delay as per Article 550 [COCP], so that the gov- ernment uses it as an excuse," Azzopardi claimed on Facebook. The law mandates magistrates to inform the Attorney General of the reason for any delay in the completion of such inquir- ies every 60 days. At law, the magistrate's inquiry is presented only to the Attorney General, not to the government. When the inquiry is not completed within two months or 60 days, the magistrate informs the AG with a report within three days of the lapse of that period. The 'report' is procedural and is repeated every month, but critics insist this is not a request to extend the inquiry The minister for justice, Jonathan Attard, reacted to statements on social media at- tacking AG Victoria Buttigieg, claiming a judicial writ she filed on the inquiry 'delay' was the only way to keep the inquiring magistrate "accountable". "This legal procedure has been uses for years, with the AG last year filing 505 such procedural writs in these pending magis- terial inquiries. I unequivocally condemn the senseless attacks against the AG." PN says Attorney General must reveal correspondence with PM over Sofia inquiry Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg