Unpublished plans agreed between the two main parties for judicial reform retain the prime minister’s unhindered power to block the appointment or promotion of any member of the judiciary. Sources say that an improved appointments procedure falls short of independence of the judiciary from the influence of the government as lawyers and magistrates will need [...]
From my article in The Sunday Times today: "Prime Minister Robert Abela cut a pathetic figure sitting in front of a standing Karl Stagno Navarra on the Labour Party’s TV station this week, lamenting the criticism he is facing. 'To have people that are so insensitive that they try to capitalise on the fear that [...]
We don’t have Owen Bonnici telling us that Alfred Grixti saying boats that save migrants should be sunk is an act of free speech. He used to use that line when Jason Micallef used to shoot from the hip. And we had to remind Owen Bonnici every time that if senior political appointees to key [...]
As readers of this blog know, I’m not religious. But I was brought up in a Catholic culture and the days of Easter are as deep in my bones as olive oil. I am unqualified to make religious analogies let alone draw teachings and interpretations from the lessons I vaguely remember from childhood. But when [...]
The CEO of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services Alfred Grixti made a public call on Facebook for the seizure and scuttling of boats carrying migrants escaping Africa. He was commenting under a Facebook post of Labour European Parliament election candidate Steve Borg. Steve Borg, whose top priority in his 2009 election campaign was “illegal [...]
It will take more than three days for us to rise again. All zombie stories before The Walking Dead had a final resolution. At some point a cure was found. However dystopic, classic science fiction needs a happy ending. When HG Well’s archetypal Martians invaded and poisoned the earth with their weed, our planet fought [...]
Norman Vella's main guest was former chief justice Vincent De Gaetano who weighs in on the scant debate over constitutional changes intended to ensure judicial independence. The program asks why does this matter? Here are the answers, in case you missed them.
In spite of all the many difficulties, the hard work of the Maltese press has achieved much in the nation’s fight against corruption: the arrest and prosecution of four murder suspects in Malta, the conviction of one banker in the United States and the cancellation of his banking license in Europe, and the resignation of [...]
Josette Zammit paid tribute to her mother Georgia yesterday after the 92-year-old became the first person to die from the COVID-19 disease in Malta. Georgia was from Fontana, Gozo. She was an avid reader, a fan of the Reader's Digest and leafed through novels to the very end. This website sends its sincere condolences to [...]
Yesterday’s first coronavirus death recorded in Malta highlighted weaknesses in the government’s response to the spread of the disease. There’s no doubt that Malta cannot alone escape the devastating impact of the pandemic and that people of vulnerable age are at serious risk of being overcome by the disease. There is also no doubt that [...]
Following yesterday's death of a 92-year-old resident of Dar Sant Anna, Gozo's public residential home on the Gozo General Hospital grounds, the government announced the second coronavirus-related death in Malta. The second fatal case is of a 79-year-old male patient who was undergoing treatment at the Karin Grech Hospital. He had been tested for coronavirus [...]
Malta is one of a handful of Council of Europe member states not to participate in the human rights organisation’s annual penal statistics that measure and compare prison conditions in 47 member states of the Council of Europe including Russia and Turkey. The other countries that did not participate are Belgium, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Georgia and the [...]
The following ten stories are real-life cases. The names and some of the details of the case have been changed to make sure the persons involved are not identifiable. One Lina is an old woman who lives alone. She is 85 years old and is still capable of taking care of herself. On a weekly [...]
Life in prison will be impacted even more by the coronavirus pandemic as prison wardens and staff have received orders to be prepared to sleep on prison grounds one week at a time. They have been asked to bring their own pillows from home or buy pillows supplied by the prison's commissary and bring their [...]
In case you missed it this was the program broadcast over Facebook by Repubblika yesterday. Hosted as usual by Norman Vella.
Here are answers to questions frequently asked by people considering whether to join the collective action lawsuit against C-Planet IT Solutions Limited being organised by Repubblika and The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation. If you were eligible to vote in 2013, your personal data has been stolen and then leaked to the outside world. Consider signing [...]
Read this article by Repubblika’s Robert Aquilina in today’s Times of Malta. The article sets out two tests for a successful reform of the manner the country uses to select future judges. The objective here is to make sure the judiciary is independent from the control of the other branches of government. Well, one branch [...]
A year ago today Lassan Cisse was killed in a drive by shooting on his way back home inside the Ħal Far Tent Village. His case still awaits justice. The below article was first published by The Sunday Times on 14 April 2019. You know your town has become violent when a drive-by shooting barely [...]
Photo: Sally Hayden Ministers Chris Fearne and Byron Camilleri went through great pains yesterday to insist there was no racism behind their decision to lock inside for two weeks a thousand residents of the Ħal Far migrants centre. I say ‘centre’. I could call it what Byron Camilleri called it: HTV, Ħal Far [...]
This was broadcast yesterday. The first few seconds are silent due to a small tech error but it all works after that. Norman Vella's interview with George Cremona, a doctor working at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan is gripping stuff.