“It's a long, long road, from which there is no return While we're on the way to there, why not share? And the long doesn't way me down at all He ain't heavy - he's my brother.” In 1969, The Hollies, a British rock group, released the song ‘He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother’ which [...]
Council of Europe rapporteur Pieter Omtzigt who is following progress on Malta's implementations of his organisations recommendations after Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed, told Prime Minister Robert Abela today he must not interfere in the independent inquiry into her killing. "I note that the inquiry’s terms of reference state that it 'shall endeavour to conclude [...]
The “savage beating” last January of Giovanni d’Alessandro, a construction sub-contractor working in Malta, led to several arrests this week of bosses of the ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate operating in Lombardy, Italy. Phone taps by anti-mafia prosecutors discovered details of a revenge hit in Malta to recover €2,900. The arrests happened after the internal backlash within [...]
John Sweeney of the BBC interviewed Joseph Muscat in January 2018 and called him the ‘Artful Dodger of Europe’ and ‘passport-seller-in-chief’. Today these adjectives look more like a compliment than an criticism. When, during that interview, Sweeney asked Joseph Muscat what has been the effect of the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia on Malta's [...]
A man died trying to escape the improvised prison in Ħal Far. All we’ve been told about him is that he is from Sudan. Sudan is not just miserably poor. Just last year state security forces fired on protesters killing 117 people and injuring thousands. Security forced fired live ammunition on unarmed civilians. That’s on [...]
Three years ago this week Adrian Delia and Chris Said were shortlisted for a two-man race for the leadership of the Nationalist Party. I had written an article on The Sunday Times reviewing Adrian Delia's new way, what it meant, what his indictment of his predecessors meant, and why I did not support any of [...]
Marian Kocner was shockingly acquitted today of the charge of ordering the murder of Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak. The decision by the Slovak court is subject to appeal in front of the country’s Supreme Court. And Kocner will not walk free today. Last February he was sentenced for 19 years in prison for one of [...]
It wasn't Robert Abela's decision to have an inquiry into the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia. It wasn't really a decision anyone took. It was a surrender, a towel thrown, after two years of resistance by the government who refused to constitute the inquiry in spite of the call being made from the victim's family, [...]
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell Freedom of the press is the principal platform for ensuring freedom of expression and freedom of information. Unfortunately, hostility towards the media is spreading and journalists around the world are threatened by government censorship and organised crime syndicates. The murders of journalists highlight [...]
This is how far apart students are being kept as they write their exam papers. The chairs are empty because the photo is taken before the exam starts. The photo is taken in one of the official examination halls currently in use. They'll all be stuffed of people and kept that way for hours, a [...]
In spite of the invitation I got to visit the prison, the government hasn’t properly addressed my repeated requests made since last November. No journalist is allowed to visit migrant centres, in spite of requests made by so many and so often. What we get instead are reports of degrading conditions and occasional riots blamed [...]
(This might be one of the longest pieces on this blog, which is not notorious for the brevity of its wit. So keep this one for when you have the time for it. I trust you'll find it's worth your effort). I walked up to the prison door in the blazing sun of yesterday afternoon. [...]
After much struggle and toil, I was given the opportunity to visit the prison and ask its director some questions. It wasn’t easy. I wrote to then minister Michael Farrugia 5 times in November, never getting a proper answer. Then when it looked like the government was floundering, I waited for the change. In February [...]
The police have lost all that they had gained. They had won over the respect and the support of the Maltese people. The people used to look up to them, the criminal used to worry about the police; nowadays it is like everything has turned topsy-turvy. – Beppe Fenech Adami A recent Eurobarometer survey that [...]
If a public official, or anyone serving the state and the community with their work, is in any danger it is the duty of the state to protect them. No government minister, no journalist, no judge, no social worker, no divorce attorney, no prosecutor, no teacher, no nurse should be allowed to face physical violence [...]
Photo: Ivan Martin for Times of Malta. Everyone charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Anyone suspected of a crime, mentioned by others as having committed a crime, asked for an alibi to avoid being charged with a crime: all are presumed to be innocent. No one gets to be punished [...]
It’s not easy being the murder squad at the police. The eyes of the country are on you all the time and most people watch real-life police work and expect nicely wrapped up parcels of logic: the sort that is served in a 45 minute procedural about an impossibly chiseled cop who, with his faithful [...]
I’m not the first to write about the man charged in court for stealing a can of tuna to fend off starvation. All sorts of very valid points have been made. Firstly, the point about our authorities being strong with the weak. While Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi continue to run around without the inconvenience [...]
On TV, Robert Arrigo “offered his post as Deputy Leader” of the PN to Bernard Grech if Bernard Grech were to withdraw his challenge for Adrian Delia’s leadership post. Did Robert Arrigo think he’s negotiating players and their performance at his old football club? The Deputy Leadership of the Nationalist Party is a position Robert [...]
Labour troll Georgina Cardona is causing a stir on Facebook saying that Repubblika is on the list of beneficiaries of funds from the Community Chest Fund and l-Istrina. She publishes some sort of list Repubblika is part of but the document, whatever it is, is clearly not a list of CCF/Istrina beneficiaries. This is a [...]