The following is the first part of a series first published in Italian as a concluding chapter of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Un Omicidio di Stato (Strade Blu Mondadori, 2020), the Italian edition of Murder on the Malta Express: Who Killed Daphne Caruana Galizia(MidSea Books, 2019 and Silvertail Books, 2019). Hurry Up and Kill Her Wednesday, November 20, [...]
The government’s insistence on retaining that delusional clown Alexander Dalli as prison boss is, frankly, unbelievably obtuse even by the aphotic standards of this government of the night. This week he was in the news for the wrong reasons. The right reason for him to have been in the news should have been the fact [...]
The dictionary definition of ‘scruples’ is having a kind of moral compass that lets you know what’s right. Often it is used in an outraged way when someone does something bad. Liars, thieves, criminals and politicians have fewer scruples than the rest of us. The idea of scruples has to do with ethics and morality, [...]
The Institute of Maltese Journalists had a different assessment from mine about how the acquittal of three thugs that locked journalists inside a room in Castille in November last year came about. Since I do not hold the monopoly on truth, it would be good to consider this alternative perspective. IĠM are closer to the [...]
The UĦM proudly announced they have secured equal pay for the work being done by health workers engaged by Stewart Health Care and VGH at three formerly-public hospitals, working alongside and doing the same work as the public sector employees working at the same hospitals. It’s the union’s job to fight the turf of its [...]
It just never ends. This government is fundamentally indifferent to the way the world sees us. We’re already in shit with the European Central Bank for a number of reasons. We had two banks licensed since 2013 shut down for pervasive money laundering. Our status as a white-listed and compliant financial jurisdiction is in serious [...]
The police prosecuted three thugs who in November last year blocked dozens of journalists in the Ambassadors' Room of Castille, preventing them from doing the job the world expected them to: ask tough questions to Joseph Muscat. That night the country rightly expected him to resign. The press waited outside Castille since about noon that [...]
Three men were charged with unlawfully detaining journalists that night of 29 November when cabinet met until 3 am and journalists were then allowed in to hear Joseph Muscat say it took cabinet 7 hours to decide to deny Yorgen Fenech his request for immunity to turn state’s evidence. While testifying one of the journalists, [...]
Carlo Bonini, John Sweeney and I first published our book Murder on the Malta Express: Who Killed Daphne Caruana Galizia? on 14 October 2019. That was a few days before Yorgen Fenech was arrested and the story we had been telling turned towards some form of extended denouement. That first edition was published by the [...]
The "Guidelines for the Return to Sport as part of the COVID-19 transition in Malta" currently in force say that no spectators are to be allowed in sports venues. The rules say that "a closed-door policy must be observed at all time - spectators are not allowed - for both training and competitions. Access to [...]
Robert Abela is just over a year younger than I am. He’s smarter, works harder, and made wiser career choices and I feel no resentment for any of that. He left school in 2002 which means that before he became prime minister he practised his profession for 18 years. His CV says he only ever [...]
Yesterday we set up 100 chairs in Castille Square, put flowers on them, and recalled the deaths of Covid victims. We criticised the government's policy on the subject and when Robert Abela emerged from his office he got some catcalls by people who don't approve of him. This was reported in the media. It was [...]
Robert Abela has been telling MPs they should comply with the code of ethics and declare their assets. Government ministers are expected to publish yearly returns. The process is not what you might call thorough and the fact alone that they don’t need to include assets belonging to their spouses makes it a bit of [...]
Robert Abela and his underlings have in recent days had multiple orgasms cutting ribbons and inaugurating unfinished roads, bridges and other infrastructural projects. Basically, this is how it works. The prime minister, accompanied by ministers, parliamentary secretaries and various chairpersons who were in some way or another peripherally involved in the project meet on site. [...]
Repubblika organised a symbolic protest in Castille Square today marking the 100th victim of the covid pandemic and criticising government policy on the subject. "Doctors with the courage to speak up say that Robert Abela's government's inconsistent policies are leading to more deaths," the NGO said. A hundred empty chairs were decked out recalling each [...]
Maria Efimova announced earlier this afternoon that her husband, detained since yesterday by the police in Greece, has since been released without charge. Speaking to this website, Maria Efimova said the Greek prosecution service agreed that Cyprus's request for her husband's extradition had no legal basis. Cyprus asked for Pantelis Varnava's extradition the first time [...]
Pantelis Varnava, husband of Pilatus Bank whistle-blower Maria Efimova, is seeking legal advice on whether to contest a request for his extradition to Cyprus to face charges of embezzling a company his wife worked for 7 years ago. Maria Efimova told this website this morning that her husband is inclined to go to Cyprus as [...]
First published by Euractiv One hot spring afternoon in Malta, a journalist drove up to her house to find a court marshall duct-taping hundreds of sheets of paper to her front gate. Her family’s two guard dogs were barking uncontrollably and snapped at the marshall through the bars of the gate, but he was determined. [...]
#occupyjustice said it was informed protest banners it put up yesterday are already being removed. This was standard practice during Joseph Muscat's administration that had a zero-tolerance policy on banners or posters that suggested the government was less than immaculate. Here's #occupyjustice's statement from a few minutes ago: ONE YEAR ON FROM START OF MASS [...]
