Daphne Foundation calls for civil society participation in post-inquiry reforms

By
2021-10-15T14:13:25+02:00Fri, 15th Oct '21, 14:13|

A statement by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation marking the fourth anniversary from the killing of Daphne said that “Daphne’s family must have meaningful involvement in what comes next. The family counts on the Prime Minister to consult with them and civil society on the foundational principles for the independent (implementation) committee, and on meaningful [...]

Who’s calling?

By
2021-10-15T11:01:45+02:00Fri, 15th Oct '21, 10:39|

The fact that Yorgen Fenech has been under arrest for nearly two years and is awaiting a trial for his life faced by a mountain of evidence to sustain the accusation that he is an accomplice in the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia does not mean justice is near. There has only ever been one [...]

Free speech NGOs on Malta mission 4 years after Daphne

By
2021-10-14T11:24:33+02:00Thu, 14th Oct '21, 11:24|

Representatives of free speech NGOs visited the protest site calling for justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia in Valletta this morning as part of their mission to Malta marking the 4th anniversary of her assassination. Representatives of ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European [...]

Thin numbers in a square

By
2021-10-14T11:12:42+02:00Thu, 14th Oct '21, 11:12|

It would be obtuse to behave as if the growing feeling of apathy and indifference is not there. Once again a widespread feeling of acceptance and submissive inevitability keeps many people who shouted angrily in the streets just months ago, at home, their TVs plugged into the Matrix, escaping from a reality they cannot change. [...]

UPDATED: First Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize awarded to Forbidden Stories

By
2021-10-14T12:53:38+02:00Thu, 14th Oct '21, 10:59|

Updated: 12:52 The European Parliament awarded for the first time today the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism. The prize went to Forbidden Stories for their work on The Pegasus Project. A team of independent judges hailing from the journalistic and media sectors chose the winner, after a period of submissions earlier this year. Representative of [...]

GUEST POST: The legacy we leave

By
2021-10-14T07:35:01+02:00Thu, 14th Oct '21, 07:35|

It is said that Josef Stalin once ripped all the feathers off a live chicken as a lesson to his followers. He then sat the chicken on the floor a short distance away. The chicken was suffering immensely but yet when Stalin tossed some wheat toward it, the chicken followed him around. “This is how [...]

WATCH: “Adapting laws to fight the mafia”

By
2021-10-13T10:32:45+02:00Wed, 13th Oct '21, 10:32|

This was the first in a series of debates organised by Repubblika, #occupyjustice and this website as part of the events marking four years since the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Other discussions, including a debate yesterday organised by PEN Malta, will be uploaded on this website in the coming days.

Walking the talk

By
2021-10-12T12:06:01+02:00Tue, 12th Oct '21, 12:06|

Just last week Clyde Caruana sounded like he knew what he was talking about. He was launching the national employment strategy, a subject on which he has considerable background having run Jobsplus before he was co-opted to Parliament and made finance minister. Read this report of his speech at the time. The general gist is [...]

Sometimes you need to shout it out loud

By
2021-10-12T11:02:45+02:00Tue, 12th Oct '21, 11:02|

There is little doubt the budget speech seals the Labour Party's lease extension on political power. It was designed to do that no matter how aggressive the assumptions and doubtful their plausibility. What we can't forget now is that the issue on the lease on power is secondary. The crooks fully expected the election result [...]

They take no chances

By
2021-10-12T10:19:41+02:00Tue, 12th Oct '21, 10:19|

Yesterday's budget speech was designed to irritate no one and please everyone. On the back of barely spoken bold assumptions of pumping economic growth, the government told itself and everyone it could afford to be generous. And so it was. An economist would want to examine those underlying assumptions. They would look at the numbers [...]

If stone was free, would you eat it?

By
2021-10-12T10:07:09+02:00Tue, 12th Oct '21, 10:07|

The headline item from yesterday’s budget speech is the news that a year from now bus fares will be scrapped for residents. Tourists will continue to pay. The finance minister estimates that for a regular bus commuter that uses public transport to go to work everyday this will amount to a saving of some €300 [...]

Assumptions

By
2021-10-12T09:59:02+02:00Tue, 12th Oct '21, 09:59|

No government, however hard-pressed, will want to face the electorate with bad news on the eve of a general election. Yesterday’s budget speech was bound to be a bonanza of gift-giving because no matter what we say about our democratic maturity we still think of the government as some form of Father Christmas and the [...]

We need to talk about human rights

By
2021-10-11T11:34:38+02:00Mon, 11th Oct '21, 11:34|

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights is visiting Malta this week for meetings with the local authorities and civil society. Dunja Mijatovic will have quite an agenda. Malta is not the most complicated country for human rights in the Council of Europe. Her conversations in Russia, Turkey, and Belarus are bound to be [...]

THE SUNDAY TIMES: Daphne was right

By
2021-10-10T07:56:05+02:00Sun, 10th Oct '21, 07:56|

From my article in The Sunday Times today: "Daphne was right, on the hospitals, the passport sales, Dalli’s games and corruption in energy. Yet, none of those she had exposed has yet faced any consequence. She deserves justice. On Saturday, October 16, at 7pm, join the vigil in Valletta demanding just that." Read the full article here.

Journalists awarded Nobel Peace Prize

By
2021-10-08T11:35:02+02:00Fri, 8th Oct '21, 11:35|

Photo: STR/AFP This is the first time in my life that someone I have once met and spoken with has won a Nobel prize. I don’t expect that will ever happen again. Maria Ressa has been awarded the Nobel peace prize jointly with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov. The Nobel prize committee said the [...]

Sure, let’s launder money to fight money laundering.

By
2021-10-07T12:31:27+02:00Thu, 7th Oct '21, 12:31|

The developers’ association reiterated its proposal that political parties should be funded by the state to remove what they describe as the “wrong perception” that businesses fund political parties to get favours in return. Let’s not quibble about how wrong the perception may be. Yes, we need political parties funded by the state so let’s [...]

You know an election is coming when

By
2021-10-07T10:43:36+02:00Thu, 7th Oct '21, 10:43|

When the Pope cancels a dinner appointment with you. And when the traffic management authority thinks it is a good idea to remove a speed camera thereby reducing the deterrent and the means to enforce the law intended to prevent excessive speeding and like incense and the sacrifice of milk-fed lamb burnt at the altar [...]

Metro? Wedding cake for life

By
2021-10-06T11:17:29+02:00Wed, 6th Oct '21, 11:17|

Take a look at all the pulp sales promoting the idea of a metro in Malta. There are exhibitions, websites, videos, and graphics that probably cost what it would cost to buy Thomas the Tank Engine and pay the Fat Controller for a year. What exactly is this campaign achieving? I don’t think we need [...]

Go to Top