Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1520358
9 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 MAY 2024 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS magius@mediatoday.com.mt MATTHEW AGIUS magius@mediatoday.com.mt NICOLE MEILAK nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt HOME affairs minister By- ron Camilleri met with Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar on Tuesday for talks in Benghazi on security challenges in the Mediterranean. In a press statement on Tues- day, the home affairs ministry said the two sides agreed on further cooperation between Malta and East Libya, primar- ily on training, education, and combatting human trafficking and criminal activity. "Collaboration between Libya and neighbouring countries like Malta can benefit the citizens of Malta and Libya, and their interests in the two countries," Camilleri said. Last year, a Maltese diplomat- ic delegation met with Haftar – a diplomatic first at the time. The minister was not part of this delegation back then. Camilleri was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and Euro- pean Affairs and Trade Chris- topher Cutajar, the Secretary to the Cabinet Ryan Spagnol, AFM Commander Clinton O'Neill, Director-General of the Civil Protection Department Peter Paul Coleiro, and Immigration Ambassador Malcolm Cutajar, among others. Home Affairs Minister meets with Eastern Libya military leader Khalifa Haftar Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar (left) shakes hands with Malta's Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri (Photo: MHSE) Construction worker pleads guilty to string of burglaries in Msida Man charged with trashing his ex-partner's house A court heard that the police had been investigating a series of break-ins and burglaries from apartments in Msida and had discovered that the burglar would gain entry to the block of f lats through small hatches on the roof Ex-partner tells court the man entered her house and went on a destructive rampage A 27-year-old construc- tion worker has admitted to having carried out a string of burglaries targeting apart- ments in Msida in March and April. Hussein Aldghim, a Syrian national living in Hamrun was arraigned before magistrate Giannella Camilleri Busittil on Tuesday, accused of four counts of aggravated theft and two further counts of at- tempted aggravated theft. Police Inspectors Eman Hayman and Stephen Gulia explained that the police had been investigating a series of break-ins and burglaries from apartments in Msida and had discovered that the burglar would gain entry to the block of flats through small hatches on the roof. The breakthrough came on Sunday, when the police were informed that a suspicious person had been sighted in the block. Officers went to the scene, where they arrested Aldghim, whom they recognised from CCTV foot- age collected following previ- ous burglaries. Aldghim pleaded guilty to the charges, confirming his admission after being given time to reconsider. The court then asked the prosecution to provide a val- ue of what had been stolen, with a view to ordering the man to repay it, but was told that this information was not immediately available. The magistrate adjourned the case to May 17 in order for the prosecution to estab- lish the amount, after which it is expected to sentence the burglar. A man has been remanded in cus- tody after allegedly letting himself into his estranged partner's house and trashing it, as well as threaten- ing the woman. Inspector Sherona Buhagiar arraigned the 50-year-old man from Fgura on charges of causing his ex-partner to fear violence, breaching a restraining order, committing an offence while on bail, criminal damage and threat- ening the woman with an impro- vised weapon. He was further charged with hav- ing threatened three police officers in a bid to intimidate them into not performing their duties on 5 May and breaching a restraining order. Inspector Buhagiar told Magis- trate Giannella Camilleri Busuttil that a woman had filed a police re- port claiming that her ex-partner had entered her apartment with- out her permission, turned on the radio "full blast", before going on a destructive rampage inside her home. Police officers arrested him in the act of smashing items on the ground, she said, adding that the man had also threatened the of- ficers. Both he and his partner were convicted of offences against each other last February and had been placed under mutual restraining orders. Lawyer Peter Paul Zammit, as- sisting the man as defence coun- sel, informed the court that his cli- ent was pleading not guilty to the charges, but was not requesting bail because "the only habitable address he has is the matrimonial home and although he had been offered the option of living with his mother, she is 89 years old and he does not want to trouble her." "The defendant does not want to return to his house as long as his partner is residing there, due to a number of incidents, including to- day's, in which he is insisting that he is being victimised by her." Lawyer Matthew Xuereb, who is assisting the woman as parte civile together with lawyer Jeanine De- pasquale, said that the couple have a long history of marital problems and that the courts had warned the man time and again to find a middle ground with his former partner about access to the house. Inspector Buhagiar added that previous courts had drawn up a roster stipulating when either par- ty could use the property, but said that the defendant was not stick- ing to it.