Editorial
-
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Green policy must have all-round support
Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Mario de Marco is to be congratulated on the quality, scope and presentation of the national environment policy, which he recently presented following wide public consultation. The document is well writte...
-
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
EU solidarity on migration must be stronger
Frontex’s latest report notes the significant drop in the number of crossings on the central Mediterranean route for the third quarter of 2011. It adds that the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime brought illegal crossings from Libya to Malta to almo...
-
Monday, February 20, 2012
New anti-smoking rules good but not enough
Smoking in Malta remains rampant. It is abundantly clear that the rise in cigarette prices is too small an inducement for smokers to give up their habit. A 2008 European health interview survey showed that 32 per cent of men and 21 per cen...
-
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Needlessly hurting Gozo
Critics of the Gozo Channel service would probably say they noticed little difference when the ‘go-slow’ directives were issued to the company’s employees, while the union behind them will accuse the government of failing to act promptly. ...
-
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Please, can we have some more?
The major cities in the civilised world were last week basking in the literary brilliance of Charles Dickens celebrating the bicentenary of the birth of one of the best-loved authors in world literature. Sadly, our capital city, which is preparin...
-
Friday, February 17, 2012
The Times debate: Is the political crisis over?
If the contribution by the two main political party leaders to The Times’ debate last week is a foretaste of what is to come in the election campaign, the electorate is in for a very trying time. Unsurprisingly, the Prime Minister is still...
-
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Frustration over credit rating downgrading
Moody’s, the credit rating agency, has certainly sent a number of countries, including Malta, reeling into a bad mood with its latest set of rate adjustments. Malta has been downgraded to A3 from A2 and given a negative outlook. At first,...
-
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Combating discrimination and hate crimes
In the wake of two condemnable incidents thought to be homophobia related, the Prime Minister has rightly insisted on the respect due to the dignity of every person independently of colour, belief or sexual orientation. He also called on the forc...
-
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Confusion over additional Budget cuts
Labour spokesman Helena Dalli would not make a good Finance Minister. It is one thing saying that Lawrence Gonzi has no moral authority to order the additional cuts in government expenditure when he had given his Cabinet a €500-a-week rise and ha...
-
Monday, February 13, 2012
Up with transparency and accountability
What is it about the governance of this country that make transparency and accountability such difficult concepts to adopt? The latest spat between the NGO Commissioner and the ministries of justice and the family and that of foreign affairs over...
-
Sunday, February 12, 2012
A thing worth doing...
When Pope Benedict decided to nominate Mgr Prospero Grech a Cardinal, he was perhaps not immediately appreciative of the literal challenge he was presenting: not only did the 86-year-old have to persuade vintage knees to enable his body to lie pr...
-
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Relief to residents in flood-prone areas
Just over a year before the last election, the then minister responsible for infrastructure, Ninu Zammit, had announced that calls for tenders for flood relief projects were being issued. Five years later, with another election imminent, the mini...
-
Friday, February 10, 2012
‘Secret’ deals that make loud noises online
When 22 EU member states, including Malta, signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta), which had already been signed by eight other countries, it was inevitable that the online communities who generally support the concept of a “free i...
-
Thursday, February 9, 2012
EU is committed to generate more jobs
An unusually cold spell gripping Europe may have deflected the people’s attention from their countries’ economic worries but, when the ice thaws, the underlying problems will resurface with a vengeance. One of the thorniest difficulties today is...
-
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The cardinal and Maltese missionary zeal
Just two days before the feast of the shipwreck of St Paul, so dear to Christians of Maltese origin everywhere, the Church in Malta will today be celebrating the Episcopal ordination of Mgr Prospero Grech OSA. The ordination is a consequen...
-
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Emergency Room needs urgent treatment
The Accident and Emergency Department at Mater Dei Hospital is chronically flooded with patients, including quite a few – almost a third, figures show – who should not have been there. The vast majority of nurses working in this department have j...
-
Monday, February 6, 2012
Misconceptions dividing one nation
A survey of attitudes among young people in Gozo by the Oasi Foundation has revealed some interesting views about relations between the two islands of Malta and Gozo. Like many such studies, the sample was limited, even if some will argue...
-
Sunday, February 5, 2012
A Major mistake to make?
Some people have a tendency to describe politics as a science, but anyone who has anything to do with it – which includes those, like us, who are on the outside looking in – know it rarely plays out that way. Sure, there are parallels to b...
-
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Fiscal compact to ensure greater discipline
Will the latest round of frantic efforts being made in Brussels to put Europe’s financial house in order lead to a degree of financial stability that could help bring about the kind of confidence and optimism needed to generate higher economic gr...
-
Friday, February 3, 2012
Consumers being taken for a ride
Consumers are let down so many times in Malta that they rub their eyes in disbelief when something new is done in their favour. The launching, by the Water Services Corporation, of what it is calling a customer contract is a case in point.
