Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/535515
2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 JULY 2015 News Teenager suffers severe burns in petard explosion 15-year-old suffers hand and facial burns after igniting part of a petard which then exploded in his face A 15-year-old boy from Sta Ven- era was grievously injured on Monday night, after igniting a petard part that he had found the previous day. The case was reported to the police at around 9:30pm, when the teenager was rushed to the Accident and Emergency Depart- ment at Mater Dei Hospital with hand and facial burns. Preliminary police investiga- tions established that the teenag- er had been watching a fireworks display at Tal-Blat in Qormi when he found an unignited petard in the vicinity of where the pyro- technics were being let off. He took the part and decided to ignite it on Monday at around 8:40pm at the Mriehel Industrial Estate. The petard immediately ex- ploded in his hands, causing the serious injuries. The case is being investigated by the Qormi district police. MATTHEW VELLA THE wife of evangelical pastor Gordon-John Manché, Mariella Blackman, has filed a libel suit against The Sunday Times over a report claiming to carry state- ments by patients who were quot- ed saying that she carried out gay reparation therapy on them. Blackman, a former president of the Malta Union of Professional Psychologists, denied reports that she had dubbed gay people as "disgusting", or that she carried out reparative treatment on gay patients. "The allegations are a gross cal- umny and absurdity," she said in her libel suit. She added that the article was intended as an attack on her hus- band, who runs the River of Love ministry and whose views on ho- mosexuality have attracted no- toriety over the years. "Over the years there have been various attacks on my husband by the gay rights community, attacks which had done noth- ing to stop the f lourishing of the Christian community," Black- man said. She also said that the effects of the article had been felt on so- cial media, citing as an example a Facebook post by MCST chair- man Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, a former MP, who called on the Medical Council to investigate Blackman about the allegations. According to the Sunday Times, a gay man claimed he was told his sexual orientation was "disgust- ing" and could be cured by the psychologist. The 28-year-old, who asked to remain anonymous, said he had attended two coun- selling sessions with Blackman when he came out to his friends and family seven years ago. Blackman denied allegations that she had conducted such ther- apy after her husband organised a faith conversion event entitled 'Gay No More' in 2011, or that he was in any way involved. Her former patient, however, told the newspaper that not only had she spoken of a cure for his sexuality but that one particular session had seen her husband perform a ritual similar to an exorcism on him during counsel- ling. "She told me she had someone who could help me. It was Pastor Manché. They started praying over me and telling me to reject the devil, which was making me gay… It's wrong and it's danger- ous and definitely shouldn't be done by a psychologist," he said, describing how he shook during the "uncomfortable" session. He said Mr Manché had likened his same sex attraction to bestiality. In comments to The Sunday Times, Blackman said the claims were a "lie from the pit of hell", in- sisting that if patients had a prob- lem with her services she should have been contacted directly. Pastor's wife claims defamation in gay conversion therapy report Psychologist Mariella Blackman, wife of evangelist pastor Gordon- John Manché, files defamation suit against Sunday Times Thousands of migrants saved by Irish and Italian navies • Irish Navy rescues 647 in Mediterranean Sea • Italy rescues 4,400 THE Irish Navy has rescued 647 people who were crossing the Mediterranean. In two separate operations about 50 miles northwest of the Libyan capital Tripoli, men, women and children were taken off two wood- en barges. The crew of the LE Eithne took part in the first search and rescue after transferring a group of 593 migrants to HMS Bulwark. The first rescue started at about 8am Irish time when 330 people were safely taken from a barge and immediately afterwards the crew was tasked to assist with another rescue of 317 migrants on another barge. The migrants included 544 men, 95 women and eight children, the Irish Navy said. Meanwhile, the Italian Coast Guard also said on Monday that they have organised the rescue of 4,400 irregular immigrants from 29 boats off the Libyan coast over the last two days. On Sunday, the Coast Guard res- cued 21 boats carrying irregular immigrants and saved 1,500 mi- grants. A further 2,900 were res- cued from eight boats on Monday. 10 Nigerian immigrants repatriated since April 10 Nigerian irregular immigrants were repatriated between April and June in three separate opera- tions. In a statement, the Malta Police Force said that the operations were coordinated by the EU border con- trol agency Frontex and organised by Norwegian, Dutch and Italian authorities respectively. Police officers from the Immi- gration Section escorted the im- migrants on their three flights to the Nigerian city of Lagos. This follows a deal agreed on by the two countries in April 2014, in which Malta and Nigeria signed a cooperation agreement for the re- patriation of migrants who do not qualify for asylum. The agreement was signed at last year's EU-Africa Summit in Brus- sels between the foreign minister, George Vella and his Nigerian counterpart, Aminu Wali. At the time, there were some 155 Nigerian nationals who had not been granted a refugee status or some form of protection. The agreement guarantees the safeguarding of the human rights of the people who are repatriated and stipulates that repatriated persons will not be maltreated in any way once they return to their country. Upon signing the agreement, the government had given an assur- ance that the agreement "also pro- vides that the persons returning to their country will be re-integrated in the most dignified manner." The two countries had also agreed to intensify efforts to fight criminal rackets organising hu- man trafficking. Psychologist Mariella Blackman with husband Gordon-John Manché The Italian Coast Guard saved 4,400 migrants in two days