So now we have it. The question whether to lock down or not to lock down has become a policy distinction between the two-party political leaders. This is hardly what we need in a time of crisis, is it? I don’t blame the opposition leader for this. His team has repeatedly asked the government to [...]

Repubblika yesterday called for an investigation into suspicions Assistant Police Commissioner Ian Abdilla helped suspects dodge justice. The NGO also asked for his immediate dismissal. Ian Abdilla’s testimony in court showed he was part of the corruption, inefficiency and the police leadership’s cooperation with criminals that has emerged to public awareness in recent months. Whether [...]

The Chamber of Advocates expressed frustration at the government's decision to delay ordering the closure of court business in spite of the risks of contagion from the coronavirus. The Chamber took the matter in its own hands ordering lawyers not to show in court until further notice. The only exception is attendance in inevitable situations. [...]

The jury in a New York federal court has received instructions from Judge Alison Nathan and is currently considering a verdict in the bank fraud and sanctions busting case against Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad. The case has been tried in New York over the last few days. The merits of the case concern allegations that [...]

The Medical School at the Mater Dei campus has been evacuated and the space is being cleared out to be converted into emergency wards as a backup for expected influx because of the coronavirus crisis. More soon.

Independent school San Anton in Mġarr informed parents today that it will close down for two weeks starting Monday as a preventative measure against novel coronavirus. In a letter to parents the school administration recognised that parents are "increasingly reluctant to send their children to school, resulting in dwindling attendance records and significant difficulty for [...]

It’s becoming clearer that the government needs to order urgently, immediately even, a proper ban on people congregating. Schools, bars, restaurants, churches remain in business now and this no longer seems wise. No doubt the government is always wary to act in a way that stops the economy. Even shutting down schools has a wider [...]

The appointment of Alex Dalli to the directorship of the prison has introduced an element that is strongly discouraged by worldwide experts on prison administration. Alex Dalli is a retired colonel in the army and experts recommend that prisons are run by civilians not members or former members of disciplinary forces. His rule which will [...]

Sent in by someone known to me: Salarino: Why, I am sure. If he forfeit then wilt not take his flesh. What’s that good for? Shylock: To bait fish withal. If it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge. He has disgraced me and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, [...]

Novel coronavirus is an epidemy in a number of countries, most prominently from our point of view including the country closest to us. It has not been declared a pandemic yet as in most countries it has so far been largely contained but people have been looking at growth graphs and many are describing themselves [...]

Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad testified yesterday in his own defence at the New York trial he is facing for busting US sanctions against Iran and for bank fraud. It is rare for a criminal case defendant to testify in their own case and they cannot be forced to do so. However, now that he has [...]

Judge Edwina Grima yesterday denied Alfred and George Degiorgio’s application for bail while they await the conclusion of their ongoing trial proceedings on the charge of murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia. The Degiorgios were arrested along with co-accused Vincent Muscat early in December 2017, around 6 weeks after the assassination of the journalist on 16 October [...]

The following was sent to this website by Mark Gauci, chief executive of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority. He was reacting to an earlier post published this morning about a petition calling for the OHSA's worked to be checked in view of deadly accidents on building sites. I refer to your post ‘Italian entrepreneur [...]

New York’s Columbia University has included the case brought in Malta against Minister Owen Bonnici for the removal of flowers and candles and protest messages and banners from the Great Siege Memorial in front of the court building in its database of human rights courts decisions that “expand free expression”. This is the second case [...]

Malta-based entrepreneur Daniele Baraggioli, originally from Italy, has launched a change.org petition asking for an EU commission to visit Malta and visit excavation and building sites and make recommendations on changes to Maltese laws to protect families living next door to major building sites. The petition was launched in the aftermath of the death of [...]

Continues from yesterday. This part concludes this series by someone known to me. Dom Mintoff stifled and persecuted the private sector with his centralised economy. Inevitably, private businessmen flocked to the Nationalist Party. The latter party was enriched with donations irrespective of whether they were solicited or not. This was in support of the Nationalists’ [...]

The new hospital cleaning contractor Mediclean JV, that has taken over from Servizzi Malta the management of several hundred employees cleaning Malta’s public hospitals, is refusing to authorise vacation leave for its staff unless they find their own replacement while they’re away. In practice this prevents employees, particularly expatriates who form a large portion of [...]

Inner City Press reporter Matthew Russell Lee is covering the Ali Sadr trial in New York. And he wrote this song.

Continues from yesterday's piece filed by someone known to me: Cosa Nostra’s activities include protection racketeering, arbitration of secret contracts between shady entities and the organisation and oversight of illegal agreements and transactions, where all three parties profit, including the mafiosi who claim considerable brokerage or commission fees. Among their other activities are participation in [...]

A study published in specialist academic journal Early Human Development measures the impact on the rate of boys born in a society living in the aftermath of the assassination of journalists. The study, authored by Thomas Calleja, measures changes in the ratio of births between boys and girls after Veronica Guerin was killed in Ireland [...]