Borg Olivier to face criminal charges on VAT irregularity

Transcription

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maltatoday
WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT
SUNDAY • 26 SEPTEMBER 2010 • ISSUE 568 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY
Borg Olivier
to face
criminal
charges
on VAT
irregularity
PM says “he did not intervene to stop
VAT commissioner from proceeding with
criminal charges”
page 7
Dalli: PN needs
new direction
TIFFANY
PHOTO BY RAY ATTARD
See full interview on page 12, 13, See Editorial pg 23
See Saviour Balzan pg 15
UP CLOSE AND
PERSONAL WITH
page 3
Newspaper post
Revealing interview
with former leadership
contender who describes
today’s PN as ‘party of
political apartheid’
2
News
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER
2010
One flew over the Central Med
One of two tagged honey buzzards is safely through to Algeria on its maiden voyage towards
its wintering grounds in West Africa: but doubts linger as the second draws closer to Malta.
RAPHAEL VASSALLO the migratory habits of Europe’s most mysterious raptor
Two tagged honey buzzards last year covered 4,850km in just over one month
EBERHARD Meyer has been following weather reports in Italy
with some trepidation over the
past few days. His concern? The
fate of Michael Lawrence, who,
though just over six months old,
has already travelled nearly 800
km, and is now delayed by bad
weather somewhere just north of
Rome.
Together with his sister Carmen, Michael Lawrence began
his 5,000 km journey three weeks
ago in Carinthia, Austria, where
his first forays out of the nest
were filmed by Meyer as part of
a documentary about bird migration for German TV.
At the time of writing, the latest satellite reports revealed that
Carmen is already in Algeria,
having bypassed the southern
Italy-Malta route by crossing the
Mediterranean over Sardinia and
the western Tyrrhenian.
From the Barbary coast, she will
cross the Sahara in just 10 days
on her way to her final destination: most likely Benin, though at
this stage it’s hard to say with any
certainty.
This is, after all, only her first
trip abroad.
As for Michael Lawrence, his
exact whereabouts are at present
unclear. Meyer – who was in
Malta until yesterday, filming the
activities of German anti-hunting
lobby group CABS – admits he
hopes the bird will follow its sister’s example, and opt for the less
hazardous western route over the
risks of ‘trigger-happy’ Malta. If
not, he is likely to fly over Malta
at any given moment – possibly
even today.
Whether he will continue his
southward journey after that
is another question. From the
start of Raptor Camp until yes-
terday morning, Birdlife Malta
has counted at least 21 honey
buzzards shot dead or shot at by
poachers over Malta; with another six seen flying with visible
gunshot wounds. A further 28
other raptors of different species
were shot at by poachers, with
19 others injured – and these are
the statistics compiled only by
Birdlife Malta, not taking into account the data collated separately
by CABS.
Even if Michael Lawrence avoids
Malta, the young raptor will still
face untold danger on his way
to central Africa – for Sardinia
and Sicily have their fair share of
poachers too, and other threats
come also in the form of pesticides, high voltage cables, etc.
But if he does make it through
the gauntlet of the central Mediterranean, his movements are
likely to shed invaluable light on
Carmen, the older of the two birds, arrived in Algeria last Thursday
German film-maker Eberhard Meyer has been following the honeybuzzards since they hatched in Austria last spring
the little-known migration habits
of this spectacular bird of prey.
For though a fairly common autumn visitor to Malta, the honey
buzzard – Pernis apivorus, or
‘kuccarda’ in Maltese – remains
one of the least known of central
and eastern Europe’s breeding
raptors.
Tagged as part of an ongoing research project led by Prof. Anita
Gamauf of the Austrian Museum
of Natural History Museum in
Vienna, the two juveniles are being closely monitored by means
of regular satellite updates, and
already the researchers have
unearthed some previously unknown facts.
For reasons that remain unclear,
it seems that it is mostly juveniles
that opt for the central migration
route down Italy and across to
North Africa over Malta. As they
grow older, adults tend to prefer
the longer overland routes over
the Eastern or Western Mediterranean littorals: evidence, the
researchers joke, that honey buzzards may be a good deal more
intelligent than is generally assumed.
3
News
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER
One strut
away from
victory
Tiffany Pisani, photographed at Palazzo Parisio. Photography: Ray Attard, Clothes: New Look, Make-up: Revlon
MARTINA SAID
AN offshoot of its American
counterpart and hosted by worldfamous supermodel Elle Macpherson, Britain’s Next Top Model was
never really that popular in Malta.
However things started to change
when it emerged that an 18-year –
old local girl was participating.
“I never even thought I’d make it
into the competition, let alone to
the top three,” Tiffany said during
a brief visit to Malta. The latest episode, aired last Monday on Living
TV, confirmed the three girls that
made it to the final, one of whom
is Tiffany.
“I cried when they called me out
in the last episode; it was very overwhelming.” Prior to her big break,
the short-haired brunette beauty
worked with various local magazines. However, separate competitions in Germany and Milan,
especially the latter in which she
resided there for a few months,
truly opened her up to the world of
modeling.
Tiffany was discovered by her
agent and director of models.com.
mt, Carina Camilleri, at the young
age of fourteen. The tall and thin
teenager was spotted in the street
while Carina was looking for parking. She stopped her in the middle
of the road, along with her mother
and sister, and asked if she’s ever
tried modeling. Tiffany was slightly
dazed after having just pulled out a
tooth, but the pair met afterwards
and started shooting together
weeks later.
Out of her modeling experiences
to date, Britain’s Next Top Model
tops them all. Through it, she has
met shoe designer Jimmy Choo,
bikini designer Melissa Odabash
and world-class photographer
Terry O’Neill, to name a real few.
Was it ever intimidating? “Yes, I felt
intimidated… very often actually.
Knowing that you have to make a
good impression all the time was
quite nerve-wracking.”
On first impression, the local
bombshell might not come off as
an average Maltese girl; her freckled face, pale skin, and (previously)
blonde hair enabled her to blend
in well with the British pack. But
did the fact that she’s Maltese ever
draw criticism from her fellow
housemates or judges?
“The girls did try to bring it up
that I was the ‘foreigner’ on the
show but it didn’t bother me,” she
said. “I’m proud of who I am and
where I come from, so I didn’t take
any of it to heart.”
As for the judges? “There were
times the judges brought it up but
it wasn’t aired on TV. What they
did comment on was my heavy accent, which isn’t even a Maltese but
a mixture of everything,” she said
candidly.
This leads to the next much
talked-about issue – her voice.
“When I first watched the program
I thought to myself ‘Oh my God, it
sounds terrible!’ My voice is deep
and gets deeper when I’m nervous,
but overall I’m fine with it. It’s natural, there’s nothing I can do!” When
asked whether viewers were denied
certain moments of the show due
to heavy editing, Tiffany replied
loud and clear, “Loads and loads of
things weren’t shown on TV. Small
things like conversations which
would lead to an important scene,
or which explained why certain
things were said, were cut.”
So did viewers get to see the real
characters of the girls? Perhaps
characters began to emerge as we
diminished in number but there is
much more to each girl than it appeared.”
One wonders how Tiffany fared
in such a competitive environment.
“I got along well with Charlotte especially, as well as Joy and Susan. I
really tried to get along with everyone and I did with the majority,
though I think everyone had a few
quarrels with Kirsty because she
had such a different personality…”
After tasting success, Tiffany
has been driven to pursue a career
abroad.
“I’ll be leaving for London soon,
I want to take the opportunity I’ve
been given and try my best there. I
still want to work here though, so
if I get the opportunity to work in
a local campaign I’ll be more than
happy to do it.”
Tiffany has high hopes for the
season finale, which will be aired
live for the first time and involve
the public through televoting. “I’ll
be leaving here for the live finale on
the 28th. I really hope all goes well;
I’m nervous but certainly excited.”
The last episode of Britain’s Next
Top Model will be aired on 4 October.
2010
4
News
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2010
Effort needed to integrate
ethnic minorities into schools
RACHEL ZAMMIT CUTAJAR
INV ITAT I ON
T O
TE NDE R
FACILITIES available to educate the children of migrants
have been found to be lacking,
according to a study conducted by three Maltese educators.
It was concluded that the new
reality emerging locally – that
of a multi-cultural and multiethnic society – needs to be
addressed to enhance social
inclusion of migrants.
No official data is available
on exact numbers of children
of ethnic minorities being educated in schools in Malta.
Colin
Calleja,
Michael
Grech and Bernard Cauchi
studied the situation of 555
students attending nine different schools – primary and
secondary – hailing from 76
different countries in a document entitled Education and
Ethnic Minorities in Malta.
Education for children of
migrants is regulated in Malta by legal notice 259 of 2002.
This stipulates that children
of people classed as refugees
or those granted humanitarian protection have a right to
free education between the
compulsory ages of five and
16.
The European Monitoring
Centre on Racism and Xenophobia states that not only is
inclusion of ethnic minorities
a fundamental human right,
but will also improve the productive capacity of human
capital to achieve greater economic prosperity.
Despite a substantial amount of migrant children in schools, efforts to integrate them properly have been found lacking, a study has shown
Despite legal responsibilities
being fulfilled, these children
are not receiving an education that will encourage social integration for a number
of reasons. Calleja et al have
made some recommendations
to encourage social inclusion
of migrants and acceptance of
multi-culture among Maltese
pupils.
The presence of children of
different ethnicities is a reality, yet teachers and school
leaders are not being trained
in intercultural communication and skills to help them
deal with them.
Grouping the children in
one locality will make for the
worst possible policy, as ghettoisation of migrant children
will further facilitate social
exclusion. Calleja et al are recommending housing migrant
families in different parts of
the island to avoid this.
A dangerous practice common in most schools is to
group these children, who
require further educational
support with children with
special needs (disabilities). It
is a disservice to these chil-
ESF PROJECT 2.85
LINKING INDUSTRIAL NEEDS AND VET TO OPTIMISE HUMAN CAPITAL
The Principal of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology notifies that offers
from interested parties will be received for:
MCAST T. 13/10
TENDER FOR FACILITATION SERVICES DURING
INDUSTRY SECTOR GROUP MEETINGS
AT MCAST MAIN CAMPUS CORRADINO, PAOLA
Tender documents may be collected from the Accounts Department from Monday to Friday,
between 08:30 hrs to 12:00 hrs and 14:00 hrs to 16:00 hrs against a fee of € 35.
Tenders are to be submitted in a sealed envelope and deposited in the appropriate tender
box at the Administration Building, at the address below, by not later than Monday 4
October 2010 at 14:00 hrs.
MCAST reserves the right to accept or refuse in part or in whole, any or all tenders submitted.
LAT E AND INCOMPLETE A PPL ICATION S WILL N O T BE CO N SIDERED.
MCAST Main Campus
Corradino Hill, Paola PLA 9032
Tel: 2398 7100 Fax: 2398 7316
For more details log on: www.mcast.edu.mt
Operational Programme II – Cohesion Policy 2007-2013
Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality of Life
Project part-financed by the European Union
European Social Fund (ESF)
Co-financing rate: 85% EU Funds; 15% National Funds
Investing in your future
dren whose needs are entirely
different to those with learning disabilities.
Data collection, analysis and
evaluation will help in decisions of policy regarding the
education of migrant children. A monitoring department within the Education
Department could also provide support to these vulnerable children.
Other
recommendations
made in the report are to have
intensive language courses
in English and/or Maltese to
help children and their par-
ents communicate better with
the outside world. Where
possible, it is recommended
to offer teaching of the child’s
language of origin in collaboration with NGOs and embassies.
Some schools have provided
good practices that can be
adopted by other educational facilities. These include
Birzebbuga Primary, Miriamal Batool Islamic school and
Sliema Primary School, which
are encouraging social acceptance of different cultures and
religions.
Gozitans get an ODZ
pistol shooting range
THE Malta Environment
and Planning Authority
(MEPA) has approved an
open-air shooting gallery
on 650 square meters of
abandoned land between
the road leading to Ramla
Bay and San Blas Valley.
The applicants argued
that the development has
little impact on the site and
that projectiles are always
collected. They also argued
that the development has to
be located away from habitable areas and that the
site’s topography is ideal
for a shooting range, with
the natural layout of the
site providing a high degree
of safety at the target-end
without the need of interventions. The site will only
accommodate six shooters
at a time.
Unlike a previous application, which involved massive construction works,
the present one only in-
volved the levelling of the
f loor and the construction
of rubble walls.
But by approving this application, the Development
Control Commission has
overturned the negative
recommendation of the
case officer who argued that
by approving the shooting
range, MEPA could create a
precedent for similar developments in other areas of
the countryside. The case
officer report states that the
development is incompatible with the designation of
the site as an Area of High
Landscape Sensitivity.
The shooting range was
approved in the absence of
a policy on shooting ranges, which still lacks ministerial approval. MEPA’s
own Forward Planning
Unit objected to the development, arguing that this
could prejudice the emerging policy.
5
News
Breast Cancer mortality rising
among 55 to 64 year olds
JAMES DEBONO
THE Health Authorities are
noticing a trend of increased
breast cancer mortality among
55 to 64 year olds, the same age
group which is targeted for the
government’s breast screening
programme.
While 77 women in this age
group lost their life to this disease between 2000 and 2005,
the number of deaths in the
following five years totalled
120.
And while a third of breast
cancer deaths between 2005
and 2009 occurred within the
55 to 64 age group, women in
this age group represented only
21% of all breast cancer deaths
between 2000 and 2005.
ing each year.
The second most at risk age
group were women aged between 55 and 64. Only 5% of
those who died of breast cancer in the past five years were
under the age of 45 but 15%
were aged between 45 and 55
– an age group which is not
entirely covered by the breast
screening programme.
Screening is restricted to over
50-year-olds because mammography is not as effective
in pre-menopausal women, as
the density of the breast tissue
makes it more difficult to detect problems. The incidence
of breast cancer is also much
lower in the pre-50 age group.
According to the demographic review in 2009, deaths due to
breast cancer went up by 44%
120
The total number of Maltese
women who died in the last
five years from breast cancer
According to the Health
Ministry, this is the only apparent statistical trend related
to breast cancer deaths.
“The only notable apparent trend is within the 55-64
group. However, one has to
keep in mind that given the
small numbers involved, one
would require a longer period
of observation to establish
whether a trend is being sustained or not”.
A positive aspect noted by
the Health Ministry is that the
recommended age groups for
breast screening coincide very
well with age groups who are
most at risk of breast cancer.
The Malta Breast Screening Programme provides free
breast screening every three
years for all women aged 50 to
60 years. Around 14,000 women are being invited for screen-
over 2008. According to the
National Office of Statistics
this was mainly due to a sharp
increase in deaths caused by
breast cancer among women
between 45 and 54 and women
aged between 65 and 74, when
compared to 2008. 2009 registered the highest number
of breast cancer deaths since
2000.
But these statistical fluctuations in total figures do not
have any statistical relevance.
“Given the small size of
Malta, the numbers fluctuate wildly. This may give rise
to apparent rises or falls from
one year to the next that are
simply due to random variation,” the Ministry spokesperson explained.
A total of 753 women have
lost their life to breast cancer
during the past decade.
Breast screening for over 50 -year-olds is covered by the Health department
A total of 753 women have lost their life to breast cancer during the past decade
Number of breast cancer deaths in the past decade
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
All ages
55-64
% aged 55-64
103
73
64
69
61
71
77
74
66
95
19
16
15
11
16
17
25
25
24
29
18.4
21.9
23.4
15.9
26.2
23.9
32.5
33.8
36.4
30.5
6
News
Both parties welcome
MaltaToday’s latest poll
Trust Barometer
mtsurvey
50
40
30
20
10
September 2008
Legend
September 2009
March 2010
September 2010
Given a choice between Lawrence Gonzi and Joseph Muscat who do you trust most?
Lawrence Gonzi
Joseph Muscat
No Answer
None
JAMES DEBONO
THE result of last week’s survey
showing Muscat losing 6 points
in his trust rating while still retaining a 9-point lead over Gonzi
was welcomed by exponents of
both major parties.
While Labour sources expressed satisfaction that Muscat
has still managed to maintain a
substantial lead over Gonzi despite a lull in visibility following
an incident which left him unable to conduct normal political
activities, Nationalist sources
took the survey as an indication
that while the worse could be
over for the PN, Muscat’s honeymoon with the electorate is definitely over now.
“Your surveys clearly show that
Joseph Muscat has lost 10 percentage points since he was appointed leader… This indicates
Lawrence Gonzi
Joseph Muscat
None
No Answer
that the Labour leader has peaked too early …it is a sign that our
message that Muscat is not leadership stuff and that his message
is full of contradictions is slowly
but steadily filtering down.”
The PN source expects the
trend to continue over the next
months, with the party pushing the message that the Labour
leader is rearing for a downfall.
As regards PN, sources indicated that “the worse seems to
be over,” and despite a political
earthquake which saw four PN
mayors losing their office, Gonzi’s trust rating remained stable.
One silver lining for the PN in
the survey is that Gonzi seems
to be recovering trust among
former PN voters. The survey
shows that in the past year, the
number of PN voters who assess
Gonzi’s performance positively
has grown from just 36% last
year to 52%.
Sep 2010
24.6
33.3
17.3
24.8
March 2010
26.3
38.9
21.4
13.4
“This is an indication that
the message is starting to filter
in… with the economy turning
round and with people seeing
deliverables like public transport
reform and the new parliament
with their own eyes in the next
months, the message will start
filtering down to other categories of voters who remain uncommitted.”
According to the PN source, the
survey confirms that although
perceptions of widespread corruption cannot be ignored, these
have a limited impact on people’s
voting intentions.
“With all that the government
has passed through in the last
months, the effect could have
been far more dramatic.”
On the other hand Labour
sources attributed the drop in
Muscat’s trust rating to the summer lull.
“The fact that Muscat retained
Sep 2009
23
36.3
25.2
15.6
Sep 2008
30.8
43.7
17
8.5
a considerable lead at a time
when he was partially invisible
due to an accident which hampered his mobility is a clear sign
that we are very competitive indeed.”
Another positive aspect in the
survey for the PL is that it confirms that Muscat is appealing
for a category of former Nationalist voters.
“Your survey shows that 16%
of PN voters in 2008 now prefer
Muscat to Gonzi. It also shows
that 12% of PN voters would now
vote PL. This is clearly Muscat’s
greatest accomplishment… that
of making inroads among pale
blue voters while losing practically nothing from the core vote.
The survey simply confirms
the shift in the 2008 MEP elections.”
But the Labour source acknowledged that this new influx
of support can be very unstable
and is easily swayed away by the
slightest mistake or mishap.
“The survey shows that we cannot be in any way complacent
both as regards substance and
image… and we must be wary of
repeating the mistake of ignoring the impact of new voters as
we did last time.”
But the Labour source insisted
that the party is in a much better
position than it was before the
2008 election.
“At that time, your surveys always showed Gonzi enjoying a
better trust rating than Alfred
Sant despite the government’s
inherent unpopularity. The PN
intelligently responded by morphing into GonziPN on the eve
of the election. It seems that this
trump card will be less effective
come 2013.”
[email protected]
7
News
Borg Olivier
facing criminal
charges on VAT
Prime Minister says he ‘did not intervene’ with
Commissioner of VAT to stop proceedings against PN
secretary-general for unpaid VAT
Former PN secretary-general Joe Saliba
PN secretary-general Paul
Borg Olivier is to be charged
in court on 14 October, for
failing to file his VAT return
in time, MaltaToday has
learnt.
A writ by the VAT Commissioner, seen by this
newspaper, has asked the
Commissioner of Police to
file criminal proceedings
against Borg Olivier on VAT
evasion charges.
Specifically, Borg Olivier
is being charged with not
having filed his VAT return
within the 75-day deadline
after the end of the August
2006 tax period.
He will be appearing in the
court of Magistrate Doreen
Clarke.
The offence carries a fine
of anything between €700
and €3,500, but if convicted
Borg Olivier can request a
total or partial remission of
the penalty, provided that
the prosecution and the VAT
Commissioner agree to such
request.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister
told MaltaToday the prime
minister “did not intervene”
with the Commissioner of
VAT over the procedures
that were about to be taken
against the secretary-general, when specifically asked.
In comments to MaltaToday sent via email a week
Former AD chairperson Harry vassallo
after questions were made
to him, Borg Olivier said he
had regularised his position
with the VAT department.
“I was not secretary-general at the time,” Borg Olivier said, referring to the
fact that the VAT number
is registered in his personal
capacity as a lawyer.
Borg Olivier did not reply
to MaltaToday’s questions
as to whether he felt his position was now untenable
given that he is the subject
of criminal proceedings.
Only this week, parliamentary secretary Chris Said resigned his post over criminal
charges he faces for perjury,
saying that “it was correct
politically and serious” of
him to stand down.
Borg Olivier also set much
store on ethical standards
when he demanded that
Sliema mayor Nikki Dimech
resign his post for admitting
to criminal charges under
police interrogation.
Even more embarrassing
for the PN secretary-general
is the fact that the criminal charges are redolent of
the arrest warrant served to
chairperson of Alternattiva
Demokratika, Harry Vassallo, two days before the 2008
general election.
Vassallo had not even
been served with the warrant when he was asked by a
journalist from Nationalist
TV station Net, on the matter. Vassallo said the unfilled VAT returns had been
an unresolved issue from a
defunct company he once
formed part of.
Then PN secretary-general
Joe Saliba had defended the
actions of the party journalists, claiming that Vassallo
had collected VAT from
customers without passing
on the money to VAT department.
Vassallo was served with
two arrest warrants in connection with a VAT-related
case, four hours after a Net
TV journalist had asked
him about the case, two
days before the 2008 general election. The warrants
were for the non-payment of
Lm6,000 (€14,000) in fines
for non-filing of VAT returns for a company he had
not been involved with for
the past 10 years.
However, he was still registered with the VAT department as the person
responsible for the company. Vassallo said he had
been present for various
court sittings in connection with this case, explaining he could not present
the returns of a company
for which he had not been
employed for more than 10
years.
GRTU president
accuses Sandro
Chetcuti of ‘unethical
business dealings’
MATTHEW VELLA
A scathing attack by the Chamber of SMEs (GRTU) president
Paul Abela has accused the
new Malta Developers’ Association (MDA) and its vicepresident Sandro Chetcuti of
having “benefitted from the
greatest money laundering exercise of hundreds of millions
of tax-evaded monies.”
The diatribe, penned in the
GRTU’s newsletter, accuses
Chetcuti – who faces charges
of attempted murder after assaulting GRTU director Vince
Farrugia – of having “basked under the tax amnesty awarded by
minister Tonio Fenech.”
Chetcuti was last week appointed vice-president of the
MDA, whose president is the
former Nationalist minister
Michael Falzon. Its 60 members
include construction magnate
Charles ‘ic-Caqnu’ Polidano.
Chetcuti is effectively described
by Abela as a multi-millionaire
who benefited from the government’s tax amnesties, and who
was kicked out due to his unethical business record.
Chetcuti, 38, was accused of the
attempted murder of Vince Farrugia when he assaulted him in
the GRTU offices on 11 March,
2010. According to Abela, Farrugia was instructed by the GRTU
council to tell Chetcuti that “his
record of unethical business
dealings” made his position as a
GRTU vice-president untenable.
Abela, describing himself as
a “lifelong member of the PN”,
also writes that he will be requesting the party to “dismiss
Michael Falzon from the party”
for “cheekily covering up for
[Chetcuti] and accepting him as
deputy.”
Asked for his reaction, Chet-
cuti told MaltaToday he is seeking legal counsel over the “false
allegations in [his] regard.”
“These words are not coming
from the heart of my friend Paul
Abela,” Chetcuti said. “I’m confident the truth will be revealed.
I will continue to respect everyone’s opinion. As to the comments about my pending court
case, I choose to voice my opinion after the case is decided.”
Michael Falzon described the
article as an unwarranted “vitriolic personal attack… senseless
and ludicrous.”
“I don’t know how my membership in the Nationalist Party
comes into it. As far as I know
irking Paul Abela is not tantamount to betraying the party’s
principles. What is more weird
is that this comes from a man
who recently twice attacked the
Prime Minister publicly because
the PM had not consented to a
proposal made by his consortium to speculate on public land
by building residences in the
White Rocks site!”
Contacted by MaltaToday,
Vince Farrugia said that Chetcuti had joined GRTU with the
aim of lobbying finance minister for a tax amnesty. “The
MDA does not represent people like GRTU members who
buy land and develop it. The
MDA represents speculators
who hoard property until it is
time to sell it off.”
Chetcuti had lobbied for an
amnesty on some €233 million
in undeclared income, that had
been booked as ‘shareholder
loans’. Government had been
requested to extend its tax
amnesty for company shareholders who had re-invested
undeclared income back into
their own firms, but the request was not accepted in the
end.
8
News
The makings of the G
So hard in the heels of his comeback
speech at the Granaries and on the
same day of John Dalli’s vindication
in a court sentence, the timing
of Chris Said’s resignation could
have been a major factor in the
formulation of the ‘Gonzi doctrine’
BY accepting Chris Said’s resignation as Junior Minister last
Thursday, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi set a bold precedent: any member of his cabinet
facing proceedings in court will
now have to step down.
But does this inaugurate a “culture of resignations”, marked by
expectations of high standards
of ethical conduct on the part of
politicians?
Gonzi’s tolerance of other
politically embarrassing cases
– albeit of a non-criminal na-
ture – suggests otherwise. The
Prime Minister saw nothing
wrong in his Finance Minister
Tonio Fenech accepting a flight
on a prominent businessman’s
private jet to watch a football
match, in breach of the ministerial code of ethics.
Nor did he expect his former
and present party’s general secretary to resign after spending
his holidays on the yacht of a
prominent businessman who
bids for, and wins, government
contracts.
By James Debono
Both cases fuelled perceptions
of a shady area where political
decisions and business interests
mix.
Nor has anyone assumed political responsibility for the
BWSC saga, despite a report by
the Auditor General who questioned the change of emissions
laws right in the middle of a tendering process, in a way which
favoured a particular company
while listing a number of other
irregularities and conflict of interests.
Arguably, by dismantling
Austin Gatt’s ‘Super Ministry’
and adding Enemalta to Tonio Fenech’s finance portfolio,
Gonzi has partially addressed
this issue without demanding
a mea culpa from his abrasive
minister.
Ironically, Chris Said’s arraignment on charges of perjury
in a case that involved the custody of a child, pales in contrast
to the more politically charged
cases mentioned above.
Although perjury in a court of
Gonzi had accepted Dalli’s resignation from Foreign Minister despite the lack of any formal investigations or criminal proceedings against his
former Minister
law is a serious matter and cannot be dismissed as “trivial,” (as
described by the former junior
minister himself), Said’s case
was completely unconnected to
his Ministerial duties and deals
with his testimony in a child
custody case in his capacity as
lawyer.
What the Prime Minister has
done is mark a clear line which
cannot ever be crossed: that of
having his own ministers or
junior ministers facing criminal investigations. So far he has
failed to mark his line on politically embarrassing cases which
do not result in criminal proceedings.
Ironically, Gonzi’s own words
that he cannot have a “minister
under investigation”, directed
towards John Dalli six years
ago, have returned to haunt the
Prime Minister on the same day
that the law courts confirmed
a prison sentence against Joe
Zahra, the private investigator
found guilty of fabricating evidence against John Dalli.
On that occasion, Gonzi had
accepted Dalli’s resignation as
Foreign Minister despite the
lack of any formal investigations
or criminal proceedings against
his former minister. And while
the Auditor’s investigation on
airline ticket purchasing turned
out to be a generic one on the
practices of all ministries, the
Zahra report, which prompted
the Prime Minister to utter
those words, turned out to be a
criminal fabrication.
The timing which saw the two
unrelated cases, one affecting
his rival for the leadership and
the other affecting a close political aide, converge on the same
day may well have been a factor
Advertise NOW on ww
9
News
onzi doctrine
in the Prime Minister’s decision
to draw a clear line and show
that what applied to Dalli five
years ago applies to others.
The timing of Chris Said’s
case also came a few days after Prime Minister Lawrence
Gonzi’s annual address on the
Granaries in Floriana, where he
promised to get tough on corruption in what was perceived
as the end of the summer lull
and Gonzi’s return to the political stage. It also comes in the
wake of criminal proceedings
against two PN mayors accused
of soliciting bribes, one of which
was expelled from the party.
While Said’s case had nothing
to do with corruption, having a
junior minister facing perjury
charges would have dented the
government’s morality drive.
Instead by accepting Said’s
resignation, Gonzi may well
have tried to demonstrate that
his speech was not just hot air
and that he really means business.
But despite a degree of appreciation for Said’s correctness in
promptly presenting his resignation, his resignations represent a major setback for Lawrence Gonzi’s political project,
in which Said was clearly a rising star.
Gonzi could have betrayed his
discomfort at losing an ally in
his reply, in which he augured
“a quick conclusion of this legal
process” to be in a position to
re-appoint Said in the same post
he occupies today, thus prompting criticism that he is exerting
pressure on the courts by making it a foregone conclusion that
Said will be found innocent.
The political reverberations
in Gozo – a strategic district
where the next election may
well be decided – are obvious,
with Gozo Minister Giovanna
Debono fending off another
challenger for the party’s de facto leadership in Gozo. Debono
was reported to have resisted
attempts to remove her from
her entrenched position in the
Gozo Ministry in the latest government reshuffle.
By revealing that he had denounced his own brothers to
MEPA over planning infringe-
ments in an interview with MaltaToday in 2007, Said had tried
to project an image which contrasted with Debono’s ‘queen of
Gozo’ status.
Gonzi has also (at least temporarily), lost the contribution of
a media savvy junior minister
who also manages to project the
image of a ‘doer’, tackling sensitive issues like medicine prices.
His resignation also comes at
a time when local government
is being shaken by a series of
bribery allegations, which Said
claims have only surfaced because of a strengthening of
checks and balances brought
about be a law which is still being implemented.
In a public interview published
two weeks ago by MaltaToday,
Said claimed that by taking
steps against Nationalist mayors the government has proved
that corruption is not institutionalised.
Now by handing his own scalp
to Gonzi, Said could be proving the point that nobody under
investigation can remain in
government.
Gonzi could
have betrayed
his discomfort
at losing an
ally in his
reply, in
which he
augured
“a quick
conclusion
of this legal
process”
Said described the ‘perjury’ accusation as trivial
ww.maltatoday.com.mt
[email protected]
10
News
Smart City road will be a “total
disaster” for Fgura, says report
Fgura Major Byron Camilleri: “Although we are in favour of the SmartCity project we cannot accept a situation where all traffic passes from Fgura as this will have a massive
impact on residents’ health, which is already serious: with present traffic flows more residents are complaining of asthma”
JAMES DEBONO
A 643 meter road dual carriage
way linking Bieb is-Sultan in
Zabbar to Triq San Rokku next
to the Capuchin convent in Kalkara will be a “total disaster” for
the residents of Fgura if the link
road is not extended up to talBarrani, a social impact study
by sociologist Mario Vassallo
concludes.
He comes to this conclusion
because of the estimated 23,000
daily car trips solely generated
by the Smart City project will
have to pass directly from an
already polluted and congested
Fgura.
A Master Plan published by
Transport Malta already shows
how Smart City will eventually
link with the Tal-Barrani Area
to alleviate traffic problems in
Fgura but the report states that
the larger project will only be finalised by 2020.
If the government sticks to
this deadline, Fgura residents
will have to endure a “very long
period of ten more years,” during which the extra traffic created by Smart City traffic will
only pass from Fgura, Vassallo
contends.
His report calls on the Malta
Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) not to issue a
permit for the new link road
unless a “strong and verifiable
commitment” is taken to “radically” shorten the time frame
for the development of the TalBarrani link road.
Otherwise the development
“despite its usefulness for
The estimated
23,000
daily car
trips solely
generated by
the Smart
City project
will have
to pass
directly from
an already
polluted and
congested
Fgura
Fgura council concerned
Byron Camilleri expressing serious reservations on the new
development.
“Although we are in favour of
the SmartCity project we cannot accept a situation where
all traffic passes from Fgura as
this will have a massive impact
on residents’ health which is already serious: with present traffic flows with more residents are
complaining of asthma.”
The council is still studying the
reports in the EIA but Camilleri
made it clear that the council
would be demanding compensation in the form of planning
gains for the local community
if the road is deemed to be inevitable.
But extending the new road to
Tal-Barrani could result in further environmental problems.
The present proposal already results in the loss of 14,500 square
meters of agricultural land.
Further encroachments on agricultural land could result if the
road is extended to Tal-Barrani.
Amendments to the Grand
Harbour Local Plan (Policy
GT03) approved in 2007 did not
envision a Link Road from Bieb
is-Sultan to Triq Santu Rokku,
Kalkara, but one linking the TalBarrani road to Kalkara.
Sources in MEPA have told
MaltaToday that it would make
more sense to assess the impact
of the whole road linking TalBarrani with Smart City, rather
than a piecemeal approach
through which the link road is
being approved in segments.
Moreover, concern is mounting among residents in Fgura,
with the new locality’s Mayor
[email protected]
SmartCity” would simply lead
to “a new bottleneck creating
more and very serious social
problems, with a high social
price, than what it seeks to solve
for a long period of at least ten
years.”
The EIA describes driving
through Fgura as being already
very problematic at present and
the proposed road on its own
will make things much worse
for the inhabitants of that town.
“It would create much more
pollution than at present with
the obvious negative consequences on the health of the
population there”.
In the absence of a link with
tal-Barrani, “the situation at the
outskirts of Żabbar and within
Fgura could potentially be much
worse than at present” because
the new road will simply pump
huge amounts of new traffic,
into junctions which are already
over capacity handling traffic
from Żabbar and Marsascala
onto a densely populated Fgura.
If the link road project joining Kalkara to Tal-Barrani is
not completed, the negative social impacts of the new project
would be substantial, because
rather than spreading the negative impact of the larger volume of traffic generated by the
SmartCity and Cottonera developments along existing routes,
it would consolidate them into
one, already over-tensioned,
densely inhabited stretch.
If the link
road project
joining
Kalkara to
Tal-Barrani
is not
completed,
the negative
social impacts
of the new
project would
be substantial
11
News
Eco-warrior extraordinaire
The state of our local environment is in urgent need of policy to protect the few natural
resources we have. Petra Bianchi, president of Din l-Art Helwa, talks to RACHEL ZAMMIT
CUTAJAR about the dire situation of our finite limestone resources, our limited fresh water
as well as use of land and protecting our pocket sized countryside
AFTER a bit of a run in with
Wesley, the gorgeous talkacca dog guarding the Bianchi residence, we settled
down in the garden of her
home on a pleasant Friday
evening. The old Zebbug
town house is beautifully restored, combining the traditional features of the splendid Maltese architecture
with modern comforts.
Bianchi
immediately
launches into a brief history
of Din l-Art Helwa, emphasising on how their aims and
objectives are still the same
today as they were since
their launch in 1965 – to
safeguard Malta’s national
heritage and natural environment for the enjoyment
of future generations.
“The organisation was
set up with both these issues in mind, though in the
past have focused more on
national heritage. Environmental concerns have become more forefront in the
It is
predicted
that
limestone
will run out
in just 30
years. If we
do not do
something
about it now
there won’t
be anything
to be done
later as
there will be
nothing left
eye of the public and thus
these issues have become
more pressing.”
Bianchi talks about the
need for long term vision
when it comes to planning
environmental issues, such
as the use of the underground water table, limestone, land use and alternative energy among others.
“Each issue primarily requires some sort of vision,
then laying out of objectives
and allocating resources efficiently to reach the desired
effect.”
Here she heavily criticises
the government saying that
the vision simply is not
there, objectives are shaky
at best, and resources are
badly managed, so much
so that our few natural resources are over-exploited to
the point that if something
drastic is not done soon then
there will be nothing left to
protect.
Bianchi is concerned about
the natural water table. Over
extraction of fresh water
through bore holes creates
a loss of pressure in underground reservoirs, encouraging the intrusion of sea
water which will eventually
render fresh water useless
due to high salinity. British
geologist Gordon Knox has
predicted this will occur as
soon as 2025.
She offers alternatives in
the treatment of wastewater
to second-class fresh water that although will not
be drinkable, can be used
for irrigation. Questions of
price, quality and distribution need to be addressed so
that this alternative can be
exploited in a feasible manner.
Limestone is another finite,
non-renewable
resource
that bears protecting. “The
pale yellow colour limestone
lends to the buildings in
Malta is part of our heritage and it would be a shame
exhaust this resource that
has been associated with
our buildings over the centuries.
“At the moment there is are
no mechanisms in place to
reduce waste of limestone.
Buildings are being demolished and perfectly useable
limestone is simply being
discarded. Recyclability is
not even considered. Government needs to be providing incentives for recycling
limestone now.”
Targets to be met are steep
due to the inactivity in the
past. Some targets are set by
the nature of the resources
we are using. When dealing with finite resources we
have to ensure that they will
last as long as possible.
“It is predicted that limestone will run out in just 30
years. If we do not do something about it now there
won’t be anything to be done
later as there will be nothing
left.”
Other targets are set by the
EU. By 2020, 20% of our energy is to come from renewable sources yet we still rely
almost exclusively on fossil
fuels.
Land is another finite resource that merits some
kind of management. As one
of the most densely populated countries in the world,
we need to have better policies on the use of land and
the protection of our pocket
sized countryside.
There are still a large
number of vacant properties, while new properties
continue being built, making for inefficient use of
land and jeapordising our
biodiversity and natural
landscapes.
Planning policies are riddled with inconsistencies.
“Take the issue of high rise
buildings for instance. Applications
for
high-rise
buildings were accepted before any sort of policy was
created. There should be
some kind of vision – places
where high-rise buildings
are allowed and places where
they aren’t. Instead we have
a few haphazard towers scattered over the island.
“There is a moratorium on
high-rise buildings until a
policy can be created. However rather than creating a
policy before the applications came in government
will now have to take into
consideration pending applications when creating the
policy.”
The presence of a good policy is important for all environmental issues because
mistakes are so difficult
to rectify. In the instance
of high-rise builds this becomes even more evident,
due mainly to ownership issues.
“Implementing any sort
of changes in an apartment
block housing four families
is difficult enough. If owners are in the hundreds then
it becomes almost impossible to achieve any changes.”
Another issue close the Bianchi’s heart is the attention
to “green zones” within urban areas. Hardly any attention is given to the aesthetics of built up areas.
“Manoel Island in Gzira
would have been an ideal
ground for a recreational
Petra Bianchi
centre in close proximity
to many families. Instead
it is being developed into
and extension of the already
massive Tigne Point.”
This is not to say that it is
all bad news out there. Government has put together a
National Environment Policy, though Bianchi says if
this is considered in isolation
it will do nothing but gather
dust on the back shelves.
Environmental policy needs
to be integrated into other
strategies; transport, energy, industry, construction
and tourism: all of which
have conf licting targets and
impact the environment in a
negative manner.
Din l-Art Helwa is responsible for the management
of two of Malta’s first nature parks. Foresta 2000 in
Mellieha is a project Din lArt Helwa manages a large
site on the Marfa Ridge of
300,000 square metres, in
collaboration with Bird Life
Malta and the Ministry for
Resources and Rural Affairs.
“We are working hard to
restore the area that was
altered by human activity,
recreating
Mediterranean
woodland to encourage biodiversity and increasing access to the general public.”
The Majjistral Nature Park
in the Northwest of the island from which it takes its
name. It includes the costal cliffs and Golden Sands
beach and is managed by Din
l-Art Helwa, Nature Trust
(Malta) and Gaia Foundation.
Financing of the foundation has always been tough,
as with any charitable institution, but Bianchi is positive. Financing comes from
members’
subscriptions,
corporate members as well
as fund raising events.
“So far, we have never had
a project that was unable to
be pursued because of lack
of funding but it is always
challenging to put together
enough money to get our
projects off the ground.
“It is more difficult to secure financing for maintenance work than for new
projects as people as well
as corporations feel more
inclined to help out when
something they can see the
difference their money is
making.”
Bianchi has a full-time job
as well as two teenage children to look after. She manages her commitment to Din
l-Art Helwa in the evenings
and at weekends.
“It is like this for the rest
of the volunteers who donate their time to our cause.
We all have work and family
commitments and somehow
have to fit everything in.
This is why some projects
take off before others. Whoever takes a personal interest in a particular project
makes sure it gets off the
ground as soon as possible
but somehow everything fits
into place.”
Recent work taken on by
Din l-Art Helwa include
the Our Lady of Victory
Church in Valletta, which
was handed over to them by
the government, the Great
Siege monument, the Queen
Victoria Statue in Valletta,
the Vilhena Lion Statue and
several niche monuments of
various saints.
“We are always on the look
out for new properties where
our work is badly needed in
the restoration of heritage
sites or environmental areas
to their former glory.”
12
Interview
By Karl Stagno Navarra
‘The PN needs n
THIS week the Appeals Court
upheld a guilty verdict in the
case of Joe Zahra, confirming
the pseudo-private investigator’s
17-month jail term for having
fabricated a report alleging corruption during the procurement
of a multi-million euro Mater Dei
contract – the same report which
had ousted John Dalli from his
post as foreign minister in July
2004.
Dalli was ‘politely’ asked to resign by Prime Minister Lawrence
Gonzi, who – basing himself on
the contents of the damning but
fabricated report (which implied
that Dalli’s brother Sebastian was
in cahoots with the director of
contracts in a network of kickbacks from the successful bidder
Inso SpA) – had specifically told
him: “I cannot have a minister
under investigation.”
Dalli spent the next years in the
government backbench, occasionally expressing his personal
view of the Gonzi administration
in a newspaper column. Then
he was ‘rehabilitated’ by Gonzi
himself, just ahead of the 2008
general election, denouncing the
fabrications of Zahra, and announcing that Dalli was to be his
advisor on financial affairs – a
symbolic posting aimed at giving
the impression that his former
leadership rival was now his ally
at the OPM.
By the time he was re-elected
and given the social policy superministry, Dalli was once again
riding the crest of a new wave of
backbench disillusion. And it was
at this moment that Gonzi decided to appoint the minister as
European Commissioner.
But even with his sojourn in
Brussels, the imprisonment of
Zahra in Corradino Prisons,
where he will stay for at least a
minimum of 10 months, has rekindled Dalli’s memory of what
he calls was a “political assassination” by people close to Lawrence Gonzi.
I meet the EU Commissioner
the day after the Appeals
Court
confirmed
Zahra’s conviction.
Journalist Ivan
Camilleri: Dalli claims
he and his brother
Alan, formerly the
PM’s spokesperson,
were part of a ‘media
conspiracy’ that aided
his downfall. Camilleri
is today The Times’s
correspondent in
Brussels.
Asked to react to Zahra’s final
conviction, Dalli calmly recalls
the personal hardship he and his
family endured. “We have been
through a lot, and this is why I say
Zahra’s conviction is really not
enough: firstly because the directors of Dutch firm Simed who
contracted Zahra, promising him
€2 million should they have been
awarded the Mater Dei medical
equipment contract, have amazingly got away with murder.”
Dalli insists the company directors were directly involved in
his downfall. “The directors of
Simed actually fomented the report with Zahra, and even passed
on the fabricated accusations to
the Prime Minister who had me
removed. They were instrumental in my political assassination.”
At the same time, however,
Dalli hints there was more than
just corruption involved. “I don’t
believe that this was a simple case
of greed for money on Joe Zahra’s
part. This whole saga carried a
clear political stamp with it.”
Today, John Dalli believes it is
perfectly legitimate to ask who
is going to shoulder political
responsibility for his removal.
“There is a high level of political
responsibility to shoulder for my
case, because at the same time
there was a well coordinated attack in my regard through the
media.”
Is Dalli convinced that there
was a hidden hand?
“It’s not a case of a hidden hand,
it was a prepared plan intended
to get rid of me,” Dalli says, hinting at the political maneuvering
that had got underway during the
2004 leadership contest against
Lawrence Gonzi, and the events
after Gonzi’s formal election. “It
was the way things were fabricated and secretly passed around
behind my back, while
a series of other allegations were being
fabricated in my regard.”
Dalli insists that he
never knew about the
Joe Zahra report,
not even when
it was on the
Prime Minister’s desk –
delivered
to him by
Si med ’s
directors a full
month before
the PM first
asked Dalli to
resign, and
then gave the
report to the
Commissioner
of
Police to investigate.
“This,
to me, was shattering because it
breached the principle of transparency and loyalty, as I was kept
in the dark about what I was being accused of.
“Simultaneously, other stories
were being conjured up, such as
the one about the purchasing of
airline tickets by my ministry,
that was eventually also thrown
out by the Auditor General,”
Dalli says, referring to the Times
report detailing the purchase of
airline tickets by Dalli’s foreign
ministry secretariat from Tourist
Resources Ltd, a company with
direct ties to his daughter.
“I dare say that all these things
happened with one specific scope:
to have me removed, because perhaps I was considered a threat to
certain people,” Dalli says.
CONSPIRACY
“There are
those who had
clear political
interests,
who ganged
up together
to have me
ousted, and
we all know
how the clique
that was
formed in the
media: mostly
in the Times,
the Sunday
Times and TV
production
company
Where’s
Everybody.”
Dalli also alludes to a concerted campaign orchestrated by
the media in the same period of
time in 2004, when he was also
facing allegations by Labour that
he had used his ministerial influence to get the Irisl shipping
line to choose his son-in-law’s
shipping agency as their Malta
reps.
“There are those who had clear
political interests, who ganged
up together to have me ousted,
and we all know how the clique
that was formed in the media:
mostly in the Times, the Sunday
Times and TV production company Where’s Everybody.”
Dalli doesn’t mince his words
and goes straight to mentioning the names of who he believes
played an intrinsic role in 2004
that contributed to his resignation. He mentions Times journalist Ivan Camilleri – who was
already mentioned as the PBS
journalist ‘who kept up the attack on several occasions’ in his
2004 letter of resignation – and
his brother Alan Camilleri, then
spokesman for Prime Minister
Lawrence Gonzi, and today the
chairman of Malta Enterprise.
So is Dalli expecting prosecutions? “If we are looking for
transparency, then all these people who fabricated and conjured
this very serious attack, must be
investigated,” he insists.
I interrupt Dalli to explain
to him that the Appeals Court
stressed that Joe Zahra’s actions
could have spelt “serious national
consequences.”
“Of course… there were definitely serious national conse-
WATCH THE FULL
INTERVIEW ON
MALTATODAY.COM.MT
quences because I had to resign
and – at the risk of sounding presumptuous – I was a leading minister in cabinet, and I was forced
to resign because the fabrications
were serious.”
Dalli says he now feels his integrity has been restored, calling it the ‘most important thing’.
“I always insisted with Gonzi, in
the many discussions we had at
that time, that I wanted my name
back, and I made sure that he got
the message, because my name
was ruined.”
He goes further, claiming the
plotters behind his resignation
wanted him “dead and buried”.
After Gonzi’s symbolic rehabilitation of Dalli in late 2007,
Dalli was eventually elected from
his home district, but he also
managed to garner 1,800 on the
POLITICAL
ASSASSINATION
I dare say that
all these things
happened with
one specific
purpose: to have
me removed,
because perhaps
I was considered
a threat to
certain people
Tenth electoral district, the Sliema stronghold. “That district was
rife with disillusioned voters, and
I was more than satisfied to have
garnered so many votes from
people who were hurt and found
refuge in voting for me, who like
them was hurt.”
Dalli says he faced a bewildered
Joe Saliba, then PN secretarygeneral, when he informed him
about his decision to contest Sliema. “He looked at me, dismayed,
and asked me if I was serious, and
I replied, ‘yes I am going to contest there because those are people who need me there,’ and I was
proved right.”
Today he is European Commissioner for Health and Consumer
Affairs. While jet-setting from
capital to capital on EU business,
Dalli admits his mind and heart
never departed from the vicissitudes of both Malta and the PN.
He says his relationship with
Gonzi is somewhat functional.
“We talk… I’m in Brussels, and he
is in Malta… We exchange messages should there be any need
of anything, but the relationship
reflects our respective roles: I being the Commissioner, and he the
Prime Minister,” he states, giving
the picture of a rather formal and
professional, albeit distant, political relationship.
Dalli still claims to be a Maltese
politician in spite of his posting
away from the island. “I attend
most political activities, I am
13
Six years after his forced resignation from Lawrence Gonzi’s Cabinet over a report now
proved to have been a fabrication, European Commissioner John Dalli asks: who will
shoulder political responsibility for his political ‘assassination’?
ew direction’
LEADERSHIP
The PN is in
need of a new
direction – a
climate of
apartheid has
crept into
the party,
where today’s
leader feels
he must have
all singing the
same tune
extremely interested in all that
is happening in Malta, and I remain in personal contact with
many people, especially at political level because I want to be
informed on all that is going on,
and intervene where I could give
a helping hand.”
Indeed, he is now within the
same building that houses Michel
Barnier, the commissioner who is
leading infringement procedures
against the irregular Delimara
power station extension procurement, which Brussels claims was
against EU competition law.
“All I can say is that the Maltese
government has replied to my
colleague Michel Barnier, and it
is now up to his department to
evaluate the replies. It is now a
question of either the EU accepting the Maltese government’s
explanations, or they could insist
that the procurement process
be annulled, or impose a fine on
Malta or take the nation to court
for not following established procedures.”
But his view of the PN today
could not be more critical, and
his enigmatic replies stir up the
old rivalry that existed inside the
party. “I believe the PN is in need
of a new direction… a climate
of apartheid has crept into the
party, where today’s leader feels
he must have all singing the same
tune, which is definitely wrong,”
Dalli says, in a direct reference to
Gonzi’s style of leadership.
They are bold claims, and he
draws the difference between today’s PN and the one led by Eddie
Fenech Adami. “We had a party
built on diverse opinions, made
of people who were free to think,
debate, and even contradict, and
that is what made the PN stronger and stronger over the years,
as its values were consequently
strengthened…”
This, he says, led to an automatic process of clarity in ideas and
vision: “an open internal debate
created a filter that perfected
ideas… but when you have someone who dictates and leaves nobody the space to contradict, as it
would mean certain elimination,
I say that this is surely not the way
to foster a democracy, nor to lead
an organization such as the PN.”
Does he see the evolution of the
party, manifesting itself even in
the government itself?
“It’s an established fact that the
party is very influential on government, in the sense that the
party in government reflects the
vision of the Party, so when that
vision starts to become blurred,
government’s efficiency is the
first to suffer… This is where I
believe that in real and immediate terms, we must take
stock of the situation and be
concrete in addressing the
situation and identify where
we are doing well and faring
badly.”
But Eddie Fenech Adami’s
party also left little space for
ideological differentiation or
personal initiative from MPs.
Take the issue of Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s private members’ bill on the introduction of
divorce: that could have never
happened under the stubborn,
Catholic direction of Fenech
Adami.
“I would opt to separate the
issue in two parts: content and
method… the method was a
‘bombshell’, because I would
have never expected such an
initiative during my time,
when we were the PN under
Eddie Fenech Adami. Because
when I explained to you that
we had an ongoing and lively
internal debate, there was an
element of control and discipline.
“But I must say that in our
time, we had the space to speak
out and express our ideas, and
there was never any need to
take any extraordinary initiatives… in simple words, we
were bonded by absolute loyalty towards each other.
“We may have disagreed between us on certain matters,
but we remained friends, we
didn’t fight. So if one of us had
an idea or a proposal to bring
forward, he or she had the
space to do it freely within the
party and develop it…”
Dalli’s stand on divorce is
cautious. He had already declared himself in favour of a
“real”, not “emotional” debate
on divorce in the country, and
not solely on the premise that
Malta must have divorce because it exists elsewhere in the
world.
But he disagrees with Gonzi’s approach to the matter by
saying that divorce will not be
decided by parliament but by
referendum, as it is “too big
an issue for 65 MPs to decide
upon…”
“I totally disagree with this.
A referendum depends on the
question being put forward…
I honestly do not think you
can place a question on an issue such as divorce, with all its
problems aside… and this is
why I believe that all MPs who
were elected by the people have
to assume the responsibility of
deciding on this matter.”
14
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Opinion
p
Saviour Balzan
[email protected]
C
A week is a long time...
hris Said looks like an average,
decent guy. But average looks,
it seems, are important if you
happen to be fickle, downright stupid
and have just had a lobotomy.
Take Labour deputy leader Toni Abela
as a perfect example: he is what many
Nationalist diehards and bloggers describe
as a lajburist. You see, being a lajburist, as
one woman married to a Nationalist crony
once told me at the City of London, is like
being a retard. Yes, she actually said ‘a
retard’. Well, good to know I suppose.
Those who know Abela have a different
story to tell. He is well – read, cultured,
intelligent, multi-lingual and can talk
about everything from the real Carbonara
to Rosa Luxembourg to Monet more than
what the average Nationalist prototype
can handle. More importantly, he fought
corruption, bad politics and sacrificed
his own career when Labour was in
government before 1987. That, it seems,
has little or no importance to many of the
sycophants who spout venom from their
cosy nests.
On the down side, he looks a bit like
Pancho Villa. But then again, Gonzi
isn’t exactly George Clooney, as I’m sure
we’ve all realised. But since when do we
appreciate our politicians because of their
looks?
Chris Said has average looks, is softspoken and dresses like every Nationalist
should… you know: blue tie, blue shirt,
dark blue suit and shiny black pointed
shoes.
Said was, of course, on the road to
replacing Giovanna Debono as the regent
for Gozo (Giovanna must be a very
happy person). Said had Gonzi’s backing,
and knew how to handle the media,
feeding them with interesting nuggets
of information. When his brothers were
involved in a very serious case of statutory
rape and a hit-and-run incident, the
press did not even dare ask the question
whether his position was tenable. He
withstood the storm and sailed on.
This time round, he could not stop the
maelstrom from hitting him right in the
face.
On the same day that Justice Michael
Mallia decided on the case, the Prime
Minister was faced with the other news. It
has been a bad week for Dr Gonzi.
Joe Zahra, who happens to be Lou
Bondi and Joe (aka Peppi Azzopardi)’s
bosom friend, was sentenced to 17 months
imprisonment for fabricating a story about
File pictures of Joe Zahra: Showing off his Freemason’s regalia, posing with Lou Bondi
Why Bondi kept him by his side all
John Dalli and others, insinuating that he
the time escapes me. But really, should
was taking kickbacks.
we be so surprised? After all, Bondi is a
In another country, the press would
man of principles who continues to win
be questioning the role of Zahra in the
marketing contracts for Government.
innumerable Lou Bondi programmes on
Those weeks before July 2004 on
State TV, and asking whether Where’s
PBS, Lou Bondi purposely organised
Everybody should be allowed to get on
TV programmes linked to the Mater
with producing programmes on PBS. In
Dei contracts. He did not divulge his
this country, however, Lou Bondi and
knowledge of the report, but quizzed Dalli
Joe Azzopardi are untouchables, so don’t
and built up perceptions with the public.
expect any decision here.
When the Dalli resignation did take
The PBS Chairman Joe Mizzi, along
place in July 2004, I have no doubt that
with PBS Head of News Natalino Fenech,
those in the Prime Minister’s Office
Head of the Editorial Board Joe Pirotta
also carefully whispered to those in the
and the former head of the editorial board
friendly media about the so-called ‘Joe
Joe Borg – the priest – will of course look
Zahra story’. The link between nasty
the other way and evade the whole issue.
bloggers, the ever-faithful Times, Where’s
They will not look back to see what
Everybody and the Office of the Prime
involvement this Zahra had in the
Minister, had never been more real.
production of so many programmes,
Ivan Camilleri, a Richard Cachia
including the ones directed by the Gonzi
Caruana acolyte employed with The
clan at political enemies.
Times, seems to have known what was
Perhaps some reminders are required
here. The Prime Minister believed Zahra’s happening. No big deal: Alan Camilleri is
his brother, and was the PM’s right hand
lies. Zahra had prepared his fairy tale for
man, while others in The Times seem to
a foreign company bidding at Mater Dei,
but Gonzi chose not to tell John Dalli. The have known as well.
The only person not to have known
people surrounding the Prime Minister –
was Dalli. And when he resigned, he did
namely Edgar Galea Curmi and the man
so because he simply could not take the
who runs our country’s investment, Alan
Camilleri – must have smiled as they read backstabbing anymore.
His words, not mine.
through Zahra’s report.
When he asked the Prime Minister what
To appreciate the dynamics of the whole
was happening, all he got was a blank
story, you really have to go back to 2004.
stare.
I have no doubt in my mind that Zahra
When the police did finally resolve
let those people he worked with in the
the matter – and I suppose some
media and those around him in on his
congratulations are in order here – they
so-called discovery. I know him as a very
discovered that Joe Zahra was a bloody
superficial person, incapable of writing
liar.
proper English and Maltese and a first
He is not alone.
class liar who loves to blab.
There are others who have alleged that
kickbacks have taken place.
One former Nationalist MP has alleged
that a person involved in the contracts
division could not have purchased a flat.
I can only fathom that this allegation
is based solely on his imagination and
paranoia, for the person mentioned was
not responsible for any contracts issued at
Mater Dei.
This saga, however, is not about Joe
Zahra the man – whose story spans
back to his days when he was driver and
bodyguard with Lorry Sant, down to his
involvement with Freemasonry. It is not
about Lou Bondi, who everyone prays will
stop appearing on our screens. It is not
about Ivan Camilleri, Alan Camilleri or
The Times.
It is about Lawrence Gonzi.
It is he who has egg on his face.
It is he who believed Zahra and passed
on the report to the Police Commissioner.
Let’s face it: Gonzi wanted Dalli out at all
costs. This was his greatest opportunity to
rid himself of his nemesis.
Unlike Fenech Adami who had
embraced his leadership contender Guido
de Marco and appointed him his deputy,
Gonzi relished the idea of destroying
Dalli. Truly, if anyone should talk of DNA,
then the Gonzi DNA was in full play. Like
his uncle, renowned for his nasty streak,
Gonzi personified what a politician should
never be. Some readers will say that I
have it against the Nationalist party. They
are wrong, simply because there IS no
Nationalist party. Not anymore: it’s now
all about expired politics and new politics.
About failed politics and new politics.
And since we’re on the subject of
resignations, I wonder what will Paul Borg
Olivier – who faces criminal charges on
failing to fill a VAT form – do now. Will
he be treated the same way Harry Vassallo
was treated before the last election, when
he was Green leader? Will all the bloggers
and unfriendly press take Paul Borg
Olivier to task as they did with Vassallo?
Will Edgar Galea Curmi visit me at
home, as he did in early 2008, and ask me
to publish the story about Vassallo’s failure
to fill in a VAT form?
Should people who fail to fill out their
VAT form be criminally prosecuted?
Well, no. But then, it is not us who
legislate, and why should Borg Olivier be
treated any different to anyone else? The
bottom line is that Borg Olivier, like Said,
should resign. At once!
16
Opinion
Martin Scicluna
Divorcing myth from reality
In the first of a 10-part weekly series, MARTIN SCICLUNA takes on the popular fallacies
surrounding the divorce debate, starting with:
POPULAR FALLACY 1:
This is a problem that can only
be fixed by strengthening
marriage
N
obody can possibly argue
with the proposition
that every effort must
be made to strengthen the
institute of marriage. It follows
that if government is serious
about stemming the current
shocking increase in marriage
break-downs, it must be
prepared to take the necessary
steps to strengthen it by all the
means at its disposal, including
legislative measures. There
have been several sensible
practical proposals made to
this effect, including by the
Today Public Policy Institute.
But even if the government
were minded to take the
practical action needed, it
cannot just stop there. This
is not a problem that can be
fixed simply by seeking to
strengthen the institution of
marriage, important though it
is to do so. While in an ideal
world marriage would be for
life, it must be recognised that
we live in an imperfect world.
The government has also to
cater, therefore, for the reality
of modern Maltese life that
– despite best efforts to avert
breakdown – marriages will
continue to do so.
In the 10 years between the
census of 1995 and 2005, the
number of individuals whose
marriages in Malta were
annulled or whose foreign
divorces were recognised,
together with those who were
granted legal separations,
rose by 160% from 5,098 in
1995 to 13,354 in 2005. The
number of legal separations
alone increased by 175%
during the same period. All
these marriages collapsed
even though divorce cannot be
obtained in Malta.
The total figure of marriage
breakdowns has continued
to increase in the five years
to date. All the evidence
indicates that it is well on
course to reach the figure
of 35,000 individuals in
broken marriages by 2015,
as predicted by the Maltese
Church’s own Institute for
Research on the Signs of the
Times, DISCERN.
The situation in Malta
today is anomalous and
discriminatory. While couples
whose marriages have broken
down, either because they
have been annulled or because
a divorce was obtained
abroad, are permitted to remarry, those whose marriage
break-down has led to a legal
separation are not – no matter
how long they have been
separated.
The only missing element
in the present law on legal
separation, therefore, is that
these people are not allowed
under any circumstances
to re-marry. We have legal
remedies equivalent to divorce
in every respect except one –
the right to re-marry.
When marriages fail, the
government must give legal
recognition to this fact in
such a way as to encourage
the institution of marriage.
It should do this by allowing
those who have been legally
separated and whose
marriages have irretrievably
broken down to re-marry,
if they wish to, after the
civil dissolution of their
marriage.
Re-marriage after legal
separation would provide
greater stability in our
society by avoiding the
adverse social consequences
arising from any subsequent
relationships. This would
benefit the common good of
society as the frame-work for
a stable family relationship
to an extent which today’s
dislocation caused by cohabitation never could.
To leave matters as they are
is no longer an option. The
current situation is intolerable
and seems likely only to get
worse. The legal provisions
in place are inadequate,
insufficient and unjust. It
would be wishful thinking
to suppose that the trends
of marriage breakdown
in Maltese society can be
reversed, or that any steps
to strengthen marriage
will succeed on their own
in eliminating marital
breakdowns. The reality is
that there will always be
some marriages that break
down irretrievably. We
should face that reality.
A civilised society has to
deal with the consequences
of broken marriages as
fairly as it can. The wellregulated civil dissolution
of marriage after legal
separation should be seen
as another legal remedy (in
addition to annulment or
legal separation). It is the way
of minimising the negative
consequences to families of
failed marriages who wish to
re-build their lives.
Raphael Vassallo
Perjury and prejudice
S
omeone once told
me that “you learn
something new every
day”. And I can personally
confirm that this is true. Just
today, for instance, I learnt
that the person who once told
me that was a compulsive
liar. So… um… there you
have it: something new,
every day.
The other new thing I learnt
this week? That ‘perjury’
actually exists. No, I don’t
mean only in Scrabble (where
it tends to score rather
highly as a seven-letter word
containing a ‘J’).
I mean also in the country’s
statute books, where it can
land you with a nice, new
criminal record and – at an
admittedly unlikely stretch
– also a short spell at the
Corradino Hotel and Leisure
Facilities in Paola.
The day I learnt this was
Thursday, when a certain
parliamentary secretary
named Chris Said, said he
had to resign because of
something he had said in
court (or at least, something
Said said he had said), and
… hang on, what was it Said
said he said? OK this is
getting confusing. But having
Said all this: whether the
said Said said what he said he
said or not, the fact remains
that up until that moment
he said so, I had no idea that
it even against the law to lie
under oath… still less that
one could conceivably go to
jail for it.
And not without good
reason. Consider the
following remarkable
coincidence: on the same
day Said said whatever
he was supposed to have
said, the magistrates’
court said something else
entirely: namely, that the
sworn testimony of four
prison warders, currently
facing charges of assault
and battery, was “hard to
believe” and therefore thrown
headlong out of court.
The case concerns a
spectacularly unsuccessful
attempted jailbreak some two
years ago, when Perry Ingmar
Toornstra – a Dutch national
currently serving a 15-year
sentence for drug trafficking
– tried to give four prison
warders the slip while on
prison leave.
Well, the four warders gave
Toornstra something else in
return: namely, a fractured
rib, and bruises (including
two bootmarks) to his
forehead, both sides of his
face, his neck, his chest, his
shoulder, his back, his armpit
(!) and both his knees.
Oh, and they also very
generously charged Toornstra
with ‘violently resisting
arrest’ and causing injuries to
two among their numbers –
including, horror of horrors,
a ‘contusion to a small toe’.
As it happens, Toonstra
denied all these charges
except for one: the attempted
escape. And last Thursday,
Magistrate Doreen Clarke
found the f leeing Dutchman
guilty of the latter charge,
and sentenced him to an
additional nine months to
add to his 15.
Significantly, however,
she also acquitted him of
the charge of ‘violently
resisting arrest’, and added
the following, rather glaring
observation to her overall
judgment (note: all emphasis
added by yours truly):
“It is very hard to believe
that the aggressive and
violent behaviour of
defendant, as described by
the correctional officers,
resulted only in the
(abovementioned) injuries
sustained by CO 57 and CO
124…
“In view of the foregoing
and in view of all the
evidence brought before
it, the Court cannot give
credibility to the versions
given by the correctional
officers in their testimony.”
Now, maybe I have a
tendency to read too much
into such things, but…
doesn’t this also mean
that the sworn testimony
of four prison warders (all
suspended, by the way) was
rejected by the court as, at
best, implausible, at worst, a
downright lie?
And if someone like Chris
Said can face criminal
charges for allegedly getting
facts wrong in a sworn
testimony – on a relatively
far less consequential
matter, I might add – then
the question arises as a
matter of course: why have
the four warders concerned
not been charged with
perjury, as Chris Said
was for something so
comparatively trivial?
First three correct answers
win a free bootmark on
an anatomical feature of
your choice… bruises and
abrasions for runners-up.
17
SETTING THE AGENDA
BREAKING NEW GROUND
www.maltatoday.com.mt
18
Opinion
Evarist Bartolo
Dr Gonzi’s ‘no regrets’
A
few months after Dr
Lawrence Gonzi was
elected PN leader and
became Prime Minister six years
ago, an evaluation report on
his government’s commitment
against corruption was carried
out by GRECO of the Council
of Europe, made up of a group
of states against corruption. The
Evaluation Report was published
in Strasbourg on 1st July 2005
and concluded: “…the country
still lacks a comprehensive anticorruption strategy in the public
sector and in specific areas of
law. Further improvements are
recommended with respect, for
example, to access to official
documents, procedures for
reporting and processing
suspicions of corruption, and
abusive migration of public
officials to the private sector
(pantouflage). Finally, tax
authorities, accountants and
auditors could also play a more
significant role in detecting and
reporting corruption.”
Since then, Dr Gonzi has failed
to address these weaknesses
and corruption has continued
to spread and has become a way
of life. Since Dr Gonzi became
Prime Minister, Malta has
continued to slide year after year
in Transparency International’s
annual surveys of perceived
corruption in 180 countries. In the
2005 index Malta ranked 25th,
dropped to 28th in 2006, slid to
33rd in 2007, went down to 36th
in 2008 and placed in the 45th
position last year. A fortnight
ago the World Economic Forum’s
Global Competitiveness Index
for 2010/11 showed that when
compared to the rest of the world
over last year’s results, Malta
has slipped back three places
where public trust of politicians
is concerned and is now ranked
33. While we rank 48th in the
world on irregular payments and
bribes, judicial independence also
fell two places to 33rd place, while
reliability of police services fell by
a staggering five points to 35th
place. Another interesting statistic
to note is a place backwards
(46) concerning favouritism in
decisions of government officials.
Dr Gonzi has been very
complacent about corruption.
His attitude is that there is no
real corruption in Malta and all
claims of corruption are politically
motivated. But that is only his
public face. He privately knows
that corruption in Malta is not just
a matter of perception or a ploy by
the Opposition to undermine his
government. Last Monday evening
he found himself in the absurd
position of saying that there is
no corruption in Malta and at
the same time promising to take
measures to intensify the fight
against corruption.
He was even more absurd
when he announced that to lead
this fight he would resurrect the
Permanent Commission Against
Corruption, giving it the power
and tools to investigate any
allegations of corruption. For more
than 20 years, this Commission
has been left without any real teeth
and resources, with no budget
and staff. Since its inception, the
Commission has never found
anyone guilty of corruption.
Betraying his lack of commitment
to tackle corruption, Dr Gonzi last
Sunday told One news journalist
Charlon Gouder he had ‘no
regrets’ about the BWSC scandal.
The PM has said he has no regrets
about the way the BWSC case
developed and he would do all
he had done all over again. He
defended all those implicated in
the BWSC scandal from small fry
like Joseph Mizzi, to big fish like
Zaren Vassallo, business magnate
and Nationalist benefactor
whose company has been
subcontracted by BWSC to build
the controversial power station
extension to operate on heavy fuel
oil. Gonzi’s government changed
the local environmental laws to
permit BWSC to bid and win the
contract. Gonzi’s government
also changed its 2006 policy to
abandon heavy fuel oil plants and
have new power stations in Malta
operate on gas. Dr Gonzi sees
nothing wrong in how BWSC’s
local agent Mizzi used his access
to Enemalta officials and top
people in the political hierarchy
to help obtain the contract for
BWSC. He sees nothing wrong in
having GVTH, a local law firm,
doing work at the same time for
the government, Enemalta, Joseph
Mizzi, the PN and BWSC.
Gonzi sees nothing wrong
that KPMG does consulting
work for government, Enemalta,
BWSC and Sumimoto Mitsui
Banking Corporation. He sees
nothing wrong in how Enemalta is
caught in a web woven by Mitsui
Engineering and Shipbuilding
Co. Ltd. that owns BWSC and
Sumimoto Mitsui Banking
Corporation, a prime money
lender to Enemalta and is a
partner with MAN that placed
second in the adjudication of
the tender to build the power
station extension. Gonzi has no
regrets that Enemalta appointed
Lahmeyer International (BWSC’s
agent Mizzi also used to be
their agent) as an “independent
consultant” to evaluate technically
the bids of the renderers when
this company built three power
stations with BWSC in Iraq. He
sees nothing wrong in the fact that
BWSC itself was implicated in
cases of corruption in the past and
most of its subcontractors now:
ABB, Siemens, Wartsila, Pauwels
… have also been involved in
corruption and bribery.
Throughout the BWSC
saga, Gonzi has consistently
continued to give his backing to
Alex Tranter, former chairman
of energy corporation Enemalta
and employed by Zaren Vassallo,
whose construction company
was awarded a sub-contract by
BWSC. And he defended David
Spiteri Gingell, who was on the
adjudicating committee that
awarded BWSC the contract to
build the power station extension,
and who a few months later
became also a consultant of
Vassallo Builders Ltd, Zaren
Vassallo’s company.
No wonder that Dr Gonzi failed
to act on the recommendations of
the GRECO Evaluation Report of
2005: “…there are no significant
restrictions on senior public
officials who resign to take up
employment in the private sector.
It considers that (while this may
not have, as yet, posed a problem
in Malta) here is a potential risk
that a promise of future lucrative
employment may be used to
influence serving officials, and that
former officials may abuse their
contracts and inside knowledge
of their former work areas,
especially in cases where their
new employment is closely related
to their previous functions.” The
report recommends “to introduce
clear rules/guidelines for situations
where public officials move to the
private sector in order to avoid
situations of conflict of interest.”
In his six years as PM, Dr
Gonzi has failed to formulate and
implement a comprehensive anticorruption strategy in the country.
He has only himself to blame
that since he was appointed to his
post, many more of our citizens
believe that Maltese society is
indeed infected by corruption to a
greater extent than officially and
reluctantly admitted.
19
Opinion
Michael Falzon
[email protected]
Immigration and
Europe’s future
S
weden became the latest
European nation to see a
breakthrough for populist
right-wingers when the antiimmigration Sweden Democrats
won their first parliamentary
seats in the elections held last
weekend.
In other Scandinavian
countries, such as Denmark
and Norway, populist antiimmigration parties have been
successful for years, but the
Swedish anti-immigrant party
had never gained sufficient
support to overcome the 4%
threshold they needed to be
represented in Parliament. This
time the Sweden Democrats won
5.7% of the vote that translated
into 20 seats.
Sweden has been regarded by
many observers as a bastion of
liberalism and tolerance and
immune from far-right politics.
However the integration of
minorities in Swedish society has
become a growing preoccupation
for Swedes, especially in cities
with high rates of immigration.
The Swedish election result
follows the trend evident in other
European countries such as the
Netherlands, Austria and Italy
where the ‘Lega Nord’ is a vital
component of the Berlusconi
Government.
In Malta, we do not have an
anti-immigration party that
can be taken seriously. Norman
Lowell’s ‘Imperium Europa’ is
simply an eccentric’s one man
band. But one cannot ignore the
widespread resentment against
illegal immigrants in Malta,
which is mostly of a racist nature.
For more than the last decade
or so, we have had an influx
of foreigners passing through
the normal travel channels,
breaching their visa conditions,
working illegally in Malta and
even marrying Maltese and
having children. These have
mostly come from Eastern
European countries that were
part of the now-defunct Soviet
empire, from those countries
that were once Yugoslavia and
from the Middle East. Anyone
visiting any significant building
site where works are in progress
will certainly find a number
of workers who are recent
immigrants from these countries
– some with working permits but
many more without.
These foreigners in Malta today
probably surpass the number
of people who have ended up
here without any passport or
identification documents after
a Mediterranean crossing that
went wrong. However no one
is afraid that Serb construction
workers, Syrian plasterers or
Bulgarian lap dancers pose a
threat to Malta or to our national
identity by being a part of a plot
by foreigners conspiring to take
over our country. Yet as soon
as a boatload of Africans lands
in Malta the scaremongering
resumes. Many resent those who
did not want to come to Malta
but ended up here accidentally
but do not mind those who
purposely came to Malta to
work here and did so by buying
an airline ticket and posing as
tourists at Malta International
Airport!
The relevant question here is:
why all the fuss about Africans
and the acquiescence about other
immigrants coming from Europe
or the Middle East? The answer
must be in the colour of their
skin. The Africans are black,
while the others come in all sorts
of acceptable shades! In short: the
Maltese anti-immigration stance
is simply a racist stance.
It would be folly for all our
leading politicians and political
parties to behave as if there is
no such thing as the racism
that is an unfortunate aspect
of the warped values of many
a misguided Maltese. The
countries where this happened
have seen an unprecedented rise
in the popularity of extreme right
wing political parties who have
used the racial card to attract
votes that they don’t deserve.
Gaddafi’s recent request for €5
billion from Europe to control
the influx of African migrants
arriving in Europe via Libya has
raised more than a few eyebrows.
The prospect of a ‘Moslem
takeover’ of Europe is definitely
unpalatable – if not terrifying
to many – but the harsh truth
is that civilisations have been
supplemented by others since the
beginning of mankind and I can
think of no good reason why this
should stop now.
Trying to stop human
migration is tantamount to
attempting to reverse a historical
trend that has withstood the
test of time. Man has moved
from one part of the planet to
another since time immemorial.
The Germans were pushed into
Europe by the Asians and this
destroyed the Western Roman
Empire in the process. All of
North Africa was Christian
before the spread of Islam. The
Arabs were finally stopped in
France; as were the Mongols
under Attila who rode into
Europe from Asia.
When such a clash of
civilisations occurs, one cannot
predict the outcome. In most
cases, after the initial blood
letting, the defeated locals
were integrated. This is what
happened in South America.
The women usually do better
in survival terms. Many marry
forcibly – or not so forcibly – the
new boy on the block. This is
how Rome and so many other
cities were populated.
In Malta’s case, we have seen
it all. Our forefathers used
to adore the Phoenician god
Astarte; had a temple dedicated
to Juno in Marsaxlokk; and were
then converted to the eastern
Christian church… only to
become Moslems for at least 400
years until we were liberated
from Arab rule and led straight
into the arms of the Roman
Catholic Church. From a long
term historical perspective,
there is no reason why this
continuous development
should stop here! The historical
reality is that the migration
phenomenon is bigger than the
myopic view some people might
have about it. History indicates
that migration is unstoppable.
It is triggered by many factors
including population numbers,
economic strength which
leads to military supremacy,
climate change and political
developments.
Europe itself is losing the
numbers game. Populations
in North Africa are booming.
Egypt will soon reach the
population of Russia. Half the
North African population is
under 40. The choice facing
Europe is not an easy one.
We can try to hold back the
influx, build an apparently
impenetrable bastion around
Europe and pay Gaddafi his
blood money to sort this out for
us in his inimitable way. Or else
we can embrace change.
We need not become Moslems
overnight, as Gaddafi suggests,
but we have to change some
of our ingrained concepts
of life. More importantly we
have to teach the new arrivals
the principles of freedom,
democracy and tolerance. They
are not used to this and they
also have to change.
Morals apart, this is likely to be
more effective than paying blood
money to an oil-rich country led
by someone with a huge chip
on his shoulder. Europe’s is a
stronger civilisation, because it
is able to embrace change.
The more one look backwards
into history the more one can
see into the future. Those who
want to cling to the slippery
present and refuse to perceive
and embrace the future will
probably end up militating in
anti-immigration parties.
20
Opinion
inion
Charles Mangion
Air Malta’s future is still
obscure
S
everal months after it
was announced that the
government and Air
Malta’s management are
engaged in negotiations with
the European Commission
to tackle the future of our
national airline, no details
have so far been made public.
The hundreds of workers
who so loyally serve this
company are understandably
worried about their future.
It is time for government to
start defining what needs
to be done to energise this
company.
The biggest risk that this
phase of negotiations faces is
the failure of the bureaucrats
in Brussels to appreciate that
the mission of Air Malta
must always remain that
of supporting the tourism
industry in Malta, come
rain or shine. An equally
dangerous risk is that the
Nationalist government
will cave in to the pressure
of the Brussels bureaucrats
to privatise our national
airline on the pretext that
this will improve operational
efficiency. Both these risks
are avoidable if the political
will really exists to save our
national airline for the good
of the tourism industry in
Malta.
There will, undoubtedly, be
a need to take some efficiency
promoting measures. These
may affect workers who may
have to get used to different
more flexible and efficient
ways of doing their work.
The industry has changed
immensely in these last
twenty years when low
cost airlines changed the
dynamics of how air travel
is managed as a business.
We cannot expect low
cost airlines to suddenly
disappear, because they will
not. Many travellers have
entered the overseas tourism
market simply as a result of
the growth of the low cost
airline industry. This is good
for Malta too.
This year we have seen the
tourism industry gaining
some momentum again,
and the increase of low cost
capacity seat on the routes to
and from Malta have meant
that our targeted market has
become bigger. Hopefully,
the industry will continue
to recover so that those
thousands of workers who
work directly or indirectly
with tourists will be more
secure about the future of
their jobs.
But our concern today is for
the Air Malta employees who
continue to face uncertain
times. Every week that
passes without any official
announcement on where
negotiations in Brussels are
heading can only increase the
stress of these workers and
their families. One just hopes
that the Maltese negotiators
are taking a stand that is at
least as tough as that taken
by the Italian government
when Alitalia was facing as
similar situation just over a
year ago.
One solution could be the
forging of an alliance with
one of the major airline
groupings. Such a solution
could benefit from the
economies of scale that
come for those participating
in a large alliance. Such
an arrangement will have
to guarantee to the local
airline enough strategic
management independence
to continue with Air Malta’s
long commitment to support
our tourism industry by
means that go beyond the
purely commercial logic.
More also needs to be
done to ensure that the core
workers of the airline are
convinced to remain loyal
to their company. Some key
workers may unfortunately
be lured to other airlines
as they identify better
opportunities abroad with
perhaps less uncertainty
about their future. This
is another reason why the
government needs to take the
people in its confidence as
soon as possible to explain
the deal (if any) that is being
forged in Brussels.
The PL will support the
Maltese government to
the hilt if it is shown that
national interests are
not being sold cheaply in
the quest to appease the
European Commission. PL
leader Joseph Muscat has
spelled out our Party’s stand
very clearly: Air Malta should
never be put up for sale
because no private investors
can ever support effectively
the mission of Air Malta as
the main enabler of tourism
in Malta.
One hopes that in the
coming days, the government
will reveal more details on
the stage reached so far in
the negotiations with the
European Commission.
One hopes that this
announcement helps to
dispel the uncertainty that
at present is shrouding the
future of our national airline,
its workers and the tourism
industry.
Charles Mangion is the
main PL spokesman for
finance.
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21
Opinion
O
Claudine Cassar
Pride and Prejudice
A
few days ago an
irresponsible soul
broke into an Enemalta
substation and cut a length of
cable – presumably to resell
the copper, which should
fetch approximately €200.
The result was a power surge
that blew up most of the
appliances in eight apartment
blocks in Cospicua. In one
extreme case, the television
in a bedroom exploded,
with the sparks setting the
furniture in the room on fire.
Residents suffered thousands
of euros worth of damage and
were obviously distraught,
particularly in cases where
they were not covered by
insurance.
What was astounding,
however, was the reaction of
people commenting about
the article. Apparently the
great majority of online
commentators felt that a
family from Cospicua was
not entitled to own four air
conditioners, a PC and a
satellite dish. The general
opinion seemed to be that
if you live in the South you
are obviously on welfare and
receiving a range of subsidies
from the government. Some
people even went so far as to
say that clearly the woman
who claimed to have had such
damage must be working
illegally and not paying tax.
Would they have made
the same assumptions had
the family in question lived
in Mosta, or Balzan, or
anywhere in the Northern
part of the island? I bet not.
It is clear that the Maltese
are a prejudiced lot. We are
not only prejudiced against
our African neighbours, but
we have actually managed to
create a clear division and
prejudice between different
areas of this very small island
of ours.
We have the Northern
Stereotype: the tal-pepe with
their nose stuck up in the air
who vote Nationalist; and the
Southern Stereotype – the
hamalli who live off welfare
and vote Labour.
For goodness sake, how can
people be so narrow-minded?
We should be sympathising
with the lady whose electrical
goods literally went up in
smoke for no fault of her own,
not coming up with ridiculous
theories about how she came
to own the appliances in the
first place! It is none of our
business what political party
the woman votes for. If that
woman managed to save up
the money to buy four air
conditioners, a PC for her kids
and a satellite dish, good on
her, I say!
Ultimately the nasty,
prejudiced comments said
more about the people who
made them than they did
about the people of Cospicua.
Some people really ought to
be ashamed of themselves.
Déjà vu
FKNK statements have
become rather predictable.
Every time BirdLife and CABS
make a statement about some
new illegal bird massacre, the
so-called Conservationists
retort that the whole story
is a fabrication and that
BirdLife and/or CABS have
manufactured the entire
situation.
It is really starting to sound
like a broken record.
I have a challenge for FKNK.
If they really believe that
BirdLife and CABS are lying,
they should call their bluff
and join them. Yes, I repeat –
JOIN THEM.
FKNK claim that they have
zero tolerance in cases where
iron-clad proof is provided of
illegal hunting. Well, if that
is the case they should sit
around a table with volunteers
who are monitoring hunters
and make arrangements to
send a responsible FKNK
representative with them on
bird-watching patrols.
Having an FKNK member
patrolling with CABS and
BirdLife will settle the matter
once and for all – surely the
representative would notice if
his team members suddenly
pulled defrosted birds out of
a bag and planted them under
a stone just before the press
turn up?
So FKNK, stop complaining
and start doing something
about the situation!
Car Free Day
On Wednesday the big news
hit the stands. None of the
government ministers drove
(or were driven) to work
in their usual cars on this
most important of days. No,
ministers who live far away
from their offices drove
to work in a hybrid or an
electric car.
What can I say? Are we
seriously supposed to be
impressed about the fact
that on Car Free Day some
ministers were driven
around in an electric car as
opposed to their usual gas
guzzlers? I drive a Hybrid all
year round – am I entitled to
a medal?
The only ministers who
set an example were the
ones who caught the bus or
walked to work from home.
This is the kind of message
that needs to be passed on to
the people, for more reasons
than one. True, it is good
for the environment, but it
is also good for our health.
We are rapidly becoming a
nation of obese sloths – we
really need to move more.
So next year, if you really
want to impress us, get out a
bike or get ready to hike!
22
Letters
Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075
E-mail: [email protected]. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted.
Disappointed with bank’s reaction
As an investor in the La
Valette Property Fund, I find
myself in a state of panic by
the revealing and worrying
revelations by Finco Treasury in their judicial protest
against BOV/VFM/Insight/
SICAV.
The fact that more than €14
million were redeemed and
withdrawn in the immediate period before the official
suspension to the general
public looks most suspicious,
and if it were to be verified,
most damning. It appears that
the inner circle of friends,
the elite, the chosen, were
forewarned of the impending
doom, while we, The Others,
were left innocently ‘grazing
in our pen’. Meanwhile we
have been offered a miserly
0.26 cents per share against
our original €1. Apparently,
this is what BOV and VFM
meant in their publicity material when they said “you will
have the peace of mind that
specialist experts in this field
continuously monitor your
investments”.
As a common citizen paying
my taxes to finance the salaries and expense of running
regulatory authorities, I ask:
“What does the MFSA intend
to do about this? Is there a
contingency account to make
up for the losses suffered by
the shareholders? What measures does the MFSA propose
to take in order to safeguard
us, the shareholders who
trusted VFM /BOV with our
money?
This Fund has been advertised and termed by BOV/
VFM as being ‘on a long term
basis’ since it deals with
property, but ironically, it was
suspended just after three
years of its inception. It was
first introduced in 2005 and
suspended in 2008. As far as
I can recollect I have never
heard of such a fiasco. This
brings shame on the formidable team of experts namely
VFM/SICAV/Insight and
most of all to BOV who is the
Custodian, the Keeper and
Guardian of The Fund.
VFM and BOV have chosen
not to respond to the damning allegations in the investors’ judicial protests. Instead
they try to bulldoze their way
with us small investors by
telling us to “shut up”. What
do they have to show to refute
the allegations that they were
not diligent in their work,
they did not choose the right
funds to invest our money,
that they did not do any subsequent monitoring, that they
breached the Investments
Restrictions, that they did not
communicate with investors material information in
a timely manner? During the
shareholders’ meetings, we
were never ever informed of
the impending disaster but
were merely formally accosted
and shown numerous graphs
depicting unemployment
in Europe, the rise in the
price of oil, price of property
going down so as to justify
the collapse of the Fund
when they had emphasised
so much in their publicity
material of the Fund that this
had “little correlation with
other asset classes”. We were
never informed that the Fund
spiralled downwards, mainly
because the Licensed Fund
Managers chose to invest in
the Belgravia Funds, whose
directors are being probed
for fraud by the Jersey Police
and who have since fled the
country.
The La Valette Multi Manager Property Fund is licensed
by the Authority as an ‘Experienced Investor Fund’ but at
the same time I have received
communication by BOV stating that I am a ‘retail investor’
which means that my application should not have been
endorsed by VFM.
We honestly hope that the
MFSA shows the personality
to enforce the Regulations
it has enacted over the years
and that it does not prove to
be the case of another Authority that is toothless with
the big boys. After all, the
MFSA was mainly set up in
order to protect the small
investor.
E. Grech,
Via email
No conflict of interest
I refer to the article by Raphael Vassallo entitled Prison
in uproar over Chief Justice
appointment and published
in the 5 September edition of
this newspaper, which suggests
that the appointment of the Dr
Silvio Camilleri to the post of
Chief Justice is being perceived
as impinging on the objectivity,
and therefore on the impartiality, of the Courts of Justice in
criminal matters.
In the first place, to suggest
that such an appointment
could wrap the proper administration of criminal justice is
an indirect insult to former
Chief Justice Sir Anthony
Mamo and John J. Cremona (to
limit oneself to the post-war
period), both of whom were appointed to the first and second
most important judicial post
directly from the post of Attorney General – Sir Anthony was
made Chief Justice in 1957, and
Prof. Cremona vice-president of
the Constitutional Court and
of the Court of Appeal in 1965.
Others were appointed to the
Bench directly from the Attorney General’s office: Gawdenz
Borg, Oliver Gulia, Wallace
Gulia, Maurice Caruana Curran, Vincent De Gaetano, Silvio
Meli, and Lawrence Quintano.
Never was there the slightest
suggestion that the fact that
they had occupied a post in
the A.G.’s office made them in
any way partial cases involving
the prosecution (A.G. or the
Police).
The article is also a direct
insult to the judges who will invariably compose the appellate
courts in those cases where the
new Chief Justice will have to
abstain according to law. The
suggestion is that they will be
unwilling to “rule against their
new boss”. How contrary to the
facts and the truth! There is a
lay list of judgments delivered
by the above which is proof of
the fallacy of this argument.
Judge Giovanni Bonello’s
description of the A.G.’s role
is taken out of context. Judge
Bonello was commenting on
the dual role that the Attorney
General has as chief public
prosecutor and, at the same
time, chief legal adviser to the
government. It was never suggested by him that once that a
person ceases to perform the
function of Attorney General
and is appointed to the Bench,
his judgment would be in any
way suspect. In most European countries, people move
from the prosecution to the
Bench (and sometimes back
again to the prosecution) more
frequently than in Malta, and
procedural safeguards like the
ones obtaining in Malta ensure
the right to a fair trial at any
time.
Finally, in the Clayton Galea
case mentioned in article, the
Court of Criminal Appeal
never said that the A.G. had
presented “incorrect facts” as
evidence. Your correspondent
has not read the judgment or,
having read it, has not understood it.
Darrell Pace
Communication Co-Ordinating
Officer
Ministry for Justice and Home
Affairs
In praise of Malta Red Cross Discrimination
of EU citizens in
Malta
Firstly I would like to wish my
deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims of
the Gharb firework factory.
I am a little displeased that no
one deemed to mention the work
of the Malta Red Cross Gozo
branch and the help they offered during the tragic incident
that took place in Gharb. The
volunteers where part of the first
group of rescuers who arrived on
scene, just a few seconds after the
ambulance of the Gozo General
Hospital and the first CPD fire
truck arrived on the spot. Part of
the work of these volunteers included the handing out of water to
all the personnel was working on
the search and rescue, the lighting
of the search area with the aid of a
generator and flood lights which
helped prolong the search hours,
psychological support to persons
in need from a team of certified
psychological support volunteers
and much more. All of this work
was done in an organised and
professional manner.
Having said all this, I got to
know from well informed sources
that the Secretary General and the
President of the Malta Red Cross
are not at all pleased that the Gozo
branch responded to this situation.
Rumors suggest that the high board
officials of the Gozo branch are being harassed and given unjust disciplinary actions after acting swiftly
to provide a needed service. Can
somebody from high up provide an
explanation on all this?
M. Grech
Via email
Roll on bus reforms
As I was taking my usual daily
stroll around the village of St
Paul’s Bay, I witnessed a shocking
experience at around 18:20.
Three Spanish tourists were
waiting for a bus No.645 from
Cirkewwa to Sliema, on a bus
stop at St Paul’s Bay main road.
The bus just drove past without
stopping even though they waved
it down, but the driver was too
busy on his mobile and did not
notice them… either that or he
just did not bother to stop. The
bus was not full, and even I waved
at him to stop but to no avail.
I stopped at the Police Station to
report the matter but as I did not
manage to get the bus number it
was not possible to lodge a report,
though the officer was very helpful and offered to call the bus
terminus to see what if anything
could be done.
Roll on bus reforms, and let’s see
some customer care and satisfaction.
Michael Scicluna
St Paul’s Bay
It is still not understandable why six years after
Malta has joined the EU,
its nationals residing in
Malta are still discriminated. Why are they not
treated the same as Maltese nationals by government and private companies and institutions? Why
have they been removed
from the electoral list
before the last European
elections? Why does an EU
national need to submit
more documentation (FS3)
to Enemalta than a Maltese to benefit from the
same rights? Why do EU
nationals have to pay a
deposit when they apply
for a landline? Why do EU
nationals, when they apply
for a credit card, need to
block the same amount on
a savings account when
Maltese nationals don’t?
It is even more gross
when this is imposed by
Banif Malta, itself being a
Portugese bank (well, its
mother bank is).
It is time to wake up and
to stop this nonsense, and
time to understand that
we foreigners living here
also contribute to the local
economy and do not like
to be treated as aliens (A).
Henrik Piski
Qormi
23
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Editorial
Resignation matters
When asked by a journalist what was
most likely to blow governments off
course, former UK Prime Minister
Harold Macmillan famously replied:
“Events, dear boy, events!”
And it has indeed been a highly eventful week for Prime Minister Lawrence
Gonzi: whose government, while perhaps not blown off course altogether, has
nonetheless had to weather a number of
unexpected (and unwelcome) developments in the past few days alone.
Of these, the most significant was
the surprise resignation of Chris Said,
parliamentary secretary for information and local government, following
the news that criminal charges had been
filed against him for perjury.
Without entering the merits of the case
itself, Said’s resignation makes a commendable change from the usual pattern
of behaviour we have come to expect
from politicians caught up in similar
situations – that is to say, a stolid refusal
to stand down, usually citing the same
old argument that the “allegations had
not been proven”.
In this case, allegations have not been
proven either – indeed, the case against
him has not even begun – but Said
nonetheless acknowledged, to his credit,
that it would have been unbecoming of
a junior minister to retain his post, and
go about his ministerial duties as usual,
while also fighting to clear his name of
criminal charges.
For much the same reason, the Prime
Minister’s decision to accept his resignation – in stark contrast with his
rejection of a similar resignation offer
by former Transport Minister Jesmond
Mugliett, as well as his more recent
defence of Finance Minister Tonio
Fenech– is equally a landmark in local
political history: creating a precedent
whereby politicians can no longer rely
on their governments to defend them in
the face of serious allegations, as they
have so often done in the past.
Admittedly, the nature of the charges
against Chris Said – i.e., perjury – are
not exactly ‘trivial’, as the junior minister himself attempted to suggest in his
press conference on Thursday. But then
again, considering the precise circumstances of the case – and above all, the
comparative seriousness of other issues
for which some of his colleagues have
got off so lightly – one tends to sympathise with his claim that he is being
victimised over something relatively
inconsequential.
Having said all this, a cursory glance at
the sequence of events leading up to this
week’s resignation will also reveal that,
up to a point, neither Chris Said nor the
Prime Minister had very much choice
when it came to taking their respective
decisions.
After all, it was only very recently that
the Nationalist Party, responding to allegations against its mayor on the Sliema
council, issued an ominously-worded
statement to the effect that it expected
‘the highest ethical standards’ of its
elected representatives.
This was echoed to the letter by the
Prime Minister himself just last Monday, speaking before the party faithful at
the annual Independence Day rally on
the Fosos.
But altogether more significant was the
extraordinary coincidence that, on the
same day that Said announced his resignation, the Court of Criminal Appeal
upheld the verdict against Joe Zahra:
the private investigator found guilty
of fabricating a dossier that had led to
former minister John Dalli’s resignation
in 2004.
On that occasion, too, Lawrence Gonzi
had accepted Dalli’s resignation – famously declaring that he “could not have
a minister under investigation” in his
Cabinet. It seems these words were destined to return to haunt the Prime Minister this week, when he was forced by
circumstance to repeat the same overall
gesture, this time with a junior minister
facing criminal charges in court.
With this in mind, what emerges from
the concatenation of events is not so
much the similarity between the two
ministerial resignations; but rather the
differences in the way they were handled by the Prime Minister.
In 2004, Gonzi was only too ready
– some might say eager – to accept a
resignation that Dalli himself to this
day argues was a ‘political assassination’ orchestrated by forces within his
own party. In the case of Chris Said,
however, Gonzi’s reluctance to accept
the resignation was so evident, that he
even expressed his intention to reappoint Said to the same ministry as soon
as possible: an inauspicious choice of
words, which Opposition leader Joseph
Muscat unsurprisingly seized on to
suggest that the Prime Minister was
attempting to pressurise the courts into
an early acquittal.
This is naturally open to interpretation, but the Prime Minister’s inconsistency in handling the two cases is clear
for all to see. Coming from an administration which so recently reiterated its
call for the ‘highest ethical standards’,
one sincerely hopes that the handling of
Chris Said’s resignation – as opposed to
John Dalli’s – will provide the blueprint
by which future cases are decided.
Quote of the week
The things that happened to me had one specific scope… to have me removed because I was perhaps considered a threat to certain people.
EU Commissioner John Dalli, on his forced resignation in 2004
24
maltatoday,
SUNDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2010
Gourmet Today
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25
maltatoday,
THIS WEEK
CULTURE | TV | FILM
CINEMA LISTINGS
FOOD | WHAT’S ON
x
Prominent local painter
Isabelle Borg dies
ISABELLE Borg, known to be one of Malta’s best female
artists, died on Thursday morning.
Borg, whose works are among prestigious private and
public collections, had made a name for herself internationally.
News about her death has shocked the arts community.
The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts (MCCA) expressed “the deepest sorrow” at her passing, and claimed
that she was an artist who “over the past three decades left
an indelible mark on the history of Maltese art as well as its
teaching.”
Painter and fellow teacher Ceasar Attard was deeply saddened by her death. “Her death is great loss to the entire
art department… she was a great colleague who welcomed
collaboration where others would perhaps shun it.”
Painter Robert Zahra, who was taught by Borg at the
University, remembers her for her dynamism as a teacher.
“What had especially impressed me about her at first was
her willingness to use her house as a studio, since there
wasn’t one on campus. She always treated us very well, she
had a very dynamic approach towards teaching, based on
direct observation.”
Borg lived in London (her birthplace, 1959) and Malta, as
well as spending periods in Berlin, and West Cork, Ireland.
She studied painting at the Camberwell School of Art, London, graduating BA (Hons) in 1986. Since gaining an MA
(History of Art) in 1994, she taught art full-time at the University of Malta.
Since 1985, she had regularly held solo exhibitions of her
paintings, and often been asked to participate in-group
shows. Her work is found in a number of public and private
collections.
One painting in particular, Lovers in the Bull (1984), has
left a strong impression. The MCCA described it as “a milestone in Maltese twentieth century art,” which “quickly asserted itself as one of the foremost works by a Maltese artist
inspired by the imagery of Malta’s prehistoric past.” Photographer Patrick Fenech, who knew Borg since her University days in England, said that her primitivist and fauvist
style developed from an initial fascination with the works
of Jackson Pollock. “There is a great luminousness to her
works. In her landscapes of Malta in particular, I think this
helps to accurately reproduce Maltese heat – the hot, baking stones…”
Fenech, a “proud owner” of two Borg paintings, also commented on her strong character. “She was definitely more
Mars than Venus!”
Malta’s ambassador to Tunisia Vicky-Anne Cremona,
who was known to be a very close friend, described Isabelle
Borg as a “person who loved life so much and embraced it
in all its aspects.”
Artist Jeni Caruana stressed that Isabelle Borg will be
“sadly missed”. “Isabelle was always good fun to be with –
never afraid to say what she thought and to stick up for what
she believed in. I loved her paintings too; those great sweeping vistas of rich colour summed up her character and her
joie de vivre. I admired not only her sheer talent but also her
integrity and professionalism when it came to her art. She
will be sadly missed by her friends, family and colleagues
The whole art community will mourn her passing.”
Borg’s early solo landscape exhibitions Marine and Maritime Paintings (1991) and Bastions and Harbours (1992)
concentrated on Malta’s constructed coastline. Later, Two
Islands (2004, with photographer Graham Cooper, who
was also her partner) and Maltese Landscape (2006) were
inspired by natural scenery and atmospheric conditions.
Much of this change came from time spent painting the
Irish landscape since 2000, whilst based in Clonakilty, West
Cork. Her most recent exhibition Strange Cargo (National
Museum of Fine Arts, Malta, 2008) explored the effect of
this series of journeys and homecomings, and re-defines an
earlier interest in figurative art.
26
maltatoday,
MUSIC
The sounds of Europe
ROBERT PISANI
WHEN I attended the first edition
of Europavox back in 2006 I was
immediately struck by its unique
concept. Bringing together record
labels, bookings agents, journalists
and more from all across Europe,
this boutique music fair held in
Clermont-Ferrand, France combines workshops and other music
industry activities with a music
festival.
Jump four years forward for my
second visit, and not only have
there been major improvements
with the line-ups and organization, but that intimate atmosphere
is still there and strong. By the end
of the second day you practically
know everybody.
Contrary to most other festivals, which tend to focus only
on the UK and USA band circuits, Europavox serves as an
eye opener to a much wider
spectrum because it showcases
bands from all over Europe. I arrived in Clermont quite late, so
on my first night I was only able
to catch one band, the Latvian
electro-pop duo Instrumenti.
Now, when I see groups dressed
up in costumes (and these guys
wore panda outfits) I am a bit
wary that the gimmicks will
overshadow the music, but on
the whole the tunes were pretty
catchy and they got the crowd
pumped up and jumpy. Straight
after Spain’s The Requesters
came on and played a ferocious
DJ set chockfull of early 90’s
style rave mashed up with current electronica. Did I dance?
Definitely.
Saturday’s first band was the
UK’s Band of Skulls. Now I had
Continues on page 27
Europavox
serves as an
eye opener to
a much wider
spectrum
because it
showcases
bands from
all over
Europe
heard them on record and wasn’t
too impressed, but live the band is
a different beast and there’s no other word to describe them. For 45
full minutes I was treated to a set
filled with drones, reverb, squeal-
ing and feedback. Live, these guys
are heavy and very no nonsense. If
27
maltatoday,
THIS WEEK
Continues from page 26
you’re up for comparisons think of
Texas’ The Black Angels crossed
with Queens of the Stone Age,
and yet BOS are more melodic,
though heavily disguised. Definitely ones to check out.
Next up was Peter Hook, who
formed a band around a tribute
to Joy Division’s ‘Unknown Pleasures’. I had mixed feelings about
this one. On one hand, its great
that the Joy Division’s bassist was
unearthing his band’s past, but
also it felt like a cash cow. Hook is
not a great singer and the songs did
not have the verve one expected,
leaving me feeling disappointed.
After that I rushed off to see Richard Hawley.
Hawley has to be one of the UK’s
best singer/songwriters ever, and a
very consistent one at that. With
five stunning albums under his
belt, I felt that this gig could be a
winner, and from what I saw it certainly looked like it. Armed with a
seven-piece band (including a saw
player!), Hawley went through his
back catalogue with his Roy Orbison croon. With a voice like that,
he can melt hearts and induce
goosebumps. This was, without
a doubt, the highlight of the festival.
Last band of the night was Swedish act JJ. Earlier this year their
second album ‘No.3’ was the core
record of the Rough Trade Album
Club, which is how I got to know
this band. They’ve been touring
with The XX (a similar sounding
act) to many varied reviews so I
was curious to see what they were
like live.
Their Evox set started off with
lead singer Elin Kastlander and
her acoustic guitar going through
the folkier songs from the two albums. Halfway through, the other
band member Joakim Benon
switched on his laptop and Elin
sang to canned beats with bizarre projections on the wall.
In the meantime Joakim goofs
off by hugging Elin, running
into the audience and playing
around with a towel. Trust me it
does make an entertaining show,
whilst also acknowledging that JJ
have some infectious tracks too.
Sunday was a bit of a downer;
being close to leaving behind
three days brimming with sun
and fun dampens your views on
everything.
But when Ireland’s Funeral Suits
hit the stage they got the place
jumping with their oddball brand
of angular post-punk and a strong
stage presence; and underneath all
that choppy guitar playing there
were tunes and tons of charisma.
I see a lot of potential. The band
should be recording their debut
with Stephen Street (Blur, Sleeper,
Kaiser Chiefs), and I do hope he’ll
bring out their more melodic side.
Last artist of the night was Pete
Doherty. Unfortunately it was one
of the biggest disappointments.
Doherty’s set spanned from both
his Libertines and Babyshambles
albums, and he did prove to be a
charming frontman and a great
lyricist, but badly hindering his
performance was the fact that he
was without a band, robbing the
songs of any punch. The two Union Jack-draped ballerinas were
nothing but annoying.
During the three days, journalists went through a series of workshops, excursions and luncheons
which enhanced musical relations
as well as lots of geeky music talk
which added to a wholesome
musical experience.
Swedish act JJ © EuropaVox 2010. Photo by Florent Giffard
Band of Skulls from the UK © EuropaVox 2010. Photo by Melanie Bodolec
28
THIS WEEK
WHAT’S ON
NIGHTLIFE
be given to those who eat
at Chains Restaurant, St
Julian’s.
OCTOBER 2
A Night with DJEDJOTRONIC
Squadron and DonDisko
present French DJ
Djedjotronic, playing
at Tattingers, Rabat at
22:00. DJ lineup incluces
Mathematikal, Squeak, Jan
Jensen and more. More info
and ticket prices will be out
soon.
MUSIC
TONIGHT
Elton John & Ray Cooper
Elton John will be sharing
the stage with Ray Cooper at
the Granaries in Floriana at
23:00. The event is organised
by NNG Promotions and is
set to be a solo show but with
Ray Cooper on percussion
- the first time that the
duo have played together
since 1995. Ticket prices
range from €35 to €200.
More information: www.
nngpromotions.com
EXHIBITIONS
ENDS TODAY
UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30
Honours List Collective
Exhibition
Art Exhibition at Rux Gallery
The Malta Society of
Arts, Manufacture and
Commerce is organizing
an exhibition showcasing
the work of winning
artists of the National Art
Competition and Silver
Palette Competition at the
San Anton Palace, Attard.
Art works exhibited will be
for sale, part of proceeds
going to the Community
Chest Fund. Participating
artists are Jude Zammit,
Aleksandar Sasha Matic,
George Farrugia, Ivan
Fenech, Zell Osborne, George
Muscat, Anna Galea, Charles
Bonnici, Carmen Pizzuto,
Antoine Paul Camilleri,
Sean Camilleri, Winston
Hassal and Nathan Portelli.
More info: www.artsmalta.
org, [email protected] or
21244339/21244400.
UNTIL SEPTEMBER 29
Pjazza live sessions
ENDS TODAY
Music nights at Café Premier,
Valletta with violinist Puse
on Wednesday and jazz from
Charles ‘City’ Gatt, Dominic
Galea and Mario Abela
on Fridays. Reservation is
advisable. More info: info@
premier.com.mt.
Unframing Migration
OCTOBER 5
A photo-journalism
exhibition depicting the
daily lives of migrants on
the island at Heritage Malta
Headquarters, Merchants
Street, Valletta. Main
photographers are Kasia
Peukert, Thomas Kelsey and
Malika Delrieu.
Rookies Boat Party 2
Skimmed and Dolls for Idols
will be performing on the
Hornblower, leaving Bugibba
at 17:00. Tickets at €15 on
sale at Rookies Sports Bar,
Bugibba. A €5 discount will
Vittoriosa. Open every day
between 09:00 and 20:00
except Sundays and public
holidays. More info: 21316708
or 99844653 or email
[email protected].
UNTIL SEPTEMBER 29
After Caravaggio
Exhibition of Caravaggioinspired artwork by Olaug
Vethal (1946-2007) at the
Malta Maritime Museum,
Collective exhibition at Rux
Art Gallery, Sir Antonio
Micallef Street, Balzan.
Featuring paintings by
Damian Ebejer, the late
Francis Ebejer, Giuseppe
Cassar, Frank Schembri,
John Busuttil Leaver, David
Xuereb and Millie Burn; with
ceramics by Sina FarrugiaMicallef, Zell Osborne, Julie
Apap and Sue Mifsud, and
sculptures by Ivan Fenech
and Guzeppi Theuma and
silver art works by Kevin
Attard.
THEATRE
OCTOBER 28 AND 30
La Traviata
The well-known opera La
Traviata will be making
a welcome return to the
Teatru Astra in Victoria,
Gozo twenty-one years
after it was presented for
the first time in April 1989.
This new production will be
under the artistic direction
of renowned Marco
Gandini, set design by
Mauro Tinti, Joseph Cauchi
is scenic artist and Carmel
Zammit Stage Manager.
FOLK FESTIVAL
UNTIL SEPTEMBER 27
UNTIL OCTOBER 3
Spartacus Chetwynd and
Jess Flood-Paddock
A series of screenings, talks,
performances, workshops
and collaborations by artists
Spartacus Chetwynd and Jess
Flood-Paddock at the Malta
Contemporary Art, St James
Cavalier, Valletta focusing
on a cultural journey of
discovery, recreation and
collaboration resulting in
an open ended presentation
based on their research.
More information: www.
maltacontemporartart.com.
UNTIL OCTOBER 4
Mostalgia
Exhibition of paintings
celebrating the town of
Mosta by Mark Schembri will
be held at the Art Academy,
131, Constitution Street,
Mosta. Opening hours: 09:00
to 12:30 and from 16:00 to
19:00.
Qala International Folk
Festival
A festival of traditional
music, food and drink
across the Qala streets,
featuring amongst other the
Menhir Qala Folk Group.
More information: http://
www.qala.gov.mt.
AIRSHOW
TODAY
Malta International
Airshow
A large variety of airplanes,
both military and civilian,
will be on display at
the Malta International
Airport. Entrance is free for
children under 14, €10 for
adults.
More information: http://
www.maltairshow.com,
99471429, reachair@
keyworld.net.
BELLY DANCING
FROM OCTOBER 2
Belly dance classes in Gozo
Bellydance Classes at Bern’s
& Hersey’s, Ghajnsielem,
Gozo. Classes for complete
Beginners, will take place
from 10:00 till 11:00, for
beginners with experience,
11:15 till 12:15. Tickets are
at €70 covering 8 lessons of
1 hour each, plus €5 onetime registration fee payable
by newcomers. Classes
will focus on classical
and cabaret Egyptian
style. More information:
[email protected],
99065142. Class sizes are
restricted, early booking
recommended.
29
THIS WEEK
WHAT’S ON
Elton John will be performing at the Granaries, Floriana tonight
A variety of planes will be on display at the Malta Airshow, held at the Airport today
30
THIS WEEK
TELEVISION
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ITALIA 1
08:00 Casper, scuola di paura 08:25 Kilari 08:50 Pearlie 09:05 Gormiti – L’eclissi suprema 09:30 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 09:55 Tartarughe Ninja 10:25 Blue Dragon
10:50 Knight Rider 11:50 Grand Prix 13:00 Guida al
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18:30 Studio Aperto 19:00 Mr Bean 19:15 Charlie’s Angels: Più che mai 21:25 Colorado 00:35 Le Iene 02:05
Mediashopping
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07:00 L-Ghodwa T-Tajba 07:50 Kelma Ghall-Hajja (repeat) 08:00 L-Quddiesa Tal-Hadd 08:45 Ghanafest 2010
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Net Television 2010 Launch Preview 22:30 Ippakja u Itlaq
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Tg4 11:30 Tg4 13:30 Pianeta mare 13:45 Vie d’Italia –
Notizie sul traffico 13:55 Ieri e oggi in TV 14:20 Tutti per
Bruno 15:25 Una povera bimba milionaria 17:00 Tarzan
in India 18:50 Anteprima Tg4 18:55 Tg4 19:35 Colombo 21:30 Quarto grado 23:20 Controcampo 01:15 Tg4
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08:00 One Morning 08:15 Kids Programmes & Cartoons
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Gara 15:45 Pole Position 16:30 Tg1 16:35 Il parco delle
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08:50 TgCom 09:10 Finalmente soli 09:40 Verissimo
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BBC WORLD NEWS 200
06:00 BBC World News 06:30 Our World 07:00
BBC World News 07:30 The Record Europe 08:00
BBC World News 08:30 Fast Track 09:00 BBC World
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10:30 Dateline London 11:00 BBC World News
11:10 World Features 11:30 The Real... 12:00
BBC World News 12:10 World Features 12:30
Russia Business Report 13:00 BBC World News
13:30 Newsnight 14:00 BBC World News 14:10
World Features 14:30 Click 15:00 BBC World News
15:15 Sport Today 15:30 The Bottom Line 16:00
BBC World News 16:30 One Square Mile 17:00 BBC
World News 17:10 The World Debate 18:00 BBC
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News 20:15 Sport Today 20:30 Click 21:00 BBC
World News 21:30 Talking Movies 22:00 BBC
World News 22:10 World Features 22:30 One
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Features 23:30 The Real...
BBC ENTERTAINMENT 300
06:00 Gigglebiz 06:15 Teletubbies 06:40 Me Too!
07:00 Tikkabilla 07:30 Gigglebiz 07:45 Teletubbies 08:10 Tikkabilla 08:40 Strictly Come Dancing
10:05 Doctors 10:35 Doctors 11:05 Doctors
11:35 Doctors 12:05 Doctors 12:35 Robin Hood
13:15 Only Fools and Horses... 13:45 Only Fools
and Horses... 14:15 Hyperdrive 14:45 Hyperdrive
15:15 Hyperdrive 15:45 Only Fools and Horses...
16:15 Robin Hood 17:00 Casualty 17:50 Casualty 18:40 Strictly Come Dancing 20:05 Strictly
Come Dancing 20:50 The Only Boy for Me 22:20
New Tricks 23:15 Casualty
E! ENTERTAINMENT 306
06:00 THS: Women Of Sex and The City 07:50 25
Most Stylish: Red Carpet Moments 08:40 THS: Hollywood Heartthrobs 09:30 E! News 10:00 Girls of
the Playboy Mansion: Girl Crazy 10:25 Holly’s World:
It Takes Balls 10:50 Keeping up with the Kardashians:
Delivering Baby Mason 11:15 THS: The Kardashians 12:15 E! News 12:45 Keeping up with the
Kardashians: The Wedding 14:30 Keeping up with
the Kardashians: Scott on the Rocks 15:20 E! News
15:50 Keeping up with the Kardashians: Hot Cup of
21:00 – Alien Storms [Documentary] –
Discovery Science (Channel 402)
07:00 Il diario di Bindi 07:20 Art Attack 08:15 Tutti
odiano Chris 08:35 Karkú 09:00 Unfabulous 09:20 The
Love 16:15 Keeping up with the Kardashians: Baby
Blues 16:45 Keeping up with the Kardashians: Shape
up or Ship Out 17:40 Keeping up with the Kardashians: Must Love Dogs 18:05 Keeping up with the
Kardashians: Body Blows 19:00 Keeping up with the
Kardashians: Weekend from Hell 19:30 Keeping up
with the Kardashians: I Want Your Sex 20:00 Keeping up with the Kardashians: Blame It on the Alcohol
21:00 Keeping up with the Kardashians: Delivering
Baby Mason 21:30 Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami:
Broken Family 22:00 Keeping up with the Kardashians 22:30 The Spin Crowd 23:00 E! News 23:30
Dr 90210: Age Ain’t Nothin’ but a Number
FINE LIVING NETWORK 307
06:00 Breathing Space Yoga 06:25 Breathing
Space Yoga 06:50 Carribean Workout 07:15 Carribean Workout 07:40 Making It Big 08:30 Easy
Entertaining with Michael Chiarello 09:00 Small
Space, Big Style 09:25 Kitchen Impossible 09:50
Cook’s Tour 10:15 Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin 11:05 Around the World in 80 Homes 11:30
Giada’s Weekend Getaways 12:00 Rachael Rays
Tasty Travels 12:25 Easy Entertaining with Michael
Chiarello 12:50 Saturday Kitchen 13:15 Saturday
Kitchen 13:45 Kitchen Impossible 14:10 Designing
for the Sexes 14:35 Designing for the Sexes 15:00
Small Space, Big Style 15:25 Around the World in 80
Homes 15:50 World’s Most Extreme Homes 16:15
Kitchen Impossible 16:40 Kitchen Impossible
17:05 Bathtastic! 17:30 Bathtastic! 18:00 Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin 18:55 Designing for
the Sexes 19:20 Designing for the Sexes 19:45 Designing for the Sexes 20:10 Designing for the Sexes
20:35 Designing for the Sexes 21:00 Designing for
the Sexes 21:30 Designing for the Sexes 21:55 Designing for the Sexes 22:20 Designing for the Sexes
22:45 Designing for the Sexes 23:10 Designing for
the Sexes 23:35 Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin
ZONE REALITY 308
06:00 Medical Detectives 06:25 Medical Detectives 06:50 Untold Stories of the ER 07:40 The
Incurables 08:05 Paramedics 08:55 Crime and Justice 09:20 Crime and Justice 09:45 Lifeline 10:35
I’m Still Alive 11:25 Beyond Chance 12:15 Medical
Detectives 12:40 Medical Detectives 13:05 Para-
21:00 – NCIS – Rai Due
Naked Brothers Band 09:50 Ragazzi c’è Voyager 10:20 A
come Avventura 11:00 Numero Uno 11:30 Mezzogiorno in
famiglia 13:00 Tg2 Giorno 13:30 Tg2 Motori 13:45 Quelli
che aspettano... 15:30 Quelli che il calcio e... 17:05 Stadio
Sprint 18:00 Tg2 L.I.S. 18:05 90° minuto 19:00 Numero
Un 19:35 Squadra speciale Cobra 11 20:30 Tg2 21:00 NCIS
21:50 Castle – Detective tra le righe 22:35 La Domenica
Sportiva 01:00 Tg2
medics 13:55 Crime and Justice 14:20 Crime and
Justice 14:45 Lifeline 15:35 I’m Still Alive 16:25
Beyond Chance 17:15 Untold Stories of the ER
18:05 White Out 18:55 Border Force 19:45 The
Incurables 20:10 Street Court 20:35 Street Court
21:00 Crime and Investigation Australia 21:50
Unsolved Mysteries 22:40 Crime and Justice 23:05
Crime and Justice 23:30 Crime Stories
GRANADA TV 309
06:00 60 Minute Makeover 07:00 Coronation
Street Omnibus 09:00 Weather from Hell 10:00
Live the Dream... As Seen on Screen 11:00 Help Me
I’m a Teen Mum 11:30 The Real Good Life 12:00
Forger’s Masterclass 12:30 Driving Mum and Dad
Mad 13:00 Parkinson 14:00 Michael Winner’s
Dining Stars 15:00 The Dark Side of Fame with Piers
Morgan 16:00 Stars in Their Eyes 17:00 I Saw You
18:00 Parkinson 19:00 Michael Winner’s Dining
Stars 20:30 The Dark Side of Fame with Piers Morgan
21:00 Stars in Their Eyes 22:00 I Saw You 23:00
Coronation Street Omnibus
TCM 310
06:00 Battle Taxi 07:35 Screening Room 08:00
Rawhide 09:00 Bonanza 10:00 The Horse Soldiers
[U] 12:15 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the
Forum [PG] 14:00 Miracles [PG] 15:30 Screening
Room 16:00 Rawhide 17:00 Bonanza 18:00 Five
Guns West [U] 19:45 Of Mice and Men [PG] 22:00
A Dry White Season [15]
MGM CHANNEL 312
07:35 Clifford [PG] 09:05 The Black Stallion Returns [PG] 10:45 The Charge of the Light Brigade [PG]
12:55 Little Man Tate [PG] 14:35 The ’60s 16:40
Book of Days 18:10 Inherit the Wind 20:00 Jiminy
Glick in Lalawood 21:30 The Basketball Diaries [15]
23:10 The French Lieutenant’s Woman [15]
HALLMARK 313
06:00 Judging Amy 06:55 7th Heaven 07:50
Dallas 08:45 Dallas 09:45 Dallas 10:45 Alice
11:15 Alice 11:50 Alice 12:20 Alice 12:50
Great Women 13:00 Agatha Christie’s Poirot 14:49
Great Women 15:00 Agatha Christie’s Poirot 16:50
Great Women 17:00 Agatha Christie’s Marple
18:44 Great Women 19:00 Agatha Christie’s
22:00 – John Travolta [Biography] –
Bio (Channel 411)
RAI TRE
09:45 TGR - Speciale Ambiente Italia 13:25 Passepartout
14:00 Tg3 Regione 14:15 Tg3 14:30 In 1/2 h 15:00
Tg3 Flash L.I.S. 15:05 Un’agenda che vale un tesoro – Filofax 16:45 Occhio al testimone 18:30 Kilimangiaro Album
19:00 Tg3 20:00 Blob 20:20 Pronto Elisir 21:00 Presa
diretta 23:05 Tg3 23:15 Tg Regione 23:20 Caternoster
00:20 Tg3
Marple 20:44 Verouillage Central 21:00 Agatha
Christie’s Marple 22:44 5 Recuerdos 23:00 Agatha
Christie’s Poirot
COMEDY CENTRAL 314
06:00 M*A*S*H 06:30 M*A*S*H 07:00 Teleshopping 07:30 Teleshopping 08:00 Teleshopping
08:30 Teleshopping 09:00 Teleshopping 09:30
Teleshopping 10:00 Scrubs 10:30 Scrubs 11:00
Scrubs 11:30 Scrubs 12:00 Scrubs 12:30 Scrubs
13:00 Scrubs 13:30 Scrubs 14:00 Scrubs 14:30
16:30 Scrubs 17:00 Scrubs 17:30 Scrubs 18:00
20:00 Two and a Half Men 20:30 Two and a Half
Men 21:00 The Rules of Engagement 21:30 Scrubs
22:00 The Office 23:00 Grumpy Old Holidays
23:40 Grumpy Old Women
Minute Meals 08:30 Tyler’s Ultimate 09:00 Diners,
Drive-Ins and Dives 09:30 Barefoot Contessa 10:00
Unwrapped 10:30 Paula’s Party 11:30 Paula’s
Best Dishes 12:00 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman
12:30 Guy’s Big Bite 13:00 Barefoot Contessa
13:30 Everyday Italian 14:00 30 Minute Meals
14:30 Throwdown with Bobby Flay 15:00 Iron
Chef America 16:00 Barefoot Contessa 16:30 Unwrapped 17:00 Paula’s Best Dishes 17:30 Diners,
Drive-Ins and Dives 18:00 Throwdown with Bobby
Flay 18:30 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 19:00
Guy Off the Hook: Special 20:00 Barefoot Contessa
20:30 Everyday Italian 21:00 Iron Chef America
22:00 Throwdown with Bobby Flay 22:30 Diners,
Drive-Ins and Dives 23:00 Guy Off the Hook: Special
DISCOVERY CHANNEL 400
06:05 Nothing to Declare 06:30 Teleshopping
07:00 Teleshopping 07:30 Teleshopping 08:00
Jerry Springer 08:25 Jerry Springer 08:50 Celebs
24/7 09:00 Maury 09:55 Celebs 24/7 10:00
Four Weddings 10:30 Four Weddings 11:00 Four
Weddings 11:30 Four Weddings 12:00 Four Weddings 12:30 Bulging Brides 13:00 Stepmom [12]
15:30 Passport Patrol 16:00 Nothing to Declare
16:30 Nothing to Declare 17:00 Airways 17:30
Airways 18:00 Teen Moms 19:00 Psychic Sally: On
the Road 21:00 Ghost Whisperer 22:00 Criminal
Minds 23:00 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
06:00 Wheeler Dealers: VW Type 25 06:25 How It’s
Made 06:50 How Does it Work? 07:15 Nextworld:
Future Ships 08:10 Mythbusters 09:05 Destroyed in
Seconds 09:35 Destroyed in Seconds 10:00 American Loggers: Blood and Greenhorns 10:55 Ultimate
Survival 11:50 Tornado Rampage 12:45 Deadliest
Catch: Breaking ’Em In 13:40 Mythbusters 14:35
Nextworld: Future Ships 15:30 Time Warp: Stone
Breaking 16:00 Time Warp: Dry Ice Bomb 16:25
Motorcycle Mania 17:20 Chop Shop 18:15 Fifth
Gear 18:45 Fifth Gear 19:10 Street Customs Berlin:
The Grand Opening 20:05 Mythbusters 21:00 Ross
Kemp on Gangs: Moscow 21:55 Banged up Abroad:
Venezuela 22:50 I Escaped Death: Cult Massacre
23:45 True Crime Scene: Strangler
THE STYLE NETWORK 352
DISCOVERY WORLD 401
LIVING 315
06:00 The Year in Fashion 07:00 Clean House
08:00 My Celebrity Home 09:00 Dallas Divas &
Daughters 09:30 Dallas Divas & Daughters 10:00
How Do I Look? 11:00 Jerseylicious 12:00 What I
Hate About Me 13:00 What I Hate About Me 14:00
What I Hate About Me 15:00 What I Hate About Me
16:00 What I Hate About Me 17:00 What I Hate
About Me 18:00 What I Hate About Me 19:00 What
I Hate About Me 20:00 How Do I Look? 21:00 Dress
My Nest 22:00 Tacky House 23:00 Clean House
06:00 Discovery Atlas 07:45 Massive Engines
08:15 Danger Hunters 09:05 Fearless Planet
10:00 Man Made Marvels Asia 10:55 Man Made
Marvels Asia 11:50 Man Made Marvels Asia 12:45
Man Made Marvels Asia 13:40 D-Day in Colour
14:35 Weapons of Combat 15:30 When Weather
Changed History 16:25 Discovery Atlas 18:15
Greatest Tank Battles 19:10 Inside Planet Earth
21:00 Dive to the Bottom of the World 21:55 Royal
Inquest 22:50 Solved 23:45 Mysterious Journeys
FOOD NETWORK 353
DISCOVERY SCIENCE 402
06:00 Paula’s Best Dishes 06:25 Good Deal with
Dave Lieberman 06:50 Guy’s Big Bite 07:15 Barefoot Contessa 07:40 Everyday Italian 08:05 30
06:00 Junkyard Mega Wars 07:00 Scrapheap
Challenge 08:00 Sci-Fi Saved My Life 08:55
Brainiac 09:50 Da Vinci’s Machines 10:45 Da Vinci’s
23:00 – The True Story: Jurassic Park [Documentary] – History (Channel 412)
31
THIS WEEK
TELEVISION
21.00 – Imagine That [Film] – melita movies (Channel 801)
Friends 19:50 Thomas and Friends 20:00 Dorothy
the Dinosaur 20:10 James the Cat 20:15 James the
Cat 20:20 Dougie in Disguise 20:30 Tiny Planets
20:35 Tiny Planets 20:40 Little Fables 20:45
Igloo-Gloo 21:00 Rubbadubbers 21:10 Sea the
Sea 21:15 Oswald 21:30 Oswald 21:45 Mio Mao
21:50 Kipper 22:00 Kipper 22:10 Fluffy Gardens
22:17 Fluffy Gardens 22:25 Baby Antonio’s Circus
22:30 Baby Antonio’s Circus 22:35 Pingu 22:40
Pingu 22:45 Benjamin’s Farm 22:50 Slim Pig
23:00 The Mighty Jungle 23:15 I Spy 23:30 P.B.
Bear and Friends 23:35 The Magic Key 23:45 Angelina Ballerina 23:52 Thomas and Friends
MTV 500
06:00 Breakfast Club 07:30 Teen Cribs 08:00 My
Super Sweet 16 08:30 Jessica Simpson: The Price of
Beauty 09:00 My Life as Liz 09:30 The Hills 10:00
The City 10:30 Hosted Top 20 12:00 Made 12:30
Teen Cribs 13:00 My Super Sweet 16 13:30 Jessica Simpson: The Price of Beauty 14:00 My Life as
Liz 14:30 The Hills 15:00 The City 15:30 Hosted
Top 20 17:00 Made 18:00 Cribs 18:30 Exiled
19:00 Made 19:30 Pimp My Ride 20:00 Taking
the Stage 21:00 Jersey Shore 22:00 Hard Times
of RJ Berger 22:30 Valemont 23:00 The Dudesons
23:30 The Dudesons
MEZZO 510
09:00 Bach: Johannes Passion (La Passion selon St
Jean) 11:10 Bernstein : Kaddish symphony 12:05
Divertimezzo 13:00 Nuit Maya au Châtelet. Orchestre de Paris 15:00 Blue Note : a Story of Modern Jazz
17:00 Donizetti - ‘La fille du régiment’ 19:15 Divertimezzo 20:30 ‘Raymonda’ au Bolshoï, chorégraphie
revue par Yuri Grigorovi 22:55 Los Van Van live au
Zenith de Paris
EUROSPORT 600
Machines 11:40 Da Vinci’s Machines 12:35 Da
Vinci’s Machines 13:30 Da Vinci’s Machines 14:25
Savage Planet 14:55 Eco-Tech 15:50 The Gadget
Show 16:15 The Gadget Show 16:45 How Stuff’s
Made 17:10 How Stuff’s Made 17:40 Alien Storms
18:30 The Perfect Disaster 19:20 Engineered
20:10 NYC Inside Out 21:00 Alien Storms 21:50
The Perfect Disaster 22:40 The Colony 23:30 The
Colony
The Dog Whisperer: Fondue, Chip, Hope, & JoyJoy, &
Elmer 12:00 The Dog Whisperer: Lotus and Joey
13:00 Caught in the Act: Dangerous Games 14:00
Rescue Ink: No Bull 15:00 Devil’s Bible 16:00 Bible
Uncovered: Secret Code of Revelations 17:00 The
Koran 19:00 Tribal Odyssey: Dinka 20:00 Bombing
of Germany 21:00 Nazi Twin Mystery 22:00 Earth
Investigated: Hawking’s Universe 23:00 Bombing of
Germany
DISCOVERY TRAVEL & LIVING 403
NAT GEO WILD 407
06:00 Jon & Kate Plus 8 06:25 Cake Boss 06:55
Little People, Big World 07:20 Say Yes to the Dress
07:50 My Greek Kitchen 08:15 Chic Eats 08:45
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations 09:40 Build, Buy
or Restore Abroad 10:05 The Restorer Guy 10:30
Take Home Chef 10:55 Say Yes to the Dress 11:25
Toddlers and Tiaras 12:15 Jon & Kate Plus 8 12:40
Cake Boss 13:05 Little People, Big World 13:30
My Greek Kitchen 13:55 Ultimate Cake-Off 14:45
Build, Buy or Restore Abroad 15:10 The Restorer Guy
15:35 Say Yes to the Dress 16:00 Toddlers and Tiaras 16:50 What Not to Wear 17:40 LA Ink 18:30
Jon & Kate Plus 8 18:55 Cake Boss 19:20 Little
People, Big World 19:45 Say Yes to the Dress 20:10
Ultimate Cake-Off 21:00 Toddlers and Tiaras 21:50
LA Ink 22:40 Body Work 23:30 Little People, Big
World 23:55 Say Yes to the Dress
INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY 404
06:00 Forensic Detectives 06:50 The FBI Files
07:40 CSU 08:30 Diagnosis Unknown 09:20 Forensic Detectives 10:10 Mystery Diagnosis 11:00
Real Emergency Calls 11:25 Real Emergency Calls
11:50 Final Days of an Icon 12:40 Diagnosis
Unknown 13:30 Forensic Detectives 14:20 The
FBI Files 15:10 CSU 16:00 Diagnosis Unknown
16:50 Forensic Detectives 17:40 Mystery Diagnosis 18:30 Real Emergency Calls 18:55 Real Emergency Calls 19:20 Final Days of an Icon 20:10 On
the Case with Paul Zahn 21:00 Disappeared 21:50
Deadly Women 22:40 I Almost Got Away With It
23:30 Autopsy
ANIMAL PLANET 405
06:00 Animal Crackers 06:25 Meerkat Manor: The
Next Generation 06:50 The Planet’s Funniest Animals
07:15 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 07:40 Daniel
and Our Cats 08:35 Animal Battlegrounds 09:00
Cats 101 09:55 Monkey Life 10:20 Vet on the
Loose 10:50 Miami Animal Police 11:45 E-Vets:
The Interns 12:10 Pet Rescue 12:40 Animal Cops
Miami 13:35 Wildlife SOS 14:00 RSPCA: On the
Frontline 14:30 Britain’s Worst Pet 14:55 Britain’s
Worst Pet 15:25 Dogs 101 16:20 Cats 101 17:15
Animal Cops Houston 18:10 Venom Hunter With
Donald Schultz 19:10 Planet Earth 20:05 Jungle
21:00 Whale Wars 21:55 Your Worst Animal Nightmares 22:50 Ultimate Air Jaws 23:45 Untamed
and Uncut
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 406
06:00 The Dog Whisperer: Dasher, Riley and Fosse
07:00 Mystery Gorilla 08:00 Chimps: Nearly Human 09:00 World’s Deadliest Animals: Central America 10:00 Mystery 360: Ghost Behind Bars 11:00
06:00 Animal Rescue Squad 06:30 Animal Rescue
Squad 07:00 Dog Town 08:00 Monkey Thieves
08:30 Monkey Thieves 09:00 Seconds from Disaster 10:00 Dam Beavers 11:00 Surviving the Jungle
12:00 Surviving the Savannah 13:00 Planet Carnivore 14:00 Planet Carnivore 15:00 Planet Carnivore 16:00 Planet Carnivore 17:00 Dolphin Army
18:00 Predator CSI 19:00 Chimps: Nearly Human
20:00 Life of Hummingbirds 21:00 Shark Island
With Nigel Marven 22:00 Dangerous Encounters
23:00 When Nature Strikes Back
TRAVEL CHANNEL 410
06:00 Globe Trekker Specials 07:00 Swiss Railway
Journeys 08:00 Rose Parade 09:00 PhotoXplorers
09:30 Essential 10:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle
Rides 11:00 Globe Trekker Specials 12:00 Intrepid
Journeys 13:00 Essential 13:30 Hollywood and
Vines 14:00 Luxury Getaways 14:30 The Thirsty
Traveler 15:00 Globe Trekker Specials 16:00 Journey Into Wine: Spain and Portugal 16:30 Journey
Into Wine: Spain and Portugal 17:00 Journey Into
Wine: Spain and Portugal 17:30 Journey Into Wine:
Spain and Portugal 18:00 48 Hours In... 18:30
Great Scenic Railways: 175 Years 19:00 Culinary
Asia 20:00 Word Travels 20:30 Essential 21:00
Cruising to the Northern Lights 22:00 Globe Trekker
23:00 Julian and Camilla’s World Odyssey
BIO 411
06:00 Bio: Franz Ferdinand 07:00 Steven Seagal:
Lawman: Medicine Man 07:30 Steven Seagal: Lawman: Crack War 08:00 Bio: Val Kilmer 08:30 Bio:
Keanu Reeves 09:00 Bio: Joaquin Phoenix 10:00
Bio: Reese Witherspoon 11:00 Kaiser Chiefs Live:
Main Square Festival in Arras 12:00 Bio: Franz Ferdinand 13:00 Steven Seagal: Lawman: Medicine Man
13:30 Steven Seagal: Lawman: Crack War 14:00
Bio: Val Kilmer 14:30 Bio: Keanu Reeves 15:00
Bio: Joaquin Phoenix 16:00 Bio: Reese Witherspoon
17:00 Kaiser Chiefs Live: Main Square Festival in Arras 18:00 Bio: Franz Ferdinand 19:00 Bio: Barry
Manilow: Songs from the 70s 20:00 Bee Gees: Live
by Request 21:00 Bio: Olivia Newton-John 22:00
Bio: John Travolta 23:00 Saturday Night Fever: The
Inside Story
HISTORY 412
06:00 Sliced: Vending Machines 06:30 Sliced:
Trash; Garbage Truck 07:00 Thomas Telford: The Man
Who Built Britain 08:00 Life After People: Home
Wrecked Homes 09:00 Life After People: Depth’s
of Destruction 10:00 American Pickers: Big Bear
11:00 Sliced: Vending Machines 11:30 Sliced:
Trash; Garbage Truck 12:00 Toughest Carrier Jobs
13:00 UFO Files: Pacific Bermuda Triangle 14:00
Sink the Manchester 15:00 Cutty Sark: Out of the
Ashes 16:00 Underwater Universe 18:00 Mega
Movers: Lost and Found 19:00 Mega Movers: Massive Bridges 20:00 Mega Movers: Oil Machines
21:00 Pawn Stars: Old Man’s Booty 21:30 Pawn
Stars: Fired Up 22:00 The Six Wives of Henry VIII: Jane
Seymour and Anne of Cleves 23:00 The True Story:
Jurassic Park
NAT GEO HD 421
06:05 Predator CSI 07:00 Mad Labs 07:25
Predator CSI 08:15 Dangerous Encounters 09:05
Dangerous Encounters 09:55 Dangerous Encounters
10:45 Hunter Hunted 11:35 Predator CSI 12:25
Ancient MegaStructures 13:15 Hunter Hunted
14:05 Gorilla Murders 14:55 Thunder Beasts
15:45 Mad Labs 16:10 Engineering Connections
17:00 Nazi Scrapbooks from Hell 17:50 Ancient
MegaStructures 18:40 Predator CSI 19:30 Mad
Labs 20:00 Master of Disaster 20:55 Air Crash Investigation 21:45 Perilous Journeys 22:35 Master
of Disaster 23:25 Air Crash Investigation
DISNEY CHANNEL 450
06:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 07:00 The Suite
Life on Deck 07:25 Wizards of Waverly Place 07:50
Jonas LA 08:15 Hannah Montana Forever 08:40
Good Luck Charlie 09:00 Sonny With a Chance
09:30 Read It and Weep 11:00 Hannah Montana
11:25 Jonas 11:50 Wizards of Waverly Place
12:15 The Suite Life on Deck 12:40 The Fairly Odd
Parents 13:00 Sonny With a Chance 13:25 The Replacements 13:50 Phineas and Ferb 14:15 Jonas
14:35 The Fairly Odd Parents 15:00 Sonny With a
Chance 15:25 Hannah Montana 15:45 The Suite
Life on Deck 16:10 Wizards of Waverly Place 16:30
Jonas 17:00 Hannah Montana Forever 17:20 Good
Luck Charlie 17:45 Sonny With a Chance 18:10 The
Luck of the Irish 19:40 Hannah Montana 20:00
Wizards of Waverly Place 20:25 Wizards of Waverly
Place 20:50 The Suite Life on Deck 21:15 Good
Luck Charlie 21:40 Sonny With a Chance 22:05 Jonas 22:30 Hannah Montana 22:55 Hannah Montana 23:20 The Suite Life of Zack and Cody 23:45
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
NICKELODEON 452
06:15 Little Kingdom 06:40 Dora the Explorer
07:05 Go, Diego, Go! 07:30 Ni Hao, Kai-lan 07:55
Dora the Explorer 08:20 The Wonder Pets 08:45
SpongeBob SquarePants 09:10 iCarly 09:35 iCarly
10:00 iCarly 10:25 iCarly 10:50 iCarly 11:15
iCarly 11:40 iCarly iDate a Bad Boy 12:30 The
Elephant Princess 12:55 SpongeBob SquarePants
13:20 The Fairly Odd Parents 13:45 Avatar: The
Legend of Aang 14:10 Jimmy Neutron 14:40 The
Mighty B 15:05 The Penguins of Madagascar 15:30
SpongeBob SquarePants 15:55 iCarly 16:20 Drake
and Josh 16:45 The Troop 17:10 Unfabulous
17:35 Back to the Barnyard 18:00 Avatar the Last
Airbender 18:25 The Fairly Odd Parents 18:50
The Penguins of Madagascar 19:15 SpongeBob
SquarePants 19:40 iCarly 20:05 The Troop 20:30
Drake and Josh 20:55 The Elephant Princess 21:20
Avatar: The Legend of Aang 21:45 My Life as a Teenage Robot 22:10 Jimmy Neutron 22:35 Back at the
Barnyard 23:00 SpongeBob SquarePants 23:25
The Fairly Odd Parents 23:50 The Mighty B
CARTOON NETWORK 453
06:00 Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes 06:30
Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes 06:40 The
Cramp Twins 07:00 Robotboy 07:30 Chop Socky
Chooks 08:00 Bakugan: New Vestroia 08:30
Bakugan: New Vestroia 09:00 Ben 10 09:30 Ben
10 10:00 Ben 10 10:30 Ben 10 11:00 Johnny
Test 12:00 The Secret Saturdays 12:30 The Secret
Saturdays 13:00 Chowder 13:30 Chowder 14:00
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy 14:30 The
Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy 15:00 The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack 15:30 The Marvelous
Misadventures of Flapjack 16:00 Ben 10 16:30 Ben
10 17:00 Johnny Test 18:00 Ben 10 18:30 Ben
10 19:00 The Secret Saturdays 19:30 The Secret
Saturdays 20:00 Chowder 20:30 Chowder 21:00
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack 21:30 The
Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack 22:00 Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes 22:30 Skatoony
23:00 Robotboy 23:30 The Cramp Twins
JIM JAM 458
06:00 Rubbadubbers 06:10 Sea the Sea 06:15
Oswald 06:30 Oswald 06:45 Mio Mao 06:50
Kipper 07:00 Kipper 07:10 Fluffy Gardens 07:17
Fluffy Gardens 07:25 Baby Antonio’s Circus 07:30
Baby Antonio’s Circus 07:35 Pingu 07:40 Pingu
07:45 Benjamin’s Farm 07:50 Slim Pig 08:00
The Mighty Jungle 08:15 I Spy 08:30 P.B. Bear
and Friends 08:35 The Magic Key 08:45 Angelina
Ballerina 09:00 Bob the Builder 09:10 Fireman
Sam 09:20 Tork 09:30 Barney and Friends 09:55
Tigga and Togga 10:00 Tigga and Togga 10:05
Dorothy the Dinosaur 10:15 James the Cat 10:20
Dougie in Disguise 10:30 Tiny Planets 10:35 Tiny
Planets 10:40 Little Fables 10:45 Igloo-Gloo
11:00 Rubbadubbers 11:10 Sea the Sea 11:15
Oswald 11:30 Oswald 11:45 Mio Mao 11:50
Kipper 12:00 Kipper 12:10 Fluffy Gardens 12:17
Fluffy Gardens 12:25 Baby Antonio’s Circus 12:30
Baby Antonio’s Circus 12:35 Pingu 12:40 Pingu
12:45 Benjamin’s Farm 12:50 Slim Pig 13:00
The Mighty Jungle 13:15 I Spy 13:30 P.B. Bear and
Friends 13:35 The Magic Key 13:45 Angelina Ballerina 14:00 Bob the Builder 14:10 Fireman Sam
14:20 Tork 14:30 Barney and Friends 14:55 Tigga
and Togga 15:00 Fireman Sam 15:10 Fireman Sam
15:20 Fireman Sam 15:30 Fireman Sam 15:40
Fireman Sam 15:50 Fireman Sam 16:00 Fireman
Sam 16:10 Fireman Sam 16:20 Fireman Sam
16:30 Fireman Sam 16:40 Fireman Sam 16:50
Fireman Sam 17:00 Kipper 17:10 Fluffy Gardens
17:17 Fluffy Gardens 17:25 Baby Antonio’s Circus
17:30 Baby Antonio’s Circus 17:35 Pingu 17:40
Pingu 17:45 Benjamin’s Farm 17:50 Slim Pig
18:00 The Mighty Jungle 18:15 I Spy 18:30 P.B.
Bear and Friends 18:35 The Magic Key 18:45 Angelina Ballerina 19:00 Thomas and Friends 19:10
Thomas and Friends 19:20 Thomas and Friends
19:30 Thomas and Friends 19:40 Thomas and
08:30 WATTS 08:45 Marathon: Berlin [Live]
11:30 Superbike Corner 12:00 World Superbike
Series: Imola: Race 1 [Live] 13:00 World Supersport
Series: World Championship: Imola [Live] 14:00
Weightlifting: World Championship: Men’s 105kg
15:30 World Superbike Series: Imola: Race 2 [Live]
16:30 Snooker: World Open: Semi-finals [Live]
18:00 Weightlifting: World Championship: Men’s
105kg Plus 19:30 Motorsports Weekend 19:45
Snooker: World Open: Semi-finals 21:00 Snooker:
World Open: Final [Live]
EUROSPORT2 601
07:30 Eurosport 2 Weekend News 08:00 International Rally Challenge: Italy: Day 2 08:30 Eurosport 2
Weekend News 09:45 The Daily Surf Report 10:00
World Superbike Series: Imola: Superpole 10:30
World Superbike Series: Vallelunga: Superstock [Live]
11:00 Women’s Football 12:30 Eurosport 2 Weekend News 13:00 The Daily Surf Report 13:15 Dew
Tour 14:15 World Superbike Series: Silverstone: Race
1 [Live] 15:00 Jez Do It 15:30 Australian Rules
Football 16:45 British Superbikes: Silverstone: Race
1 17:15 The Daily Surf Report 17:30 Twenty20
Cricket 20:30 Eurosport 2 Weekend News 21:00
Dew Tour 22:15 Women’s Football 23:15 The Daily
Surf Report 23:30 British Superbikes: Silverstone:
Race 2
ESPN CLASSIC 1 603
06:00 DTM Racing Series 07:00 Top 20 FIFA World
Cup Moments 08:00 Sports Years 09:00 Sports
Years 10:00 30 for 30 11:00 World’s Strongest Man
12:00 ESPN Big Fights 13:00 FIFA World Cup Stories
13:30 FIFA World Cup Stories 14:00 FIFA World Cup
Stories 14:30 FIFA World Cup Stories 15:00 Prem
Classics 15:30 FA Football Matches 16:00 Prem
Classics 16:30 Prem Classics 17:00 Sports Years
18:00 Sports Years 19:00 Sports Years 20:00 30
for 30 21:00 FIFA World Cup Classic Matches 22:00
Wimbledon Tennis Championships 23:00 FIFA World
Cup Stories 23:30 FIFA World Cup Stories
ESPN AMERICA 605
08:00 To Be Announced 10:30 To Be Announced
13:00 To Be Announced 15:30 College Football
Final 16:30 NFL Matchup 17:00 Sunday NFL
Countdown 19:00 NFL Football: Atlanta at New
Orleans [Live] 22:00 NFL Football: Indianapolis at
Denver [Live]
YACHT&SAIL 611
06:00 Cruises to a World of Discovery 07:00 Hot
Water 08:00 Des Top News 08:06 Meteo 08:15
Powerboat Racing 08:45 World Boat 09:45
Powerboat Racing: World Championship: Sweden
10:45 Des Top News 10:51 Meteo 11:00 Powerboat Racing 11:30 Cruise...Adventure 12:00
Sea People 12:15 Sea People 12:30 Hot Water
13:30 Des Top News 13:36 Meteo 13:45 Powerboat Racing 14:45 World Boat 15:15 Cruises to
a World of Discovery 16:15 Des Top News 16:21
Meteo 16:30 Powerboat Racing 17:00 Nansens’s
Footsteps 18:00 Aquanauts 18:30 Shark Gordon
19:00 Des Top News 19:15 Powerboat Racing
19:45 Coastguard: Antipollution Activity 20:15
World Boat 20:45 Des Top News 21:00 The Global
Challenge 21:30 Sport Magazine 22:00 Des Top
News 22:15 Powerboat Racing 22:45 World Boat
23:45 Des Top News
32
THIS WEEK
FILM
IN CINEMAS TODAY
EMBASSY CINEMAS
Valletta
Tel. 21 227436, 21245818
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ THINKER | ★ ★ ★ ★ TAILOR | ★ ★ ★ SOLDIER | ★ ★ SPY | ★ AWRY
A philosopher’s epic
Step Up 3 (U)
10:00, 12:15, 14:30, 16:45,
19:00, 21:15
Agora (12)
10:15, 13:25, 16:00, 18:35, 21:00
Dinner for Schmucks (14)
16:05, 18:30, 20:50
Grown Ups (14)
10:00, 12:10, 14:20, 16:30,
18:40, 20:50
Salt (12)
10:00, 12:10, 14:20, 16:30,
18:40, 20:55
EDEN CINEMAS
St Julians
Tel. 23 710 400
Grown Ups (14)
14:20, 16:35, 18:50, 21:00, 23:10
Inception (12)
14:25, 18:15, 21:10
Step Up 3 (U)
Showing at:
14:10 16:25
18:40 20:55 23:10
Salt (12)
14:15, 16:30, 18:45, 21:05, 23:15
The Switch (12)
14:15, 16:30, 18:45, 21:05, 23:15
The Other Guys (14)
14:05, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15, 23:35
She’s Out of My League (14)
14:00, 16:20, 18:30, 20:50, 23:00
Repo Men (18)
14:00, 16:20, 18:35, 20:55, 23:15
Letters To Juliet (U)
14:00, 16:20, 18:30, 20:45, 23:00
Marmaduke (U)
14:00, 16:20, 18:35
The Runaways (18)
20:50, 23:00
Piranha (3D) (18)
14:15, 16:30, 18:45, 21:15, 23:25
Dinner for Schmucks (14)
14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 21:05, 23:25
The Expendables (16)
14:20, 16:35, 18:50, 21:00, 23:10
The Last Airbender (U)
14:05, 16:15, 18:25, 20:45, 22:55
Knight and Day (PG)
14:10, 16:25, 18:40, 21:00, 23:20
Agora (12)
14:30, 18:25, 21:10, 23:45
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (12)
14:05, 16:25, 18:45, 21:10, 23:30
EMPIRE CINEMAS
Bugibba
Tel. 21 581 787, 21 581 909
The Hole (12)
13:30, 18:30
Step Up (3D) (U)
10:50, 16:00, 21:15
Piranha 3D (18)
11:05, 14:00, 16:15, 18:45, 21:00
The Other Guys (14)
11:15, 13:50, 16:20, 18:40, 21:10
Salt (12)
11:00, 13:55, 16:15, 18:35, 20:55
Grown Ups (14)
13:45, 16:05, 18:20, 21:05
The Expendables (16)
14:05, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15
Agora (12)
13:30, 16:10, 18:40, 21:30
AGORA (12)
★ ★ ★
While the rest of the world
squabbles about its portrayal
of Christianity and its historical inaccuracy, Maltese audiences can take some very simple pleasure out of Alejandro
Amenábar’s historical ‘reason
vs. superstition’ epic Agora.
It is the first film in recent
memory to give Malta – and
a plethora of Maltese actors
– an undeniable prominence,
and to fully integrate the island and its talent into the
overall texture of the film,
rather than simply employing
it as backdrop and prop.
Beyond this, it’s difficult to
gauge how audiences will respond to it. While the Chilean-born director, whose
previous work includes the
Nicole Kidman ghost drama
The Others and the Javier Bardem-starring The Sea Inside,
adds a definite gravitas to already weighty subject matter,
there is definitely something
missing throughout.
The story takes us back to th
4th century AD, with Egypt
under the gradually waning
hold of the Roman Empire.
Violent religious upheaval
in the streets of Alexandria
spills over into the city’s famous Library. Trapped inside
its walls, the brilliant astronomer Hypatia (Rachel Weisz)
and her disciples fight to save
By Teodor Reljic
the wisdom of the ancient
world. Among them are the
two men competing for her
heart: the witty, privileged
Orestes (Oscar Isaac) and Davus (Max Minghell), Hypatia’s
young slave, who is torn between his secret love for her
and the freedom he knows
can be his if he chooses to
join the unstoppable surge of
the Christians.
Call it a knee-jerk reaction
to any historical drama that
isn’t punctuated by arbitrary
sex scandals and stirring,
bloody battle scenes, but focusing on a philosopher, while
definitely an admirable move,
does not for heart-thumping
cinema make. This is forgivable, however. The film makes
up for its initially unexciting
premise with some beautiful cinematography and costumes, plunging the audience
into a world distinctly different from our own. What is
less easy to stomach, however,
is its inability to stick to a single plot strand or character.
This is supposed to be Hypatia’s film and yet, the trajectory swerves out of her orbit
for far too long, the large cast
of religiously conflicted characters taking centre stage for
long periods of time.
Yes, this is a large, tangled
story (it arguably contains one
of the most important narratives of Western civilization),
but it would have benefited
from some narrative compression and emotional punch. As
it is, the emotion is delivered
in staggered dollops, the narrative just winds on. Once
again, this is the way history
works, but should films work
this way too.
While some of the supporting players disappoint, the
key cast members deliver
some powerful performances.
Weisz is at her best (and she
was never really bad at all)
– inquisitive and dedicated,
there are shades of her character in The Constant Gardener
here. Oscar Isaac, convincingly playing both sides and
torn apart by two religions,
delivers masterfully and reminds us why he was, in fact,
the best thing about Scott’s
recent Robin Hood revamp.
Expect great things from him
soon enough. But it is Max
Minghella who I’m most excited about. Juggling both vulnerable and violent, his character arguably becomes easier
to latch onto as this winding
epic crashes its way to a tragic
conclusion.
That Amenábar has an antiChristian bias (though perhaps ‘fundamentalism’ would
be more accurate) is, try as
we might, difficult to deny. As
Christians are ransacking the
famous Library of Alexandria,
the camera pulls up, depicting them as a swarm of cockroaches. The erratic Bishop
Cyril himself is also difficult
to like, and Davus’s conversion
feels less like a move towards
true liberation than freedomthrough-terrorism.
Amenábar’s prosaic delivery
of the story – the gorgeous cinematography notwithstanding – seems to want to deflate
its emotional heft in the hope
that we would all just stop to
give reason a chance. This is
made very clear through the
title itself: ‘Agora’ means forum. Even though, sadly, the
religious squabbling that eventually leads to violence recalls
another bulwark of local culture: The Times of Malta online comments section.
33
FOOD
maltatoday,
By Monique Chambers
I
Ta’ Kella
The diet starts tomorrow
N
o, really it does. After
coming back from the 30day food fest more than a
couple of kilos heavier and now
on a rapid countdown to a big
birthday, I have decided that it is
time for action. I have read about
diets and even tried them for a
day before, but I think that I have
found the one that makes most
sense, especially for someone in
my position, who has to eat every
food group and every course
to be able to write a fair review.
One very wise (but I thought at
the time very cheeky) friend said
to me “you know, you can just
have a taste, you don’t have to eat
it all” when I bitched about the
slow steady increase in weight
that directly correlated with the
increase in my press cuttings file.
Anyway, Paul McKenna (you
know, the hypnotist chap) and
I have a deal. He claims, and I
quote, that if you a) eat when you
are hungry, b) eat what you like, c)
eat slowly and d) stop when you
are full combined with a mere
15 minutes of extra movement a
day, weight will fall drop off and
a new sustainable lifestyle can
begin. I shan’t bore you with a
Bridget Jones-esque reportage,
but please do forgive me if I vent
via this column, though consider
yourselves lucky: I have decided
to diet, not become a driving
instructor. The expletives will be
so much milder.
Before I made this decision to
change my lifestyle, of course, I
read a book which described the
things to do before you start a diet
(book sellers can see me coming).
I didn’t finish it as I had Mr
McKenna by my bedside willing
me to pick him up instead (I
devoured the book as if it were my
last meal). The same day (the eve
of Independence Day), I went to
Ta’ Kella at the Valletta Waterfront
with my sister, who goes regularly
with her flurry of UK visitors.
And this week, it was the turn of
the ski-instructor and my sister’s
goddaughter. We hadn’t booked,
but there were a couple of tables
left outside. Inside is worth a peek.
The walls are covered in pictures;
one of old buses, which make you
want to drag whoever decided
on the change in buses into the
restaurant for a look, before it’s
too late. Have they not noticed
that the newer buses throw out
as much smoke as the beautiful
old Bedford’s, and have damaged
suspension, not to mention the
lack of air-flow and horrible furry
seats? But I digress.
The menu is traditional Maltese
fare, with some things used
creatively. For starters I had the
aljotta (€5.70) which was almost
as good as my mum’s. The colour
and consistency were perfect,
the flavour was lemony peppery
tomato-y, but mum’s has all sorts
of seafood in and this seemed to
have one type of fish. To be fair,
we were on land because the sea
was a bit yukky, so I don’t expect
the fishermen to go out in it either.
The goddaughter took the garlic
mushrooms (€5.75) and her mum
the ski-instructor had the deep
fried Gbejniet (€5.20), my sister
had neonate (€5.95). It was a bit
like a battlefield, with cutlery
coming in from all directions
as we tasted bits of each other’s
dishes, all getting the thumbs up
and all plates emptied. I was still
hungry, having chewed my soup
slowly. We did have a lovely bottle
of Ulysses Shiraz (€18.75) – it’s our
policy that when we have visitors
we don’t stray off the island in
terms of wine. We weree rewarded.
h.
Nice and very berry-ish.
Now, you may not
believe this but I get
hate mail. Not often,
but I do get the odd
self-righteous type
communicating
their ideals, which
is of course, their
want. But frankly,
Vault 5,
I feel that child
Valletta
Waterfront
labour for designer
and sports goods
Tel:21241000
and the damage
www.takella.com
we do daily to the
environment are a bit
’m
more important, and I’m
unlikely to go down thee
me a vegan
Halal route nor become
so the who, what, why, where
and when of how something
ends up on my plate can be their
concern, but it just isn’t mine. I
get sustainability but hardly eat
fish, buy local where possible but
let’s face it, your diet (wardrobe,
transport and home…) would be
quite limited otherwise, so I am
not sure where I sit on the food
miles argument and I certainly
don’t deny myself anything. I’ll tell
you now, I am anticipating a few
mails this week because as I was
proverbially so hungry I could eat
a horse, I was lucky enough to be
able to do just that (€15.95). The
menu did offer nanna’s usuals;
my dish came from the specials,
where there was also a rack of ribs
in carob sauce which sounded
My sister had beef which was
delicious and I’m sure I will try
thinly sliced and used to protect
the next time. Not because my
a layer of spicy vegetables (€14.35)
horse was not good, because it
Unusually, she cleared her plate.
was. The meat was tender and it
Her 17-year-old goddaughter had
was flavoursome. It had a bit of a
chicken stuffed with Maltese
kick in taste terms, quite peppery
sausage (€14.50) and really enjoyed
but I like that. It needed no further it. I did too: she proclaimed at
seasoning and in fact, would be
a point in time that she hadn’t
an ideal dish for those trying the
had Maltese sausage before and I
Atkins diet as I had just one of
laughed like a schoolgirl. So base.
the roast potatoes and didn’t even
The ski instructor had sea bass
have any bread. It was rich and
al cartoccio (€23) which I always
wonderful, but I stopped when I
think is so exciting, unwrapping
was full, which was only about a
the dish and being blasted with
third of the way through the bowl. the flavour. This treatment should
The others liked it too; the taste is
be bestowed on so many other
distinctive but reminds me of liver, dishes so you get to experience
which I often have for breakfast.
and enjoy the aroma of the dish
Ta’ Kella
rather than it be wasted on its
journey towards you from the
kitchen. She said it was fluffy and
light and very yummy.
Desserts were given a miss – in
fact we didn’t even ask to see the
menu again we were all so full.
The visitors had Irish coffees and
us locals had peppermint tisane.
The ubiquitous limoncello was
offered and was an instant hit. To
the back of the eye balls. We left
Valletta happy. In fact, I have a
feeling the visitors will be visiting
Ta’ Kella again before they depart
and I have plans to take the next
batch next week. After I have gone
through the hate mail and will try
the ribs in carob sauce.
Your views
Do you know of a
restaurant that deserves
our attention?
Have you visited any of
the restaurants we have
reviewed?
What are your top three
favourite restaurants?
Let me know by email:
mchambers@mediatoday.
com.mt
34
maltatoday,
THIS WEEK
CULTURE
Pinned and preserved –
The Collector at St James October
WHEN two persons find themselves together by no natural
means but due to unforeseen
circumstances, the results may
be devastating. This is the case
of Miranda Grey and Ferdinand
Clegg in Vermiglio Theatre Productions’ interpretation of Mark
Healy’s play The Collector.
Based on the novel by John Fowles, the play explores the evolution of a forced relationship and
the psychological battle which
results in tragedy. Compassion,
seduction, violence, wits, obsession, hope, fear, hate and love are
some of the ingredients in this
heady emotional concoction.
Frederick Clegg, a lonely, luckless young man, works as a clerk
at City Hall and collects attractive butterflies in his spare time.
He’s obsessed with a beautiful
art student, Miranda, but unable
to make contact with her. Fredrick’s luck is about to change
while Miranda’s luck may be
running out when the two finally match wits.
After winning a fortune at lottery, Clegg (Alan Fenech) acquires a huge country estate and
in a planned-out scheme, kid-
Michelle Zerafa and Alan Fenech in The Collector. Photo by Michael Sammut
naps Miranda (Michelle Zerafa),
an aristocratic art student that
he worships and is obsessed
with since he was a withdrawn,
bullied child. Miranda – like
his butterflies – is seen as just a
221. EURASIAN SPOONBILL
collection to be preserved, pampered, indulged and imprisoned
in a cellar as he neither wants sex
or love from her. The play hinges
of the ghastly outcome of this
psychological battle.
To book, call 77070701 or
99454117.
For more information please
visit the company’s official
website www.vermigliotheatre.com.
GMOs – Commissioner Dalli admits EU
food safety regime must change
Europe’s health and consumer
affairs commissioner John Dalli
endured a barrage of criticism from
delegates at a GMO-Free Regions
conference in Brussels.
Dalli rehearsed a Commission
proposal to give member states new
rights to ban GMO cultivation, but
admitted to delegates that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
needed to be reformed.
Last Tuesday was a spectacular day for bird migration.
Along with the hundreds of birds of prey that sailed
overhead, nature lovers watching the event - myself included - were further spoiled with a flock of 22
Eurasian Spoonbills. Spoonbills (M: Paletta) are large
white birds with long necks, long legs, and this strange
ladle-shaped beak. This cumbersome-looking appendage is actually excellent for sifting small fish from the
shallow lakes where these birds live. But being migratory, Spoonbills leave their beloved wetlands and travel
to and from Europe and Africa twice a year. Here in
Malta we get to see a few every year, so a nice big
flock is a scarce treat. Meanwhile, the story of those 22
Spoonbills ended in tragedy: several were shot down by
hunters, others maimed and the rest dispersed. If you
want this butchery to end, join BirdLife.
Text Victor Falzon
Photo Chris Cachia Zammit
Directed by Albert Marshall,
one of Malta ’s leading and
most established directors,
The Collector will be staged
at St James Cavalier on November 5, 6 and 7.
The Commissioner was responding
to challenges from well-known farmer and vice chair of the European
Parliaments’ agricultural committee
José Bové, who called for “draconian” reform of EFSA. One delegate
called EFSA “a farce” of revolving
doors and corporate control. Dalli
said that as a non-scientist he was
not able to judge the quality of
EFSA’s work, but admitted that
there was criticism of the agency
in many areas and invited Bové and
other NGOs to be part of the reform
process.
He added the recent case of
contamination involving the
BASF GM potato Amadea in
Sweden had strengthened
his hand, reinforcing the
need for better monitoring
of GMOs throughout the
production process.
Bové summed up the feeling
among delegates: “Nobody
should be forcing us to consume
GMOs or destroy our farming for
GMOs. It’s a political choice which
is why we are here today.”
The conference, held in the European Parliament building, brought
together around 300 representatives from GMO-free regions, initiatives, farmers, environmental and
consumers organizations of all
EU member states and members
of the European Parliament. The
total number of GMO-free regions
and municipalities with the EU
has now exceeds 4,000 with the
latest member being the Capital of
Europe itself.
Participants warned the Council and
Parliament against any bargaining of health and environmental
safety for national rights to ban
GMOs, which de facto already exist. Instead, a moratorium on GMO
approvals should be imposed at
EU level until the Commission has
rectified problems regarding risk
assessment, strict seed purity laws
and thorough consideration of socioeconomic impacts on farmers and
food producers.
GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 120:
Green up your library – Next time you visit your library, ask
them to stock more green titles. If they organise themed displays,
suggest they create a display of books on an environmental
theme.
Visit Friends of the Earth’s
website
for more informaw
tion
about our work, as
t
well
w as for information
about
how to join us www.
a
foemalta.org.
You can also
f
support
us by sending a
s
blank
SMS donation on
b
50618070
(€4.66) or
5
50619223
(€11.65).
5
35
HEALTH
maltatoday
maltatoday, ,SUNDAY,
SUNDAY,26
26SEPTEMBER
SEPTEMBER2010
2010
Women! Be
aware, screen,
detect
OCTOBER is the month dedicated specifically to breast cancer awareness. Precisely because
this campaign has become routine it runs the risk of blending
into the recurring background
of our life. Breast cancer is the
most common form of cancer
and the leading cause of cancer
death in women above the age
of 30 in Malta (Prognostic Factors of Female Breast Cancer in
Malta report – February 2002).
This makes it extremely important that breast cancer
awareness reaches every one
of the females in our homes –
and to also remind them that,
if detected early, the chances of
beating it through early effective treatment are very good.
Screening is key!
The positive aspect of breast
cancer is that if detected in its
early stages it stands a good
chance of being treated, and
a precious life being saved.
Breast screening has to start
from a woman’s early twenties, with regular self-breast
examinations. Through these
examinations, women familiarise themselves with their
breasts and will be able to detect any unusual lumps that
might develop in time. Ideally,
they should also undergo a
breast examination by a health
care provider. They can have
this done during their annual
medical check-up or smear
test appointment. From the
age of 40, regular screening by
mammography should start.
If a history of family involvement exists, mammography
screening should commence
earlier. Women with abnormal results, or who are in the
higher risk range, can also be
advised to undergo a PET CT
Scan or MRI for additional
testing. Screening tests that
produce abnormal results will
be referred to specialists for
treatment guidance.
Can’t you Just wait for the
symptoms to occur?
The answer is a simple ‘No’.
This is because, initially,
breast cancer may not cause
any noticeable symptoms. This
is why it is often referred to as
a ‘silent killer’. A lump may be
too small for you to feel in your
regular self-examination, or it
might not cause any physical
changes or reactions. It can
however, be caught in a screening mammogram. This will invariably lead to further testing
that will clarify the lump’s nature and the appropriate treatment to be followed.
There are, nonetheless, a
number of symptoms that all
women have to be aware of
and if you experience any of
them you should seek immediate medical advice.
• A new lump or mass felt in
the breast
• Swelling of all or part of the
breast
• Skin irritation or dimpling
• Breast pain
• Nipple pain/nipple turning
inward
• Redness or thickening of
the nipple or breast skin
• Nipple discharge other than
breast milk
•A lump in the underarm
area
Please keep in mind that not
every symptom or sign automatically means breast cancer.
The majority of changes experienced in the breast could be
pointers towards non-cancerous conditions such as infections, cysts or fibroids. Having
a symptom or sign checked
out by a medical professional,
however, will NEVER translate into a waste of time.
36
2010 Rouge Allure
– a new weapon of
seduction
FOR the very first time, a
gloss achieves the status of a
luxury object. So precious, it
incites curiosity and envy in
its black and gold lacqured
case. It combines the extreme
shine of a gloss and the colour
intensity of a lipstick.
In perfect harmony with the
bold style of Rouge Allure, all
of the range colours brazenly
opt for provocation and come
in 10 radiant, luminous and
sophisticated shades.
Colourful and ultra-shiny:
lips have never before indulged
in such sensations with a
gloss. Thanks to its high concentration of pigments, Rouge
Allure Extrai de Gloss offers
amazingly intense, long-last-
ing colour in the
first stroke with
no pearly effect.
Its
second-skin
gel texture lights
up the smile with
pure and exceptional shine.
Rouge Allure Extrai de Gloss combines the comfort
and spontaneity
of a gloss with the
makeup intensity
of a lipstick. Specially developed for Chanel, its ultra-supple flocked applicator invents
a new beauty step for a gentle
feel and optimal precision. Its
beveled, symmetric and twosided tip embraces the shape
of the lips to delver the ideal
dose of gloss. The smile is
perfectly defined and dress in
vibrant, ultra-shiny and even
colour.
Chanel is exclusively distributed by Alfred Gera & Sons
Ltd
Joues Contraste – the essential
blusher from Chanel
JOUES Contraste is the blusher beauty essential by Chanel.
Perfectly round in its black lacquered case and equipped with a
natural-bristle brush, the secret
of vibrant cheekbones reinvents
itself season after season.
Peter Philips, Global Creative
Director of Chanel Makeup,
pays tribute to it. Over a pure,
translucent foundation, Peter
Philips concentrates intensity on
the eyes. Palettes of grey, taupe
of khaki eyeshadows are swept
onto the eyelids, while cheeks
blush with vitality and lips reveal
candid freshness.
At the heart of this collection, Joues Contraste by Chanel
combines structured makeup in
which eyes and cheeks balance
each other to achieve a perfect
harmony.
Colour Focus of the Autumn
2010 Makeup Collection
The face owes much of its
charm to the cheekbones. Light
finds full expression in this area
and loves to play on these curves,
which are a sign of femininity.
Sharp, soft of plump, the cheeks
light up with a smile, hinting at
subtleties of temperament, Peter Philips pays tribute to Joues
Contraste, the blush by Chanel
by creating three bold shades
Rose Temptation (Limited
Edition): Tender rosewood for a
delicate natural glow. Apply generously to cheeks and the top of
temples.
Pink Explosion: All the vitality of a fresh pink, full of spirit
and fantasy.
Plum Attraction: An intense
plum with two facets: surprising
and daring on a fair complexion
or simply elegant on a dark complexion. Perfect for emphasizing
and sculpting the prominent areas of the face.
EYES
LIPS
Les 4 Ombre Enigma
Spotlight on the eyes: Peter
Philips developed a combination
of intangible shades that waver
between warm tones and the
cool glimmer of metal. Shadowy
violet, metallic grey touched
with a blue effect, grey brown
and pale pink spiced up with a
dash of gold, to dress up the eyelids in shimmering reflections.
Ombre Essentielle
Taupe Grise and Vert Khaki:
two slightly iridescent shades
steeped in mystery for eyelids
that show off their temperament.
Stylo Yeux Waterproof
Dense and luminous, Cassis
enhances grey or metallic eyeshadows with its purple glow.
An intense and precise line for a
perfectly outlined eye contour.
Le Crayon Khol
The new Clair shade is a natural beige. Discreet and sophisticated, it adds and incredible
touch of perfection to makeup.
Applied inside the lower eyelid
rim, a single line opens up the
eyes.
Four new shades from the Levres
Scintillantes range:
Pink Teaser, bright pink and
gold
Rose Dilemma, pink and silver
Coral Love, apricot and gold
Petit Peche, peach and silver
Rouge Coco:
Chintz: This shade refers to the
ultimate English fabric, which
Mademoiselle loved. Light and
fruity peach is the natural, spicy
touch of a delicious note.
Rose Dentelle:
A must-have shade: a soft, elegant pink for daily wear, both
glamorous and romantic.
Nails
The final touch of beauty makeover that plays with contrasts:
Demure, nails echo the translucent complexion and angelic lips
with Le Vernis Jade Rose.
Rebellious, nails emphasise the
sensuality of the eyes and are with
Le Vernis Paradoxal, a grey violet
plum that dresses hands in an enchanting colour.
Chanel is distributed by Alfred
Gera & Sons Ltd
37
Events
GO lands prestigious
Alcatel-Lucent award
GO plc – Malta’s leading communications and entertainment provider – was recently
recognised by Alcatel-Lucent
as one of its most customer-focused business partners. GO is
Alcatel-Lucent’s main business
partner in the Maltese Islands.
At a meeting held exclusively
for Alcatel-Lucent business
partners and value-added distributors from around the
world, GO Business landed one
of the four high-powered Alcatel-Lucent Awards designed
specifically to showcase top
performing business partners
in various aspects of their sales
experience.
The four Alcatel-Lucent
awards were as follow: Award
for Best Forecast Accuracy
picked up by Nextira One,
Award for Best Commitment
to Alcatel-Lucent clinched by
Comtel, Award for Best Supportive Partner achieved by Edslan and the Best-Win-AgainstCompetition Award landed by
GO on grounds of its continued drive and motivation in
strengthening Alcatel-Lucent
presence among GO’s business
customers. The award further
consolidates the long-standing
relationship that exists between
GO and Alcatel-Lucent.
GO’s business team – in particular its sales representative,
Amanda Abela – was singled
out as winner of the award from
a large number of high-status
communications
companies
that were in the running for the
awards. GO landed the award
after its sales representative
made an excellent job of securing a top notch local key client
for Alcatel-Lucent. It was a joint
effort on the part of the GO
Business team - charged with
determination and perseverance – that ultimately reaped
outstanding results. This was
when the stakeholders of this
prestigious local company opted for ALU solutions as their
first communications choice
despite stiff competition on all
fronts of the telecommunications market. Indeed a feather
in the GO Business team’s cap!
The partnership with AlcatelLucent results in high profile
innovative solutions from the
high tech ALU portfolio for
GO business clients. In addition, businesses purchasing
hardware from GO – such as
PBX systems that are an absolute must to all business entities – enjoy 24x7 support from
GO’s highly trained technical
team and even benefit from
unlimited advantages such as
attractive offers on Alcatel systems and convenient payment
options. It is no wonder that
GO supports the majority of
Malta’s most elite private and
public entities.
Speaking about the AlcatelLucent
Best-Win-AgainstCompetition Award that GO
so successfully pulled off, GO
Business Head, Kenneth Spiteri said: “We are absolutely
delighted that GO has succeeded in landing the award –
putting us in league with Italy,
Greece, Cyprus and Israel. An
exceptional achievement attained through the willpower
and the hard work put in by
all members of the GO Business team. The result is proof
that GO Business is geared to
deliver exceptional solutions to
its clients and reach important
goals.”
“GO plc boasts a rich history with Alcatel-Lucent that
From left: Amanda Abela from the GO Business team, Kenneth Spiteri Head of GO Business and Gianfranco
Orienti, Channel Sales Manager at Alcatel-Lucent
spans over twenty years and
has matured into a powerful
and exciting business experience that takes full advantage
of the unique ALU portfolio.
The catalyst of our mutual
relationship was undoubtedly
Alcatel-Lucent’s extensive involvement in GO’s submarine
cable system linking Malta to
Italy. Alcatel-Lucent designed
and manufactured the submarine cable system, based on its
dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technology
and cables – with the ability, in
future, to be upgraded easily
and cost-effectively,” he said.
Meanwhile, Amanda Abela
from the GO Business team
said: “Alcatel-Lucent has been
a key supplier of ours for several years now. Attractive benefits to key customers include
Alcatel-Lucent’s robust and
scalable infrastructure to support cost savings by centralisation, investment protection by
leveraging existing hardware
and software, new ways of
communicating via enhanced
enterprise agility and productivity, flexible solution adaptable to the customer’s needs
and IT environment as well as
pure software and openness
solution for easy integration
in the business environment –
and more!”
Gianfranco Orienti, Channel Sales Manager at AlcatelLucent congratulated GO for
its achievement. “We look up
to our partners as a crucial
part of an overall mechanism
that comprises our go-to-the
market approach. Thanks to
the support of our business
partners we can continue to
reinforce our commitment to
global customers by delivering
secure and reliable products,
software services and solutions,” he said.
Food, exotic travel, mystery – Allocation of more
new shows on Melita
terminals to Maltco’s
agents
THIS month, Melita TV subscribers can sit back and enjoy
a variety of brand new shows
ranging from culinary shows
to investigation documentaries,
offering good entertainment for
everyone.
For all the foodies out there,
Nat Geo Adventure and Food
Network are premiering their
new shows this month offering
new tantalising recipes.
David Rocco’s Dolce Vita is
premiering on Nat Geo Adventure (Channel 409) this
month, following David Rocco
around Tuscany as he visit the
local markets and prepares local, easy-to-cook classic Italian
dishes.
The Food Network’s (Channel 353) array of new TV shows
include Food Network Caters
your Wedding, featuring Food
Network favourites Bobby Flay,
Giada de Laurentiis, Tyler Florence, Emeril Lagasse and Paula
Deen, Paula’s Best Dishes with
Paula Deen and two special
Guy Off the Hook shows: Guy’s
Family Feast and Guy’s Big
Night with Chef Guy Fieri.
Travel Channel (Channel 410)
is also premiering new shows
this month offering great ideas for travel destinations with
shows such as Exotic Lives,
Cruising the Northern Lights
and Travel Today.
For all Sherlock Holmes aficionados, tune in to Investigation Discovery’s (Channel 404)
new show, Mystery Diagnostics, premiering this month.
Investigation Discovery offers
a gripping line-up of crime
and investigative programming from the United States
and around the world, focusing on the science of forensics
and how it is used to solve the
toughest real life crimes and
most puzzling mysteries.
The Travel Channel is available only on Melita’s L and XL
TV packages whilst the Food
Network, Nat Geo Adventure
and Investigation Discovery
are available exclusively on
Melita’s XL TV package.
For more information or to
subscribe to Melita’s Television
packages log on www.melita.
com or call Melita on 27 270
270.
IN the continuation of improvements, Maltco Lotteries will be
distributing additional Coronis
Terminals to its agents, with
the objective of giving clients
an even better and quicker service. This improvement would
be achieved as it would increase
the agents’ efficiency.
This is also part of Maltco Lotteries’ strategy that through a continuous investment programme it
constantly endeavours to improve
the services offered to the players
whilst at the same time supporting its agents.
Mario Cassar, Maltco Lotteries’ General Director, commented that finally, this latest
initiative continues to demonstrate Maltco’s commitment to
enhancing the service provided
to clients through the company’s
support of the agent network. He
also thanked Gejtu Vella, UHM’s
General Secretary as well as Alfred Muscat, President of LRU
for their fruitful co-operation. He
emphasised that the deployment
of these additional terminals
represented Maltco’s significant
investment to improve efficiency
which in turn was also of benefit to both its agents and clients.
Similar investments will take
place in the future to continue accommodating upcoming needs of
both clients and agents.
38
MOTORING
Honda’s Malta branch revamps website
THE new Honda Malta website is now online at www.
honda.com.mt. The fresh design is based on international
brand guidelines and the site
features the entire Honda
range including cars, motorcycles, power products and
marine outboards. Customers
can thus view all the details
of our products including images and technical specifications. It is now easier than ever to request a test drive, view
a brochure, book a service or
even order parts online.
The website was developed
by Isle Creative, a Maltabased web design and development company headed by
Jean Galea.
Why not see for your self
and visit our new and improved site: www.honda.com.
mt.
It’s all in the mix
By launching the world’s first full diesel Hybrid vehicle, the 3008 HYbrid4, Peugeot will create
a new type of vehicle in terms of freedom of use and driving enjoyment
Environmental Efficiency
The name HYbrid4 designates
the hybridisation of a diesel engine (2.0 litre HDi FAP 120 kW
/ 163 bhp) with an electric motor offering a maximum power
output of 27 kW (37 bhp). Since
diesel engines consume less fuel
than petrol engines, they are
the ideal choice for this type of
hybridisation.
With the 3008 HYbrid4
crossover, the environmentally
friendly combination of diesel
and electric power also paves
the way for:
- 4 wheel drive,
- a maximum power of 200
bhp,
- ZEV mode (Zero Emission
Vehicle),
- 3.8 litres/100 km, with 99 g/
km of CO2.
The customer benefits are
immediate with a high-level
specification and a reduction of
35% in fuel consumption, a real
breakthrough for a car of this
size and performance.
Driving pleasure
Contrary to current beliefs,
the use of hybrid technology
also offers improved driving
freedom and introduces new
benefits at several levels:
- high performance combined
with excellent driveability
- freedom and simplicity
of use with the possibility of
choosing four different operating modes: ZEV, 4WD, Sport,
Auto
- silent operation, with the
possibility of driving in electric
only mode
- peace of mind offered by the
safety inherent in four-wheel
drive
- environmental friendliness
with emissions starting from 99
g/km of CO2.
A technological and rewarding
crossover
The 3008 HYbrid4 is designed
to appeal to demanding, technophile customers in search of
a rewarding and original car. Its
benefits reside in its ability to
fuse together different genres:
- through its external architecture, with a body which carries the genes of the SUV, MPV
and saloon
- through its specific stylistic
codes in relation to the 3008
range overall, combining power
and protection
- strength and elegance, leisure and status
- through its surprising and
technological interior, combining the ambience of an exclusive hi-tech coupé with practical and efficient modularity
- through its dynamic specification since thanks to Peugeot’s
expertise and the technologies
employed, this ‘tall single com-
partment’ vehicle offers a level
of driveability that is the envy
of many a saloon.
The 3008 HYbrid4 thus offers
a new and highly technological
approach to motoring, combining renewed driving enjoyment
with a very low level of CO2
emissions.
Peugeot’s choice of the diesel
hybrid demonstrates that it is
possible to combine uncompromising environmental demands
with driving sensations until
now not available in a hybrid
vehicle.
The 3008 HYbrid4 will be
produced in France (in Sochaux
and Mulhouse) and marketed in
the spring of 2011 in Europe.
39
MOTORING
Peugeot emerge victorious in
first stretch of Le Mans Cup
TEAM Peugeot Total kicked
off its 2010 Intercontinental
Le Mans Cup campaign on
12 September by winning the
first race to count towards the
newly-created series. The entire
squad was eager to score this
win, which was combined with
second place for the Oreca-run
Peugeot 908 HDi FAP.
An assertive win
After posting the fastest time
in the morning’s warm-up session, Anthony Davidson was
tasked with starting the race
at the wheel of the N°1 factory
Peugeot and he felt in a particularly confident mood. In front of
home fans, including more than
3,000 guests of Peugeot UK,
he succeeded in stealing second place from Bernhard at the
start before engaging in a thrilling battle with the race’s early
leader McNish. The two drivers went side by side at times in
the course of their virile scrap,
which certainly kept the spectators entertained. The final word
ended up going to the Peugeot
driver on Lap 9, which marked
the beginning of a long solitary
run. The faultless performance
of the two Peugeot drivers was
helped by slick pit work and by
the outstanding performance of
their Michelin tyres, which permitted them to complete double
stints without any fall-off at all
in performance.
Anthony Davidson and Nicolas Minassian completed the
race’s 1,000 kilometres in a little
more than five hours to add an
eagerly-awaited 17th win to the
908’s record.
A one-two finish for the 908
HDi FAPs in the ILMC
The honour of winning the
first race to count towards the
new ILMC went to Peugeot to
mark the beginning of a new
chapter in the history of endurance racing. In addition to
the points harvested by its win,
Peugeot also pocketed those
that went with second place
thanks to the first class result
obtained by the Oreca-tended
908 HDi FAP.
In the hands of Stéphane Sarrazin and Nicolas Lapierre, the
Oreca 908 HDi FAP succeeded
in clinching the 2010 Le Mans
Series title for Peugeot, as well as
the Drivers’ crown for Stéphane
Sarrazin for the second time in
his career following his first in
2007. Silverstone ended up being
an extremely successful weekend for Peugeot which has every
intention of targeting a similar
result in the next two rounds of
the ILMC at Road Atlanta (Petit
Le Mans) on 2 October, and in
Zhuhai (China) on 7 November,
for which the team has entered
two factory cars.
Olivier Quesnel: “We absolutely needed a victory today to
boost the team and get our Intercontinental Le Mans Cup off to
a flying start because our aim is
to win this new series. The team
did a fantastic job, as did the
drivers. I asked Anthony Davidson to try to take second place
at the start, and that’s exactly
what he did. The way the rest of
the race unfolded exceeded my
wildest hopes, and his thrilling
early scrap was followed up by
some strong stints by Nicolas
Minassian. The pleasure of winning this race was compounded
by the satisfaction of sewing up
this year’s Le Mans Series titles for Peugeot and Stéphane
Sarrazin thanks to the points
earned by the 908 HDi FAP run
by the 2010 Teams’ champions,
Oreca.”
Nicolas Minassian: “I felt very
confident on my arrival at Silverstone and I was looking forward to the prospect of racing
in the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP
again. Anthony did an excellent
job during the early part of the
race and all he left me to do was
control from in front! This win
is a great way to celebrate my
final competitive outing in this
car, which is quite simply fantastic. This was my second win
in the 908.”
Anthony Davidson: “I thoroughly enjoyed myself during
the early part of the race for two
reasons: it was the first time I
had been given the task of start-
ing in the Peugeot, and also
because it was such an exciting
scrap. It’s a shame that McNish
left me on my own! The result is
a great way to kick off the championship for Peugeot.”
40
MOTORING
Toyota recall work
swiftly handled
TOYOTA’S local representatives,
Michael Debono Ltd, have tackled
the recent recall swiftly and professionally as per Toyota standards. Geoffrey Debono (Michael
Debono Ltd’s Managing Director) had immediately held a press
conference wherein he explained
the nature of the problem and announced that all affected clients
would be contacted as soon as
the full list of potentially affected
models had been received from
Toyota. This promise has been
kept and in fact all concerned were
contacted and modification work
is now 100% completed, to the satisfaction of all affected parties.
It is imperative to emphasise that
there have been no reported cases in
Europe of unintended sudden acceleration. In reality, customers did not
require much reassurance as they had
ample experience of the reliability of
Toyota products and could see beyond the excessive hype with which
the whole matter was internationally
handled, particularly in the USA.
Overall, market survey results show
that customer confidence is still extremely high vis-a-vis the brand and
this is clearly visible from the recently
published yearly fiscal results which
show the company achieving healthy
profits and an overall increase in
sales.
41
Events
Three Magellan awards for
MSC Splendida and Royal
Suites of MSC Yacht Club
MSC Cruises has been recognized with three prestigious
2010 Magellan Awards from
Travel Weekly, a leading travel
industry publication, earning
recognition in the contemporary ship design, suite design
and promotional video categories.
MSC Splendida, one of MSC
Cruises’ newest and largest ships,
was selected as a 2010 Gold Magellan Award, winner in the Contemporary Ship category. MSC
Cruises also received two Silver
Magellan Awards: the line’s Royal
Suite MSC Yacht Club was recognised in the Suite Design category, while its Canada/New England
video was honoured in the Promotional Video category.
The Magellan Awards is the premier awards program, honouring
the best in the travel industry,
from design to marketing to services. The 2010 Magellan Awards
received entries from top travel
organisations and professionals
worldwide and were judged by a
panel of prominent travel industry professionals.
“MSC Cruises is honoured to be
recognised by our industry peers
with these prestigious Magellan
Awards. The awards acknowledge
our high standards and our ongoing commitment to offering our
guests refined style and luxury,
combining European charm with
contemporary elegance,” said
Richard E. Sasso, president and
CEO of MSC Cruises (USA), Inc.
Gold Magellan Award-winner
MSC Splendida debuted in July
2009 and is the second in the line’s
‘Fantasia’ class of ships. Among
its highlights is the MSC Yacht
Club, a VIP area complete with 99
spacious suites and 24-hour butler service, as well as four swimming pools, a squash court and a
Formula 1 simulator. In addition,
the ship’s innovative technology
includes energy-saving and environmentally-friendly features.
The design of the Royal Suites of
the MSC Yacht Club earned a Silver Magellan Award. Available on
the ‘Fantasia’ class of ships (MSC
Fantasia, MSC Splendida), the
luxurious suites encompass 572
square feet, with a private balcony or panoramic view. Designed
by De Jorio Design International, they include such luxurious
amenities as a marble bathroom,
spacious wardrobe, Egyptian cotton sheets, Dorelan pillow menu,
and Myform memory ergonomic
mattress, interactive TV, Ninten-
do and much more.
MSC Cruises also was honoured with a Silver Magellan
Award for the promotional video
of its inaugural season of Canada/New England cruises. The
video documents how, beginning
this month, guests will be able to
experience the beauty of the fall
foliage and scenic destinations
from onboard MSC Poesia as
she sails along the Atlantic Coast
from New York City to Quebec
City.
MSC Cruises currently has the
most modern fleet in the world
(fleets of four ships or more),
comprising eleven ships: MSC
Splendida and MSC Fantasia (the
largest ships ever built for a European ship owner), MSC Poesia,
MSC Orchestra, MSC Musica,
MSC Sinfonia, MSC Armonia,
MSC Opera, MSC Lirica and
MSC Melody. MSC Magnifica,
the newest ship in the fleet, was
launched in March 2010. The
fleet cruises year round in the
Mediterranean and seasonally
in Northern Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, North
America and Canada, South
America, the Indian Ocean and
South and West Africa. MSC
Cruises is the only company
in the world to receive the “6
Golden Pearls” award from the
Bureau Veritas in recognition of
its high level of quality management and environmental protection. MSC has also achieved ISO
9001 and ISO 22000 certification
for the quality and food safety of
all aspects of its catering, both
onshore and onboard. MSC
Cruises cares about the welfare
of children, and as a responsible
market leader believes in making
a positive impact in the regions
where it operates. To this end,
the company recently forged a
partnership with UNICEF to
fund a community project aimed
at providing disadvantaged children in Brazil with a quality education.
MSC Cruises flagship, the
138,000 tonnes, 334 metres long,
‘MSC Splendida’ calls at Malta
every Wednesday and cruises to
Messina, Rome, Genova, Marseilles, Barcelona and Tunis.
All MSC Cruises liners, including the “MSC Splendida” are exclusively represented in Malta
and Gozo by their General Sales
Agents Hamilton Travel of 4,
St Publius Street, Floriana, Tel:
21241292.
the European
iPhone 4 arrives in Malta Anticipating
Week for Waste Reduction
VODAFONE has this Friday launched the iPhone 4 in
Malta. Vodafone will offer
customers in Malta a range
of tariff plans tailored for
iPhone customers.
The iPhone 4 features FaceTime, which makes the dream
of video-calling a reality, and
Apple’s stunning new Retina
display, the highest resolution
display ever built into a phone,
resulting in super crisp text,
images and video. iPhone 4
also features a 5- megapixel
camera with LED flash, HD
video recording, Apple’s A4
processor, a 3-axis gyro and
up to 40 percent longer talk
time – in a beautiful all-new
design of glass and stainless steel that is the thinnest
smartphone in the world.
The iPhone 4 comes with
iOS 4, the newest version of
the world’s most advanced
mobile operating system,
which includes over 100 new
features. The revolutionary
App Store provides access to
more than 200,000 apps including the new iMovie app
built just for iPhone 4.
For more information on
prices and deals for iPhone 4
visit www.vodafone.com.mt/
iphone4. For more information on iPhone 4, please visit:
www.apple.com/iphone.
Get online in Libya with Vodafone
VODAFONE has announced
that its data roaming service has now been extended
to Libya, after it reached an
agreement with Libyan operator Al Madar. Vodafone prepaid and postpaid customers
travelling to Libya can now
access data on their smartphones or Vodafone Internet
Key starting at €1.75 per MB
on a postpaid plan.
“The demand for accessing data services from persons travelling to, and doing
business with Libya, has increased,” said Alexandre Froment-Curtil, Head of Marketing at Vodafone Malta Ltd.
“We have added Libya to our
portfolio to enable our customers to use email, browse
the internet and network on
social sites from their Vodafone Internet Key, BlackBerry® smartphones, iPhone or
any other smartphone.”
Vodafone’s data roaming
service has a default spending cap with an alert that
notifies customers when they
reach their desired spending
limit.
Detailed information is
available on www.vodafone.
com.mt. Customers may
check the website before they
go abroad to find out which
are Vodafone’s networks.
These consist of 384 network
partners in over 155 countries across the globe making it easier for Vodafone
customers to roam whilst
abroad.
WASTE is generated out of everyday practices from businesses,
industries, local authorities, government bodies, schools and the
general public. In the recent past,
much attention has been given to
the re-use, recycling and waste
management. Today, the importance is shifting to waste reduction
for the simple reason that waste
which is not created does not have
waste management cost, does not
consume the world’s natural resources and energy and does not
impose a problem on the environment. 20 November 2010 will see
the dawn of the second official European Week for Waste Reduction.
With the support of the European
Commission’s LIFE+ Programme,
the EWWR aims to inform large
numbers of European citizens
about the simple actions that they
can take in everyday life to help
contribute to waste reduction efforts. The first edition, held in
2009, was a success: it involved 20
organisers in 10 countries and saw
the implementation of 2672 actions
across Europe.
The 2010 edition of the EWWR
will now be organised by 28 European public authorities across 15
European countries! WasteServ
Malta Ltd. is the official organizer
of this week in Malta! Under the
coordination of the organisers, a
variety of actors, including public
authorities and administrations,
associations and NGOs, businesses
and industry, educational establishments, etc will get involved in the
Week by carrying out awarenessraising actions on waste reduction.
These project actions will focus
on the various stages of the product
cycle, ranging from production and
consumption to reuse.
Participating in this event is easy.
Start by visiting Wastserv’s website, www.wasteservmalta.com, to
obtain more information in order
to come up with an idea of a waste
reduction action which you can
practice during this week. The action should fall under one of the
following categories:
Too much waste;
Better production;
Better consumption;
Longer life for products and
Less waste thrown away.
Moreover, one can choose this
week to showcase a waste reduction action they may well have been
doing for a long while.
42
Business
Mark Lamb
Weekly international investment round up to 24th September 2010
The Swiss blueprint
T
he Swiss made history last
week when their parliament
gave the majority of cabinet
posts to women for the first
time. Simonetta Sommaruga
became the fourth female
minister in the seven-member
Federal Council, the ruling body
under the country’s somewhat
unique and complex political
system where there is no Prime
Minister and under its direct
democracy model, the Sovereign
of Switzerland is deemed to be
its entire electorate. The gender
power switch is all the more
amazing considering women
only gained the vote there at
national level in 1971.
Switzerland’s political and
economic models have long
been of interest to analysts,
never more so than now, as
they appear better placed than
many to prosper in the postcredit crunch world, potentially
offering a blueprint for other
smaller nations to follow. Just
like the Japanese yen the Swiss
franc has been seen as a safe
haven during the financial
turmoil, recently hitting highs
against both the euro and the
dollar. Switzerland is also home
to some of the world’s best
brands. Swatch, the world’s
largest watchmaker, has had
a good year, with its share
price up over 52%, while
pharmaceutical giant Novartis,
which makes up to 17% of the
SMI’s weighting, has increased
by almost 15% during the same
period.
Credit Suisse’s ‘The structure
of the Swiss Economy 1998 to
2020’ report makes excellent
reference material for those
attracted to this country.
Within it, the company’s
economists state their belief
that Switzerland now has a
unique opportunity to position
itself among its international
peers as a model for the future.
Growing government debt and
demographic change are putting
pressure on its traditional
trading partners. At the same
time, the huge markets of the
heavily populated and fastgrowing emerging countries,
with their status-minded and
increasingly quality-oriented
middle classes, will become
irresistible magnets for Swissmade products and services. The
report goes on to state that the
availability of a highly qualified
labour force and a favourable
operating environment will
prompt more and more
WEEKLY MARKET ANALYSIS
Stock markets
• New female cabinet
majority makes history in
Switzerland
• Can other small nations
benefit from the Swiss
model?
17/09/2010
wks chg
3,710.61
3,736.30
-0.69%
Euro STOXX 50
2,738.61
2,784.61
-1.65%
Dax (Frankfurt)
6,184.71
6,249.65
-1.04%
10,662.42
10,594.83
0.64%
FTSE 100
5,547.08
5,540.14
0.13%
FTSE All-Share UK
2,862.45
2,859.22
0.11%
22,109.41
21,925.67
0.84%
2,857.48
2,869.68
-0.43%
Dow Jones Ind. Avg
Hang Seng
Shanghai CSI 300
Mumbai (BSE)
companies to base themselves
in Switzerland over the next ten
years. In turn, this will give rise
to clusters of corporate service
providers and information
specialists and together with the
still-strong financial services
industry, they will form the
bedrock of its service sector.
The growing high-tech industry
will specialise primarily in
engineering and development
while owing to high pay levels
and the persistently strong
franc, even more production
tasks are likely to be outsourced
abroad. The report states that
the pharmaceutical industry
is likely to remain their most
important manufacturing
sector with the highest growth
rates coming from the medical
24/09/2010
CAC 40 (Paris)
19,913.08
18,591.82
7.11%
Nasdaq
2,327.08
2,303.25
1.03%
Nikkei 225
9,529.79
9,633.57
-1.08%
S&P 500
1,124.83
1,124.66
0.02%
SMI (Zurich)
6,303.20
6,424.16
-1.88%
engineering and ‘cleantech’
segments. Healthcare, wellbeing and sustainability will
also be key future themes for
Switzerland’s export sector.
Switzerland’s small size
and topography are seen as
growth limiting factors; work
space is scarce. The report
highlights that the expected
burgeoning growth in the
economy and the population
will call, more than ever
before, for meaningful urban
and regional planning.
Should Ms Sommaruga
and her colleagues prove
successful in managing the
Swiss environment no doubt
private sector investors can
look forward to a prosperous
decade ahead.
Mark Lamb is Head of the
Life Dept. at Citadel Insurance
plc which is authorised to
carry on general and long
term business of insurance
under the Insurance Business
Act, 1998 and is regulated by
the MFSA. Contact by email;
[email protected] Tel;
25579000. Website; www.
citadelplc.com.
This article does not intend
to give investment advice and
its contents should not be
construed as such. Information
in this article has been
obtained from various public
sources and is given by way
of information only. Readers
are always encouraged to seek
financial advice before making
any investment decision.
New Schindler Regional Manager for Malta
AS Schindler’s new Regional
Manager based in Malta, Mario
Barbetti replaces the outgoing Regional Manager, Pascal
Fournier, who had been managing the region for the past
three years and has now been
appointed to Schindler regional
management in Dubai. In doing so, Barbetti assumes the
responsibility of ensuring that
all Schindler elevators and escalators are fully operational
throughout the region.
His previous responsibilities included the escalator
and moving walks business
for Schindler’s Italian mar-
ket.
While Schindler and Panta
Lesco are partners in the local
Schindler operating business
(Schindler Ltd.), his company
maintains all Schindler lifts
and escalators in the region
with Malta as the centre of
that region.
Barbetti was previously responsible for aligning Schindler in Italy to the Schindler
Group as a whole. That will
be replicated in Malta with
Schindler Ltd., becoming
more closely aligned to the
Group through its operational effectiveness.
A very experienced and accomplished Schindler professional, Barbetti will provide
local Maltese clients with the
reassurance that all maintenance work on Schindler lift
products will be performed
to the highest professional
standards. He will also maintain and nurture ongoing client relationships.
Given his engineering background and the advantages
that a qualified engineer of
his caliber represents, this
will reinforce Schindler’s
worldwide reputation and
brand integrity.
Schindler’s new Regional Manager, Mario Barbetti at Panta Lesco
43
Classifieds
ANTIQUES
ANTIQUE amusement machines, pintables, flippers 40 year old plus other arcade
machine. To be sold as one lot. Price
€15,000 for approximately 50 machines.
Call 21558975, 99460726
COLLECTOR’S items, singer sewing
machine in oak cabinet, 1950 model
in working order. Price €100 ono. Call
79201942
ONE bergere classic, turned legs, mahogany, sound wood condition, seats five.
Price €90. Call 21464096 evenings
TWO millstones large French manufacture. Price €150 both. Call 21464096
evenings
BOATS
BOAT Crestline 22ft fibre Volvo Penta
engine, trailer nice condition. Price
€14,000. Boat chriscraft 30ft twin perkins, diesel engine, electric winch and
trailer. Price €12,500. Call 21558975,
99460526
FIBRE glass, 10 feet including trailer with
winch, motor Seagull plus oars and cover.
Price €850. Call 79904109
ITAMA 11.75 mts, Ferretti Group, classic,
original, 2x250HP Ford turbo intercooled,
25 knots max. Furuno GPS/fish finder,
trailer. Consider exchange for smaller
craft. Price €45,000. Call 79626626
FOR SALE
ONE iron pregnant window, 36cm length
by 204cm width. Two iron gates galvanised, 207cm length by 89cm width. Call
99201817
SAVIO College blazer, size 18. Worn nine
months only. Price €35. Call 21433526,
99227103
ST Augustine College blazer, size 14.
Price €35. Call 214433526, 99227103
THE world’s most popular musicals on
CD’s. Complete set includes 78 CD’s.
Brand new complete with relative illustrated literature. Price €200 ono. Call
79201942
FURNITURE
ed lighting together with a double fronted
wardrobe and computer desk. Selling as
new. Call 99882988
BUNKBEDS in a very original layout with
storage in steps to the top bed and under
bottom bed. Ideal for children. Being sold
with double fronted wardrobe. Mint condition. For more information call 99882988
LETTING
BAHRIJA, country living with panoramic views. Two bedroom penthouse, two
bathrooms, kitchen, living, dining, large
front terrace, back balcony with country
and sea views. Luxurusly and superbly
fully furnished. Price €450 monthly. Call
21570123, 99428930
BAHRIJA, country living, luxuriously and
superbly furnished maisonette. Having
three bedroom, kitchen, living, dining, two
bathrooms, front balcony, back balcony
with views. Must be seen. Price €350
monthly. Call 21570123, 99428930
BIRKIRKARA/BALZAN,
office in
St.Aloysius College area, complete with
desk for eight people, internet connections, air-conditioners, kitchenette, bathroom etc. Central location with no parking problems. Price €400 a month. Call
99261415
BUGIBBA/QAWRA/ST Paul’s Bay, one,
two or three bedroom flats for long let,
centrally located. Prices starting from
€186 monthly. Call 99491837
FGURA, street level seven car garage
(20x65ft) near HSBC, having water, electricity, bathroom and yard. Call 99849441
MGARR, new luxuriously and superbly
fully furnished maisonettes all with views.
Consist of three bedrooms, kitchen/living/dining, bathroom, ensuite, washroom,
front and back terraces. Price €350
monthly. Call 21570123, 99428930.
Must be seen
ST JULIAN’S/PACEVILLE, ground floor
compact studio flat. Centrally situated
ideal for one person. Price €300 monthly
including electricity. Call 99267747
ST JULIAN’S/PACEVILLE, spacious two
bedroom flat, nicely furnished, large front
veranda. Price €400 monthly. Call owner
99267747
ST PAUL’S BAY, limits of Bugibba, St
Simon Street, first floor, two bedroom,
MEPAwatch
BEDROOM comprising of a duplex bed
set up with ample storage and incorporat-
THE now amalgamated Environment and Planning Act provides
for the appointment of a Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Environment and Development
Planning, consisting of five MPs.
Government shall retain the majority of members, one of whom
shall act as chairman. Its role is to
review, and report back to Parliament, all plans and policies concerning ODZs, height limitations,
local plans and regulations concerning compliance certification.
Should the Committee fail to report to Parliament within the period by which it is requested to do
kitchen, sitting, bathroom, front and back
terraces, washroom. Fully furnished.
Price €325 monthly. Call 21570123,
99428930. Must be seen
PROPERTY EXCHANGE
WILL consider exchanging house of character in Siggiewi, three four bedrooms,
three bathrooms, garden and a new kitchen with an apartment or maisonette in
St.Julian’s, Ibragg, Swieqi, Sliema area.
Call owner 79228370
PROPERTY FOR SALE
A brand new highly finished, very spacious, larger than average penthouse.
Comprising hall, enormous open plan kitchen/breakfast, sitting/dining/living, kitchen
can be separate, three double bedrooms,
main bathroom, shower ensuite, washroom, boxroom. Splendid direct sea views
from large terrace and lock up garage.
Price €308,640. Call 99476949
ATTARD, good location, three bedroom
terrace house with street level garage.
Price €298,000. Call owner 99496713
BALZAN, well planned, traditional Terraced
House in this much sought after residential
location. Property comprises an entrance
hall, TV lounge, separate dining room,
open plan kitchen/breakfast leading onto a
pretty back yard, three double bedrooms,
bathroom, two showers (one en suite),
front balcony, carport and terrace. Must
be seen! Price €349,000. Call 79429400
BUGIBBA, furnished, large apartment on
third floor, having a large terrace with sitting, two bedrooms with views. Nice block
with lift. Bargain. Call owner 99492764
BUGIBBA, near Sirens Football ground,
two bedroom flat with fantastic views.
Brand new and with lift. Price €90,845.
Call 99822203
BUGIBBA, one bedroom flat fully furnished.
Bargain price €52,410 (Lm22,500). Call
79202072
BUGIBBA, three large bedroom flat, with
large front and back balcony, fully furnished. Price €107,150. Call 79202072
FLEUR DE LYS, Birkirkara, corner shop
11m by 31m square with airspace. Price
€605,800 (Lm260,000) negotiable. Call
owner 79492602
FLEUR DE LYS, Birkirkara, large garage
under the two bedroom flat, measuring
25m by 48m square. Price €151,450
(Lm65,000). Call owner 79492602
FLEUR DE LYS, Birkirkara, large showroom with office space, store, bathroom,
two internal yards and toilet. Measures 92ft
by 21ft. Price €431,050 (Lm185,000).
Call owner 79492602
FLEUR DE LYS, Birkirkara, two bedroom flat. Price €88,540 (Lm38,000).
Call 79492602
GHARGHUR, a state of the art converted and restored character house, corner on two roads on this lovely village
with two entrances and good size private
back garden with ample space for pool.
Comprising wide entrance hall with rooms
on both sides. Having separate fitted
kitchen/breakfast, sitting, dining room,
study and spacious family room, three/
four bedrooms, two bathrooms, ensuite,
box room, washroom and large usable
cellar. Offering incredible direct open sea
and country views from first floor. Must be
viewed. Price €617,285. Call 77436949
GHARGHUR, an attractive, expertly converted ready to move into, house of character, with a spacious 30 meter garden with
swimming pool/deck area. Comprising
three good size bedrooms, two ensuite
bathrooms, fitted kitchen/breakfast, sitting/dining and living, laundry and a lovely
courtyard. Recommended property. Price
€687,000. Call 77436949
HAMRUN, new flat first floor, three bedrooms, kitchen, living, large box room,
bathroom, spare toilet, lift and two balconies. Negotiable price. Call 27015894,
99981873
IBRAG, an enchanting Villa with one of the
most sought after addresses on the Island!
Set in tranquil surroundings this wonderful
home boasts a lush front garden and a
sizable swimming pool with ample deck
area. Imposing entrance hall, lounge, dining area, living room, study, four double
bedrooms, two bathrooms (one en suite),
guest toilet, basement games-room and
two-car garage, washroom, store room/
pantry. Price €907,500. Call 79429400
MADLIENA, a large sizable plot measuring approximately 1500sqm, located
in the best part of this unique villa area.
Set on high grounds on a hill side and
two roads, offering outstanding direct sea
views up to Sicily. Being offered with permits for two luxury villas with pool. Price
€1,575,000. Call 99476949
NAXXAR, highly finished three bedroom
apartment, air conditioned, fitted oak
kitchen, own roof, washroom, lock up
garage. Private enquires only. Must be
seen. Price €163,000 (Lm69,987). Call
owner 99892696
NAXXAR, well-priced three/four bedroom
apartment in a quiet yet central location,
close to all amenities. The block is served
with lift and consists of striking and spacious sitting/dining room with front balcony and good town views, combined,
fitted kitchen/b’fast, study, bathroom and
shower. Garage available. Must be seen.
Price €149,000. Call 79429400.
QAWRA, garage 32ft long for sale. Call
79488137
QAWRA, seafront apartment fully furnished with lift. Price to sell €122,000. Call
owner 99242312, 21411598
SAN GWANN, two garages, one in the village 80ft x 11ft. For sale or part exchange
with property in Sicily. Call 21558975,
99460726
SAN PAWL TAT-TARGA / NAXXAR,
one of only few remaining great character
houses available on the market. A must
see property. Located in an old and beautiful part of this village. This 300 year old
house is set on two roads and besides
a pretty courtyard; it boasts two large
gardens, with ample space for pool, and
space for garages. Retaining all its original features, nice old windows and a fireplace, it also has unobstructive sea and
country views from its large terrace. Price
€1,225,000. Call 99476949
SAN PAWL TAT-TARGA, a great opportunity! Fully Detached Villa on around 1000
sq meters of land and having a lovely
mature garden with ample space for large
pool and sun deck. Elegant entrance hall
with marble flooring, large sitting room,
formal dining room, separate large TV
lounge, separate kitchen/breakfast room
with interconnecting pantry and garage.
All rooms lead directly to the surrounding
garden and property has an abundance
of light throughout. Five double bedrooms
(four upstairs and a guest bedroom/office
at ground floor level), two bathrooms,
shower, large terraces, box room, four car
drive/carport and more! Price €987,000.
Call 79429400
SAN PAWL TAT-TARGA, a stylish, corner,
Robert Musumeci’s analysis of the new MEPA law
(Part 6)
so by the Minister, the latter may
request the Authority to finalise
any policy document without further consultation.
The Authority may also be requested by the Minister himself
to review a plan or a policy which
is already in force. In the event that
the Authority is unable to meet
such a function, the Minister shall
request any person, including any
government agency, other than the
Authority, to prepare on his behalf
a plan or policy or a revision of such
a plan or such policy. In this way, the
government can expedite the process, while securing a mechanism
whereby specific planning policies
are prepared in a timely manner.
That being stated, should the Authority not agree with the outcome
of a plan or policy, it will be legally
bound to draw up a position statement indicating the changes which
need to be made.
In any preparation or review of
policies, the Authority is obliged to
publish a draft and invite representations on the plan or policy to be
submitted to it within a specified
period of not less than six weeks.
Eventually, a statement of the representations and MEPA’s reaction
to each representation are to be
made public prior to the finalisation of such documents.
The revised Act further provides that the Authority has the
power to exclude land from an
existing development boundary,
in which case, the Authority is
legally obliged to publish in two
local daily newspapers a notice
with the relative details of its intention. That being stated, the
said Act does not provide for any
compensation to that person who
may feel aggrieved by such a decision.
To be continued.
A statement of the
representations and
MEPA’s reaction to
each representation
are to be made
public prior to the
finalization of a
policy document
44
45
46
Classifieds
fully air conditioned ground floor property
having its own entrance and forming part
of an elegant block. This maisonette comprises an entrance hall, open plan sitting
and dining room with an annexed fitted
kitchen and large sliding doors leading
to a lovely front porch. There are three
double bedrooms, a bathroom and an en
suite shower as well as an internal yard.
An underlying two car, lock up garage
is also included! Price €233,000. Call
79429400
SIGGIEWI, 350year old converted house
of character, three/four bedrooms, three
bathrooms, large sitting/dining/kitchen,
extra sitting rooms, study, laundry, good
sized garden, full roof, parquet floors and
much more. Quiet area close to church.
Price €399,950. Call owner 79228370
SIGGIEWI, terraced house with four bedrooms. Call 79703637
SLIEMA, Bisazza street, opposite Inlingua
School, one bedroom top floor, third floor,
no lift, meters from seafront, plus separate room on roof. Central, good rental
investment. Price €85,000. Call owner
79626626
SLIEMA, fully furnished 60sqm apartment, air conditioned, five minutes away
from seafront. Rental investments.
Private enquires only. Price €151,000
(Lm64,806). Call owner 99892696
SLIEMA/TIGNE, a brand new luxuriously
finished, bright and airy corner direct sea
front apartment, with extremely spacious
living/sitting/ dining room leading to large
terrace offering amazing views up to
Manoel Island. Comprising hall, separate
kitchen, three double bedrooms, ensuite
and main bathroom, box room, side balconies, fully airconditioned and complimented with a two car garage. Price
€755,000. Call 77436949
ST.JULAIN’S/TA’ Giorni, pretty three bedroom apartment, yard, bathroom, shower
room, part of roof with washroom, solar
system, a/c, three car garage optional. Price €125,500. Call 79066680,
99236632. No Agents
ST.JULIAN’S / Mensija, a large well priced
hard to find semi-detached villa, set on
land means over 400sqm, with ample
space for sizable pool in its back garden.
Comprising road level minimum five car
garage, two impressive wide halls, with
separate sitting, dining, living and study,
fully fitted kitchen/breakfast, TV family
room, two bathrooms, shower, washroom,
boxroom and large room at roof level.
Price €617,280. Call 77436949
TWO GARAGES for sale. Price €290,000.
Call 79703637
ZABBAR, new three bedroom apartment
in shell form with large open plan kitchen/
dining/living, three double bedrooms, two
bathrooms, balcony and box room. Area
of 140 sqm. Price €90,000. Call owner
79539411
ZEBBUG, expertly converted and restored
character house located in this sought
after village. Comprising hall, sitting/dining, kitchen/breakfast and living, three
bedrooms with three bathrooms, with mil
room and many original features retained,
and with a specially designed spacious
indoor pool with jacuzzi. Price €465,000.
Call 77436949
=
€3
subjects. Call 21697178, 99804695
SERVICES
RENOVATIONS of farmhouses, flats, maisonettes or villas. 25 years of experience
in turnkey work. No job is too big or too
small for us. Call Chris 99470329 for a
free estimate
SITUATIONS VACANT
A personal driver is required on a part-time
basis. Applicants should be over 25 with
clean police conduct. Call 99843441
ELECTRICIANS with a minimum of two
years experience and plumbing installations are urgently needed for immediate full time employment with Electro Fix
Limited - Qormi. Call 21675353 for an
appointment
MAID is required to work in family residence. Must be over 21 years of age,
responsible and reliable. Call 79999928
STORE keeper with a minimum of five
years experience is required for immediate employment with Electro Fix Limited Qormi. Only hard working, loyal individuals
need to apply. Call 21675353
SITUATIONS WANTED
WILLING to work as a nanny, any area in
Malta. I have 20 years of experience in this
job, available all day. Call 79837889
TUITION
BACK to school. We can help you to study
better and improve faster. Lessons start
in October in Paola. Primary years 4,5,6.
Forms 1 to 5, French, Italian, English,
Maltese. Also Matsec course in the same
COMPUTING, advanced/ordinary level
lessons. Full course from theory to practice. Small groups with individual attention.
Complete and up to date notes are provided. Lessons held in Poala. Call 79691162,
21691162
DRUM lessons, beginners are welcome.
Lessons given by experienced rock drummer. Held in central area. Call 99894634,
21331736
FRENCH, one to one at the comfort of
your home. Adults also welcome. Call
79412364
GRAPHICAL communication for beginners and Matsec 2010 - 2011. Accept
individual attention. Call 21411598,
99242312
MALTESE, forms 1-5 O/I/Advanced Level
2011. Notes provided. University graduate. Also as a foreign language. Central
area. Call 21410218, 79999928
MATSEC 2011. Lessons start in October
in Paola. English, Italian, French, Maltese.
Individual attention. Experienced tutor.
Same subjects for forms 1 to 5 and for
beginners. Call now to start improving
immediately. Call 21697187, 99804695
SOCIOLOGY advanced and intermediate
levels. Fully qualified and experienced tuition. Small groups and in central area. Call
99404820, 99894634, 21331736
VEHICLES & PARTS
CAPRI, 1300. Price €550.
CLASSIC cars, Chevrolet, Jaguar, Rolls
Royce, Simca Morris, Mercedes among
others. Private collector. Call 21558975,
99460726
EMPI alloy wheels for four stud, VW
Beetle, set includes five rims with Pirelli
tyres 185/75/15. Price €500 o.n.o. Call
79914320
FOUR used mountain bikes in very good
condition. From €80. Call 99807755,
21826146
MARUTI Suzuki 1800, year 2004 model, looks and runs perfect, manual with
low mileage. Price €2,400. Two lady
owners. Call 79914320
MORRIS Marina diesel in good running
order and without rust. Garaged with
number plates at ADT. Can be separately
sold for parts including engine and body
or any other part. Price €500 or nearest
offer. Call 99801019
ONE brand new mountain bike, price
€350. One brand new tracking bike, price
€380. Call 99807755, 21826146
SELECTION of all Smart models,
Mercedes A140, A150, A180 Diesel,
B170 models manuals/automatic;
Renault Megane Cabrio CDi diesel, Mini
Cooper latest model, VW Polo 2006.
All cars loaded with extras, service history, etc. Value for money. Visit www.
thesmartworld.eu or call 79499229,
21377135
SUBARU Legacy in very good condition.
One owner. Includes air condition and
radio. Call 79221700
2 CLASSIFIEDS
FOR 3 WEEKS
Choose category. Fill in the boxes provided. Write in block letters. Your advert will appear for three weeks in both MaltaToday, MaltaToday Wednesday, and www.maltatoday.com.mt.
This offer does not apply to Real Estate agents. Send your form to:
MaltaToday Classifieds, Media Today, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016.
Together with a €3 cheque payable to MediaToday Co. Ltd.
Name: ________________________________ Address: _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________ Tel: ___________________ email: _________________________________
ANTIQUES
BOATS
FURNITURE
GENERAL
LETTING
PETS
PROPERTY
SITUATIONS WANTED
SITUATIONS VACANT
SERVICE
TUITION
VEHICLES / PARTS
WANTED
ANTIQUES
BOATS
FURNITURE
GENERAL
LETTING
PETS
PROPERTY
SITUATIONS WANTED
SITUATIONS VACANT
SERVICE
TUITION
VEHICLES / PARTS
WANTED
ALL PRICES INDICATED FOR YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE MUST BE IN EURO
47
Sport
SPORTTODAY
Photo: Ray Attard
FOOTBALL
Tarxien defeat Vittoriosa to
register first win of the season
Tarxien Rainbows .........1
Vittoriosa Stars .............0
TARXIEN left it late to get maximum
points in a game that was fought evenly on
both sides of the pitch.
The first half ended goalless with Tarxien
have most of the opportunities on goal.
The second half saw Tarxien pressing and
had a number of opportunities on goal.
Close to the 70th minute mark, Tarxien
had the perfect chance to take the advantage in the match. Anthony Ewurum of Vittoriosa put down Tarxien’s Ricardo Costa
inside the area. Jorge Santos Silva took the
honors for the penalty but Vittoriosa goalkeeper Simon Agius saved it.
On the 85th minute Tarxien finally broke
the deadlock when Ricardo Costa received
a great pass inside the area and worked
his way around the defender to shoot past
goalkeeper Agius.
Vittoriosa came close to equalizing in the
final minutes of stoppage time when Tarxien’s Ricardo Costa tried to clear with a
header and almost went into his own goal.
The match ended 1-0 in Tarxien’s favor.
Tarxien Rainbows - Anthony Curmi,
Steven Sadowski, Everton Antonio Pereira,
Gianluca Calabretta (70’ Ryan Grech),
Ricardo Costa, Cristiano Dos Santos Rod-
rigues, Mark Tanti (84’ Julian Vella), Luke
Vella Critien, Orosco Anonam, Ryan Mintoff, Justin Grioli (59’ Sergio Hili).
Vittorios Stars - Simon Agius, Carl Sammut (74’ Mauro Brincat), Justin Camilleri
(88’ Ryan Sell), Sharlon Pace, Jeffrey Chetcuti, Carlos Compagnoli, Edison Luis Dos
Santos, Jonathan Xerri, Jorge Santos Silva,
Anthony Ewurum, Stephen Wellman.
Referee – Glenn Tonna
Terence Scerri gives Valletta narrow win
Valletta .................1
Qormi ....................0
VALLETTA defeated Qormi 1-0
yesterday courtesy of a late goal
from Terrence Scerri.
Valletta and Qormi played
evenly for most of the match.
Valletta had better chances in
the second half, but Qormi responded well.
In a game that looked liked both
teams would share the points, on
the 83rd minute a shot by Kevin
Sammut was blocked by the Qormi defender and Terence Scerri
picked up the rebound and shot
the ball past Qormi’s goalkeeper
Matthew Farrugia.
Valletta - Andrew Hogg, Steve
Borg, Jonathan Caruana, Ramon
Dos Santos, Jamie Pace, Kevin
Sammut, Omonigho Temile (61’
Dyson Falzon), Denni Rocha Dos
Santos (87’ Edmond Agius), Terence Scerri, Joseph Okonkwo (53’
Ian Zammit), Ian Azzopardi
Qormi - Matthew Farrugia,
Kang Hojung, Roderick Sammut,
Joseph Farrugia, George Mallia
(86’ Ben Camilleri), Stefan Giglio,
Jason Vandelanoitte, Jonathan
Bondin, Kosta Bjedov (79’ Cleavon Frendo), Matthew Bartolo
(88’ Joseph Chetcuti), Abubakar
Bello-Osagie.
Referee – Kevin Azzopardi
48
Sport
49
Sport
SPORT DISCUSSION
FORMULA ONE
New faces for
Sunday’s leading
sports programme
Alonso snatches
crucial pole for
Ferrari
Replay is back on Net Television as from
Sunday 3rd October 2010 at 21:00
Qualifying parc ferme (L to R): Sebastian Vettel (GER) Red Bull Racing,
second; Fernando Alonso (ESP) Ferrari, pole position; Lewis Hamilton (GBR)
McLaren, third
The Replay team. Photo by: Rene Rossignaud
IT’S that time of the year when
all Maltese football lovers bite
their nails as a new football season kicks off. Needless to say,
Replay (winner of the Sports
Journalism Award for the second year running) will be in the
thick of it and ready to cross examine, argue upon and dissect
all the action during a two hour
weekly programme for this 11th
edition.
Media surveys have all indicated that Replay has once
again topped the charts as the
most popular program with
Sunday TV viewers. This year
will be no different. Just to give
you a taste of what’s to come,
prepare to feast your eyes on a
new, stunning, female co-presenter, this year’s local winner
of Miss Italia Nel Mondo, Sarah
Agius who will be partnering
Replay’s main anchor, Christian
Micallef week in week out. They
will be hosting the now lovedby-all Hugh Caruana, who in
turn shall be flanked by none
other than former Hamrun and
Zurrieq striker, Konrad Sultana.
The programme will then also
occasionally feature Joe Caruana Curren and Oliver Spiteri,
coach of Mosta FC.
Replay will also be welcoming new journalist Kris Scicluna
who shall be joining Roderick
Vella, and with both mentor
George Micallef and front man
Christian Micallef working
hand in hand as producers, we
promise that this edition will
offer the latest news updates,
plenty of heated debates, controversial comments, detailed
features and most importantly,
best entertainment.
FOOTBALL
Diego Maradona wants to
return as Argentina coach
DIEGO Maradona says he wants
to coach Argentina again and
is willing to even get rid of his
much-criticised assistants to return to the role.
His 20-month reign ended in
July after Argentina were beaten 4-0 by Germany in the 2010
World Cup quarter-finals.
The 49-year-year-old was told
he could only continue as coach
if he changed his backroom
team, and his refusal led to his
contract not being renewed.
“I’d give my life to be the national team coach,” Maradona
said.
“I’m dying to be with the team.
I am thirsty for revenge.”
However, the Argentine Foot-
ball Association (AFA) has hired
Sergio Batista as caretaker coach
and the 47-year-old former midfielder is being tipped to get the
job on a full-time basis.
AFA president Julio Grondona
said in August that it would take
a “very large problem” for Batista
not to get the job.
Under Batista, Argentina beat
the Republic of Ireland 1-0 before recording an impressive 4-1
victory over World Cup winners
Spain.
Batista, a team-mate of Maradona in Argentina’s 1986 World
Cup-winning team, also has the
support of key players such as
Barcelona’s World Player of the
Year Lionel Messi.
Maradona, who acknowledged
his chances of returning as Argentina coach were uncertain,
praised Messi for his contribution during the World Cup in
South Africa.
“Messi lacked the good luck I
had in 86,” reflected Maradona.
“He and Spain’s Andres Iniesta were the best players at the
World Cup, Diego Forlan was the
most effective,” he added of the
Uruguay player voted the best at
the finals.
Maradona has shown interest
in a number of roles, including
both the Mexico and Portugal
jobs, but admitted: “The Mexicans said they didn’t want me,
the Portuguese, I don’t know.”
FERNANDO Alonso repeated
his Monza pole position in Singapore on Saturday night as Red
Bull’s Sebastian Vettel failed to
recover completely from a poor
first run in Q3. A track that remained damp and slippery in
places kept everyone on their
toes.
Alonso lapped in 1m 45.390s
on his first run in that final session, and though he did not improve on that on his second it
remained good enough to keep
him ahead of Vettel. The German moved from seventh fastest
on 1m 47.937s after his first run
to second in 1m 45.457s, edging
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton off
the front row. The Englishman
did 1m 45.571s on his first run,
then failed to improve.
Both McLaren’s Jenson Button
and Red Bull’s Mark Webber
went quicker on their second
runs. The Australian momentarily moved to fourth with 1m
45.977s before the Englishman
took back the place with 1m
45.944s. Thus the five championship contenders start from
the first five positions…
Williams’ Rubens Barrichello’s
first-run 1m 46.236s stood up
for sixth, ahead of Nico Rosberg’s 1m 46.443s for Mercedes
GP, Robert Kubica’s 1m 46.593s
for Renault and Michael Schumacher’s 1m 46.702s for Mercedes GP. Kamui Kobayashi was
10th for BMW Sauber on 1m
47.884s.
Jaime Alguersuari’s good
weekend form continued all
the way through to Q2, when
he just failed to get into Q3 by
a tenth of a second in the Toro
Rosso. He lines up 11th on 1m
47.666s, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg who lapped his Williams in
1m 47.674s. However, the German drops to 17th because of a
gearbox change.
Renault’s Vitaly Petrov was
13th on 1m 48.165s despite
spinning early in Turn Five and
clipping the wall with his right
rear wheel, then came Sebastien
Buemi in the second Toro Rosso
on 1m 48.502s, Nick Heidfeld in
the BMW Sauber on 1m 48.557s
and the Force Indias of Adrian
Sutil on 1m 48.899s and Tonio
Liuzzi, who missed the chicane
on his first run and improved to
1m 48.961s right at the end.
Q1 took out the usual suspects,
with one notable exception.
Timo Glock has had Lotus
tucked up most of the weekend
and was the fastest of the new
teams in his Virgin VR-01, with
1m 50.721s, but right at the end
Heikki Kovalainen banged in a
respectable 1m 50.915s so they
were 18th and 19th. Lucas di
Grassi was next for Virgin with
1m 51.107s, leaving Lotus’s Jarno
Trulli 21st on 1m 51.641s. Christian Klien was the faster HRT
driver with 1m 52.946s, while
Bruno Senna spun in Turn Five
trying to better 1m 54.174s.
The notable exception was
poor Felipe Massa. With 10 minutes of Q1 still to go he brought
out the red flag when his Ferrari
stopped in Turn Eight on its out
lap, before he had even recorded
a time. His race could not thus
have got off to a worse start,
but he’ll be able to start from
the back with the race stewards’
permission.
Michael Schumacher (GER) Mercedes GP MGP W01
50
Sport
FOOTBALL
Vucinic
stuns Inter in
stoppage-time
Inter’s Sneijder and Roma’s
Burdisso fight for the ball
Mirko Vucinic dragged Roma out of their crisis with a stoppage-time diving header to send leaders Inter crashing. Daniele De Rossi whipped in a perfect cross from the right and Vucinic bravely dived
in with the header to anticipate Lucio from six yards to give Roma a long awaited three points. In the earlier match Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave Milan a 1-0 win over Genoa. This results puts Milan only two
points adrift from Inter.
Tevez condems Chelsea to their first league defeat
CHELSEA maintained their
four-point advantage at the top
of the Premier League - despite
a 1-0 loss at Manchester City as Arsenal slumped to a shock
3-2 home defeat to West Bromwich Albion.
Carlos Tevez condemned
Chelsea to their first league defeat of the season at Eastlands,
striking on the hour mark to
score for the fifth-successive
game against the Blues.
After a tense first half devoid of
many real chances, Tevez fired
Roberto Mancini’s side ahead in
the 59th minute after a Chelsea
move had broken down. City
broke quickly and David Silva’s
ball from the left found the Argentina international, who ran
wide of Ashley Cole and drilled
his low shot past Petr Cech.
But Arsenal were unable to
capitalise on City’s win as they
were stunned at Emirates Stadium by West Bromwich Albion.
The surprise 3-2 defeat has ended the Gunners’ unbeaten start
to the season - and dealt a huge
blow to their title hopes ahead
of a trip to Stamford Bridge next
weekend.
Arsene Wenger’s side appeared
to have earned themselves a reprieve when Manuel Almunia
saved Chris Brunt’s first-half
penalty, but the visitors claimed
the lead early in the second
period as Peter Odemwingie
tapped in from close range after
fine work from former Arsenal
winger Jerome Thomas.
Shortly afterwards, West
Brom took a huge step towards
a first Premier League victory
away from home in 19 attempts
when a calamitous error from
Almunia allowed Gonzalo Jara’s
shot to slip into the net. Thomas appeared to have put his
side out of sight when he made
it 3-0, before Samir Nasri - in
for the injured Cesc Fabregas
- pulled two late goals back for
the hosts.
Liverpool’s difficult week continued as they were forced to
settle for a disappointing 2-2
draw at Anfield against Sunderland. Coming off the back
of a humiliating Carling Cup
reverse against Northampton,
the Reds powered into an early
lead as Dirk Kuyt latched onto
Michael Turner’s weak backpass
- the defender thought the ball
had gone dead for a free-kick to rifle home.
But a brace of strikes from
Darren Bent turned the game
on its head, before Steven Gerrard rode to his side’s rescue
with his first league goal at Anfield since February.
The pressure was eased on
West Ham United boss Avram
Grant as he led his team to a vital 1-0 victory over Tottenham
Hotspur at Upton Park, with a
strike from Frederic Piquionne
- his second of the week - hand-
Chelsea’s Ashley Cole trying to block Carlos Tevez’s shot on goal
ing the Hammers a first league
triumph of the season.
No such respite for David
Moyes, whose Everton side are
still without a win from their six
Premier League games to date
after being held to a 0-0 stale-
mate against Fulham at Craven
Cottage. Despite controlling the
game Everton were unable to
pierce the unbeaten Cottagers’
stubborn defensive line.
Birmingham City extended
their unbeaten home record in
the Premier League to beyond
a year with a 0-0 draw against
Wigan Athletic, while a lastgasp goal from Brett Emerton
handed Blackburn Rovers a 2-1
win over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.
51
Sport
FOOTBALL
Charlene Stars win 5 a side Tournament
organised by Inter Club Malta
CHARLENE Stars won the
5-a-side Tournament which
-Inter Club Malta organised
on the 8th September at the
Qormi Hockey Grounds. This
was the second victory for this
team in the Tournaments organised by the Club.
Twelve teams took part in
this tournament and these
were divided into two groups
of six teams each. Group A,
was the most evenly contested
and Charlene Stars managed
to win the Group after winning four from the five matches they played to top the group
with twelve points. Serpenti
was the second qualified team
from this group after holding
Tal-Ghama in a 2-2 draw to
finish second a point above the
latter.
In Group B, JM Boyz had no
difficulty in winning the group
by getting maximum points
while in the decisive match of
this group, B’ Bugia Neroazzurra won the direct encounter against Blue Boys 4-1 to
qualify from this group as the
second place finisher after getting twelve points.
The Semifinals saw Serpenti
beating JM Boyz 3-0 while in
the second semi-final, Charlene Stars needed the penalty
shoot-out in order to beat B’
Bugia Neroazzurra. The result
in regular time was 1-1 with
Charlene Stars eventually going through after winning 5-4
on penalties.
In the final, Charlene Stars
The second place trophy being presented to the captain of Serpenti
managed to avenge their 0-3 defeat in the group stage by beating Serpenti 4-3 while there
was also some consolation for
B’ Bugia Neroazzurra after the
latter beat 6-5 on penalties JM
Boyz in the final for third and
fourth place. This match finished 1-1 in regular time.
First place trophy presented to the captain of Charlene Stars
Weather & Crosswords
WEATHER: Rather cloudy with isolated showers
possibly thundery at first
VISIBILITY: Good
WIND: Northwest force 4, becoming 3 to 4
SEA: Moderate becoming slight
SWELL: Low Northwest
TODAY
TOMORROW
GOZO FERRIES
DAILY OPERATION TIMES
USEFUL TELEPHONE
NUMBERS
PHARMACIES OPEN TODAY
MALTA & GOZO: 9 A.M. – NOON
From 21st June 2010 till 26th September 2010
Emergency,Police,Fire,
Ambulance ...................... 119
FLORIANA St Publius Pharmacy, 48, Triq il-Miratur
HAMRUN Brown’s Pharmacy, 706, Triq il-Kbira
San Guzepp
STA. VENERA Lantern Pharmacy, Misrah il-Kebbies
B’KARA Herba Pharmacy, 183, Triq il-Kbira
PIETA’ St Anthony Pharmacy, 56, Triq San
Guzepp
ST JULIANS Potter Chemists Ltd., Triq Wilga,
Paceville
SLIEMA Drug Store: Anglo Maltese Dispensary
Ltd., 382, Triq Manwel Dimech
IKLIN Iklin Pharmacy, Triq Geronimo Abos
MOSTA St Mary Pharmacy, 14, Pjazza Rotunda
QAWRA El Medina Chemist, Triq il-Fliegu
PAOLA Fleming Pharmacy, 65, Triq Haz-Zabbar
KALKARA Kalkara Pharmacy, 8, Misrah l-Arcisqof Gonzi
ZABBAR May Day Pharmacy, Triq il-Vittorja
GHAXAQ Beta Pharmacy, 50/52, Triq Santa
Marija
LUQA Central Pharmacy, 6, Triq San Guzepp
ZEBBUG Spizerija Hal-Mula, Triq Dun Salv
Ciappara
RABAT Ideal Pharmacy, 63, Triq il-Kbira
GOZO Abela’s Pharmacy, 42, Triq G.P.F. Agius De
Soldanis, Victoria
GOZO St Joseph Pharmacy, 28, Pjazza San
Guzepp, Qala
Appogg 24hrs Supportline .179
Sedqa 24hrs Helpline.........151
Social policy info centre .... 159
Malta Red Cross ...... 21922645
St John Ambulance .. 21945740
Maltacom enquiries .........1182
Go Mobile enquiries......... 1187
Vodafone enquiries .........1189
Government info service ....153
Telephone faults ................133
Gozo ferry
schedule ..................21915111
MEPA..................... 22900000
MIA flight
enquiries ................ 21697800
MIA Weather
forecast ................. 50043333
Enemalta faults
report......................21923601
Water Services Corporation
Freephone .............. 80072222
www.gozochannel.com
Chess
270/220
MOSTLY
CLOUDY
UV: 7
260/200
SHOWERS
UV: 6
Solution to last week’s problem
Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Sunday
Solution to last week’s crossword
Sudoku
8
8
7
7
6
6
5
5
4
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
White to play and mate in three
moves
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
White had to to play and mate in three moves
Rxg7+ Kh8
Qxf7
b5
Qg8# (Rxh7#, Rg8#)
Last week’s solution
Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the
numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box.
Across
6. Saloon
7. Having the form of a cube
8. Grey
10. Device for catching rats
12. Plain-woven cotton cloth
14. Move about restlessly
16. Central part of a wheel
17. Institution for mentally ill
19. Within
22. Inhabitant of Malta
24. Sealing compound
26. Pole thrown by Scottish
athletes
27. Murdering
Down
1. Helps
2. Outing
3. Extreme
4. Protruded
5. Monetary unit of Italy
8. Proclaim with approval
9. Christmas foliage
11. Ceramic ware
13. Unit of electrical resistance
14. Law enforcement agency
15. Reflect
18. Workshop machinery
20. Teat
21. Student tables
23. Apart
25. Hue
News
Bengal tiger in
good health a year
after being found
According to the tiger’s owner Spiteri Borg there are another four tigers and a cheetah in Malta
JAMES DEBONO
A Bengal tiger, found last year
in an air-conditioned room in a
warehouse in Mosta is now living in a spacious 40-foot long,
one storey high stainless steel
cage in Bahrija.
“The tiger is being well taken
care of, is in good health and it
poses no security risk as it lives
in a spacious cage”, animal welfare director Mario Spiteri told
MaltaToday.
MaltaToday has learned that
Christopher Borg – the owner
of a waterproofing company –
has even employed a full-time
veterinarian to take care of the
animal, which is fed fresh meat.
Spiteri described the tiger as
being very friendly towards the
owner.
The tiger has also been registered under the list of exotic
animals living in Malta.
Spiteri explained that although new legislation will ban
the importation of potentially
dangerous animals to Malta,
similar animals legally transported to Malta before the introduction of the new law have
Gonzi visited
Mintoff and
asked to leave
PRIME Minister Lawrence
Gonzi was asked to leave the
hospital room of an irate and
erratic Dom Mintoff. The
Prime Minister decided to
visit the seriously ill former
Labour prime minister a day
after he was taken ill with
pneumonia at Mater Dei.
Ushered into the room, Mintoff turned round to Lawrence
Gonzi and asked him to leave.
“Have you come here to see
me die?” an irate Mintoof
told Gonzi. Gonzi, clearly
embarrassed with Mintoff’s
reception, promptly left the
room. Throughout his stay at
Mater Dei, Mintoff has been
reported to be an extremely
difficult patient with nursing
and medical staff. Close family members admitted that
Mintoff was not acting normally and they asked the media to respect his privacy. At
age 94, Mintoff continues to
defy death. When he was reported to be diagnosed with
pneumonia, medical experts
informed the family that his
chances of survival were next
to nil. Yet he has surprisingly
made it out of his illness and
is no longer in the intensive
therapy unit at Mater Dei.
to be registered.
This means that the authorities will in a position to monitor the health of these animals
and ensure that they are well
taken care of.
According to Spiteri Borg, he
is not the only person to rear
a tiger in Malta – he knows of
at least four tigers and a cheetah which are kept by Maltese
owners.
A three-month-old Bengal
tiger cub was discovered last
year during a raid by members
of the Animal Welfare Depart-
ment, the police’s Administrative Law Enforcement and the
Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s Environment
Protection Department. It later
transpired that the owner possessed a certificate issued by
the Slovak authorities, con-
firming that the tiger was captive bred in the Eastern European country where tigers are
bred in specialised farms to be
sold to prospective owners.
[email protected]

Borg Olivier to face criminal charges on VAT irregularity

Transcription

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