Now that prosecutors have opened a case against prison warders for culpability in the suicide of a prisoner in their custody, the question of political responsibility needs to be addressed. This country is in a perpetual state of election fever. Even four years away from a general election the government are too afraid of losing [...]
She calls it multi-tasking. But really our Ambassador in New York, Vanessa Frazier, is posting on her Instagram account her contempt for the General Assembly of the United Nations. So she gets bored and switches football on her phone letting ambassadors from the rest of the world mumble on while she ignores them. As the [...]
I am not referring to the MP who allegedly slept with Yorgen Fenech, the man accused of masterminding the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. She says that’s a private matter. I beg to differ but that’s for another time. I am not even referring to a sitting minister who had, and maybe still has, a [...]
At her state of the EU speech yesterday Ursula von der Leyen had words of praise for Malta’s judicial reforms of last year. She was talking about the changes to the way Malta chooses its judges. Labour trolls somehow took this as a club to bash in the heads of the government’s critics. ‘Do you [...]
The strides that have been made should encourage us to continue even if the temptation is to stop. There's still much to learn and justice is still a long way off. And they won't happen without our continued effort. A vigil gathers in Valletta tonight at 7 pm at the Great Siege Square in Valletta [...]
I am sorry for having stayed away from my computer for these past several days. If you will indulge me, I was struck by the most devastating illness of them all, a man-cold, from which I am still recovering. I realise now I haven't had a man-cold for nearly two years. What with all the [...]
From my article in The Sunday Times last Sunday: "There, without qualification and reservation, were the words we’ve been saying all along. But, this time, someone from the Labour Party was saying them. And that matters. It matters because when truth is shared across tribal divides we can live together as a nation. "Miriam Spiteri [...]
The following was sent by Kevin Deguara in response to my earlier article today about reported raids to his home and office in connection with the ongoing VGH scandal inquiry. https://manueldelia.com/2021/09/vgh-inquiry-raids-reported/ As is customary on this website comments will not be published under a post carrying a statement made by way of right or reply. [...]
Updated: 10:45 am with response from Kevin Deguara Police have raided the offices and the home of lawyer Kevin Deguara, senior partner of DF advocates and one of the shareholders of the Shoreline project at Smart City, this website is informed. The raids were are believed to be connected to ongoing investigations and a magisterial [...]
Rosianne Cutajar has been given a final opportunity to respond to accusations that she breached Council of Europe rules by hiding her relationship with Yorgen Fenech when she spoke at the Parliamentary Assembly in 2019. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe groups together Members of Parliament from all 44 member states. Rosianne Cutajar [...]
A meeting of the members of Repubblika adopt yesterday changes to its Statute adding to its list of functions the mission of an anti-mafia organisation. Repubblika has since its inception campaigned to raise awareness of the infiltration of the mafia in the economy of Malta as well as its government and state institutions. In the [...]
Football clubs are not allowed to spend beyond their means. NGOs are required to share with the regulator information on everything they earn and everything they spend. Anyone in the employment of someone else has their taxes deducted before they even collect their salaries. These rules are set for all of us by parliament. Members [...]
I’m no art critic so I will not evaluate the technical or artistic qualities of Patrick Dalli’s portrait of Joseph Muscat. My concern is the subject matter. A portrait of Genghis Khan can capture the character, be a masterpiece of contemporary brush techniques, immortalise a posture never before seen in its genre. It will still [...]
Free speech NGO PEN Malta has published today a letter it sent to Prime Minister Robert Abela responding to his request for the organisation's advice on how to deal with the disinformation campaign against journalists that flared up over the past few weeks. The NGO said it is consulting technical experts on possible technical solutions [...]
The Central Bank has issued new rules severely restricting the use of personal bank accounts it holds for its employees. The bank’s employees have been told they can only receive their salaries in their bank accounts and use their account to withdraw those funds. They will need to set up a bank account with a [...]
This piece is dedicated to Daphne Caruana Galizia and to her remarkable family who have never stopped fighting for justice. Picture: Seb Tanti Burlo'. With permission. A new day began which was always the same. But not quite. The flowers looked similar, but they were always fresh. The photos were exchanged for other [...]
Leading supplier of slot machines and casino games Novomatic has “paused” services to the Tumas Group’s casinos Portomaso and Oracle after a court ruled that Yorgen Fenech and other senior officials of the Tumas Group have a case to answer in charges of using the casinos for money laundering. Sources within the Tumas Group told [...]
I am translating an extract from the speech delivered yesterday by Notary Myriam Spiteri Debono at the official gathering in front of the Great Siege Memorial in Valletta marking the anniversary of the end of the 1565 siege. Myriam Spiteri Debono is the only woman ever to have served as the Speaker of Malta’s Parliament. [...]
A few days ago I suggested to Joseph Muscat, shamed former prime minister, selected as the most corrupt politician of 2019 and also known as ‘Ix-Xiħ’ to disappear after his feeble attempt to become relevant again. Today I would like to invite Mr Angelo Gafà, Commissioner of Police, to come into view. It has been [...]
Updated at 14:20 Simon Mercieca thought he caught Jason Azzopardi plagiarising from M, the James Bond character. In Skyfall (2012), M testifies in front of a hostile parliamentary committee and in a flourish of drama, recited chillingly by Dame Judi Dench, she mouths some free verse that apparently Simon Mercieca found used in a speech [...]