Lucky escape

No one was hurt when an apartment block in Guardamangia collapsed on Wednesday night moments after the residents fled when they noticed large cracks forming in the walls. An entire corner of the three-storey block, situated on Guardamangia hill, came down at about 10.40pm.

What made the headlines

Illegal slaughter of horses raises black market sales fears: Reports of horses being slaughtered illegally have given rise to concerns meat could be reaching Maltese consumers via the black market, according to law enforcement and Veterinary Department sources. The sources said the police had been tipped off about the illegal activity possibly taking place at a secluded farm in Siġġiewi. In a subsequent story, the Times of Malta reported that a growing need to feed exotic big cats could be among the main reasons retired racehorses were being illegally slaughtered.

President’s appeal on judges’ selection: President George Vella on Thursday urged the government to implement “as soon as possible” the Venice Commission’s recommendations on the appointment of the judiciary to ensure their independence. Speaking at the end of a ceremony during which six new members of the judiciary were sworn in, Dr Vella said that, although 2016 constitutional changes – setting up the Judicial Appointments Committee – were recognised positively by the Venice Commission, further changes recommended recently should also be introduced “as soon as possible”. Earlier, NGO Repubblika filed a court application asking it to halt the appointment of new members of the judiciary until the changes recommended by the Venice Commission were implemented. Mr Justice Mark Chetcuti upheld Repubblika’s request to hear the case with urgency, setting the first hearing for tomorrow. As reported by the Times of Malta last month, three sitting magistrates – Francesco Depasquale, Aaron Bugeja and Joanna Vella Cuschieri – were promoted to judges. Lawyers Nadine Lia, Victor Asciak and Bridgette Sultana were appointed magistrates.

Fearne says patients not in danger at Mount Carmel: Parts of Mount Carmel mental health hospital have been evacuated due to serious infrastructural problems, Health Minister Chris Fearne said. He said these parts of the hospital had been sealed off, and the remaining wards did not pose a danger to patients. The Times of Malta reported last week how around three-quarters of the wards at Mount Carmel have condemned ceilings. The Health Minister said the government had decided to commission a study into these infrastructural problems instead of just patching them up, adding that problems in the 150-year-old hospital had not occurred overnight. Meanwhile the nurses’ union (MUMN) said the government must provide it with timelines for the Mount Carmel renovations or risk being faced with industrial action.

PM ignores Ombudsman on ‘vitiated’ army promotions: Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is refusing to implement recommendations made by the Ombudsman to remedy a “vitiated” army promotions exercise in 2013. A spokesman for the Office of the Ombudsman told the Times of Malta the government had not yet implemented the recommendations made more than a year ago to correct the injustice suffered.

Senior principals’ exam rules changed during electoral campaign: Civil servants who did not achieve the set pass mark in an examination for senior principals were still promoted after this was lowered following the intervention of the Office of the Prime Minister, the Times of Malta reported. The sudden change of rules, since condemned by the Office of the Ombudsman, took place during the last electoral campaign and the final interviews were held just three weeks before the country went to the polls.

Worker injured in building collapse: A 24-year-old Senegalese worker was hurt when part of the Swieqi building he was working on collapsed on Wednesday. Neighbourhood residents claimed repeated warnings about the state of the site to health and safety authorities fell on deaf ears until the incident. The authorities, however, insisted officers visited the area twice within the space of a week, issuing stop orders for works on two adjacent sites.

One in six students quitting school early: Malta has the second largest number of early school leavers in Europe, with one out of every six students quitting school in their teenage years. The island topped the list with Spain and Romania, however it has managed to halve the share of early school leavers between 2006 and 2018, according to Eurostat. Early school leavers are those aged between 18 and 24 with, at most, lower secondary education and who are not in further education or training. In 2006, a third of Maltese students left school early, a figure that dropped to 17.5 per cent in 2018.

What trended

Moggi can vote in Malta

There was a mixed reaction online to the news that Luciano Moggi, the disgraced former manager of Italian giants Juventus, is eligible to vote in Malta’s local elections and owns a flat in Gżira.

The information came to light after a photo of Mr Moggi’s purported voting document was leaked on social media. 

“Everything is for sale for a few years of a surplus which is not benefitting the people except for some miserable wage increases and a €50 cheque every year,” Thomas remarked.

To which Anthony replied: “If the Italian Court in its sentence didn’t give him a general interdiction Mr Moggi can vote because he’s an EU citizen. Therefore, don’t write rubbish such as “for sale”, “surplus” and “a €50 cheque”, they have nothing to do with the rights of an EU citizen.

“What a joke of a country we have become,” Joseph said.

R referred to the Times of Malta report which stated: “Mr Moggi drew universal condemnation for his purported underhand manoeuvres” and commented: “He must certainly feel at home living here!”

However, Fanny replied: “You forgot to mention that Inter Milan did the same and their sponsors withheld wiretaps to prove it.”

Jennifer perhaps summed up the feelings of many: “I think he feels at home here.”

John, an obvious admirer, exclaimed: “So, I was right! It was him! I see him every morning walking on the Gżira front, and then stopping for Turkish. He has been living in Malta for ages, paying taxes, declaring everything, Grande Moggi!”

But Jessica thought the whole thing was a storm in a teacup: “And we should care why exactly? It’ not like he is Toto Rina.”

That tunnel

There was quite a bit of online support for the 13 NGOs who called the parliamentary resolution in support of a Malta Gozo tunnel “irresponsible” and a “non-starter” as the benefits and impacts of the tunnel were not yet known.

“All our 69 MPs are in cahoots with each other. Malta needs a clean slate. When will this ever happen?” Joseph asked.

“You do not pass a motion in Parliament and then conduct studies or wait for the resultsof the studies. First you should finalise all the studies and then you go to Parliament,” K said.

Frank said the economic and environmental costs of such a project do not justify it.

“The way forward is to open up the ferry market and include more links with a fast service.”

What they said

“No one is prejudiced by the gathering of evidence.”

Former Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil speaking in court in reply to Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi’s request to postpone an inquiry into the Panama Papers until his arguments about a human rights breach before the Constitutional Court were heard.

“People elected to govern, even if with lopsided majorities, are not exempt from their preeminent duty of dealing openly with the truth.”

Nationalist Party foreign affairs spokesman Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici writing in the Times of Malta about the government’s disregard for the truth.

“The people I’ve spoken to talk about her as Aunty Liz. There’s a kind of familiarity that people feel towards her, especially those who worked with her.”

Royal biographer Andrew Morton, who is writing a new book, and who was in Malta to meet people who knew Queen Elizabeth from her time living here.

“I still remember the day when Air Malta started its first flights in 1974, with scheduled services to London, Birmingham, Manchester, Rome, Frankfurt, Paris and Tripoli.”

Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi, recalling, in an interview in  Il-Bizzilla, Air Malta’s inflight magazine, the national airline’s first flights in 1974, despite the fact that he was born in November 1977.

“Malta’s neutrality does not mean closing our eyes and ears to situations.”

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat defending the government’s decision to reject a Russian request to use Malta’s airspace for military aircraft en route to Venezuela.