Issue #625 - Maltatoday

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maltatoday
SUNDAY • 30 OCTOBER 2011 • ISSUE 625 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY
GOVERNMENT VOTED €440 MILLION IN CAPITAL PROJECTS FOR
THIS YEAR, IS 2012 AN ELECTION YEAR BY ANY CHANCE?
SEE PAGES 10, 11
Gatt turns down resignation from
‘brain’ behind failed bus reform
INTERVIEW
Over €57 million given in payouts to old bus owners
MANUEL Delia – Austin Gatt’s right hand man and a new PN
candidate for the south –has offered his resignation after the appalling bus reform and backlash on his minister. Gatt, who has said
he will resign if PN backbencher Franco Debono abstains
next week in a crucial vote of confidence, asked Delia
to stay on.
Gatt informed the party executive last week that
he had refused to accept Delia’s resignation.
The bumptious Delia – who is remembered as a
student leader in the late 90s, protesting against
the reform of the University stipend under the
Alfred Sant government – has been credited with
the bus reform route disaster.
Described as over-bearing and conceited, Delia
devised new routes which caused havoc in villages and towns.
The bus reform has led backbencher
Franco Debono to call for political responsibility to be shouldered by Gatt.
This has come after a motion was
moved by the Labour Party calling on Gatt to resign.
Late last week, Gatt announced that 36 new buses would be added
to the Arriva bus fleet, but they would not be air-conditioned and
they would not have the same emission standards as the present
Arriva buses.
Prior to the reform, the Minister admitted that €400,000
had been paid to consultants.
One such consultant was lawyer Georg Sapiano, who
in the mid-90s commissioned Delia to be his TV assistant when producing a current affairs programme on
TVM.
In 2009, Sapiano was paid €110,000 for consultancy regarding public transport.
And apart from the consultancies,
the government paid out €54,347,683
to Maltese bus drivers as a payout
for the reform and €3,120,000 to
bus drivers in Gozo and landed
the Maltese commuter with an
Manuel Delia
inferior bus system.
PM asks Commissioner to
investigate Nationalist MP
Muscat will cut red tape
for Gozo projects
be divulged to third parties,
the PM informed MaltaToday
that the email had been sent
to the Police for immediate investigation.
The PM did not feel the need
to call for the MP – who is a
parliamentary assistant – to
explain his side of things.
Late on Friday, the MP was
also asked to comment over
the existence of a ‘fund’ which
was used to buy football players.
He denied any knowledge of
the matter and categorically
denied that he was involved in
any such abuse. He also said
that this was an attempt by
someone to damage his reputation.
OPINION
Keeping up
appearances
- Saviour Balzan
Pg 19
But refuses to state which job creation
projects he has in mind
Seeing black and
right - Caroline
Muscat
Pg 17
JAMES DEBONO
LABOUR leader Joseph Muscat would not reveal
which “controversial decisions” he has in mind
to ensure “sustainable jobs” in Gozo but insisted
that “the environment will be protected at all
times.”
Environmentalists contacted by this newspaper
expressed concern on Muscat’s vague hint that
while Gozo’s environment has to be protected,
controversial decisions on job creation should be
taken “nonetheless.”
When asked specific questions by MaltaToday,
Muscat would only reveal that one of these decisions would be “to cut on red tape and not let
projects which create jobs on the shelf waiting
for someone to take a decision.”
CONTINUES ON PAGE 4
Joseph Muscat
Winter time in Malta
commenced at 3.00am this
morning, clocks should be
turned back by one hour.
Newspaper post
A series of questions to the
Prime Minister about alleged
bribery in Maltese football
has led Lawrence Gonzi to ask
the Police Commissioner John
Rizzo to investigate allegations
about a ‘fund’ allegedly used to
bribe football players.
The questions sent to the
Office of the Prime Minister questioned him about his
knowledge of these allegations, and whether he had confronted the Nationalist MP in
question.
The PM denied any knowledge of the matter, and despite
the fact that the email questions were specifically sent
with the proviso that the contents of the email should not
Karol Aquilina
Pgs 12,13
2
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 OCTOBER 2011
3
News
Maltese teachers warned about Facebook
upwards will be given lessons and
will discuss internet safety issues
with teachers in charge of Health
and Safety, PSD and eLearning.
Social networking will be one of
the topics discussed.
The circular also reminds teachers that they need permission from
parents if they post photos of their
students.
JAMES DEBONO
A circular issued by the Education
Services Directorate has called
on teachers not to engage in “inappropriate dialogue” and not to
post “inappropriate pictures” on
social networking sites such as Facebook.
The circular comes in the wake
of stories appearing in the foreign
media about teachers who were
disgraced by comments or pictures which they had posted on
their profiles. One case involved
six female primary school teachers
from Langland in the UK whose
raunchy photos depicting them
drunk and pole dancing during a
hen’s night were spotted by a parent on their profile.
A parent of one pupil at the
school spotted the pictures,
printed off five pages of them and
posted them through neighbours’
front doors.
In the circular sent to Maltese
teachers, the Directorate underlines the “tremendous potential
benefits” of social network sites for
the professional development of
teachers.
However it reminds teachers that
“as educators, we also have a professional image to uphold and the
way we conduct ourselves online
holds no exception.”
Educators are asked to ensure
that their profile picture reflects
“their professional image.”
Teachers are being reminded
that they should establish boundaries with their students. “Educators
Teachers warned of
consequences
Facebook regulation in the US
In August, the US State of Missouri passed law
a bill that prohibits social networking between
teachers and students. As part of the Amy Hestir
Student Protection Act, named after a student who
was molested by her teacher decades ago – before
Facebook was even invented – personal relationships
between teachers and pupils over social networking sites was made
illegal.
But the law was later overturned by the State legislature after a judge
ruled “it would have a chilling effect on free speech.”
The Missouri State Teachers Association disapproved of the new law,
arguing that the vast majority of their online contact with students
was strictly for educational purposes.
need to establish clear boundaries
so as to have a professional educator-student relationship.”
Fake identities
One major issue being raised in
other countries is whether teachers should accept friend requests
by their students.
The circular issued by the Maltese authorities falls short of banning these online friendships but
calls on teachers to respect professional boundaries and to “constantly remind” students that the
minimum legal age to have a Facebook account is 13.
Even if students are of the legal
age to create an account but are
still minors, they should always
ask for permission before sending
any information over the internet.
One of the problems facing teachers is that students under the age
of 13 are faking their date of birth
in order to access Facebook.
A former teacher told MaltaToday that she always used to turn
down friends requests from children, even from students in Form
4. But it was only when she
started checking the profile information of students requesting
her friendship that she became
aware of the widespread use of
fake identities.
“I received a friend request from
someone born in 1977. I thought
the person was one of my son’s
friends. But I couldn’t make out
who he was since the photo was
quite small but after a while I realised it was an 8-year-old boy from
my school”.
From then on, she has always
made sure to check who friend
requests were from, and their date
of birth. “It was then that I started
worrying. Most of the kids were
using a fake date of birth”.
This problem is being addressed
through educational programmes
like the BeSmartOnline! project,
through which pupils from Year 4
The circular also warns teachers
about the consequences of passing casual remarks on fellow colleagues or pupils.
While sharing one’s experiences
online is deemed healthy, teachers are advised to be careful about
how to comment about their students and schools. “We need to
remember that we are responsible
for what we post on line and do
our very best to avoid any negative,
defamatory comments that may
lead to any form of disciplinary
or legal action against us.” Teachers are particularly advised to be
careful when interacting with colleagues online.
“If at times, one feels the need to
vent out his/her feelings, make sure
that you understand that whatever
is written publicly, can be accessed
by anyone, interpreted in different ways and can have dire consequences. Anything in writing can
be easily printed or captured and
used against you.”
Teachers are also reminded that
they cannot use Facebook or other
social networks during contact
time with pupils in class.
4
News
One of the more
controversial decisions
on hold in Gozo is the
extension of the Ta’ Cenc
Hotel itself, where Muscat
made his address
Muscat talks about tough
and controversial decisions
PAGE 1 Addressing a Labour activity in the Ta’ Cenc Hotel last
Sunday, Muscat declared that
he would be prepared to take
“tough, possibly controversial
decisions,” in the interest of
job creation.
“The status quo is not good
enough. Gozo’s environment
had to be protected because
that was an attraction in itself,
but nonetheless, decisions for
sustainable job creation needed to be taken in the interest
of the people of Gozo,” Muscat
said on Sunday.
Muscat promises to cut red
tape
Following his speech, MaltaToday asked Muscat to specify
which job creation projects he
has in mind for Gozo and why
he felt the need to link ‘possibly controversial decisions’ to
the protection of the environment.
MaltaToday also asked the
Labour leader whether his party is committed against major
ODZ industrial or tourism development in Gozo.
Muscat’s reply fell short of
revealing much about Labour
future job creation plans for
Gozo.
“Labour will be taking all decisions that are needed to create sustainable jobs in Gozo”.
But in a bid to reassure environmentalists, Muscat added
that the “environment will be
protected at all times.”
Muscat also said that efforts
should be made to “cut on red
tape and not let projects which
create jobs languish on the
shelf, waiting for someone to
take a decision.”
According to Muscat, the
crucial difference between the
current administration and a
future Labour-led government
will be largely based on attitude.
“Gonzi and his party are all
talk, talk and talk on Gozo. Labour will discuss issues with
stakeholders, decide about
them and implement them
without further hesitation”.
Gozitan developers and businessmen have often complained
that MEPA and government
take long and procrastinate to
decide on particular projects.
In the past two years, the
Labour party has sent mixed
messages on development
projects in Gozo.
The party has expressed its
willingness to consider an
airstrip in Gozo, a project
dropped by Alfred Sant immediately after he was elected in
1996.
The project is favoured by the
party’s spokesperson for Gozo
Anton Refalo, but is opposed
by fellow Labour MP Justyne
Caruana.
In the past, Muscat has declared his opposition to the
Hondoq ir-Rummien project
but has not taken a stand on
other proposed developments
like the constructions of villas
in Mgarr ix-Xini.
Environmentalists express
concern
Three prominent environmentalists contacted by MaltaToday have expressed concern
about Muscat’s statements.
Veteran
environmentalist
Edward Mallia interpreted
Muscat’s words as a cynical
attempt to “scrape votes” in
Gozo.
According to Mallia, what lies
behind Muscat’s stance are the
complaints of Gozo developers,
such as those pushing the massive residential development at
Hondoq ir-Rummien.
“While Gozo hoteliers moan
about low occupation, they are
proposing the addition of yet
more accommodation in places
like Hondoq ir-Rummien”.
Mallia emphasised the fact
that Gozo has more empty accommodation than Malta.
He also challenged the Labour leader to take a stand on
the proposed construction of
two supermarkets on agricultural land in Gozo.
“Why did Muscat not complain about the plans to gobble
up yet more agricultural land
on Gozo for setting up supermarkets, which can be easily accommodated inside the
semi-derelict Xewkija Industrial Park, especially in view
of the fact that there is such
strong development in the food
processing industry which depends on agriculture?”
According to Mallia, Muscat’s
remarks were simply made in
an attempt to catch votes.
“As a basis for any serious
policy, they are bankrupt”.
Nature Trust President Vince
Attard appealed to the Labour
Party to explain what it meant
by ‘controversial decisions’.
“Does this mean this will go
beyond sustainable development, and by this, would the
environment get a low priority
in such decisions?”
Nature Trust believes that
Gozo needs a strategy to attract more tourists through
its cultural, natural and landscape heritage.
“The idea of Eco-Gozo needs
to be further fine-tuned to reflect this island as an eco destination, which would make it
unique. We shouldn’t repeat
the mistakes made in Malta”.
Friends of the Earth (Malta)
chairperson Martin Galea De
Giovanni agreed with Muscat
that job creation is important
in Gozo.
“The interests of the people
should come first, and Friends
of the Earth Malta has nothing
against job creation”.
But De Giovanni expressed
his concern that local politicians and entrepreneurs alike
are not known to think outside
the box.
“Generally, the environment
ends up becoming the first
casualty of such thinking. This
is reflected in Dr Muscat’s
comment, where he mentions
that job creation has to happen
nonetheless”.
The good news, according to
De Giovanni, is that both the
‘sustainable’ job creation being proposed by Muscat and
the protection of Gozo’s environment can go hand in hand
to provide all Maltese citizens
with a better quality of life.
But De Giovanni is “unimpressed” by Muscat’s use of the
word ‘sustainability’, as it is a
word that has been used and
abused by many. “Are we talking about political sustainability, the financial sustainability
of a selected few, or that of the
environment and the well-being of the community?”
5
News
Practice what you preach!
Overweight and smoker GPs less likely to advise patients on healthy lifestyles
JAMES DEBONO
MOST male GPs are somewhat overweight and do not
engage in physical exercise on
a regular basis, a study conducted among 297 medical
practitioners has found.
And although 74% of GPs
never smoked, 11% are active
smokers while 16% used to
smoke in the past.
The study by Mario Saliba,
Mario Sammut, Kristin Vickers and Neville Calleja, published in the Malta Medical
Journal, was carried out to assess GPs’ willingness to spend
time discussing, educating,
assisting, advising, or providing resources to patients regarding health behaviours.
According to the study, a
third of GPs participating in
the study reported difficulty
in counselling patients on behaviours that they struggled
with themselves.
“It is evident that GPs who
followed healthy lifestyles
were more eager to counsel
patients about health behaviour counselling,” the study
says.
Although 74% of GPs never
smoked, 11% are active
smokers, whil e 16% used
to smoke in the past
Most of the GPs believed that
counselling in health behaviour-change in primary care
is very important. They even
believe that they should be
role models for their patients
as regards health behaviour.
Lack of time and training
were the major barrier to
counselling for most of the
doctors interviewed.
Surprisingly, more than 20%
of the doctors interviewed
mentioned the lack of financial reimbursement as an
obstacle to health behaviour
counselling.
According to the authors of
the study, this could be an
indication that doctors think
they are not paid enough and
that they need to be reimbursed extra for counselling
because it is extra work that is
not part of the consultation.
“Doctors should be trained
in motivational interviewing, which are important in
helping patients recognise
the need for a change in their
health behaviours,” the authors say.
[email protected]
Study shows higher obesity among Gozitan children
JAMES DEBONO
GOZO has a higher prevalence of overweight and obese
boys than the rest of Malta an
extensive study documenting
the body mass index of Maltese children shows.
Children attending independent fee-paying schools
were the least likely to be
overweight and obese.
Results of the study were
published in the Malta Medical Journal in an article authored by pediatricians Victor
Grech and Victoria Farrugia
Sant Angelo.
The study was based on data
collected in 2008 and 2010.
In 2008, data was collected
from a total of 3,435 children
aged seven.
The same procedure was
carried out in 2010 on the
same cohort of children. A total of 3,090 children participated in the second round of
the study.
Based on World Health
Organization criteria, over
a quarter of Maltese sevenyear-olds were found to be
overweight or obese in 2008.
This proportion rose to just
over 40% when the same cohort was measured in 2010 at
the age of nine.
One of the reasons given by
the study to explain why Gozitan children are more obese
is the increase in fast-food
outlets in the island. Another
possible reason is that children in Gozo are exposed to
greater academic pressure in
primary schools to guarantee
entrance to the Junior Lyceum
or to the only Church Secondary School in Gozo. This leads
to a more sedentary lifestyle
for these children.
The lowest levels of overweight and obese children
in 2010 was registered in the
North Harbour district, which
includes major urban centers
like B’Kara, Sliema, St Julian’s
and Qormi.
The study also shows that
independent schools enjoy the
least prevalence of overweight
and obesity among both boys
and girls.
This was not so in 2008, when
girls attending independent
Schools had a high prevalence
for being overweight, but not
obese. However, this trend
was significantly reversed
in the 2010 study where the
same girls became the least
overweight and obese when
compared to other schools.
A survey of school sports facilities and time spent by children in physical activity per
week carried out as part of
the European Child Growth
Surveillance Initiative in
2008 showed that independent schools had longer school
days, and more time devoted
to physical activity than State
and Church schools.
Children attending
independent, fee-paying
schools were the least
likely to be overweight
6
News
10
201120102009
200820072006
200520042003 28 October 2001
2002 2001
YEARS AGO
Referendum or election debate
on Malta’s accession to EU
Former Prime Minister of Malta, Eddie Fenech Adami addressed a public forum organised by ‘IVA Malta fl-Ewropa’ to
mark its one year anniversary.
The seminar was held in Valletta’s Freedom Square in October 2001.
Fenech Adami said that the
referendum regarding Malta’s
entry into the European Union
could and would take place after everyone was aware of the
negotiations package.
He also said that the decision
to join Europe was not one to
be taken by the political parties and expressed concerns
regarding former Opposition
Leader Alfred Sant’s statements that he will not abide by
a referendum result.
Also present at the public forum, Sant said that the Malta
Labour Party’s decision was
similar to that of the Nationalist
Party, adding that both Fenech
Adami and Foreign Minister
Joe Borg had pledged that
their campaign for EU integration would continue even if a
referendum was lost.
Sant felt that the MLP could
take a similar stand by stating
that an election was the way
forward on the EU integration
debate, instead of a referen-
dum.
He also reiterated that it was
possible for Malta to be involved in a special relationship.
Deputy leader of the Opposition Toni Abela said he was
in favour of a referendum but
added that the legal framework
did not exist. Querying the
technical aspects of the ballot
on EU accession, Abela added
that Malta would lose out on
accession and the government
was misleading the Maltese
population over the possibility
of funds.
Abela referred to an article in
the Economist saying that Malta and Romania were the two
applicant countries set to end
up with a raw deal following the
Nice Treaty.
Iva’s main spokesperson
Joanna Drake, said that Malta’s
place was in the EU and entry
would provide much needed
security and peace. She also
said that accession would
mean ‘level-playing field’ for
Maltese representatives to take
decisions on a par with larger
nations such as France and
Germany.
Drake concluded the Forum
by saying: “Let us look to the
future, let us put the clock forward, not back”.
Existing site
http://archive.maltatoday.com.mt/2001/1028/top1.html
Photomontage of development on site
Car park proposed next
to St Julian’s church
JAMES DEBONO
A presently undeveloped site
between the St Julian’s Parish
Church and the locality’s government school is being earmarked for the development of
a public car park, a supermarket, offices and 12 residential
units.
Architect Ray DeMicoli, whose
architecture firm is behind the
project, insists that the project
will be of high architectural
quality and will be landscaped
through planting.
“In this way, the area will not
lose its green character,” DeMicoli said.
The development above the
car park will be terraced and
will never surpass the level of
Lapsi Street.
“We wanted to ensure that the
views of residents living behind
the development will not be in
affected”.
DeMicoli explained that the
project originated in the idea
of finding adequate space for
his renowned architectural
studio, which boasts of various
projects both locally and internationally.
But since the owners wanted
to sell the entire area he started
exploring ways of developing
the area while respecting the
architectural fabric of the area.
“I am proud of this project as
it is nicely crafted and very respectful,” DeMicoli told MaltaToday.
The offices and supermarket
is being proposed to make the
car park financially viable.
DeMicoli has already held
meetings with the local council
and with the parish church to
ensure that the project respects
the needs of the local community.
A set of public lifts will link
the car park to the church and
Lapsi Street.
The project is still in the very
initial phase of the planning
process.
The local plan approved by the
government in 2006 envisions
a new underground car park
with access along the eastern
boundary of Anglu Mikiel Borg
Street following the setting up
of resident parking zones in the
locality.
In considering this development, the local plan calls on
MEPA to seek the development
of “new community and sports
facilities”.
On his part, DeMicoli is open
to the idea of a “planning gain”
for residents.
7
News
After Brussels,
life gets so
much better
Study on former Commissioners
finds Joe Borg a perfect candidate
for a lobbying job but poor
prospects for John Dalli
MATTHEW VELLA
AT least 39% of European Commissioners take up a job as a lobbyist after leaving their official
roles, to cash in the knowledge
and networks they acquired in office accumulated at the expense
of the taxpayers.
The former fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg earned his home
country a mention in a study
by economics professor Roland
Vaubel, who said former commissioners from Portugal, Austria, Bulgaria and Malta have the
highest propensity to lobby Brussels on private companies’ behalf.
Having said that, Borg is so far
the only former commissioner
Malta has had. But whether
health and consumer affairs
Commissioner John Dalli follows
his predecessor’s cue is yet to be
seen.
Going by Vaubel’s interpretation, the prospect of the lobbyist
afterlife may affect Commissioners’ decisions and voting behaviour while they are still at the
Commission, and induce them to
be more accommodating towards
interest groups.
Former Commissioners like Joe
Borg know where the money is
after leaving Brussels. When his
term finished in 2009, Borg started work for Fipra, a PR consultancy lobbying on public affairs.
And Borg even fits Vaubel’s
commissioner-turned-lobbyist
perfectly: according to his study,
commissioners with a law degree
were more likely to become lobbyists (48%), more likely to be
nominated by a right wing government, and on average be aged
58 upon retirement.
Upon retirement, Borg also
benefited from a three-year transitional allowance tagged at 4065% of his €240,000 salary – a
take-home allowance of €11,000
monthly. And then there is his
pension, an annual €51,068 annually upon reaching 65.
“The probability that the exCommissioners become lobbyists depends significantly on their
former policy brief,” Vaubel said.
“It is 100% if they have been responsible for competition policy,
89% for the internal market, 67%
for economics and finance and
57% for agriculture, energy or industry. It is zero for ex-Commissioners who have been in charge
of research, education, administrative affairs, health or multilinguism.”
So that means that Dalli’s
chance of becoming a lobbying
guru is already out of the picture. A return to politics may yet
beckon.
However, a new Code of Conduct by the European Commission adopted in 2010 now prescribes an 18-month “cooling-off
period” during which its retiring
members are not supposed to
lobby in their former policy field.
“Yet the Commission decides
collectively. Each Commissioner
is entitled to vote on all decisions taken by the Commission,”
Vaubel points out. “The prospect
of becoming a lobbyist may also
John Dalli’s health portfolio may not get him far in post-Commission lobbying jobs, while Joe Borg’s
maritime industry role and law degree made him the perfect candidate for a consultancy job
affect his vote on issues outside
his policy brief. The cooling-off
period ought to cover all policy
fields in which the Commission
is active”.
And this seems to confirm
Vaubel’s parting shot. Rules
should not be set by those who
later are to abide by them.
“If the rules are determined
by the Commissioners, they are
likely to be biased in their favour.
They will not sufficiently restrict
the scope for post-Commission
lobbying. As a result, Commissioners give too much support
to special interest groups, both
before and after retiring from the
Commission”.
Richard Vaubel is a Professor
of Economics at the University
of Mannheim, and a member of
the academic advisory council
to Germany’s federal economics
ministry.
[email protected]
8
News
Are the Maltese just
Too jaded to question stagnation? Not worth the effort to sound our anger against the
powers to be? TEODOR RELJIC asks whether the Maltese have nothing to protest about as
revolution fills the air in the rest of the world
Andre Callus: “Protests which implicitly or explicitly
express party dualism are well attended”
DO the Maltese really have nothing to be angry about while the
rest of its neighbourhood goes up
in flames?
As the worldwide ‘Occupy Wall
Street’ protests – held in reaction
against perceived economic injustices in the wake of the worldwide recession – rapidly spread
across geographic boundaries
and recalling, in some ways, the
Arab Spring, it seems Malta remains conspicuously absent from
the universal chorus of dissent.
“There is nothing to protest
about,” wrote Alex Grech – blogger, social media researcher and
the driving force behind culturelisting MaltaInsideOut.com –
in an article outlining several
reasons why the Maltese do not
appear to be geared towards protesting, in general.
Really? Are we such inwardlooking islanders jaded by the
Mediterranean sun and pampered by cradle-to-grave welfare
and vote-conscious politicians,
that we have nothing to be angry
about?
Here’s Grech’s proposition:
‘There is nothing to protest
about. Malta is somehow managing to weather the global storm.
People still have food on their
table. We can watch the Rome
protests on TV and the Internet
without having to clean up the
next day.’
But he goes on to give more
varied and textured explanations, suggesting that, conversely, it might just be that the
older generation remember the
Mintoff years – characterised as
they were by constant social unrest – that they dare not engage
in activity that might even remotely recall those times (rather
than just being politically passive), while also pointing out how
Michael Briguglio: “By not voting, such ‘protest’ gives
a message of disgruntlement, which in return is paid
back through a political favour”
maybe, the younger generation is
in turn far too mollycoddled to
even think about something to
protest against.
‘To protest, you need a culture
of protest. A non-hierarchical
education system where a child
feels comfortable to voice an
opinion, question, discuss, debate and challenge without the
covert (or real) chance of retribution. We bring up our children
to believe that life is safe and fair
– but also to respect the status
quo. Someone else will take care
of all that messy, political stuff.
Just keep your head down, get
through your exams, get your stipend when you get to University
and the rest will unravel,’ Grech
writes.
Economics rules
However, while the article appeared to have gained traction
on the social networking site
Facebook, not everyone is in
agreement with Grech’s ideas.
University student and former
editor of student publication Realtà – which was caught in the
eye of the censorship storm last
year following its inclusion of
Alex Vella Gera’s short story Li
Tkisser Sewwi – even goes so far
as to say that “Grech’s analysis is
poor and naïve.”
“First of all Malta experienced
a fair share of ‘action’ in modern
history, to use Grech’s simplistic and ridiculous terminology.
Do you know for example that
the last general strike in Britain
took place in 1926 while the last
general strike in Malta took place
more recently in 1958 and was
even more successful?” Camilleri – a History and Economics
graduate who has led a number
of protests in the wake of his arrest following the publication of
the Vella Gera story – said, while
also suggesting a reason as to
why an equivalent to the Occupy
Wall Street protests didn’t happen in Malta:
“First of all youth have greater
access to the labour market than
their British, American and Italian counterparts, and second
of all standards of living are not
dwindling at the rate of other European and Western countries.
“However this does not mean
that everything is red and rosy.
The labour market in Malta is
not meeting expectations, as
precarious jobs are increasing,
wages are not increasing according to the standards of living
and all indicators show that the
ordinary working man will face
an increasingly more difficult
economic situation in the near
future,” Camilleri said, warning
that Malta’s relative peace might
not last for long:
“So we might not have had protests up until now, but the people’s dissatisfaction will be publicly evident if the economy does
not meet expectations.”
Bipolar uprisings
Moviment Graffitti’s Andre
Callus also disagrees with the
idea that the Maltese are somehow hardwired NOT to protest,
and points out that “public expressions of discontent are not
absent. A number of well-attended protests, such as those against
the hike in water and electricity
tariffs [led by the General Workers Union] did take place.”
Callus emphases that the Maltese context should be taken into
consideration: Maltese society
and politics tends to be dominated by the ‘dualism’ of the Nationalist-Labour tug-of-war and that
makes it difficult for non-parti-
Alex Grech: “Civic protests are not in our DNA”
san issues to be aired with any
kind of real, defining fervour that
could ultimately be the driving
force for real social change. And
this suggests why protests led by
the Union Haddiema Maghqudin against the Labour budget
of 1997, or the GWU protests
against Nationalist budgets have
had strong attendances.
“Protests which implicitly or
explicitly express this dualism,
are well attended. In the case of
other kinds of protests, it is usually much more difficult to get
people out on the street,” Callus
said, also suggesting however
that this is a process which is
“still ongoing” and “still open.”
The strong presence of government in a small ‘hyperlocal’ community like Malta where the littlest of issues can be turned into
a national headline, can serve to
heighten the us-against-them
tendency.
Where a popular cause can be
safely invoked against government, mass mobilisation can be
easy. In 1997, in protest against
the cuts in university stipends by
the Labour government, university and post-secondary students
spent a week of mass demonstrations outside Castille and the
parliament.
But it also served to reinforce
the perception that where money
problems come in, the Maltese
are quick to react. Like the protests against water and electricity
tariff hikes led by the GWU, there
was little else to unite university
students after 1997. The pecuniary interest in receiving the full
stipend they had grown accustomed to (on average the stipend
was cut down from Lm80 to
Lm50 a month) was repackaged
as a cut in government’s investment in their education.
Land and lucre
Patrick Galea, an MA Sociology
graduate with a research interest
in social movements, also recognised the unavoidable presence
of the two major political parties,
and how this fact tends to blot
out any other, more ‘minor’ issues into insignificance.
“Consequently, those issues that
carry little partisan overtones are
seldom considered to be important by the general population
and do not animate any significant amount of people, at least
not enough to make protesting a
viable option,” Galea said.
“Maltese perceptions are often
insular and inward looking. As
a friend of mine once said, the
Maltese seem to expect that their
news becomes world news, but
world news is seldom deemed
relevant to them. The immigration issue, and the many voices
that seem to expect the world to
stop and come to Malta’s rescue,
is a case in point.”
Galea’s point is illustrated by its
flipside – in 2005 and 2006 the
short-lived right-wing Alleanza
Repubblikana Maltaija led two
well-attended protests against
immigration. On the other hand
anti-racism protests led by Moviment Graffitti have tended to attract less numerous crowds, usually younger and better educated
but never achieving that critical
mass that can counters the popular xenophobic sentiment we
may have grown accustomed to
in recent years.
But this also gives a clue into
what Maltese people are sensitive about. Not just money, but
the limitations of a small island:
land. So the threats to a limited
resource, such as the metaphorical ‘invasion’ from the sea of
immigrants threatening to take
9
News
t lazy sunbathers?
jobs and welfare; or the threat
of increased construction taking
away green pastures, have resulted in popular demonstrations.
Chiming in with the overall sentiment, Michael Briguglio, leader
of the Alternattiva Demokratika
(The Green Party) and an early
member of Moviment Graffitti
pointed out how protests are very
much present in Maltese cultural
life, though certain notable political strands may be absent, or
as yet underdeveloped.
“Civil society actors such as
trade unions, environmental
NGOs and civil rights NGOs
have carried out protests, time
and again… Of course, this is not
to say that Malta is bubbling with
activism. For example, Malta
lacks a feminist mass movement
or a coherent and broad-based
students’ movement.”
In the past Briguglio has participated in various protests such as
the protest against the Rabat golf
course (a mass civil society action
that gave positive results when
the golf course was refused); the
2006 protest against the extension of building zones, and other
environmental protests led by
Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar
which had captured the exonpectations of better environmental stewardship after EU
accession.
her
Briguglio points out another
curious form of protest (or
non-protest) that appears to
be peculiar to the Maltesee –
the tendency to not vote.
hat
“My reading of this is that
ote
certain people do not vote
ecin local or European elecge
tions so as to give a message
ato either or both of the man,
jor parties, which in turn,
have access to the details of
rsuch voters, given that parta
ties are exempt from data
h
protection legislation. Such
‘protest’ gives a message of
n
disgruntlement, which, in
h
return is paid back through
a political favour. Hardlyy
a call for social change,””
Briguglio said.
READ MORE
Do the Maltese protest?
est?
| Alex Grech
@
http://tinyurl.com/6jtpzr3
pzr3
Immigration, environment, energy
tariffs and university stipends: the
Maltese people are sensitive about
money and land
10
News
NEWS
HIGHLIGHTS
Monday, 24 October 2011
OPM denies email leak to
Times
The OPM denied allegations
that a ministry leaked Joseph
Muscat’s ‘unsophisticated’
email conversation with an RTK
journalist to The Times before
being given to PN media. The
publication of the emails were
served to embarrass Muscat and
open him up to criticism but NET
News did not reveal that the RTK
journalist’s emails also included
correspondence with prominent
members of the Nationalist party.
http://tinyurl.com/63zhsk3
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Government voted against
MCESD motion – Speaker
Speaker Michael Frendo confirmed
allegations made by Opposition
leader Joseph Muscat that
government voted against a motion
calling for the expansion of the
Malta Council for Economic and
Social Development to include the
Forum Unions Maltin and Gozo
Business Chamber. This was
confirmed after government issued
a statement denying allegations
made by Muscat.
http://tinyurl.com/6euy2hp
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Anti-divorce movement
claim emails were stolen
not leaked
Members of the anti-divorce
movement Le claimed their email
correspondence was stolen
leaked and published by the
press back in April 2011. In light
of Muscat’s recent claims and
police complaint made by the RTK
journalist involved, the anti-divorce
movement referred to published
‘divorce emails’ on Bondiplus and
denied that Andre Camilleri, Fr Joe
Borg, Ray Baldacchino, Lawrence
Zammit and Arthur Galea Salomone
leaked the emails to the press.
http://tinyurl.com/6cyr7nj
Thursday, 27 October 2011
First baby born in YMCA
homeless shelter history
A baby was born at the YMCA
homeless shelter Dar Niki Cassar
for the first time in its history.
The woman gave birth before the
ambulance arrived. Both mother
and baby were taken to Mater
Dei hospital and were assisted
by social workers and a team of
professionals. YMCA chairman
Jean Paul Mifsud would not reveal
the age of the mother or gender
of the baby and said that it was
a shame that such special and
delicate situation happened in such
a circumstances.
http://tinyurl.com/69oeytc
Friday, 28 October 2011
When politics
Politics is about power, but also about delivery. KARL STAGNO-NAVARRA
takes a look at what government has delivered so far this year, while also
being kept busy by internal bickering
BURDENED with the reality that
the Nationalist Party has been in
power for the last 20 years – save
a 22-month interruption of a Labour government between 1996
and 1998 – Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is set to face a crucial
2012, which will be his last full
year in office for this legislature.
A general election is technically
expected not later than midway
2013, making next year strategic
for the premier to deliver on his
government’s promises, amid
new stringent surveillance to rein
in the public deficit and tensions
over how the Greek debt fallout
will continue to unfold for the eurozone.
Gonzi will have to deliver, as he
continues to walk on a tightrope
with a fragile one-seat majority in
the House.
Often a time, the Prime Minister’s agenda was diverted to focus
on quelling backbench rebellions.
But the latest threat – triggered
by Franco Debono over his declared intention to abstain on noconfidence motion in transport
minister Austin Gatt – has the
potential of destabilising prospects for 2012.
Should Gatt survive the vote on
4 November with the Speaker’s
casting vote, Gonzi’s government
would be weakened, and also ignite considerations for a snap
election.
Austin Gatt may be renowned
for his lack of charm and bulldozer tactics, but in truth he is Gonzi’s most ‘intelligent’ and perhaps
his most productive minister, and
the PM technically cannot afford
to lose Gatt at this time.
Parliament will be debating
Labour’s motion on the public
transport fiasco two days before
the new changes to the service
come into force on 6 November,
but Gonzi has apparently been
advised to steer clear from the
thorny issue, and not allow the
public transport fiasco stick to
him, tainting his prospects for reelection.
For pragmatism or ruthlessness, Gonzi has since not come
out to defend Gatt, and appeared
passive, but concerned, as he
emerged from two meetings of
the PN’s executive council which
A beleaguered Austin Gatt with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, as they oversee the demolition of
Valletta City Gate
was summoned to discuss the
bus reform.
It is important to note that
Gonzi chose to have the matter
discussed within the party’s executive, and not within the parliamentary group, which has not
convened for months.
It is this pragmatism that raises
many questions relating to Gonzi’s survival in office in 2012, as he
appears even more conscious of
the risks he faces as the split between his front and backbenches
becomes more obvious.
But calling an election is not as
simple as one may think.
When faced with Dom Mintoff’s rebellion in 1998, then Prime
Minister Alfred Sant had called a
snap election just 22 months into
Labour’s return to office, after almost 10 years in opposition.
Sant gambled and lost that election heavily, mainly because he
underestimated the impact of internal squabbles on the electorate,
and his lack of communication
with the party, which in truth was
caught unprepared to organise a
campaign.
Lawrence Gonzi may be tempted to call an early election and call
his rebel’s bluff, but he also knows
that the PN is far from ready for a
campaign.
The PN’s strategy group is headed by John Zammit, a man known
for his ‘no-frills’ in public relations approach, capable of alienating the vast spectrum of voters
Forum budget proposals
presented outside MCESD
meeting
The Forum of Maltese Unions
protested the denial of an observer
seat on MCESD budget meeting
outside of the Phoenicia Hotel
in Floriana where the Malta
Council for Economic and Social
Development was meeting. Forum
secretary-general Paul Pace and
Forum president John Bencini
argued the injustice of being
excluded from MCESD meetings
and said they will continue to
protest until they are heard.
http://tinyurl.com/6hyrckc
Clyde Puli: 2011 has been government’s ‘annus horribilis’ for sports
projects, but a number of initiatives have been taken
by projecting a dynamic image of
government through his philosophy of the importance of delivery
where it matters to the voter.
A year in motion
Behind the scenes of an oftenstalling one-seat majority government, Gonzi’s government has
been active on all fronts, most
especially in delivering roads, infrastructure and services. Some
€440 million have been voted for
capital projects in 2011.
Rummaging through a whole
year of ministerial appointments
and relative press releases from
January to last week, one discovers that parliamentary secretary
Chris Said has been at the forefront in heeding John Zammit’s
philosophy of delivering where it
matters most to the voter.
Over the past three years, government has allocated €120 million to local councils, and an extra €15.7 million were granted to
councils under 51 schemes aimed
at a number of projects that include the installation of photovoltaic panels, good upkeep of
playing fields, cleaning services,
sports activities out of which
8,000 people have benefited from,
educational courses, cultural activities, enhancing public libraries
and the restoration and embellishment of landmark buildings
and public squares.
Some 230 residential roads have
been surfaced at an estimated
cost of €15 million, while European funds are being tapped and
received through MEUSAC for
joint council-EU projects.
211 unemployed persons were
engaged on jobs by local councils on a Community Workers’
scheme, receiving 75% of the
minimum wage apart from their
benefit.
Some 40 public dialogue meetings around Malta and Gozo have
been held, while Parliamentary
Secretary Jason Azzopardi follows in regular public activity in
launching initiatives which deliver where it matters most to the
voter.
Under his watch a number of
properties, landmarks and land
have been passed on to local
councils and NGOs, under a devolution scheme that has picked up
momentum over the past years.
In February, Jason Azzopardi
announced that 8,107 mothers
have started to benefit from an
income tax reduction scheme for
returning to work, while 2,131
families started to benefit from
tax benefits for sending their children to child centres.
A €16 million embellishment
programme in industrial zones
around Malta and Gozo was
launched and works were initiated immediately, while 708 small
business owners invested almost
€10.7 million in expanding their
operations after benefiting from
the Microinvest scheme, creating
285 new jobs.
During this year alone, the
Lands Department intervened on
960 direct enforcement actions
against squatters, abuse or illegal use of public land. The figure
rocketed from 334 in 2008.
Under the finance ministry, Jason Azzopardi is overseeing works
that have started in Tal-Qroqq on
a €29 million Life Sciences Centre
to be named BioMalta Campus.
The project is co-financed between government, Malta Enterprise and the European Regional
Development Fund.
Finance minister Tonio Fenech
issued €4 million in a one-off special allowance to 62,000 individuals in compensation for increased
utility tariffs.
2,400 cars were scrapped in
one year under a special scheme
this year, and Census 2011 was
launched in every household.
The ministry also launched
eProcurement which has changed
the way government conducts
public procurement.
While works on the Delimara
power station extension started
this year and are already at a very
advanced stage, government also
inaugurated sewage treatment
plants which have made Malta
the only Mediterranean nation
11
News
meets PR
that treats all sewage outflows.
Fiasco aside
Putting aside the route fiasco,
the public transport reform that
came into force on 4 July, saw the
garaging of an aged bus fleet and
the advent of eco-friendly, air conditioned buses.
Austin Gatt’s ministry however,
has been the backbone for a wave
of reforms that have broken longtime monopolies and liberalised
sectors which were considered to
be ‘no go areas’.
These sectors include taxis,
mini buses, coaches, unscheduled
bus service, hearses, ferries and
water taxis.
IT has been Gatt’s ministry’s
power base, and this year all localities throughout Malta and
Gozo are covered by internet WiFi hotspots.
Government has completed its
national connectivity strategy,
linking all government departments, digitising the Lands Department, Public Registry, ID
department and introduced biometric passports.
Works on the rebuilding and regeneration of the Grand Harbour
breakwater bridge have been completed, while works are underway
on the Barrakka lift.
Gonzi and Gatt saw to the initiation of major works to the Valletta
City Gate project.
In May, they followed the demolition of the capital’s old gate
and start of excavation works in
former Freedom Square. The site
has since started to take shape
and the new Parliament Building
and opera house are in visibly in
an advanced stage.
Towards the end of last year,
SmartCity Malta inaugurated its
first block, but the multi-million
project remains late on schedule
in its delivery on jobs, as Gatt admits delay in MEPA’s permits on
sewage outfall.
Although waiting lists remain a
problem, health minister Joe Cassar initiated talks with doctors,
nurses and health sector workers’
unions to seek ways of improving
the efficiency at Mater Dei Hospital.
During the first six months of
2011, Mater Dei handled an increase of 2,800 operations. Expenditure on health this year tops
€378 million.
Works have started on a new
cancer hospital, while further
embellishment and modernisation works continued at Mount
Carmel Hospital, and in homes
for the elderly.
The Pharmacy of Your Choice
scheme continued to expand, the
price of more medicines has been
reduced, and the hospital also catered to injured Libyans following
the uprising.
Social services
Dolores Cristina’s ‘super ministry’ handles a €934 million social
services bill in 2011, out of which
€733 were paid out in social benefits.
This year alone, the education
sector was allocated €340 million, two new schools are currently being built, works are
underway on the new MCAST
campus in Corradino, standing
schools modernised and facilities improved at a cost of €3.8
million, and 1,800 interactive
whiteboards installed in State
schools.
The ministry continued to suffer the setback of having EU’s Erasmus funds blocked, but compensated for the loss through a
number of scholarships which
were increased pending the impasse with the European Commission.
€43.2 million were paid out to
Church schools, while €3.5 million were passed on to the University of Malta in subventions.
Government estimates that
3,800 children have attended IT
course E-TFAL with 10 hours of
free tuition. 240 of the children
are from Gozo.
Environment minister George
Pullicino delivered on his
promise to pedestrianise Bisazza Street, only to (once again)
discover a problem with the
new bus route, which now had
to be diverted through Tigne’.
The Sliema front regeneration works were completed and
the new Tigne’ tunnel is operational.
Animal welfare concerns
were addressed with the St
Francis clinic, and legislation
was modernised, enforcing
micro-chipping and registration of pets. Works continued
on storm water projects, valley cleaning, forestation, waste
recycling, rehabilitation of
derelict spaces, and wind farm
technology planning.
Sport nightmare
2011 may be remembered as
government’s ‘annus horribilis’
where sports projects are concerned.
After the stalling of the White
Jason Azzopardi has put his foot down and
seen to 960 direct enforcements in 2011
Rocks Sports Complex project,
which had to take off this year,
another cold shower was taken as
Parliamentary Secretary Clyde
Puli announced government’s
strategy for sports, and launched
a call for expression of interest
for the development of the Marsa
Sports Village, for which nobody
applied.
Projects apart, for the first time
in recent history, government
launched a sports recruitment
scheme for the Armed Forces,
while substantial amounts of
money were forwarded to various sports organisations. Sports
facilities were modernised and
built around the island.
Tourism
2011 may be considered as a
bumper year for tourism, with
an increased number of tourist
arrivals, who however stayed less
and spent less, leading hoteliers
to express concern over eroding
profitability, and daunting prospects for the autumn and winter.
For this year, government expenditure on tourism is in excess
of €35 million, with €10 million
spent as assistance to operators
to enhance their product.
Another €11 million are being
spent on the construction of gardens in Pembroke and an Aquarium in Bugibba, while another
€6.5 million are being spent on
the embellishment and upkeep
of tourist zones. Expenditure on
Chris Said has been the most active in 2011
heritage sites upkeep is expected
to reach €14 million.
Gozo
Gozo
minister
Giovanna
Debono continues to struggle to
address the island’s unemployment, and has focused her work
on securing funding and facilities for training Gozitans in various sectors.
Funds have been injected into
Gozo’s training institute for the
tourism industry, the extension
of the centre for art and crafts,
and a crafts development centre,
ETC schemes, courses for sustainable careers, Gozo university, training courses to enhance
the employability of the Gozitan
workforce.
Works have progressed and
been completed on major
projects in Gozo, including the
reconstruction and modernisation of the road network, sewage
treatment plants, provision of
cold storage facilities.
The Gozo General Hospital
has been fitted with a radiology
department, and more services
given to outpatients.
3ALKNPAN
Franco Debono,
Monday at 7.45pm
on Favourite
Channel
12
Interview
By James Debono
Vetting the
AS President of the PN’s administrative council, Karol Aquilina’s job description includes
overseeing the party’s commercial companies and electoral structures as well as taking responsibility for the initial
choice of candidates standing
for elections.
Considering recent events at
both local and national level,
Aquilina’s role in vetting candidates contesting under the
party’s banner could well be the
most sensitive one.
During the past two years, the
PN faced difficulties in various
local councils where candidates
and even mayors elected on its
behalf had to resign or were
forced to resign because they
ended up being investigated by
the police. Has this exposed a
lack of vetting of candidates?
Aquilina is quick to point out
that this problem affects both
parties, citing a recent court
case against Labour’s Cospicua
mayor.
But Aquilina thinks that a rethink is necessary on the way
local council candidates are
chosen.
“We surely cannot afford to
choose candidates on the eve
of an election. The process of
becoming a candidate should
be spread over a period of time,
and not a few days”.
One thing that would help for
sure is ensuring that all candidates have experience in administrative structures either
of the party itself or of voluntary organisations.
Speaking out of personal experience, Aquilina believes
that his past participation in
organisations like the Kunsill
Nazzjonali taż-Żgħażagħ and
Studenti Demokristjani Maltin
helped him in his political for-
THE PARTY LINE
The question
of loyalty
is a double
edged sword
mation before becoming a local councillor and later deputy
mayor in the Siġġiewi council,
and one of the PN’s leading officials.
“Through these experiences,
one learns those unwritten
rules of conduct which prove
vital when one assumes office.
People with these experiences
offer a greater guarantee of correctness than those involved in
cases which occurred recently”.
Still, this does not offer an absolute guarantee.
“Mistakes in the choice of
candidates cannot always be
avoided. People change and circumstances change them… but
things could improve if candidates are chosen over a period
of time.”
Is Aquilina concerned that
rather than rising from grass
root structures, some local
council candidates are identified and pushed by district
heavyweights to whom they
owe a sense of loyalty?
“Many of the members of parliament identify candidates for
local council elections because
they know the people who surround them and their capabilities. The party also asks them
to do this. They are in a good
position to assess the character
of those who are proposed as
candidates”.
Aquilina himself proposes
candidates.
“Obviously, I only submit
names of people who I know
can give a valid and serious
contribution”.
Will there be a vetting process for candidates standing for
national election?
“Yes, and this has always been
the case.”
And what are the criteria?
“There are no definitive criteria. But the party is now in
a position to take this process
more seriously.”
The PN’s parliamentary group
has been riddled with division.
While any rifts on divorce can
be explained as emerging due to
differing viewpoints on an issue
of conscience, the government
is now facing a no-confidence
motion in one of its Ministers:
Austin Gatt. Franco Debono
has already announced that he
intends to abstain on the vote
if Gatt does not assume political responsibility. Wouldn’t any
abstention on this vote undermine the principle of collegiality on which a government is
based?
Aquilina immediately points
out that the motion was presented by the opposition, and
not by members of the PN
bench.
He recognises the fact that
various PN parliamentarians
are expressing concerns about
the public transport reform but
he also gives credit to Gatt for
embarking on a reform of a system which had been in place for
40 years.
“In actual fact, Gatt has already recognised that there are
serious shortcomings in the
present public transport system, and has also publicly assumed political responsibility.
However, he deserves recognition in view of the fact that previous Labour and Nationalist
governments never dreamt of
embarking on a wholesale reform of the sector. I must also
recognise that previous Nationalist Ministers responsible
for transport – Censu Galea
and Jesmond Mugliett – had
implemented a number of reforms in the public transport.
But this time around, we were
too ambitious and the crucial
point is now how to make the
reform a success in the shortest
time possible”.
Aquilina augurs that all those
parliamentarians expressing
concerns on the new system
and Austin Gatt’s role in the
reform, will still vote with the
government after being presented with all the facts on this
issue.
Will those Nationalist MPs
who were not sufficiently loyal
to the government in parliamentary votes, pay a price when
the party chooses its candidates
for the next election?
Aquilina insists that it is “premature” to talk of any decision
on this matter, even if he hints
that loyalty is an important criterion when assessing the suitability of candidates standing
for re-election under the PN
banner.
But he also makes it clear that
the party does not expect blind
loyalty from its MPs.
“The question of loyalty is a
double edged sword. It would
be very negative to have blind
loyalty but it is also negative
to have persons who, while affirming their loyalty, create all
the problems in the world for
the government without any
valid reason”.
He also points out that any assessment must be based on the
performance of MPs throughout the entire five years of the
legislature including the next
one and half year “in which
many things can happen.” Aquilina does not foresee any particular difficulties in this matter.
The last election was contest-
ed under the GonziPN banner.
The formula worked in the last
election, but can it be replicated
in 2013?
“Every election is a different
story, and the factors determining the outcome of any election
are different”.
Was the party too associated
with the party leader in the past
election in a way that people
voted for the leader rather than
the party?
“A political brand name serves
to win over the majority of the
electorate. Even at an international level, the leader is far
popular than the party. For example, in Italy one of the problems facing the centre-left is the
lack of charisma of its leaders”.
So what could help the PN win
the election next time round?
“One of the factors which
could win us the election is
our experience in governing the country. The second
thing, which is in our favour,
is that we are forward-looking.
We are not imprisoned by our
mistakes. Take public transport – we admitted that there
are difficulties, and we are doing everything to address these
problems”.
Another winning card for the
PN is that it has an answer for
any question regarding its policies.
“Unfortunately the Opposition’s answer to any question
is ‘we will tell you in 18 months
time.’ On the other hand, when
we are asked we can say what
we have done and what we intend to do”.
But while the Nationalist
Party is in government – and
therefore is obliged to have all
the answers – the opposition is
not, and does not even have all
the books in its hands.
“But ideas are nobody’s prerogative. Ideas can also come
from people not involved in
politics, let alone an opposition
aspiring to be in government”.
Divorce created a chasm in
the party. With hindsight, did
the PN take a wise decision opposing divorce?
Surely for Aquilina, the internal discussion was “very
healthy.”
“It was a no-holds-barred discussion, and I believe that we
should use the same formula
to discuss similar issues which
may come up in the future.”
Aquilina thinks that the PN’s
decision to oppose the introduction of divorce is now “irrelevant.”
“What counts for the PN is
the decision of the electorate
and in fact, that was one of the
fundamental points included in
the motion approved by the PN
executive. Positions must be
taken in a context. I don’t think
that now that divorce has been
introduced people care about
that decision anymore. For the
PN, divorce is a closed chapter.
What I hope is that the discussion now focuses on how we
can strengthen the family.”
It is very obvious that the PN
now includes social liberals as
well as members and activists
who do not adhere to the Roman Catholic religion. Doesn’t
this contradict the party’s
Christian democratic identity?
Aquilina makes it clear that
the party’s identity is not in
question. But he makes it clear
that while the party has its
principles, it does not exclude
people simply because they
disagree with it “on a couple of
issues.”
So can one support granting
gay partners the same rights as
married couples while still being a PN member?
“One can choose to have such
a position without necessarily
expecting the party to take the
same position”.
But in open recognition of the
plurality of values in Maltese
society, Aquilina makes it clear
that his party is not tied to a
particular set of moral values.
“We are not tied to a particular set of values but we try to
pick the best values from everyone. What counts for us is
whether an idea is good or not,
irrespective of who says it or
from where it originates. This
is why, for the past elections, we
gained the support of the majority of the population. We are
not anchored to dogmas”.
He attributes this ideological
flexibility to the great changes
made in the 1970s under the
leadership of Eddie Fenech
Adami when the party became
closer to the working class and
strengthened its social policy.
In this spirit, apart from basic
principles like freedom, social
justice and respect for fundamental human rights, nothing
is cast in stone.
But this does not mean that
the party cannot take a position.
“We are open to any sort of
discussion on issues but we will
never abscond on our duty as
a political party to take a decision”.
Moreover, as was the case
with divorce, those who took a
different position can still coexist with the majority without
being expelled from the party.
Nobody can feel excluded
from the party because there
is something fundamentally
13
New PN President Karol Aquilina is responsible for the vetting of candidates standing for
local and national elections. He makes it clear that a rethink is necessary in the way the
party chooses its candidates
candidates
SPIRIT OF
OPENNESS
We are not
anchored to
dogmas
against him or her.
Except for a brief interlude
between 1996 and 1998, the
PN has been in power between
1987 till the present day. Aquilina does not see this as a problem.
“Since 1987, the Nationalist
party has cultivated a culture
of government among its officials. They all know what is demanded of them when occupying responsibility. This means
that if elected again, it will not
face the problem of adjusting
itself to being a party in government. If Labour is elected in the
next election, Muscat will enter
Castille asking himself: “OK,
I am the Prime Minister, what
should I do now?”
He disputes Labour’s credentials as a government-in-waiting.
“The Labour Party’s higher
ranks are either occupied by
persons who served in the disastrous administration which
ran the country between 1981
and 1987, or by people who have
no experience of what it takes to
be in government”.
Wasn’t the PN exactly in the
same position in 1987?
Aquilina insists that that this
was a completely different circumstance.
“There was nothing to recover
in 1987. On that occasion, the
PN literally had to start from
scratch”.
In the last few weeks, there
was talk of reforms aimed at
strengthening Maltese democracy. One topic which is
expected to be discussed in
parliament is a bill on party financing which has been drafted
by Franco Debono.
Aquilina agrees with the need
to regulate this sector.
“We want greater transparency and openness in this sector,
but at the same time we have
to ensure that political parties
can operate. The law should
not curtail the work of political
Karol Aquilina
AGE: 31
PRESENT ROLES: PRESIDENT OF PN
ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL, DEPUTY MAYOR
OF SIGGIEWI
PAST ROLES: PRESIDENT, NATIONAL YOUTH
COUNCIL (KNZ), PRESIDENT, STUDENTI
DEMOKRISTJANI MALTIN (SDM), VICE
PRESIDENT, MOVIMENT ZGHAZAGH PARTIT
NAZZJONALI (MZPN)
QUALIFICATIONS: ADVOCATE
HOBBY: PHOTOGRAPHY
A BOOK HE RECENTLY READ: NON SARÒ
CLEMENTE BY CLEMENTE MASTELLA
FAVOURITE FOREIGN DESTINATION: ROME
FAVOURITE MALTESE LANDSCAPE:
FAWWARA, LIMITS OF SIGGIEWI
parties as these are essential for
democracy to work.”
If political parties are so important, why not introduce a
system of State financing, as
happens in advanced democracies like Germany?
Aquilina is wary of this concept.
“In my opinion, political parties should remain dependent
on the electorate and not on
the State. I find no problem
that parties receive state aid in
the formulation of policies or
to train people. But I don’t like
the idea of having the party’s
organisations financed by the
State”.
But isn’t this preferable to par-
ties being financed by big contractors?
“As long as someone finances
the party without expecting
anything in return there is no
problem. In reality the Nationalist Party depends on the
income generated by its commercial companies and on donations it receives during the
yearly televised marathon and
various other activities held
from time to time”.
Speaking on a personal level,
Aquilina, who is known for
standing up to building contractors on local issues affecting Siggiewi, makes it clear that
he has never received donations
from big contractors and never
intends to do so.
“In my role as councillor I never had any qualms on taking a
stand on environmental issues
involving major contractors.
The important thing is that we
have to ensure that we do not
have any obligations towards
financial contributors”.
The declaration of donations over and above a certain
amount will help to bring about
more transparency, but he
wants to avoid a situation where
this serves to deter families who
give money to political parties
out of a sense of belonging. On
the other hand, big contractors
who do not have the same sense
of belonging tend to help both
parties equally.
Is the party suffering from a
lack of enthusiasm among its
grass roots, who are sceptical of
another party victory?
“I see the same situation we
had in 2007 when, after 20 years
of the PN in government, party
activists had strong doubts that
the party could win again. In
2008 we showed that this is not
the case”. He also points that it
is normal for a party which is
in government to suffer from
mid- term blues, but he expects
activism in the party to pick up
in the next months.
“As soon as an election approaches people start engaging
again”.
14
News
Tonio Borg
takes ‘snooze’
at CHOGM
Denies being stranded in
Qantas strike
Zzzz... Foreign Minister
Tonio Borg as pictured
by Australian media
GET
The EFL Monitoring Board
would like to inform all
prospective teachers of English
as a Foreign Language, that
as from January 2012 and
until the 31st December 2012,
prospective teachers applying
for an EFL permit with an
CERTIFIED
A’Level in English must have
grades A,B or C.
Whilst grades D and E will no longer be accepted, the Monitoring
Board would like to encourage all prospective teachers to sit for the
Test for English Language Teachers (TELT),
which is specifically aimed to prepare EFL teachers.
The next TELT exam will be held on the 26th November,
so contact the EFL Monitoring Board now for more details:
Tel: 25982741
or
Email: efl[email protected]
FOREIGN minister Tonio
Borg’s ‘snooze’ during the preCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)
in Perth has made the rounds
on Australian media.
Borg – who stepped in to
represent Prime Minister
Lawrence Gonzi in Perth after
being caught up in an urgent
eurozone summit in Brussels
on Wednesday – was photographed taking a ‘snooze’ during the pre-meeting for foreign
ministers.
Meanwhile, the Maltese delegation denied being among
17 delegations who are reportedly stranded in the Western
Australian city following a
national strike by Qantas airlines.
Australian foreign minister Kevin Rudd who was also
due to leave Perth on a Qantas
flight yesterday was forced to
return to the city.
The CHOGM Taskforce says
it is now discussing alternative transport options with a
number of delegations.
Western Australia’s Deputy
Police Commissioner Chris
Dawson says CHOGM security arrangements have been
extended to cater for stranded
delegates.
“I don’t see any impact on
security or protection which
is the main role police have,”
he said.
“We are working with the
Australian government and
the CHOGM taskforce in
terms of any impact on dignitary movements so we will adjust, but certainly, the security
measures that have been put
in place over the last week will
continue”.
A spokesman declined to say
from where the stranded delegations are from, but sources
mentioned Malta and Cyprus
as two of them.
Later in the day, a spokesman
for the Maltese delegation denied that Borg’s delegation was
stranded due to the strike.
Qantas took the drastic step
of grounding its entire fleet
indefinitely as part of an escalating industrial dispute, a
move Australian unions described as “a stunning overreaction.”
The airline, which has been
hit by a series of strikes, also
said all employees involved in
the action would be locked out
from Monday without pay.
“We have decided to ground
the Qantas international and
domestic fleets immediately,’’
chief executive Alan Joyce
said.
The airline said pilots, engineers and baggage, ground and
catering staff were essential to
Qantas operations and their
lockout made it necessary to
take all planes out of service.
“Aircraft currently in the air
will complete the sectors they
are operating. However, there
will be no further Qantas domestic departures or international departures anywhere in
the world,’’ it said.
The Australian government
said it was “very concerned’’
by the dramatic development
and accused the airline of a
“breach of faith’’ by failing to
give it advance notice.
“I think it is certainly a
breach of faith with the government, the fact that there
was no advanced notice of this
action being taken by Qantas,’’
said Transport Minister Anthony Albanese.
Meanwhile, customs officers went on strike when dignitaries arrived for CHOGM in
Perth on Thursday.
EFL Monitoring Board, Room 250
Ministry for Education, Employment and the Family
Great Siege Road, Floriana VLT 2000
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www.maltatoday.com.mt
11-11-2011
COMING SOON
15
News
Libya’s NTC to pay costs for
casualties in Maltese hospitals
KARL STAGNO-NAVARRA
LIBYA’S National Transitional Council will be paying
for medical costs incurred by
Malta in providing hospitalisation for war casualties.
Mahmoud Alstani, a visiting senior NTC official told
MaltaToday that Libya will be
paying its dues to Malta for
the costs it has so far absorbed
in medical care to a number
of Libyans who have been admitted into Mater Dei and St
James Hospitals.
“We are grateful to the government and people of Malta
for their support and hospitality, but we have our pride too,
and this is why we will pay for
all that has been given to our
people by our neighbouring
friends,” the official said.
According to the official, the
payment will be made through
funds which are so far frozen
in Malta under sanctions by
the United Nations Security
Council and the European
Union.
“Once these funds are released, we will subtract the
amount spent on medical care
both at Mater Dei and at St
James Hospital,” he said.
MaltaToday is informed that
Mater Dei Hospital is providing Intensive Therapy Unit
care to wounded Libyans, and
once discharged, they are
transferred to St James Hospital for further treatment.
The agreement in place provides for immediate care in
hospitals for the injured and
after they are discharged,
they are followed up by the
embassy.
MaltaToday is informed that
all those who have been discharged from Maltese hospitals are then checked into a
hotel, and their costs are paid
for by the Libyan embassy.
While it has also been noted that throughout the past
months the Libyan embassy
has paid medical bills for a
“We are
grateful
to the
government
and people
of Malta for
their support”
– Mahmoud
Alstani
Libyan war casualties are being treated at Mater Dei and St James Hospitals
number of casualties, the Qatari government is reportedly
also partially financing the
needs of the injured families.
Led by General Naser Alkaabi, the Qatari Armed Forces
are not only buying stocks of
water, food and medicine from
Malta to be sent to Libya, but
are also providing a C-17 aircraft as an air ambulance to
evacuate the injured and bring
them to Malta.
The Qatari government is
reportedly currently financing family members who are
accompanying the injured
to Malta, and together with
the Libyan embassy, providing pocket money for them to
spend while in Malta.
Meanwhile, Misurata’s most
acclaimed war hero, Commander Ibrahim Halbous,
who sustained grievous injuries while fighting on the Sirte
frontlines, is to be transferred
in the coming days from the
ITU in Mater Dei Hospital to
a specialised hospital in Britain.
Halbous was paralysed by
a Gaddafi loyalist bullet that
went through his neck, destroying his trachea – instantly muting him – and exited by
damaging his spinal chord.
Over the past days, doctors
and officials have discussed
finalising details of transferring Halbous from Malta to
Britain, and the British government is expected to issue
Halbous with a visa and accommodate his close relatives.
When news of Col. Gaddafi’s
capture was broken, a number
of young Misuratis were also
recovering from their injuries
in Malta held a prayer vigil for
commander Halbous at Mater
Dei Hospital.
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16
News
Giving persons with
disability equal footing
Marcel Pisani, Chief Operating Officer of Agenzija
Sapport talks to RACHEL ZAMMIT CUTAJAR about ten
years of integrating people with disabilities into society
MARCEL Pisani, himself the
father of two children with intellectual disabilities, found the
services in Malta severely lacking when his first child was born
with an intellectual disability in
1971.
“In those days, all the doctors
would tell you is that you had a
child that was disabled – labelled
‘handicapped’ then – and you
just had to take care of them as
best you could. I spent the next
five or six years battling with the
medical authorities to have us referred to Great Ormond Street in
the UK for a proper diagnosis”.
Though in the original diagnosis, Pisani and his wife were told
that the disability was not genetic
and that it was safe to have more
children, when their third son
was born with the same condition their diagnosis was revised,
which was very traumatic.
The astonishing lack of information and aid prompted Pisani
to take an active role in helping
families with children with disabilities, and he has spent the
past 35 years working voluntarily in the field, 20 years of which
he as President of the National
Parents’ Society for Persons with
Disabilty, while also helping to
set up the first respite home for
persons with disabilities in Malta
– Dar il-Kaptan in 1991.
This year, Agenzija Sapport
is celebrating its tenth year in
operation. It was set up in 2001
in response to an outcry from
parents with children with disabilities concerned about what is
going to happen to their children
when they are no longer able to
look after them.
“Today, people are living longer,
and that includes persons with
disability. When parents begin
to need care themselves as they
get older, the question of care for
their children is also raised. The
principal aim was to set up a residential scheme to give persons
with disability the possibility of
living away from their natural
family when this was necessary
as independently as possible
within the community and services eventually grew to include
social services, day services and
community services”.
Pisani was always against the
idea of institution-style residences and therefore worked on having small residential homes for
clients who were most in need.
“People who are severely disabled often exhibit challenging
behaviour and as a result, when
their families can no longer take
care of them, in some cases the
only option is Mount Carmel
Hospital.
“In most cases, persons with
disability at Mount Carmel reside there for the simple reason
that there is no alternative either due to lack of resources or
because organisations are not
able to cope with their behaviour. Mount Carmel is definitely
not the right place for them, unless there is need for psychiatric
therapy. In fact, more or less 50%
of the Agency’s residential clients
have been reintegrated into the
community from Mount Carmel
Hospital”.
A number of small residences
in Fgura, Mtarfa, Kirkop, Marsascala and Bormla now house
47 persons with disability who
require intensive support, where
support workers are available on
Marcel Pisani, himself
father of two sons with
disability, has been
working in the field for
over 35 years
a 24-hour basis according to requirement.
“Though it is unlikely that we
are going to be able to meet the
demand for residential services
for those who require them, we
will continue to set up small residential units providing the necessary support.
“Currently there are still around
100 people living at Mount Carmel who, with proper support
can be reintegrated into society”.
Pisani said that families are
encouraged to retain the care of
their relatives with disabilities
and offering other forms of support helps the families to do so.
“Thankfully, we still nurture
the culture where a family member needs to be looked after by
the family and most families
want to keep relatives with disability at home. However providing services like day centres and
community services and social
work help the families through
their struggle”.
Support workers encourage
independence of the disabled,
teaching them individual skills
that parents may not have had
the time to teach their children.
“An overworked mother may
find it is less time-consuming to
feed her child herself, rather than
take the time to teach him. Other
parents tend to be over-protective and not allow their child to
develop skills, limiting their independence for fear of harm.
“There are simple skills we generally take for granted – being
able to wash themselves, choose
their own clothing, manage what
they are going to eat and catch a
bus, among others.
Pisani is now 61 and should be
thinking about retirement, however he is quick to shoot the notion down.
“I wish I could be around for
a hundred more years because
there is so much to do. There are
so many people out there who
need assistance. Though there
are no official statistics for Malta
regarding the number of disabled
persons, internally accepted statistics indicate that 10% of any
population is disabled with 1%
being severely disabled. Judging
from these figures, we just aren’t
reaching enough people.
“At the moment we are trying
to open up a new day centre in
Pembroke, and though we have
identified a site, we are awaiting
MEPA permits and sufficient
funding before we begin to operate.
“Another issue that needs to be
addressed on a national level is
the presence of children in adult
wards at Mount Carmel Hospital, which is a disgrace. Though
children with disability can be
sent to the YPU when space runs
out, they are sent to the psychiatric ward simply because there
is nowhere else to accommodate
them.
“Again, we have identified a site
in Birzebbuga which can be used
as a temporary home for these
children where the aim would be
to rehabilitate them enough to
return to their natural families.
We are hoping to be given funding for this project in the next
budget”.
For more information visit
www.sapport.gov.mt.
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17
News
Seeing black and right
OMAR is still trying to figure
out why he ended up on the
street wearing only a pair of
boxer shorts and a vest, with his
mouth bleeding and unable to
walk properly because of a swollen left leg.
He was not at a bar, drunk and
causing trouble. He was sitting
peacefully inside his home on
a Sunday afternoon last month
before his landlord arrived at
his apartment in Zabbar and demanded money.
The landlord became consumed by a fit of rage after Omar
refused to pay the amount of
money demanded for water and
electricity consumption without
first seeing the bill.
“I only asked to see the bill. He
started shouting and went into
the bathroom and the bedroom,
throwing things around. Then
he called someone downstairs
who came running,” Omar says.
The two men pushed Omar
towards the door. He was repeatedly punched in the face and
then pushed down a flight of
stairs. His left leg got twisted beneath him and started to swell.
His Maltese girlfriend and her
brother, also in the apartment,
were left untouched. Omar has
been living in Malta for five
years, but his skin colour is still
an invitation for abuse and harassment.
Police recruits
receive a onehour session
on racial
equality as
part of their
training
He is no exception.
Malta features as one of the ‘top
ten’ member States experiencing
the highest levels of racial discrimination, according to the EU
Minorities and Discrimination
Survey (EU-MIDIS) published
last year.
The same report shows racist violence is quite common in
Malta and a serious threat to
Africans in the country, where
Malta features as one of the ‘top ten’ Member States
experiencing the highest levels of racial discrimination
the majority have experienced
verbal or physical harassment
ranging from avoidance or sniggering, to serious mutilation and
even death.
Omar is one of the few who
dared file a report based on his
medical certificate with the police and the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE).
“I just want justice,” he says.
It was also fear that drove him
to file the reports. “If I had hurt
him, I would definitely be in
jail.”
Does he feel the system works
against him? “Yes, in terms of
racism”.
Racial violence is a real cause
for concern, but official statistics tell a different story. The
EU-MIDIS report shows that
over half the racially motivated
incidents of physical assault
were not reported to the police.
The major reason is a lack of
confidence in law enforcement
authorities.
The same report ranks Malta
as the Member State with the
highest number of occurrences
where police show disrespect in
encounters with Africans.
Police recruits receive a onehour session on racial equality
as part of their training. This is
deemed too short to have any
positive long-term results, says
the European Network Against
Racism.
The NCPE, also empowered
to handle reports on racial discrimination, received a total of
only three complaints last year.
Despite widespread racial
discrimination Malta has the
lowest public support in the EU
for monitoring procedures that
minimise it, even though the
majority believes it is increasing.
Those working against racial
discrimination are struggling
against all odds.
Katrine Camilleri, Director of
the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS),
says her biggest concern is that,
“racism is not identified, it’s not
called by its name, it’s not addressed at practically any level,
and maybe this is why so many
people experience acts varying
from disparaging comments to
outright hostility, or even violence.”
In her experience, very often
people complain that when they
do approach institutions for
support against abuse suffered
they feel they are not taken seriously or they find the remedies
ineffective.
“They don’t see any results.
On the one hand, that puts
people off reporting and, on
the other hand, if there’s no accountability it creates a sense
that everything is permissible,”
she says.
The state of affairs is typical
of other problems in the country where laws are enacted but
implementation is poor. In this
case, Malta has brought national legislation in line with the
Racial Equality Directive but
despite the high incidence of
racial violence only four people
have been charged in court for
racist crimes in 10 years.
Only one person was found
guilty of racial hatred – in
2009.
Neil Falzon, Director of human rights NGO Aditus, says
the legal remedies available are
ineffective. As a human rights
lawyer, he emphasises the difficulty of convincing those
whose rights have been violated
to seek redress in a system that
is failing to deliver justice:
“The list of infringements
of the Racial Equality Directive that we can come up with
is huge. We do our best to advocate but you need someone
who really wants to take a case
to court and be willing to wait
years until a judgment is given.
How effective can a judgment
be when the violation occurred
five years ago?”
Social Policy Minister Dolores
Cristina states in the NCPE’s
annual report that “equal opportunities are a cornerstone
of government’s policy.” In her
two-page statement, only one
paragraph towards the end is
dedicated to racial equality
where she says, “more needs to
be done to increase awareness
to achieve our goal of a more
inclusive and tolerant society.”
To that end, the National Action Plan against Racism and
Xenophobia (NAPARX) was
launched last year. It is an ambitious plan with a three-year
deadline, but progress is limited
so far as the NCPE is “considering” the initiatives outlined.
As a government-funded
Equality Body, the NCPE has
vast responsibilities that include research, reporting, rais-
ing awareness, training, and
investigating complaints on the
myriad forms that discrimination can take in relation to gender and race.
The budget allocated by government last year for such a gargantuan mission was just over
€281,000 – less than the annual
expenditure of even small local NGOs. Despite the launch
of NAPARX, the estimated
budget for the NCPE this year
is €20,000 less than last year.
European Commission funds
support the implementation of
anti-discrimination projects,
such as ‘Think Equal’ that
launched a study to identify the
nature and extent of racial discrimination and the flaws in existing policies and structures.
The findings will still require
a comprehensive approach to
implement changes.
It is a massive challenge. In
the present scenario, where
racism is increasing, where the
authorities are not sufficiently
empowered to address it, where
legal remedies are ineffective,
and where political rhetoric is
not backed by adequate funds,
NAPARX seems destined to
fail.
That may not be such a big
deal in political terms since
action against racial discrimination and violence does not
enjoy public support. Most believe that if the ‘blacks’ do not
like it, they should leave.
Simply put, we do not care.
Omar could have died on that
street and it would not have
made one bit of difference.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GILBERT CALLEJA
Despite the launch of an action plan against racism, the Equality Commission
this year got €20,000 less funds from the government. CAROLINE MUSCAT on
why Malta’s anti-racism efforts are just destined to fail
18 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 OCTOBER 2011
19
Opinion
Saviour Balzan
[email protected]
Keeping up appearances
I
was just about to start
writing about last week’s
hacking saga.
It was embarrassing to say
the least, to have the leader of
opposition answer questions
about his email exchange with
Sabrina Agius, a former RTK
head of news.
It also led to a heated debate
in our newsroom, where
we admitted that we would
have had little objection in
publishing the emails in the
first place.
We never have had a problem.
Was it of public interest?
Of course it was.
That obviously led to the
inevitable focus on Muscat,
with an invite to TVM from
the prince of spin, where we
were, of course, treated to some
serious grilling.
I have absolutely no idea what
makes Muscat want to appear
on such programmes.
He is at a disadvantage from
the word go.
He is not addressed as
Lawrence Gonzi or Austin Gatt
would be introduced, and not
treated with any respect. In his
case, he is called Joe.
Joe like in the mechanic down
the alley.
Joe like the barman.
Joe like the bus driver.
And then to make matters
worse, Muscat responds to
the silly jokes by giggling and
laughing, giving his egocentric host more fodder and
more reason to think he is the
greatest guy on the box.
Instead of spending precious
time debating policies and
hitting out at government
inertia, Muscat gets caught in a
debate on who is the wisest guy
on the set.
Muscat’s quip about how a
dinner guest (he was referring
to Lou Bondi as Magistrate
Consuelo Herrera’s guest)
runs off to the bathroom
and messages about a private
conversation (he was referring
to Bondi’s partner, who sent a
message to the Queen of Bile
about what was being said at
the dinner table) is surely not
reflective of someone you can
trust. But apart from that dig,
Muscat was ill-suited for this
programme.
No one needs to convince us
that Bondi is a raving apologist
and someone you can never
trust.
The general public are the
ones who need convincing, and
who are still unsure whether
Muscat will make the cut.
Otherwise, it was all about
demeaning and dragging
the status of the leader of the
opposition. And if you want my
honest opinion, the programme
did just that.
I do not believe that Muscat’s
email was ever hacked.
I do believe that Muscat
needs to give TV a break, and
that he needs to give Where’s
Everybody a miss. He needs to
get his act together if he wants
to score points.
Saying “no I cannot” is better
than being dragged into a
programme and ridiculed.
Having said that, I do believe
that hacking has taken place,
and I have good reason to
believe that it did in fact take
place before 2008, with Alfred
Sant.
Snippets from this hacking
led to rumour-mongering
about Dr Sant’s private life and
these were bandied around
the four continents by the PN’s
excellent whispering campaign.
Let me go over this again, so
that it’s clear.
I believe – based on what I
know from primary sources –
that Sant’s emails were hacked
during his time as Opposition
leader.
The PN have the amazing
knack of controlling the
message even when they have
no control over the messenger.
When in 2007/2008, Alfred
Sant visited a pig farm, the
cameras from NET and the
photographers from The Times
and Independent flurried over
to take all the ‘right’ shots of
Sant and the rosy pigs.
On Friday, George Pullicino
was accompanying the EU
commissioner at a local pig
farm. The pictures from DOI
rolled in, but Pullicino was
nowhere to be seen. The man
who oversees every little detail
made a point not to be next to
the pigs.
It sounds silly, but it confirms
my worst fears – that politics is
all about appearances.
***
One of the more laughable
proposals made in the last
election was for people
appointed to boards to apply to
be considered.
Three years after the election,
we are regaled with adverts
announcing – or rather, calling
on the public – to nominate
themselves to be considered on
these boards.
It’s very much like journalists
who nominate themselves
with the Press Club to win the
Journalist of the Year award
and then praise themselves for
having won the award.
It sounds so silly and stupid,
and it reminds me of the
Libyan Jamaharija, where we
were given the impression
that the country was run by
popular committees and that
Gaddafi had resigned from the
presidency.
The ‘nominate yourself to a
board’ idea is said to have been
Joe Saliba’s brainwave, and a
feeble attempt at confronting
the perception that the
appointment should be based
on political patronage, not
meritocracy.
It is highly unlikely that
political patronage will
be stamped out with this
initiative. The application will,
of course, encourage some
nutcase to apply and make
himself believe that he will be
considered.
I really do not know if I
should laugh or cry.
Needless to say, there could
be some who will take the
applications process seriously.
In their application, they will
be careful to include that they
are blind believers of the faith
(the PN) and that they will
stand by the party no matter
what.
The problem with the
proposal of applying to a board
has a lot to do with the way
many entities are structured.
Do all entities need a board?
For example, does the Manoel
Theatre need a board? Why not
have a managerial structure
that responds to a monitoring
committee in the Ministry?
But then, Ministers appoint
people to a board to say ‘thank
you’, or to make them happy.
Should I give some examples?
I’d love to, but I would need a
double page spread.
The same applies to so many
other boards which are simply
there to serve as opportunities
for dishing out pocket money
to blue-eyed boys and girls.
What’s the immediate
solution?
The first thing is to do away
with unnecessary boards.
The second thing is to choose
the right people for the right
job.
Why is it that someone with
Labourite leanings should
be barred from holding an
appointment?
Does it mean that all
Labourites cannot implement
good policies or respect the
policies of the government in
power?
For example, why should
Manoel Theatre and the
Mediterranean Conference
Centre be chaired by someone
like Peter Fenech, a former
Louis Galea yes-man? Why
can’t such a post be delegated
to someone with cultural
vision?
Magnanimity is not one of
Edgar Galea Curmi’s virtues.
***
Gaddafi’s last words were
as peculiar as Austin Gatt’s
bewildered reply after being
called a ‘fucking wanker’ by a
student.
Perhaps someone should
bring back the student.
The news that Arriva will
introduce new extra buses
came as no surprise, but
what did come as a shock
was that these buses will not
be air-conditioned, and they
fall below the EU emission
requirements.
In our newsroom, the only
man who stood by Austin
Gatt’s reforms was James
Debono. He has commuted
with buses all his life. The
change, he argued, was for the
better.
Until, that is, last Friday, when
he wrote in his blog: “Austin,
I think you owe us this much.
I do not give a fig about the
antics of the drama queens
in your party. In this case,
political responsibility means
ensuring that people are given
what they were promised even
at the cost of losing face”.
Then again, James knows
that many of Austin’s mistakes
are not based on his vision,
but rather on delegating the
implementation process to
people such as Manuel Delia.
Delia, the man who wants
to stand in the next election,
and the man who offered his
resignation, and who has been
kept on.
It says a lot, doesn’t it, about
how it’s all about keeping up
appearances!
20
Opinion
Round and round in circles
I
hope that I will be proven
wrong, but my feeling is
that although we have
been postponing a very
important decision in our
education for years, we
will postpone it yet again
as we are nearly on the eve
of another general election
¬– the perfect time to keep
away from controversial
decisions. But we need to take
this decision now that we are
discussing a new national
curriculum for our children. I
am of course referring to the
decision about the language
of instruction that we should
use in our schools.
The decision should have
been taken at least in 2000,
when we were discussing
the then new national
curriculum. A national
conference dealt with the
issue. There was talk that a
decision would be taken. But
it never was, and here we go
again round and round in
circles.
I have raised the issue again
recently in parliament and
in the media. I made some
waves but I have strong
doubts whether this crucial
decision will be taken.
In the meantime, our
children and young people
will continue to lag behind as
other countries are catching
up with us in the use of
English and overtaking us.
An area where we can do
much better in our education
system is definitely that of
language learning.
We should be disappointed
that only 57% of our fifth
formers passed their Maltese
SEC exam (Grade 1 to 5) this
year. Only 60% of our fifth
For a country where the livelihood of
so many families depends on tourism,
financial and business services and
trade with the rest of the world, it
makes sense for more of our people
to learn other languages, apart from
Maltese and English
formers obtained a pass in
English Language. Those over
40% of our young people who
did not pass their SEC exams
in these two main languages
will find it practically
impossible to continue and
do well in post secondary
education as they will lack the
necessary foundations. They
will have fewer opportunities
to get on in life and do well at
work.
What is even more
disturbing is the fact that
only a quarter of those who
sit for Paper B pass their SEC
exam in Maltese (24%) and
English Language (26%). We
have an education system
where nearly half of our
students are not acquiring the
necessary skills in Maltese
and English. Even those who
pass their SEC exams in
these two languages struggle
when it comes to writing
and speaking skills. Those
who think I am exaggerating
should ask lecturers who
teach at post-secondary and
tertiary level to tell you what
kind of English and Maltese
they come across in the
students’ assignments they
correct.
For a country where the
livelihood of so many families
depends on tourism, financial
and business services and
trade with the rest of the
world, it makes sense for
more of our people to learn
other languages, apart from
Maltese and English. Out of
the 5,058 students who have
just left secondary school
three months ago, only 1,462
(29%) studied Italian; only
1,164 (23%) studied French,
only 262 (5%) studied German
and only 205 (4%) studies
Spanish. To get on in the
world of the 21st century
we need to be competent in
global languages like English
and Spanish. Those who love
Maltese as I do, do not have
to feel threatened when I
say that we need to decide
about the role of Maltese
and English in our education
system.
Maltese and English are
taught in our schools as
if these are two native
languages that our children
acquire automatically
through schooling and
socialisation. But thousands
of Maltese children are being
brought up in families and
educated in schools where
English is not used regularly.
We have also thousands
of children living on these
islands whose first language
in the family, in the school
Destitution and perdition
Claudine Cassar
A
nyone who reads this
column regularly will
know that I am a great
fan of the YMCA. This notfor-profit organisation works
with people who have really hit
rock bottom and are struggling
to claw themselves out of the
situations they find themselves
in – troubled teens from broken
families, victims of domestic
violence, homeless individuals,
people living in substandard
accommodation and so on. The
work they do is vital for the
community and yet it often goes
unnoticed and uncommented
upon.
This week, however, YMCA
was in the news. A homeless
expectant mother who is
currently staying at Dar Nikki
Cassar gave birth in the shelter.
YMCA chairman Jean Paul
Mifsud described the events
as follows. “It just happened.
One moment the water broke,
the other the baby was born.
YMCA phoned the ambulance,
but in the meantime the woman
gave birth, even though the
ambulance did not take long to
arrive”.
As I read the article I could
not help but mull over the fact
that the great majority of us are
truly spoiled. We worry about
petty issues and irritations that
cloud our horizon and we never
stop to consider the fact that
we are truly fortunate and that
there are those amongst us who
have nothing.
It breaks my heart to think of
pregnant mums-to-be who do
not even have a roof over their
heads and who know that their
babies will be born destitute.
Instead of fussing over baby
booties and cute baby grows,
these mums must go through
hell and back worrying about
whether they will even have a
home to take their baby to when
they leave hospital.
In a sense one could say that
this baby is fortunate because
her mother found help and
support from the dedicated
team at the YMCA, however the
reality is that this organisation
is already stretched to breaking
point and sometimes people
have to be turned away.
Dar Nikki Cassar is a relatively
small place and it currently
already houses two babies, three
children and 18 adults. The
shelter can accommodate 22
people, but Jean Paul Mifsud
confirmed that at times they
have had to cram 34 people into
the space. This year, YMCA
have helped over one hundred
people get back on their feet
after losing everything.
Clearly the team working at
the YMCA need all the help
they can get to keep their
excellent initiatives alive, so I
encourage you all to help out.
The newborn and her mother
are destitute – they need
nappies, boxes of formula, baby
clothes and towels, blankets,
bottles, a cot, a baby bath and a
pram. I encourage those of you
who have such equipment and
who no longer need it to contact
YMCA to arrange to make a
donation.
As for those whose kids are
long grown and who no longer
have baby stuff to give away,
the time has come to put your
hands in your pockets (or rather,
your finger on your mobile
keypad) to make a donation
to a truly worthwhile cause.
Donations can be made via SMS
on 50618088 for €4.66 and on
50619212 for €11.65.
As the Tesco slogan goes –
every little helps!
***
My daughters cannot wait for
next Monday. After attending
their weekly Catechism class
they will be returning home
to dress up as a fairy and
a princess and they will be
going trick or treating up
our street. The mummies of
all the kids who live close by
have agreed to stock up on
sweets and a mummy will
accompany the motley crew
of disguised neighbourhood
kids as they knock on the door
of people who are in on the
arrangement.
My kids can’t wait! They have
been talking about the outfits
they will wear and the sweets
they will eat for a whole month
now. “Is Halloween tomorrow,
mummy?” is a question that I
have heard repeated time and
time again and I am delighted
that I will soon be able to reply
in the affirmative.
So as you can imagine I was
rather taken aback to find out
that this little project of ours
is likely to cost our offspring
their souls. Indeed, according
to Fr Kalċidon Vassallo, the
parish priest in Balzan, the
road to hell is paved with treats
and other yummy stuff.
In bold text and with a
depiction of a skull that bears
a close resemblance to a light
bulb, Fr Kalċidon warns us that
Halloween will introduce our
children to the occult. Indeed,
as my daughter prances around
in her Tinkerbell costume she
will be steeped in a culture of
death, encouraging her to get
involved in sadistic rituals,
mutilation, sexual violence and
Satanism.
What’s more, the damage
does not stop there! In fact Fr
Kalcidon is also concerned
that exposure to the imagery
commonly associated with
Halloween will terrify our
easily impressionable tots, who
will bear emotional scars for
the rest of their lives.
Sigh.
My kids are much more likely
to be scared stiff at a Good
Friday procession than at a
trick or treating outing.
Really, someone needs to tell
these rather excitable priests to
get a grip.
21
Opinion
Evarist Bartolo
Charles Mangion
The economy: how
others see us
material and methods have
been developed to help
foreigners learn Maltese but
our schools do not make any
use of these experiences.
The same goes for the
teaching of English, where
the success we have achieved
in teaching the language to
over a million foreigners has
not been transferred to our
schools to teach our own
youngsters struggling with
English.
We should use the knowhow and experience we
have built in the sector of
the teaching of English as a
foreign language to improve
the teaching of Maltese and
English in our primary and
secondary schools.
We should also urgently
embrace and implement
the proposals of the EU
Commission for Language
Learning at pre-primary
school level. The EU
recommends that we expose
children to three languages
at kindergarten level.
A paper published by
the Commission on 7 July
2011 on language learning
states: “concern has
sometimes been expressed
that a child exposed to
more than one language
may become confused and
mixes them up, slowing
down language development.
Research suggests that
education through the
medium of a second/foreign
language actually enhances
communication awareness
in the first language/mother
tongue. Children who have
access to more than one
language tend to transfer
into the first language/
mother tongue the concepts
and terms they have learned
through the second/foreign
language and vice versa.
Hence, language processing
in a multilingual mind
helps stimulate cognitive
development”.
and in their community, is
not Maltese.
But we have a one-sizefits-all language policy for
all our children and schools.
As this policy ignores our
reality, it has not worked,
and is not working. SEC (and
Junior Lyceum examiners
used to) refer to poor
spelling, weak grasp of
grammar and syntax, poor
reading habits and lack of
imagination and creativity
in their yearly reports on
students’ performance
in English Language and
Maltese SEC and Junior
Lyceum examinations.
To change all this we
need to design appropriate
curricula, examinations,
syllabi, content and
pedagogical methods in
the teaching and learning
of English and Maltese and
other languages.
The Maltese SEC and
MATSEC examination
needs to be split into two
different papers: a language
component and another
in literature. Our students
should be given the option to
choose one of these papers
and a pass in the Maltese
Language SEC and MATSEC
exam should be enough to
qualify them for a course
at the University of Malta.
Steps should be taken to
modernise the teaching of
Maltese and choose content
that is more relevant to the
young people going through
their education now.
Forcing thousands of our
teenagers to do a Maltese
SEC syllabus that is closer
to a pre-industrial Malta 80
years ago than to their daily
life makes them hate Maltese
literature and creates the
impression that Maltese is a
strange and remote language.
We have very good
contemporary writers who
are creating literature that
is very relevant for young
people growing up today, but
this literature is kept away
from our schools. Teaching
A
s this year moves slowly
to its end, it is a good
time to take a look of
how others judge us on the
management of the economy.
This is a healthy exercise
as it is often detached from
the bias that most of us have
when looking internally at
what we are doing. When
important international
organisations like the
European Commission, the
rating agencies or the IMF
express an opinion on the
state of health of a particular
economy it is usually an
objective one even if one may
disagree with some of their
conclusions.
The most recent comments
made on our economy
were those of the European
Commission in its report on
competitiveness. This report
acknowledges the successes
of our economy since we
joined the EU. Our economy
is slowly but surely moving
away from traditional low
added-value economic
activities to ‘high-innovation
intensity sectors and
technology driven industries’.
Undoubtedly, the growth in
our financial services sector
and the e-gaming industry
are indeed an important
achievement.
But the other aspects of our
economy are less successful.
As the Commission rightly
points out, ‘the government
continues to pursue the
reform agenda. However,
the often prevailing impetus
and ambitious plans are not
always backed up by clear
and reliable implementation
strategies’. Those who are
familiar with the way these
reports are worded will
confirm that if one were to
interpret this understatement
Evarist Bartolo is shadow
minister for education.
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to the totals of official debt,
total debt to GDP reaches
80% – a level that is even
more inconsistent with an A1
rating’.
This statement clearly
contradicts the government’s
often repeated statement that
Malta’s downgrading was a
result of the global economic
crisis on which we had no
control.
Earlier this year, the
European Commission
issued its assessment of
Malta’s progress in the
National Reform Programme
for 2011. This report is full of
comments that clearly show
doubt on the government
ability to address the longterm issues facing our
economy. Just to quote one
of them, the commission
states: The National Reform
Programme does not put
forward a comprehensive
active ageing strategy to
accompany an ongoing and
envisage legislative (pensions’
reform) changes. The
relatively high incidence of
undeclared work poses a risk
to the sustainability of public
finances in the long run.’
The credibility of the
government in the good
governance of our economy
will never be enhanced
by repeating the populist
slogans of ‘finanzi fis-sod’
or ‘par idejn sodi’. These
may be cheap pre-election
propaganda, but they do
not convince the objective
international observers
whose opinion on our
economy can influence the
flow of investment in our
economy by foreign and local
operators.
Charles Mangion is
PL Spokesperson on the
Economy.
gozotoday
€1.00
T CLIC
D AND FIRS
what the EC is saying is that
the government often tries
to given the impression that
it has long-term plans in
place of the upgrading or
our economy, but there is
little substance built in these
plans because no provisions
are made for effective
implementation’.
The same report confirms
the loss in competitiveness
that the Maltese economy
experienced in the last
decade. To quote the EC
report ‘estimated labour
productivity per hour
is currently about 18
percentage points below
the EU average and about
32 percentage points below
the eurozone average’. Lack
of competitiveness is the
main reason why foreign
direct investment in the
non-financial sector is
unacceptably low and this
does not augur well for
many rational sectors of our
economy.
The recent report by
Moody’s on the downgrading
of Malta’s debt also
provides us with some
sobering analysis. The often
vaunted success in the
government’s short-term
fiscal management is seen
in a different perspective by
rating agencies. To quote
Moody’s: ‘Beyond future
potential problems related
to structural rigidities in
the fiscal accounts and
the government’s reliance
on continuous one-off
measures to consolidate
the government’s deficit,
Malta’s debt metrics do not
compare well with those of
A1-rated countries as the
Czech Republic, Estonia
and Korea. When Malta’s
guaranteed debt is added
/(-
is being molthe company
t and the tax“IN the meantime,
the Governmen it transpires
ly-coddled by
for 2010,
I the accounts
b ay of the
AT ALL LEADING STATIONERS
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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.
Times journalist refutes that he is
a defender of the ‘establishment’
Last week’s edition of MaltaToday claims I am well known
for having “close links to the
establishment” as well as for having “the right information at the
right time.”
As a journalist, I can only be
proud of having the right information at the right time but the
entirely unfounded assertion that
I am in cahoots with any “establishment” is laughable.
The three examples the anonymous writer gives on Saviour
Balzan’s newspaper to back up
this claim are all false.
The first refers to this month’s
episode involving e-mails
between the opposition leader
Joseph Muscat and RTK radio
reporter Sabrina Agius.
According to MaltaToday, the
e-mails were leaked to me, Christian Peregin, and were only not
published due to a last minute
decision by my editor Steve Mallia, which the author of the piece
insinuates was taken because of
the clash with Muammar Gaddafi’s death by Misurata militia.
It is an outright lie that the emails were leaked to me. I would
not be ashamed if it were so but
it is an outright fabrication. MaltaToday, as is often the case, did
not check its facts before going to
print. I was never contacted.
Contrary to what the paper
stated, Col. Gaddafi’s killing
had no bearing on the decision.
That’s another fabrication.
Next, MaltaToday claimed
that I was leaked information by
the police in the case of former
Sliema mayor Nikki Dimech,
who, interestingly, was left unnamed.
This information comes, ironically, from a private e-mail exchange between Mr Dimech and
myself, which originated after I
wrote a story saying that a refuse
collector employed by the Sliema
council was charged with bribery
involving Mr Dimech.
My information came from
an official channel, the police’s
CMRU, in response to a series
of legitimate questions seeking
an update on the never-ending
case of the beleaguered Sliema
council. The police gave me pub-
lic information officially and this
was in no way “leaked”. (I have
the e-mails to prove it, but the
truth is probably not of interest
to you).
This is why I had no problem
telling Mr Dimech that the information came from the police and
that some details were provided
by sources whom I could not
name.
MaltaToday cites a third
example where I was supposedly given information by “the
establishment”, referring to the
Cyrus Engerer case involving his
ex-boyfriend.
I am obliged as a matter of
ethics (the definition of this can
be found in the dictionary) and
protected by the law, so I cannot
say how this information was
obtained.
But it should be amply clear
to any intelligent observer that
the last thing the establishment
wanted released 10 days after
Engerer’s PN defection and one
day after MaltaToday claimed
political discrimination in a case
against his father, was another
story which could make it seem
like Mr Engerer was the target of
retaliation.
MaltaToday faults me for having the right information at the
right time because he insinuates
that the information is given to
me illicitly as part of orchestrated
campaign against those people
who happen to be in his favour.
In reality, he knows I am my
own man and, much more importantly, so does everyone else I
work with.
He implied this himself in an
article he wrote only two months
ago titled ‘The Gospel According to Edgar’ where he takes
Edgar Galea Curmi to task for
allegedly complaining with The
Times about articles written by
myself and my colleagues Kurt
Sansone and Mark Micallef. He
mentioned our names because
he knows that our articles are not
written to flatter any establishment. However, consistency is
not Mr Balzan’s strong point.
More significantly, Mr Balzan
contradicted himself another
time before that, when he be-
came the fourth person from his
media organisation to personally
congratulate me on a story I had
written, and which I feel I should
use by way of contradiction and
explanation to defend my journalistic integrity.
In May, the Press Club chose
to award me press reporter of
the year primarily for my stories
regarding ministerial pay rises –
possibly the most embarrassing
story to the establishment during
the course of this legislature.
My persistence on this case,
together with that of Nationalist
MP Jean Pierre Farrugia, forced
the Cabinet to partially refund
their raises and MPs to renounce
them completely.
But that was not what Saviour
Balzan and Roger Degiorgio
personally congratulated me on
when I attended a divorce debate
organised by MaltaToday.
They congratulated me for
being the journalist to uncover
that ministers actually gave
themselves an additional duty allowance rise of €6,000 which had
been previously unannounced
– a story which revived the honoraria debacle all over again, to the
detriment of the establishment.
This is just one story which I
feel makes it amply clear that
although I make it a point to be
courteous with everyone I meet
– including several people at
MaltaToday whom I admire and
respect – I cannot credibly be
accused of being in the pocket of
the undefined “establishment”.
This is just a fabrication which
Mr Balzan chooses to put into
print.
Christian Peregin
Journalist
The Times of Malta
Editorial note:
Unlike the editor of The
Sunday Times Steve Mallia who
refuses to publish a letter from
MaltaToday, we are publishing
Mr Peregin’s letter, uncensored
and unabridged.
How sad that Mr Peregin
cannot read. We did not write
that the Sunday Times did not
publish the ‘Muscat- Sabrina
Agius story’ because of Gaddafi’s
demise.
We said and we quote: “Joseph
Muscat’s ‘unsophisticated’ email
conversation with an RTK journalist would have been blown
out of proportion had it not
been for the grisly and macabre
execution by Misurata militia
of Gaddafi in Sirte, which took
place on the following day.”
In other words Muscat was
saved from further embarrassment because of the timely killing of Gaddafi.
Peregin insists that he was not
the recipient of the emails. Well
if this was not the case why was
he the one who contacted Sabrina Agius and Joseph Muscat.
Mr Peregin refers to illicit or
non-illicit means. We never suggested such a thing. But more
importantly unlike Editor Steve
Mallia who chickened out and
did not publish the emails, we
assure Mr Peregin that we would
have published them without
fear or favour.
We have no qualms over publishing such emails.
But this is not the point.
It is no coincidence that The
Times and Net news are recipients of certain information and
spin. The Times for which Mr
Peregin works for has been the
extended arm of the establishment for years and there is no
need of any indepth reporting to
confirm this.
Not only that, but the Strickland foundation which is intrinsically the mother organisation
over the Times has made it a
point to involve the de Marco
family, to such an extent that Dr
Mario de Marco who aspires to
be a leading figure in the postelection PN is a Strickland Foundation. And more importantly,
the Managing Director Adrian
Hillman was the campaign manager for the late Guido de Marco.
Mr Peregin talks of consistency.
Mr Balzan denies having ever
talked to Mr Peregin and more
so applauded him on any story.
It is not Mr Balzan’s style to
congratulate anyone or engage
in conversations with people he
does not know. Mr Balzan does
not know Mr Peregin and would
hardly recognise him. Indeed
why should Mr Balzan congratulate Mr Peregin on a story that
was first reported by MaltaToday
and buried and never reported in
The Times way back in 2008.
He also refers to Dr de Giorgio,
and it has to be said that Dr de
Giorgio simply passed a comment that “Mr Peregin had a
good story.”
That in no way means that Mr
Peregin’s is absolved from being
scrutinised before or after. How
simplistic of Peregin!
We are also not impressed if
Mr Peregin nominated himself
to win a Press Club award.
Mr Peregin talks about being
informed by the Police (CMRU)
about cases and investigations
being carried, rather strange,
because the CMRU is traditionally very much against divulging
information to the press perhaps
Mr Peregin may share with us
the emails and correspondence
he says he has.
Finally Mr Peregin quotes
references to what was written
about him some time in MaltaToday.
All these comments were made
before this summer and really
are rather irrelevant.
It does not reflect the main
accusations made by Mr Balzan.
That this summer, Mr Peregin
was privy to confidential information related to Nationalist
dissidents namely Nikki Dimech
and Cyrus Engerer. People the
PN would very much like to nail.
More so since they have no more
value to the party.
Changing ones’ opinion about
Mr Peregin has nothing to do
with consistency but with a
realisation that perceptions are
usually based on the premise
that someone has noble intentions and is not involved in spin.
That I am afraid is not our view
of the situation.
Which is why, the accusation
that Mr Peregin and the media
house he works for are close to
the establishment, and a mouthpiece of Castille, is more than
justified.
Marcel Cutajar’s resignation No involvement with Sunday Times
We refer to the article that appeared
in the press and on the news portal.
Regretfully, this reportage does not
depict the facts comprehensively, as
reported by the Authority to the Editor of Illum.
In its response to the editor of Illum newspaper, the Authority made
it clear that Mr Cutajar had, in fact,
resigned immediately upon being
requested to do so. The article fails
to mention this fact and states that
MCA asked the Board Member to
resign and stopped there.
Furthermore, the article continues
to state that ‘...the tender itself has
not been annulled or withdrawn.’
The article fails to point out that the
bid in question was in fact withdrawn and this particular bidder had
to forgo the bid bond.
Finally we wish to reiterate that, as
reported to the Illum newspaper, Mr
Cutajar had a 7% share in a consortium that submitted a bid in response
to the tender issued by the MCA. It
is therefore incorrect to state that
“Marcel Cutajar, was asked to resign
after submitting a bid for a tender
issued by the same authority, in the
name of a company he is directly
involved with.”
In this particular tender, the MCA
decided it was not ethical for a board
member (whatever his participation quota) to participate in a tender
issued by same authority and police
involvement was not necessary.
Mandy Calleja
Communications Coordinator
Malta Communications Authority
I refer to the article
penned by Saviour Balzan entitled ‘The truth
about MaltaToday’ which
appeared on the edition
of MaltaToday dated
October 23, 2011.
In this article it is stated
that “…the very fact that
de Marco and Adrian
Hillman allowed Mallia
to refer to this incident
in his editorial…”. This
assertion implies that I
have or exercise some
form of control over what
is printed in the Sunday
Times. This assumption
made by Mr Balzan in
my regard is completely
false. I do not have and
never have had any say
whatsoever in what is
printed in the editorials
or in the editorial policy
of The Times, the Sunday Times or any other
newspaper published by
whoever.
If I have an opinion
which I wish to pass on
to the readers of these
newspapers or any other
newspaper, I do it by
writing and signing an
article and submitting
it for publication as a
political opinion piece.
Mario de Marco
Parliamentary Secretary
for Tourism, the
Environment and Culture
Editorial note:
The de Marco family
has been linked to Times
for years. Dr Mario de
Marco has been nominated on the Strickland
Foundation, replacing his
father, the late Guido de
Marco. In his letter, Dr
de Marco did not deny
that he intervened with
Adrian Hillman – the
managing director – to
remove a comment on Dr
Andrew Borg Cardona’s
blog, which made desultory comments and references to Saviour Balzan’s
late wife.
23
MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016
MANAGING DIRECTOR: ROGER DE GIORGIO
MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN
Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 • Fax: (356) 21 385075
Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: [email protected]
Editorial
Desperate measures
It is probably safe to say that 2011 was
not a good year for Austin Gatt, the
main architect of an ambitious public
transform reform that has largely
failed to live up to popular expectation.
Gatt initially resisted acknowledging the extent of popular dissatisfaction, choosing instead to dismiss his
detractors in the manner we have now
come to expect from Malta’s most
notoriously intransigent minister. At
moments, his defence has bordered
on the ludicrous, such as when he
claimed to be “baffled” when public
(and somewhat offensive) criticism
held him responsible for the tardiness of buses. But he is more credible
when he points towards the occasional
glimmer of hope for the future of Arriva: for instance, the fact that public
transport usage has demonstrably
increased since the reform.
Truth be told, there have been other
pockets of success, too. In Gozo alone,
one can indeed talk about the reform
as the “revolution” it was originally
promised to be: if nothing else, because a functional bus service was
practically non-existent there to begin
with. But in the broader national context, the so-called ‘Arriva revolution’
has clearly failed to arrive, and the
reason for this has less to do with the
quality of the new service itself, than
with the remarkably poor planning
that went into the system as a whole:
the nuts and bolts of the entire operation, from the new and unimproved
route network, to the number of quality of the buses themselves.
As the extent of the popular dissatisfaction became manifest – and
perhaps more cogently, when an
Opposition motion for his censure in
parliament threatened to erode the
government’s majority on this one
issue – Gatt appears to have changed
his tune slightly: first going back to
the drawing board for a new set of
routes, and more recently by announcing that an additional 38 buses would
be needed to supplement the original
266 brought to Malta by Arriva.
On one hand, it is encouraging to
note that a minister of Gatt’s calibre
(and reputation) has finally climbed
down from his high horse, and acknowledged the need for a drastic
rethink. But on several other fronts,
the actions and decisions he has taken
in this direction have opened both
himself and his government to fresh
and arguably more serious criticism.
The first and most glaring problem concerns the quality of the new
buses, which represents a considerable
scaling down of the original reform’s
claims to environment-friendliness.
Admittedly, even at ‘Euro 3’ classification (down two from the original 266
buses) one can still expect an im-
provement over the archaic fleet that
operated until only last June.
But at the same time, this dip in
quality undermines one of the main
pillars that support the potential success of the entire operation, and certainly one of its main selling points.
It also illustrates the basic fact that,
when push comes to shove, all lofty
talk of ‘revolution’ and ‘state-of-theart’ technology tends to disappear in
a puff of hot air, no sooner do the real
problems start to show through the
glossy veneer.
Separately, the Arriva debacle also
suggests that the ministry which so
boastfully unleashed this reform is
now desperately trying to hammer it
back into some semblance of functionality. The downscale in quality
buses is itself indicative of a desperate,
albeit temporary measure – as was the
hurried redesign of the route network
which necessitated those buses in the
first place. In brief, it is a classic case
of ‘all hands on deck’, with Transport
Malta trying to salvage a foundering
ship by patching up individual leaks as
they spring up – only to cause a new
leak with every earlier one that was
plugged.
All things told, this is not the sort
of impression the Nationalist administration is keen to project, and
which, to be fair, it normally does:
i.e., that of a capable, dependable and
efficient machine, which prides itself
on getting all the important things
right. More significantly, it is the very
opposite of the impression normally
imparted by Austin Gatt himself. In
fact, considering that the same Gatt
is one of the veterans of the Nationalist Cabinet – widely regarded as the
government’s main motor when it
comes to taking action and delivering
the goods – the entire Arriva situation
should really be ringing alarm bells at
Castille. To extend an earlier metaphor, it is as though a fire has broken
out in the main engine room... threatening to engulf not just the hopes of
a turnaround on the public transport
front, but possibly even the safety of
the government’s already slender hold
on power.
This last detail, together with specific timing of events, suggests yet
another dimension to this affair. After
all, it was only when he felt threatened by one individual backbencher
that Gatt belatedly acknowledged his
own responsibility for the situation,
and took steps (however faltering) to
redress it.
And while Franco Debono’s action
does undeniably smack of a certain
disloyalty to a colleague in distress, it
nonetheless also illustrates an important truism about the Gonzi’s administration. Evidently, it needs to have its
arm twisted every once in a while.
Quote of the week
“I’m on the side of the party, not on his side. He should not continue to embarrass the party, government and country”
- PN MP Franco Debono on Transport Minister Austin Gatt
24
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25
maltatoday,
THIS WEEK
SUNDAY, 30 OCTOBER 2011
CULTURE | TV | FILM
CINEMA LISTINGS
FOOD | WHAT’S ON
Red Elecktrick, nominated for Best Band
Your favourite
bands need you
Voting is now open for the Bay Music Awards, taking place on December 12.
See page 36
26
THIS WEEK
WHAT’S ON
MUSIC
OCTOBER 30
A Little Sunday Night
Music: Duo Concertante
Concert at Music Room,
St James Cavalier, Valletta
at 19:00. Featuring Lino
Pirotta – clarinet, Gisele
Grima – piano. Programme:
Pierne Canzonetta, SaintSaens Sonata in Eb, Debussy
Preludes (selection), Milhaud
Duo Concertante, Honegger
Sonatina, Poulenc Sonata,
Debussy Preludes (selection),
Rabaud Solo de Concours.
NOVEMBER 2
Performers’ Platform:
Preludes, Waltzes and
more
Performance by Myra Cassar
at Music Room, St James
Cavalier, Valletta at 12:30.
Programme: Bach Little
Prelude in C minor, Fiocco
Andante, Clementi - Sonatina
no.6, Gedike Miniature in
D minor, Schumann Knight
Rupert, Durand Premiere
Valse, Pirates of the Caribbean
Flood Time.
NOVEMBER 3
An encounter with Dmitry
Zolotyhin
A chance to meet the
Russian film actor at The
Russian Centre for Science
and Culture, Valletta, 19:00.
Followed by the showing of
episodes from films featuring
Zolotyhin acting the role
of Peter I in Young Russia
and The Youth of Peter I.
Organised as part of the
celebrations of Unity Day in
Russia.
The Bacche kick into
their second weekend
at MITP, Valletta
NOVEMBER 3
Spotlight Series: A
Chamber Concert
Absurd! Theatencore
tackle Eugene Ionesco’s
Exit the King
Concert at Sala Isouard,
Manoel Theatre, Valletta
at 20:00. Featuring Clare
Ghigo – mezzo soprano,
Lino Pirotta - clarinet, Tricia
Dawn Williams, Veronique
Vella - piano, Tatjana Chircop
- violin and Rebecca Hall
- flute. Programme: works
by Veronique Vella, Katrina
Burton, Alex Vella Gregory
and Gyorgi Ligeti.
ART
ENDS TODAY
NOVEMBER 5
160th Anniversary Special
Concert by St Philip Band
St Philip Band of Żebbuġ
concludes its 160th
anniversary celebrations
with a special concert, the
fourth this year, Arena,
under the patronage of the
President of the Republic held
at MonteKristo, Ħal Farruġ
Road, Limits of Siġġiewi.
Featuring soprano Joan
Mangion, tenor Joe Aquilina,
baritone Alfred Camilleri
and the Mirabitur choir
directed by Simone Attard.
More information: www.
bandasanfilep.com.mt.
NOVEMBER 5
Gala Concert (Malta
International Choir
Competition & Festival)
Concert Featuring the Malta
Philharmonic Orchestra at
Republic Hall, Mediterranean
Conference Centre, Valletta
from 19.30. Conductor: Gabor
Hollerung. Organised by the
Malta Tourism Authority.
Bookings: www.mcc.com.mt.
2.5%
on your
gs
n
i
v
a
S
o
r
u
E
Ritty Tacsum and Her
Humanoids
Exhibition of ‘weird’
photographs and installation
work at St James Cavalier,
Valletta.
NOVEMBER 4 – JANUARY 7
Modern Artistic
Sensibilities in Maltese
Art
An exhibition of modern
and contemporary art works
curated by Dr Joseph Paul
Cassar (Maryland University
College and resident Art
Educator for the New York
Times) in conjunction with
the launch of his latest
publication on modern art
in Malta. at Heritage Malta
Gozo Area Exhibition Hall,
St Martin’s Quarter Street,
The Citadel, Victoria, Gozo.
Opening hours: Monday to
Friday: 09:00-16:00; Saturday:
09:00- 12:00.
NOVEMBER 7
Third concert of the MCI
Season
Concert featuring The
University Junior College
No
fe
es
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27
THIS WEEK
WHAT’S ON
Orchestra & Soloists, under
the direction of Mro. Manuel
Pirotta at Grand Exhibition
Hall of the Hotel Le Meridien
St Julian’s at 19:00.
THEATRE
TONIGHT AND NOVEMBER
4-6
The Bacchae
MADC production of the
Ancient Greek tragedy by
Euripides at MITP Theatre, St
Christopher’s Street, Valletta.
Directed by Toni Attard. Cast
includes Kurt Castillo, Manuel
Cauchi, Pia Zammit, Kevin
Drake, Philip Leone Ganado,
Coryse Borg, Maria Pia Meli,
Marta Vella, Laura Best,
Veronica Stivala and Nicola
Abela Garrett.
Tickets can be booked from
www.madc.biz.
TONIGHT
The Great Gatsby
Teatru Manoel and American
Drama Group Europe
(ADGE) present Tour de
Force Theatre in The Great
Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
at Manoel Theatre. Starts
at 20:00. Directed by Peter
Joucla (Importance of Being
Earnest, 2010). Featuring an
all-American cast. Tickets are
at €15, €20, €25. Bookings:
[email protected].
mt, 21 246389.
NOVEMBER 4-6
Exit the King
Performance by Theatencore
of Eugene Ionesco’s classic
of the theatre of the absurd
at St James Cavalier, Valletta
at 20:00. Directed by Tyrone
Grima, and includes in the
cast Malcolm Galea, in the
title role, together with
Monica Attard, Stephanie
Bugeja, Joe Pace, Nadine
Genovese and Mik Pisani.
Tickets at €15. Bookings: 21
223200, [email protected].
The play is rated 16.
MAGIC SHOW
November 5, 6
The Magic Variety
A night of magicians,
illusionists and entertainers
at Manoel Theatre at 19:30
on Saturday November 5 and
16:00 on Sunday November
6. Presented by Manoel
Theatre in collaboration with
B.L.E.E.P Entertainment.
DESSERT
AFTERNOON
TODAY
Homebakes Vol. 31 – My
Little Treats
First edition of a new Coach
and Horses initiative (Valley
Road, Msida) from 18:30.
Individuals will be invited to
bake cupcakes, sweets and
other goodies for all to enjoy.
Today, Martha from My Little
Treats will supply cupcakes.
Entrance is free.
ARTISAN FAIR
TODAY
Malta Artisan Fair Kalkara
Halloween edition of the
Malta Artisans Fair, held
at the Kalkara Waterfront
between 10:00 to 17:00.
Featuring local food and
crafts. Fancy dress is
encouraged. For more
information and a full list of
participants search for ‘Malta
Artisan Fair’ on Facebook.
RE-ENACTMENT
OCTOBER 30
In Guardia Parade
A historical re-enactment
organised by the Malta
Tourism Authority at Fort St
Elmo from 11:00.
The first edition of Homebakes
at Coach and Horses, Valley
Road, Msida
28
FOOD
RESTO OF THE WEEK
Chinese flavours on the water’s edge
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Nan Yaun
Over the last six years Li Lang
Chao and his wife Xuemei have
been bringing the flavours
of the Orient to the Valletta
Waterfront, right by the water’s
edge.
Xuemei, or Charmaine as she
is known locally, runs the floor
attending to your every need –
the perfect hostess – while her
husband takes up responsibility
in the kitchen, whipping up
the most tremendous Chinese
dishes.
Delicious crispy spring rolls,
crispy duck served with hoisin
sauce and pancakes, a variety of
stir fries and sizzling dishes are
all part of the delicious menu at
Nan Yuan.
Dine on the beautiful
waterfront enjoying the local
sunshine and architecture
of Malta’s capital city while
enjoying traditional dishes
from China. All the traditional
Chinese favourites are available
along with a few innovative
dishes such as deep-fried crab
claws cooked in breadcrumbs.
Mini set menus allow you
to add a dish or two to the set
menu making it a little bit more
flexible.
Aside from the delicious
food, Nan Yuan also stocks
an impressive selection of
2009 Feudo Principi di Butera
Nero d’Avola Sicilia
A fantastic Nero d’Avola that
pizza companies could make a
fortune by delivering a cellarcool bottle of Nero d’Avola with
the hot pies. Something about
cured meats like pepperoni,
guanciale, bacon, salami, etc.,
arejust undeniably perfect with
Nero d’Avola. This wine is dark
and smoky while black cherry
aromas dominate. It has a fairly
mild flavor with firm, mouthdrying tannins and a long finish.
Happily paired with roasted pork
where
it performed admirably, and of
course, I got to pair the leftover
wine with some pizza a day later.
premium brandies and other
liquers.
For dessert there is a great
selection of ice-creams and
cakes and to keep the little ones
happy get them an ice-cream in
a Disney-shaped cup or other
fun desserts.
Take advantage of the 10%
discount on takeaways.
Nan Yuan is open daily 12:00 –
14:30 (closed Monday); 19:00
– 23:00
Address: Vault 14, Valletta
Water Front, Valletta
Contact: 21225310
Email: [email protected]
29
FINE FOOD OF THE WEEK
Pungent aromas and intense flavours
Cinnamon
The pungent aroma of
cinnamon is unmistakable.
Extremely flexible, this
spice in can be used for both
sweet and savoury dishes.
It was once a highly prized
spice with wars fought over
it and it was even used as
currency in some parts of
the world.
Cinnamon is one of the
oldest spices known. It was
mentioned in the Bible
and was used in ancient
Egypt not only as beverage
flavouring and medicine,
but also as an embalming
agent.
It was so highly treasured
that it was considered more
precious than gold. Around
this time, cinnamon also
received much attention in
China, which is reflected
in its mention in one of the
earliest books on Chinese
botanical medicine, dated
around 2,700 B.C.
Cinnamon’s popularity
continued throughout
history. It became one of the
most relied upon spices in
Medieval Europe. Due to its
demand, cinnamon became
one of the first commodities
traded regularly between
the Near East and Europe.
Ceylon cinnamon is
produced in Sri Lanka, India,
Madagascar, Brazil and the
Caribbean, while cassia is
mainly produced in China,
Vietnam and Indonesia.
Health benefits
Cinnamon is also reputed
to have a number of health
benefits, including lowering
of cholesterol and reducing
blood sugar levels. It is also
thought to have anti fungal,
antibacterial and antiparasitic properties.
A rich source of magnese,
dietary fibre, iron and
calcium, the combination
helps to remove bile,
preventing damage to colon
cells, which in turn helps
to prevent colon cancer
and ease irritable bowel
syndrome.
Cinnamon has been known
to help provide relief from
menstrual cramping, aids
the secretion of breast milk,
eases headaches and boosts
the immune system.
How to select and store
Cinnamon is available in
either stick or powder form.
While the sticks can be
stored for longer, the ground
powder has a stronger
flavour. If possible, smell the
cinnamon to make sure that
it has a sweet smell – that’s
how you know it’s fresh.
Oftentimes, both Ceylon
cinnamon and Chinese
cinnamon (cassia) are labeled
as cinnamon. The Ceylon
variety is sweeter and more
refined, though difficult to
find.
Just like with other
dried spices, try to select
organically grown cinnamon
since this will give you
more assurance that it has
not been irradiated (among
other potential adverse
effects, irradiating cinnamon
may lead to a significant
decrease in its vitamin C and
carotenoid content).
Cinnamon should be kept
in a tightly sealed glass
container in a cool, dark
and dry place. Ground
cinnamon will keep for
about six months, while
cinnamon sticks will stay
fresh for about one year
stored this way. Alternatively,
you can extend their shelf
life by storing them in the
refrigerator. To check to
see if it is still fresh, smell
the cinnamon. If it does
not smell sweet, it is no
longer fresh and should be
discarded.
Serving ideas
Healthy cinnamon toast:
Drizzle flax seed oil onto
whole wheat toast and then
sprinkle with cinnamon and
honey.
Simmer cinnamon sticks
with soymilk and honey
for a deliciously warming
beverage.
Adding ground cinnamon
to black beans served with
nachos will give them a
uniquely delicious taste.
Healthy sauté lamb with
eggplant, raisins and
cinnamon sticks to create
a Middle Eastern inspired
meal.
Add ground cinnamon
when preparing curries.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Cinnamon rolls
Ingredients
Dough:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
700g all-purpose flour
1 package (7 grams) active dry yeast
240ml milk
75 grams unsalted butter
66g granulated white sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
Filling:
•
•
•
•
160g packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
110g unsalted butter, cold (cut into
pieces)
½ cup light raisins (optional)
Sugar Glaze:
•
•
58g powdered (confectioners or icing)
sugar
1 tablespoon half-and-half (light
cream)
Method
1. In the bowl of your electric mixer, with
the paddle attachment, combine the
flour and the yeast.
2. In a small saucepan, stirring
constantly, heat the milk, butter,
sugar, and salt just till warm (approx
50°C) and the butter is almost melted.
3. Gradually pour the milk mixture into
the flour mixture, with the mixer on
low speed.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after
each addition. Beat on high speed for
three minutes.
5. Replace the paddle attachment with
the dough hook (or do the kneading
by hand), and knead in as much of
the remaining flour until you make a
moderately soft dough that is smooth
and elastic
6. Shape into a ball. Place the dough
7.
8.
9.
10.
into a greased bowl, turning once.
Cover and let rise in a warm place till
double (approximately 1-1 ½ hours).
When the dough has doubled in size
punch it down. Place onto a lightly
floured surface, cover with a clean
towel, and let rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the ingredients
for the filling. In a medium-sized bowl
place the brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Stir to combine. Cut in the cold butter
with a pastry blender, or two knives,
until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.
After about 10 minutes, roll the
dough into a 30 cm square. Sprinkle
the filling evenly over the rolled out
dough and top with raisins (if desired).
Carefully roll the dough into a log and
pinch the edges to seal. Slice the roll
into eight equal-sized pieces. Arrange
dough pieces on a greased baking
pan.
11. Cover dough loosely with clear plastic
wrap, leaving room for rolls to rise for
approximately 45 minutes.
12. Break any surface bubbles with a
toothpick. Brush dough with half-andhalf or light cream. Bake 190°C oven
for 25 to 30 minutes or till light brown.
13. Drizzle with icing sugar glaze.
30
THIS WEEK
FILM
IN CINEMAS TODAY
St James Cavalier
Valletta
Tel. 21 223200
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ IRON MAN ★ ★ ★ ★ HEART OF STEEL
★ ★ ★ STEELY ★ ★ STEELY DAN ★ RUSTED
How to train your robot
The Fighter (16)
18:45
Séraphine (12)
21:00
Embassy Cinemas
Valletta
Tel. 21 227436, 21245818
The Adventures of Tintin (3D) (U)
10:15, 13:45, 16:10, 18:35, 21:00
The Three Musketeers (U)
10:30, 14:05, 16:20, 18:40, 20:55
The Debt (16)
16:00, 20:50
Johnny English Reborn (PG)
10:00, 12:15, 14:30, 16:45, 19:00,
21:15
Footloose (12)
10:15, 13:45, 16:10, 18:30, 21:00
Dolphin Tale (U)
10:20, 14:00, 16:20, 18:25
The Devil’s Double (18)
18:40, 20:55
Eden Cinemas
St Julians
Tel. 23 710 400
14:00, 16:15, 18:30, 20:45, 23:00
Soul Surfer (U)
14:00, 16:15, 18:30, 20:45, 23:00
Dolphin Tale (U)
14:00, 16:15, 18:35, 21:05, 23:35
Real Steel (PG)
14:30, 18:15, 20:50, 23:25
Crazy Stupid Love (14)
14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15, 23:40
The Adventures of Tin Tin: Secret of
the Unicorn (3D) (PG)
14:05, 16:30, 18:50, 21:15, 23:35
Green Lantern (12)
14:00, 16:15, 18:35, 20:55, 23:15
Something Borrowed (12)
14:00, 16:15, 18:35, 20:55, 23:15
Apollo 18 (12)
14:20, 16:15, 18:35, 20:50, 22:55
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (14)
14:20, 18:15, 20:50, 23:25
The Three Musketeers (3D) (U)
14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 21:00, 23:20
Killer Elite (18)
14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:10, 23:35
The Debt (16)
14:05, 16:25, 18:45, 21:05, 23:25
Friends with Benefits (16)
14:10, 16:30, 18:45, 21:05, 23:20
The Art of Getting By (PG)
14:25, 16:35, 18:50, 21:00, 22:55
14:15, 16:30, 18:45, 21:15, 23:35
Footloose (12)
14:05, 16:25, 18:50, 21:10, 23:30
Empire Cinemas
Bugibba
Tel. 21 581 787, 21 581 909
Dolphin Tale (3D) (U)
11:00, 13:40, 16:10, 18:35, 21:00
The Adventures of Tin Tin: Secrets
of The Unicorn (U)
11:15, 14:00, 16:30, 18:55, 21:15
11:00, 14:00, 16:15, 18:30, 21:05
Real Steel (PG)
14:15, 18:00, 20:45
13:40, 16:00, 18:25, 21:00
The Three Musketeers (U)
14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15
Footloose (12)
13:35, 16:05, 18:40, 21:10
For boys only – Hugh Jackman (right) and Dakota Goyo
train a robot for some white-rivet brawling
HOW do you make a film
about robot boxing even remotely engaging? Simple –
you make a film about robot
boxing, and you stop yourself
from trying to do anything
else.
Director Shawn Levy –
crowd-pleaser extraordinaire
responsible for cross-generational hits such as Night at
the Museum (and its sequel)
– presents a film that’s so
easy to scoff at you begin to
suspect it’s really all that innocent.
For starters, the premise
is as simple and airtight as
a fairy tale. We’re taken to
somewhere in the vague future, where robot-boxing has
become a lucrative, national
sport. Charlie Kenton (Hugh
Jackman) was once a robot
boxer of the first league, but a
few bad games have uppercut
him out into bankruptcy, and
he is now reduced to backdoor brawls with scrap yard
leftover robots. His lifelong
friend – and will-they-won’tthey love interest – Bailey
(Evangeline Lilly) meanwhile
tolerates him staying in her
father’s gym, though she’s
at the end of her tether with
Charlie, who appears incapable of getting his groove
back.
One day, Charlie discovers that his ex-girlfriend has
died, leaving behind a son,
Max (Dakota Goyo), who happens to be his. Charlie strikes
a deal with Max’s wealthy
REAL STEE L
(12)
★ ★ ★
By Teodor Reljic
uncle – who is keen to get to
Tuscany for the summer with
his wife – that he will keep
Max while they’re away, on
the condition that he’s paid
$50,000 for the trouble.
The flush of cash gives
Charlie a good kick in the
right direction… what he
wasn’t expecting, though,
was for his estranged son to
have a hidden talent in robot
boxing and, even less so, that
a bond will develop between
the two that’ll be difficult to
break off.
We all know where this is
going – we have a fair share
of Disney films embedded
in our psyche, right? – and,
what’s more, it does actually
go there. But don’t we sometimes go to the movies to feel
reassured? Levy ticks all the
right boxes without you caring, which is the sign of a
populist filmmaker of promise. Like vintage Spielberg, he
balances action and emotion
in a way that’ll make you feel
young again… which is all
the more relevant now that
old Steven seems to be drifting into murky waters… with
the dubious-looking Tin Tin,
not to mention him sponsoring mediocre fare like Cowboys vs. Aliens, as well as
that other – far more bloated,
far more cynical – robot extravaganza: Michael Bay’s
stomping CGI kitschfest, the
Transformers saga.
In a way, this is Transformers’s more honest runt of a
cousin: it reaches out to the
heart – as well as the eyeballs
– and even the special effects
never overwhelm the experience. A lot of this is down
to Jackman. He’s established
himself as a hunk with a heart
of gold, and while he’s never
been the most flexible of actros for precisely that reason,
Charlie is practically written
for him, making suspension
of disbelief practically for the
impossible.
Perhaps it should come with
a ‘Boys Only’ tag, but the fact
remains that it could have
been a lot, lot worse.
The week’s
picks
ADVENTURE
THE ADVENTURES OF TIN TIN:
SECRET OF THE UNICORN
Tintin and his friends
discover directions to a
sunken ship commanded by
Capt. Haddock’s ancestor
and go off on a treasure
hunt.
ROM-COM
THE ART OF GETTING BY
George, a lonely and
fatalistic teen who’s made
it all the way to his senior
year without ever having
done a real day of work,
is befriended by Sally, a
popular but complicated
girl who recognizes in him a
kindred spirit.
ROMANCE
FOOTLOOSE
City kid Ren McCormack
moves to a small town where
rock ‘n’ roll and dancing
have been banned, and his
rebellious spirit shakes up
the populace.
31
TRAVEL
The land of fairytales
Prague
On the UNESCO’s World Heritage list since 1992, the historic
city centre of Prague, the Czech
Republic’s capital city, offers
fantastic weekend breaks. Check
out the characteristic winding
alleys and varying architectural
styles, Romanesque rotundas,
Gothic cathedrals, Baroque and
Renaissance palaces, art nouveau, classicist, cubist and functionalist houses and modern
buildings in this fairy-tale town
of magical beauty in the heart of
Europe.
What to do?
Prague Castle is the most popular sight in Prague. Uncover
the secret of the magic Golden
lane, famous for its picturesque
houses and stories of alchemists
transforming metal into gold.
Discover the St George Basilica
ancestral convent, and learn
about the story of the Black
Tower of Europe’s largest medieval castle.
Stroll around the Royal Gardens of the castle, founded on
the site of the oldest vineyards
and famous for its beautiful
floral ornament or to the Lion’s
Court, an attractive renaissance
building, built in the 1580s,
which used to house wild animals.
Vysehrad or ‘Castle on the
heights’ is a beautiful place to
visit at any time or day or any
time of year. To get into the essence of the place, walk around
the huge, beautiful park that
covers the area. Even more astonishing than the park or historic buildings are the views of
the city, the bridges over Vltava
and the Prague Castle. The
The statues on the Charles Bridge are famed for making wishes come true
best viewing point are from the
Gothic ruins of Libuses Bath’s.
Walks at sunset and by night
are sure to leave an impression
but get yourself oriented before
darkness falls to make sure you
don’t get lost.
Visit the astronomical clock
constructed in 1410 the mechanisms of the clock are still functional. 80 years later the clock
was rebuilt by Hanus and as legend has it, the clockmaker was
blinded by councillors so that
he would never build a greater
instrument. The story goes that
Hanus deliberately damaged the
clock before he died and cursed
the instrument so that anyone
who tried to repair the clock
would have either gone mad or
died. To this day, you can read a
number of things off the clock
but not the time.
Not only is Charles Bridge a
historical jewel, but its statues
can make your wishes come
true. If you feel sceptical, feel
the cobblestones beneath your
feet and experience the mystical atmosphere of the narrow
streets and you will be instantly
converted.
Where to stay?
Take in an aerial view of the city
from one of a number of viewpoints
Start you tour of Prague Castle and
the Gate of Giants which opens out
into the enormous Castle Square
Spend a few nights aboard the
Boatel Admiral (www.admiralbotel.cz), the most luxurious
boatel in Prague. It is situated
right in the centre of the city, anchored to the right bank of the
Vltava offering great access to
the city while offering the peace
and tranquillity of the river.
Treat yourself to a night at the
Alchymist Grand Hotel and
Spa (www.alchumisthotel.com).
Housed in a magnificent baroque house dating back to the
16th century, this five star hotel
has been sensitively restored to
the true jem it once was.
Stay in the historical part of
Prague at the Certovka (www.
certovka.cz). The Baroque building offers views of the river from
its 21 rooms that are equipped
with modern convenicences.
A few steps away from the
Charles Bridge and the Old
Town Square the 7 Angels
(www.7angels.cz) is a boutique
hotel that keeps up the magic
of the area. Stay in the standard
double rooms with king size antiques double beds or in apartments with room for one more
person.
Prague is a great place for
young backpacking travellers
with cheap, clean hostels at every corner. Miss Sophie’s (www.
miss-sophies.com) is affordable,
clean, centrally-located and
steeped in culture, just waiting
to be explored.
Catch a glimpse of the 15th century astronomical clock
where you can read almost anything except the time
Where to eat?
Tasty seven-course menus
serving the best of Czech cuisine
are available at La Degustation
Boheme Bourgoise (www.ladegustation.cz). Menus vary according to seasonal ingredients
available from local producers
and farmers.
Genuine traditional Czech
cuisine is available at the beautiful art nouveau Plzenksa restaurant (www.plzenskarestaurace.cz) in the basement of the
Municipal house. Try the Czech
specialities along with the excellent Pilsner beer. Enjoy the live
music entertainment by a live
accordionist.
The famous Slavie coffee
(www.cafeslavia.cz) house, on
the banks of the River Vltava is
right next door to the national
theatre. Its tradition streches
back to the 19th century, and has
since been a meeting place for
artists and intellectuals alike.
How to get there?
Air Malta operate flights from
Malta to Prague on Monday,
Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
and Sunday with return flights
on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Flights to Prague on Friday
4 November returning on Monday 7 November were priced at
€695 including tax.
32
THIS WEEK
TELEVISION
Santa Messa 11:00 Pianeta mare 11:30 Tg4 12:00 Melaverde 13:20
Pianeta mare - Sulle rotte dei gabbiani 14:00 Life – lo spettacolo della
vita 14:50 Invito a cena con delitto 15:00 TgCom 16:40 Vie d’Italia notizie sul traffico 16:50 L’urlo dei giganti 17:35 TGCom 18:55 Tg4 19:35
Il tenente Colombo 21:30 Rocky II 22:10 TgCom 00:00 I bellissimi di R4
00:05 The Informant!
TVM
07:00 L-Ghodwa t-Tajba 08:00 Faxxikli 08:30 Yep 09:00 L-Quddiesa talHadd 09:50 Malta u lil hinn Minnha 11:30 Hadd Ghalik 12:00 News
In Maltese / Weather Report 12:10 Hadd Ghalik (cont.) 14:00 News in
Maltese 14:06 Hadd Ghalik (cont.) 15:00 Gadgets (repeat) 15:30 TVM
Shop 16:00 News in Maltese 16:10 TVM Shop 16:40 Mixage (repeat)
17:15 Venere (repeat) 18:00 News in Maltese 18:10 Modern Lifestyles
18:40 Style Watch 19:15 Keeping Up Appearances 20:00 L-Ahbarijiet
20:40 Min Imissu 21:45 Kontrattakk 23:15 L-Ahbarijiet 23:30 Malta u
lil hinn Minnha (repeat)
RAI UNO
07:00 Tg1 09:35 Easy Driver 10:00 Programma non specificato 10:30
A sua immagine 10:55 Santa Messa 12:00 Recita dell’Angelus 12:20
Linea verde 13:30 Tg1 14:00 Domenica In – L’Arena 16:00 Che tempo
fa 16:30 Tg1 16:35 Domenica in – Così è la vita 18:50 L’eredità 20:00
Tg1 20:35 Rai TG Sport 5 minuti di recupero 20:40 Soliti ignoti 21:30
Cenerentola 23:10 TG1 60 Secondi 23:30 Speciale Tg1 00:35 Tg1
Notte
NET TV
07:00 Net News 08:45 Teleshopping 10:30 Ucuh 12:00 Teleshopping
13:00 Net News 13:05 Simpatici 14:05 Teleshopping 14:20 Wheelpsin
15:00 Net News 15:05 Animal Diaries 16:00 Newsroom 17:00 Sport
Extra 18:00 Net News 18:10 Flusek 18:40 Ghalik fl-Ewropa 18:55
Wheelspin 19:45 Net News 20:30 Déjà Vu 21:30 Net News 21:32 Replay 23:15 Net News
RAI DUE
07:40 Slash 08:10 Huntik 08:40 Culto Evangelico in occasione della
domenica della Riforma 09:40 Pole Position 10:25 Mondiale Formula
1 2011 12:15 Pole Position 13:00 Tg2 Giorno 13:30 Tg2 Motori 13:40
Meteo 2 13:45 Quelli che aspettano 15:30 Quelli che il calcio 17:05 Tg2
L.I.S. 17:10 RaiSport Stadio Sprint 18:00 RaiSport 90° Minuto 19:30
Mondiale Formula 1 2011 20:30 Tg2 – 20.30 21:00 NCIS 21:45 Hawaii
Five-0 22:35 La Domenica Sportiva 01:00 Tg2 01:20 Protestantesimo
ONE
06:30 One News 06:45 Unici 07:00 Pink Panther 07:30 Bil-kelma t-tajba
08:00 Folji 09:35 Aroma Kitchen 11:00 Better Living 11:45 Teleshopping
12:00 Kwalita Malta 12:45 La Morna Morna 13:30 One News 13:40
X’Hadd maghna! 16:00 Showbiz 17:30 One News 17:40 L-Argument
19:30 One News
20:05 Klassi Ghalina 20:30 Arani Issa
23:15 One News 23:45 Bla Agenda 02:30 Kwalita Malta 03:00 Gawhra
Maltija 03:15 One News 03:45 Arani Issa
00:05 – The Informant! – Rete 4
Tg5 Notte
ITALIA 1
CANALE 5
08:00 Tg5 Mattina 08:50 Le frontiere dello spirito 09:40 TgCom 10:00
Junior 11:55 TGCom – Meteo 5 12:45 Grande Fratello 13:00 Tg5 13:40
Grande Fratello 14:00 Domenica Cinque 18:50 Avanti un altro 20:00 Tg5
20:40 Paperissima Sprint 21:10 Distretto di Polizia 11 23:40 Terra! 00:40
BBC ENTERTAINMENT 300
06:00 Buzz and Tell 06:05 Tweenies 06:25 Gigglebiz 06:40 Me Too! 07:00 Charlie and Lola 07:10
Buzz and Tell 07:15 Buzz and Tell 07:20 Tweenies
07:40 Gigglebiz 07:55 Me Too! 08:15 Charlie
and Lola 08:30 Buzz and Tell 08:35 Buzz and
Tell 08:45 As Time Goes By 09:15 One Foot in the
Grave 09:50 Doctor Who 10:35 The Weakest Link
11:20 Casualty 12:10 Incredible Journeys with
Steve Leonard 13:00 The Weakest Link 13:45 The
Weakest Link 14:35 Doctors 15:05 Doctors 15:35
Doctors 16:05 Doctors 16:35 Doctors 17:05 Doctor Who 17:50 As Time Goes By 18:20 One Foot in
the Grave 18:50 Coast 19:50 Incredible Journeys
with Steve Leonard 20:40 Lark Rise to Candleford
21:35 The Fixer 22:20 Five Daughters 23:15 As
Time Goes By 23:45 The Weakest Link
AXN 301
06:00 Road to Justice: Il Giustiziere 06:50 Renegade 07:40 Torta di riso... 08:05 Torta di riso...
08:30 Walker, Texas Ranger 09:20 Walker, Texas
Ranger 10:10 Top 20 Countdown 11:00 Sports
Crash 11:55 Torta di riso... 12:25 Torta di riso...
12:55 Torta di riso... 14:00 Verdetto finale [15]
15:50 Torta di riso... 16:15 Torta di riso... 16:45
Torta di riso... 17:15 Lasko 18:20 Hot Fuzz [15]
20:00 Torta di riso... 20:30 Torta di riso... 21:00
Ransom [15] 22:40 The Shield 23:35 Sextastic
E! ENTERTAINMENT 306
06:00 20 Hottest Women of the Web 08:00 12
Sexiest Vegas Jobs 09:00 Forbes 20 Cash Queens
of Music 10:00 E! News 10:30 Keeping up with
the Kardashians: Kris the Cougar Jenner 11:00
Taylor Swift 12:00 Christina Aguilera 14:00 Selena Gomez 15:00 E! News 15:30 Ice Loves Coco:
Baby Got Business 16:00 Justin Bieber: My World
17:00 Katy Perry 18:00 Nicki Minaj 19:00 E! News
19:30 Khloe and Lamar: Unbreakable 20:00 Holly’s World: Operation Angel 20:30 Holly’s World:
Broadway or Bust 21:00 Kourtney and Kim Take
New York: In a New York Minute 21:30 Kourtney
and Kim Take New York: One Last Dash 22:00
Keeping up with the Kardashians: The Former Mrs
Jenner 22:30 Kendra 23:00 E! News 23:30 Dr
90210: New Beginnings and New Horizons
FINE LIVING NETWORK 307
06:00 Yoga Zone 06:25 Yoga Zone 06:50 Carib-
Darkman [Film]
21:00 on AXN Sci-Fi (Channel 303)
07:40 Spongebob 08:05 Samson & Neon 08:15 Rollbots 08:40 Ben 10:
Forza Aliena 09:05 Ben 10: Forza Aliena 09:30 Zoids 10:00 Beyblade
Metal Fusion 10:25 Power Rangers Samurai 10:55 Bakugan – Gundalian
Invaders 11:20 Trasformers: Prime
11:45 Trasformers: Prime 12:15 Zig & Sharko 12:25 Studio Aperto 13:00
bean Workout 07:15 Caribbean Workout 07:40
Diva on a Dime 08:05 Kitchen Impossible 08:30
Bathtastic! 09:00 House Hunters International
09:25 Divine Design 09:50 Color Splash 10:15
World’s Most Extreme Homes 10:40 The Wandering Golfer 11:05 Planet Food 12:00 Saturday
Kitchen 12:25 Rachael Rays Tasty Travels 12:50
Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello 13:15
Giada’s Weekend Getaways 13:45 Kitchen Impossible 14:10 Bathtastic! 14:35 Small Space, Big
Style 15:00 My Big Amazing Renovations 15:25
Hollywood Pets 15:50 State of Style: 2010 Fall/
Winter Collection 16:15 Secret Spaces 17:05 Easy
Entertaining with Michael Chiarello 17:30 The
Wandering Golfer 18:00 House Hunters 18:25
Selling New York 18:55 Offbeat America 19:20
Color Splash 19:45 Divine Design 20:10 House
Hunters International 20:35 House Hunters International 21:00 Jodie Kidd’s Fashion Avenue 21:30
Jodie Kidd’s Fashion Avenue 21:55 State of Style:
2011 Fall/Winter Collection 22:20 State of Style:
2011 Fall/Winter Collection 22:45 In the Name of
Love 23:35 Secret Spaces
ZONE REALITY 308
06:00 First In: Response Unit 06:25 First In:
Response Unit 06:50 Real Strange 07:15 Real
Strange 07:40 City Medicals 08:30 Baby ER 08:55
Baby ER 09:20 Paramedics 10:10 Animal Miracles
11:00 White Out 11:50 First In: Response Unit
12:15 First In: Response Unit 12:40 City Medicals
13:30 Baby ER 13:55 Baby ER 14:20 Paramedics
15:10 Animal Miracles 16:00 White Out 16:50
Real Strange 17:15 Real Strange 17:40 Border
Force 18:30 Search and Rescue 18:55 Search and
Rescue 19:20 Medical Detectives 19:45 Medical
Detectives 20:10 Over the Edge 20:35 Over the
Edge 21:00 Crime Stories 21:50 The Real Ncis
22:40 Real Interrogations 23:05 Real Interrogations 23:30 Psychic Private Eyes
ITV GRANADA 309
08:00 To Be Announced 12:00 To Be Announced
16:00 To Be Announced 20:00 To Be Announced
TCM 310
06:00 Easy to Wed 07:55 Message in a Bottle [12]
10:20 The Woman in Green [PG] 11:40 Driven [PG]
13:55 Camille 16:00 The Last Challenge 17:50 It
Happened at the World’s Fair [PG] 19:50 Big Jake
Guida al Campionato 14:00 Grand Prix 14:30 Il gatto... e il cappello matto
15:25 TgCom 16:00 Dragon Ball Z: L’invasione di Neo Nameck 16:35
TgCom 17:05 Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman 17:35 TgCom 18:30
Studio Aperto 19:00 Bau Boys 19:30 Big Mama 20:25 TgCom 21:30 A
& F – Ale e Franz Show 22:30 Zelig Off 23:25 Così fan tutte 00:20 Controcampo – Linea notte
RETE 4
07:45 Superpartes 08:50 Documentario 09:20 Magnifica Italia 10:00
[12] 22:00 Rome 23:15 Rome
MGM CHANNEL 312
06:40 Nashville Beat 08:10 Green Journey 09:45
Impasse [PG] 11:25 Mystery Date [12] 13:00
Hickey & Boggs [15] 14:50 MGM’s Big Screen
15:05 Man of La Mancha [PG] 17:10 Hannah
and Her Sisters [15] 18:55 Khartoum [PG] 21:00
Gothic [18] 22:25 The Curse of Inferno 23:50 Cold
Heaven [15]
DIVA UNIVERSAL 313
06:00 Rex: A Cop’s Friend 07:00 Rex: A Cop’s
Friend 08:00 Alice 08:30 Alice 09:00 Wind at
My Back 09:55 Wind at My Back 10:49 Il Maestro
11:00 Wolff’s Turf 12:00 Rosemary and Thyme
13:00 Christmas in Connecticut [U] 14:47 Coming
Out 15:00 The Cradle Will Fall [12] 16:48 Great
Women 17:00 JAG 18:00 JAG 19:00 Agatha Christie’s Marple 20:50 Great Women 21:00 ER 21:55
ER 22:50 Great Women 23:00 JAG
THE STYLE NETWORK 352
06:00 Big Boutique 06:30 Big Boutique 07:00
Videofashion Daily 08:00 Top 10 08:25 Top 10
08:55 Homes with Style 09:20 Homes with Style
09:50 Open House 10:20 Open House 10:50 Videofashion News 11:20 Videofashion News 11:50
How Do I Look? 12:45 Videofashion Daily 13:45
Open House 14:10 Open House 14:40 Kimora: Life
in the Fab Lane 15:35 Big Rich Texas 16:30 Big
Rich Texas 17:25 How Do I Look? 18:25 How Do
I Look? 19:20 Fashion Police 19:45 Clean House
Comes Clean 20:15 Clean House 21:10 Jerseylicious 22:05 Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane 23:00
Top 10 23:30 Top 10
FOOD NETWORK HD 372
06:00 Chopped 06:50 Guy’s Big Bite 07:15 Everyday Italian 07:40 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 08:05 Ten Dollar Dinners 08:30 Paula’s Best
Dishes 08:55 Barefoot Contessa 09:20 Aarti Party
09:45 Boy Meets Grill 10:10 Unwrapped 10:35
Paula’s Party 11:25 Everyday Italian 11:50 Paula’s
Best Dishes 12:15 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 12:40 World Café 13:05 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 13:30 Good Eats 13:55 Unwrapped 14:20
Boy Meets Grill 14:45 Chopped 15:35 Guy’s Big
Bite 16:00 Barefoot Contessa 16:25 Paula’s Best
Dishes 16:50 Aarti Party 17:15 World Café 17:40
RAI TRE
07:45 La grande vallata 08:40 Maruzzella 10:05 Doc Martin 10:55
TGR Estovest 11:15 TGR Mediterraneo 11:40 TGR RegionEuropa 12:00
Tg3 12:10 Tg3 persone 12:11 Meteo 3 12:25 TeleCamere Salute 12:55
Prima della Prima 13:25 Passepartout 14:00 Tg Regione 14:15 Tg3
14:30 In 1/2 h 15:00 Tg3 L.I.S. 15:05 Alle falde del Kilimangiaro 18:55
Meteo 3 19:00 Tg3 19:30 Tg Regione 20:00 Blob 20:10 Che tempo che
fa 21:30 Report 23:25 Tg3 23:35 Tg Regione 23:40 Lilit - In un mondo
migliore 00:40 Tg3
Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 18:05 Good Eats 18:30
Food Network Challenge 19:20 Unwrapped 19:45
Unwrapped 20:10 Lidia’s Italy 20:35 Lidia’s Italy
21:00 Barefoot Contessa 21:25 Barefoot Contessa 21:50 World Café 22:40 World Café 23:05
Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 23:30 Good Eats 23:55
Unwrapped
DISCOVERY CHANNEL 400
That About? 13:48 Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the
Impossible 14:15 Weird Connections 14:45 Bang
Goes the Theory 15:10 The Gadget Show 15:35
The Gadget Show 16:00 Future Weapons 16:50
Extreme Bodies 17:40 Through the Wormhole
with Morgan Freeman 18:30 Moon Machines
19:20 The World’s Strangest UFO Stories 20:10
Speed Junkie 21:00 Through the Wormhole with
Morgan Freeman 21:50 Moon Machines 22:40
Bang Goes the Theory 23:05 Green Wheels 23:30
The World’s Strangest UFO Stories
06:00 Fifth Gear 06:25 How Do They Do It?: Airbus, Fire Engines and Ketchup 06:50 How Does
it Work? 07:15 Brainiac 08:10 Mythbusters:
Bug Special 09:05 Destroyed in Seconds 09:35
Destroyed in Seconds 10:00 Extreme Engineering: Widening the Panama Canal 10:55 Oil Strike
11:50 Dirty Jobs: Poo Pot Maker 12:45 Deadliest
Catch: Greenhorns 13:40 Mythbusters: Bug Special 14:35 American Chopper: Senior vs Junior:
Fallen Heroes Bike, Bling Star Bike Part 1 15:30
Rides: Dominator 16:25 James May’s Man Lab
17:20 Shocking Survival Videos: Pilot Whale Attack 17:50 Shocking Survival Videos: Sinking of
the Oceanos 18:15 River Monsters: Congo Killer
19:10 Extreme Fishing with Robson Green 20:05
Danger Coast 20:35 Border Security 21:00 Nothing Personal: Young Guns 21:55 US Navy: Pirate
Hunters 22:50 Moments of Terror 23:45 Kidnap
and Rescue: Cartel Vengeance
06:00 Joan Cusack’s Local Flavour 06:50 Superhomes 07:15 Amazing Vacation Homes 07:40
City Chic 08:30 1000 Places to See Before You
Die 09:20 Beach House Down Under 10:10 Bizarre Foods 11:00 My Greek Kitchen 11:25 Joan
Cusack’s Local Flavour 12:15 Miami Ink 13:05 LA
Ink 13:55 Superhomes 14:20 Amazing Vacation
Homes 14:45 Flip That House 15:10 Bizarre Foods
16:00 City Chic 16:50 1000 Places to See Before
You Die 17:40 Joan Cusack’s Local Flavour 18:30
Beach House Down Under 19:20 Flip That House
19:45 The Restorer Guy 20:10 Superhomes 20:35
Amazing Vacation Homes 21:00 Miami Ink 21:50
LA Ink 22:40 1000 Places to See Before You Die
23:30 City Chic
DISCOVERY WORLD 401
INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY 404
06:00 Timewatch 06:50 Timewatch 07:45 Timewatch 08:35 Timewatch 09:30 Timewatch 10:20
Timewatch 11:15 Timewatch 12:10 Timewatch
13:00 Timewatch 13:55 Trashopolis 14:50 Monsoon Railway 15:40 South Africa Walks 16:05
Buena Vista Fishing Club 16:35 Against The Tide
17:30 Out of the Wild Venezuela 17:55 Through
Hell and High Water 18:20 I Shouldn’t Be Alive
19:10 Hitler’s Heroes 20:05 Hitler’s Heroes 21:00
Hitler’s Secret Science 21:55 Raging Planet 22:50
Fugitive Strike Force 23:45 True Horror with Anthony Head
06:00 Forensic Detectives 06:45 Murder Shift
07:35 Mystery ER 08:20 Real Emergency Calls
08:45 Real Emergency Calls 09:05 The Prosecutors 09:50 The FBI Files 10:40 Murder Shift 11:25
On the Case with Paula Zahn 12:15 Disappeared
13:00 Mystery ER 13:50 Real Emergency Calls
14:15 Real Emergency Calls 14:35 The Prosecutors 15:20 Forensic Detectives 16:10 Murder Shift
17:00 The FBI Files 17:45 Real Emergency Calls
18:10 Mystery ER 18:55 Street Patrol 19:20 On
the Case with Paula Zahn 20:10 Disappeared
21:00 Nightmare Next Door 21:50 I Almost Got
Away With It 22:40 Couples Who Kill 23:30 Cuff
Me If You Can
DISCOVERY SCIENCE 402
06:00 The World’s Strangest UFO Stories 06:58
Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible 07:25
Weird Connections 07:55 Da Vinci’s Machines
08:45 Prototype This 09:35 What’s That About?
10:25 What’s That About? 11:15 What’s That
About? 12:05 What’s That About? 12:55 What’s
30 Rock Y5 Ep22: Everything Sunny All The Time Always [Drama Series]
22:30 on melita more (Channel 802)
DISCOVERY TRAVEL & LIVING 403
ANIMAL PLANET 405
06:00 Project Puppy 06:25 Michaela’s Animal
Road Trip 07:15 Breed: All About It 07:40 The
Really Wild Show 08:10 Baby Planet 09:05 Natural Born Hunters 09:30 Jeff Corwin Unleashed:
Tiny Furniture [Film]
29 October at 21:00 on Sundance HD (Channel 331)
33
THIS WEEK
TELEVISION
The Little Mermaid 09:15 The Little Mermaid
09:40 The Little Mermaid 10:00 The Hive 10:10
Jungle Junction 10:25 Jake and the Neverland
Pirates 10:40 Imagination Movers 11:05 LazyTown 11:30 Handy Manny 11:45 Jake and the
Neverland Pirates 12:00 Jungle Junction 12:15
The Hive 12:25 Imagination Movers 12:50 Jake
and the Neverland Pirates 13:05 Jungle Junction
13:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:05 Handy
Manny 14:20 Jake and the Neverland Pirates
14:35 Jake and the Neverland Pirates 14:50 Jungle Junction 15:05 LazyTown 15:30 Imagination
Movers 15:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 16:20
Handy Manny 16:35 Jungle Junction 16:50 The
Hive 17:00 Little Einsteins 17:25 Jake and the
Neverland Pirates 17:40 Handy Manny 17:55
Timmy Time 18:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
18:25 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 18:50 Jake and
the Neverland Pirates 19:00 Jake and the Neverland Pirates 19:10 The Little Mermaid 19:35
The Little Mermaid 20:00 The Little Mermaid
20:25 Timmy Time 20:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 20:55 Handy Manny 21:10 Jungle Junction 21:25 Jungle Junction 21:35 JoJo’s Circus
21:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 22:20 Special
Agent Oso 22:35 Special Agent Oso 22:50 Jungle Junction 23:05 Jungle Junction 23:15 Little
Einsteins 23:40 Higglytown Heroes 23:55 Higglytown Heroes
MTV 500
06:00 Breakfast Club 08:00 Nothing but Hits
11:00 Hosted Top 20 13:00 Triple Play 14:00 The
10 Biggest Tracks of the Week 15:00 MTV Base
UK Chart 16:00 Dancefloor Chart 17:00 Audrina
17:30 Degrassi: The Next Generation 18:00 The
Family Crews 18:30 Paris Hilton’s British Best
Friend 19:30 Plain Jane 20:30 The Evolution Of
21:00 16 and Pregnant 22:00 Jersey Shore 23:00
Music Mix
Toy Story 3
“Toy Story 3” welcomes Woody (voice of Tom Hanks), Buzz (voice of Tim Allen) and the whole gang
back to the big screen as Andy prepares to depart for college and his loyal toys find themselves in…
day care! These untamed tots with their sticky little fingers do not play nice, so it’s all for one and
one for all as plans for the great escape get underway. A few new faces – some plastic, some plush
– join the adventure, including iconic swinging bachelor and Barbie’s counterpart Ken (voice of
Michael Keaton), a thespian hedgehog named Mr. Pricklepants (voice of Timothy Dalton) and a pink,
strawberry-scented teddy bear called Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear (voice of Ned Beatty).
19:15 on melita movies (Channel 801)
Namibia Off Road 10:00 The Crocodile Hunter
10:55 Dogs 101 11:50 Mutant Planet 12:45
Mutant Planet 13:40 Must Love Cats 14:35 Bad
Dog 15:30 My Cat from Hell 16:25 Into the Pride
17:20 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 18:15
Queens of the Savannah: The Art of Seduction
19:10 Dogs 101 20:05 Beast Lands 21:00 Wildest Africa 21:55 Whale Wars 22:50 Untamed and
Uncut 23:45 Dogs 101
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 406
06:00 Dog Whisperer: Molly, Jane, and Genoa
07:00 Raptor Force 08:00 The Bandits of Selous 09:00 Asteroid Impact 10:00 Classified:
Secret Service Files: Miami Undercover 11:00
Dog Whisperer: Desperate Housedogs 12:00 Dog
Whisperer: Tigger and Dan 13:00 Make Me a Dino
14:00 When Crocs Ate Dinos 15:00 The First Jesus?
16:00 Gospel of Judas 17:00 Bible’s Buried Secrets
18:00 Bible’s Buried Secrets 19:00 Classified: Secret Service Files: United Nations Lockdown 20:00
Inside: The Mob Squad 21:00 Lethal Action 22:00
Earth Investigated: Man-Made Disasters 23:00
Inside: The Mob Squad
16:00 People of the Sea 17:00 Cruising the South
China Sea 18:00 Globe Trekker 19:00 Planet
Sports 20:00 Wild Carpathia 21:00 Cruise Today
21:30 Life’s a Trip 22:00 Globe Trekker 23:00 It’s
a Woman’s World
BIO 411
07:00 Bio: Hugh Laurie 07:30 Hardcore Pawn:
The Gambler 08:00 Hardcore Pawn: Skulls and
Scoundrels 08:30 Hardcore Pawn: Fool’s Gold
09:00 Bio: Hugh Laurie 10:00 Pictures of Status Quo 11:30 The Role that Changed My Life: I
Fell for a Vampire 12:00 Pawn Stars: Aw Shucks!
12:30 Pawn Stars: Pinball Wizards 13:00 Hardcore Pawn: Cash Kings 13:30 Hardcore Pawn: The
Gambler 14:00 Hardcore Pawn: Skulls and Scoundrels 14:30 Hardcore Pawn: Fool’s Gold 15:00
Bio: Hugh Laurie 16:00 Pictures of Status Quo
17:30 The Role that Changed My Life: I Fell for
a Vampire 18:00 Pawn Stars: Aw Shucks! 18:30
Pawn Stars: Pinball Wizards 19:00 Thintervention with Jackie Warner: Sweat Is Sexy 20:00 The
Real Housewives Of Miami: Miami Housewives
Reunion 21:30 Party Mamas: Sion 22:00 To Be
Announced
NAT GEO WILD 407
06:00 Invaders 07:00 Shark Men 08:00 Caught in
the Act 09:00 Rescue Ink 10:00 Shark Men 11:00
Swamp Men 12:00 Shane Untamed 13:00 Fishzilla 14:00 How Big Can It Get 15:00 How Big Can
It Get 16:00 How Big Can It Get 17:00 Invaders
18:00 World’s Wildest Encounters 19:00 Deepsea
Under the Pole 20:00 Ultimate Predator 21:00
World’s Wildest Encounters 22:00 Deepsea Under
the Pole 23:00 Shane Untamed
NAT GEO ADVENTURE 409
06:00 Deadliest Journeys 06:25 Exploring the
Vine 06:50 Exploring the Vine 07:15 Amazing Adventures of a Nobody USA 07:45 Nomads 08:35
Cooking The World 09:25 Graham’s World 09:50
Graham’s World 10:20 Which Way To 11:15 Deadliest Journeys 11:40 Deadliest Journeys 12:10
Exploring the Vine 12:35 Exploring the Vine 13:05
Nomads 14:00 Cooking The World 14:55 Graham’s
World 15:20 Graham’s World 15:50 Which Way To
16:45 Deadliest Journeys 17:10 Deadliest Journeys 17:40 Exploring the Vine 18:05 Exploring
the Vine 18:30 Amazing Adventures of a Nobody
USA 19:00 Making Tracks 19:25 Making Tracks
19:55 Nomads 21:45 Graham’s World 22:10 Graham’s World 22:40 Which Way To 23:35 Banged
up Abroad
HISTORY 412
06:00 Terry Jones’ Great Map Mystery: St David’s
to Holywell 06:30 Terry Jones’ Great Map Mystery: Chester to Holyhead 07:00 The Cosmos: A
Beginner’s Guide: Space Exploration 07:30 Pawn
Stars: Ace in the Hole 08:00 American Restoration: Buttered Up 08:30 American Restoration:
Suck Up 09:00 Pawn Stars: Getting a Head 09:30
Pawn Stars: Darth Pawn 10:00 American Restoration: Buttered Up 10:30 American Restoration:
Suck Up 11:00 American Pickers: The Emu Chase
12:00 Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy:
Larry and the Superpig 13:00 Only in America
with Larry the Cable Guy: Larry Goes North 14:00
Pawn Stars: Darth Pawn 14:30 American Restoration: Buttered Up 15:00 American Pickers: The
Emu Chase 16:00 Only in America with Larry the
Cable Guy: Larry and the Superpig 17:00 Only
in America with Larry the Cable Guy: Larry Goes
North 18:00 UFO Files: China’s Roswell 19:00
Mounted in Alaska: Growlin’ and Howlin’ 19:30
Mounted in Alaska: Maneaters 20:00 Pawn Stars:
Darth Pawn 20:30 American Restoration: Suck Up
21:00 American Pickers: The Emu Chase 22:00
UFO Hunters: Alien Crashes 23:00 Treasure from
the Dark Ages
DISCOVERY HD SHOWCASE 420
TRAVEL CHANNEL 410
06:00 Globe Trekker 07:00 Cruise Today 07:30
Glutton for Punishment 08:00 Glutton for Punishment 08:30 Flavours of Greece 09:00 Great
Scenic Railways - Australia 10:00 Safari Stopovers
11:00 Globe Trekker 12:00 Planet Food 13:00
Food Tripper 14:00 Essential 15:00 Globe Trekker
16:00 Deadliest Catch 16:50 Last Flight of the
Space Shuttle 17:40 GT Racer 18:30 Mythbusters
19:20 Discovery Atlas 21:00 Deadliest Catch
21:50 Last Flight of the Space Shuttle 22:40
Extreme Explosions 23:30 Rising: Rebuilding
Ground Zero
06:00 Prehistoric New York 06:50 Prehistoric
Chicago 07:35 Time Warp 08:00 Gold Rush:
Alaska 08:50 Sci-Trek 09:35 Mythbusters 10:25
Discovery Atlas 11:10 American Chopper: Senior
vs Junior 12:00 GT Racer 12:50 FutureCar 13:35
FutureCar 14:25 Extreme Explosions 15:15
Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman
MEZZO 510
Parents 19:15 The Penguins of Madagascar 19:40
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf 20:55 SpongeBob
SquarePants 21:20 Avatar: The Legend of Aang
21:45 My Life as a Teenage Robot 22:10 The
Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius 22:35
CatDog 23:00 SpongeBob SquarePants 23:25
The Fairly Odd Parents 23:50 The Mighty B
NAT GEO HD 421
06:15 Shark Men 07:05 Monkey Thieves 07:30
Shark Men 08:20 Hunter Hunted 09:10 Hunter
Hunted 10:00 Hunter Hunted 10:50 Hunter
Hunted 11:40 Shark Men 12:30 MegaStructures
13:20 Hunter Hunted 14:10 Is It Real? 15:00 Is It
Real? 15:50 Monkey Thieves 16:15 Mega Breakdown 17:05 Generals at War 17:55 MegaStructures 18:45 Shark Men 19:35 Monkey Thieves
20:00 Frogs: The Thin Green Line 20:50 Animals
at the Edge 21:40 Fight Masters 22:30 Frogs: The
Thin Green Line 23:20 Animals at the Edge
DISNEY CHANNEL 450
06:00 The Suite Life on Deck 06:25 Phineas and
Ferb 06:50 Good Luck Charlie 07:15 Shake it up
07:40 Fish Hooks 08:05 Wizards of Waverly Place
08:30 The Thirteenth Year 10:00 So Random
10:25 Shake it up 10:50 DISNEY FAIRIES 11:15
Good Luck Charlie 11:40 Fish Hooks 12:00 Wizards of Waverly Place 12:25 Stitch 12:50 Shake
it up 13:15 Fish Hooks 13:35 Good Luck Charlie
14:00 Phineas and Ferb 14:20 Phineas and Ferb
14:30 Phineas and Ferb 14:45 My Babysitter’s
a Vampire 15:10 Shake it up 15:30 So Random
16:00 Jonas 16:20 My Babysitter’s a Vampire
16:45 Wizards of Waverly Place 17:10 Sonny
With a Chance 17:30 Phineas and Ferb 17:55
The Replacements 18:20 The Suite Life of Zack
and Cody 18:45 My Babysitter’s a Vampire 20:15
Wizards of Waverly Place 20:40 The Suite Life on
Deck 21:05 Sonny With a Chance 21:30 Hannah
Montana 21:55 Kim Possible 22:20 The Replacements 22:45 The Replacements 23:10 The Fairly
Odd Parents 23:35 The Fairly Odd Parents
NICKELODEON 452
06:15 Ni Hao, Kai-Lan 06:40 Kikoriki 07:05
Go, Diego, Go! 07:30 Dora the Explorer 07:55
Dora the Explorer 08:20 Bubble Guppies 08:45
SpongeBob SquarePants 09:10 SpongeBob
SquarePants 09:35 The Penguins of Madagascar
10:00 The Penguins of Madagascar 10:25 CatDog
10:50 The Fairly Odd Parents 11:15 SpongeBob
SquarePants 11:40 Power Rangers Samurai
12:05 The Troop 12:30 Drake and Josh 12:55
iCarly 13:20 SpongeBob SquarePants 13:45 Back
to the Barnyard 14:10 My Life as a Teenage Robot
14:40 Avatar: The Legend of Aang 15:05 Power
Rangers Samurai 15:30 SpongeBob SquarePants
15:55 iCarly 16:20 Big Time Rush 16:45 True
Jackson, VP 17:10 The Elephant Princess 17:35
SpongeBob SquarePants 18:00 SpongeBob
SquarePants 18:25 CatDog 18:50 The Fairly Odd
JIM JAM 458
06:00 Barney and Friends 06:25 Tigga and Togga
06:30 Tigga and Togga 06:35 Igloo-Gloo 06:50
Jarmies 07:05 Anthony Ant 07:20 Dorothy the
Dinosaur 07:30 Barney and Friends 07:55 Tigga
and Togga 08:00 Jakers: The Adventures of Piggley Winks 08:25 See The Sea 08:30 James the
Cat 08:35 Fluffy Gardens 08:43 Fluffy Gardens
08:50 James the Cat 08:55 Kipper 09:05 Connie the Cow 09:15 The Mighty Jungle 09:30 Mio
Mao 09:35 Mio Mao 09:40 P.B. Bear and Friends
09:45 P.B. Bear and Friends 09:50 Kipper 10:00
James the Cat 10:05 Fluffy Gardens 10:13 Fluffy
Gardens 10:20 James the Cat 10:25 See The Sea
10:30 Anthony Ant 10:42 Anthony Ant 10:55
Anthony Ant 11:07 Anthony Ant 11:20 Anthony
Ant 11:32 Anthony Ant 11:45 Anthony Ant
Anthony Ant 12:35 Rubbadubbers 12:45 Oswald
13:00 Barney and Friends 13:25 Dorothy the
Dinosaur 13:35 Bob the Builder 13:45 Thomas
and Friends 13:53 Thomas and Friends 14:00
Bob the Builder 14:10 Jarmies 14:25 IglooGloo 14:40 Rubbadubbers 14:50 Oswald 15:05
Anthony Ant 15:20 Dorothy the Dinosaur 15:30
Barney and Friends 15:55 Tigga and Togga 16:00
Ant 16:37 Anthony Ant 16:50 Anthony Ant
Ant 18:05 Pingu 18:10 Pingu 18:15 Tiny Planets
18:20 Pingu 18:25 Tiny Planets 18:30 The Hoobs
18:55 Gazoon 19:00 Tork 19:07 Dougie in Disguise 19:15 The Magic Key 19:25 Slim Pig 19:35
Angelina Ballerina 19:50 The Magic Key 20:00
The Hoobs 20:25 Gazoon 20:30 Pingu 20:35 Tiny
Planets 20:40 Pingu 20:45 Tork 20:52 Dougie in
Disguise 21:00 Rubbadubbers 21:10 Igloo-Gloo
21:25 Jakers: The Adventures of Piggley Winks
21:50 Tigga and Togga 21:55 Tigga and Togga
22:00 Rubbadubbers 22:10 Oswald 22:25 Jarmies 22:40 Bob the Builder 22:50 Thomas and
Friends 22:57 Thomas and Friends 23:05 Bob the
Builder 23:15 Dorothy the Dinosaur 23:25 Barney and Friends 23:50 Anthony Ant
09:00 À communiquer 13:00 À communiquer
14:35 À communiquer 15:00 Jazz Icons 17:00
À communiquer 20:30 À communiquer 22:05 À
communiquer 22:35 À communiquer
EUROSPORT 600
08:30 WTA Tennis 10:30 Speedway Grand Prix
Motorcycle Racing 11:30 Speedway Grand Prix
12:30 Players Tour Championship Snooker 14:30
WTA Tennis 16:00 Live: WTA Tennis: Istanbul:
Final [Live] 18:00 Players Tour Championship
Snooker 19:45 Motorsports Weekend 20:00 Boxing 21:30 WTA Tennis 23:00 Players Tour Championship Snooker
EUROSPORT2 601
07:30 Eurosport 2 Morning News 10:00 NCAA Big
Ten, American Football 12:00 Eurosport2 News
12:15 NCAA American Football 14:00 Motocross
Racing 16:00 World Championship, Sepaktakraw
17:00 Motocross Racing [Live] 19:00 NCAA
American Football 20:30 Eurosport2 News 21:00
Motocross Racing 22:15 WTA Tennis
ESPN CLASSIC 1 603
06:00 DTM Greatest Races 07:00 Prem Classics
07:30 Prem Classics 08:00 Tour de France Cycling 09:00 Prem Classics 09:30 Prem Classics
10:00 DTM Greatest Races 11:00 Tour de France
Cycling 12:00 Tour de France Cycling 13:00 DTM
Greatest Races 14:00 Prem Classics 14:30 Prem
Classics 15:00 Prem Classics 15:30 Prem Classics
16:00 Great Goals of European Football 17:00
FIFA World Cup Classic Matches 18:00 FIFA World
Cup Classic Matches 19:00 Bundesliga Classics
20:00 Bundesliga Classics 21:00 Straight Outta
L.A. 22:00 DTM Greatest Races 23:00 DTM Greatest Races
YACHT&SAIL 611
06:00 Cruises to a World of Discovery 07:00 Hot
Water 08:00 Des Top News 08:15 Classic Boat
08:45 World Boat 09:45 Sea Master Sailing
10:15 Dive On 10:45 Des Top News 11:00 Classic
Boat 11:30 The Aquanauts 12:00 The Aquanauts
12:30 Hot Water 13:30 Des Top News 13:45
Classic Boat 14:15 Rolex Spirit of Yachting 14:45
Rolex Spirit of Yachting 15:15 Cruises to a World
of Discovery 16:15 Des Top News 16:30 Classic
Boat 17:00 Life at the Extreme 18:00 Sea...land
18:30 Sea...land 19:00 Des Top News 19:15
Classic Boat 19:45 UIM Class One Championship,
Powerboat Racing 20:15 UIM Class One Championship, Powerboat Racing 20:45 Des Top News
21:00 Life at the Extreme 22:00 Des Top News
22:15 Classic Boat 22:45 World Boat 23:45 Des
Top News
DISNEY JUNIOR 462
06:00 Special Agent Oso 06:15 Mickey Mouse
Clubhouse 06:40 Timmy Time 06:55 Little Einsteins 07:20 The Hive 07:30 Jake and the Neverland Pirates 07:45 Jake and the Neverland
Pirates 08:00 Jungle Junction 08:10 Special
Agent Oso 08:25 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:50
ESPN AMERICA HD 622
07:00 College Football 09:30 College Football
12:00 College Football 14:30 College Football
Final 15:30 NFL Matchup 16:00 Sunday NFL
Countdown 18:00 NFL Football [Live] 21:00 NFL
Football [Live]
34
maltatoday,
HEALTH
Curing back pain through movement
MIREILLE VINCENTI
LAURA SCHEMBRI BSC
(HONS.), MAPPI, SRP
EVIDENCE shows that 6080% of the population in the
Western hemisphere suffer
from back pain at some time
in their life. Many of these
will go on to have recurrent
attacks and some will develop
chronic pain which interferes
with their quality of life.
It is often difficult to diagnose where the pain is coming from as the back is a complex structure and is supplied
by nerves that may become
compressed at one level yet
symptoms are felt radiating
into a different area such as
the hip, leg or foot.
There are many reasons why
people develop back pain.
Sometimes it is related to
muscle imbalances that have
developed due to scoliosis,
poor posture or bad habits.
In this case some muscles become tense or overactive and
may constrict the capillaries
and small nerves that supply
them. Substances are then
released which send messages to the brain to report
the presence of a pain stimulus which causes muscles to
tighten up further as a protective mechanism known as
a spasm.
Alternatively, some people
develop pain due to degenerative disease, inflammation or
injury. Whatever the cause of
the pain, it has become a huge
problem for governments and
employers as illness and disability costs spiral ever upwards.
A major review of all random controlled trials over 30
years concluded that structured exercise programs that
are intensive, supervised and
involving the whole body,
provide the best results in
treating back pain in the subacute and chronic phases.
However, acute back pain
needs careful consideration.
A physiotherapist will assess
the patient thoroughly in order to give the best possible
care and advice.
At this early stage, passive
treatments such as electrotherapy, massage and ice or
heat can be useful for relieving pain and getting the patient moving again.
Avoiding activity increases
risk for chronicity and so
controlled movement should
begin as early as possible. If
symptoms persist, the patient
would be directed to other
health professionals as appropriate.
It has been found that in the
presence of Low Back Pain
the function of the stabilising
(core) muscles of the back are
impaired.
These muscles have been
noted to remain dysfunctional unless they are specifically
retrained by a physiotherapist who can teach the patient how to do the exercises
correctly.
Improvement in pain and
function has been reported
with exercise interventions
based on the inward movement of the lower abdominal
wall.
The exercises should incorporate correct breathing
patterns, as many back pain
sufferers tend to breathe with
the abdominal muscles. The
abdominals should stabilise the spine while the diaphragm and rib muscles control breathing.
Once the pain has decreased
and the patient has regained
control of the core muscles,
then exercise can be directed to improve function by
incorporating larger movements and improving general
fitness. Patients that follow
more specialised programmes
have been found to do better
than others and longitudinal
studies show they maintain
gains for years afterwards.
Prevention is always better
than cure so physiotherapists
have become active in health
promotion and campaigns
aimed at getting the population more active and healthy.
Simple things such as good
sitting and standing posture
and setting up ergonomic
work stations can prevent
back problems developing.
Good habits such as remembering to bend at the knees
and hips rather than through
the back when picking things
up from the floor can prevent the ‘wear and tear’ on
the spine that often leads to
injuries. Optimal quality of
movement is often the key to
a healthy back and pain prevention.
Laura Schembri is a member of The Malta Association
of
Physiotherapists.
For more information visit
www.physiomalta.com.
35
maltatoday,
BOOK REVIEW
A sharp shot of life and death
By Rose Lapira
retired man in his sixties, a rather
dull person, reasonably content
with his mediocre life, who is
trying to make some sense of
his past. A ‘peaceable’ character
– that’s how he sees himself. At
the beginning of the book, Tony
is reminiscing about his school
friends and in particular about
his relationship with Adrian
Finn, a precociously intelligent
boy. Finn goes on to Cambridge,
while Tony in Bristol encounters
the enigmatic Veronica Ford. He
remembers his awkward sexual
experience with her and the end
of the ‘affair’. Veronica starts a
relationship with Finn and they
eventually get married. Tony also
marries, has a child, divorces and
remains on good terms with his
ex-wife. Later, Tony discovers that
Finn has committed suicide.
Barnes’s long-awaited win
TEODOR RELJIC
WHILE Julian Barnes may be an
established figure amongst UK literati, his Booker win on the night
of October 18 was something of
an anomaly, as the 65-year-old
novelist had been shortlisted for
the award three times in the past,
but always failed to secure a win.
This, despite the fact that he has
become a leading figure in British
fiction, taking his place among
the likes of Ian McEwan, Kazuo
Ishiguro and A.S. Byatt as an author of note.
Amusingly enough – and perhaps spurned on by the fact that
he was deprived of the award time
and time again – Barnes had previously described the Booker as
“posh bingo.” After finally winning the coveted literary prize,
however, Barnes qualified his
previous snarkiness in a postceremony press conference: “The
Booker Prize has a tendency to
drive writers a bit mad with lust
and greed and expectation.
“I was saying that the best way to
stay sane is to treat it as ‘posh bingo.’ That means unless and until
you win it, when you realise that
the judges are the wisest heads in
literary Christendom”.
His first Booker nomination was
for 1984’s Flaubert’s Parrot – a
hybrid of fiction and literary biography about an amateur academic
obsessed with the work of French
author Gustave Flaubert. A firm
favourite within the Barnes canon, it is still cited as a go-to book
for Barnes virgins, with its mix
of erudition, wit and the perils of
love – not to mention a plethora
of amusing factoids about Flaubert himself.
Barnes got the Booker’s attention
once again in 1998 with England,
When he finds that Veronica’s
mother, whom he had once met
briefly, left him a small legacy
on her death, and Finn’s diary,
which Veronica refuses to hand
over, Tony tries to make some
sense of this sequence of events
and to find his part in this tragedy. But it soon becomes clear
that when it comes to remembering the past, one edits and erases
memories. This is the focus of the
novel – the mutability of memory.
As Tony tries to understand the
events in his placid, uneventful
life, the story takes on an altogether different path, becoming much
darker and eventually shocking.
After meeting with Veronica in a
bid to try to get Finn’s diary, he is
forced to examine what he thinks
his life has been, and it becomes
clear how unreliable is subjective
memory. Something dark and
forgotten by Tony resurfaces to
confront him. This will make him
re-evaluate his life with shame
and remorse.
The novel is skillfully plotted to
show how the unknown and the
unspoken, what is lost to memory, are as alive as what is remembered. When Adrian commits
suicide, Tony accepts the possibility that this was an existential
decision taken by his friend to
renounce life seeing it as ‘the gift
The Sense of an Ending
By Julian Barnes
Jonathan Cape pp150
ISBN 978-0-224-09415-3
bestowed without
anyone asking for it’.
But more than once
Veronica tells Tony:
‘You just don’t get it’
and neither do we,
the readers, until the
very end. At the end
of the novel, as Tony
has to rethink his
life, the unexpected
revelations will also
make us go over
what we have just
read, so that like Tony we try to
make sense of the ending.
Barnes merits the award for this
is a fine novel, where every word is
chosen with skill, cleverly manipulating the readers, to reveal the
dark mystery at the heart of the
novel, but only at the very end. It
is a short novel but it poses many
philosophical questions. Are our
memories false? How much can
they be trusted? And what about
our ‘forgettings’? How is it logically possible to remember these?
What are the limits of self-knowledge? And how do we reconcile
ourselves to the process of ageing
and death?
‘Is the purpose of life to reconcile
us to its eventual loss’? At the end
of the book one does not feel so
sure that the ending has brought
closure either for Tony or for us.
This might be one of the shortest
books ever to win a major literary
prize but it poses complex, disturbing questions on the human
experience.
READ MORE
Julian Barnes wins Man
Booker Prize
@
http://tinyurl.com/69olpvb
Get paid
while you train!
Julian Barnes, 65, has finally
won the Man Booker Prize
after being shortlisted three
times
England, a satirical science fiction
novel about his home country,
and yet again a few years later with
Arthur & George (2005) – a fictionalised account of the strange
relationship between Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock
Holmes) and a half-Indian solicitor George Edalji.
While Barnes’s more recent
work is considerably darker – The
Sense of an Ending was preceded
by Nothing to be Frightened Of
(2008), a memoir in which the
author grapples with the perennial theme of death – he is widely
known as a writer who can intelligently pair convincing characterdriven stories to often knotted
philosophical ideas, while retaining a dry wit throughout. His 1989
novel The History of the World
in 10 ½ Chapters, for example,
is a collection of brief anecdotes
spanning a wide range of human
history – beginning with a story
from the woodworm that latched
onto Noah’s Ark – with the whole
gradually depicting a funny, sad,
and poignant portrait of human
hope and folly.
This unique opportunity is open to
all workers who earn a minimum
wage (under €160 per week)
from their full-time or part-time
employment.
Now it’s the time to take the
necessary training to improve
your skills and learn new ones.
Do not lose this chance!
Speak to us by calling us on
2165 4940 or send us an email
to [email protected]
Receive €25
per week when
you take free
training at ETC
Terms and conditions apply.
AFTER the usual controversy surrounding awards, Julian Barnes
finally won this year’s Man Booker Prize, having been short-listed
three times before. Many were
predicting that he would again
not win the award with this novel
for it was too short. But I have a
predilection for small books for I
find that they are often powerful
vehicles for big ideas. The concise novel can be imbued with an
intensity which is often lacking
in more sprawling, complex narratives. Julian Barnes’s latest offering – The Sense of an Ending
–belongs to this category. This is
a very slim book, a novella really,
but it is a profound reflection on
life.
The book deals with the mutability of memory, false recollection, remorse, sex, guilt and death.
The elegant presentation of the
hard back edition lined in black
is like a memento mori, and the
very title emphasises the theme
of an ending. The title could also
have been inspired by another
well known book with the same
title written by the eminent critic
Frank Kermode, which contains
a collection of his classic lectures
on literature. One thing is for certain, that by the end of the book
you will not be so sure that this is
an ending.
The narrator, Tony Webster, is a
36
maltatoday,
THIS WEEK
Score a win for your favourite
band this December
89.7 Bay presents the 8th edition of the Bay Music Awards.
The event is set to take place
on Monday, December 12 –
the eve of a public holiday. As
is customary, the Bay Arena
will serve as the venue for the
show, whilst this year’s hosts
Bay Breakfast’s Drew, Drive
time’s Nathan and 89.7 Bay’s
newest addition, Ben Glover
– will keep the crowd hyped
and on their toes between
performances.
The tagline ‘Are you ready
to SCREAM’ highlights Bay’s
continuous commitment to
providing the best show possible, with this year’s event
promising to be the most
memorable yet! There are
plenty of surprises in store,
both during the event and
leading up to it.
Call for Expression of Interest
Artistic Directors
The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts is calling for creative and
innovative professionals to provide artistic direction for its Festivals.
Interested persons are requested to send a letter of application and
a detailed CV, including area of interest, evidence of suitability for the
post, track record and accountability of working with public funds.
All applicants need to be VAT registered.
Submissions will be received during office hours at the Malta Council
for Culture and the Arts up till noon of Thursday 10th November and
are to be addressed to:
The Executive Director
Malta Council for Culture and the Arts
230, Republic Street, Valletta VLT1116
Applications can also be sent via email to: [email protected]
273. ALGERIAN HEDGEHOG
We have very few wild mammals in Malta, and most of them were
brought over by people. Not surprising, considering the limited
land and the fact that trading ships have plied these shores for
well on 3000 years. One mammal that probably arrived by boat
from North Africa is the Algerian Hedgehog (M: Qanfud), though
nobody can tell how long ago this happened. But it seems pretty
certain that it was a long time ago, because the hedgehog is today
widespread in Malta as well as in Gozo. Secretive in habit and
largely nocturnal, it goes about its business, foraging for snails,
slugs and other small animals in fields, gardens and roadsides,
rolling into a ball of spines in the face of danger. Sadly, though, this
defence mechanism serves him ill when faced with an oncoming
car, as evidenced by the hundreds of roadkills every week. When
out driving in the dark, please spare a thought for our spiky friend,
and slow down.
Text Victor Falzon
Photo by Guido Bonett
Each category has a unique
SMS number. To vote, listeners are required to send the
artist/band name to the specified number via SMS. Voting
– which started from Tuesday,
October 25 – will end on Sunday, December 4, with a limit
of three votes per category
from each mobile number.
Those voting will get a
chance of winning an enter-
Ghanafest
The Malta Mediterranean Folk
Music Festival is a fabulous 3day event of Mediterranean Folk
Music, including Maltese folksongs
(ghana)
and songwriters.
Malta Arts Festival
The Malta Arts Festival is a top
quality showcase of the arts,
including collaborations between
Maltese and foreign artists. It place
in various venues in and around
Valletta.
Malta Jazz Festival
An encounter between musicians
of international fame and gifted
local artists to be held at Ta’ Liesse
and to be held 19-21 July 2012.
Notte Bianca
A spectacular night-long
celebration of culture and the arts.
tainment-packed
weekend,
including a two night break at
InterContinental Malta; dinner at Paranga, an assortment
of cinema and bowling tickets, and much more.
The Bay Music Awards will
be aired on ONE TV for the
first time on Monday, December 19, with a repeat show taking place on Christmas Day at
15:30. Voting for the Viewer’s
Choice Award will also open
during the first screening of
the BMA’s, and will officially
close at midnight on December 26.
Regular event tickets will be
sold for €10, with a very limited 100 front row ‘Screamer
tickets’ being sold for just
€12. Tickets will be available
from the Eden Cinema box
office, and will also be available online. Another 100 exclusive screamer tickets will
be up for grabs, therefore we
urge the public to stay tuned
to 89.7 Bay for details on how
to win.
The 2011 Bay Music Awards
are sponsored by Heineken
and Coke, and is supported by
InterContinental Malta.
For more information, log on
to http://www.bay.com.mt/.
Best Newcomer
1. Three Stops to China
2. Bridget Bone
3. Davinia
4. The Crowns
5. Funk Initiative
SMS Number to vote: 50 615 301
Best Band
1. Airport Impressions
2. Saving Alexis
3. nosnow/noalps
4. Red Electrick
5. Dolls for Idols
Best Dance Tune or Remix
1. Carlo Gerada ft. Scott Walker &
Chess – ‘Never Meant’
2. JJoy – ‘King of the Night’
3. Corina ft. Toby – ‘Someone New’
4. Alvin Gee & Wayne Micallef –
‘Hold on to Me’
5. Kristina Casolani – ‘I Need You’
(Ruby & U-bahn Remix)
Best Solo Artist
1. Lyndsay
2. Christabelle
3. Muxu
4. Ivan Filletti
5. Aaron Benjamin
Best Song
1. Airport Impressions – ‘Elusive’
2. Andre – ‘Can’t be Friends’
3. Ellie and the Oscars – ‘Dancing in
the Rain’
4. Lyndsay – ‘Love Sick’
5. Ivan Filletti – ‘Sticks and Stones’
Chemicals at Home – Furniture
A high percentage of
furniture contains toxic
chemicals that have been
linked to cancer, birth
defects, hormone disruption,
and reproductive and
neurological dysfunction.
These toxins are particularly
dangerous to infants and
children.
One study conducted by
Friends of the Earth in the
US ‘Killer Couches’ tested
a sample of 350 pieces of
household furniture in stores
and domestic residences
and found that most of the
furniture had high levels
of toxic halogenated fire
retardants. This analysis
suggests that product
contamination is widespread,
exposing the population to a
significant and unnecessary
risk.
Medium-Density Fibreboard
(MDF) furniture and some
laminate flooring usually contain
formaldehyde, a chemical
suspected of causing cancer.
Green Idea of the week 175: Cut When you sup - Next
time you get a four-pack of beer, remember to cut up the
plastic ring holder. These pose a danger to wildlife if they
get into the environment, as animals can get their heads
caught in them, birds can get their wings trapped and
large aquatic birds can get them caught around their bills
when they dive for food.
Visit Friends of the Earth’s website for
more information about our work, as
well as for information about how to
join us
www.foemalta.org.
You can also support us by sending
a blank SMS donation on 50618070
(€4.66) or
50619223 (€11.65).
37
Events
Banif Cardholders get their annual card fee back!
BANIF clients now have one
more valid reason to use their
credit cards. The Bank has just
launched a scheme whereby
credit card holders can get their
annual card fee refunded without
having to spend larger amounts
than usual. By simply using their
credit card for regular monthly
spending at supermarkets, retail outlets, restaurants, petrol
stations, online or even when
paying for their utility bills, card
holders can get a full refund of
their annual credit card fee. All
cardholders will automatically
be eligible for this scheme, and
the first clients entitled to a refund for the 12-months prior
to September 2011, will be contacted over the next few days by
the Bank.
This scheme is open to all
Banif Classic and Gold Credit
Card holders including Hello
Kitty Classic Credit card users.
To be entitled to the annual card
refund, Classic and Hello Kitty
Card holders, have to use their
card for an average of €550 per
month over the 12-month period prior to the date on which
the card fee is charged by the
Bank. Gold Card holders have
to use their card for an average
of €1,600 per month over the 12month period. Purchase transactions carried out by supplementary card holders will also
be eligible for this scheme.
“As the alternative Maltese
Bank, Banif always strives to
come up with new and better options for its clients. Banif credit
card holders already benefit from
a number of exclusive credit card
features and through this new
scheme, they can now enjoy all
these privileges for free,” commented a Banif Bank representative from the e-Channels Office.
Emirates SkyCargo awards top agents
and customers in Malta
EMIRATES, the Dubai-based
international airline, honoured
top Maltese SkyCargo agents and
customers at an award ceremony
held at the palatial ballroom of
Palazzo Parisio in Naxxar.
Ram Menen, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo
presented the prestigious awards
to three SkyCargo agents, MAL,
BAS Ltd and Thomas Smith Ltd,
in recognition of their significant
sales performance. ST Microelectronics and De La Rue were also
given due recognition by Emirates SkyCargo as best customers.
Mr Menen said: “We thank all
cargo agents and customers for
their continued support towards
sustaining Emirates’ operations
in Malta and congratulate those
who have received awards. These
are challenging yet rewarding
times for Emirates SkyCargo, yet
we are registering exciting levels
of growth across several areas of
our business. It is fitting therefore
that the agents and customers
Emirates SkyCargo’s winning cargo customers and agents
with Menen (centre) flanked by Anthoniou and Fleri Soler
that are making a valuable contribution are officially recognized.
Together, we can provide the very
best service possible for Emirates’
clients,” said Mr Menen.
Ms Anthie Anthoniou, Emirates Cargo Manager for Malta
and Cyprus said: “Accessibility
is essential and, being an island
with limited natural resources,
this is even more so in the case
of Malta. Since December 2008,
Emirates has been providing a
daily service which is tangibly
contributing to Malta’s growth
in terms of industry, exports, and
quality of life.” She congratulated
all the cargo agents and customers present. “You are all valued
partners and, thanks to your support, Emirates Airline has established an unrivalled reputation
for service excellence in Malta.”
Emirates SkyCargo is located
on the First Floor at MIA Departures and can be contacted on tel.
no 2166 0102, or at skycargomla@
emirates.com.
Banif is the only bank in Malta
to include free Purchase Protection Insurance in all its credit
card packages. Eligible purchases made with credit cards are automatically protected from accidental damage or theft for up
to 90 days from the moment of
purchase. In addition, all credit
card holders who buy their travel
tickets with their card benefit
from free travel insurance.
Banif Bank also gives the option to its card holders to pay
off their credit card in full each
month and never pay any interest. Alternatively they can
choose to repay any percentage
of their outstanding balance that
best suits their lifestyle. Repayments are made by automatic
direct debit; hence they do not
have to worry about remembering to make the repayment each
month.
Further details about the
scheme and the benefits of the
credit cards offered by Banif can
be obtained from the Bank’s web
portal – www.banif.com.mt, by
calling customer care on 2260
1000 or from any Banif Bank
branch in Malta and Gozo.
FIMBank sponsors C.S.
Lawrence Art Exhibition
FIMBANK plc is
sponsoring an art
by artist C.S. Lawrence entitled ‘Azure & Ochre’. The
exhibition, which is
being housed at the
Auberge de France
in Vittoriosa, will be
open to the public till
the 30 October 2011,
and was inaugurated
The painting Once upon a time II was
by the President of
donated to FIMBank and will adorn the
Malta, George Abela.
bank’s new head office premises
A percentage of the
sales from the exhibition will be donated
to the Malta Community Chest found herself immersed in a landFund.
scape “full of brilliant colour.”
Lawrence was born in East AfLütschg-Emmenegger said that
rica in 1957. Eleven years later her FIMBank was pleased to support
family moved to the Middle East an artist who, like the Bank, greatwhile she was sent to boarding ly appreciated the islands’ many
school in Surrey, England. She qualities. “Moreover”, she added,
eventually moved to Bahrain, “the fact that part of the proceeds
where she started her career as a from the exhibition will go to the
professional artist. The artist set- Malta Community Chest Fund
tled in Malta in 2002, where she lends further merit to the event.”
38
HOMES
Seven tips to choosing the
perfect lighting to your home
Lighting in your home is one
of those items that you don’t
always notice when it has a good
presence and feeling when you’re
in the space.
Although, when the lighting
is poor and you are trying to
perform a task, or you feel the
opposite of how you would like
to feel in the space, you notice
it immediately. Lighting is for
ambiance, aesthetics, tasks, and
seeing better in your home.
Think about your home and
if it has all the lighting qualities
you would like. If your answer
is no, here are some tips on how
to choose the perfect lighting for
you and your family.
Determine what your lighting
goals are
Direct or task lighting is
focused in the space you are
trying to work. Ambient or
indirect lighting is used for
ambiance and for overall lighting
of a space. Once chosen you can
begin to choose lighting options.
Each room in your home should
have a mood you want to set, as
well as a function you want your
lighting to serve.
Provide lighting for safety and
security on the exterior of your
home
Walkways, sidewalks,
perimeter of your house, and
the front entry should be lit
with ambient lighting. Too
dim of lighting on the exterior
is a welcome sign for intruders.
While too bright of exterior
lighting is costly and disturbing
to neighbours. Consider
installing flood lights at the
exterior corners of your home
that are motion activated to
further deter intruders. Follow
the aesthetics and security
lighting of your neighbourhood
for further guidelines as to what
to implement at your own home.
Use exterior wall sconces for
décor
Outdoor lighting doesn’t have
to only be utilitarian. Wall
sconces can provide washes of
light against the exterior walls of
your home to create ambiance in
the evening hours. Directional
sconces pointing upwards
or downwards can focus on
architectural elements on your
home, and draw attention to
exterior niches and plantings
around your home.
Inside your home use multiple
light sources for one space
For rooms like the kitchen,
bedrooms, and living spaces,
multiple light sources will
help you achieve a variety of
functions and activities in that
space. In the kitchen, under
counter lights can provide great
task lighting. While in a living
room, opt for a floor lamp next
to a couch or favorite reading
chair. In bathrooms the lighting
at the mirror should be free from
shadows and glaring light.
For high ceilings and modern
décor use recessed lighting
“Can” light fixtures, so called
because of the metal recessed
“can” that is inserted into the
ceiling and the light fixture fits
inside. These fixtures are subtle
and can be directional, and
can be connected to dimmer
switches to give a range of
light from subtly dim to full
brightness to illuminate an
entire room.
In nurseries and kid’s rooms,
remember night lighting
Think about the lighting
for when children sleep when
planning lighting requirements.
Night lights can help small
children from being scared, but
can also help parents navigate
through dark rooms. For
nurseries consider a dim wall
sconce, or table lamp that can
be used for changing diapers, or
rocking infants to sleep.
In formal living and dining
areas, research chandeliers
wisely
In spaces that a formal
chandelier is considered, choose
one that will not date your
space. Often time’s chandeliers
are bought without thinking
of the space and the décor that
surrounds it. Chandeliers come
in extremely simple designs
that include faux candles, small
bulbs, or a few lights to the
ornate and expensive crystal
varieties. Whichever is your
décor choice, measure out the
space, and ceiling height before
ordering to ensure enough head
room will be available below the
hanging chandelier.
Don’t be afraid when choosing
lighting for your home, it
can help your ambiance and
mood in the space. If you
need lighting help ideas get
inspiration from lighting stores,
catalogs, and online decor and
fashion blogs/magazines. Just
like the colour of your rooms,
lighting should enhance your
space and make it feel warm
and inviting!
39
HOMES
How to choose curtains for your home
Ready made or bespoke?
The first thing you need to
decide is whether to have curtains made or buy them off
the shelf. If you’re in a rush,
readymade curtains are quick
and easy. A variety of shops
around the island offer affordable styles, with prices starting
from just €20 for a pair of plain
cotton curtains. If you can afford it, always go for lined curtains which will hang better
than unlined ones, and help
keep your room dark when the
curtains are drawn.
Made to measure curtains
are pricier but the sky’s the
limit when it comes to the
designs and colours you can
choose. Don’t forget to factor
in the cost of lining plus making the curtains up on top.
Most companies will offer you
a swatch of fabric so you can
see how the material looks in
your home before ordering.
If you’re thinking about making your own curtains, the
golden rule is always be generous with the fabric. Nothing
looks worse than skimpy curtains. Check and double check
measurements before cutting
the fabric.
Which fabric to choose?
Look for good quality, heavyweight fabrics like linen
blends or woven jacquards.
Over time, cheap material
may go shiny. Transform a
jaded bedroom by hanging
luscious velvet or silk curtains, then finish with a butter-soft fluffy rug – simply
divine!
Linings are almost as important as the curtain fabric. A quality lining will give
budget materials a longer
lease of life. Choose thermal
lining to keep out the chill in
a draughty room, or interlining which provides an extra
layer of padding to make curtains super-thick and cosy.
For kids’ bedrooms, blackout
lining should hopefully ensure a good night’s sleep for
them - and you!
Latest looks
Current trends are veering
away from fussy swags and
flounces towards a more tailored approach. Hung from a
pole, eyelet styles produce a
sleeker look than traditional
pencil pleat curtains and there
are no fiddly hooks or clips to
worry about. Pelmets are also
back in fashion. A flat pelmet covered in silk looks surprisingly contemporary, just
the thing for a formal dining
room.
Long or short?
Plain or patterned?
Whether you choose sill
length or floor length curtains
is really a matter of personal
taste, although floor length
styles do have a more luxurious feel. Sill-length drapes cost
less, and are popular in bathrooms and kitchens. They also
make a practical choice above
radiators to allow heat to circulate.
Take a good look at your
scheme before deciding on a
pattern. Too many different
designs can create a busy, distracting effect. For a relaxed
ambience, opt for either patterned curtains with plain
walls, or vice versa. You can
always dress up plain curtains
with beautiful beaded tie backs
or coloured glass poles.
ELUMO II
NEVER underestimate the
power of a new pair of curtains.
Not only will they give your
home a fresh new look, they’ll
also keep it lovely and toasty
on those cold winter nights.
But good curtains don’t come
cheap so it’s worth doing a bit
of research before you hit the
shops.
great deals during
november on all
hülsta furniture.
When purchasing a complete hülsta
bedroom, consisting of a double bed, two
consoles and a wardrobe, we will offer two
sleeping systems of your choice – consisting
of two base frames and two mattresses – for
the price of one. The less expensive base
frame and the less expensive mattress will be
Free of Charge.
Offer valid till end of November.
40
HOMES
Deciding on the
right modern
furniture for
your home
THERE are dozens of modern furniture designs on the
market, and some find it almost impossible to decide
which would fit best with the
interior of their home. Homeowners today, especially those
who are on their first time to
buy modern furnishings, tend
to get confused when looking
around for the perfect fur-
niture. Here are some tips to
help beginners out.
Does it fit?
The easy part is to decide
what kind of modern furniture to buy; but other details
tends to get us baffled when
picking the right one. The first
question that should first pop
to mind is whether it would fit
in your home or not.
Since space is a common
problem to modern households, especially those who
live in apartments and maisonettes, it is necessary to
pick furniture that will not
compromise the limited space
on the interior.
Considering the design
Design is a factor to consider if you wish to purchase
the right modern furniture
for your home. Pick one that
compliments the current look
or theme of the interior, and
not just out of your own sense
of style. Colours are one of the
details to consider when picking a sofa design, as well as the
material and style. The goal
here is to buy one that will not
go against the room’s looks or
else you’re going to get a slapdash theme that is not appealing to look at.
Check your budget
It is not a good idea to buy
modern furniture that is too
expensive for your family
budget to handle. Always try
to find the best quality that
you can afford in terms of
style, size, and material. You
can check out furniture shops
if they are offering their wares
at a discounted price; or do
a little window shopping to
compare prices before buying
one to get some savings out of
the whole deal.
41
Events
Intralot among the top R&D
companies in the EU
FOR the fourth consecutive year,
Intralot Group was distinguished
for its significant investments in
R&D and was included in the
‘2011 EU Industrial Research &
Development Investment Scoreboard’ prepared and published
by the European Commission.
This year Intralot ranked 433rd.
Intralot always focuses on
the development of innovative
products and services ratifying
its pioneering position in the
gaming sector. This distinction
comes as a result of the company’s commitment to be always
technologically ahead and lead
the sector.
The company is investing in
Research and Development, so
as to continuously introduce a
wide and diverse portfolio of
technological solutions developed in its in-house R&D facilities in USA, Taiwan and Italy. To
this end, Intralot has recently
announced the development of
a dynamic, technology-oriented
‘Gaming Innovation Cluster’.
Last year’s Scoreboard companies’ results showed the effect of
the financial crisis which began
in 2008. In this Scoreboard edition, companies show considerable signs of recovery. By 2010,
the 1,400 companies of the list
increased their R&D investments by 4% to €456bn. This
represents a substantial bounceback after the previous 1.9% drop
during the recession in 2009.
This up-turn was accompanied
by improved company performance in terms of net sales and
employment.
Chilean wine Misiones de Rengo bags gold medals
CHILEAN wines Misiones de
Rengos has clinched a number
of important awards in international competitions. The
wines, which come from the
Rengo Valley where the Vina
Misiones de Rengo is situated,
are brought to Maltese consumers by importers and distributors P Cutajar & Co Ltd.
The 2010 Misiones de Rengo Reserve Sauvignon Blanc
obtained a gold medal in the
2011 Selections Mondiales des
Vins in the Canadian market
and another gold medal in the
2011 Vinalies Latin America
Competition. The same Sauvignon Blanc, but in its 2011
vintage reached a Great Gold
Medal in the 2011 Concours
Mondial de Bruxelles-Chile,
whilst the 2010 Gran Reserva
Cuvée Carménère won a gold
medal. Meanwhile, the 2009
vintage also clinched gold in
the Catad’Or W (Chile) and a
double gold in the 2011 China
Wine Awards, within the significant Chinese market.
“All of these awards and outstanding recognitions, together
with a high preference among
Chilean consumers, position
Misiones de Rengo wines as a
top selling quality brand,” said
Denis Zammit Cutajar, Sales
and Marketing Director at P.
Cutajar.
“The wines maintain an excellent price-quality ratio giving wine lovers an excellent
top-quality product and good
value.”
Misiones de Rengo extends its
roots deep into Chile’s Rapel
Valley. The winery takes ad-
vantage of the latest technology and vineyard management.
The facility has a vinification
capacity of 8,000,000 liters, a
7,000,000-bottle per year bot-
tling line, and a temperaturecontrolled room for 1,500
French and American oak barrels. All of these elements are
tools for the winemakers whose
experience and passion helps
them turn the vine to wine—a
wine that has evoked the most
extraordinary response from
the public.
HSBC encourages Casa Rocca Piccola’s tradition for lace-making
The competiton is held in a bid to keep this tradition alive
FOR the fifth consecutive year,
the HSBC Malta Foundation
supported Casa Rocca Piccola in
Valletta to hold the annual lace
competition in a bid to keep this
traditional and distinguished skill
alive. 54 lace-makers of all ages
from Malta and Gozo took part in
the competition, submitting some
100 authentic pieces, ranging from
decorative items, to silk stoles and
shawls, ecclesiastical items, christening gowns and fans all worked
with very fine thread.
Paul Giordmaina shared the
overall winning price with Mary
Louise Bajada (in absentia). He
submitted a tablecloth which took
him four months to complete, inputting an average of 10 hours of
work daily. Works were judged according to their originality in design, technical skill, presentation,
magnitude of the undertaking
and quality of the item produced.
Two children, Maronia Mamo
and Carmen Sammut, were also
rewarded for their effort and dedication to take this artistic promise
into the future.
The competition is coordinated
annually under the exacting direction of Marquis Nicholas de
Piro and Margaret Farrugia with
the aim to keep this part of Malta’s historical and cultural heritage alive and thriving for future
generations.
“Maltese lace-making is recognised for its uniqueness which is
the result of laborious attention to
very small details,” said Catherine
Gonzi, Chairperson of the HSBC
Malta Foundation.
“Year on year, the HSBC Malta
Foundation makes it its mission
to support Casa Rocca Piccola in
bringing together these skilled
lace-makers for the daunting
task of passing this distinguished
craftsmanship on to our next generation”.
42
Events
HSBC has
new Head for
Retail Banking
and Wealth
Management
THE new Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management
(RBWM) at HSBC Bank Malta
plc is Paul Steel. He takes over
from Andrew Ripley who has
returned to HSBC in the UK.
Steel joined the HSBC Group
four years ago after a career
in retail. Based in Paris, Steel
was Deputy Head of Retail
Banking and Wealth Management France.
“I am delighted to welcome
Paul to the team in Malta.
Paul has extensive retail experience which will help us to
drive further improvements
to our business in Malta,” said
HSBC Malta CEO Alan Richards.
Paul Steel is HSBC Malta’s Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management
100,000 views for Melita’s Video-On-Demand service
MELITA, The only Video-OnDemand (VOD) service offered
in Malta by Melita has hit the
100,000th viewing. This milestone was reached within one
month from the commercial 12
September launch of the OnDemand! product after the June
BETA release.
Customers subscribed to the
Entertainment Pack get complete access to OnDemand!
Club: a library of TV series,
Kids shows, Documentaries,
Movies and Music videos and
may watch each programme as
many times as they want without incurring additional charges.
“We are overwhelmed with
the take up of this service and
also with the usage trends.
People are not only buying the
product but they are also using
it a lot, and browsing the vast library of content available. Our
focus is now to gather feedback
from customers on viewing patterns and content preferences
in order to enhance our library”
commented Ivor Micallef, Melita’s Product Manager for Television.
Amongst the key titles in the
OnDemand! library one can
find series such as Weeds, Dexter, Californication, or CSI. The
Kids section is one of the most
popular amongst OnDemand!
Club users with shows such as
Pingu or Barney And Friends
being the most watched.
The service is managed by
international provider On Demand Group which operates a
similar service for leading operators across Europe and the
Middle-East including Virgin
Media in the UK.
While details are still to be
announced, the next upgrade of
the product will enable customers to rent very recent movie titles with prices aligned to those
of international movie services.
The service will include latest
and library blockbusters released by the major Hollywood
movie studios.
For more information visit www.melita.com or call
27270270.
Providing protection and redress
RENEE LAIVIERA
ONLY just over half of the Maltese population are of the opinion
that there are special laws against
domestic violence in Malta. This
was reported in the 2010 Eurobarometer on Domestic Violence.
In fact, the Domestic Violence
Act was enacted in 2006.
Legislation is an important tool
to address civil and criminal offences within society. Many are
under the impression that once
a law is enacted all problems
will be solved or nearly solved.
However, legislation on its own is
not enough to indicate how this
violence is being addressed; nor
does it give any information on
how mechanisms and structures
are organised or the way the system can be accessed by women.
Through the provisions of the
legislation, the State clearly indicates he extent to which it is
committed to provide reparation
and punish offences that fall under domestic violence, starting
from what defines domestic violence and which relationships are
regulated by the legislation. Furthermore and even as important,
the resources earmarked for its
implementation tells much about
the State’s level of responsibility
and willingness to provide protection and defence for victims
of domestic violence.
The 2006 Domestic Violence
Act establishes the Commission
on Domestic Violence to advise
Minister on all aspects of domestic violence including – but not
exclusively – on how to increase
awareness and understanding of
domestic violence, on areas of
research, on ways to develop a
comprehensive plan for a multidisciplinary approach of active
prevention and early intervention and, in general, submit recommendations on the best way
forward. The law also establishes
Aġenzija Appoġġ as the entity
designated to provide support
and professional services to victims of domestic violence.
Through the legal system, several legal measures are available
for victims to seek redress. These
are provided by different professionals, particularly the police
and the legal professionals. Monitoring the way these services
respond to requirements is the
means to ensure that they answer effectively to the needs of
the victims, the vast majority of
whom are women.
Research carried out abroad
has highlighted gaps in the procedures from the moment of
submitting a report to the actual
outcomes. This is not uncommon in Malta. The tracking of
outcomes is significant in order
to ascertain that the remedies
provided are being used effectively as otherwise this underperformance can act as a barrier
for women and hinder and discourage them from making use
of existing remedies.
Few women, when filing a report against their perpetrator,
realise the importance of the initial complaint and that this may
determine the success or otherwise of the legal proceedings.
Often it is incomplete and reports of previous complaints are
not attached to statements taken
by the police. It is difficult for
traumatised victims to remain
conscious of these issues, even
if they are aware of them, which
more often than not they are not.
The guidance of the police may
be crucial in such situations.
Many members of the public often criticise women, who
refuse to proceed with the case
in court or pardon their aggressor, without questioning the reasons why.
Often this results in the courts
refraining from continuing hearing the case with the perpetrator
walking away, possibly feeling
more empowered than ever before.
Prior to taking such a course,
the victims’ behaviour should be
investigated by the courts to determine whether they are doing
this freely or forcibly by the perpetrator. Moreover, the courts
should also be conscious of the
trauma victims are undergoing
and how difficult it is for them
to relive the violent episodes
that they have experienced often
for many long years. Because of
these and other circumstances,
the shorter the duration of the
proceedings, the higher the degree of confidence the victim has
in the legal system.
Research (2010) commissioned
by the Commission on Domestic
Violence shows that one in four
women in Malta experienced
one form of domestic violence
in their lifetime. Half of these
women underwent this experience during the 12 months prior
to being interviewed for the survey.
Consequently, the stronger the
legislation and its implementation, the more effectively the
legal system protects the many
women who are living in such
difficult situations. However, it
is important that there is more
understanding of the tools avail-
able to seek redress.
The Commission on Domestic
Violence, aware of the need to
create more awareness on domestic violence among the general public but even more among
victims of violence, has commissioned a publicity campaign
partly financed by the European
Social Funds, entitled ‘ESF 3.43
– Dignity for Domestic Violence
Survivors’ (www.domesticviolence.gov.mt).
The objective of this project is
to increase the number of people
who recognise domestic violence;
to educate children and adults to
have a positive attitude towards
each other’s positive qualities
to resolve issues that can cause
problems; to encourage women
living in these difficult situations
to ask for help by calling SupportLine 179. This is a freephone
run by Aġenzija Appoġġ that is
serviced on a 24/7 basis.
Women need to know their
rights and the legal and professional help that is available. It
is for women to make the first
step and call for help Supportline
179.
Renee Laiviera is Key Expert,
ESF 3.43 – Dignity for Domestic
Violence Survivors, Commission
on Domestic Violence Survivors,
www.domesticviolence.gov.mt.
43
Events
GlobalCapital Health Insurance Agency
appoints first female board director
GLOBALCAPITAL
Health
Insurance Agency Ltd, which
runs Bupa, has appointed Adriana Zarb Adami to its Board.
Adriana has worked with the
company for almost 20 years,
having started her career as a
secretary to the Managing Director, to ultimately becoming
Bupa Malta’s Branch Manager,
where she was responsible for
Bupa Malta’s operations. Zarb
Adami has recently retired
from this role in order to take
on a consultant position and sit
on the board of the company.
“I remain as dedicated and
passionate about the job as ever and look forward to sharing
my experience and knowledge
amongst the company’s em-
ployees, whilst maintaining my
strong relationship with Bupa
clients,” Zarb Adami said.
Bupa Malta was the site of
Bupa’s first international business in 1971. 40 years on, Bupa
Malta still provides private
health insurance for the residents of the Maltese islands.
Bupa Malta’s customers can
receive support and advice 24
hours a day, every day, via a
worldwide emergency medical
centre provided by Bupa International, the leading expatriate
health insurer.
GlobalCapital Health Insurance Agency Limited (GCHIA)
acts as a branch for Bupa Insurance Limited, which has
passported its services through
This week, we’ve taken a look at our
little calendars on our desks here
and noticed that tomorrow is indeed Halloweeen! So in order to stay
seasonal and stick with the theme,
below are some Halloween related
apps to get your Smartphone into
the sights and sounds of pumpkins
and ghostly laughter!
Adriana Zarb Adami
the European Passport Rights
for Insurance and Reinsurance
Undertakings
Regulations.
GCHIA is registered as an insurance agent and is regulated
by the Malta Financial Servic-
es Authority. Registered office:
GlobalCapital p.l.c., Testaferrata Street, Ta’ Xbiex XBX
1403, Malta.
For more information, visit
www.bupa.com.mt.
€3,000 to be won in BOV Club Treasure Hunt
BANK of Valletta has recently launched a Treasure Hunt
to inaugurate its new page on
the popular social networking site Facebook. This page
is the new platform which
the Bank is using to engage
with the young members of
its BOV Club.
Teams of three to five
members take up the challenge to identify a mysterious object or location which
is revealed on the application
every week, for ten consecutive weeks. Speaking about
the initiative, Edward Muscat Azzopardi, Head of Marketing and PR explained that
it was designed to maximise
engagement with the tar-
get audience by providing a
challenging and entertaining game that encourages
teamwork, creativity and
commitment.
To date, about 1,500 Facebook members have teamed
up in about 150 teams to
take up the Bank’s challenge.
A final cash prize of €3,000
awaits the winning team.
Log on to the BOV Club
page: http://apps.facebook.
c om / b ovc lu b/m a i n . a s px .
Anyone can visit this page
to learn more about the exclusive package the Bank has
put together for BOV Club
students as well as to follow the trail in the Treasure
Hunt.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at
The Grand Hotel Excelsior
THE management and
staff at the Grand Hotel
Excelsior are extremely
honoured to have had the
opportunity to host the US
Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton during her successful visit to Malta on 18
October.
The Grand Hotel Excelsior strongly believes in its
commitment to promote
Maltese hospitality to all
its distinguished guests.
Madame Secretary left a
note in the Hotel’s Visitor
Guestbook saying “Thank
you for your gracious hospitality and warm welcome
to Malta. All the best.”
This weeks choice:
Pumpkins vs. Monsters: iOS
– €0.79, Android –
Free
The aim of the game
is simple - control the
momentum, flick the
pumpkin, and attack
a monster! The story
goes like this: In the stroke of midnight, the monsters have awakened
and are headed to invade people’s
homes. But as everyone is still during their deep daily slumber, no one
is aware of the danger. Nonetheless
the pumpkin heros have come to
work together to protect all the innocent people from the monstrous
mayhem. With up to 75 levels in
story mode and a total of over 5 different worlds, a game like this is no
doubt endless fun!
Ghost Camera:iOS – Free,
Android – Free
This is simply a camera app that adds
ghost filters to the
photos that you take.
No rocket science,
however it’s a fun little app that’s
great for fiddling about with your
pics by adding a few spooky edits!
Needless to say, Halloween is just
round the corner, and this would
make a nice addition to your Smartphone which will be hilarious if
used to play a prank or two! After
all, it’s little things like these that
make October 31st a perfect day for
ghoul-related knick-knacks.
Halloween Matches (a.k.a.
Pumpkin Match): iOS – €0.79,
Android – Free
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with team members of
Grand Hotel Excelsior. Photo by Gino Galea
The new Bennalife yogurt with added plant sterols
MALTA Dairy Products Ltd.,
producer of Benna fresh milk
products, has introduced Bennalife yogurt with added plant
sterols. This tasty spoonable
yogurt is the first product in
the newly launched range of
Bennalife
health-boosting
fresh dairy foods.
Plant sterols are natural extracts which lower cholesterol
levels by blocking the absorp-
Vodafone’s Pick
of Halloween
Apps
tion of cholesterol from food.
Despite being found in vegetable oils, legumes, nuts, grains
and cereals, one would need
to consume large amounts of
these foods to reach therapeutic levels – around 150 apples,
210 carrots or 425 tomatoes
would have to be eaten to reach
the recommended daily intake
of 2g plant sterol.
A single cup of Bennalife yo-
gurt with added plant sterols
provides the necessary 2g daily
dose of plant sterols to help
lower cholesterol levels. Taken
every day after the main meal
and as part of a balanced diet,
Bennalife yogurt with added
plant sterols can lead to a reduction in cholesterol levels
by 7 to 10% in two to three
weeks.
Bennalife yogurt with added
plant sterols is available in
Strawberry-Vanilla and PeachPomegranate flavours. It is
available in 125g cups and sold
in convenient packs of two offering consumers excellent value for money. Made from fresh
skimmed milk and sweetened
with acesulfame-K and sucralose, it is suitable for diabetics
and individuals who are watching their fat and calorie intake.
This is one of those
classic
memory
games with a few
tweaks to the theme
so as to get you into
the halloween spirit.
There are more than
30 different pumpkins waiting to
be revealed and matched! It’s a treat
for all those who are big fans puzzle games and love to kill time with
apps like these. After completing
the panic-free arcade mode, you’d
might want to challenge yourself in
the time mode and see how many
pumpkins you can pair up while the
clock ticks away! Can you remember all the spooky shapes and faces
in time?
If you want to know more about
these apps and other apps, join the
discusson on www.facebook.com/vodafonemalta
44
Classifieds
BOATS
CRESTLINER 23 feet day cruiser Volvo Penta 260, new upholstery, carpet canopy, trailer. Price
€13,000 ono. Chriscarft 27 feet
cabin cruiser 2 perkins diesel 4236
marine engines, electric winch, new
upholstery, trailer. Price €11,500
ono. Call 99460726, 21558975
GENERAL
port will help if you need assistance. Unlimited backups per day. To
request your free trail email on rsb@
onNeutral.com
CO2 welding set - Telwin 250. Telwin
Digital spotter, 9000 with all accessories. Call 99452144
PAWS Charity shops in Mosta and
San Gwann are very interested to
accept all unwanted gifts, used
clothes, shoes, etc..Also donations
of boOks, household goods and
furniture are very welcome. All proceeds go to abandoned animals. Call
79524556, 79524555
SALE on shading and scaffolding nets. Several colours available. Prices starting from only €0.54
per square metre, €18 per pack
of white net 1.8m x 25m. Email
MEPAwatch
BACKUP all your import data
securely and at lightning fast speeds
using the latest security technologies. No technical knowledge necessary to backup all your accounting,
financial, business, university work
and other important documents.
Deleted and modified files are just
kept in case you need to access
them. Malta-based technical sup-
Tribunal revokes a permit
to increase the height of a
common wall
Facts
Last June, MEPA issued a
permit allowing applicant to
increase the height of an already existing 10 course common party wall between two
tenements by an additional six
courses. The Malta Environment and Planning Authority
justified the issuance of this
permit on the premise that applicant was entitled to a decent
level of privacy in his home. On
his part, the neighbour objected to the permit and filed an
appeal before the Environment
and Planning Tribunal, stating
amongst other considerations
that the “monstrous” wall construction was visually intrusive. Moreover, it was strongly
contended that appellant, be-
on sales@eleven 22.com.mt or call
99422582
TREADMILL very little used in very
good condition. Price €100. Call
99888962
WEDDING dress - ivory colour size
10-12 in prime condition with headdress, bolero, make your day a
memorable one with this marvelous dress. Reasonable price. Call
79942933
WEDDING dress, never worn, ivory
with beautiful lace and embroidery.
Size 12-14. Bargain Price €125 only.
For details call 99252998 - photos
can be sent by email Wedding dress
- Pierre Carden. Size 8 to 10. Used
only once. Give away price €90. Call
21415574, 79361361
LETTING
GHARGHUR - Offices in central
Gharghur area former bank branch
€10 daily - air conditioned, water
and electricity installed. No premium. Call 99803373, 99226777
MARSASCALA - Zonqor area.
Corner Villa with unobstructed sea
and country views covering Valletta
harbour to Marscala bay having 4
double bedrooms, kitchen, 2 bathrooms, dining room, sitting room,
washroom, large roof and including
a 2 car garage and front garden with
trees. Email [email protected] or
Robert Musumeci’s Weekly
landmark decisions
ing a co-owner of the wall in
question, was not given prior
notice to the effect that an application had been submitted.
Hence, it was argued that the
permit was issued illegally.
Tribunal’s decision
The Tribunal agreed that the
16-course dividing wall would
be visually intrusive. In this
context, the Tribunal maintained that such a development
runs counter to Structure Plan
Policy UCO 10, that inter alia
provides:
“Developments will not be
permitted which adversely affect views of or from Urban
Conservation Areas, or which
detract from the traditional
urban skyline. Particularly
important views will be identified in detail in Local Plans.
More so, the Tribunal underlined that the high wall is not
needed to ensure privacy”.
The Tribunal held further
that the vertical high wall
would overshadow the neighbouring tenement, resulting
in a loss of natural light and
a consequent increase in the
humidity levels in the neighbouring tenement. In this context, the Tribunal referred to
Policy BEN 1 of the Structure
Plan which provides that “development will not normally
be permitted if the proposal
is likely to have a deleterious
impact on existing or planned
adjacent uses because of visual
intrusion, noise, vibration, atmospheric pollution, unusually high traffic generation,
unusual operating times, or
any other characteristic which
in the opinion of the Planning
Authority would constitute
bad neighbourliness.”
Despite not being strictly
The Tribunal held that the common
wall would overshadow the
neighbouring tenement, resulting
in a loss of natural light and a
consequent increase in the humidity
levels
within its legal remit, the Tribunal remarked that the proposed high wall may be too
slender in terms of structural
safety. With reference to the
appellant’s complaint alleging that he was not informed
by his neighbour about the
Dimech Enterprises Ltd, Centre Point,
B’Kara By-Pass. B’Kara
Tel: 2132 0433/4 • Fax: 2132 0435
Mobile: 7937 8378
NEXT TO
APL AN
latter’s intention to submit an
application, the Tribunal held
that this was not a central issue, since a permit is nevertheless subject to third party civil
rights.
Against this background, the
Tribunal revoked the permit.
45
Classifieds
call 99433315
MGARR - block of two. Excellent
location - one spacious bedroom,
separate kitchen and sitting, front
balconies, bathroom. Own roof with
views and washroom. €250 monthly. Must be seen, easy parking, furnished. Call 21570123, 99428930
MGARR - central excellent location easy parking, three bedroom,
fully furnished, kitchen, sitting, bathroom, front, back balconies. Must be
seen with views. €350 monthly. Call
21570123, 99428930
PACEVILLE/ST. JULIANS - Luigi
Apap Street, office approx 50 sq
metres. Call 79258227
PACEVILLE/ST. JULIANS - Luigi
Apap Street, shop class 4 approx
50 sq metres. Call 79258227
QAJJENZA - seafront penthouse
at Qajjenza, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, kitchen, sitting room. Price
€300 monthly fully furnished. Call
79820749
SAFI - House of Character at Safi
village, 3 bedroom, 2 bathrooms,
sitting room, kitchen, big court yard,
small garage. Price €400 monthly
fully furnished. Call 79820749
SAN GWANN - Four roomed ground
floor maisonette to let as office (with
permit), parking no problem. Call
79594628
STA VENERA - Furnished one bedroom maisonette with washroom
and full roof for long lets only. Call
79573818
PROPERTY FOR SALE
ATTARD - New on the Market, one
of the finest highly finished Terraced
Houses available . Built on a sizeable plot, offering a convenient open
plan spacious layout resulting in
bright and airy rooms. Property faces a green area having extensive
directs country views. Comprising
a wide hall leading to a sitting/dining area, fitted kitchen/breakfast,
guest toilet/shower, washroom. An
impressive staircase leads to sleeping quarters with large main bedroom with en suite shower, further
two double bedrooms, a large modern main bathroom, front and back
balconies, interconnecting semi
basement, three car garage, separate office/gymnasium and a fully
equipped cinema room. Roof terrace
for entertainment with room and a
small back yard. Euro394,000 Call
99476949
ATTARD - Very spacious {130sq.
mts.] and highly finished three bedroom apartments situated very close
to everyday needs. Two bedroom
penthouses also available. Each unit
finished with Satariano bathrooms
and tiles with double glazing throughout Lock up garages optional. Price
€151,000. Call owner on 21387082
/ 99473354
ATTARD - This MODERN terraced
house is situated in a prime location
close to all amenities. Enjoying a
very bright and spacious accommo-
=
€3
dation this home welcomes one to a
hall on entrance leading to a large
lounge/ dining followed by a guest
toilet , separate kitchen/living/dining (fitted kitchen & solid parquet
floor) which leads onto a well sized
back yard with a barbeque area.
3 double bedrooms (main includes
walk in wardrobe & en suite) are on
the first floor level together with the
main bathroom and stairs leading to
the roof level where one finds a large
laundry room. Complimenting this
property is a full basement garage
fully tiled) with a small back yard. A
side entrance leading to the basement makes it also ideal for office
or clinic purposes. Must be seen to
be appreciated. Euro350,000 Call
99476949
HIGHLY converted double fronted House of Character in a prime
location close to all amenities.
Accommodations comprising 2 foyers, corridor, living room, dining
room, kitchen, bathroom and spare
toilet, 2 staircases and 3 yards.
On the second floor 4 bedrooms
- 2 ensuite, 1 with balcony, 3 airconditioned, study room, washroom
and own roof structured in 3 parts.
Ideal part to be converted as a
clinic or host foreign students with
own entrance. Direct from owner.
Price is negotiable. Price €240,000
(Lm103,000). Call 21492600,
99863113
KALKARA - property opposite Smart
City development, block of three, finished including bathrooms and lift.
Apartments, three bedrooms, large
open plan, bathroom, ensuite, terrac-
es and/or internal yard - €123,456
(Lm53,000). Penthouse, front and
back terraces, two bedroom, large
open plan, bathroom, ensuite, airspace €123,456 (Lm53,000). Price
negotiable. Call owners 99465984,
99468948 or email grecr001@
gmail.com
LIMIT OF MGARR - Just over a
tumolo surrounded with high rubble
walls in a very quiet area enjoying
fantastic views, water and electricity installed having large reservoir
with running water also including
room with permit And more. Price
€135.000. Call owner 99492448
LIMITS OF MGARR - 1.5 tumolo situated on high grounds having a good
size cave surrounded by rubble walls
having huge carob and olives trees
with 360 degrees view also water
available being sold free hold. Call
owner 99492448.
LIMITS OF RABAT/DINGLI - 5 tumoli
with numerous mature fruit and carob trees, also having 3 rooms girna
and vertical well and 2 reservoir.
Free hold Call owner 99492448
MADLIENA
Unconverted
FARMHOUSE set on the highest peak
of this great locality and enjoying
both sea and 360 degrees country views. With over 280 square
meters built up area and on two
and a half tumoli of outdoor space,
once converted, this property offers
great potential for a luxury family
home. ONE OF A KIND. EXCELLENT
PRICE. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Euro900,000 Call 99476949
MARSASCALA - apartment at
Zonqor point, ready to move in
with excellent sea views. Reasonable
price. Call 99494649
MOSTA
- Immaculately kept
Character Home situated in a very
quite location yet still close to all
amenities. This unique attractive
property comfortably accommodates an entrance hall, lounge/living/dining area leading to a large
courtyard with a decent to a good
sized swimming pool enjoying total
privacy, kitchen/breakfast, two double bedrooms plus a study room,
back yard, front and back terrace.
Property also has the potential of
building another two storeys. This
perfect residence comes with an
interconnected lock up garage which
is rare to find in these sort of properties. Property is full of natural light,
original features such as wooden
beams, traditional Maltese floor tiles,
fire place and much more. Surely a
rare to find property, must be seen.
Euro340,000 Call 99476949
MOSTA - New on the market, situated on the outskirts of this sought
after village is this expertly converted house of character abundant with
old features . Layout consists of an
entrance hall, living room, separate
dining overlooking the courtyard, fitted kitchen, guest toilet and pantry
on the ground floor. On first floor
one finds 2 double bedrooms and
main bathroom. A third bedroom
overlooking a large terrace, shower and washroom furthermore compliments this property. Must see!
Euro250,000 CALL 99476949
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
46
Classifieds
MSIDA - Border with Hamrun/
Sta. Venera, large corner terraced
house ground and first floor and
roof. Three bedrooms, study, verandah and back yard area 155 sqm.
Price €209,700 (Lm90,000). Call
21246533, 99450405
NAXXAR - Finished store for sale.
75sqmtrs centrally located. Perfect
for any kind of business. We give
you the key and you may start your
business. Priced to sell. Do not miss
this opportunity. Call 21421508,
21525990
NAXXAR - Shop for sale or to let. Fit
for any kind of business. A bargain
buy for such a kind of finish size
and location. If interested come and
have a look. Call 79392114
PAOLA - Apartment facing public
garden comprising of hall, living/dining, new bathroom, boxroom, new
oak kitchen, 3 double bedrooms,
front balcony, use of roof. Price
€115,000. Call 79255505
QAWRA - Two brand new apartments, highly finished, unfurnished.
Comprising of two bedrooms,
one with en-suite, bathroom and
living room, two front balconies.
Few metres away from the sea.
Excellent investment. Priced to
Townhouse for Sale
NAXXAR: Recently renovated original townhouse close
to Naxxar centre.
Layout consists of an entrance with a grand staircase
leading into a dining room and living room.
Kitchen and latest appliances with larder linking to a large
private internal courtyard.
At the back of the courtyard a large room, with a view
over a garden. Downstairs a spare toilet and two wells
and a shelter. On the first floor a large main bedroom with
a spacious inbuilt shifting wardrobe with bathroom, and
two other bedrooms.
Large separate bathroom with separate shower. On roof,
large room with a permit for pool. Townhouse includes
private terraces, special features, include beams, original
tiles, cast iron stove, barbeque, skylights and alcoves.
Waterproofing, parquet, double-glazed windows and
air-conditioning. Ready to move in.
Garage next door is also available for rent and possibility
of purchasing land for garden at the back of house.
€360,000 (Lm155,000) Freehold, phone 77017171
sell at LM41,000 (€95,000). Call
79311980
SAN PAWL TAT-TARGA - Ground /
first floor three bedroom apartment
each with its own private roof, situated close to the Chapel in St Paul’s
St.Price €149,000. Call owner on
21387082 / 99473354
SIGGIEWI - Located in the outskirts of this quaint village in a
new, quiet road is this designer
finished 204sqm first floor maisonette, impeccably designed to use
a passive environmental system to
achieve natural light and climate
control system. A very large 75sqm
living/dining/kitchen, having a fitted
modern kitchen complete with appliances, also having large windows
overlooking the extremely spacious
51.25sqm central courtyard which
also has a splash pond, 3 double
bedrooms, 2 of which with en-suite
facilities, and main bedroom also
having a spacious walk-in wardrobe, laundry room on own roof.
Complimenting this one off property
is a large semi-basement interconnecting 7 car garage, 37sqm garden and a 30sqm reservoir which
has an 80 cubic meters capacity.
Definitely must be seen to be appreciated. Well priced Euro310,000
Call 99476949
ZEBBUG - Approximately 300 years
old and located in a very quiet
alley in the best part of this town
is this double fronted HOUSE OF
CHARACTER. Residence comprises
a large entrance hall leading onto a
private central courtyard, kitchen /
living area, dining room, a separate
library area, and a guest toilet with
shower on the ground floor. Upstairs
includes three double bedrooms, one
with en-suite and one with a study,
and a main bathroom. This property
also has a 25 foot cellar. A real gem!
Euro 302,795 Call 99476949
PROPERTY WANTED
WANTED: PROPERTIES WANTED
FOR
FOREIGN
AND
LOCAL
CLIENTS. Detached Villas, Detached
Bungalows, Semi Detached Villas,
Semi Detached Bungalows, Houses
of Character, Converted or unconverted Farmhouses, Preferred areas. Kappara, The Village ,Madliena,
High Ridge, San Pawl Tat-Targa, Tal
Ibragg, Wardija, Bidnija, Siggiewi,
Zebbug, Balzan Attard. All other areas will be considered - Call
99476949
SERVICE
PROFESSIONAL proof reading
services for university students. For
more info call or text 99262222
SITUATION VACANT
HOUSEKEEPER is required to work
in family residence. Must be over 21
years of age, responsible and reliable. Call 79965935
TUITION
DEXTER’S FUN LAB - after a highly
successful Summer term we are
receiving applications for the Winter
term. Complete hands on experi-
ence. Call 79308267, 21895899
FRENCH one-to-one tuition at the
comfort of your home. Beginners,
Matsec & Professional. Notes
and hand-outs provided. Excellent
results. Call 79412364, 21412364
MALTESE - Forms 1-5, O/I/
Advanced Level. Notes provided. University graduate. Also as
a foreign language. Mosta. Call
21410218, 79999928
MATHS Form 1-5 and O’Level private lessons starting soon in Mgarr.
Individual attention. Lessons given
by university graduate with teaching experience. Call 21436685,
79062301
NEED help with challenging behaviour? - Experienced parental consultant offers tailor-made behaviour management programs. Free
home visit family evaluation. Call
77307678 for an appointment
PARENTAL consultant - get help on
HW & studies/ special needs/ behaviour and discipline. Free home visit
family evaluation. Call 77307670
for an appointment.
PHYSICS O’ Level - Interactive lessons using audio Visual Resources.
Free notes given. Call 77055937
VEHICLES/PARTS
CLASSIC cars - 1958 Morris Minor,
1970 Simca 1000, 1966 Rover,
1967 Spitfire Rolls Royce Shadow
1, Mercedes 300sel, 1966 Cadillac
Calis. Prices from €2,500. Call
99460762, 21558975
TOYOTA Corolla 2001 in as new
excellent condition. All extras
including AC, remote locking, electric windows. Price €6500. Call
owner 21415574, 99770119
Importers of hand-knotted Oriental carpets
THE FLYING CARPET - OLD RAILWAY TRACK, ATTARD
.PO5VFT5IVST4BUBNoQNt8FEOFTEBZNPSOJOHDMPTFE
.PO'SJoQNQN
*NQPSUFSTPG7BSJPVTIBOELOPUUFEDBSQFUTBOE,JMJNT
/PO4MJQ6OEFSMBZ%SZBOE-JRVJETIBNQPP.PCJMF/P
47
Sport
SPORTTODAY
FOOTBALL
Tarxien defeat Mqabba
in five goal thriller
Tarxien Rainbows .....3
Mqabba ...................2
TARXIEN R.. FC - D.Cassar,
S. Sadowski (C.Sammut), M.
Caruana (J.Vella), E.A.Pereira,
S. Giglio, R. Galvao, K.Pulo
(A.Carabott), D.M.Bueno, O.
Anonam, G. Suguino, J. Grioli
Coach: Patrick Curmi
Booked - Suguino, Anonam,
Pulo. Giglio
Orosco Anonam (centre) who had a positive game yesterday sandwiched between two Mqabba players
they were awarded a penalty
when Stefan Giglio fouled Marlon Briffa inside the area. Thiago
dos Santos Mazzitwlli coverted
to make the score 3-2.
Mqabba missed a great oppor-
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD
TARXIEN Rainbows returned
to victory after defeating Mqabba 3-2 yesterday afternoon.
Tarxien scored the first goal
of the match on the 6th minute.
Daniel Mariano Bueno headed
the ball past goalkeeper Kris
Calleja, after he received a great
cross from Rodrigo Galvao.
Eight minutes later, Tarxien
doubled the score. Off a Caio
Garcia Suguino cross, Orosco
Anonam headed the ball towards Daniel Mariano Bueno,
who then made no mistake with
his header to beat Mqabba’s
goalie.
Tarxien made it 3-0 on the 20th
minute. A corner kick taken by
Karl Pulo was headed in goal by
Orosco Anonam.
Mqabba finally managed to
pull one back just one minute
later. A direct freekick by Thiago dos Santos Mazzitelli left no
chance for Taxien’s goalkeeper
David Cassar.
On the 48th minute, Mqabba
were back into the match after
blocked by goalkeeper David
Cassar.
Daniel Mariano Bueno was
voted BOV Player of the Match.
tunity to equalise on the 77th
minute when John Paul Muscat’s
shot right in front of goal was
MQABBA FC - K. Calleja, P.
Grima, M. Briffa, D. Azzopardi, T. Mazzittelli, C. Calleja,
J.P.Muscat, M. Bonnici, R. Sammut, R. Duca, S. Magro
Coach: Clive Mizzi
Booked – Grima, Bonnici , Briffa
Scorers – Bueno 6 min., 14 min.,
Anonam 20 min. (T) , Mazzittelli
21 min., 48 min. pen.(M)
Referee – Paul Caruana
Qormi FC.............. 4
Mosta FC ............. 1
QORMI brushed aside Mosta
with an easy 4-1 victory to join
Floriana in third place woth
sixteen points in the BOV Premier League standings.
Meanwhile Mosta remain at
the bottom of the table with
four points.
Qormi immediately showed
their dominance as they scored
the first goal of the match just
four minutes after the start.
Jorge Pereira da Silva’s cross
beat the Mosta goalkeeper
to end up on the goal line to
find Daniel Nwoke who then
placed the ball at the back of
the net.
On the 40th minute, Mosta
were reduced to ten-men after
defender Federico Tisbi fouled
Jorge Pereira as he was heading for goal and the referee
awarded Qormi with a freekick. Joseph Farrugia’s perfect freekick beat goalkeeper
Jonathan Debono to make the
score 2-0.
On the 49th minute, Qormi scored their third goal of
the match. Matthew Bartolo
served Abubakar Bello-Osagie who then went on to beat
goalkeeper Jonathan Debono
with his shot.
Qormi put the game out of
reach for Mosta on the 60th
minute when Abubakar BelloOsagie headed the ball in off a
corner from Jorge Pereira.
Mosta finally managed to
score on the 73rd minute
when Alex Cini’s shot was
blocked by goalkeeper Steve
Sultana, but Michel Bertrand
Maki Mvondo picked up the
rebound and scored.
Joseph Farrugia was voted
BOV Player of the Match.
QORMI FC: Matthew Farrugia (Steve Sultana), Jeffrey
Chetcuti, Roderick Sammut
(Stephen Wellman), Matthew Bartolo, Joseph Farrugia
(Carmelo Farrugia), Kenneth
Scicluna, Federico Mirarchi,
Jonathan Bondin, Jorge Pereira da Silva, Abubakar BelloOsagie, Daniel Nwoke
Coach: Stephen Azzopardi
MOSTA FC: Jonathan Debono,
Daniel Nwoke (centre) who resumed his goal scoring habit yesterday seen followed by three Mosta players
Adrian Borg, Luca Martinelli, Federico Tisbi, Bryan Agius (Kane
Farrugia), Nikola Bogdanovic,
Sheldon Grech, Arilson Mello da
Silva (Alex Cini), Firas Aboulezz
(Yannick Ossok), Ian Zammit,
Michel Bertrand Maki Mvondo.
Coach: Oliver Spiteri
Red Card: Federico Tisbi
Referee: Andre Arciola
Scorers: 5’ Daniel Nwoke, 42’
Joseph Farrugia, 49’ Abubakar
Bello-Osagie, 60’ Abubakar
Bello-Osagie, 73’ Michel MakiMvondo.
Yellow Cards: Grech Sammut,
Agius
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD
Easy victory for Qormi over Mosta
48
Sport
MOTOSPORT
Dimech places third in Agrigento
and Cassar wins at Ta’ Qali
ON Sunday 23rd October, ASM
organised the 2nd ASM Poiatti
Autocross National Championship while a 3 Riders Motocross
Team went to Race in Agrigento.
During the Autocross Heats
at Ta Qali Patrick Cassar on An
Opel Corsa and Melo Zammit
on an Escort MK3 won all the
three qualifying Heats races
thus securing their place in
the Class A Finals. In the 6 car
Class A Finals, Christian Galea
took the lead on the drop of the
Red Lights but lost his place to
Cassar and Zammit by the end
of Lap 1 due to a technical fault.
Manuel Muscat took advantage too and moved two places
ahead but later was forced to
retire due to another technical
failure. Thus, Keith Borg on a
Vauxhall Nova and Guzi Pace
on an Escort moved to 3rd and
4th place respectively. Cassar
and Zammit won 1st and 2nd
place respectively.
Godwin Martin did a very
good start in the Final B 9 Lap
race. He was followed by Christian Calleja driving an Opel
Corsa and Philip Grima on a
new Escort Mk3. In Lap 4 Mar-
tin was forced to retire due to a
mechanical failure and Calleja
took the lead though he was
closely followed by Scicluna on
another Opel. In this Race final Calleja took the chequered
flag while Grech and Grima followed close by.
A Team of 3 Motocross riders
together with ASM President
Frans Deguara, 2 technicians
and a small supporting team
went all the way to Agrigento
to compete in Race 7 of the Italian FMI Motocross Championship at Giarrizzo MX Track in
Favara. ASM Riders Clayton
Camilleri, Stefan Dimech and
Josef Attard from Gozo registered to ride in the ‘MX2-250
over 21’ class in which one finds
the best two MX riders in the
FMI Regional Championship.
Due to bad weather in that area
the team drove 2 hours drive
for practical sessions at San
Cataldo track. After promising
sessions, Claytons bike broke a
transmission bearing and lost
his participation in the Giarrizzo race. Stefan and Josef had
to battle with the 20 riders on
the Start Gate to finish in high
place in the 21 minutes race
Christian Cassar taking a corner in his Opel
duration. Stefan Dimech did
very well in the 2 Race Heats
and won a Podium Finish 3rd in
Class in this ‘MX2-250 over 21
race’. Josef won the PromoSport
Class in the 250cc.
During this visit the ASM
Motocross Team visited 3 other
Championship Tracks. Frans
Deguara obo ASM established
negotiations for the Maltese
riders participation in the FMI
and UISP Regional and National Championship races too. We
were welcomed and invited to
race again in the 2012 Championship as from next March
2012. The ASM Malta team was
praised both by the FMI Commissioners and Race Directors
Cavaleri Bros. to return to Giarrizzo for future events.
ASM would also like to inform
the general public that next 6th
November Race is to include
Motocross and Autocross races. Also, ASM will be organising Holy Mass for the repose of
souls of deceased ASM members. Mass is said at the Race
tracks at 10.00am and races
start at 11.00am. Practice sessions for the cars and the motocross are held on Saturday from
2.00pm to 4.00pm.
ASM has introduced a new
motorcycle section. Trials used
to be organised by ASM in the
earlier days. With the assistance
of John and Edward Bonello,
ASM has introduced a Trials
bikes Nursery at the Ta Qali
race circuits. First introductory
competition is going to be held
next Sunday 30th October from
10.30am.
Autocross Class A
1st Patrick Cassar (Opel Corsa 3)
2nd Karmenu Zammit (Escort MK3 61)
3rd Keith Borg (Vauxhall Nova 52)
4th Guzi Pace (Ford Escort MK1 84)
5th Christian Galea (Fiat Ritmo 2)
6th Manuel Muscat Opel Corsa 1)
Autocross Class B
1st Christian Calleja (Opel Corsa 26)
2nd Mathew Grech (Escort MK3 8)
3rd Philip Grima (Escort MK3 33)
4th Vince Birmingham (Honda Civic 12)
5th Mario Scicluna (Opel Corsa 7)
6th Godwin Martin (Opel Corsa 90)
FOOTBALL
Arsenal shock Chelsea as City maintain five-point lead
ON a goal crazy Saturday afternoon in the Premier League,
Robin van Persie scored a hattrick as Arsenal recorded an astonishing 5-3 victory at Chelsea,
while 10-man Manchester City
maintained their five-point lead
after both they and Manchester
United won.
In a London derby littered with
defensive errors, Chelsea twice
led through Frank Lampard and
John Terry either side of Van Persie’s first, but the Gunners scored
four second-half goals - Andre
Santos and Theo Walcott were
also on the scoresheet - and finally triumphed despite having been
pegged back to 3-3 by Juan Mata.
Manchester City endured a frustrating first half against Wolves
but appeared to be
cruising at 2-0 up
through Edin Dzeko and Aleksandar
Kolarov.
However, Vincent
Kompany was then
sent off for a foul
on Kevin Doyle and
Stephen Hunt scored
from the spot.
Roberto Mancini’s
side had a couple of
Arsenal players celebrating
scares before Adam
their victory over Chelsea
Johnson struck in injury time to secure a
3-1 victory.
The result was a bit tough
Earlier, Javier Hernandez’s close- on Everton, who saw Leighton
range finish was just enough for Baines hit the bar, but kept UnitManchester United to claim a 1-0 ed in touch with City at the top of
victory at Everton.
the table.
The bottom three
clubs in the Premier
League were all in action and Wigan ended
the afternoon rock
bottom after Clint
Dempsey and Moussa
Dembele gave Fulham
a 2-0 win at the DW
Stadium.
Blackburn, who had
begun the afternoon
in 20th place, threw
away a 3-1 lead at Norwich to draw 3-3.
Bolton, the club with
the worst defensive record, went
down 3-1 at Swansea.
Sunderland grabbed a late
equaliser to draw 2-2 at home to
Aston Villa.
Juventus edge
past Inter as Milan
defeat Roma
JUVENTUS went on to defeat
Inter 2-1 in the Derby d’Italia
yesterday evening. Fantastic
goalkeeping from Buffon kept
Inter at bay. Goals from Vucinic
and Marchisio sealed the win for
Juventus as Maicon scored Inter’s
only goal.
Milan defeated Roma to make
it six wins from seven games. An
Alessandro Nesta and Zlatan Ibrahimovic brace gave Milan an
impressive 3-2 victory at the Olimpico that adds to Roma’s crisis.
Catania shocked Napoli as they
defeated went on to win 2-1. Cavani opened the scoring for Napoli as Marchese and Bergessio
scored the goals for Catania.
49
Sport
SPORTS DISCUSSION
RUGBY
The truth why
Buttigieg and
Busuttil were
sacked
Malta crush Latvia
MALTA National rugby team
stormed to a superb victory
against the semi-professionals
of Latvia, away in Riga.
When they played at Hibs Stadium earlier this year they had
led at half time, only to fade into defeat against the fitter and
bigger Latvians in the second
half.
This time there was no stopping the rampant Malta boys
and they destroyed Latvia 28
– 0.
Scorers in order: O’Brien penalty, Collins try, R. Holloway
try, Kirk try, O’Brien conversion, O’Brien penalty, O’Brien
try.
Because Malta scored four
tries they win a bonus point as
well as the three points for a
win.
Now Malta have to take on
Lithuania at home, next week,
5th November, at Hibs Stadium.
FORMULA 1
THE fourth programme in
this series of Kontrattakk continues this evening with another informative local football show to end the weekend.
Sports journalist and host of
TVM’s Sunday sports show
Sandro Micallef shall discuss
this weekend’s matches with
Mosta FC President George
Galea, Qormi FC President
Redino Apap and St. George’s
FC General secretary Michael
Cutajar.
Discussion shall evolve around
the respective championships
and also about the current
hot current issues that dominated the media during the
past week with the decision to
sack the national coaches John
Buttigieg and Carmel Busuttil.
The programme will reveal the
other facts behing the decision
to sack the coaches referred
to as “other matters” by NDD.
The resignation of Marsaxlokk
FC coach Winston Muscat and
Patrick Curmi’s new appointment with the Rainbows shall
also be discussed.
Televiewers can participate
Vettel on pole for inaugural Indian race
Sandro Micallef
during the programme by answering the weekly televoting
question and also by sending emails on kontrattakk@
tvm.com.mt or by leaving a
comment on Kontrattakk’s facebook page. Kontrattakk is
produced by Peter Cossai and
Sandro Micallef with the help
of Joshua Cacciattolo, Cristian
Muscat, Catherine Micallef
and Edmund Curmi.
LEWIS Hamilton’s three-place
grid penalty came back to haunt
him in qualifying for the Indian
Grand Prix. The 2008 champion
was right on Sebastian Vettel’s
tail after their first runs in Q3, the
German lapping in 1m 24.437s in
the Red Bull, the Englishman 1m
24.474s in the McLaren.
But while there was no point
in the latter pushing harder on a
second run, as Mark Webber was
not going to improve his own
third fastest 1m 24.508s, Vettel went out again and trimmed
down to 1m 24.178s to secure his
13th pole position of the year.
Behind the top three, Fernando Alonso had to be content
with fourth place on 1m 24.519s,
while McLaren’s Jenson Button
was in the process of pushing
Felipe Massa down a place with
1m 24.950s at the very moment
when the Brazilian was spearing
off the track as his Ferrari’s right-
Mark Webber (AUS) Red Bull Racing, third; Sebastian
Vettel (GER) Red Bull Racing, pole position; Lewis
Hamilton (GBR) McLaren, second
front suspension broke after he
had clobbered a kerb. He had to
rely on 1m 25.122s for his sixth
place.
Nico Rosberg was seventh for
Mercedes on 1m 25.451s, as
Force India’s Adrian Sutil, Toro
Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi and
Jaime Alguersuari took the remaining top-10 places but didn’t
set times.
Vettel had shredded the weekend’s fastest time with 1m
24.657s in Q2, with Hamilton
next up on 1m 25.019s and Alonso on 1m 25.158s.
FOOTBALL
Football legend Gary Neville launches
Norman Darmanin Demajo autobiography at Agenda
on L-Argument
THE spirit of Manchesbook. Authoritative,
NORMAN Darmanin Demajo will be one of the guests
in tonight’s L-Argument.
The dismissal of the national team coach and assistant
coach will be only one of the
many themes discussed with
the MFA president. As is
normal procedure the team
will be skimming through
all the premier league games
played during this weekend
with live links during and
Pamela Schembri and Mark Cutajar
after the game between
Hamrun S and Hibernians
to be played later on today.
The Cottonera derby has
made its return this weekend
with Friday’s game between
St George’s and Vittoriosa
Stars. Highlights from this
much awaited derby of the
three cities will also be featured in Malta this week. L-Argument
during today’s L-Argument. The has been part of this activity and
team has exclusive interviews will be airing an exclusive interwith both coaches taken after Fri- view with the Man Utd player.
day’s game. For the second time
Televiewers are urged to keep
running we will also be delving contact with the team during the
into women’s football airing the programm either by sending an
only goal scored by Rachel Cusch- sms on 50615010 or by joining
ieri for Birkirkara which gave our facebook page which is upthem three points against their dated with information daily.
arch rivals and reigning champiWatch L-Argument presented
ons Mosta.
by Mark Cutajar, Pamela SchemRed is the name of Gary Neville’s bri and Clinton Buhagiar, today at
autobiography which he launched 17.35 on ONE
ter United was evident at
Agenda Bookshop - Tigne
Point Shopping Mall last
Wednesday, where the
football legend Gary Neville had chosen to launch
his new autobiography.
Hundreds of enthusiastic
Manchester United fans
waited patiently to meet
the former Club captain
and also to have their
books personally signed
by him. Clyde Puli, Parliamentary Secretary for
Youth and Sport, opened
the event with a speech
in which he praised the
achievements
accomplished by Mr. Neville.
Prior to the book signing
session, Gary Neville took
questions from the local
media. Among the distinguished guests included
the British High Commissioner - H.E. Ms. Louise
Stanton.
About the book:
No player has been more synonymous with the glory years
of Manchester United Football
Club over the past two decades
than right-back Gary Neville.
An Old Trafford regular since
insightful, fearless and
never less than 100%
honest, no-one has
better credentials for
documenting the story
of United under Sir
Alex Ferguson. Neville
reveals the behind-thescenes secrets of his
early days with the likes
of Giggs, Scholes and
his best mate David
Beckham; what it was
like to play with Cantona, Keane and Ronaldo;
the Treble in 1999; and
of course an entire career of playing for the
greatest manager in the
game.
Then there are all
his experiences with
England, from being
the youngest starter
at Euro 96 when ‘footGary Neville
ball came home’, to the
ups and downs of five
he attended his first match at the major championships and seven
age of six, captain of the brilliant managers - Venables, Hoddle,
1992 FA Youth Cup-winning Wilkinson, Keegan, Eriksson,
team that became known as McClaren and Capello. There are
‘Fergie’s Fledglings’, outspoken opinions and analysis on Gazza,
representative of MUFC, Neville Rooney, WAGs and the true stois the ultimate one-club man. He ry of the FA and Rio Ferdinand.
has been at the heart of it all and, For twenty glorious years, Gary
at the end of an amazing career, Neville has worn his heart on his
now tells it all in this captivating sleeve. ‘Red’ is his story.
50
Sport
51
Sport
SPORT DISCUSSION
National team, Premier League and the First
Division League in this week’s Replay
GROOMED to excel, drilled
to entertain – Replay will
this weekend take you down
memory lane, through an interesting feature. No more
information will be revealed
but the production team of
Malta’s most favorite sports
show, recommends you not to
miss tonight’s programme.
Besides focusing on the Premier League matches played
throughout the weekend, and
besides affording a preview to
Monday’s encounter between
Floriana and B’Kara, this
week’s programme will dwell
on the 47th derby between
Vittoriosa and St. George’s.
Talk-of-the-town, i.e. the
termination of the contract
of MFA’s coaching duo Buttigieg and Busuttil, will also be
analysed, discussed and com-
mented upon. Once more the
discussion will be moderated by the tandem Christian
Micallef and Sarah Agius,
whereas guests will include
former Maltese international
players David Camilleri of
Hamrun and Mario Muscat
of Hibernians, with the participation of popular football pundits Hugh Caruana,
Konrad Sultana and Matthew
Paris.
Viewers are encouraged to
check out Replay’s website
www.replayonline.tv and also
share their views about various topics and other related
matters through email on
[email protected]. Alternatively, they can voice their
opinion through text messages on 50617092 live during
the show. By doing so, they
can win one of several weekly
prizes. Also by logging on Replay’s facebook profile, viewers can interact with other
football fans watching the
show.
Replay is co-produced by
Christian Micallef and Matthew Paris, under the tutelage
of executive producer Gorg
Micallef. Simon Borda, Kris
Scicluna and Roderick Vella
are assistants to the production duo. Matthew Calleja
and Stephen Chircop are the
visual editors, while direction
is entrusted to Jeremy Dalli.
The production team of Replay would like to thank its
sponsors for their continuous support particularly The
Gram Collections, Bortex,
James Caterers, Rene Rossignaud and Stephen Gatt.
Sarah Agius and
Christian Micallef
Weather & Crosswords
WEATHER: Cloudy and with showers possibly thundery
in places at times
VISIBILITY: Good except in some showers
WIND: MEast force 4 to 5 locally force 5 to 6, becoming
force 6 in places at times.
210/160
SHOWERS
210/180
SHOWERS
UV: 4
UV: 4
TODAY
TOMORROW
GOZO FERRIES
DAILY OPERATION TIMES
USEFUL TELEPHONE
NUMBERS
FLORIANA: Chemimart Ltd, 14, Triq Sant’Anna
HAMRUN: Lister Pharmacy, 209, Triq il-Kbira San
Guzepp
SANTA Venera: Fatima Pharmacy, Triq iz-Zonqor
BIRKIRKARA: Fleur-De-Lys Pharmacy, 32, Triq
Fleur-de-lys
PIETÀ: Brown’s, Shop no 10, Yacht Marina
Apartments, Triq il-Marina
SAN GWANN: Lourdes Pharmacy, Triq in-Naxxar
SLIEMA: Wales Pharmacy, 183, Triq Manwel
Dimech
BALZAN: Balzan Pharmacy, 70, Triq San Frangisk
Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Sunday
MOSTA: Sghajtar Pharmacy, Triq Sghajtar
Across
MELLIEHA: Village Pharmacy, 116, Main Street
1. Decaying organic matter (7)
PAOLA: Brown’s Pharmacy, 45, Paola Hill
5. Winged horse (7)
9. Exclamation of surprise (3)
SENGLEA: Victory Pharmacy, 32, Triq il-Vitorja
10. Religious recluses (5)
ZABBAR: St James Pharmacy, Misrah is-Sliem
11. Digging tool (5)
12. Strike (3)
MARSAXLOKK: Pompei Pharmacy, 28, Xatt is13. Consecrated (6)
Sajjieda
16. Trouble (6)
19. Letters (4)
ZURRIEQ: Salus Pharmacy 21, Misrah ir-Re21. Prejudice (4)
pubblika
23. Falsehoods (4)
24. Print in italic type (9)
ZEBBUG: Brown’s 47, Vjal il-Helsien
25. Noisy (4)
BAHRIJA: Bahrija Pharmacy, Triq Raddet ir-Roti
26. Midday (4)
27. Back part of the foot (4)
k/m Triq l-Iskola
28. Most secure (6)
RABAT (Gozo): Tac-Cawla Pharmacy, 7th June
31. Like better (6)
35. Idiot (3)
1919 Street
37. Command (5)
NADUR: Nadur Pharmacy, Pjazza it-28 ta’ April
Solution to last week’s crossword
38. Depart (5)
39. Before (3)
1688
Emergency,Police,Fire,
Ambulance ...................... 119
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
PHARMACIES OPEN TODAY
MALTA & GOZO: 9 A.M. – NOON
Solution to last week’s problem
40. Walks with long steps (7)
41. Qualify (7)
Sudoku
8
8
7
7
6
6
5
4
5
3
4
2
3
1
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
White had to to play and mate in three moves
2
1
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
White to play and mate in
three moves
H
1. Qe5
Kd7
2. b8=Q Kc6
3. Qbc7#
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.
Down
1. Young horses (5)
2. Copy (5)
3. Unit of weight (5)
4. Nonsense (4)
5. Pillar (4)
6. Rasp (5)
7. Perspire (5)
8. Guide (5)
14. State in SW United States (7)
15. Remainder (7)
16. Evident (5)
17. Absence of sound (7)
18. Something unpleasant to look at (7)
20. Living (5)
22. Vessel used for private cruising (5)
28. Native of Switzerland (5)
29. Finely ground meal of grain (5)
30. Having sides (5)
32. Act in response (5)
33. Navy (5)
34. Use again (5)
35. Minerals (4)
36. Run away (4)
News
Hedgehogs get
road signs
JAMES DEBONO
THE setting up of road signs by
local councils warning motorists to drive cautiously in country
roads is one of the contemplated
measures envisioned in a dossier on the state of wild fauna in
the Maltese islands issued by The
Malta Environment and Planning
Authority.
The proposed road signs will
warn motorists of hedgehogs likely crossing the road in areas where
this species is known to be common. The Pembroke local council has already set up similar signs
warning motorists of the dangers
posed to hedgehogs.
The 2005 State of the Environment Report documents the status of the Algerian hedgehog as
‘seemingly stable, but requiring
the impact of road kills to be assessed more in detail.’
The extent of impact of road kills
on local hedgehog populations is
not known; however this threat –
coupled with habitat fragmentation, disturbance and destruction,
indiscriminate pesticide use, and
the illegal capture for keeping as
pets – may have a significant impact on the conservation status of
the species.
The only native hedgehog living in Malta is the Algerian (or
‘vagrant’) hedgehog, which was
probably introduced from North
Africa by the Romans. Apart from
Malta, it also occurs in the northwest of Africa, in Spain and in a
number of islands.
The species of hedgehog that inhabits Malta and Gozo is different
from other hedgehogs found in
Europe, in that it has longer limbs
and ears, and a wider forehead.
Locally, it hibernates only on
very cold days as opposed to hibernating throughout the winter
period in other countries.
The hedgehog rolls up into a
ball, revealing its spikes when
faced with danger, which include
cats and strong lights emitted by
cars in the road. Although the
spikes of hedgehogs may deter
predators, the defensive posture
does not help it survive from being run by cars.
Another measure contemplated
in the dossier is the relocation of
feral cats from semi-natural areas known to harbour important
populations of local shrews and
other threatened mammals.
As regards bats, the document
proposes to restrict access to important bat sites.
Lesser Mouse-eared Bat
All Maltese bats are threatened
as a result of modification, disturbance and loss of roosts. One notable case involved development
near Għar il-Friefet, which included the construction of dwellings
near to and above the entrance of
the cave, as well as construction
of roads servicing such dwellings,
directly above the cave’s nursery.
Episodes of bat collecting and killing have also been documented.
Apart from safeguarding existing caves, one short-term solution
which is being considered, is the
installation of bat roosting boxes
to substitute lost habitat sites. The
needs of bats are also to be considered in restoration projects in
old buildings.
Bat colonies are also disturbed
by people visiting caves.
The dossier also proposes measures to protect the endangered
fresh water crab through safeguarding its habitats, which include the Bahrija and Xlendi valleys.

Issue #625 - Maltatoday

Transcription

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