Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/685992
2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 JUNE 2016 News MOAS launch mission with two ships, two drones patrolling Med's 'dead zone' MAT THEW VELLA SEARCH and rescue charity Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) will enhance their life-saving efforts in the cen- tral Mediterranean this year by deploying two ships and two drones, expanding their patrol- ling area to cover what is called the 'dead zone': the fatal few miles from the Libyan shore. MOAS will launch its third season of rescues in the Central Med on 6 June, with the 40-me- tre ship M.Y. Phoenix, which has just returned from her mis- sion in South East Asia, and the 52-metreResponder, a new off- shore emergency response and recovery vessel, that has also just arrived from the Aegean after saving almost 2,000 refu- gees. The two vessels will work in concert with the two S-100 Schiebel Camcopters to cover huge swathes of Mediterranean waters. The remotely piloted aircraft stay aloft for about six hours, cover 97 nautical miles of ocean at 100 to 241km/hand send back high resolution im- ages using sensitive day or night optics. "The summer of 2016 will be a defining year for Europe, Libya and the hundreds of thousands of desperate people who will be forced onto the sea to seek safe- ty" says founder Christopher Catrambone. "Having drones on board the Phoenix will allow MOAS to be on station in the most deadly part of the journey, the stretch of sea a few nautical miles off the coast of Libya that kills thou- sands of people, many of whom are buried in unmarked graves." After three years of constant focus on the perils of humans at risk at sea, MOAS predicts that the situation in the cen- tral Mediterranean is expected to be much different this year. MOAS explored the develop- ments of the migration inf lux to Europe by hosting the May 27th MOASxChange conference. Experts from the research, medical, humanitarian and me- dia spoke out about the chang- ing face of the migrant crisis in 2016. Key differences for 2016 will be: the hardened stance of Europe towards the inf lux, the increased violence in Libya and Syria and a general lack of choic- es for people desperate to find safety or hope will cause further hardship for millions of asylum seekers. "Despite the presence of vari- ous assets at sea trying their best to saving lives, there is still urgent requirement for profes- sional search and rescue opera- tions as the awful incidents of last week have shown," Catram- bone said. MOAS began as a specialised search and rescue NGO in 2014 with Search and Rescue and medical professionals on board. MOAS works with all stakehold- ers and is the only charity ac- credited by the IMRF to conduct professional SAR in the Medi- terranean. So far, the Migrant Offshore Aid Station has saved the life of over 13,000 people. "I am deeply saddened that people are still dying in such horrible conditions. Last week, 45 bodies arrived in my home town Reggio Calabria. The ma- jority were women and children. We must not become desensi- tized by this humanitarian ca- tastrophe," MOAS co-founder Regina Catrambone said. "MOAS need the generous support of public donors to keep saving lives. We all have the moral responsibility to end this. Only together we can make a difference". NOTICE by the Electoral Commission REQUIRED: LEASING OF OFFICE SPACE The Electoral Commission notifies the issue of an Expression of Interest (EOI) to lease Office space of between 800 and 1,200 square metres for itself and the Electoral Office for a minimum span of 10 years. The full EOI may be downloaded from the Publications section in the Electoral Commission's website (www.electoral.gov.mt). Requests for clarifications on the subject may be submitted in writing to the Chief Electoral Commissioner at joseph.church@gov.mt. The information and material requested in the EOI must reach the Chief Electoral Commissioner by hand in a sealed envelope at the Office of the Electoral Commission, Evans Building, Merchants Street, Valletta, by not later than noon of Friday, 8th July, 2016. www.electoral.gov.mt MOAS co-founder Regina Catrambone looks on in this 2015 photo as the MOAS ship the Phoenix sets off on her six-month operation Man caught red-handed kicking car denied bail MAT THEW AGIUS A Somali man has been denied bail by a court after he denied capriciously damaging a parked vehicle near the Marsa open centre last Monday. Before Magistrate Gabriella Vella this morning, Abdiqa- ni Mahad Mohamed, 21, was charged with causing €2,000 worth of willful damage to a Chevrolet Aveo. He was also ac- cused of relapsing. Inspector Daryl Borg told the court that on Monday afternoon at around 3pm, the owner of the Chev y noticed a man, later con- firmed to be the defendant, vi- ciously kicking his car. Asked whether he was plead- ing guilty to the charges the ac- cused insisted that he had only touched the vehicle. The court noted a plea of not guilty. No request for bail was made. Law yer Benjamin Valenzia was legal aid to the defendant. Hunter fined €2,000 for being in possession of ammunition after hunting hours MATTHEW AGIUS A hunter in Gozo was yesterday slapped with a €2,000 fine and had his licences suspended after approximately 100 shotgun car- tridges were found in his car, two hours after the close of hunting hours. Anthony Camilleri, 56, from Gozo, was charged with carry- ing ammunition after hunting hours as well as with breaching the conditions of his hunting li- cence. An ALE patrol had stopped Camilleri and had found the box of shotgun cartridges in his car. The discovery of the ammuni- tion took place at 1:45pm – af- ter the close of hunting hours at noon. However, no shotgun was found in the man's vehicle. But Magistrate Joe Mifsud not- ed that the law specifically pro- hibited the carrying of ammu- nition during the closed season, reading "no person shall during the closed season for the hunting of birds not at sea, hunt, or at- tempt to hunt any bird, or carry ammunition or a fire arm out- side its case." The quantity of ammunition found was also considerable when compared to the bag limit. Stressing that the limited spring hunting season had to be strictly enforced to avoid abuses, Magistrate Mifsud said he would not tolerate any illegalities or breach of the regulations. Camilleri was found guilty of the charges and fined €2,000. His hunting and weapons li- cences were also revoked for two years and the shotgun ammuni- tion was confiscated. Inspector Edel Mary Camill- eri prosecuted. Law yer Anthony Stellini appeared for the accused. Groping Paceville 'masseuse' ends up in jail MATTHEW AGIUS A 'massage parlour' employee who resorted to groping men passing by in an effort to entice them to use her services has been jailed. Ukrainian-born Birkirkara resident Snizhana Oborina, 37, was charged with soliciting for the purposes of prostitution and offending public morals in Wilga Street, Paceville on Sun- day night. Police inspector John Spiteri told duty magistrate Gabriella Vella that the police had taken action after receiving two separate complaints from pas- sers-by, who reported being harassed by the massage parlour em- ployee. It is understood that the harassment took the form of groping. Oborina pleaded guilty as charged. Defence lawyer Benjamin Va- lenzia argued for leniency, sub- mitting that the defendant had filed an early guilty plea and had collaborated with the police. The prosecution said it was in- sisting on an effective jail term. The Ukrainian woman was handed a four-month prison term. The woman admitted to groping passers-by in Paceville